Five takeaways from the shorthanded Heat’s 99-90 loss to the Rockets Monday night in Houston:
1. Yes, this road trip ended with some sense of regret. But Miami is in a good place overall.
The Miami Heat is no longer a team content with simply contending with the best teams in the league. Coach Erik Spoelstra has gotten his team to believe they are one of the best in the league and finishing this five-game road trip with a 2-3 record still stung – not because of what happened Monday in Houston, but earlier in losses to Chicago and Brooklyn.