5 Takeaways from Heat’s Series Ending Loss

Well, that’s all from your 2020-2021 Miami Heat. The Bucks finish off the Heat in game four to fulfill the sweep, which was far from an expected outcome. Anyway, here are my last takeaways of the season…

#1: Miami’s early offense based around Jimmy Butler in a passing fashion, but maybe too much.

The story of game three was that Jimmy Butler came out aggressive, but he was the only one able to knock down shots. The exact opposite occurred in this match-up, as he was getting to his play-making spots to really get others going. Six assists in the first quarter didn’t tell the whole story, since he was doing absolutely everything he could to find the open man. One of the main sets they went to for Butler to begin the game was side PnR’s with Bam Adebayo. That’s usually their late game go-to, but it was necessary to start off with their peak abilities. It led to an Adebayo floater and a Butler mid-range bank shot, which allowed Miami to expand back into everyone else. The issue was that the third quarter was a different story. Shots weren’t falling as often, and Jimmy’s motto seemed to stay the same. When that occurs, the aggression must become the primary ability once again, instead of being the number one facilitator.

#2: Trevor Ariza steps up to begin the game.

One of my takeaways from the last game was the non-existent play from the four spot with Trevor Ariza, but well, that changed in the first quarter of this game. Three triples and eleven early points gave Miami a great boost, since he was simply making the shots that were given to him. Through the first three games of the series, Miami’s had 102 open threes and made only 32 of them. If that Ariza three ball becomes a threat for Milwaukee’s defense, things shift for Miami offensively and lead to many good things. Many were wondering if Nemanja Bjelica would step into that starting spot after Ariza’s struggles, but Spo stuck with him and that was the right move. As the post-game story becomes off-season discussion, Ariza is important to note.

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#3: Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn do their job early: making shots in the dead spots.

There have been clear dead spots in the Bucks’ drop coverage that I’ve discussed time and time again, but Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn finally took advantage of it. Nunn, specifically, had some bounce to him when he was inserted, getting to the areas of the floor that he did all regular season. Pull-up mid-ranges on the move is the shot that was open all series, and it was falling in the first half. Herro got some good looks as well from beyond the arc, showcasing why the home crowd seems to play such a crucial role in his offensive rhythm. Of course, there were plenty of defensive lapses that occurred from each of them, but that was expected heading into this match-up. The key was that they do their part on the side of the ball that falls under their strengths, allowing the others to takeover from there. Spoiler alert: that didn’t occur.

#4: Offensive slippage leads to defensive slippage to begin second half, but then Nunn happened.

The Heat had a 7 point lead coming out of the half, but the offensive rhythm did not carry over to begin the second half. Shots were not falling for anybody, which always leads to defensive slippage. Once players start to notice the trend of clank after clank, it blends into the other end of the floor, which can’t happen against this Milwaukee team who has plenty of guys who can get going. Khris Middleton was the guy in the third who began to knock down the shots that he did in the first three games, while Miami had no answer. Well, until Nunn was subbed in. I discussed in the previous takeaway that Nunn was taking advantage of the open spots on the floor, but a late stretch in the third was primarily on-ball stuff. Back to back pull up threes and a baseline reverse led to a Bucks timeout, which didn’t seem possible with Miami on their heels. Clearly, it didn’t ultimately matter, but this would’ve looked very similar to games two and three if he didn’t show up.

#5: Well, Miami gets something they haven’t had in a while: an off-season. 

That’s enough talk about a game that ended in a sweep for the Milwaukee Bucks over the Miami Heat, but now it’s time to take a step into the next stage. An off-season isn’t the most familiar thing in the world for the Heat, after a quick turn-around led them right into another season. Saying this series loss is a result of fatigue is a semi-lazy take, but it was clear that the locked in mentality wasn’t the case, except for a handful of stretches. One thing that they missed occurred in the fourth quarter when Goran Dragic got in a skirmish with Khris Middleton. That was one of the first times in this series that I saw some type of fire, and they’ve missed that type of action to spark some energy. Anyways, this off-season will be so interesting due to their being so many different decisions that must be made by the Heat front office. So it begins…

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