Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Jimmy Butler Carves Name in NBA History

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Monday morning, it was reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo would return to the Bucks’ lineup for Game 4 in Miami. He hurt his back in the first match and was pulled out 11 minutes in, following multiple check-ups in the locker room.

Antetokounmpo picked up where he left off, piercing the lane with zero regard for obstacles. In quarter one, he logged nine points and four assists. During the first timeout, he walked around his team’s space so his back wouldn’t tighten up.

Six minutes into the game, the Heat was down 20-10. Two quick fouls on Bam Adebayo earned him an early spot on the bench. But then Jimmy Butler went nuclear, scoring 22 points in the frame.

Butler was unguardable while defended in single coverage. He entered the paint at will, taking guys off the dribble for a shot past or over them. On his second attempt of the night, JB isolated Khris Middleton for a runway to the cup. Antetokounmpo tracked the drive and met him at the summit, but Butler slammed it with two hands over his head. On the next try, he buried a 25-foot jumper while draped by Middleton on the right wing.

Through the first half, Butler recorded 24 of Miami’s 50 points. The Heat was down 50-57, and aside from #22, no one had broken past single digits on their scorecard. The team’s next-best offensive option was prolific benchwarmer Duncan Robinson and his nine points. Miami’s disregarded sniper canned two triples against drop coverage and splacked another 3-pointer in transition on the left wing.

Twenty seconds into the third quarter, Middleton intercepted Max Strus’ pass to Adebayo in the paint and raced down the court for a step-back left-wing triple over Gabe Vincent. Miami was again on its back foot. Butler stayed in every play of the period to stop the bleeding inflicted by Milwaukee’s front court, plus Jrue Holiday.

The Greek Freak hammered a putback dunk, finished a fastbreak layup, and maneuvered around Cody Zeller in the drop for a layup in quarter three. In this stretch, the visitors converted 32 points on 52.2% field goal efficiency.

JB responded with a step-back jumper over Grayson Allen in the mid-post, a pivot past Holiday and Brook Lopez at the cup, and a pull-up in front of Antetokounmpo in drop coverage for scores in the third. His evening output reached 35 points, and then Coach Erik Spoelstra gave him a breather for nearly four minutes of the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee started the last period ahead by 11 points. The Bucks converted four out of 11 attempts before Butler checked back in for the last time. He finished the game scoring an additional 21 points in the last frame, the most by any Heat player ever in the fourth quarter or overtime in the Playoffs, per Stathead, ending the night with 56.

The Heat was down 12 points in crunch time. Inspired by Butler, Miami went on a 13-0 run to reclaim the lead. Milwaukee took the advantage back twice as the time ticked away, but Butler logged 12 points in the last two minutes, seven of which were free throws. Miami won the game 119-114.

At his post-game sideline interview with TNT, Butler shot down the inquiry of what it felt like to hear MVP chants. He said that honor should go to Joel Embiid. Before stepping away, he answered on going back to Milwaukee for Game 5. “To play basketball in Milwaukee, in front of their crowd, and to be together on the road, that’s where championships are won, and we got a shot.”

JB’s 56 points tied Wilt Chamberlain, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan for the fourth-highest individual scoring output by a player in the postseason. MJ, Elgin Baylor and Donovan Mitchell have the highest playoff game point totals in league history at 63, 61 and 57. Their marks were safe because of Spo’s habitual habit of resting Butler between four and six minutes in closing intervals.

Butler’s Homeric eruption pushed the Heat to a 3-1 lead over the one-seed in round one. Miami still has to win another, but these types of deficits are almost insurmountable. Only 13 outfits have come out alive.

As Bob Seger sang, “Some men go just where they want… some men never go.”

Butler is the former because fortune favors the bold. I’m lucky enough to have seen some of the best that wore White Hot, and in the Playoffs, there’s no right or wrong answer as to who is best fit to lead a squad.

Like Dwyane Wade at this time of year or Batman when Gotham is in danger, Butler raises his game when it matters most. He’s the beast of the east, and he comes out of hibernation in April.

 

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Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat Lose Victor Oladipo in Game 3 Win over Bucks

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The Heat was up 24 points with fewer than four minutes left when Victor Oladipo’s leg gave out. He drove into the lane from the top of the key, but when he had Bobby Portis on his back hip, he elevated off his left leg, yet he didn’t take off completely, landing on his backside.

Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson walked over to their hurt teammate first. Before they helped Oladipo stand up, he looked past Martin and shook his head. It confirmed to everyone watching on TV and in attendance that his season was likely over after all his diligent work to recover.

In the blink of an eye, his body betrayed him again, but this setback was the hardest to watch Oladipo face. The past four seasons were littered with injuries that defrauded Vic of his talents, but in some spurts of the Heat’s campaign, he was logging his most productive minutes in a White-Hot jersey.

During Game 3 against the Bucks, Oladipo played 19 minutes, converting four out of six field goals. In the second half, Vic dropped three in a row by dribbling past Portis in the paint for a fadeaway jumper, and he zipped down the court for a pair of fastbreak layups.

Oladipo limped to the locker room with the help of the trainers. The Heat finished garbage time and took a 2-1 lead in the series, but the atmosphere in the Kaseya Center was thick with anxiety and sorrow.

At the postgame presser, the win seemed meaningless to coach Erik Spoelstra. He said an evaluation of Oladipo’s injury would happen Sunday and that it was difficult to watch.

“It’s a great win, but when you see a player go down like that, and particularly a player like Vic who’s gone through so much in the last three years…It’s not a good feeling to see Vic on the floor like that.”

Spo also added that when Oladipo saw a stretcher come out for him, he refused it.

The Heat can worry about how losing Oladipo affects the group in the series. What concerns me is the frustration likely clouding his mind. By all accounts, Vic worked tirelessly after each mishap since Jan. 23, 2019, to get back on the floor and contribute.

He was never going to get back into All-Star form, but like a good soldier, he performed well in his role as a reserve. He was still capable of putting pressure on the rim and defending quick perimeter players. But after his knee buckled in Game 3, I’m not sure if Oladipo wants to keep this going after his contract is up. He has a player option for 2023/2024 that I expect he’ll opt in to, but following that, who knows?

If the end of his pro career is near, the version of Oladipo in White Hot won’t be what I remember him for. I’ll reminisce about the Black Panther in Indiana.

In 118 combined games between 2018 and 2019, regular season and Playoffs included, Vic was one of the league’s ascending two-way stars. He had an explosive burst off the dribble and was unafraid to catch a body in the paint. On defense, he had excellent timing when invading the passing lanes for a steal and was effective in stopping the ball outside.

During seven games of round 1 in the 2018 Playoffs, Oladipo went toe-to-toe with LeBron James, then a Cavalier. In Game 6, to hold off elimination, Oladipo snapped and logged a 28-point triple-double to send the series back to Cleveland. He got in the paint whenever he wanted and could detonate for a two-handed jam standing under the rim.

In Game 7 in Cleveland, Oladipo went out, dropping 30 points with 12 rebounds in a four-point loss.

Before the injuries mounted on, Oladipo spent every minute as a Pacer validating his status as the second pick of the 2013 Draft. He was honored with two All-Star selections, an All-NBA + All-Defensive Team spot and the league’s Most Improved Player award in 2018.

What I admired most about his game was the rage that he attacked the basket with. Like Brandon Roy, Derrick Rose and Yao Ming, when I think about Oladipo, I’ll wonder what he was really capable of.

 

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Jimmy Butler, The Deer Hunter

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The Heat’s first wrinkle for the Bucks was to get down the court faster than usual. Miami ended the regular season as the second-slowest team in the NBA, but in Game 1 of the quarterfinal at Milwaukee, the visitors were operating six percentage points higher than their normal pace.

The hit-ahead pass plus instant takeoffs after defensive rebounds generated the Heat eight fastbreak points in the first quarter. Bam Adebayo hurled a full-court pass to Jimmy Butler that was laid in softly a foot away from the rim. Kyle Lowry found the first man on the break twice, outrunning the deer. And Gabe Vincent stumbled to the nail and pulled up for two in transition.

To start, Butler dropped 14 points on six of eight shots to power Miami to a 33-24 lead. He was guarded by Jrue Holiday and Wesley Matthews in single coverage, but it wasn’t enough as JB got into the paint whenever he pleased.

Defensively, Miami was on time contesting 3-point shots, allowing just 2 out of nine makes for Milwaukee through quarter one.

Eight minutes in, Giannis Antetokounmpo hurt his lower back on an unsuccessful drive to the rim. He collided with Kevin Love, picking up the charge foul, but tumbled on his posterior. Toward the end of the period, he plunged into Love again and went to the locker room after getting subbed out for Jae Crowder.

The Freak came back but had to return a second time to Milwaukee’s private chambers, and here, he was ruled out for the rest of the game. In total, he contributed six points and three rebounds.

Antentokounmpo’s absence eliminated the presence of a weak side shot blocker. Brook Lopez didn’t have backup getting attacked in drop coverage, plus Miami’s executed off-ball cuts trailing the handler without the Bucks’ security blanket to disrupt.

In the second frame, Miami mixed man protection with the 2-3 zone. To close off the paint, the Heatles sagged away from the corners and recovered on kick outs to force the Bucks into misfiring on 83.3% of deep tries.

With a minute left in the first half, Tyler Herro poked the ball free from Grayson Allen, but he hurt himself as he missed reaching for it on a dive to the hardwood. He broke his middle and ring fingers on his shooting hand, likely keeping him out between four-to-six weeks per TNT’s Chris Haynes.

When Miami got the ball back, Herro retreated to the corner and crouched, holding his hand in pain. The ball swung to him anyway, yet he air-balled it and swiftly grabbed at his wound again. On Miami’s next possession, he roamed to the corner and put his hands by his knees, the signal he needed medical attention, but the second quarter ended first.

In the first half, Butler had 20 of Miami’s 32 paint points. Additionally, he seized the passing lanes twice and stripped Khrid Middleton to initiate the break.

At halftime, the visitors were up 68-55 while uncommonly blazing from the field at 59.6% and 57.1% outside the 3-point line.

Duncan Robinson started in Herro’s place in the third quarter. Even with #55 having a down season, the Bucks wouldn’t concede much space off-ball. With Robinson on the floor, Milwaukee couldn’t cheat, flashing a corner defender at Adebayo when he got to work at the nail and in. As a result, Adebayo drained three midrange jumpers.

Coming out of halftime, Butler tallied six dimes. He repaid Adebayo with a full-court hit-ahead pass that turned into a two-handed jam and found open teammates when Milwaukee doubled on rim runs or post-ups.

When Antetokounmpo came out in the second quarter, the Bucks’ primary offensive focus shifted to Middleton. Even in front of solid contests, Middleton’s jump shot was on target from midrange and deep. Through three quarters, he had 20 points and had kept the Bucks within striking distance after falling behind by 14.

In the fourth quarter, Vincent was the Heat’s leading scorer with nine points. He made one jumper curling around Adebayo’s dribble handoff on the left wing, another in the corner when the Bucks failed to closeout, and his last shaking Allen away with #13’s screen. He was also the lone Heatle to play the entire period.

Butler added six points and an assist in the final frame to bring his total to 35 on 55.7% field goal efficiency with 11 dimes.

At the postgame presser, Adebayo and Butler answered questions together. I’m unsure if he was puffing smoke, but Butler said the Heat “can be better in a lot of areas.”

Adebayo said the turbulence the team went through to earn a playoff spot prepared them for the challenge present.

It’s unknown when Antetokounmpo will return, but as long as he is out, this encounter has become an even affair. Milwaukee still has weapons and disruptors to win a pair of matches, but home-court advantage will merge to Miami after Game 2.

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Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat Survive Play-In Tournament

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Jimmy Butler said at the postgame presser that Max Strus “made himself a lot of money [Friday].” He wasn’t exaggerating. Mad Max hit Miami’s opening four baskets because the Bulls were quick to overhelp on Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. #31 would finish the game with 31 on his scorecard to help push Miami to round one of the Playoffs.

Butler beat Chicago on rolls to the basket, transition attacks, and baseline cuts for nine points through the first quarter.

The Heat had an opposite start on Friday to Tuesday’s Play-in loss at home against Atlanta. Versus the Hawks, the hosts allowed its rivals to convert 56% of its tries in the first quarter. Matched up with Chicago, the Heat’s man-to-man coverage was disruptive and held the visitors to 38.9% through 12 minutes.

Herro logged every second of quarter two and contributed six points, three dimes and three rebounds. He got into the lane in front of the drop coverage to hit a pair of floaters.

At intermission, Miami was up 49-45, beating Chicago on the boards by nine and doubling the Bulls’ free throw attempts. Tuesday versus the Hawks, the Heat gave up 26 second-chance points. Through the first half Friday, the hosts had only allowed two of those to Nikola Vucevic.

Defensively, it shut down Zach LaVine by closing out to his jumper on time, switching length on him at the perimeter and clogging the paint. In this period, he was held to three out of 10 makes, and the Heat even forced seven consecutive misses.

In the third quarter, Miami only made six field goals out of 26 and would miss its last seven of the period. Adebayo bricked all four of his attempts here, but three can be excused because they came after Patrick Beverly kicked him in the back of the head.

Adebayo momentarily lost his dribble in the paint, but at this point Beverly was airborne, and his patella came crashing into #13’s snook. It was contact above the shoulders. It should have been called a flagrant-1, at least, because of where the hit occurred and how it knocked Adebayo to the fetal position.

The referees, Josh Tiven, Tony Brothers and Karl Lane, took a moment to check it out, but they were too brainless to crack down on Beverly. Instead, they called a common foul. Next time it might take a player losing consciousness from a blow to the head before these blind mice make the right call.

Adebayo could have been concussed, and TNT’s Brian Anderson rambled on, “That was ruled as a common foul, by the way. Nothing excessive here from Beverly. I think he’s going for a block…”

In quarter four, Miami switched up coverages using the 2-3 zone plus man-to-man. Chicago attacked mainly from the outside, taking six of 20 paint shots in this frame.

In the final period, the Heat’s offense burned the Bulls, making 62.5% of its shots, plus 13 free throws. Strus added eight more points in the fourth. When Butler attacked from the right side, Strus curled into the paint from the left for a lay-in after the catch. Again, when four black jerseys surrounded JB in the mid-post, Strus was hit with the pass and canned a right-wing trifecta.

With under a minute to go, Caruso fouled Strus on a 3-point corner shot while Miami was up five points. Strus buried each freebie to extend the game to at least three possessions. The Heat defeated the Bulls 102-91.

The win over Chicago now puts Miami in eighth place for a rematch of the 2021 quarter-final with the Bucks. The group will not practice Saturday ahead of Game 1 Sunday.

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Hawks Neuter Heat in Play-In Matchup

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The Heat held a lead fewer than two minutes. The offense snapped, the guys couldn’t guard by themselves, and Atlanta continued to score on second attempts. At one point in the first half, the deficit Miami found itself in was so degrading that team captain Udonis Haslem was compelled to give a fiery speech to inspire the team during a stoppage. He’d later bowed in disgust as the point differential ballooned in the guests’ favor.

The Hosts were overhelping on the Hawk’s intrusions into the lane, exposing the perimeter. Trae Young tallied five dimes and sullied the Heat’s drops coverage with a pair of floaters to start.

Off Atlanta’s bench, Onyeka Okongwu infiltrated the paint three times for six of its 15 reserve points to Miami’s nine in the first quarter.

The harbinger of gloom was Jimmy Butler’s four missed shots at point-blank range. He managed to log 10 points but on 33% of his tries early.

Bam Adebayo had a donut on the stat sheet until the second quarter. He missed both first-period attempts, but more problematic was that playmakers weren’t looking for him. In one instance, after setting a screen that got Tyler Herro into the paint for a finish, Adebayo stood open on the baseline but with his hands at his side. He was uncovered but not calling for the ball. That might explain a lot.

Butler’s inefficiency trickled down to all but one of his teammates; the 37-year-old with over 38,000 minutes recorded, Kyle Lowry.

Lowry dashed into the lane twice, scoring with a pivot past De’Andre Hunter, plus a reverse layup over Okongwu. Without the quick burst of production provided by #7, Miami likely wouldn’t have broke 20 points to start the match. By halftime, he was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points on six of eight shots.

Running downhill in transition, vintage Lowry spun past Saddiq Bey for a layup. With the 6 ’11 Clint Capela switched on him up top, Kyle canned a step-back jumper from 28 feet out.

At the intermission, the Heat was down 50-65 and only making 37.5% of its attempts. Fortunately for Miami, Butler, and Herro kept the squad on life support in the third quarter. JB was freed on a Gabe Vincent backscreen that opened the baseline for a slam; then he hit a fadeaway jumper over Dejounte Murray and finally a close-range shot when he rolled to the rim after the pick.

Herro dropped a handful of buckets in the third on eight attempts for 11 points. On multiple tries, Atlanta could not stop #14 when driving left after the screen. He used a human shield for space on three scores; the others were a step-back jumper over Young in the post and a lay-in off a cut contested by John Collins.

When the Heat made runs to cut the deficit to single digits, the Hawks countered with body blows of its own. Early in the third period, the hosts erased 10 points off Atlanta’s lead. But the visitors next went on a 20-12 run to extend the advantage back to 13 to start the fourth quarter.

With 12 minutes left in a pre-elimination game that gave direct playoff entry to the winner, Miami had already allowed Atlanta to recover 15 offensive rebounds creating 13 second-chance points.

Lowry and Caleb Martin were the only reserves coach Erik Spoelstra used in the final stretch. With the season on the line, #7 converted four out of five triples and blew past Young on the wing for a three-foot shot. Martin contributed just a rebound and an assist in 11 fourth-quarter minutes.

The Heat’s 2-3 zone and man-to-man coverage left the glass unattended. The Hawks added seven offensive rebounds to its output, pushing the total to 22 for 26 second-chance points.

Atlanta invited Miami back into the game with 10 missed free throws through 36 minutes, but the Heat said thanks but no thanks by losing nearly all of the 50-50 balls.

At the postgame presser, Spo said his team crawled back into the match, but the story was the second chance points given up.

“I thought we defended fairly well, particularly in the last five minutes of the second quarter on through the second half,” Spo said. “We just were not able to come up with those finishing rebounds. It was like a highlight film gone bad of either missed block outs, bobbled balls, tipped balls, or [Atlanta] there, and they were able to come up with the rebound.”

Miami is a solid defensive rebounding team, but after Spo’s group put on one of its most embarrassing performances of the season, he wouldn’t identify what caused the slippage. Like a good soldier, he said they’d watch the film on it.

And just like that, the Heat arrived at DEFCON 4. Its next rival will be determined with the winner of Chicago’s visit to Toronto Wednesday. Each of those squads presents issues for the Heat. The Bulls have two point-of-attack incinerators, and the Raptors have the length to make a duel uglier than what Miami suffered at home Tuesday by clogging the lane.

The level of concern for the Heat shouldn’t change based on the outcome Wednesday. It’s difficult to trust any unit that needs to get humbled before getting its act together, and Miami has looked like a team ready to punch its time card for weeks.

Over a decade of watching the NBA has taught me that when a group gets shamed, it usually responds with a stronger showing. But what is there left to play for? Pride or eighth place? That’s a tough sell. The Heat lost the game it needed as it would have secured a preferred matchup with the Boston Celtics in round one instead of seeing the Milwaukee Bucks, who Miami has few counters for if they win Friday.

This Just In: An APB has been issued to locate Adebayo’s heart. A search party is also being assembled to find Max Strus’ jump shot after shock therapy was opposed.

 

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Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Udonis Haslem, the Pillar of the Culture

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In the Heat’s regular-season finale and official christening of the Kaseya Center, all I hoped for at this point, aside from a throwback night from Udonis Haslem, was one more “clutch game.” This outing didn’t end in a five-point difference, but luckily for everyone watching, the best of the lost season came in game 82.

Haslem, team captain, and 20-year veteran, checked in a few minutes into the first quarter. Instantly, it felt like 2009, watching #40 roll to the cup, hit post jumpers, and even splash three trays in his last 24 minutes of regular season ball ever.

It didn’t matter that it was only his seventh game of the season, and his first action since Miami’s loss on Feb. 2 to the Knicks. Haslem wouldn’t leave the only outfit and fanbase he’s known without a suitable bon voyage.

He logged 13 points in 12 first-half minutes. Somewhere in Brazil, international basketball folk hero Oscar Schmidt must have smirked and bowed his head in approval. Haslem scored more than Mão Santa’s mythical point-a-minute pace, leading the way for the Heatles at the half by two.

On a steal by Caleb Martin that sparked a fastbreak, UD ran a two-on-one with Duncan Robinson against Chuma Okeke. A give-and-return between the streaking Heatles resulted in Haslem finishing a two-handed lob. It was his first alley-oop since late 2014.

As Haslem was interviewed on the court by Bally Sports’ Will Manso, he said, “It’s a little personal. I get a lot of flak for not playing and sitting on the bench, so I think a lot of people just think I drink coffee around here…This was for them. This is their day as much as it is mine. This love affair I’ve had with this organization and city for 20 years is going to continue to grow and continue to grow. I’m looking forward to the next evolution.”

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were some of UD’s former pals in attendance. I’m disappointed to learn from my spiders there weren’t more. Alonzo Mourning sitting knee-to-knee with Pat Riley doesn’t count; he works as the vice president of player programs.

It leaves a sour taste in my mouth that others couldn’t sacrifice their time after all UD did in return as a teammate. If anyone ever needed protection, mentorship, or a shoulder to lean on in his 20 years of service, they got it.

It would have been splendid to see Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, Shaquille O’Neal, or just more sometime teammates, but that’s asking too much.

Haslem went undrafted in 2002 following four years of college hoops at the University of Florida. He spent one year in France playing for Élan Chalon and then arrived in Miami as a rookie alongside Wade for the 2004 season. Haslem and Marquis Daniels were the only undrafted players that year on the All-Rookie team.

In the summer before 2004/2005, the Heat traded for O’Neal, rapidly turning into a contender. In that campaign, Miami would challenge the Detroit Pistons to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals but wouldn’t defeat the Dallas Mavericks for the title until June 2006. Haslem started 80 and 81 games, plus he recorded 6,359 minutes through both regular seasons and playoffs combined.

By 2010, Haslem’s role had shifted to a reserve as the Heat’s development of Michael Beasley continued.

Losing a starting spot and nearly seven minutes a game can be difficult for many guys in the league; the ones that separate themselves are the dudes who find a way to star with an alternative duty. Haslem evolved into that player for the Heat as it geared up for the next stage of its history.

Bosh and LeBron James were the prominent figureheads brought in during the summer of 2010 to assist Wade in at least a few more tries at glory. Haslem stayed in town, and he chose the Heat over a more lucrative offer from the Mavericks. Dallas put over $10 million more on the table than Miami, but it wasn’t his style to leave just for an extra “fistful of dollars.” Additionally, Wade, James and Bosh each took less cash so UD could return.

In year two of the Heat’s big three era, Bosh went down with an abdominal strain after 15 minutes in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Semifinals. Haslem started the first and second matches of the series, but for the encounter, Spo started Shane Battier at the four from Games 3 through 6.

In this series, UD only averaged 16.9 minutes a night, but those numbers don’t accurately portray his impact. With the Heat minus an All-Star, the Pacers smelled blood and even took a 2-1 lead in Indiana. Miami tied up the series, and in Game 5, Tyler Hansbrough cracked Wade over the head on a drive to the rim.

Haslem saw the mugging up close and didn’t think much of the bullies standing on the opposite side. A couple of minutes later, in the second quarter, he reciprocated with two hands spiking Hansbrough in the face as he attempted a shot at the cup. The Heat would then go on an 86-58 run to finish the night with a dub and take the lead back to Indiana.

Getting even earned UD a suspension in Game 6, but he said he would do it again two days later at the Heat’s practice.

In those four years, #40 was a top locker room lieutenant and a fundamental cog in helping Miami win back-to-back titles.

When James departed for Cleveland, a new chapter of Heat basketball started with Wade, Bosh, and Haslem in command. By 2015/2016, UD’s role developed into mostly a mentor as the squad had two new rookies and was reloading for a shot at the Cavaliers.

Wade would then leave over a contract dispute with the front office that summer, but as the Heat were beginning a rebuild, a single player remained from the Big Three days: Haslem.

Two difficult years produced the draft picks that landed Miami Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Also in 2019, the Heat landed Butler in a four-team sign-and-trade while unloading the dispirited Hassan Whiteside and his hefty deal. Suddenly, the White and Red had a respectable squad again, with Haslem, as always, providing counsel.

In the 2020 season, after Miami’s Game 3 loss to Boston in the East Finals, the captain offered advice. Butler told me after the match, UD was telling the group to be the “nastier” team as far back as halftime. The group followed his recommendations, then defeated Boston in six and extended the series to six against Lebron’s Lakers in the Finals.

While Miami was down double-digits in the third quarter of Game 2 versus Los Angeles, Haslem delivered a raging speech as players and coaches listened around him. He called for a gut check. Not every guy who has logged 44 games in the last four seasons (at that point) could hold the attention of so many peers.

The morning of Game 7 of the East Finals of 2022, Max Strus told me that because of all UD’s experience, the Heat relied on him as its motivator. “Another guy on our team that’s been here, has done these, has been in Game 7s, has won championships…”

He may not have recorded a minute of postseason action then, or any year since 2016, but the Heat wouldn’t have made it that far without him. While he wore white hot, Miami competed in six NBA Finals, winning three.

Richie Havens, the first person to perform at Woodstock in 1969, would later sing in 2003, “can’t turn back the hands of time.”

If only I could for Haslem. I blinked, and now I can only talk about him with a minority of people who have seen him and know what he is about. Not every team is lucky enough to have a guy like Udonis, much less two decades. Aside from the lost tapes, I don’t know the Heat without him.

Miami’s Magical March

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“One Shining Moment” is ubiquitous in CBS’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament. The song plays out the tournament, recapping a month of memories, reliving the ups and downs, the humanity of sports.

For Miami’s Athletic Program, shining moments over the past 2 decades have been mere blips on the radar, drowned out by a cacophony of failures, false starts, and dejections. The 2 programs that dominated from the early 80s through the early 2000s, football and baseball, have not sniffed championships.

As March 2023 came around, those dyed in orange and green Canes fans that still stuck around did so more out of a sense of love and obligation versus an actual belief in ultimate victory.

And that sense of doom was only amplified by Norchad Omier’s injury against Duke and the Women’s team being sent to a site where they would have to beat a #1 seed on the road. There was very little indication that both the Men’s and Women’s teams would go on a 3-week journey that would reinvigorate the entire community.

Beautiful Symmetry 

For some reason, I felt the Men’s team was special this year. They have been high seeds before, made Sweet 16s, but this felt more substantive. It’s abnormal for me to just follow the team around, but I made the decision to do just that several months ago. At the time I didn’t know it was going to take me to Albany to Kansas City to Houston. I just knew that I was going where the team went.

The Women’s team was a bit of a different prospect. For those that know me, you’ll know my affinity for that program and Coach Katie Meier. I briefly thought that about the logistics of bouncing back-and-forth between Albany and Bloomington before realizing it wasn’t really feasible.

And I considered going to Bloomington again late in the 2nd half when the Men looked like they were going to lose to Drake. And was happy I didn’t when the Women trailed by 17 to Oklahoma State.

But that is what made this run for both programs so fascinating. There was a symmetry to their paths.

-Men down 8 late in the 2nd half in their first game. Women down 17 at the half. Both won.

-Both then upset Indiana.

-Both then win a Sweet 16 game as the lower seed when no one really gave them a chance.

Miami, of all programs, was the last one with both the Men’s and Women’s team in the Elite Eight.

There were so many moments that will be indelibly etched on the minds of Canes’ fans, perhaps none more so than both teams traveling to the Sweet 16, leaving the Watsco Center, headed to different parts of the country, to carry The U forward.

The Finality of It All

One of the undervalued aspects of a deep tournament run is just how quickly the games run into each other. On any weekend, you have a day between games. No time to bask in victory, on to the next one. There is a constant state of peril. Whatever good you’ve done to get this far is erased when the next game starts.

And also that everyone that makes the NCAA Tournament, with the exception of 1 team, loses their last game. There is no happy ending. The taste of defeat will linger.

That’s how we were treated to the duality of emotions as the Men’s team clinched their first Final Four appearance with the Women’s team being eliminated at the Elite Eight, bloodied and battered, a few hours later.

That is sports, the extreme highs, and the extreme lows. It comes with the irrationality of sports viewing in general. To care so much about something that in the grand scheme of things should be irrelevant but in reality dictates a lot of the human emotional spirit.

It’s why several weeks of joy must necessarily end with Destiny Harden and Jordan Miller embracing their respective coaches, tears in their eyes, having left their schools and their programs in a much better place than they found them.

We watched the Canes collectively go 7-2 over a 3-week period, but the 2 came last, the 2 are remembered. The “what ifs” come into play.

Time Heals All Wounds

The symmetry for the Canes’ teams continued all the way through how they were eliminated, losing to the eventual champions while just not being able to score. Shots that normally fell didn’t. That’s probably the thing that left the most sour taste in the mouth of Canes Family, that they went out not playing their best games.

But as distance grows between the present and those losses, it’s easier to reflect on the journey, on the enormity of the accomplishment.

Miami, at its core, is a city of dreamers. We are enchanted with the what could be, with the conceptual, often at the expense of the reality.

It’s that audacity that has allowed a small, private school in Coral Gables to repeatedly achieve athletic excellence. We’re constantly told we can’t achieve, we don’t belong…and we don’t care.

The problem is that over the last decades, the doubters have been proven right. There is very little to show for the frustrated efforts at ascension to the top of college athletics. Miami has struggled to reclaim past glories.

And that is what the basketball programs collectively have restored. Our sense of pride in being Miami.

We can believe again. Believe in the dream of Miami. It’s no longer a pipe dream, a fanciful tale we tell ourselves to avoid the reality.

The reality is worth embracing.

I remember walking up to the stadium in Houston with a feeling I hadn’t felt in 20 years. Miami was playing in game with National Championship-level stakes.

Miami is back as an entity, as a dream, as a reality.

And we can thank the men and women of Canes basketball for the resurrection.

Vishnu Parasuraman is a journalist for @FiveReasonsSports. He covers the Miami Hurricanes for Sixth Ring Canes and Formula 1 for Hitting the Apex. You can follow him on twitter @vrp2003

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: One of Jimmy Butler’s Best Seasons

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The Heat held off the Mavericks Saturday in Miami, earning the 41st dub of the season with four games left.

In the first half, the Heatles climbed to an 18-point lead, but the Mavs slowly chopped away at it in the last 24 minutes, cutting it to six in the third quarter. Luka Dončić played the second half uninterrupted and scored 19 points on seven out of 11 shots.

Jimmy Butler had 16 points in the first quarter, tied for the sixth most in his career. He followed up after intermission with 13 points, five dimes, two boards and a steal. On one play, he dusted Dončić while maneuvering around the baseline. This forced Dwight Powell, the low man, to help and leave Cody Zeller under the rim. As soon as the double came, Butler bounced-passed to the “Big Handsome” for a jam.

Zeller received two more of JB’s assists in the second half, both coming from Dallas sending two at the ball handler on pick and roll. At the postgame presser, Jimmy said his duo with Cody was like “Black Man and Robin.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra praised Kevin Love for balling off the bench, plus Zeller as well for consistently getting open while filling in for Bam Adebayo.

“Cody and Kevin gave us an incredible boost,” Spo said. “Both of them in opposite ways. Cody was getting behind the defense, finding all those gaps for those finishes around the rim… And then Kevin. I just can’t say enough about his professionalism. With [Adebayo] out, this team is super small with a lot of different shooting. We went with a different starting lineup.”

Minus Miami’s starting center, the group gave up 54 interior points out of 122. Typically for the season, the Heat allows opponents just 46.1 points in the paint, good enough for second in the league in the stat behind the New York Knicks.

The Heat has struggled to contain the point of attack, and Saturday was no different against two of the NBA’s premier guards. Dončić and Kyrie Irving shed the outside protection and got into the lane for a combined 26 of Dallas’ 30 paint points in the first half.

Fortunately for Miami, its offense showed up, but it was only the 18th time this season it has logged at least 50% of its field goal attempts. The team’s record in those games is 14-4.

The Heat got to the line and converted 26 out of 29 free throws. The hosts were able to cut the clock and give its defense a breather before going back to a half-court game.

The win brought Miami back to within a match-and-a-half behind the sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets, but with fewer than a handful of nights left, it will assuredly enter the Play-In Tournament. Unless it wins out the rest of the calendar and gets lucky with a few Nets losses. As the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang pointed out, groups that come out of the play-in meet the end in round one.

Short history and the eye test indicate the Heat’s fate will likely be that. Through a wide lens, it would mean a lost season in year 35 for the organization. The toughest pill to swallow is that it happened in arguably Butler’s finest season as a pro.

At 33, he can get to the charity line as easily as ever. On Jan. 10, the Oklahoma City Thunder came into Miami and couldn’t defend him without illegal contact. He made all 23 attempts, tying Dwyane Wade’s team record of most made freebies set on Feb.1, 2007, against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Butler’s production that night also propelled the Heat to break the threshold for an NBA record. Miami made 40 free throws without a miss. The record stood at 39 since 1982, logged by the Utah Jazz.

Pat Riley has nearly served three decades as patrón (28). In that span that has delivered three championships in six tries, there’s been two 60-win seasons, 12 with the equivalent of at least 50, nine within 40-49 wins, three ending in the 30-39 win range, and one with 25 dubs and 15 for the worst year under the Godfather’s rule.

This season has been one of the most frustrating for observers, but these things happen, even to the top outfits. No one can stay on top for long.

Internal growth from Adebayo and Tyler Herro hasn’t sufficed in covering the holes. It’s not their fault, either. The team is not very talented from top to bottom. A reasonable person wouldn’t debate Adebayo, Butler and Herro as top three for the unit, but think of the next three and ask yourself: Is it enough to win a round?

This highlights how special of a season the last one was. That team went to Game 7 of the conference finals. The most significant change, aside from roles, injuries and Kyle Lowry’s decline at a 60-degree angle, was losing PJ Tucker to Philadelphia.

In the NBA, what was accomplished in past years doesn’t count for anything when trying to hold off elimination. The best thing about what’s dead and buried are the memories left behind.

The 2022/2023 campaign is the singular year Butler has logged at least 50% of his field goals (53.4%), and it’s had his second-highest scoring average, too (22.8). This will be the ninth season he finishes with more steals than personal fouls. With four games left, he has 34 more takeaways than penalties.

With league awards coming up, it would be a colossal oversight if Butler wasn’t named to an All-NBA team. Only two forwards have recorded more free throws: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum.

This year, 27 All-Stars were named to the antiquated exhibition, and Butler wasn’t one of them. He’s played in more games than 13 of the ones chosen. The last time he was picked for Third-Team was in 2020/2021 when he played in 70.8% of the games. If he sits the rest of the way, he will have performed in three-quarters of the schedule.

A win against a below. 500 team with the Playoffs looming is not enough to convince me the year hasn’t gone up in flames. If it’s remembered for anything, it should be for Butler’s mastery.

Waiting to see if he gets shafted by the voters, the Draft, and Dwyane Wade’s Hall of Fame ceremony on Aug. 12 is all supporters have to look forward to in the near future.

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat Crushed in the Fourth Quarter by Knicks

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The Heat rolled into Madison Square Garden on a two-game losing streak to face a rival it barely beat on March 22 in Miami. The latest encounter featured 24 lead changes and 14 ties before the New York faithful gave its group a standing ovation.

Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday’s loss in Toronto with neck soreness, but Kyle Lowry was absent.

Through the opening period, the Heat logged 36% of its field goal attempts while holding the hosts to eight out of 22 baskets. New York’s quick closeouts in man-to-man coverage to the 3-point line were on time and disruptive, only allowing the visitors three clean looks from deep. Miami’s active hands forced seven turnovers, three being steals in the halfcourt and transition.

In the first frame for the Heat, Gabe Vincent was the lone player to make multiple (3) baskets. First, he nailed a catch-and-shoot triple in the right corner, assisted by the pass and Jimmy Butler’s pindown on Quentin Grimes to prevent the contest. Next, he dropped a fadeaway jumper on the baseline over Jalen Brunson and then a running layup against the seven-foot Mitchell Robinson.

Three early fouls picked up by Max Strus forced coach Erik Spoelstra to shelve him and insert Duncan Robinson. In the first half, Miami’s forgotten specialist logged nearly 15 minutes and canned his three trifectas. Regardless of Vincent and Robinson on target, the rest of the group was inconsistent from the field through 24 minutes.

Before the intermission, the Heatles logged just 14 points in the interior. The Knicks’ length influenced its guests to attack primarily from the outside.

Defensively the Heat was sharp, too, before halftime, but its growing issue was containing Immanuel Quickley. New York’s backup point guard filleted Miami with his speed off the dribble to get to the lane in the halfcourt and transition. Quickley was also active off-ball, relocating when handlers pierced the paint to capitalize on the overhelp. He walked into the locker room at halftime with 14 points on five of eight shots.

Heading into the third quarter, New York held a 48-46 advantage on the scorecard, but where it led decisively was on the glass, beating Miami by eight boards, resulting in 10 second-chance points.

The backline of protection restrained the Knicks from abusing the paint, but the defense up top was disemboweled. The hosts destroyed the 2-3 zone and the weak man-to-man coverage by swinging the ball on the perimeter. New York made six out of 12 triples in the last two quarters.

In the second half, the Heat’s best players didn’t take over when the game was in reach. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler combined in this period to take nine attempts and log a sparse eight points. Vincent contributed 10 additional points, Tyler Herro logged seven and Victor Oladipo nine, but it wasn’t enough. For the 13th time this season, the Heat failed to break 100 points, scoring 92.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Miami’s offense fell apart as New York went on a thundering 8-0 run. The Heat never recovered from that body blow and yielded.

Worse yet for the squad, the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Houston Rockets on the same night, increasing the separation between sixth and seventh place in the East to a game and a half.

All season, the Heat have shown observers who they are- a team that instantly takes a few steps backward after making progress. It’s reminiscent of a college slacker, studying sporadically throughout a semester, or an elected official who only wants to deliver on their promises in an election year.

What this core has accomplished in the past three campaigns means nothing for the last five games on the schedule. As recently as last week, I heard the Cavaliers broadcast say don’t count out Miami. I was perplexed. I can’t imagine anyone who covers the Heat thinking this way because there aren’t any buttons left to smash.

The Heat is an outfit determined to do things the hard way. On March 29, Spo said the Play-In Tournament was “One of the best things that’s ever happened to this league in the last decade…”

He cited throwing a curveball to the middle-of-the-pack teams mimicking the comfort level of the top groups as a reason he favors the play-in. But it seems he’ll deal with it firsthand soon. The Heat’s apathy this late in the season has it destined to be a participant.

On Tuesday, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang pointed out that with the current format of the Play-In Tournament, teams that have passed through it are 0-8 in the first round. The end of the season is near.

Following the fourth-quarter collapse in New York, at the postgame presser, Spo said, “This is where we are. You are what your record is…”

Spo has to see it too.

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat Offense Scorches in Win Over Knicks

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Sixteen days after the New York Knickerbocker’s snatched victory from the fangs of defeat in Miami, the Heat avenged its backhanded loss with a dub.

But first, the Heat honored the life and memory of the great Willis Reed, who died Tuesday at 80.

The hosts splashed four triples in the first five minutes, astonishing supporters and my fellow scribes on press row. Jimmy Butler had nine points in his 12 first-quarter minutes, coming from a trifecta in the corner, a fastbreak score and a reverse layup on the baseline.

Gabe Vincent matched Butler’s nine in the first quarter, converting three out of four 3-pointers. He was the recipient of the Knicks over-helping on Butler twice by collapsing in the paint on a baseline drive and after setting a ghost screen. In between those makes, #2 also hit a fastbreak bomb on the left wing.

In man-to-man coverage early, Butler stuck to Jalen Brunson, and Vincent guarded RJ Barrett. When Miami blitzed New York’s pick and roll up top, the visitors swung the ball to the weak side corner or any other break in the armor.

Through 12 minutes, one of the Heat’s biggest concerns was securing defensive rebounds and allowing five second-chance points. For the following three quarters, the Knicks recovered four more attacking boards and five points on second tries.

On locking up the glass, Butler told me after the game, “It’s a will to want to do it. Boxing out, hitting somebody first, and then going to get the ball with two hands. That’s the most important thing… I think once we realized that, settled down, put our hands on the ball, kick it ahead and [got] into the open floor, it was alright.”

The Heat were still beat in the rebounding battle 29-42, but the home team’s superb efficiency through four periods nullified the three more attempts the Knicks took from the field. Miami had five players score at least double figures, dropping at least 50% of goal ventures, and the team finished with six fewer turnovers.

Brunson lit up the Heat in the first half for 14 points on five out of seven shots. He nimbly got Vincent on the side of his hip and posted him up in the low post for a turnaround jumper, plus the foul. Brunson also got into the lane past Caleb Martin and Butler without a screen and swished a well-contested right-wing triple.

At halftime, the Heat held a 64-61 lead while its deep efficiency remained at 52.9%. Butler and Vincent combined for 31 points on 11 of 17 attempts.

In the second half, Miami was sharper offensively, despite New York getting it together themselves. The Knicks briefly claimed an advantage in the fourth quarter, but in the last seven minutes, the Heatles never gave it back, regardless of the visitors making 70.6% of attempts in the frame.

Butler mercilessly belittled the Knicks. While at the free throw line for his fifth and sixth shots, JB taunted Julius Randle in front of referee Brian Forte. It could have been good old-fashioned gamesmanship or the result of the officials letting the match get out of hand because calls were missed on both teams.

In the final stretch, Tyler Herro was the difference maker. #14 scored 14 points off catch-and-shoot trays and attacked Mitchell Robinson in drop coverage. With under three minutes left, Herro isolated Randle at the key after a pick and hit a 3-pointer in his eye to give Miami a double-digit lead.

As the game concluded, coach Erik Spoelstra walked over to Dwyane Wade standing courtside and hugged him from behind.

At the postgame presser, Bam Adebayo stressed the importance of every game. He said, “At this point, the situation we’re in and how we’re trying to keep building and get higher in the standings, every game feels like a playoff game.”

The Heat sits at .01 percentage points behind the Brooklyn Nets for sixth place in the East with eight matches left.