The playoffs are supposed to start in April, but the New York Knicks and Miami Heat didn’t get the message. In the season’s first encounter, both squads, only two games apart in the standings before the match, broke the other’s schemes.

The Knicks went to man-to-man coverage and switched defenders against screens initially. Facing pick and roll, Knicks center Jericho Sims dropped, allowing Bam Adebayo breathing room at the nail after the dive. But the hosts’ active hands and doubling Jimmy Butler after the catch in the lane forced five turnovers too.

New York ran its pick-and-pop action with RJ Barrett and Julius Randle. The Knicks’ big man swished two jumpers from the corners and splashed one more catch-and-release shot from the left wing. Randle was also mismatch-hunting and commanding the extra help of another defender when Kyle Lowry or Tyler Herro switched on him. This breakdown allowed him to hit Quentin Grimes, the open man in the right corner, for a triple.

New York started by making its first six out of eight shots. Barrett attacked Herro off the dribble every chance he could, converting seven out of nine baskets defended by #14 through four quarters. Additionally, he made a wide-open bucket in the lane after Randle was doubled in the post, plus blowing by Caleb Martin and Lowry for three field goals.

Midway through the first quarter, New York got on a three-on-two fastbreak. It looked like an easy basket as Herro and Martin swarmed in on Barrett, and he dished it to Randle, who had no one in front of him at the cup. But Martin hit an extra gear and came away with a rejection from the blindside of the left-handed Randle. Butler also had two takeaways, and Gabe Vincent had one in the first half.

On the other side, Adebayo showed why he was recognized as a second-time All-Star, awarded minutes before the game. On the baseline, #13 faced up Isaiah Hartenstein, maneuvered into the paint, hesitated, then canned a well-contested fade away. Next, he faked a handoff to Herro at the top of the key and zoomed by Hartenstein for a destructive slam over Evan Fournier. For his penultimate field goal of the period, the Knicks (somehow) lost sight of him in transition as the rock pinballed back from the wing to Adebayo, running his lane for an unbothered jam.

The closing of the first half was a disaster for the visitors. Miami suffered a seven-point gashing in the last minute, only countering with an Adebayo midrange pullup over Sims.

In the third quarter, Miami lived up to its name, raining fire from deep. Herro hit a catch-and-shoot triple and two more, assisted by Adebayo’s screens versus the on-ball defender, while seeing Sims in drop coverage at the top. Lowry, Strus and Martin each hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter, raising Miami’s output in that department to six out of 12.

But Miami’s defense wasn’t as sharp in the second half as it had been through most of the first, and they rarely got to the line. In the last 24 minutes, Grimes and Barrett combined for 12 out of 16 field goals. Since the Heat couldn’t stop the ball handlers at the perimeter, the 2-3 zone was ineffective, and the interior was exposed and clobbered for 56 points.

With over seven minutes left, Miami was down 11 points but managed to cut the deficit to two in crunch time on an Adebayo baseline jump shot over Hartenstein. As the clock ticked down, the Heat over-helped on Barrett’s drive, leaving Grimes open in the corner for a 3-pointer. Herro and Barrett then proceeded to trade baskets. Subsequently, Adebayo intercepted a sideline inbound and was fouled hard on the break by Randle. At the charity stripe, he buried both. Miami was down a point.

When Herro and Butler blitzed Barrett on the left wing, he passed the rock to Grimes, cutting down the middle. It’s a pity the refs didn’t see him travel after the catch, but Grimes then dished to Hartenstein cutting on the baseline as Strus, the low man, came forward to contest.

With a chance to tie, Herro missed from the right wing. The Heat stole New York’s recovery but lost it right back off a bad pass by Strus. Hartenstein started the break, ending with a Randle dunk to take a five-point lead.

Strus made up for his error by splashing a SLOB triple up top. Afterward, New York turned it over on the inbound because Randle slipped, and Miami got the ball. At first, it was called a foul on Adebayo, but coach Erik Spoelstra challenged the call, getting it overturned.

The Heat had 2.1 seconds left for a shot. The Knicks defended well, denying an open pass to everyone but Herro, who curled to the left corner. He took an off-balance jumper over Randle and Barrett. He missed.

At the postgame presser, Spo said his team’s fight to get back into the match was part of its DNA as they’ve been in the most close games of 30 teams. “There were some key swing moments, particularly in the beginning of the fourth quarter where they were able to take control a little bit and get it to almost 10 points. We had to dig our way back…”

Every time I open up my Twitter app it’s filled with casuals comparing him to whoever scored more points than him that night.

I’ve had enough.

As if that’s not aggravating enough, it appears that ‘points per game’ Twitter is a microcosm of how (too) many NBA fans actually think. It’s the sole reason why Adebayo can’t be seen inside the top 10 for frontcourt All-Star votes. Kyle (Pink Sweater) Kuzma and Paolo (18-29) Banchero have more votes than him for crying out loud.

This sickness doesn’t stop with points either. The same argument can be applied to any other stat.

Take the Defensive Player of the Year race for example. Bam is the anchor for a top 5 defense and is the most versatile defender in the league. He makes guarding 1-5 look effortless at times.

Apparently, that doesn’t matter. Outside of Heat fans and media, you won’t hear anyone make the case for Bam. Those finalists are awarded to the players who average the most blocks per game.

(While we’re on the topic: ‘Points per game’ Twitter or “*insert stat* per game’ Twitter is reserved for only the most casual of casual NBA fans. It is the holy grail of casual. If you ever want to tell someone you don’t watch NBA games without telling them, just start your argument with per-game averages.)

End of rant.

Whichever way you slice it, Bam is often overlooked. And as frustrating as it is, it’s exactly what the Miami Heat need.

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely want Bam to be celebrated for his elite on-court play. As a matter of fact, his lack of recognition and accolades is the inspiration behind this piece.

But among all of the disrespect, a new Bam is unlocked. It’s a Bam with a chip on his shoulder. And it’s dangerous for the rest of the league. The disrespect fuels him. It ignites a fire on the court that can’t be contained.

That’s exactly what happened in Tuesday’s win over the Celtics. With Miami’s offense continuing to struggle from three (and every spot on the court for that matter), Bam took things into his own hands.

He dropped 30 points and 14 rebounds on 12-22 shooting (21 points and 12 rebounds in the second half) and willed Miami to a win without Jimmy Butler.

Possession after possession, he carried Miami’s offense while anchoring their defense. Elite.

In his post-game press conference, he was asked if making an All-Star statement on national television was on his mind: “No, not really. It was the rivalry. They booted us from the Eastern Conference Finals last year”, Adebayo said.

While some of that may be true, I’m not buying it as the sole reason for his aggressiveness.

To get a real glimpse of Bam’s mentality on Tuesday, we need to shift our focus to seconds after the final buzzer sounded. With sweat dripping off his face, TNT’s Jared Greenberg closed the post-game interview by saying “hopefully we’ll see you in Salt Lake in just about a month.”

Bam responded by saying, “I should be in Salt Lake”. A direct contrast to his mentality and comments when asked by the media.

He wasn’t done.

Shortly after, he spoke to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Bam didn’t hold back:

“There are guys that shouldn’t even be on that list”, he stated.

“But it’s fan voting. That’s what it is and you got to live with that. I mean, right now I’m in a position where it’s based off the coaches in the East. Now that, I’m going to be [upset] about if they tell me somebody else has played better than me this year considering I’m leading the NBA in paint points and I’m one of the reasons why we’re winning. So for me, it’s just that fan voting is fan voting. I’ll let that be. But when it comes to coaches voting, that’s when I feel like I deserve to be in it.”

Go off, Bam! Call them out. This isn’t passive. This is cut-throat talk from a max player.

Regardless of how many times he plays it cool, Adebayo cares. He feels the disrespect. And when he feels disrespected, you get Tuesday night’s stat line.

That’s exactly what this team needs; an aggressive Bam.

Miami is 20-10 in games where he shoots at least 15 shots.

To all the casual fans, coaches, and players – continue to fade Bam all you want. It only makes the Miami Heat dangerously potent.

******

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For the first 21 minutes of Sunday’s competitive affair at Miami-Dade Arena, the Heat’s vain play from Friday night continued. As halftime approached, supporters grew anxious as NOLA’s lead ballooned to 16 points.  Then, Miami flipped like a light switch and found a pulse on offense.

In the first quarter, the Pelicans were ravaging the paint, converting easily without all five Heatles getting back on multiple possession changes, and beating the hosts in the half-court.  Jonas Valanciunas overpowered Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler in the post, then hit an elbow jumper when #13 sagged off him.

In transition, CJ McCollum used a pick on the left wing to slither to the nail for a jumper in front of Adebayo in drop coverage.  On a broken play with eight seconds left on the shot clock, CJ reset at the top of the key and blew by Victor Oladipo for an unchallenged make at the rim.  Orlando Robinson was the Heat’s closest big man, but he was jammed by Larry Nance Jr’s back screen.  

All three of Trey Murphy III’s first-half baskets came on fastbreaks.  As the Heat jogged back, he sprinted hard, running the right and left lanes.  

NOLA routinely doubled Butler in the mid-post, a strategy used successfully by the Mavericks on Friday.  Through 24 minutes, Butler had five points, none coming in the half-court.  Ball movement was not up to standards for the sixth straight quarter. And Miami’s marksmen, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, shot four blanks for the period.  

In the last few minutes of the half, Miami scratched its way back with a 10-0 run. Defensively, they strangled NOLA at the point of attack by intercepting a couple of passes, creating its fastbreak chances.  It all started with the charge Lowry drew on Nance in transition.  

Herro nailed a triple on the left wing on account of Robinson picking up #14’s first miss from the same spot.  Next, Lowry snatched Herb Jones’ errant pass from the right wing to the other for a break that finished with a soft Oladipo layin.  

Dribbling back into Miami territory, McCollum forced a switch against Herro, but Oladipo doubled.  Trying to pass out of the blitz to Jones, Butler deflected the rock, Oladipo recovered it and gave it right back to JB for the layup plus a free throw.

On the next play, Adebayo and Oladipo blitzed McCollum again on the wing.  Both defenders overwhelmed him, and #4 pulled the ball out of his grasp, then hit Herro with a hit-ahead pass he scored on. 

In the last 24 minutes, Miami secured the perimeter.  New Orleans converted four out of 16 attempts and committed 12 of its 24 turnovers.  The Heat also found a way to get to the line for 18 of its 27 tries, finishing the night with 22 made freebies.  

With three minutes left, the Pelicans were down two points.  Through nine minutes of the fourth quarter, the rivals were shooting 50% from the floor.  Subsequently, Lowry scored the following nine points for the Heat.  

The first bucket was a step-back triple on the right wing against Nance in drop coverage.  On the succeeding offensive possession, Jaxson Hayes bit on a fake at the post.  Lowry maneuvered around him for a banker off the glass.  For the third bucket, he took rookie Dyson Daniels off the dribble at the key for a two-foot shot.  His last basket was a pull-up jumper in front of Nance at the elbow.  

In a game that both squads combined for 45 turnovers, six Heatles recorded a steal, and they won the points off turnovers battle 15-10.  It’s incomparable to how Dallas smoked them in the same stat, 31-10.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra was humorful about the team’s 21st game decided by five points or fewer.  “Every night.  This is must-see, must-be TV and action live.”

On the topic of vintage Lowry looking for his spots, he praised his QB.  “That last three minutes, he read that intuitively.  Anytime we were trying to make a pass, they were making a deflection or a steal.  It was more get to an action and get a shot on goal.  He’ll felt that.  He understood that…”

It’s a shame no one asked him why Lowry hasn’t recognized those situations for most of the season. 

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For the second time in a week, the Miami Heat came up winless on primetime TV. First in Atlanta on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then on Friday, in Dallas for a second-half buzzsaw as brutal as JFK’s ride through the city. The team’s tape review will assuredly be as horrifying as the Zapruder Film.

Miami only logged three assists and six field goals in the first quarter. The Mavs’ length in man-to-man coverage, plus double-teaming Jimmy Butler in the half-court, froze the Heat’s offense. Bam Adebayo, uncharacteristically, laid five close-range duds in the period and didn’t record his first basket until a minute into the second quarter, his sixth attempt. The two positive team signs that followed were that Miami found chances at the line and Victor Oladipo never went cold.

The Heatles managed to slow the game down with its 27 charity stripe shots, but that didn’t stop the wild horses. When Miami deployed drop coverage against Luka Dončić in pick and roll, Adebayo was the low man unable to contain his drive to the cup. Again in PNR, this time against Caleb Martin playing tight, Dončić dribbled left towards the wing, stepped back and canned a triple.

The end of the first quarter was an omen. With three seconds left, Luka caught the ball at midcourt off a sideline inbound, assisted by Dwight Powell’s screen on Adebayo. Martin reached and missed on the steal, leaving Dončić dribbling towards the right wing. From 37 feet away, he splashed over Max Strus’ late contest.

Through 12 minutes, Miami was down by 14 points. They managed to cut the deficit to nine at the intermission, led by Oladipo’s four out of four made shots and Adebayo and Tyler Herro remembering how to score.

Vic isolated Powell for a running hook with no help, blew by Reggie Bullock for a layup, hit two shots after curling into the lane aided by a screen and buried a transition triple. Bam hit a couple of layups in transition with one tap-in off Herro’s miss from the left wing. Like an elite offensive lineman, #13 provided the openings for his man, Herro, to creep into the paint on two of his baskets. Tyler’s other two field goals came zipping past Tim Hardaway Jr. for a pull-up and a turnaround hook in the low post.

Of course, what followed was the turd quarter. This festering issue came back like the unwelcome yearly tax bill. In this frame, the Heatles were beat on the glass by six and misfired on 13 out of 19 shots and three of its six free throws.

Kyle Lowry’s first-quarter spark didn’t have an encore. He recorded a couple of transition baskets and then made one free throw through 12 minutes in quarters two and three. He didn’t take a shot in his eight minutes of second-half action.

Errors were also made on the other side. Even on a SLOB pass, a late switch on Dončić, the inbounder, left Spencer Dinwiddie open on the right wing for a triple. Defending PNR, Miami blitzed Luka with Oladipo and Martin up top on the right. It was no thang. Dončić passed over both of them, finding the roll man, Powell, in the middle for a bank shot.

Unfortunately for the visitors, there was no mercy rule after 36 minutes. Courtesy of the Mavericks’ 25-point lead, Butler and Lowry rested during the final period. The most alarming stat of the evening was Miami was wiped out in points off turnovers, 31-10, in favor of Dallas.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said postgame the night was wasted. “We were never able to have that competitive disposition that we’ve had virtually all season long…”

Politely, Spo told everyone his team gave up.

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The Heatles went 2-0 in the miniseries against the Fawns between Thursday and Saturday in Miami. Giannis Antetokounmpo sat because of knee soreness, a gift for the hosts that assisted in padding its league record. Now, for the first time this season, the Heat are four games above .500.

Miami’s 2-3 zone followed up its masterful work securing the interior and influencing the Bucks to almost exclusively play from the outside. Over both games, Milwaukee logged a meager 44 points in the paint. Yet, on Saturday, the Bucks got five more attempts in the square (25) than it had previously. Although, Miami held them to 24.4 percentage points below the league average in the restricted area (40%).

More evidence that the zone neutered the Bucks: Bobby Portis, who converts 69% of tries at the rim and half from 3-10 feet, for the season, missed two in the restricted area and shot 33% in the rest of the lane, plus Brook Lopez attempted just one shot in the box.Typically, half of Lopez’s looks come from the paint.

Miami started the first half sizzling from deep, primarily behind the marksmanship of Kyle Lowry’s understudy, Gabe Vincent, who made five out of seven 3-pointers for the period. While he took spot-up shots and splashed trays off the dribble, he was as radiant as the Wolf-Rayet star.

Vincent’s first two-pointer didn’t come until early in the second quarter. A failed pick by Orlando Robinson minimally freed Gabe from AJ Green in the right corner. Green went over the screen, taking away the driving lane, but Vincent pulled up for a long contested two that swished.

Next, as #2 dribbled in transition, Bam Adebayo screened Grayson Allen at the top of the key. Vincent used the opening to get to the nail for his second jumper, unbothered.

For his third midrange shot of the half, Adebayo, again, shielded his defender in the halfcourt at the top. Vincent stepped into the lane, attacked Portis in drop coverage, and hit a floater covered by the low man and his initial matchup, Allen.

At the intermission, Vincent had 21 points. His efficiency from the field continued in the last 24 minutes but on a smaller volume of three out of four made buckets with an assist, a rebound and a pair of steals. He finished the game with 27 points, two shy of the career high he set on Thursday.

At the postgame press conference, Vincent said, “I think I was just in a rhythm, and my guys did a really good job of getting me open time and time again. Whether that’s shutting the screen or cutting, or finding me when I’m open in the corner… They did a good job of that, and I made some shots. That always helps.”

These back-to-back games for Vincent scoring at least 20 points have only happened four times in his career. The first time was in 2021, between Jan. 12-14. The second was later that year, from Dec. 15-17. The third was in 2022, on Feb. 28 and March 2. His latest was Thursday and Saturday. For whatever it’s worth, the starting point guard for this team, Lowry, has only done that three times in a Heat uniform through one and a half seasons.

The production at the one spot has been so unreliable this year for the Heatles that Vincent’s last week of play should instantly spark a controversy over who gets the shine and who becomes the squire. This is not an overreaction to facing a two-time MVP-less squad. The last time Lowry recorded at least 20 points in a game was on Dec. 23, and he’s done it in six of his 36 nights of action. Keep in mind there are currently 42 players qualifying for league leaders who are averaging at least 20 a night.

For the record, holding that average for a starting point guard is unnecessary. But shooting above 40% for the season is. This puts Miami in an awkward spot because both Lowry and Vincent are below that.

Age has diminished Lowry’s ability. If Vincent doesn’t take his spot he should eat a large chunk of the veteran’s minutes.