5 Takeaways from Heat’s Second Scrimmage Game

The Miami Heat had an evening scrimmage game on Saturday, and they fell short, 101-99. The Heat were without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in this game, which was due to rest in preparation for the counting regular season games. Well, here’s what was seen in this game…

#1: Kelly Olynyk solidifying big minutes off the bench.

Kelly Olynyk’s spot in the rotation has been in question due to the Heat’s major depth. Well, Kelly proved he can definitely be utilized after he put up 27 points in today’s scrimmage. This was one of the major factors that the Heat were in this game, since the Heat’s starters struggled early. Kelly was a threat at all three levels on the offensive side of the ball, which then opened up the floor for guys like Jae Crowder. We know Kelly is capable of doing this on offense, but the question is consistency. If he can do this on a regular basis, he will be a major part of this Heat rotation.

#2: Tyler Herro bounces back after tough shooting game.

Tyler Herro was coming off of a game that struggled from beyond the arc. His shooting seemed to be back to mid-season form, but that’s not what stood out. What stood out was his play-making improvements. He seems to be getting much more comfortable with running the point, which is a role the Heat would love him to play. This has especially been the case at ends of games, when Tyler runs the offense and is the go to scorer. This is just a glimpse of what we can expect from Tyler in the next three years, where he may be the primary play-maker on the roster.

#3: Heat’s offense is choppy without Jimmy Butler.

Jimmy Butler took the day off on Saturday, after a hard practice the night prior. Something I mentioned after the first scrimmage game was how much more fluid the offense was when Jimmy was on the floor. This seemed pretty evident in this game since the offense was very choppy throughout, especially with the first unit. Though Tyler and Iguodala did a good job running the offense today, it just isn’t the same without Butler on the floor. Guys like Duncan Robinson and Meyers Leonard benefit when Jimmy is playing, since he constantly draws people in, which forces wide open threes. Don’t be alarmed by the tough scoring night by Miami, since this will be fixed quickly upon both Jimmy and Bam’s return.

#4: Turnovers become problematic for Heat rhythm.

The Heat seemed to make some mistakes throughout this game on both sides of the ball, but turnovers seemed to be a big one. We know the defensive mistakes that were made due to the lack of a defensively strong back-court. But, the offense will need to clean themselves up, especially in games that are tight down the stretch. This may be something else that falls under the Jimmy category without him running the offense, but there will be times without him on the floor, and they need to be trusted. This also may be due to the fact that most of the guys are trying to get back to their pre-hiatus form, but hopefully this won’t carry over into the regular season games.

#5: Heat’s bench unit seems to be Miami’s biggest advantage.

To end on a positive note, Miami’s bench unit seems to grow stronger and stronger every time they play. Between the Kelly Olynyk display, Jae Crowder shooting, and Tyler Herro play-making, it seems as if this will be the biggest match-up for other teams. At times it feels like the team is getting better once the bench enters, which is not the case for many other teams. Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala are two other names off the bench that will impact this team, especially when the playoffs get going. Even Soloman Hill had good stretches throughout the game with his perimeter defense. As repeated over and over about this team, their depth is going to be a huge problem for opposing teams.