Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Utah

The Miami Heat took down the previously 7-1 Utah Jazz on Saturday night, following up an ugly loss to Boston. This wasn’t just one guy. Miami’s “big four” all contributed greatly on the offensive end, and they slipped away with a win after a wild ending.

So, here are five takeaways…

#1: Kyle Lowry setting the pace early…through scoring. 

The scoring at the half for Miami was pretty well spread out- Lowry: 12, Butler:10, Herro: 10, Adebayo: 10. But there’s no doubt that Lowry was the one to start Miami off. The three-ball was falling both off the dribble and off the catch, which is not something we saw early in the season. And in many ways, while the offense continues to trend in an upward spiral with post-ups and isolations, it’ll be needed for Lowry to mediate with the spot-up three. Another big offensive moment for him was waving off his teammates for a clear-out on the perimeter with Rudy Gobert switched onto him, and took him to school with an eventual mid-range following a smooth pull-back. If he can score to get Miami out of holes this season, it changes things, and I’m not just talking about transition pace.

#2: Yeah, in terms of foul calls, Jimmy Butler doesn’t ever need to play the flopping game.

I’m not bringing this point up because Jimmy Butler exploded at the free throw line, which he didn’t, but instead the ways he draws contact. That body contact initiation isn’t just because of shooting a couple from the charity stripe, but due to the fact it gets him into full shooting rhythm. There aren’t many players better at using the shoulder in the progress of his two steps to the basket, before pulling back for the mid-range. And well, it’s even better when they’re falling. It felt like that was the case for all 4 of Butler’s first half field goals. As Spoelstra said, it’s nothing to worry about because he isn’t a “flopper.” He’s just physical.

#3: This Heat team looks much more comfortable against drop.

I know this is a lot of offensive centric talk for two teams that are in the top 3 of defensive rating, but this jumped out. Tyler Herro is well known for his navigation against drop, and even more-so now that he’s added more to his bag in the mid-range. But in terms of middie navigation against drop, we know that already. But it doesn’t end there. Bam Adebayo had some miscues early upon where to go with the ball, but his best moments came as a roller. Slotting right in the correct spots for easy opportunities, leading to a confused Hassan Whiteside after a slam and timeout. To these points, it was a lot more inside basketball early on, as Utah doubled Miami’s first half three point attempts.

#4: A second half defensive adjustment from Miami.

This wasn’t really the defensive game that we expected from both teams, but there were interesting adjustments from both sides throughout. The main one was that Miami was switching a ton to start this game, leading to perfect perimeter ball movement from Utah before feeding it to the inside with a guard on a bigs’ back. Plus, I should mention, every one of those switches were coming from 1-5 pick and rolls. So, the adjustment from Miami’s side to start the second half was giving PJ Tucker the Mike Conley assignment, meaning the incoming switch would leave Bam Adebayo on Conley and Tucker on Gobert. Simply, no mismatch territory.

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#5: Tyler Herro’s mid-range specialty step aside. The three has arrived.

Tyler Herro’s scoring inside the arc has been the highlight of his year so far. Carving out the middle of the floor against drop, utilizing more than just his rookie year snake dribble. But tonight wasn’t just Herro letting the defense dictate the shots he would take. It was Herro dictating how to defend him late. Plenty of possessions the defender would go under the screen and Herro would make him pay. Catch and shoot threes aren’t going to be his role much more going forward. It’s the step-in pull after the defense picks their poison, and he took advantage of that tonight.

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