Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Rockets

The Miami Heat’s starting five were a familiar bunch, but after that, it was a little tougher to remember other than Mario Chalmers.

Even with that, Jimmy Butler led the way in this one as Miami glided by the Houston Rockets, but he wasn’t alone.

So, here are some takeaways from this interesting game…

#1: Who is this Guy?

With 10-day contracts flying in left and right, something I pointed out before this game was that at least one would stick. And well, there was surely one “Guy” that jumped off the screen. Kyle Guy has had an interesting start to his NBA career, which eventually led him to the G-League, but he looked like a pretty clear NBA level player in this game tonight. Not just due to his hot outside shooting and comfort on the ball in the pick and roll, but through his immediate confidence. That matters. Flashy pass after flashy pass pretty much set the stage on who this guy was, but as I said, making Tyler Herro-like difficult shots just put the cherry on top. He filled up the stat sheet in every possible category, and it just seems like this always happens with this Heat team. This is where they initially pop.

#2: Jimmy Butler doing Jimmy Butler things.

Jimmy Butler doesn’t feel like a necessary talking point on a night where it’s all about 10 day contracts and unexpected play-styles, but he continues to shine no matter what. For one, 19 points at the half while going 6 of 10 from the field just shows his mindset in this one. He had a three to begin the half then one to finish it at the buzzer, but other than that, it was complete inside play and free throw line antics. The other aspect of this is just his control on the game no matter who is on the floor. This wasn’t like last game where he had a career high 15 assists either. He actually had 0 at the half, but still his ability to draw 2 and create opportunities for others is a true gift and asset in the game of basketball. But yet again, it’s just Butler doing Butler things.

#3: The underrated aspect of Caleb Martin.

Looking at the halftime stat sheet where Miami had 74 points scored, Caleb Martin probably isn’t even top 5 in players that would jump off that piece of paper. And that’s why I bring up the point underrated. We know what Martin is at this stage, and he’s widely appreciated, but passing right over the fact that his solidity is expected is just unfair. He’s polished up his three-ball, he provides a splash of rim pressure that wasn’t originally expected when the signing was made, and his defensive positioning stands out more than anything. It’s one thing to be very good and talented at pressuring from baseline to baseline, but it’s another thing to just always be in the right spot. Caleb Martin is both of those. Yes, he’s gone from two-way to unlimited regular season games available, but maybe that next step will need to be taken pretty soon.

#4: Some minor player evaluations from this one.

In a game like this, it’s important to pack up the youthful evaluations into one section. The main one that we already know about is Omer Yurtseven, but he deserves some love too. The fact that he went from a Summer League product to a back-end roster guy to one of the primary guys available is just wild. And another double-double added to the catalog just shows his potential. But to discuss some more of the 10 days, looking back at my recent piece, Haywood Highsmith was the guy I was highest on. He’s a Heat guy: plays bigger than he is, plays defense, and provides enough offensive spacing with his corner jumper. And well, he showcased all three of those things in his minutes. Obviously it’s hard to lock up a spot at this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they come back to him at some point in the future.

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#5: The difference between Tyler Herro this year and last year.

Tyler Herro didn’t have a great game tonight with his inefficient shooting. I’ve seen him navigate almost every coverage this league has thrown at him, but the one thing that has proved to bother him more than anything is length. He saw a bit of it early when they would switch Christian Wood onto him, and it led to him having to slow things down and make the right decision. But the difference with a down game from Herro now compared to before is he can still impact winning without being that total scorer. Tonight, his passing shined again just like it has much of this season, but that keeps him above water. Being able to have the ball in his hands a ton, still collapsing the defense, and making the correct reads with drop-offs or skip passes is major for his development. Of course late-game scoring is still needed from him in games like this, but him surviving matters big time in the big picture.

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