The Miami Heat’s season comes to a close…

Takeaways from this game 5…

#1: Bam Adebayo in takeover mode early on…

As the Heat opened up this game, things looked bleak. They missed 11 shots in a row in the first quarter, yet followed it right up by making 7 in a row. A lot of that: Bam Adebayo. Finding slots above the rim as a roller, the short jumper was dropping, and simply he was playing with more will than anybody on that floor. And well, sometimes just playing hard gets you places. Along with that, Miami held the Nuggets to 44 points in the first half, and that’s a Bam Adebayo compliment as well. Putting up an efficient 18 points in the first half while holding down the defense on the other, it’s a tough job to say the least. But seeing the foot speed and urgency from Adebayo in that first half was big time. It went from Denver running them out to a sustainable lead for Miami pretty quickly.

#2: The bench group providing the spark…

Along those same lines about that turnaround, it came around the time that Miami switched up the early lineup. Kyle Lowry in for Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin in for Kevin Love. And man did the speed of the game immediately shift. Lowry grabs the board and immediately looks up to push. In a game where nothing was pleasant in the half-court to start, he took it upon himself to create some new looks for his group. Martin’s movement, back-door cuts, and on-ball drives was needed as well in his stint. I’m going to get to him next, but Butler’s lack of rim pressure was imitated in a way by Martin. Duncan Robinson did his thing off some hand-offs to get things flowing, and we actually got some Haywood Highsmith minutes. Partly was due to Martin foul trouble, but either way, it was an immediate impact. Some starters like Vincent, Love, and even Butler weren’t as comfortable, which made the bench group impact louder.

#3: Still on Jimmy Butler watch…

To continue on that Jimmy Butler topic, I think there’s been a general shift away from this expectation that he’s going to enter that Superman mode. With the way he’s been looking and moving as of late, it has felt like we’re past that point. Yet when you watched him to start this game, he wasn’t pushing, not much offensive urgency, and still played into Denver’s coverages. The Nuggets switched things up to stay home on shooters and let Butler do all of his operation 1-on-1 downhill. That turned into a whole lot of jump passes that were unnecessary in that opening 24 minutes, since open spot-ups weren’t generated due to them staying home. He was getting two feet in the paint, but he lacked comfort once he got there. The efficiency just hasn’t been there for many reasons.

#4: The third quarter punches…

As the Heat walk into the third quarter with a 7 point lead, all eyes were on how they started. That’s usually how teams can rally back in once the rhythm settles, and we saw Denver claw their way back into things. This time, all behind Nikola Jokic as the creator and scorer. He was taking advantage in the low post and getting his flip shots to go, as Miami was scrambling to find some offensive option to consistently go to. Three point shooting definitely not the thing to rely on, Jimmy Butler no flow, which took us right back to Bam Adebayo. He had some great looks in the paint that rimmed out, but also got a short roll jumper to fall as a great response to a Nuggets run. Late in the quarter, Lowry looks at the clock in a potential 2 for 1 situation, and shoots up a deep 3 that drops. Heat up 1 into the fourth. Punches were thrown, and Miami crawled their way into the final 12.

#5: The fourth quarter…

Onto the fourth quarter with a 1 point lead…oh wait, is that Cody Zeller? A random Zeller minute gets thrown into mix and now the Heat trail by 4 with 11 minutes to go. If you came here thinking I’d provide an answer for that, you thought wrong. Now the Heat have to find a way to dig themselves out of a hole in that building. Tempo picks up, energy kicks in, yet shots did not follow suit. With under 7 minutes to go, the Heat trail by 5 after more Butler trotting around with an inability to convert, as the offense was non-existent. What eventually got things flowing around the 4 minute mark? Butler finally deciding that he can actually get off the ground on his jumpers. Corner spot up, wing pull-up. He was getting so far off the ground with incredible lift. Where has that been? He ends up getting fouled on a 3, follows that up with a turnaround jumper, and gets back to the line again under 2 minutes to go. 13 straight points. Bruce Brown responds with a tip-in, Heat down 1, Butler a chance to take the lead with 30 seconds left and he turned it over. 2 free throws from Denver later, Heat down 3 with 24 seconds left. And Butler misses the right wing triple.

The Miami Heat go down 2-1 against the Denver Nuggets after a disappointing game 3.

Brutal shooting, lack of energy due to that inefficiency, and well, it all blended into the defense of allowing Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray do their thing at a high level.

So, some takeaways….

#1: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo aggression definitely not the early problem.

The offense for the Heat in that first half wasn’t pretty. Not because the Denver defense was flattening them out time and time again, but instead due to the missed bunnies in the lane that could’ve swung stretch of the first 24 minutes. When it comes to the aggression topic that we often have, that was not an issue tonight. Butler got up 16 shots in that first half, yet only made 6 of them. He felt most comfortable when he got the right switches, since Jamal Murray or Christian Braun meant an immediate mid-post possession with his back to the basket. The floaters against drop was where the efficiency issues were. As for Bam Adebayo, he was extremely active yet again to begin this game. Jumpers, face-ups, and a ton of activity on the boards. Once again, they were aggressive.

#2: Round 3 of dealing with Jamal Murray-Nikola Jokic actions.

There’s been a lot of talk about defensive formula after game 2, due to the trend that Nikola Jokic as the scorer never really seems to be a bad thing. If you can limit both Jamal Murray and Jokic’s passing, it shrinks things for them. Yet it was pretty much the exact opposite in this game 3. Murray was finding all the right slots out of their usual two-man action, and the Heat couldn’t make him uncomfortable. They had to stay mostly in drop to contain things, but mixed in the occasional switch or blitz as well. The issue was that he reacted really well to all of that on his way to 20 first half points on 8 of 13 shooting. The only thing that forced any avenue of discomfort was the 2-2-1 press, since it essentially cuts their clock in half. As for the half-court stuff, it was clear the Heat needed to find answers at half.

#3: Caleb Martin finding his moments again.

As I mentioned the Heat’s top guys efficiency not meeting their aggression early in this game, they needed a role player breakthrough. Seeing Caleb Martin look healthy again following his sickness was a good sight, and man was he rolling in that second quarter. Let me start by saying they are defending him much differently than they started with in game 1. He wasn’t being helped off at that point, and saw a good amount of doubles on his rim attempts. Tonight, it was back to the defense reacting to Butler heavily and Martin feeding off. He had a pair of threes in a row due to exactly that, capping the run off with a transition run-out for 8 straight points. A bit later, Butler receives in the mid-post and the entire Nuggets defense shifts over. Martin one pass away finally gets it, sends a shot fake, and swings to the wide open Max Strus for three. Yeah, that’s what they need from Martin right now.

#4: Third quarter question marks…

As the Heat walk into the third quarter down 5, it felt like the needed an energy pick-up. But they also needed a shot making pick-up following that first half display. And well, things went from missing easy bunnies to losing sight of the offensive picture. As the Nuggets expanded their lead to 19 at one point, I still was leaning most of my focus on the Heat’s offense. Why? Well it’s been pretty clear that they should have solid openings in this defense to attack, which they found in Denver, yet it was thrown completely out the window for 12 minutes of play. Now that puts an immense amount of pressure on the defense to do the heavy lifting, which is a tough spot to be in against this offense. At this point in the year, you can’t have those lapses.

#5: Is it time for a rotation shift? Or is it time for a pattern shift?

As the Heat look for answers at this point following an ugly game 3, we could point to some things rotationally. No this doesn’t exactly fix the offensive issues I discussed previously, but a Haywood Highsmith insertion would feel useful at this point. Let him bother Jamal Murray for an extended stretch, and possibly ending the Cody Zeller minutes? That’s the main element that many have been waiting for, but how can Spo do it exactly? Well, that’s where the pattern shift comes into play. The Heat can get away with Highsmith at the five lineups due to Denver’s smaller front-line off the bench, but the issue is that Adebayo’s early exit in the substitution pattern throws things off. Now it may be time to just mirror Bam Adebayo with Nikola Jokic. The Heat like to be the ones to dictate, but now I believe it’s time to react. Let’s see if a change-up ends up coming…

To kick off game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Heat were just a step behind.

Struggled shooting, trouble stopping Denver’s different offensive weapons, and led by the offensive attack of Bam Adebayo and…oh Haywood Highsmith.

Some takeaways from this initial loss…

#1: Dealing with the Nuggets’ offense…yes, a problem.

The big question to start this game was how Miami would schematically deal with this high powered Denver offense. Attention at Jokic? Murray? Well, Aaron Gordon was the early issue, as he attacked Miami’s lack of size in that matchup in the post. He was in double figures immediately. Nikola Jokic just sat at that elbow in full play-making mode, carving things up per usual. Jamal Murray was also 8 of 12 from the field with 18 points in the first half, which is another clear issue. You have to pick your poison with this Nuggets squad, but it felt like they were getting it all in that first half of game 1. As I always say, game 1 sets the table and the following games are coaching adjustments, but man will those shifting pieces be needed against this team.

#2: Bam Adebayo looking comfortable.

One thing about the Miami Heat’s offense in that first half was they were getting great looks for their standards, yet they just could not capitalize for extended pockets of that initial 24 minute stretch. The one guy consistently capitalizing ended up being Bam Adebayo. As I said before the series, much of the offense will be on the shoulders of Bam for a few reasons. He can attack 4-on-3’s on the roll if they send 2 on the ball, plus Jokic will force Bam into open mid range jumpers. But Adebayo had a great mix in his shot profile to start, as he got the dotted line jumpers to go, found some comfort in the paint on his turnaround hooks against different matchups, and the drives to the rim are much cleaner than that Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. So if there was a good sign as they trailed by 17 at half, it was that the formula is there for him to be a major factor in this series on the offensive side of the ball.

#3: From a role player show to a role player need.

In the recency bias of this Heat team, it’s been a lot of the Heat’s role guys stepping up big time as the top dogs, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, struggled to score consistently. Yet as game 1 of the Finals opened up, it felt like those two things can just never align. As mentioned before, Adebayo had it going, and while Butler could’ve been more aggressive, he was getting great looks. As for the other guys, man we’re they struggling to convert. Max Strus was 0 for 7 at halftime with a ton of wide open threes, while Caleb Martin’s recent run landed him at 0 for 5 shooting. As a team they were shooting 24% from three, and well, it’s hard to keep up with an elite offense like Denver when those numbers look like that. The reason I bring this up is because it’s important to monitor throughout this series, but to be completely honest, the offense doesn’t worry me. The defense deserves all of the focus.

#4: So what does Miami cook up next for the Murray-Jokic PnR?

As I noted, the defense for Miami is the main substance here for this series. To dive a little deeper, the Jamal Murray-Nikola Jokic two man game, as we all know, is the beginning to all of their problems on that end. Yes, Jokic playmaking at the elbow can hurt, or normal post-ups, or even Murray isolation work. But Miami can live with portions of that. As for that pick and roll combo, we saw a few different things. Adebayo stayed mostly in drop with Caleb Martin chasing over the screen: 2-on-1 with Bam containing and the pull-up available. When they shifted Butler to Murray, Miami was able to switch some of those actions, yet is that always the right answer? Now Jokic can back down Butler, the help shades down, and there’s another skip pass to the corner. They key to the Heat’s defense is usually helping off a number of guys who aren’t consistent three point threats. But there just aren’t many of those on the floor right now at this stage of the playoffs. The one shift that we need to see: more of Haywood Highsmith on Jamal Murray. That was their best look.

#5: High PnR actions effective for Heat, and a certain Heat player’s return is looming.

As the Heat’s deficit started to grow early in the fourth quarter, Kyle Lowry found some sweet spots. High pick and roll, pull-up at the three point line above the break, repeat. Gabe Vincent saw similar looks that dropped, while the set-shooters Max Strus and Duncan Robinson didn’t have it going for it to be effective. Either way, those shots are sitting there. It’s even more of a weapon on night’s like this when Bam Adebayo is highly effective as a rolling scorer. Yet with the recent reports of Tyler Herro’s return looming around game 3, or even possibly game 2, you can’t help but think that his looks would be as clean as he would wish. The issue is that they would be perfect for a healthy Herro, since we just have no clue how he will look following surgery on his shooting hand. There won’t be reliance on him, but possibly a decent spark. No matter what we see, high PnR sets will be made a priority.

Back to Miami we go.

An embarrassing performance in game 5 by the Heat puts some pressure on them in game 6 at the Kaseya Center.

But first, we need to address tonight:

Some takeaways….

#1: Butler, Bam, Lowry: let’s talk…

Jimmy Butler: 2 for 7 from the field. Bam Adebayo: 3 for 9 from the field with 4 turnovers. Kyle Lowry: 3 turnovers. Those were some of the key first half numbers in a pivotal game 5 in TD Garden. Their best players were not their best players, and it’s really that simple. Butler has been a tone setter for a while for this team, and he completely looked out of it and disjointed. Plus he’s what makes this entire Heat offense run at the moment, so if he doesn’t have it, they won’t have it. Bam Adebayo was just as careless with the basketball as humanly possible, continually bringing the ball down to the floor for easy strips. He just was totally out of sorts and matchups were stumping him. And lastly, in a game without any ball-handler, they needed a big one from Kyle Lowry. Those 3 turnovers didn’t even tell the story, since his lack of aggression on pull-ups was major. A tough first half but harder to look past these 3 over the first 24 minutes.

#2: Turnovers and offensive rebounds…

To continue on that first half, the efficiency was surprisingly not the problem for the Heat’s offense, as it settled in around 50% for a majority of that time-frame. Instead, it was the turnover problem behind Adebayo and Lowry. They couldn’t seem to gain control to get into their usual actions, and that quickly bled into the defense much like in game 4. Bad shots equal an inability to settle into half-court defense. That is how the Celtics made their initial three point punch to start the game, as they played at a much faster pace. Now down to the defensive end, the offensive boards kept getting the Celtics extra and better looks from deep. When a team has that many extra opportunities, especially at home when playing into the crowd, it just hurts. Those two elements tied in very closely.

#3: Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson trying to hold it together.

To get away from what went wrong for a second, let’s talk about the guys who kept them in the mix for large stretches. Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin had close to half of Miami’s first half points, which says a lot. Martin continues to be the stable piece of this team, as he just keeps reacting to his individual defender. Taking triples, manipulating close-outs into attacks, and playing as strong on-ball as he possibly could. Duncan Robinson also found a rhythm inside in a certain lineup around 4 defenders, Butler-Martin-Highsmith-Bam, since the back-cut seemed to still be alive. Robinson was going to be crucial for this offense without the abundance of guards, since his action with Bam is a walking, living hub in the half-court. They played their role to perfection, yet still trailed by 17 heading into the third quarter.

#4: Two primary adjustments on the Celtics side.

So, as I sit here talking about the players for Miami not playing at the level that you would hope, the next question we should pose is ‘why is it happening?’ And well, I have some thoughts. Two main adjustments have been made by Boston, and the first one pertains to Jimmy Butler. It’s nothing matchup wise since he’s still getting the same switches, but instead the ways they’re reacting to him on-ball. They are not biting on pump fakes at all from him. He relies on positional shots after getting to his spots, and he usually manipulates his defender in the mid-range by getting them out of position. Tonight, they weren’t budging. Staying down on shot fakes was a clear focus. Now the second adjustment was even clearer, and it surrounded Bam Adebayo. Something they’ve done going back to last year is give up “mismatches” for him down low, due to the fact they want him to post-up. They feel that doesn’t equal good offense for Miami, and they’re probably right with his discomfort with his back to the basket. They’ll just send some help, knowing he will probably bring the ball low as I mentioned at the top of this piece. They would swipe and bother him, leading to all the turnovers. Boston adjusted and got to Miami. Now Spo and company needs to throw a haymaker back.

#5: So, what’s next?

All eyes on Saturday night. From up 3-0 to up 3-2, feels like a major chunk of this season comes down to taking care of business in their home building in game 6. The Heat desperately need to re-group after what we saw in game 5, which was a team with no identity and zero control or comfort on either end. They looked lost, and that needs to change. Playing into the momentum of a home crowd could help that, but they simply need their best guys to be just that. Not just Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but Erik Spoelstra as well. If the Heat want to win, it’s probably going to need to be an Erik Spoelstra masterclass. Adjustments will need to be flying, and that started tonight by playing Haywood Highsmith. Yet offensively, they need a new wrinkle in the half-court, and Spoelstra has continually showed in the past he holds something back. We will see what that is, but those three headlining pieces are going to need to mutually come to play in 48 hours.