Tag Archive for: Bam Adebayo

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Spurs

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The Miami Heat faced the San Antonio Spurs, and man did it fade far away from expectations.

A close game was not expected whatsoever, but some big performances came out of it as Miami closed it out late.

Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro were big, but Bam Adebayo was the storyline as he completely took over this game on both ends.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Rough beginnings for starting group yet again.

There’s been a trend at the start of games recently for this Heat team, and it’s something to keep track of. A 10-0 start for the Knicks occurred on Friday night, and a 10-2 run for the Spurs on Saturday night followed that right up. Except this time around, the opposing team just kept piling it on, putting Miami in an awkward position. They were switching absolutely everything on and off the ball, which led to plenty of miscues for a copy and pasted free lane for San Antonio’s offense. Now, looking forward, it definitely is something to take note of. It almost feels like they’re looking around for that Tyler Herro spark to save them, which he kind of did again in this one as soon as he entered. They may have put up 40 in the first, but the starting group’s defense isn’t the worry. Instead, it’s the stagnant and lost looking offense that appears way too often than it should.

#2: Jimmy Butler’s first half offensive takeover.

There were some ugly things offensively for Miami early on, as I mentioned, but Jimmy Butler mitigated pretty much all of it. For starters, he kicked off his scoring display with quite the route on the low block. And it wasn’t like he was getting a smaller match-up so he went to it, because that really wasn’t the case. He brought a plethora of moves down there, and had some great touch around the rim whenever he got the chance. Secondly, it was another display of clock work in terms of getting to the free throw line. Strong attacks one-on-one, side pick and rolls to perfection, etc. He simply took-over on that end for Miami to race their way back in it, and that quickly leads into other things. After that hot start, we see them go into a Duncan Robinson back screen for Butler, as Duncan raises up for a potential DHO with Bam Adebayo. The thing is that wasn’t the first option. The only reason Robinson got that three off was the entire Spurs defense collapsed at the thought of a wide open Butler cut. We often discuss Robinson’s gravity, but Butler’s gravity is right there with him in an opposite fashion.

#3: Another Bam Adebayo DPOY case?

Watching Bam Adebayo in that second quarter specifically, some takeaways were clear. For one, the things Adebayo was doing to finish off that second quarter not only spearheaded Miami’s first half come-back, but a portrayed the pure dominance he can provide on that end. We saw the individual stuff at times, but nothing stands out to me more than when Adebayo is lined up on that weak-side dunker spot, as the ball-handler simultaneously comes steamrolling down the lane on the attack. For about three possessions in a row, it either ended in a Bam block, or him just mucking things up enough to lead to an awful shot attempt. As much as I discuss Butler’s ability to take over offensively, it’s equally impressive to see what Bam did on the defensive end. While it must be stated, his offensive turnaround after the rough start was crucial in the Heat’s comeback, as we saw him continuing to both attack and run the floor with great pace.

#4: One minor evaluation: Tyler Herro disguising his floater/lob pass.

In many of my post-game takeaway pieces, I like to take one section to highlight a minor piece of the game that may hold high importance moving forward. And well, that one tonight involves a very active Tyler Herro inside the lane. Something he has gotten to a ton over the last two nights is his floater out of the normal pick and roll, but there’s an interesting twist to that. One of the major elements to a player’s floater game is how similar it may look to a lob pass when your big is running right alongside you on a 2-on-1. With that said, Herro seems to have really improved recently in that category. And for a player who goes to it as frequently as him, that is quite the addition moving forward if he can master it even further. His lob passes have been a focus in general to clean up a bit, and that definitely will do the job.

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#5: Bam Adebayo again? Yes, Bam Adebayo again.

I felt it was necessary to devote an entire section to the greatness of Bam Adebayo defensively, and more specifically the impact he had in that second quarter, but I need to address some more, because this wasn’t a one-sided affair. Actually, it was quite the opposite. To think that he started this game out a bit non-aggressive and inefficient is just wild. He started taking that face-up on the Spurs rotating bigs time and time again, realizing they couldn’t stay in front of him. That spiraled into an increase in pace, which led to easy basket after easy basket with about 19 seconds left on that shot clock. And of course, he still dominated as a roller. Kyle Lowry’s double digit assists deserve major credit, but he was getting the ball in the gaps and just going. When he’s attacking the rim like that and making defenders pay for that deep drop with big time slams, it’s something to discuss. Bam Adebayo was absolutely elite in this one.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Knicks

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The Miami Heat faced off against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Friday night, and fought through some adversity to exit with the win.

Tyler Herro offensive domination, Bam Adebayo defensive control, and trying to balance the RJ Barrett showcase.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Tyler Herro is back? Oh yeah, Tyler Herro is definitely back.

It feels like we haven’t seen Tyler Herro play in quite some time as he was healing from that knee bruise before the All Star Break. But he returned tonight, and man did he provide something offensively as he entered early into Miami’s awful offensive start. I’m going to talk about the team’s pick and roll attack in a second, but Herro was making plays in the lane in a way that was needed majorly. High pick and roll, pauses as he awaits his screened defender to recover, and loops in front of him to hold him off. He then bursts forward into his floater with absolutely no-one in sight to contest. That summed up his hot start early with 15 first half points, but he was also 3 of 4 from deep, taking advantage of what came his way off the catch, while mixing in his pull-up comfort zone against drop coverage.

#2: The need for the screen, and the PnR effective spam from Miami.

Speaking of Herro’s control inside the lane, that was the Heat’s game-plan early as nothing was being generated from the deep mid-range or three-point line. The Knicks did a good job of blocking off the paint, as the Heat continued to plummet inside into contact, while consequently not receiving a friendly whistle. But one change in the set shifts the entire outcome: the need for the screen. Eliminating that initial defender and running 2-on-1’s against drop bigs is always the outlet that should be looked at first. Kyle Lowry began to get to it, which led to Bam Adebayo and Omer Yurtseven finding themselves on the positive end as rollers. We’ve seen nights where three-point shooting keeps them in a game, but pure pick and roll spam is what got them back into this one in that first half.

#3: Miami’s view of their defensive structure tonight.

When reflecting at halftime about Miami’s defensive game-plan, it was slightly different from what we’re used to against this team. For one, it should be said that this Knicks offense falls right into the Heat’s biggest defensive strengths. Swarming guys like Julius Randle in that high post is what they basically live for, leaving him with a 1 for 9 first half. But the issue was that in the meantime, RJ Barrett was gliding into a 30 point half himself. And well, it almost felt like Miami was okay with that. Essentially the opposite of their game-plan against Dallas. My issue with them on that end tonight wasn’t the way they were defending Barrett, but the reason he got hot. Poor transition defense kept feeding New York good looks on the break on kick-outs, sparking that run. That’ll need to be cleaned up.

#4: Jimmy Butler’s inside play the third quarter go-to as Barrett and the Knicks chip away.

It was an up and down matter for Jimmy Butler’s scoring throughout this one, and the reason I say that is he was a bit inefficient to start. But once the third quarter arrived and Miami’s starting group still wasn’t generating enough offense, Butler began to turn it up. It felt like the isolation possessions were seen a little too frequently, but they began finding outlets to free him up, and attack certain match-ups right back. One major element that was found was using Butler as the product of screening back-door, as guys like Adebayo scan from the top of the offense. Then he continued taking it into the body of the scorching Barrett, getting him his fourth foul late in the third quarter. Butler ended up scoring 8 straight for Miami in that span, just through his physical attack, which once again aligns with their offensive game-plan I discussed prior.

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#5: Pure Bam Adebayo dominance on the defensive end.

Julius Randle gets into the deep mid-range late in the shot clock mid-way through the second quarter. Only Bam Adebayo stands in his way, as he throws him up a pump-fake to get him up in the air. The issue: once you picked up your dribble with Adebayo defending, it doesn’t matter what comes next. Bam lands, turns, and still finds a way to absolutely blanket the Randle shot attempt. That’s why he’s the best defender in this league. While some may question his urge to create shots for himself in those one, it was pure defensive dominance all the way through. Aside from the one-on-one match-up with Randle, he was everywhere in the passing lanes, recovered on pick and rolls at such a high level for big time blocks, and most importantly, shined as the weak-side threat all night to both deter and send shots back. Offense is obviously the primary side of the ball in this sport for most, but man will you value the defensive end much more when watching these masterclasses.

 

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Film Dive into the Heat Finding a Way Against Charlotte

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I took a dive into the film of the Miami Heat’s win over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night, mainly focusing on the 4th quarter, overtime, and double overtime.

Between a Duncan Robinson boost, Kyle Lowry takeover mode, suffocating Heat defense, and unique play designing from Erik Spoelstra, it’s clear this was a pretty interesting one.

So, let’s take a look…

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Hornets

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The Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets tonight.

Yeah, didn’t think I’d be saying that.

Before I discuss the Heat’s poor, poor offensive night, the craziness must be mentioned first.

Kyle Lowry comes up big late in the game, but Erik Spoelstra closes it out with his infamous inbound play to seal it.

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Miami’s immediate stagnant offensive switch in second quarter.

The Heat came out firing early on offensively, leading to a 37 point first quarter. But they decided to follow that up with a 10 point second quarter, in which I walked away questioning how they even reached 10. The reasoning: their offensive disposition just went right out the window, as they weren’t able to trigger any of their base actions smoothly. Part of this can be attributed to the fact they’re staggering bench lineups that are missing 3 of their primary bench pieces, with one of them being Tyler Herro’s scoring punch, but falling off a cliff to this degree for an extended amount of time just can’t happen. Jimmy Butler definitely wasn’t too engaged in that stretch to will them out of it, as his passiveness stuck out, which quickly blends into forced shots with the supporting cast.

#2: A Gabe Vincent-Omer Yurtseven combo?

I’d just like to take a second to dip out of game evaluations, and dive into player evaluations. I’ve discussed many different two-man combos that work effortlessly, such as Butler-Lowry inverted PnR’s or Robinson-Adebayo DHO and slip, but another one has jumped off the screen: Gabe Vincent and Omer Yurtseven. As Miami struggled against Dallas on Tuesday night, their only positive offensive stretches came from Vincent-Yurt pick and rolls with plenty of lob passes that followed. But there’s other reasons this works that I may not have enough time to fully address. Vincent has a skill to retract big defenders out of the play then create space, which falls into Yurtseven’s wheelhouse. Easy post hooks can come out of it with no help, which is why this goes further than just a pick and roll. It may be minor, but it’s an interesting thing to keep track of.

#3: Will 3 point shooting return after the break?

If you’re watching the Heat’s broadcast, you’d often hear about sharpshooter Duncan Robinson being replaced by fellow sharpshooter Max Strus when one exits. But lately, it’s not really a barrage of outside shooting in every lineup, or any lineup at that. Once again, yes Herro takes a lot of pressure off some of that, but this goes beyond that. This is a team who’s two best players aren’t outside shooters, so that pull must be happening for them to succeed. And with the forceful purpose to pry Robinson open and Strus continuing to struggle, it just heavily ties into the stagnant offense over the last two nights. Heat shot 7% in the second half against Dallas, yet late-game offense is the focus. But if that percentage bumps up just a bit, you aren’t even in late-game offense. We focus on a lot with this team as we evaluate things with a microscope, but that one part of this team has been an obvious eye sore as of late.

#4: A tough night for Jimmy Butler.

The last few weeks have been a lot of Jimmy Butler takeaways after games in a positive fashion, but tonight was as tough as it gets for him. As I spoke about earlier with this Heat offense, things just weren’t flowing in their normal fashion. But when that usually occurs this season, Butler is their offensive outlet. He can attack mismatches, get to the line, and do his usual Butler-like things. But there were absolutely no mismatches to attack even though he tried, the whistle wasn’t as friendly as it normally can be, and that spiraled into complete nonsense to say the least. It’s one thing to miss shots if your Butler, but it’s a completely other thing to force passes and attack mismatches that aren’t really there for 3 straight quarters. Simply, Butler looked like he was already on his flight to Cleveland. But then, OT happened. Then double OT. Then Butler happened. After a historically poor shooting night, he hit two big ones late as he told the bench ‘I told you I’d make one.’

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#5: The All-Star break is here.

It’s now officially the All-Star break for the Miami Heat. Aside from anymore offensive game-plan bashing from this match-up or Kyle Lowry takeover mode late, it’s clear that the Heat need this time as much as anybody. For one, it allows their primary bench mob to get back healthy, as Caleb Martin rests that achilles, Dewayne Dedmon gets some much needed rest, and Tyler Herro gets that knee back in perfect shape. Plus, the top guys on this team deserve it as well, but nobody seems to need it more than PJ Tucker. He was their only offensive punch in this one, but other than that, he’s just been available all season long. Take the next week off, then come back with a new mindset as they enter a home heavy part of their schedule.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Mavs

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The Miami Heat fell short to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, after a good start from a handful of guys.

Jimmy Butler battled late on the offensive end, but he didn’t have that sidekick to keep up the pace alongside him. Late-game offensive issues came up again with Butler isolations, and it ended in a Mavs win.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Miami’s defensive formula against a Luka Doncic led Dallas Mavericks team.

When looking at this Dallas Mavericks team on paper, they’re offensive structure falls right into the Miami Heat’s wheelhouse in terms of ways to defend him. They’re better suited this year for team’s with one superior player who they can try and eliminate from offensive impact totally. Simply, the goal is to make the others around him beat them. And well, we found out soon that those others would end up taking advantage for Dallas in the second half. We can talk about them unsurprisingly sticking PJ Tucker on him to start, while Bam Adebayo swiftly switched onto him with every screen, but the mid-post and half-court stuff was more intriguing. When he got a singular Heat defender on his back, here’s Jimmy Butler edging all the way over for the double. Once again, that’s Butler’s home base, and one of his biggest skills on the basketball court. When he can be that free safety, this Heat defense is at their best. But as the game went on, Doncic found a rhythm. He had a big third quarter as he adjusted to what the Heat were throwing at him, and that’s when he’s scariest.

#2: Omer Yurtseven plugs in, Omer Yurtseven stepping up big early.

Dewayne Dedmon was a late scratch tonight due to back spams, and there was another guy lurking to step right up into that role: Omer Yurtseven. Like he always does, he immediately began to fill up that stat sheet, but how does he do it? For one, the phrase ball magnet goes hand in hand with Yurtseven’s play. Yes, he’s a big guy who take up space around the rim, but the ability to find it and track it down around the rim is certainly a skill. Aside from that, he was putting up some scoring numbers as well, due to relief baskets around the rim. The Mavericks were constantly so worried about the kick-out after the drive to the weak-side wing, that they would predict the weak-side perimeter rotation. That left their defense with no tagger in sight, ending with some easy looks for Yurtseven, or even single coverage for his post hook. He performs at a high level when he gets opportunities, and it’s pretty promising.

#3: Oh hey, it’s assertive Bam Adebayo again.

Bam Adebayo went on another one of those aggressive runs in the second quarter tonight, and it feels like we’re getting closer and closer to this just becoming a regular thing. He’s facing up and just going on those strong side looks, which has a lot to do with Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler running away to eliminate that safety blanket retracting pass. There was a possession late in the second quarter where Adebayo dribbled up the floor, which flowed into a Bam-Butler inverted PnR. With an empty corner on his right, he refused the screen and took a strong drive back left with only the slower Dwight Powell standing in his way. He blew by him, got to the basket with ease, and laid it in. This version of Adebayo is scary, but when they can run stuff like that consistently, it elevates even further.

#4: Haywood Highsmith is signed, and immediately in the rotation.

The Miami Heat signed Haywood Highsmith to a 10 day contract earlier today, which could be a two-way contract pretty soon, but he found himself in the rotation pretty soon. With Caleb Martin and Tyler Herro out, there really weren’t many options among the reserves against Dallas, so he got an immediate trial run. When he was initially picked up by Miami early in the season, I said he was a pure Heat guy. Can switch and provide good defensive versatility, can hit the relief corner three, and knows where to be within Miami’s base offensive sets. But when his time ran out with Miami, I mentioned that he would be back. And here he is. Why did I think that? Well, due to all of the things I just named, he fills immediate holes with his versatility to plug right into different spots. We’ve talked about PJ Tucker insurance, but maybe they just needed somebody to eat up some minutes in this fashion.

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#5: Heat’s offensive alternative getting them in trouble in second half.

The Heat were shooting 6 of 13 from downtown in the first half, then proceeded to go 1 of 12 from three over the next quarter and a half. That usually translates to how the offense is performing, but it appeared to be more than that in the second half. For one, combined with missing outside shots, they didn’t have other options at the rim as they did early on. Jimmy Butler grinded out some buckets throughout their rough third quarter stretch, just buying time for somebody to pop. That blended into the fourth, as Butler continued to get into “Butler mode,” purely taking over inside the lane to keep Miami in it. But the element that stood out was something I’ve addressed before: when Bam Adebayo goes out, don’t treat the back-up big like Bam Adebayo in times of need. Offense was stagnant, and somehow they found themselves working everything through Omer Yurtseven in the middle of the floor. He can provide a sparky punch, but the longer he’s out there, the more that can be exploited.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Pelicans

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The Miami Heat faced the New Orleans Pelicans on the night of the deadline, after a rather quiet afternoon, but still got the win.

A Kyle Lowry triple-double, Jimmy Butler dictating, and Bam Adebayo aggressiveness.

The Heat’s 3 best players were their 3 best players.

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Another high awareness offensive start from Bam Adebayo.

Bam Adebayo entered this game in New Orleans with some pretty aggressive offensive showings right behind him. He’s found ways to exploit these switchy teams, put his back to the basket when needed, and find some clear lanes to attack. But in this match-up, it was clearly a bigger body than we’ve seen recently, in Jonas Valanciunas. But right from the jump, we saw a similar mindset. It’s one thing to be aggressive, but it’s another thing to be decisive. Tonight, we saw both. Instead of taking advantage of a one-on-one match-up, he found the dead spots on the floor and rose up. That exact area was the middle of the floor inside the free throw line, where he flowed into that jumper early. He dominated around the rim yet again, even with the surrounding size, and that’s when you know we’re noticing change. He’s evolving.

#2: Jimmy Butler hunting again, as Miami tries to find a rhythm.

As we saw in a recent game against Charlotte, there’s one difference in this Heat team compared to recent ones. Even though there’s a similar focus on three-point shooting, it isn’t the only deciding factor in winning and losing a game. In past years, if they weren’t shooting well, they would keep going to it since it was their only choice. This season, that is usually a signal for Jimmy Butler time. He always finds a way to keep them afloat during that time, and that begins with mismatch hunting and camping out at the charity stripe. For one, Kyle Lowry being slotted next to him allows for much quicker insert passes, but it’s still all Butler in terms of seeking out opportunities to get to the line. And that’s how they survive.

#3: Omer Yurtseven next to Bam Adebayo again?

When looking at this Heat roster tonight, without Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin, I was intrigued with how the rotation might shake up. But it should’ve been obvious against a bigger Pelicans’ team that they would go big. We saw Dewayne Dedmon next to Bam for stretches, but Omer Yurtseven entering was the part to mention. It makes sense to go big in that manner when losing depth options, but we saw it in a positive light once again. The reasoning: it’s for short stints. Anyway, we saw the high-low actions being spammed, and man did they look good. Adebayo would get position down low on a 4, no help was in sight, and he went up in the post for a decent look. We’ve seen this as Bam as the ‘high’ one and PJ Tucker as the ‘low’ guy, but Tucker isn’t a post threat. That’s the small difference in the offensive sets, and it’s good to see that diversity depending on the personnel.

#4: Heat dodging a bullet in New Orleans, and it’s not about the game.

As the Heat play the Pelicans on the night of the trade deadline, it blends right into the conversation many have been having about this team the past 24 hours. If a move was going to be made, they needed someone at the back-up 4 to eat up some minutes for PJ Tucker. And well, that’s what the buyout market will be for. Anyway, as Tucker drives baseline for a bounce pass into Bam in the middle of the floor, the play quickly escalated to more than an offensive set. Tucker went down on the floor grabbing his knee, leaving many Heat observers in freak-out mode. (If that doesn’t showcase the importance of Tucker, I don’t know what does.) Anyway, it ended up being named a left knee contusion, and there was Tucker standing on the court as the third quarter started. I personally wouldn’t have played him after he went down, but it’s hard to hold back Tucker when in that competitive state.

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#5: The impact of Kyle Lowry.

Forget the stats tonight, which were as Kyle Lowry as Kyle Lowry stats get. (Triple-double btw.) But when watching impact, there’s no one better. For starters, it is just simply night and day in the ways the offensive sets are run with this Heat team. Their first action begins so much sooner in the shot clock due to his initial full court entry pass, but the half court stuff is much more noticeable. The main element ties back to Bam Adebayo. It isn’t a coincidence that Adebayo’s aggression and comfort aligns perfectly with the return of Lowry to the lineup. Looking at his assist numbers, he just sets Adebayo up quite perfectly, and not just out of the PnR. He finds him. He aborts the play. And forces him to go to work. The best play for Adebayo.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Wizards

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The Miami Heat took down the Washington Wizards on Monday night, and they were without Tyler Herro due to some knee soreness.

There were some up and downs early, but Jimmy Butler controlled, and the young bench group stepped up big to expand that lead.

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: The first half up and downs.

The Heat came out swinging to start this game, finding the appropriate exploitable match-ups on the floor, beginning with the coveted Duncan Robinson DHO. The reasoning was due to them facing drop coverage once again, which always leaves Robinson with a potential explosion. I’ll discuss the other offensive reasons they got out in front next, but a quick fall-out occurred in the second quarter, leaving Erik Spoelstra running on the court to call a timeout early on like he knew what was coming. The first thing was just not taking care of the ball, and bad looking turnovers had the Wizards getting easy buckets on the other end. But a very odd element was to see Miami’s defense start so strong, then go downhill. They were doubling hard and hitting passing lanes in that first quarter, but the second quarter story was major defensive miscommunications. Not talking on screens, allowing them to dictate switches, and just poor close-outs. It was just for a stretch, but those are the things that can lead to a huge run in the other direction, which happened.

#2: Big Gabe Vincent offensive punch early on.

As I said in my last post-game piece, Gabe Vincent has been outstanding at filling the role of Kyle Lowry in the starting lineup over recent weeks, but his best minutes continue to come next to Lowry instead. In this one, Vincent enters, and man was he shooting that ball. He had back to back pull-up triples in that stretch, and they were from deep, which was almost Lowry-esque just due to pulling it with confidence in transition. Big picture, discussing playoff lineups or rotations is weird due to the unknown of who will be available, but it’s clear the rotation will shrink. With that said, Vincent will be the perfect filler whenever they need a specific boost in perimeter defense, while also providing quite the offensive versatility. It’ll be interesting when that time comes, but for now, what a story Vincent has been in terms of climbing the ranks after going undrafted, then climbing those ranks even further once again.

#3: Jimmy Butler, the release valve, once again for Miami.

Who was the other person to not only get Miami in front early, but keep the steady pace as Washington edged back? Jimmy Butler. Most of it is just Butler doing Butler things in terms of bulldozing his way down the lane and scoring around the rim, but when zooming out into the actions being run, he was their release valve. We saw a bunch of inverted pick and rolls with Lowry, and that’s due to the need to draw the mismatch, then execute it in isolation. Butler began to do that, even throwing in some unique counters on Deni Avdija when in the mid-post, but it’s just so crucial to see this play out two games in a row. There will be smaller teams, or switchy teams like Charlotte, who Miami could see in the playoffs, and man will that have ‘Butler series’ written all over it. That’s when he’s at his best, but it’s also their offensive savior when things begin to get broken up in their base sets.

#4: A Bam Adebayo third quarter shift.

To continue on Miami’s plan of Butler attacking smaller guards, although that was their base, they didn’t have anything to revert to at times. Kyle Lowry still isn’t looking to score, PJ Tucker just takes what comes to him in that corner, and Duncan Robinson was a bit up and down. With that said, all eyes are on Bam Adebayo to do something as the Wizards creep back in. And he did just that. A big time third quarter was filled with some gifted dunks on the roll to start it off, but things trended back in the direction of what we saw the previous two games. One play, he got the deep seal on a smaller guy, which he then turned right into that post hook with no kick-out crossing his mind. The next play, they insert it into him for a post split, but it turns into iso mode on the clear-out, where he drives off the face-up leading to a foul. These aggressive scoring spurts are the stand-out moments of this past week for this Heat team.

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#5: A little winning streak before the trade deadline.

Tonight’s win over Washington was their third straight win, and it’s a pretty good time to start streaking. This was the final game before the trade deadline on Thursday, and well, I wouldn’t expect many things to change. The Heat could end up making some marginal upgrades to find that back-up 4 as PJ Tucker protection, but simply their rotation seems pretty set. A move that seems most likely is maybe sending a piece out to upgrade Caleb Martin’s contract from two-way to a normal roster spot. Either way, this Heat team sits atop the East with so many guys missing time, but the emergence of these young guys is just the most settling part. If guys go down, there’s protection. If they need to plug a certain skill in a series, there’s protection. They’re in a great spot, and the vets haven’t even hit their main strides.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over the Hornets

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The Miami Heat took down the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, behind aggressiveness from Bam Adebayo and a scoring takeover from Jimmy Butler.

But here are some takeaways from the match-up…

#1: Intentional Bam Adebayo transcends any potential trade deadline acquisition.

Watching Bam Adebayo to start this game, it looked like it was heading in the wrong direction. Losing the ball at the head of the offense, almost seeming like his wrapped hand is restricting his ball-handling. But that aside, we saw an intentional version of Adebayo on the offensive end, and that transcends any possible trade or any expected version of Victor Oladipo upon return. If Bam is playing like this, by attacking mismatches on smaller defenders, gaining momentum on drives, and straight up trying to score, then Miami’s ceiling is raising. But to be fair, Adebayo was shooting 3 for 13 at the half, which in my opinion should not matter. The attempts is the main element, and he was causing positive things offensively. Now, he even followed up my piece on his defensive improvements with another absolute masterpiece. This is a team that you can switch everything, and man did he switch everything. Locking up anybody they threw his way, which leads into my next point.

#2: Both Charlotte and Miami matching their first half offensive plan.

The Heat clearly struggled to shoot the ball to start, but how did they generate enough offense? Well, it was simple: attack the mismatch on the block each and every possession. Part of that was Adebayo against PJ Washington early, but it was just simply Jimmy Butler doing Jimmy Butler things. Getting position in the post, scoring around the rim, or drawing fouls consistently. But Charlotte began to blend into a similar offensive mindset. While the Heat were punishing them on the interior, the Hornets were searching for the favorable switch. And well, that was Tyler Herro most of that second quarter. Guys like Miles Bridges would get the switch, the Hornets would space out, and it led to either two things: a score inside from Bridges on the mismatch, or hitting the open spacer after Miami’s weak-side defender pulls down. Both teams navigated the offensive advantage, but funny enough, they were much more alike than you’d think.

#3: Big picture, does the winner come down to who controls the pace?

Coming into this game, my overarching take for Miami was the pace would have to lean in their favor. This is a young and athletic Hornets team who love to run, and the Heat should really slow things down and grind it out. And with the poor shooting on both sides to start, that was point Miami. Yet as things began to pick up, and Charlotte made that second quarter run, you could sense the Heat falling into that constant running trap. Now, to zoom out for a second due to the possibility of these teams seeing each other with higher stakes, that’s who will come out on top most nights. Another reason it would favor Miami in a playoff series is because the game naturally slows down anyway, but when a young quarterback like LaMelo Ball is running the show, he can dictate however he wants. It would just end up being the LaMelo Ball-Kyle Lowry show.

#4: The Jimmy Butler takeover upon us again, but frankly, this one was…odd?

As Jimmy Butler walks off the court late in the third with 27 points, it raises an eyebrow in some ways. Why is that? Well, it was one of the weirdest scoring takeovers I’ve seen from him all year. Sometimes it’s just pure free throw line antics. Other times it’s hunting mismatches to get easy looks off the drive. But tonight, that 27 kinda just…happened. All jokes aside though, the way Butler can just slowly chip away and expand a lead like he did in the third is really a skill. Like I mentioned before, he took over to start with his ability to take control of mismatches on the block, but he was a late shot clock killer as time went on. We’ve seen Miami’s role players takeover many nights, but seeing Butler and Adebayo control throughout is a great sight.

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#5: Navigating the first round match-ups.

We’ve seen Miami face many of the teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff standings, we’ve seen some trends. And no, I’m not just basing this off of one loss or one win. The Cleveland Cavaliers can clearly provide some problems for Miami offensively, just due to the length they can throw out there, and pretty much block off the entire interior whenever they choose. The Toronto Raptors are one of the most unique teams in that range, just due to their switchiness and grittiness, but that’s a series that could clearly wear Miami out before moving on. And now, the Charlotte Hornets. It’s a talented young group who have a high ceiling and low floor from night to night, due to the way they can score in a spark fashion, but Miami matches up with them decently. It’s one of the few teams they can switch everything against, and the attack is pretty much there to be taken all night. It’s Heat basketball, and it wouldn’t be the worst match-up in the world come playoff time.

 

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Bam Adebayo Taking Another Defensive Leap As We Speak

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Bam Adebayo has been climbing the ladder of labels for some time now. A good defender for his size to a great defender. A great defender to an elite versatile defender. And now, an elite versatile defender to the the most versatile defender in this league today.

Adebayo has missed a big chunk of time this season to finish off the calendar year, which blended into some of the month of January as well, so that basically hurts his case for defensive player of the year in the big scheme of things.

But putting that award aside, he’s doing things on that end that we haven’t seen from him before. It’s one thing to be so physically gifted and elite at clamping up your team’s favorite perimeter player, but it’s another thing to be taking the necessary leaps on the minor side of things, just like many talented offensive players develop.

Just as a quarterback or a point guard pick up on certain reads to make as time progresses, safeties and back-line defenders do the same. And at this moment in time, we’re seeing the reads of Bam Adebayo hitting new levels.

It’s a pretty tough task to try and dissect a pick and roll that includes both Adebayo and PJ Tucker, but Erik Spoelstra has developed a plan to make that what is seen most frequently against talented guards, while Jimmy Butler roams on the weak-side.

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In this play above, Fred VanVleet comes off the screen as Adebayo blitzes him immediately. Bam gets a decent portion of the ball to throw off the trajectory of the pass, but Scottie Barnes scoops it up anyway. As Barnes begins to make the next simple read, which is the lob inside to the big in the dunker spot since Miami’s rotations are off, Adebayo fixes that problem.

He swarms in to one-hand pick off the pass, just showcasing the amount of area he can cover in a matter of seconds.

It’s instinctive, and that is when the best quarterbacks, point guards, and safeties reach their peak in terms of reads.

Half of the matter is just pure reads, and the other half is utilizing that physical gift of his to make his presence known each and every possession. Like I said before, it’s one thing to lock up these superior guards on switches time and time again, but it’s another thing to do it once ball-handlers try to avoid you.

Since Adebayo has returned, we’ve seen him pick up on something that I haven’t seen before this point. When that offensive player picks up that ball without the ability to put it back on the deck, he’s going to swarm you. At an uncomfortable rate.

This is unlike the sneaky Jimmy Butler steal and scores, since in that instance, they don’t know it’s coming.

With Adebayo, they see it developing, but there’s nothing they can do to stop it.

Looking at the clips above, this is something Adebayo has been doing on a regular basis since his return, which is not allowing any type of entry pass. We constantly have talked about the mismatches on the back-side being problematic following switches, but well, it isn’t an issue when they can’t actually make that insertion.

How is this eventually countered for the offense?

Well, it leads to them making that extra swing pass to their left or right, so that player can then feed it inside to the mismatch, but this isn’t Omer Yurtseven blitzing anymore.

As seen in that earlier play against VanVleet and the Raptors, his recovery speed is one of the best I’ve seen in the half-court. So by the time that swing pass is being made, Adebayo is in route to recover.

But more importantly, it can’t be figured out as easily as it was last year. This Heat team has the personnel to mix things up defensively at an outstanding rate, which just leads to pure Bam Adebayo fun.

Speaking of that personnel around him, that’s what is propelling his play, and that’s an absolute fact.

How is that exactly?

Since this isn’t last year anymore, Adebayo actually has a ton of trust in his back-line help when that switch is made. He couldn’t usually make that gamble to try and break up a pass on an entry pass, since if he was unsuccessful, it was an easy bucket 100% of the time.

Now we see a defensive front-court trio of Butler-Tucker-Adebayo, who can all make up for the others mistakes when they occur.

In that clip above from last night against the Spurs, they’re running their primary action with the Butler-Tucker-Adebayo trio navigating screens. Once again, there’s no clear outlet there.

Butler and Tucker switch on the screen, then Tucker and Adebayo switch again on the next stagger screen. Derrick White ends up losing it into the hands of Adebayo, but the point is that no advantage was created.

Tucker deserves a ton of credit for this all coming together, since it almost feels like he’s the base to it all. But Bam Adebayo is the propelling factor. He’s the guy that can elevate this defense to another level come playoff time, as the dynamic duo with Erik Spoelstra continues to emerge.

Conversations can be had on a regular basis about Adebayo’s play in terms of offensive aggression or different ways to score, but nobody can question his defensive impact. And actually, it should hold a lot more weight than currently viewed.

The amount of consistency he provides on that end of the floor on a regular basis is unreal, and he hasn’t skipped a beat after missing about seven weeks of time.

He’s an elite, versatile talent on that end of the floor, but his increasing reads and stronger supporting cast is leading to these extra steps being made at a faster and faster rate.

“Best defender 1 through 5 that I’ve seen in a while in this league,” said Heat’s back-up center Dewayne Dedmon on Adebayo.

And that’s a hard point to argue.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Toronto

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The Miami Heat faced the Toronto Raptors once again on the fourth game in five nights, and the Raptors got the best of them again late.

Miami was in control for the first 2 and a half quarters, but once offensive momentum shifts, a team like Toronto can easily take control.

They struggled once again within their late game offense, but Bam Adebayo dominated on that end all night.

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Welcome aggressive Bam Adebayo to the show.

Bam Adebayo has been discussed a ton recently, and it’s been highlighted by his need to be aggressive. Well, right out the gate in this one, he was taking advantage of the areas he didn’t the last time around. The first one is when smaller defenders are guarding him. Last time against Toronto, it was post-up, dribble, double, kick-out. But as the Raptors began delaying the double, it left him in no man’s land. Tonight, he wasn’t afraid to immediately flow into that post hook, which is the perfect addition to that offensive bag. The other main element to his game is this: when he gains momentum, man is he hard to stop. He had some fast-break finishes, but one play to finish the first half stuck out. Takes it in from the wing, hesitates as a shot fake, then speeds up to blow by his defender and flip a wild scoop that drops in. When he’s operating from his comfortable spots, while being aggressive, he’s the scary talent we all know he is.

#2: Butler and Tucker back…Heat offense back? Well, at times.

There’s no doubt that the Heat’s offense fell apart in the last game against Boston. Was it due to it being the third game in four nights? Was it being without Jimmy Butler and PJ Tucker? Probably a combination of both, but I would lean the latter. For one, as we saw Miami’s offensive plan immediately in this game, they had counters ready from their past two losses. The drive and kick was back in action as Butler made his return, but they also had beatable slips and planned cuts against Toronto’s complete switching. Now that territory was all PJ Tucker. Many of us would just account offensive struggles to the lack of Butler, but Tucker is more important to this offense than you may think. He’s the functional piece to make it all go, due to his safety blanket ways following a screen and being the outlet to an even better shot. Yet, in the fourth quarter, they got away from it at times again. They reluctantly worked things through Tucker and Caleb Martin late in the clock, just showcasing an awkward sense of control in crunch time.

#3: Dominating the inside early.

To continue on an offensive topic even more, we always seem to have a section on good nights where it discusses their elite three-point shooting. But I’m looking in the opposite direction in this one. This team has a recipe when fully healthy to let that ball go from deep within their sets, then let that bleed into the inside game after blitzing is forced on ball screens. In this one, they flipped the script. They went inside early on a very lengthy, doubling team, and that blended right into the eventual kick-outs that Miami lacked in the last game. If we can see Miami with this type of uniqueness to their offensive game-plan, aside from lineups and individual sets, it makes them a very tough team to defend in the playoffs with all things clicking. Key word: clicking.

#4: Let’s take a second to recognize the opposition.

Watching the way this team battles against Miami every time around, we must zoom out for a quick second. There’s a recipe where Miami could actually end up facing this Raptors team in a first round, and man would that be an emotionally and physically drug out series. Yes I’d take Miami in that scenario, but it wouldn’t be easy. This Raptors team never stops on either end, they have guards like VanVleet and Trent who can pick out mismatches at an extremely high level in Miami’s offensive lineups, and switch at an uncomfortably high level to bother shooters. It would be a fun series to watch, but it may not be the best walkway for Miami in terms of them focusing on the long haul, since frankly, it would be a draining series of games.

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#5: The minutes of Duncan Robinson, again, something to monitor.

This Raptors team definitely isn’t the best defensive match-up for Duncan Robinson who thrives heavily off operating off screens both on and off the ball. The hand-off is made, and immediately two swarming Raptors are forcing Robinson into quick decision making. But when evaluating Erik Spoelstra’s decision making, we see another scenario where he limits Robinson’s minutes in favor of Max Strus. I think there are a ton of match-ups where Robinson can pop off and be huge for them offensively, but the fact that this happens so often is an eyebrow raiser. And well, two high level guards will be returning soon, in Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo, which will make these decisions even more complex in terms of Robinson’s minute distribution when coming out cold.

 

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