Tag Archive for: Jimmy Butler

What Happened to Miami’s Offense Down the Stretch Against Indiana?

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Going from an opening night performance where Miami scored 72 points through 2 quarters to the second game where Miami scored 91 points through 4 quarters and an overtime is pretty interesting.

The missing piece from the puzzle: Kyle Lowry.

It’s not just that Miami missed his pure skill, but they just need that extra piece at the top of the roster to avoid lineups that are pretty uneven bench groups to say the least. As many have noted, this game looked like one from last season.

The other element to missing Lowry was that the offense was so out of control and in the mud throughout this game. They missed that offensive initiator to place them into their sets and allow them to just go, and it’s even harder when Jimmy Butler has a night shooting 7 for 22 from the field.

So, on this atrocious shooting night, it’s important to look into the stuff that was being run late in this game. Let’s take a quick walk through Miami’s last 2 minutes of regulation and the entire overtime on the offensive side of the ball…

The one positive note from Miami late in this game was the scoring from Tyler Herro, even if he did do it on 28 shots. Attempts should not be harped on with him in a game like this, since considering the offensive pieces around him last night, he should’ve been shooting for 30+.

Aside from that, it was clear the ball needed to be in his hands late in this game no matter what. Down 2 with 2 and a half minutes left, he avoids the screen and moves back left for a tough shot above the break. And well, he buries it.

Fast forward to 55 seconds left, Miami’s score remains the same, but they go back to that Herro creation at the top of the key. He steps back on Brogdon moving to his left and hits by far the toughest shot of the night.

If this wasn’t a signal that the ball had to go through him, I don’t know what was.

But yet, Indiana’s defense seemed to want the ball in anybody else’s hands as well.

Tie game with 30 seconds left, Butler is trying to get Herro on the move like they’ve done up to that point with constant screening. But with Brogdon covering Butler, he can easily show and recover on the screen, leading to a Miami reset.

Butler gets the ball at the top of the key as Bam Adebayo comes for the screen, and this is exactly what you want. Take a look at the spacing on the floor: Robinson and Herro both have their defenders glued to them on the perimeter, giving the Heat’s best two players the ultimate runway.

But everything just seemed a step too slow in that department. And better yet, predictable.

There was a crease for Butler to hit Adebayo on the roll, but he misses him with all attention on him on the ball. He then speeds up to attack, and every defender basically crashes in at once.

Why is that? Well, all 9 players on the floor knew what was coming next, and it led to them meeting him at the rim.

Without the team’s primary initiator, of course processing things offensively will be a bit delayed, but it’s unlike Butler to miss the type of reads that he always makes. He tried to make a play, but came up short on this possession.

Now, we make our way into the beginning of overtime, and it actually kicked off with one of the few good looking possessions for Miami in this game.

Butler orchestrating for guys to be in the right spots, as Adebayo sets a pin-down for Herro as a decoy essentially for them to get into the initial action. Adebayo gets the ball, Herro sets the back-screen for Butler, and Adebayo lobs it up to Butler for the bucket.

Now that looked like good offense that we saw against Milwaukee in the season opener.

The Heat are now down 2, and they try to run something similar to what was shown in the last clip with Adebayo receiving the ball in the high post. The ball gets bounced around, and it leads to a top of the key pick and roll with Herro and Adebayo.

Not only does Herro see two defenders fly at him, but there was no worry in the scheme defensively to quickly recover. The plan was clear: make Herro uncomfortable.

That’s exactly what they did, as Herro makes the right read to hit the open corner, but it flies way over Tucker’s head out of bounds.

When looking back at this play, there should be a slight shift if this coverage is ever thrown at him again, which many Heat players said after the game will be seen again. Adebayo should relocate to the free throw line extended on the roll as a release valve, while PJ Tucker should drop to the dunker spot.

If a defense is going to commit that heavily, you have to ultimately force them into flawless rotations once Adebayo catches that in the mid-range. Obviously it’s just the second game, so stuff like this will be tweaked when seen again, but that right there isn’t Herro’s fault.

The supporting cast can’t be immobile when this type of thing is seen.

This was a very crucial play for Miami when looking back at it, but it told us all we needed to know about this game. It’s Herro and Butler playing catch on the perimeter, while Adebayo’s early aggression fades completely.

In many ways, the role of Adebayo in overtime was the one he embraced when playing for Team USA in Tokyo.

Taking up space in the dunker spot, and pure screening and relocating. He wasn’t a roll threat, he was just a screen threat.

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Now, that’s not all on Adebayo, since the wing players have to do a better job of hitting him in those open windows, but there has to be that self awareness of who he is in these moments.

You’re already without a top player, in Kyle Lowry, so it should be him taking a step forward instead of a step back in terms of role.

The play ends in Butler trying to draw a foul on his three-point attempt, which clanks off the rim and into the Pacers’ possession. When the team is down 4 with 3 minutes left and that’s the shot you’re getting, you just aren’t winning those games. Especially considering the night Butler had up until that point.

But hey, somebody other than Herro had to try and make something out of nothing.

The hopes of Miami making a late push are pretty nonexistent at this point. Out of the timeout, down 9, Erik Spoelstra draws something up for one of the best shooters on the planet: Duncan Robinson.

Why is this important to note? Well, we needed to see more of this when offense wasn’t clicking late.

Miami went from a team that only relied on Robinson on the offensive end through hand-offs last year, to almost forgetting he’s on the floor at certain points last night.

Robinson has usually been the guy getting the double teams thrown at him in these spots, but his teammate, Tyler Herro, was seeing that instead. And that right there is an indicator to get Robinson some looks no matter if he missed some easy ones early on or not.

Robinson gets a wide open three on the inbound off the Adebayo screen, which is not something we’ve seen often on inbound plays recently since he’s the usual piece being focused on. But waiting to unleash him in this way 3 and a half minutes into overtime didn’t give them much time to recover.

Speaking of “waiting to unleash,” here’s Adebayo pushing the ball up the floor with 1 minute to go in OT, and ultimately missing two forced shots at the rim.

Once again, does it matter that he fell short on those lay-ins late? Maybe to a certain degree, but they just need him to get the ball up. And yet, this was the first time in overtime that he took it upon himself to initiate offense.

This isn’t just a conversation harping on the aggression of Adebayo, since I actually feel he has become much more purposeful in that department, but it must stay consistent.

It can’t be forceful right out the gate, it has to be in the normal flow as well.

It can’t be Kyle Lowry telling him to go, it has to be him realizing he can blow-by his guy as well.

In no way should people overreact to this game, since many of these trends won’t be the case when Lowry gets back on the floor, but this team has to be prepared for one of Butler or Lowry to be out for a game here and there.

Since that can be the difference between finishing the season with home court advantage or not.

 

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Breaking Down the Shifting Role of Butler, Adebayo, and Herro

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EDITOR’S NOTE: FIVE REASONS SPORTS IS PARTNERING WITH OUR GOOD FRIENDS OVER AT PICKUP TO GIVE AWAY FANATICS ($20 VALUE) TO 3 LUCKY WINNERS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS MAKE YOUR PICK ON THE PICKUP PROP IN THIS ARTICLE AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO VERIFY YOUR PICK FOR A CHANCE TO WIN.
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In many ways, Kyle Lowry doesn’t have a true weakness at this stage of his career.

He can still hold his own at the point of attack, sets others up in a way that Miami hasn’t had in forever, and can win a game by 42 points with only 1 field goal made.

In that all-around role, it has shown an incredible expansion for the players around him. The 27 points from Tyler Herro, 21 points from Jimmy Butler, and 20 points from Bam Adebayo isn’t the only reason I say that after beating a Bucks team without key players, but instead it’s the way they’re generating these looks and scoring 137 points in a game.

This is a super talented defensive team, but the descriptions don’t end there: this team can put up points…

Bam Adebayo:

Kyle Lowry Forcing Him into More and More Shot Attempts

How is Bam Adebayo’s aggression coming together so fluidly to begin the year. Is it the natural evolution of a young player like Erik Spoelstra noted? Is Adebayo going through those motions with a purpose? Or is it just simply Kyle Lowry?

Adebayo seems to think it’s the latter.

“It’s really because of Kyle in all honesty.”

It’s one thing to just put it out there in that sense, but it’s another thing for it to be absolutely correct when watching the game film. Yes, we see Adebayo “just going” even when Lowry is on the sideline, but there’s a specific edge and confidence that Lowry is feeding into.

Just take a look at the first clip: Adebayo has Giannis Antetokounmpo in space with an empty corner, but decides to pass back out to Lowry instead.

What does Lowry do? He immediately reinserts that ball into Adebayo in the post, and clears out to the opposite side of the floor. This isn’t last year when the guard would stand at the top of the key as a safety blanket for Adebayo’s eventual kick-out. This is Lowry saying ‘you’re shooting this ball no matter what.’

Consequently, Adebayo jabs and fires away for a bucket, which he did many times in this game. Even when speaking with media post-game, he noted that’s been a point of emphasis with him during the off-season. He’s comfortable with that jab jumper, and it’s not just a space provider. It’s a rhythm shot for him.

Lastly, there’s something else to pick up on with these two Adebayo shot attempts. His point of operation.

Adebayo calls it “picking his spots more,” but I call it “not needing to be the elbow release valve every play.” Now, he’s able to work from that inner wing or baseline where he has the space to do many different things.

It’s not just about Lowry making Adebayo take those shots in clear-outs. It’s the responsibilities Lowry has stripped from Adebayo to just be himself.

Some Fast-Break Magic

The Heat finished this game with a transition frequency of 20.2%. Last season, they were 14.9% across the 72 game season.

It’s only one game, but you can tell this is a long term thing. Guys like Lowry and Herro love that style of play, but Adebayo has finally embraced it, which is a scary thing.

Nobody can truly keep up with a coast to coast Adebayo on a nightly basis, and one guy that could probably slow him down better than anybody is the guy he matched up with last night: Antetokounmpo.

Euro-steps, downhill collisions. We’re seeing it all from Adebayo on the break, and it’s not because anybody on the floor is forcing him into that. He’s just finally freed up.

This team is built to run, and they’re embodying that already. But if Adebayo is the pace initiator throughout the season like he did in this season opener, it’ll be quite the offensive agenda for defenses to try and scheme against.

Jimmy Butler:

Defensive Freelancing is Upon Us

I brought this up a ton throughout the game last night, since well, it’s something I’ve noted since the Lowry acquisition was finalized.

We knew what Lowry would do for Adebayo in terms of unlocking things offensively. We knew giving Herro a pure point guard for the first time in his career would do wonders. But it just felt like the defensive shift from Butler was more important than anything else.

Butler is obviously one of the game’s best defenders, but I wouldn’t say he does it in a way that many of the other players in his category do it. Like Adebayo for example, we see his greatness on the ball by swarming smaller guards and things of that nature.

But Butler, on the hand, does it in the shadows.

He’s an off-ball master in that sense. It’s something I’ve broken down many times leading up to this point, since the additions of PJ Tucker and Lowry meant more reps for Butler outside of the offensive actions.

Timely doubles is his specialty, and he’s going to be a looming free safety all season, sending that all-out blitz more times than not.

Looking at the clips above, you can see this all happening in the first few minutes of the game. Gambling on some cross-court doubles once Antetokounmpo turned was something I expected, but the interesting part about it was he wasn’t holding back.

Not a ton of show-and-go to say the least, it was just pure willingness to swarm these guys who weren’t his assignment. And well, that is Jimmy Butler.

That will be Jimmy Butler all season.

A Simple Game of One-On-One

Walking into the Miami Heat practice facility after they finish practicing, there’s a consistent theme.

On one side of the court, there is Jimmy Butler going one-on-one with different coaches, trainers, and players for about 30 minutes every day. Udonis Haslem was the one a few days ago getting in those defensive reps, as they went at each other in a one-on-one setting where Butler fits in best.

And going through those motions isn’t just for some extra sweat and cardio. There’s a purpose, and that was seen in this game against Milwaukee.

Lowry does take a lot of pressure off Adebayo, but he also puts Butler in better spots to score as he noted after the game. In other words, Butler finds himself playing one-on-one in the half-court a bunch, doing it as loose as he does against UD after practice.

But Butler’s game hasn’t changed at all, so why is this important to note?

Well, Butler’s game may not have changed, but the team around him has. Looking at the clips above, nobody can fully commit to the double that they always seemed to do last season with zero reluctance. No knock to guys like Kendrick Nunn, but they had certain limitations on that kick-out that Lowry just doesn’t obtain.

If they double team Butler in that fashion, you’re not only at risk of giving up a Lowry three, but you’re also giving him a 4 on 3 on the backside, which is one of his best offensive skills in terms of decision making.

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Allowing Butler to play one-on-one all day is a treat, and it gives this Heat offense a fun wrinkle that they weren’t able to fully commit to in the past. (And yes he missed in that clip, which is new after watching him go 1 on 1 last night)

Tyler Herro:

Confidence is Higher, Release Point is Higher

We’re officially at the point where a 27 point performance from Tyler Herro off the bench to kick off the season doesn’t even surprise anybody. It’s just normal now.

So many limitations that were once placed on him as a scorer with the constant necessity for a screen are no longer in place. It’s not that he added a bunch of unstoppable combos to get to his spots. It’s just a simple formula.

Confidence is higher and his release point is higher.

In many ways, those two things can go hand in hand. When a player is having an off game and confidence is lowered, you always begin to notice shots being short due to them becoming flat-footed.

But when that confidence is as high as Herro’s is at the moment, that shot is higher than any defender’s wingspan.

He’s rising over the top of defenders all over the floor, and he isn’t being fazed by contests. It’s a skill that has pretty much gone under the radar for Duncan Robinson over the years, since essentially blocking out a defenders close-out can change a scorer’s outlook.

And Herro’s outlook has completely changed.

Some may think these points are being overstated, but they absolutely aren’t: placing Herro in this simplified bench role is the reason for him emerging. Play-making and rebounding have been sprinkled in through the natural flow of the game, but he’s not being asked to do any of that.

Mostly since Butler or Lowry are lined up next to him at all times.

“I love playing with Kyle,” Herro said about Lowry. “My first two years in the league I didn’t really have a point guard who could get everyone organized, and that’s no knock on my former teammates.”

And that last part is the truth. Guys like Goran Dragic were great for the original growth of Herro, and what they brought on a regular basis, but that just wasn’t his role. Dragic was in a scoring role as a scoring guard, but now Miami has that pure point they’ve been missing.

Or should I say, that Herro’s been missing.

Inside Game Coming Along for One Reason

A three-level scorer is emerging. The mid-range game from Herro has been pretty close to unstoppable through the preseason and first regular season game, his outside shooting has been highly efficient, and the inside game in question has been tweaked now as well.

The floater has been an interesting gadget for him, since it means he isn’t one dimensional inside the paint. Instead of spamming underhand scoop layups on every pick and roll drive, he has an outlet that can be relied on.

And well, that floater has been a constant sticking point after these Heat practices.

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It isn’t just about the floater either. The added muscle that he put on has entered the equation as well, and I think we’re seeing just where he added that weight.

Going back to my earlier point of firing over the top of defenses with a high release point, the added strength in his legs is the main reason for that. But it seems like that behind the scenes work has gave him the confidence to embrace contact more and more.

Looking at the first clip above, Herro wasn’t doing that last year. Going right at that dropping big, bumping him with his shoulder, then fading away with the bank. That right there is a new Tyler Herro.

And in the big picture, nothing is better than a ‘more’ confident Herro at this stage. And who is feeding him that confidence? His teammates around him, as he’s illustrated over 20 times since camp ended.

And that is a major shift for him. It’s a major shift for this team. And that domino effect all started when Lowry landed in Miami.

 

Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

Visit them at EverythingTradeShows or call 954-791-8882

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Dominant Season Opener

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The Miami Heat clearly came out with some extra motivation against this Milwaukee Bucks team. First quarter dominance on both ends blended into a pretty one-sided game throughout.

Who stuck out in this season opener? Well, that’s the interesting part: everybody.

#1: Bam Adebayo’s offensive aggression pops early.

A topic fresh in our minds when we see Bam Adebayo and the Heat facing the Milwaukee Bucks is his offensive aggression, following Brook Lopez’s willingness to give Adebayo all of the space in the world in the previous series. To kick off this season opener, three of the first four offensive possessions for Miami consisted of an Adebayo shot attempt. Yeah, things have changed. Adebayo only trailed Tyler Herro in shot attempts at the half, but his willingness to take it to the rim and absorb contact time and time again is the difference maker. Five free throw attempts through 16 first half minutes proved that to be true, while the makes on the other hand were a bit uneven. But nobody is worried about Adebayo knocking down shots at any point this season, it’s about taking them. And he did that in the season opener.

#2: Jimmy Butler’s new defensive role enhances his best skill, as I expected.

Something I’ve talked about all off-season after PJ Tucker and Kyle Lowry were acquired is the shift for Jimmy Butler’s role. Not offensively, but the change in defensive positioning for him. No more being inserted into the action play after play throughout a game, since they have enough bodies to throw at those guys now. That meant Butler would be lined up on the weak-side a majority of the time, doing what he does best: awaiting timely doubles. As I said in my game preview, Butler’s defensive signal will be Giannis Antetokounmpo’s post-up game. When he pivots inside with his back against the perimeter, a Butler sprint would closely follow. That’s exactly what happened tonight, and although it wasn’t a flurry of steals on the stat sheet, it was forced steals and plenty of deflections.

#3: It only took one game to figure out PJ Tucker’s fit on this Heat team.

After Pat Riley’s press conference this week, now you know why he went on and on about the likable traits of PJ Tucker with this team. Toughness, scrappiness, and defensive traits that aren’t teachable. You can just tell that this game was personal for him, and he seemed to let that be known. Being vocal after big plays, eyeing that Milwaukee sideline, and even throwing in the occasional hard foul. Seeing him dive over the Bucks bench with a comfortable lead in the second quarter just speaks volume. He’s going to defend at a high level and knock down that corner triple at a high level, but the other stuff is what truly makes this pick-up a big deal. This Heat team missed that loud voice next to Butler, and now they have it.

#4: Simply, Tyler Herro’s role is quite perfect.

When I talked to Max Strus earlier in the week about his offensive role off the bench, he quickly premised it by saying, “The second unit is to get Tyler going.” And well, that is far from an overstatement. Even when Butler or Lowry are lined up next to Tyler Herro, they immediately revert to an off-ball role, knowing that Herro needs the ball in his hands to work. Twelve shot attempts at the half for Herro was a team high, which is interesting for a guy who is coming off the bench. But that’s what the Heat want. Fire away in that scoring role, and don’t worry about the other elements. Let the play-making and facilitating stuff happen in the natural flow of the game, and simply: just get buckets.

#5: Oh, this isn’t just a defensive team.

When looking at this Heat team on paper, the outlier is that this is a hefty defensive group. Aside from Herro and Robinson, the rotation is pretty much filled with tough, defensive minded guys which is something they’ve lacked recently. But don’t sell the theme of this group short: they can score the basketball. 72 first half points can pretty much tell the whole story, but there’s a difference with that statement. They didn’t have a Jaylon Brown scoring 25 before the half or Julius Randle scoring 22. The scoring on this team was spread out evenly, which will most likely be the case throughout this 82 game season. Butler will get his points, Adebayo will emerge, Lowry will step back at times, and Herro will do his thing. And that’s what you want.

EDITOR’S NOTE: FIVE REASONS SPORTS IS PARTNERING WITH OUR GOOD FRIENDS OVER AT PICKUP TO GIVE AWAY FANATICS ($20 VALUE) TO 3 LUCKY WINNERS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS MAKE YOUR PICK ON THE PICKUP PROP IN THIS ARTICLE AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO VERIFY YOUR PICK FOR A CHANCE TO WIN.

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Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

Visit them at EverythingTradeShows or call 954-791-8882

Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks Season Opener Scouting Report

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The Milwaukee Bucks came out hot to kick off their season on Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets, and that’s something Miami truly needs this season as well: to come out hot.

Pat Riley went into detail in a Tuesday afternoon presser about the strength of their early season schedule, highlighting the fact that they have 13 road games in their first 20 and started out the year 7-14 last season.

So, it’s pretty clear: an opening night win at home against the Bucks could truly put this Heat team on the right track.

The last time I wrote up this type of scouting report was throughout the Heat’s first round playoff series last season against……oh, the Milwaukee Bucks. But this time around, there are different circumstance in terms of roster construction.

Anyway, let’s take a dive into each side of the ball for Miami, finding ways they can come out the gates firing with this new team…

Offensively:

Attacking Switches: A Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry Staple, A Bam Adebayo Necessity

One of the main reasons Milwaukee was able to put it together last season was their willingness to become more flexible on the defensive end come playoff time. Living or dying by that drop coverage can get you in trouble with certain teams, and one of those teams is this new look Heat team.

But on the way to an NBA Championship last season, the switching scheme became a staple of their defensive ways. Guys like Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo can truly swarm you when blitzing a PnR, which was a decent refresher for that group of guys.

Now, it’s time for Miami to adjust to the adjustment. A staple of Jimmy Butler’s game is taking advantage of mismatches in the half-court, pulling a slow-footed big out to the perimeter before exploding by for a quick bump and yell to get to that coveted free throw line.

That’ll always be there for Butler, but that isn’t the true difference maker. Kyle Lowry is pretty much in that same category as well, but he does it in a completely different way. He doesn’t create mismatches for himself. He creates them for his big man down low.

And well, it’s why Bam Adebayo can truly exploit the defense, which will be a common takeaway all season.

Adebayo is going to draw a Grayson Allen or George Hill on the block once or twice, and there must be a mental preparation for those possessions. No quick turnaround inside the free-throw line to let them off the hook. No kick-outs to Lowry so he can try and drum something up against a big. Just play bully ball.

Why is this so important? Well, it’s not just about putting points on the board on those limited possessions. It’s about what will closely follow.

After watching the Bucks face the Nets on Tuesday, a major takeaway about Antetokounmpo is that you have to account for him on the defensive end at all times, and even more so when he’s on that weak-side lurking.

With that said, Adebayo taking advantage of the mismatch once or twice in the first half means that he’ll be pulling Antetokounmpo in closer and closer, which is the ultimate goal for Miami’s offensive structure. Adebayo can then land in his comfort zone of skip passes and over the top play-making.

It’s why that one element of attacking the switch opens everything else up. If that aggression isn’t seen from the jump, there’s a good shot this could be one of those games in the mud.

Tyler Herro’s Broader Bag = Extensive Combos Against Drop in the Mid-Range

Switching may be a staple for them, but Brook Lopez continues to be fantastic in that drop on a regular basis. It was the one area that I said could be exploited in the playoffs last year by Goran Dragic, Kendrick Nunn, and Tyler Herro.

The one thing about all three of those guys last year was that mid-range game was extremely one dimensional. It was that elbow pull-up each and every possession, and those weren’t even falling in that series. No adjustment was needed from the Bucks, since Miami was basically hurting themselves.

Now without Dragic and Nunn, that mid-range game declined in a way that Milwaukee can sustain that drop, right? Wrong.

Aside from going through other options for Miami inside the arc, Tyler Herro is the guy who can really get up those shots that he loved in the preseason. It’s no longer the simple, linear pull-up. It’s pull-back dribbles, step-backs, and over the top jumpers with that high lift from that in-between game.

And that can be killer.

As Max Strus said when I talked to him after practice, “The second unit is to get Tyler going.” He’s going to be getting up a ton of shots night in and night out, but Thursday’s match-up may even mean it’ll be on the higher end with what will be given to him.

Can he carry over that preseason success? The door is open for him to kick it off in the right way.

Defensively:

PJ Tucker on Brook Lopez, Bam Adebayo on Giannis Antetokounmpo?

When looking at pure on-paper match-ups for these two teams, it’s pretty intriguing: Lowry on Holiday, Robinson on Allen, Butler on Middleton, and well, the front-court match-ups.

It feels like it’ll be a deal where they mix it up a bit throughout, especially with Coach Spo not wanting Adebayo to get in early foul trouble, but I think that adjustment will be made once we hear that first whistle.

PJ Tucker’s size doesn’t equate to length on the 7 foot Brook Lopez, but it does equate to width. He can defend the post at a high level against bigger guys, and Miami’s scheme will have plenty of doubles flying from all over the place.

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What is the difference between this discussion now and last year? The match-ups can actually be debated.

The same goes for the way the roster was constructed in the bubble, where Adebayo and Jae Crowder could constantly rotate match-ups, while throwing in Andre Iguodala and Soloman Hill to muck things up on Milwaukee’s solid front-court.

Lowry gave this team added offensive weapons, but Tucker gave this team added defensive weapons. And the on-paper match-ups tell the whole story in that sense.

The Jimmy Butler Specialty Incoming: Timely Doubles

As I’ve said many times: Jimmy Butler’s best skill in the game of basketball is weak-side defending.

He’s going to be outside the action much more this season which is favorable to him, but the Middleton match-up will most likely pull him into a heavy on-ball defensive role this Thursday.

Some interesting wrinkles that Brooklyn through at Antetokounmpo were constant doubles, but the timing of them always seemed off, leading to a 32/14/7 night. But since this is a “scouting report,” there’s a specific moment when that double is needed, and Butler will pick up on this quickly.

One thing about Butler is that he’s a sneaky doubler. He waits for that guy with the ball in his hands to turn away, then he instinctively sprints at him from the backside. Similarly, Antetokounmpo is a guy who turns into those pivoted stances inside the arc, opening up that gateway for Butler.

Leaving his back vulnerable on the block with Tucker or Adebayo holding him down in the post will be a good starting point for the defensive structure. Make Antetokounmpo uncomfortable, force him into that extra pass, and key-in on those close-outs that this starting lineup will be so good with.

In my opinion, this should be a 3+ steal night for Butler with the new play-style.

Wild Card:

Taking Advantage of Milwaukee’s Full Bench Lineups

Miami has played victim recently with opposing teams exploding when the top dogs were getting a breather on the sideline, but that won’t be the case much this year for the Heat.

It’ll be a revolving door of Butler, Lowry, and Adebayo, while Herro’s offensive emergence will take enough pressure off of them while they’re on the floor.

For Milwaukee, there are a few stretches that Miami will have to take advantage of. For one, Jrue Holiday’s status may be in question after he left Tuesday’s game with a heel contusion, so these “lineups” I’m discussing will be seen even more often.

Antetokounmpo, Middleton, and Holiday all found themselves on the sideline early in that season opener, and that should be a signal to just go, especially for the team’s energy flame Tyler Herro.

That’ll be the wild card. Upon seeing a five-man group of the supporting cast, it’ll be time for Miami to really capitalize in ways so many teams did against them last season.

“He wasn’t happy with losing and getting swept and being embarrassed,” Pat Riley said about Jimmy Butler’s attitude following that playoff series. And now it’s time to showcase that in a brand new season, with a brand new team, and a brand new mindset.

This team may have gotten plenty of physical rest, but mental rest was also taken into account. And that element was even more important for this group of guys.

 

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Five Takeaways from the Heat’s Final Preseason Game

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The Miami Heat finished off a great preseason run with a win against the Boston Celtics. Miami was working with their entire squad for this one, generating some chemistry with their new and improved nine man rotation.

So, here are five takeaways from this game before completely heading into the regular season…

#1: A look into the new Heat rotation: the substitution process.

Last season, the substitution process for the Heat was a bit interesting. It was a lot of staggering Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, with the absolute need for one of them to be on the floor to survive. Adding Kyle Lowry has fixed that element, and that was seen for the first time tonight. After the starting stint to begin the game, Adebayo and Lowry went to the bench, as Butler stayed in with the bench guys. Those pairings clicked all together, starting with the continued connection between Butler and Dewayne Dedmon in those side pick and rolls. Lowry then came back in as Butler went to the sideline for more positive minutes with the bench unit. And in many ways, that stretch is the Tyler Herro enhancer, since it’s pretty clear Lowry elevates his game tremendously.

#2: Some Tyler Herro-Jimmy Butler flashbacks.

Jimmy Butler drives to the middle of the floor, does a 180, and finds Tyler Herro at the top of the key for a three in stride. Bucket. Am I describing late-game madness in Herro’s rookie season against the Chicago Bulls or tonight’s game against Boston? Actually the answer is both. That duo is playing together for their third straight season, but that type of connection hasn’t been seen since that initial year. Herro shooting with confidence over the top of defenders while Butler is creating with hard attacks into the teeth of the defense. If this combo is clicking, I think of this offense in a totally different way. With Herro playing at this incredible level when the ball is in his hands, it’s only making Butler’s life easier. And there will be a lot more smiles throughout the season than there were this last season.

#3: Bam Adebayo trying to find himself early on.

To be completely honest, this was far from Bam Adebayo’s best game early on. He struggled majorly on both ends of the floor from the very beginning: late rotations or cut-offs leading to easy lay-ins, over-dribbling in the post, etc. But when I said struggle, did you notice aggression wasn’t something I mentioned? He was taking shots, even though they weren’t great shots by any means. The point is that if the only issue in his “down” half is in terms of effort or things in the flow of the game, then it can easily be tweaked. He was second on the team in field goal attempts at the half behind Herro, showing flashes of getting the ball up at the rim. He did just that in the second half when Butler and Lowry were on the bench, and that’s exactly what is needed. Dominate the paint while Herro and company play the perimeter.

#4: More Duncan Robinson.

It feels like we may have come full circle in terms of the discussion surrounding Duncan Robinson. Last season we were clamoring to abandon the dribble hand-off in many ways, ultimately to allow the stars to just attack. Tonight, the stars were attacking, but even with some shot attempts and efficient shooting from Robinson, it felt like we may need more in the offensive flow. The starting group clearly needs more time to gel. The half-court offense wasn’t the greatest when those five shared the floor, but a main takeaway was a jumbled up interior. The counter to that is flying Robinson off back-screens and pin-downs for the intent of letting him fire, instead of as a constant decoy. Once again, this is only preseason, so we will see more of this stuff, but it definitely caught my eye in this one.

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#5: Kyle Lowry’s role is simple.

We all know Kyle Lowry is highly capable of putting the ball in the basket. Whether he needs to a ton is a completely different story. In this case with the Heat, I don’t believe his PPG will be super high. He will have big games when others are struggling on that end, but his goal is to force high attempts for Herro, Adebayo, Butler, etc. And well, he did that tonight. It wasn’t in the assist column, but he just causes controlled chaos on the break and half-court in a good way. As I said before, many have been predicting Lowry’s skill to propel Adebayo’s offensive game, but that is aligning with Herro just as well. That backcourt has looked incredible in their minutes so far, and we will see that combo plenty more. It’s just giving Erik Spoelstra more and more options, handing him the keys to that creative ability that he loves so much.

 

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Miami Heat Practice Scrimmage Recap

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Addressing some of the overarching takeaways from the Heat’s scrimmage today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Full Miami Heat Media Day Recap

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The Miami Heat kicked off media day early this morning with some familiar faces, while mixing in some unfamiliar faces. Erik Spoelstra, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Kyle Lowry all discussed this team heading into the season.

Spoelstra was up first, and he gave the injury news up front. He said he doesn’t have a timeline on Victor Oladipo at the moment, adding, “He’s had a tremendous off-season…There’s sunshine ahead.”

I don’t think we’re going to be hearing anything about a specific timeline any time soon, so I wouldn’t get any hopes up for that. But there’s no rush for him this regular season. Just heal, prepare, and repeat.

Now, of course Spo jumped right into the overarching topic of this Heat team: Kyle Lowry. Initially mentions he always think of that half-court heave in game one that sent the game to overtime a few years back.

“He’s a great winner. He knows how to impact winning,” Spo says. “His mind of the game is as high as anybody in this league, and I’m looking forward to learning from him.”

When talking from an X’s and O’s standpoint, which I personally enjoy much more, he touched on something that has been discussed all off-season: “He also has a unique way of playing off the ball.”

That is very much the case, and it’s very much needed on a team with Butler and Adebayo who can truly control a game with the ball in their hands. And speaking of controlling a game with the ball in hand, that’s one of Spo’s favorite tendencies when evaluating Lowry.

“Getting easy baskets and generating a pace where guys will run and know they will get the ball…His pace is one of the things I dreaded most competing against him.”

Spo also touched on the other newcomers, in PJ Tucker and Markieff Morris, which noted our first culture comment of the day. When talking about Tucker, he said, “The way he competes and puts himself out there just screams Miami Heat culture. He’s fierce, he’s tough, he’s edgy.”

His opinion on Morris, on the other hand, was a lot of looking in the past, as he noted, to his days on the Washington Wizards.

“Versatility, positional size, 4 or 5. I really respect how he has played a lot of different roles in different programs in this league,” Spo adds.

This led to the finishing touches of Spo’s presser, talking about some of those familiar faces. “He has an incredible iron will and a work ethic that will continue to grow his game,” Spo said about Adebayo. “That’s why I’ve called him no ceiling.”

When Tyler Herro’s name was brought up, he mentioned that the most important thing for him was to “handle some adversity, handle when the narrative changes.”

He said that he had a great off-season and it was a springboard from last season. Even adding, “Everything his first year was roses and compliments.”

And well, last season seemed to be quite the opposite from the public. Spo replied that it’s funny since his second year was better statistically, but obviously the narrative shifted.

He ended this topic by saying Herro gained 10+ pounds over that span. “He changed his body.”

When Bam Adebayo began listing the things he worked on in the off-season, there was an interesting starting point. “Obviously shooting,” he said.

He then reiterated that statement down the line: “I wanna be a shooter.” And when asked if he will attempt more than one three a game, he laughed and gave a one word answer.

“Yeah.”

The reason for that being important isn’t because he worked on it for a couple months this off-season. It isn’t because he told the public that he’s willing to work it into his game. But instead, that he said it with confidence.

Since well, if that three-point shot is going to be effective this season, confidence needs to be aligned all the way through.

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He then began to talk about potentially chasing specific accolades like Defensive Player of the Year, which he said, “It’s deeper than accolades. Everybody in this league chases something…I love when people doubt me. I feel like a chip will make a monster.”

(Feel like I’ve heard that same statement from a close teammate of his.)

Anyway, he continued on that notion, “I  don’t think that chip will ever leave. It’s embedded in me.” Adebayo mentioned that he likes to try and find stuff to motivate him daily, even “UD’s rebounding record.”

Finally, it’s important to mention the Lowry addition will be huge for Adebayo’s success. Butler’s continued play-making willingness will drive his game further as well. But nothing seems to be as important as the duo of Adebayo and Duncan Robinson.

When I asked about that expansion, Adebayo replied, “Keep building that connection as a lethal threat. The more our games grow, that’s what makes it more lethal and it’ll make it unstoppable.”

One of my main takeaways from any Heat presser today occurred when Lowry was at the podium. Not his Heat-like demeanor. Not his unselfishness and willingness to make others better. Not even his comments about Butler when he wasn’t in the room.

Instead, it was the back and forth joking manner between Lowry and Butler in the middle of the presser, as if they’ve been teammates for 10 years. Some stuff just exceeds the X’s and O’s, and that’s exactly what this duo will do.

Between self promoting his brand while Lowry is talking or Lowry laughing at Butler’s braids, it just works.

My second big takeaway from today was something Butler said when talking about Lowry’s impact. “He takes a lot of pressure off myself, off Bam…He gives Bam the room to just go, and be who you are, and not worry about too much else.”

That last part matters. A lot.

Adebayo may not have a ceiling, but the peak he reaches will be how far this team goes. “Just going” will be huge for him this upcoming season.

My final overarching takeaway is about something that wasn’t said. Actually wasn’t said at all.

In a 30-40 minute Erik Spoelstra presser, Butler’s name didn’t come up. Neither by question or throughout an answer of this team, essentially the team’s best player wasn’t brought up.

That’s rare, but that just says a lot about this team. Does the public take Butler for granted? Is there so much consistency from him that there’s nothing new to know?

In these environments, his personality is the shining light, while his game is somewhere in the background awaiting opening night on October 21st against the Milwaukee Bucks. And that’s a scary thing.

 

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14 in 1 Heat Roster Review: Which Attribute is Most Important for Each Player?

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The Miami Heat begin training camp in 5 days, play their first preseason game against the Hawks in 11 days, and start the regular season in less than 30 days.

Clearly, we’re approaching the beginning of yet another season, and for the Heat specifically, it should be quite interesting. New faces throughout the roster, new schemes for Coach Erik Spoelstra, and a new mentality after finally going through a true off-season in what feels like a decade.

I’ve gone through the ways players will be used and the evolving skill-sets heading into the season, but now it’s time to evaluate the most important attribute for each guy on the roster. In many of these cases, it’s not going to be the obvious answer since we know what they bring on a nightly basis, but more importantly, the underrated element.

So, let’s hop right into the most essential part of each player’s skill-set…

Jimmy Butler:

Off Ball Comfort

Kyle Lowry being added to this team changes things for the entire squad in a positive manner, and I think it may change things for Jimmy Butler the most.

Defensively, Butler will be in a better position than ever before. Added point of attack defense means that Butler won’t be in the action as frequently, leaving him as the weak-side lurker which is by far his biggest strength in my opinion.

Play-makers added to the starting lineup mean he can take a slight step-back, while overall rim pressure means he finally has his second attacker on the roster. But with Lowry and Butler sharing all of these strengths, it means that Butler won’t have the ball in his hands as much as he once was forced to.

That’s obviously a positive thing, but that means the most important part of Butler’s game will be his immediate production in an off-ball role. It’s not usually the easiest transition for player’s without a consistent three ball, but Butler is pretty much an exception.

Playing off the ball means that he will play off the catch for easy explosions to the rim. And while his weak-side defense is elite, he may end up being a weak-side killer on the offensive end as well. He’s very good at reading rotations to feed the weak-side, and now he will be the one reacting to them.

He’s going to have the ball in his hands a ton which will lead to a ton of good possessions, but the key for him will be his effectiveness when he isn’t on the ball in the Lowry minutes. He’s a master adjuster, which means he should fit in early on. And if that happens, wins will closely follow in the regular season.

Bam Adebayo:

Pure Takeover

Although many of these topics will be under the radar evaluations, others are pretty straight forward.

Bam Adebayo is one of those straight forward sections, due to this one non-physical change in his game making the entire difference. Much like Lowry’s impact for Butler, Adebayo will have things a bit easier. Simple buckets at the rim as a lob threat, less play-making duties, and receiving the ball in his spots in the half-court.

But Lowry isn’t what will maximize Adebayo’s skill.

If that’s going to make yet another leap this season, it’s going to because he chose to turn to pure takeover a bit more. He’s clearly an unselfish player which means he won’t usually turn into that completely, but he must sprinkle it in for the team to win games.

It doesn’t matter if it’s zero hesitance in the mid-range shot, unfazed by contact on the attack, or an unexpected development like a corner three or post-move, trusting his own skill-set enough to think about nothing other than scoring on certain possessions is the game changer.

There’s no doubt in my mind that’s the most important thing for Adebayo, and I believe we see it by mid-season at the latest once the newcomers are totally adjusted.

Kyle Lowry:

Availability

When Lowry is healthy and on the floor on any given night, we know what he’s going to bring. We’ve touched on it unconsciously since the move was made. From plugging in defensively to true point guard mechanics to scoring versatility, he has it all.

But there’s nothing more important than him just being on the floor.

Regular season availability hopefully won’t be in question for the 35 year old, but it’s an inevitable topic. Over the last few seasons, there have been some issues with that, and it feels like that may occur again to a certain degree.

For one, part of me thinks seeing him in a position to sit out games late in the season is a good thing, since that would mean the team is sitting nicely in the East and Lowry can be as fresh as possible by playoff time.

But on the other side of things, if the season was a bit uneven for Miami, you don’t want him burning out by the post-season. Will Miami’s depth be good enough to preserve Lowry? Will they need a late-season push from the stars?

Those are questions that I can’t answer right now, but something I can answer is that early season production will be crucial. This team does not want to be playing catch up again this season, especially with the way this current roster is constructed.

If Lowry is available this season, and the games he ends up sitting out is more of a Heat observation, then this team and Lowry will be in great shape.

Duncan Robinson:

Stepping Back to Stepping In

Duncan Robinson’s most important attribute is an interesting discussion. Of course everything revolves around that three-point shot of his, but at this stage, that’s pretty much a given by many. Now it’s more about the expansion from his toe being right behind the arc.

That expansion started last season by going in a different direction. Literally.

He began his offensive sets and simple spot-ups a few feet behind the three point line, right in between the half-court line and left/right wing. With the way he was being treated by defenses on a nightly basis, he was forced to flow away from that line as much as possible.

After pretty much mastering his craft when stepping a few feet back, the current focus is stepping a few feet in.

As I said before this past season, which was a bit unrealistic considering the off-season they got, a pump-fake one dribble pull-up changes the game for Robinson. For one, his pump-fake alone is deadly enough when defenders see him flowing into shooting motion, but he was missing that combo following the bite.

If he finds a way to get to a mid-range pull-up consistently and knock it down, it makes him so much tougher to guard. Not to make any unnecessary comparisons, but just ask players who’ve guarded Klay Thompson once he made that step inside the arc.

PJ Tucker:

Oh, Did Someone Say Corner Threes?

When anybody thinks of the offensive role of PJ Tucker, they immediately shift to the corner three. And well, that one shot may make the difference for this Heat offense to move up to that next tier.

I don’t know if this will be the most important thing for Tucker, but it will be the most essential for the team.

With many of the base offensive sets I expect Miami to run this season with the addition of Lowry, it may ride on the pull the team’s corner spacers have on a defense. A popping Robinson and a rolling Adebayo is a duel threat already, but if you can eliminate full weak-side commitment from that corner shooter, then you’ve essentially won.

If Tucker can take advantage of that open corner three this season, things change dramatically.

Tyler Herro:

Scoring, Scoring, and More Scoring 

Much like the Adebayo topic, certain player’s most important attribute is the most obvious one.

As many have illustrated this off-season, the role for Herro this season is one that he can thrive in. It’s simplified, it’s fitting, and well, it’s a scoring one.

He’s going to have the ball in his hands a ton to create offense and get a bunch of shots up, but a lot of that will come down to the overarching creation that he gets. And it seems like that’s been a major focus this off-season in his behind the scenes training for the season.

Off-ball impact will be huge for him as well, since one of the only parts of his game that saw a decrease last season was catch and shoot threes. If that can be revived to rookie year levels, he will be in good shape.

Scoring, scoring, and more scoring. He’s going to be asked to be the bucket getter off the bench, or better yet, a closing bucket getter once again. And there’s nothing more important for his game this season than taking the reigns of that role from the jump.

Dewayne Dedmon:

Clean Up-Crew

This Heat team will be looking a lot different in the front-court this season. Tucker entering as a primary 4, Markieff Morris being picked up, and Omer Yurtseven being added as a youthful project. Things won’t be familiar in that department early in the season.

But two guys this team will trust down low are Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon.

Dedmon showed last season that he’s a trustable piece to be utilized in different spots. He’s extremely efficient, doesn’t need to be a spot-light on the offensive end, and shows plenty of things that the Heat organization and coaching staff loves.

Much like Lowry, I do believe that availability will be very important for him after being super fresh for this past playoff series after only playing 16 regular season games.  I don’t expect him to play close to 82, which is where the Yurtseven opportunity arises.

Aside from that, going back to the front-court additions, Dedmon is one of the only rotational pieces other than Adebayo who can be a true rebounding threat. They added size but didn’t add length, which felt like a case where Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley met in the middle.

Clean-up crew Dedmon will be important for this team, especially being a bench piece. The reason for that is due to predominant bench lineups being about getting shots up: aka Herro, Max Strus, etc. If he can continue to show consistency as an inside threat throughout the regular season, it’ll make the non-Adebayo minutes much easier.

Max Strus:

Balancing Robinson Insertion and Personal Strengths

Max Strus is one of those intriguing story-lines heading into the season. He has slowly bumped up the rotation line in a similar way we’ve seen Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, and others do so.

There are a few things that we still need to evaluate from him, starting with consistency of offensive play at this level. We’ve seen him in solid spot minutes last season and Summer League domination, but consistent rotational minutes are always a bit different.

But in terms of his most important attribute personally, I think it’s about the role given to him. What I mean by that is he might have to do a bit of balancing to begin the season between: filling into Robinson movement sets and just being himself.

As much as he gets the Robinson comparison, he’s not Duncan Robinson. They don’t have the same body structure, they don’t have the same defensive capabilities, and they don’t have the same offensive control.

But yes, they can both shoot.

Will Strus thrive as a guy who never puts the ball on the floor, or will we see that’s how he creates his space with aggressive downhill attacking? It’s an interesting discussion, which is why his early season choices could dictate his play-style for the year.

Markieff Morris:

Efficiency

No surprise here, it all comes down to efficiency for the recently acquired Markieff Morris. With the Lakers this past season, he shot 31% from three through 61 regular season games.

Although the record shows that he’s more efficient as a starter, I would expect him to be in that bench role with developing offensive weapons like Tyler Herro. And in a lot of ways, those are the type of players who can probably benefit him most.

Combining players who dominate the ball with a spot-up guy who is unselfish and willing to locate himself in different places definitely isn’t a bad recipe. With Dedmon’s interior location, that outside shot will be even more crucial for Morris.

Like I noted with Tucker, the corner three is the game changer for this team, but I don’t believe that’s where we see Morris most. He’s a guy that thrived in Horns’ sets because he can pop out to the top of the key with more things at his disposal.

As a play-maker, he always looked best with over the top passes from that spot of the floor, meaning I think we see that translate over this season as well. If he can knock down that shot consistently, the usage of him on this team shifts completely.

Victor Oladipo:

Health

Victor Oladipo is the true definition of an NBA wild card. The projection of him slotting next to all of the team’s primary defenders or lining up next to Herro as a shot creator is clearly something to be happy about from Miami’s perspective.

But as much as that stuff holds high importance, none of it matters if he doesn’t get back out there on the floor at a decent percentage. Nothing matters more than the health of Victor Oladipo, which is why I don’t expect them rushing him back this season even if he pushes it.

The true value of this pick-up is having him as a late-season addition who can be used in a playoff series without a ton of prior film to evaluate from this season. Hence, the phrase wild card coming into play.

If this team ends up showing flashes early in the season before Oladipo returns, that’s when they’ll know they have a shot at something. A slow start may lead to a heavy reliance on Oladipo coming back at a high level, and that’s far from ideal.

Just have him work himself in with a minor workload next to Herro in the back-up back-court, and see where you can go from there.

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Gabe Vincent:

Playing Off the Catch

Gabe Vincent’s name seems to be getting talked about less and less as the season approaches, which may lead to him ending up as another surprise

Erik Spoelstra showed a great amount of trust in him last season, even placing him in a role he wasn’t very familiar with. He was essentially asked to run offense and trigger certain sets, while being a point of attack anchor in the 2-2-1 press Miami relied on.

And well, that wasn’t really Vincent’s role in the past. The shooting struggles may have came due to the comfort levels differing. In the past, he was a guy who played off the ball as a spot-up threat from deep, but too much on his plate at the point guard position could have clouded things.

In his predicted minutes early on, I think we see more of him playing off the catch with the ball in Herro or Lowry’s hands. Allow him to play his own game then make an evaluation from there. He’s made huge steps in his game in every major area, except for that shooting stroke that we once saw.

If he can maximize that this season, this team will be in better shape than originally expected before Oladipo returns.

Omer Yurtseven:

Playing Time

Omer Yurtseven, also known as the Summer League fan favorite, really made a name for himself this off-season. A lengthy build with enough versatility to shoot it from deep, play in the post, and protect the rim.

At this point in his young career, there isn’t a specific part of his game that will be more important than others, but the primary component will be playing time.

As I’ve said in the past, he’s going to get minutes this season. Guys like Dedmon don’t seem to be playing 82, while other front-court members are older in age, meaning he will be slotted in at some point in the season.

That’s when he can showcase his full game off at this level. Before working things down to a specific focus in his game, the initial game observation has to come, and I believe it’ll come sooner than some may think.

KZ Okpala:

Behind the Scenes Focus

The current focus of KZ Okpala’s skill-set won’t be coming in NBA minutes. The true time to maximize his offensive skills in question is still going to be behind the scenes.

It’s very clear that spot-up three should be the thing he’s harping on right now. After seeing his willingness to attack, there just isn’t enough touch around the rim and perimeter combos to get downhill to obtain that ability consistently.

The three ball hasn’t been showcased yet either, but that at least has some potential to be useful in the near future. Like I’ve said before, aiming for a 3 & D role is all he needs right now. He has the defensive part, but a decent corner three is what can potentially get him some minutes down the line.

Until then, it’s more about focusing on attributes outside of NBA games.

Udonis Haslem:

Increasing Minutes?

And finally, the guy who has basically been a part of the Miami Heat since I was born: Udonis Haslem.

Discussing the skill-set of Haslem hasn’t seemed necessary up to this point since that’s never what he’s used for. It’s more about off-court leadership or on-court three minute stints before being ejected.

But could this be the year he actually receives more minutes?

Some have argued that he can clearly still play with that sweet baseline jumper and rebounding toughness, but I feel it’ll be harder this year than ever. The reason for that is if there was a season for him to see an increase in minutes, it was last season.

An uneven Covid season without any front-court depth is pretty much the combo that should translate to that. This roster, on the other hand, is filled with front-court depth who are looking for a long-term chance to prove themselves.

But well, you never really know what will happen in this league, especially with the Miami Heat.

We may not know the on-court situation with Udonis Haslem, but we definitely know the off-court situation. He will have his teammates prepared every single night to embody their new team theme.

Why is that? Well, the theme of this team is basically Udonis Haslem.

 

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Miami’s Team Theme May Be Toughness, but Something Else Seems Superior

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Since we’re 13 days away from the Heat’s preseason opener against the Atlanta Hawks, it leads to many of us looking at stuff through a microscope. But when picturing Kyle Lowry’s impact in a Heat uniform specifically, I think we have to take a step back to the initial observation.

He brings so much to the table as a player that we may be overlooking an obvious element.

Yes, a primary addition is plugging the point of attack issues. Yes, they get an extra play-maker to run offense. Yes, Lowry is a guy who can get to the basket and put pressure on the rim alone.

But what about the biggest thing that translates to pacing and game control? Free throw line antics.

That has always been one of the first things that comes to mind when hearing the name Lowry or facing him whenever you watch your team play. He knows how to manipulate the whistle out on the perimeter, and well, does that sound a bit familiar?

Jimmy Butler is pretty similar in that sense, since he’s known for controlling tempo and utilizing a loud yell whenever he gets around the rim to create contact. While Lowry does it mostly on the perimeter as a ball-handler, Butler does it as a finisher, which may be the most important combo on this team.

Bam Adebayo has actually grown a lot by getting to the free throw line as well, which is important with his current skill-set. Guys like Butler have been pushing him to do it more, since he’s faster, more athletic, and more skilled than most of the bigs he faces one-on-one.

And the quote I bring up a lot from when I asked Butler about Adebayo’s aggressiveness and ability to get to the free throw line, he said, “He’s damn near unguardable whenever he’s playing like that.”

If confidence in his downhill ability grows, as well as his frequency in downhill attempts, the charity stripe may end up being an even bigger theme than the toughness of this group.

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A common topic in the NBA from year to year is the transition from regular season play-style to playoff play-style. Fast paced teams may not get as many transition buckets as they once did, since the game slows down and half-court creativity becomes much more important.

Well, that’s where the free throw line stuff becomes a staple for this Heat team. Not to kill their bodies through the first 82 to get a call, but when things begin to slow down, they have something to rely on if shots aren’t falling in their natural flow.

Looking back at the post-season in the bubble, Butler, Adebayo, and Lowry all cracked the top 20 for free throw attempts per game.

To dive even deeper, Butler, Victor Oladipo, Lowry, and Adebayo were all included in the top 12 of free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. When things got tight down the stretch, they found ways to put points on the board.

Now all four of those guys are a part of the 2021-2022 Miami Heat squad. You may look at this team on paper and say they are very strong defensively, but will those guys put enough points on the board?

I would say definitely in a normal setting, but even more so when things grow uncomfortable. This team is built for the post-season, but it just comes down to reaching a decent seed to actually make something of it.

 

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Answering Heat Questions: Break-Out Players, Depth, Team Tempo, and More

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We are slowly approaching the beginning of the 2021-2022 NBA season, and it should be an interesting one for the Miami Heat. New faces, new skill-sets, but the same goal.

In exactly one week, the Heat will be kicking off media day, and in exactly two weeks, the Heat will play the Atlanta Hawks in their first preseason game.

So, as we grow closer and closer to that initial tip-off, I have another edition of answering your guys questions. Roster worries, wild predictions, or pure excitement. Let’s hop right into some of the current focuses surrounding this team…

On a Heat team full of veteran players who have plenty of experience in this league, break-out players won’t be flying out of nowhere. But I do think one guy can end up surprising a lot of people.

Max Strus.

He came as a surprise to many down the stretch of last season, and he’s not done yet. He just came off an incredible Summer League run, where the coaching staff continued to test him to see what he was capable of. They treated him like “the guy,” and he was just that.

Now, heading into a new season, he has a defined role off the bench. And although that bench unit may not be filled with big name guys, he’s somebody that can make a huge impact and really “break-out.”

Although he was used on the ball a lot in Las Vegas, he’s going to be simplified offensively back into a spot-up role. Duncan Robinson exiting the floor while Strus is standing at the scorers table with his warm-ups on the floor beside him will be quite a formula.

To answer your second question, I don’t feel like my take on Miami’s seeding is very bold. This is a squad built for the post-season, but in the mean time, they must get to a decent seed if they want to truly show out on that stage.

With that said, I feel the 3 seed is a reasonable spot. That basically means you have a path to win the first round as the favored team, face a Milwaukee Bucks type 2 seed in an anticipated rematch, before arriving in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Brooklyn Nets.

Of course it’s way too early to be predicting that, but the goal will be to get in that 3 range. And I believe it’s possible if the expected leaps occur across the roster.

In a lot of ways over the past two seasons, the zone defense was a ” multiple weak defenders are on the floor” wrinkle.

On this new roster, there won’t be a ton of those stretches. Two reasons that it was so effective in the post-season during the bubble run was 1) it surprised teams on a game to game basis and 2) it was mixed in and wasn’t being harped on.

This past season, the 2-3 zone wasn’t just a wrinkle, it became a staple of their defensive scheme. Now that things have changed this season, I believe we see it less through the first 82. But not totally thrown away.

It could be something that is utilized in the Duncan Robinson-Tyler Herro minutes. Both of them got comfortable in that zone since they can rely on positional defending instead of isolation defending. And that’s a perfect recipe for the two of them.

For the second question, I absolutely believe we see a major increase in both pace and fast-break opportunities.

All defensive teams should be highly effective in getting transition buckets, but even when Miami cracked that top 10 in defense last season, fast-break points never rose with it. But well, that team wasn’t as close to being as good on that end of the floor as the new squad, and secondly, that team didn’t have Kyle Lowry.

No matter the age linked to his basketball reference profile, Lowry loves to get out and run in the open floor. He’s known for catching defenses lacking not only off of misses, but also sprinting down the floor off an inbound.

Bam Adebayo is an exceptional transition weapon, but it needs to be seen more. Retreating the ball back out to set up offense time and time again just won’t cut it, especially next to Lowry. We’re going to see a hint of rim running Adebayo back in those scenarios, and that’s exactly what both him and this Heat team need.

The depth of this Heat team is the one thing that seems to be getting harped on throughout the off-season, but it pretty much rides on an inconclusive factor.

Victor Oladipo, as I’ve said throughout the off-season, is the biggest wild card on this Heat team, and possibly one of the biggest across the league. If he can come back at a decent percentage, there won’t be any worries about the bench unit on this team.

But let’s approach this topic as if Oladipo isn’t back, which he won’t be for a portion of the season.

Let me start by saying there won’t be many bench “lineups” this season. We saw it a ton last season because it’s hard to keep one of Jimmy Butler and Adebayo on the floor at all times throughout a regular season. Adding Kyle Lowry to that group makes it a lot easier.

These bench guys may be used a ton, but it’s going to be alongside the top dogs on the team.

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Tyler Herro will be getting a bunch of on-ball reps off the bench, which will be the true deciding factor when discussing the depth of this team. If he performs at the level that many know he’s capable of, then these worries wont even be considered.

As I mentioned earlier, Strus will be put in a perfect situation to succeed and I believe he will. But don’t discredit Gabe Vincent completely. I believe people would be a lot higher on him heading into the year if he played in Vegas, but it was much more important to take care of his body in preparation.

Lastly, the veteran back-up front-court of Markieff Morris and Dewayne Dedmon will be something to keep an eye on. Morris is awaiting an opportunity with a defined role, and I believe this scenario is perfect. No front-court player on this team has his identical skill-set, so it’ll all come down to efficiency for him.

As for Dedmon, we know his efficiency and play-ability in that role, but the one question will be availability. If certain stuff breaks down, Omer Yurtseven will be waiting for his name to be called, but either way, they’re deep at that position.

It’s not about evaluating the bench group as a whole, it’s much more about looking at their roles on this team and how they will blend into specific schemes and lineups. And I can already tell a couple of these guys will slot in perfectly.

The issue with Oladipo starting in that scenario isn’t about a worrisome duo of Robinson and Herro off the bench. The issue is that you’d be replacing the most important part of their offense with that move.

Yes, Robinson may end up averaging the fourth most points among that group this season, but he’s undeniably the most important. If they want to score points, you need the gravity from Robinson to generate rim pressure and the occasional three point bomb.

I also don’t think we should get caught up in “starting lineups” too much. There’s absolutely zero chance Oladipo starts over Robinson at any point this season, but that doesn’t mean Oladipo can’t get more playing time from game to game.

They’re going to be doing a ton of trial and error to find combos that work, but I can comfortably say that Robinson isn’t going to be sitting in a chair when that ball goes up in the air barring he’s healthy.

And I’d bet on there being a clear understanding on Oladipo’s side of things about his role. An ideal bench duo of Dipo/Herro with balancing skill-sets is the formula to competing this season, which relates back to my earlier point about his true wild card status.

If I had to give one predicting element for this team succeeding and one for them tailing off, it definitely requires some thought.

The clear answer for this team potentially not succeeding would be that they added *too* many veterans, and it’s another situation where there’s a revolving door of players. That may be the case with any team, but a constant reliance on inexperienced players may lead to over-playing the main cast, leading to them tailing off late in the season.

If they get the injury bug and end up in a 5-6 seed once again, it’s going to be very tough to see them getting out of that spot.

But on a more positive note, I’d say the most ideal situation for them succeeding is a clear leap from young players. Seeing that development come to fruition from Adebayo, Herro, and Robinson specifically would do wonders.

Adebayo becoming the leader in shot attempts, Herro growing his offensive bag in isolation, and Robinson adding a one-dribble pull-up into a mid-range is my best case scenario.

Of course this is all speculation, but if a couple of those things actually pan out, then this team will be in very good shape this season.

 

Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

Visit them at EverythingTradeShows or call 954-791-8882