Tag Archive for: Jimmy Butler

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Nets

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The Miami Heat were in a back and forth against the Brooklyn Nets tonight.

Here are some takeaways…

#1: Let’s quickly talk match-ups…

As the Nets got set into their defensive stance following the tip-off, a bunch of things caught my eye. Ben Simmons on Bam Adebayo, Nic Claxton on Jimmy Butler, and Kevin Durant on Tyler Herro. For starters, that’s a lot of defensive length against a Heat team that is far from effective against size. Simmons on Bam just meant they could switch any pick and roll Miami ran, while Herro was going to see a lengthy defender no matter what. That forced Herro into an awkward state early since he couldn’t get to his usual spots off screens, but he found some off-ball pockets and early clock looks. He got comfortable even further early in the fourth, as his shot making found an uptick. The Heat obviously were fine on the offensive end as they were efficient and scored well, but the length match-up is still something to keep an eye on. The Victor Oladipo card makes it easier, since he’s not hugely impacted on either end.

#2: Heat’s first half wasn’t the typical: matching buckets with this Nets team is never the blueprint.

When we’ve seen two point games at half throughout the season in Heat game, it’s usually 46-44, not 66-64. The Heat’s defense will come to play in an ugly, “in the mud” match-up, but that wasn’t the case tonight. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were doing their usual isolation work that a defensive scheme can’t really counter, but very good offense would be a fine counter. The Heat were spreading the ball around well, generating paint touches, and shot 44% from three in that first half. It’s never the idea to go out and match elite shot makers that the Nets possess, but the Heat were doing it in their own right. An interesting thing to monitor. (A much more entertaining style.)

#3: Role player watch for the Heat.

When it comes to discussing Heat role players in this game, Haywood Highsmith would be a good place to start. He came out guarding Durant on the defensive end, and while Duran’t effectiveness may not reflect it, he was battling in a very good way to make it more difficult on the catch in the mid-range. He also had some bail-out buckets to begin this game with some direct drives to the rim. The bench was a huge positive as well, since they shot 8 of 11 from the field in that first half. I don’t want to include Victor Olaidpo in the “role players” section too much, but he really settled that group running the offense. Lastly, Orlando Robinson was a +14. Yes, that is new.

#4: Jimmy Butler bringing the usual fire.

As I said earlier, the ball wasn’t sticking for this Heat team tonight. The usage was being spread out pretty well, as the Heat were just taking advantages of the openings in front of them. With that said, Jimmy Butler was the one constant to the offense throughout this game. The hard drives, the activity on help defense to throw Durant and Irving off single coverage since he wasn’t the actual match-up, and continued trips to the line. He wasn’t dominating the ball in a noticeable way, but he was just keeping the energy high and reading  certain pockets of the game. In the third quarter, he stole it from Durant, dove out of bounds for the save, got up and got fouled eventually at the rim. That’s something others can feed off of.

#5: The fourth quarter run…

As the back and forth in scoring continued, the Nets hit a bit of a weird wall with Durant getting injured and going to the locker room. As he was no longer on the floor, and Ben Simmons took a breather, the Nets defensive length diminished all of a sudden. Hence, the early fourth quarter run from Herro. He kept sliding into off-ball pockets which led into some on-ball pull-ups in the mid-range. The Nets counter-punched without Durant, finding their offense behind Irving drawing doubles, and triples, then dishing to their solid role players. Bam Adebayo was not having his best night, as Robinson checked in for him with 5 minutes to go…which was interesting, until realizing the hand was bothering him. Two minutes left, Heat trailed by 3, Robinson received it in the middle of the floor, kept it high, threw a risky pass to the dunker spot for the Butler dunk. Miami gets a stop the very next play, and Oladipo bombs it to Butler who catches and finishes. Heat now up 1. Now down to 15 seconds left, Irving misses a deep shot, Nets get an offensive board for the tip-in. Nets up 1. Heat get a great look on the end with a Butler drive, but don’t get the call. Heat lose.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Suns

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The Miami Heat wrapped up the 5 game road trip in Phoenix on Friday night, improving to 3-2 on the trip.

When looking at it from that perspective, that’s a good trip.

Victor Oladipo and Bam Adebayo lead the way tonight, so here are some takeaways….

#1: No Tyler Herro means an altered offensive focus for Heat.

As Tyler Herro was an active scratch with back spasms, it means you have to make a pretty decent sized adjustment to your offensive gameplan. Not only is he high usage, but he’s a primary offensive trigger. With his absence, it basically meant Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo would be the only two half-court hubs for the offense. We saw them get it to Bam in those spots early, which I will discuss next, but Butler was doing the same off low post cross screens into mismatch hunting on any of the Suns smaller guards. That game-plan seems rather simple, but the bigger point that I mentioned to begin this game: this team couldn’t afford to play a second without at least one of them on the floor. Not only are they primary hubs, they’re the only hubs.

#2: Bam Adebayo making it look easy, because it’s gotten so simple.

As much as I discuss the Heat’s gameplan in the half-court to begin this game, it really wasn’t complex when it came to Bam Adebayo. He was being fed early in this game, going 6 of 9 from the field in the first half. It began at the elbow, as a set like Horns would be run, which ultimately flowed into Bam turning into face-up position before going to work. That free throw/dotted line jumper just continues to feel like money every time it leaves his hand with some rhythm. Seeing the Heat run isos for Bam consistently says a lot about where he is as a scorer. The other point to make about his early disposition aside from face-ups, included a heavy dosage of short roll stuff. It’s honestly tougher without Herro since he feeds him so often in that pocket, but he was still able to do some damage there too. It looks easy for him, but that’s because his options have been simplified.

#3: Dewayne Dedmon minutes again.

Before this game, Erik Spoelstra made some comments that seemed to hint at the team going in the Orlando Robinson direction for a stretch with Dewayne Dedmon continuing to recover, and that theory lasted a total of 42 seconds. Dedmon got the backup big spot yet again tonight, but it should also be noted that this role is as limited at it possibly can be. The Heat went to an 8 man rotation in this one, as Dedmon only played 6 minutes in the first half. Now I won’t act like those aren’t a *long* six minutes to monitor, but it just shows the heavy reliance on Bam at this stage and non-trust in those minutes. I’m still of the belief that Robinson should 100% be in that role at the moment, especially in a matchup like tonight. Not that Robinson is a reliable big man defender, but Chris Paul vs Dedmon in drop coverage can make 6 minutes feel like a basketball eternity.

#4: Hmmm, Torrey Craig is interesting…

When we often look around the league at possible 4’s to keep on the Heat’s radar, Torrey Craig is an interesting one. He played a very good game against Miami tonight, pretty much showing one of the pieces the Heat could very much utilize. To put it into even more context, we watched Haywood Highsmith tonight get the start next to Bam, and he had a bit of a rough one. Craig was extremely efficiency, hits spot-up triples, can play off the dribble at times in that in-between game, can rebound well for his size, and defends multiple positions. With the Suns already down one power forward, why would they trade another? But in terms of those packages with multiple players, Craig would be a fantastic add if they had the chance.

#5: Victor Oladipo has found his burst as of late, but is he adding in the perfect combo?

Victor Oladipo has been high usage over this road trip, but more specifically tonight due to Herro being out. His burst has been the highlight of his game over the last few weeks, since we haven’t seen this since his Indiana days. But that burst doesn’t mean much if the result isn’t equating to the moves. Yet that hasn’t been the case. His finishing has been solid, since he just loves that right slot when he gets the correct angle when that strong side help doesn’t slide down. Aside from that finishing, he got to the line a ton tonight. What’s the perfect sidekick to that revived burst? Free throw line antics. If he can find that balance of rim pressure and trips to the line, that’s all this Heat team needs if their offensive style ever gets back to that ideal state. Balancing that with some form of shooting is the goal, which they will try and fix at the deadline, I’m assuming.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Lakers

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The Miami Heat played the LeBron and AD-less Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, and the Heat played like they were facing a weaker roster.

Issues can be discussed from different angles, but this game was lost at the point of attack defense plain and simple.

Some takeaways from this one…

#1: The Heat’s early lack of intention on both ends.

When the Lakers injury report was submitted late Wednesday afternoon, that was probably the moment when the Heat put their guard down. As LeBron James was ruled out, that’s usually the moment when teams play down to competition, especially when looking at this Lakers roster tonight. Yet Russel Westbrook and company came out firing, as the Heat were sleep walking on both ends. No intention on the offensive end in terms of getting into actions, as well as the shooting just not clicking for Miami yet again. The Lakers flurry of role players were also bursting past the Heat’s point of attack defense consistently, and rotations just seemed to be off. Just a very underwhelming first half to this game for the Heat, on a night where they needed to just take care of business from the jump.

#2: Tyler Herro seeing a similar coverage to the Hawks series.

We often look back to the playoffs last year when discussing coverages that Tyler Herro has seen at the highest level. We usually go to that Philly series, since that’s when he saw consistent doubles and blitzes off every pick and roll, placing him out of his rhythm. But the Hawks series was a different scenario. The Hawks plan was to place Delon Wright on Herro for every second of every game, and his one job was to not leave his side. That’s what the Lakers were doing from baseline to baseline tonight, mostly with Dennis Schroder actually. I honestly believe the blitzes will be an easier coverage for him to beat at this stage. This one-on-one, annoying box and one type of vibe seems to take him out of his usual comfort spots. It’ll be interesting to monitor the counters to this matchup type.

#3: Reacting over predetermining: a Heat offensive need.

As much as I talked about the Heat’s struggles, they were only down four at halftime. Once again, that’s not something to be proud of against this roster, but it showed they had to be doing at least “one” thing right. That was specifically reacting to the Lakers defense instead of predetermining their shot profile. The example of that was a certain Heat run in the second quarter, where it started with a switch and Bam seal, leading into an entry pass and post hook. The next play, they got a switch again, this time with Thomas Bryant onto Victor Oladipo. He slowly waited, then flowed into his pull-up from that left wing over the big man. That is reacting to what a not-so-good defense is giving you, instead of pressing too much. At times the Heat seem to make things too difficult on themselves, when the easier approach is sitting right there. But either way, this takes up back to the word of the season for Miami: consistency, or lack-of for better context.

#4: Jimmy Butler finding a third quarter advantage.

To start the second half, the Heat came out with a gameplan surrounded around Jimmy Butler in the half-court. Butler was being guarded by Pat Bev, meaning he just kept getting down to that bottom box and going to work. Post spin, over the top lob, jumper over the top. If you know Butler, you know he loves nothing more than going one-on-one with a smaller defender. He started the third with 4 straight field goals. After a timeout, the Lakers threw their counter punch. They were just going to begin peeling over that second defender early. Now Butler got into his dump off bag with Bam Adebayo settling around the basket for easy push shots and dunks. The Heat finally found a base. Shortly after, the Lakers made another adjustment to stop giving Butler guard looks, throwing guys like Tuscano-Anderson at him instead. Either way, it’s clear Butler has an on/off switch he can flip whenever he chooses offensively.

#5: Breaking down Heat-Lakers clutch time…

Under five minutes to go, the Lakers were up by 2 on the Heat. The Lakers continued to put Herro in the action possession after possession, leading to more Bam attention and a bucket inside for Thomas Bryant. Bam answers on the other end with a short clock with that face up jumper, but a response kept occurring on the other end in similar fashion, as the Heat’s first line defense couldn’t contain to any degree. After the Heat fouled Schroder on a three with over two minutes to go, that felt like the final straw, but Butler answered with a right wing three to put it back at a three point game. Fast forward to a minute left, Bam got a put-back to fall putting it back at a 1 point game, but like I said, we kept seeing them answer. Schroder got an immediate paint touch and got to the line. 3 point game again. A reviewed foul call eventually put Oladipo at the line, which he went 1 for 2. The Lakers response included another Schroder burst past Caleb Martin for the lay-in. Sensing a theme? The Heat lost this game simply off point of attack defense. The Lakers offense was surging, and three point shooting wasn’t even a part of their success. They were just walking into the paint with ease all night. Down to 15 seconds left, the Heat fouled Westbrook who converted an and-1 on the inbound. Ball game? Well Strus ended up hitting a triple on the other end with four seconds left to give some form of hope. 3 seconds left, Heat inbound full court, Butler got a pretty good look that came up short. Arguably the worst loss of the season for Miami…

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Nuggets

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The Heat lose in a back and forth in Denver. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro both played very well, but ultimately couldn’t generate enough stops to walk out of that building with a win.

But here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: The Heat’s first half offense: short jumpers and rough offense.

The Heat struggled to begin this game in the half-court, as the high altitude was clearly a bother. A little past the midway mark of the second quarter, the Heat were shooting 33% from the field, as Jimmy Butler was 1 for 5, Bam Adebayo was 2 for 8, and Tyler Herro was 1 for 6. Miami ended up running off 12 points in the final two minutes of the second quarter to juice up their numbers a bit and give them momentum. At the same time as those Heat stats, the Nuggets were shooting 61% from the field and 53% from three. How was this a game? Well, the Heat had 9 offensive boards to begin the game to the Nuggets 0. They also forced double the amount of turnovers in that first half. So, that was basically the blueprint.

#2: Max Strus providing the necessary spark.

As I just addressed that 12 point run by Miami in the final two minutes stretch before the half, Max Strus had 8 of those points. He got in the lane for a left-handed scoop to get Miami on the board out of the timeout, but the threes flowed in shortly after. A Kyle Lowry pick and roll on the right wing masked a weak-side hammer screen from Adebayo to give Strus a wide open three in the left corner. But the key wasn’t the process, it’s Strus actually finding his way as an efficient shooter again. With the recent rough patch, he has needed moments like this to get him back in a rhythm. And well, he’s still never seen a shot contest in his life, as he will fire over just about any close-out.

#3: Bam Adebayo adjusted back into drop coverage against Nikola Jokic.

If I can present that same question I threw out there earlier, how was Miami in the game early even with all of those one-sided stats? Well, minor adjustments like this one changed the pace. The Heat’s defensive activity really picked up on that second quarter specifically, but that was due to the fact they could double and recover much more freely with Adebayo glued to Nikola Jokic in drop. We saw some switches early, but they settled back in that drop after realizing they needed to mirror the minutes of Jokic with Bam. Now, Jokic did have 7 assists at the half, but that was mostly due to the fact Bam was forcing him into that role. More hand-offs and PnR’s means the Heat’s point of attack defense has to screen navigate. We saw some counter matches in this one, but Bam in drop against elite centers is always the answer. Just go back to the second round series against Joel Embiid and Philly.

#4: The third quarter: the Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro show

Through the first 8 minutes of play in the third quarter, the Heat scored 23 points. All 23 of those points were from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. The Heat changed up the substitution pattern a bit with Jimmy Butler exiting early, meaning a heavy dosage of Herro-Bam PnR. Herro found both his pull-up three and the floater in the in-between game after a tough start to the game. Bam was playing with some real energy as a roller and out of his face-up, as many of his points simply came from getting to the line consistently in Butler fashion. That’s one of the most important elements when watching Bam offensively: just getting a friendly whistle. Anyway, having these two lead the way for a giant chunk of time in this environment is promising.

#5: Fourth quarter summary: Butler’s adjustment to Nuggets forcing a certain switch to Herro ball late to stalling out.

Jimmy Butler was being a menace on the defensive end all night. Getting into his usual free safety antics by hitting passing pockets, but his eventual offensive recognition in this game is what truly stood out. Early in the fourth quarter, Adebayo and Herro went to the bench, so Butler could run with the second unit. In that same sense, DeAndre Jordan was the opposing big in this stretch. Butler recognizing, just kept attacking Jordan in drop coverage as he should. But the reason it stood out was because he played it perfectly. We don’t see Butler floaters too often, but he was spamming it in this period. Jordan exited, Jokic entered. Yet Bam was still on the bench. Shortly after he walked to the scorers table, but that short stint can flip a game, which it did in a sense. Into late-game stuff, the Nuggets were forcing a Kyle Lowry switch onto Aaron Gordon possession after possession, giving them a real offensive base. Now down to the three minute mark, Herro began getting into his bag. Isolation into pull-up. Catch and shoot three. Drawing fouls. He was great, but everything else began falling apart. The offense somewhat stalled, but they just couldn’t generate a stop lat with Jamal Murray surging. Nuggets shooting 59% from both the field and from three just won’t cut it.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Lakers

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A rather healthy Heat team, minus Kyle Lowry, faced off at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

A strong night by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo offensively gave the Heat the offensive blueprint on the way to the win.

Some takeaways from this game…

#1: Jimmy Butler carrying the first half offensive shot distribution.

Isolation. An inside the arc burst to either side of the floor. A slow, methodical spin move back to the inside. Bucket. That was a simple way of describing how Jimmy Butler got to 19 first half points. Even after missing time by any means, he usually comes back in similar fashion. But instead of diving in that direction, there is definitely something to be said about the pure 1-on-1 ability of Butler. Simply, teams have shown they don’t really have an answer for that element of his game, nor do they want to display it. Opposing teams won’t send that double too often since they know what will happen next when combining Butler’s passing and Miami’s movement. Anyways, it’s always good to watch this version of Butler on the offensive end.

#2: The continued finger-prints of Victor Oladipo on the defensive end.

When talking about the Heat’s defense, we usually start in two completely different places. Either the point of attack issues, or to praise the defensive excellence of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. Well, Victor Oladipo would like a word in both areas. In terms of one-on-one ability, there aren’t many guards in this league with the natural ability that he possesses. His lateral quickness, even after multiple injuries, is something wild to see. He can cut off any ball-handler just by beating you to the spot. His instincts are also a major part of this, since he makes timely swipes to accumulate steals, as seen in the Eastern Conference Finals against Jaylen Brown. Those instincts blend into off-ball positioning leading into the charge surge. He has been great in that field, and feels necessary to note.

#3: Some X’s and O’s talk: the Heat’s recent spam of a certain action.

In the previous game against the Timberwolves, the Heat spammed one specific action for the final two minutes of the third quarter, which pretty much put them in a position to eventually win the game. Double drag: the Heat’s ball handler will come off a pair of screens, with the first one popping and the second one diving. It’s a simple action to basically spread the floor a bit and possibly force a switch. But we saw it a ton again tonight. It’s really heavy in the Duncan Robinson lineups since he’s always that initial screen to immediately slip, but this set is what got Tyler Herro going finally in that second quarter. That flowed him to the rim a bit more with added paint touches, basically turning into a Herro-Bam PnR, creating a very good shot diet. Like I said, it’s simple, but it’s also crucial.

#4: A change-up in game-plan for the Heat again? Yes.

Speaking of that last game vs Minnesota, I asked Kyle Lowry after the game about the uptick in pace, which he basically said you are forced into game-plan changes without Butler and Adebayo. That would be correct. But what about a game-plan shift when both of them are playing? We saw that tonight. Although Spo always preaches getting to 40 three-point attempts, while the Heat still did get up a bunch tonight, the goal was to have more going at the rim. That ties back to both the Butler and Herro points in this piece. They wanted to attack the Lakers lack of rim protection at the moment, and well, that’s not a hard thing to adjust to when that description fits your two best players exactly. This team simply cannot rely on three-point shooting, even if it gets hot for a month or two. Having this base will always be key.

#5: Wait, is Caleb Martin the three-point specialist now?

It’s been a running joke for a while that Caleb Martin essentially can’t miss when his foot is on the three-point line, and that held up in this game. To finish the third quarter, he had 13 points with three triples, but the only two 2 point field goals were with his foot on that line. So in theory, that should’ve been 5 triples. Jokes aside, this emergence has really been something to document. He’s super confident in that jumper following a size-up jab step, while also providing stuff off the catch a good bit. If the Heat were in a better spot this season in terms of winning, we would be discussing this jump much more. With all of the talk about a “four,” he has been outstanding this season in whatever role they’ve placed him in.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Pacers

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The Heat fall to the Pacers…

Some takeaways…

#1: Tyrese Haliburton’s adjustment from last Heat game to now.

The last time the Heat faced the Pacers in Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton had a rough night. 0 for 9 shooting due to the Heat’s game-plan to switch Bam Adebayo out and fully eliminate him in the half-court. So, what was his adjustment? He had 5 threes at the half, and it was basically responding to the similar PnR coverage. His adjustment was to just immediately pull without waiting for the switch. When a player has the ability to shoot from farther out, it’s really the one and only thing that can stump that pure switch. A lot of the Pacers early shooting was just hitting most shots from their diet, but the Haliburton part of it was schemed.

#2: Jimmy Butler back, the Heat still reliant on him.

Jimmy Butler had 14 points at the half, as most of that contribution was made in that opening quarter. The first action following the tip-off was a Kyle Lowry cross screen for Butler, who caught the entry pass on the opposite side in the low post for the bucket. The Pacers are one of the only teams to place a smaller defender on Butler and live with it, as Andrew Nembhard has seen him primarily in both match-ups. We saw the pick-up in attempts going toward the rim, which all starts with Butler setting the tone in that way, as well as the trips to the line. This team needs Butler to be that type of force for the offense to function correctly, and I don’t know if that’s extremely a good thing.

#3: Bam Adebayo’s elbow spam into attack.

Aside from the early offensive plan to get Butler going toward the rim, the bigger point was to get Bam Adebayo some post splits and elbow touches. Not really to force him to operate as a play-maker continually, but to work that face-up in space. We saw things we are used to such as the pull-up fade and pure rim attacks following a few jab steps, but he worked in some foul drawing techniques. He was really initiating the contact off those drives to get Myles Turner in foul trouble, forcing him to the bench. Following him going to the bench, Jalen Smith enters. Adebayo throws three straight pump-fakes his way before he bit and Bam jumped into him. We often talk aggression, but these type of counters is something to keep an eye on.

#4: Orlando Robinson minutes with no Dewayne Dedmon.

The Heat’s rotation was pretty much back together in this one, except Dewayne Dedmon was out. That gave an even larger look into the potential of a full rotation, with another big man filling in for the non-Bam minutes. That guy was Orlando Robinson. He’s still very early on in his development, but I definitely didn’t mind those minutes at all. They utilized him defensively just like you would expect, if you watched what they did for developing bigs such as Omer Yurtseven last season. If you put him in an action, they’re just going to continually blitz you. He did a decent job at recovering at respectable speeds back into the lane, which is all you can really ask for in his minutes. He has limitations in certain aspects as expected, but it’s still worth a deeper look.

#5: The run happened again. Then a counter by Miami. Then the final punch by Haliburton.

Heading into the fourth quarter down two, we’ve seen this play-out too many times to know what was coming next. The offense begins to slip even further than we’ve recently seen throughout the season, as the opposing team breaks down the point of attack for easy opportunities. That came in the form of constant three-point shooting dominance from the Pacers guard room. Even though I touched on it early, it really begun and ended with Haliburton tonight who just couldn’t be slowed down. But ultimately this isn’t a Haliburton thing. It isn’t a Pacers thing. It’s a Heat thing at this point. The Heat found a counter punch late, though, led by…Haywood Highsmith? From short roll passes to dunker spot spacing to catch and drives, he gave them some very good minutes as Butler went out. Pacers cooled off for a bit as the Heat gained some energy, but still they had a large hole to dig themselves out of. Down 3 with 16 seconds left, they had to draw up a play, and they designed the perfect one. Strus off a pindown into a down-screen for Herro to receive with some momentum to the right wing. Tie game. But well, Haliburton happened again. A deep 3 wins them the game to finish it.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Spurs

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The Heat faced the Spurs in Mexico City on Saturday afternoon, and it was another back and forth event.

Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro provided enough offensive pressure throughout, while Victor Oladipo and Duncan Robinson truly stood out.

Robinson forced the second half run, Oladipo gave Miami some point of attack push back 1-on-1.

Some takeaways…

#1: Tyler Herro’s passing/Bam Adebayo’s rolling.

Before things took a bit of a turn, there was a certain Heat offensive staple they were getting to often: Tyler Herro/Bam Adebayo PnR. With Kyle Lowry out, it meant more ball-handling/creating reps for Herro at point guard. While I enjoy the stuff in the half-court, the full-court creation allows us to appreciate the control of Lowry. Herro got to the floater immediately in this one, then followed that up with keeping Tre Jones on his back before drawing the foul. From there, the setting up took off, as the Adebayo roll was the weakness of the Spurs defense. Live on-ball pressure combined with rolling gravity is quite the combo. The only issue is that it feels like when it’s connecting often, don’t stray away for two or three possessions. Make that defense stop it, then adjust from there.

#2: The Spurs early run: putting a certain Heat player in every action.

With 4 minutes left in the first quarter, Bam Adebayo exited the game with a 20-12 lead. 3 minutes later, he was coming back into the game down 5 with a score of 20-25. How did that happen? Well, the Spurs made it pretty clear that they weren’t going to get away from their offensive game-plan: attack Dewayne Dedmon in drop. I don’t want to give him all the blame, since the point of attack defense was bending a decent amount, but the goal was simply to create 2-on-1’s with Dedmon containing. We’ve talked often about the back-up big man situation, and it almost felt like Orlando Robinson is worthy of more opportunity. It isn’t helping Dedmon either that his foot injury continues to linger. The non-Bam minutes need figuring out.

#3: My thoughts on the Jovic-Bam minutes.

On paper, that front-court screams versatility and creativity. Two big guys who have the ability to both run the floor, and create opportunities for others through their passing ability. A movement offense dream. But it doesn’t ever seem to be utilized in that fashion. As noted to begin this piece, the early offense was heavy in the PnR direction with Bam and Herro, meaning Nikola Jovic is used as a spot-up guy. Of course that is fine, but those 7 minutes of play in a half are basically wasted by that point. They have the upside for sure, but the utilization next to each other feels like it needs to be elevated.

#4: Jimmy Butler flips an offensive switch in the third quarter.

In a back and forth game, the Heat needed somebody to takeover as the offensive hub to open up the second half. That guy ended up being Jimmy Butler. While they couldn’t break away by any means due to the continued defensive bending, Butler allowed Miami to stay somewhat parallel in that third quarter. Side pick and rolls down that baseline began drawing Spurs’ big men out little by little, which pretty much set up his constant drives and finishes around the rim. His slow and methodical play-style gave Miami some half-court offensive hope, along with the constant trips to the line. On the positive side, Butler was the one to put the Heat in a decent position.

#5: Duncan Robinson providing boost for Heat…Heat providing sets for Duncan Robinson.

Aside from the Butler tone setting to kick off the second half, Robinson kept them alive for large pockets of that span. Was it just Robinson hitting open shots? Well sometimes, but it was more than that. They were running sets for him again. Herro walks down to the left wing, as Robinson and Bam set up for double drag. Two fly at Herro, Bam sets the second screen, and he throws a skip pass to a wide open Robinson for the open bucket. A little bit later, they run a version of Horns with Robinson and Bam at each elbow. Robinson slips the screen to the opposite wing by Bam, who then sets the down-screen. Big time three-point shot by Robinson is the result. The very next play, they run a curl for Robinson in the same area, who draws two. He hits Bam with a pocket pass as Bam skies for a dunk. We still need to see consistency in his shooting, but watching the team run these type of sets is great to see.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Rockets

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A win for the Heat, a career night for Tyler Herro.

Some takeaways from this game, with a primary focus on the play and impact of Herro…

#1: Well, Tyler Herro happened again.

25 points. 6 of 8 from three. Oh wait, that wasn’t his game stats, those were just his numbers at the half. After a 35 point night 24 hours ago, he picked up right where he left off. As I described yesterday, he was responding to the blitzing coverages and shifted to more off the ball. Tonight was a variation of that, except there was no altering coverage. His first five triples of the game came from above the break, meaning he’s just working off slip screens for catch and shoot stuff, or pure pull-ups. The three-point shooting surging at the same time as he’s getting to the line is a true gem, since we know the mid-range pull-up will be there. His off-ball movement has been great as well, which is crucial with a healthy team out there.

#2: The need for movement on this team.

While I hinted at the Herro element of this, with his continued repositioning, this team found their rhythm early in this game off pure movement. The first way is with ball movement, as it was clear it wasn’t sticking: drive, paint touch, kick, swing, repeat. There was a lineup that Jimmy Butler headlined tonight that really took this to the next level, as he was surrounded by Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, and Orlando Robinson. Off first glance, he’s battling it out with four undrafted guys. On second glance, he’s the only viable play-maker/distributor. That takes us into the second element of movement, which is just players cutting and flying off screens. Looking at that lineup, that basically forces you into that style. But this shouldn’t be a role player blueprint, it’s a necessary Miami Heat blueprint.

#3: Orlando Robinson time…

With Dewayne Dedmon out on the second night of a back to back, it gave Orlando Robinson some run who has been killing it in the G-League. Plus with the Heat’s need for a viable back-up center, it’s good to get this look into his game. He had a very great first half, since he knows how to hit open slots when off the ball in the interior. He makes himself available on the roll, while never seeming to stall anything on either end. He rebounds well, and gives that second unit some energy. That in-between touch will develop as he goes, but the baseline for his game is there. Now it’s just about finding a role, which there’s a certain position that needs to be filled on this roster. After flipping two-ways with Dru Smith, he might stick now for good. Or better yet, find himself a roster spot.

#4: The Heat’s shooters struggling to…shoot?

Max Strus and Duncan Robinson have had similar paths. Undrafted to Heat two-way to starter. When one has struggled in the past, the other guy was ready to step up and capitalize. But right now, the Heat aren’t getting anything from either one of their sharpshooters, which after three quarters the stats included 1 for 9 for Robinson and 1 for 8 from Strus. After Robinson had a good game in OKC, he regressed yet again beyond the arc. Strus, on the other hand, had a very fast start to the season, yet has tailed off this past month. This happens with shooters, but he just can’t find any sort of rhythm at the moment, with many of his shots coming up short. Both will have the chance to be that guy for this Heat team, but this group needs a reliable perimeter threat not named Tyler Herro.

#5: I talked Tyler Herro earlier, but it was a career night: he changes this team’s dynamic.

A 40 ball. 19 threes in 24 hours. This isn’t just a hot streak, this is a turning point with sensational numbers to back it up. Aside from the X’s and O’s stuff I brought up to begin this piece, there’s an overarching point that makes these games even more important. This gives this Miami Heat team life. That is something this team has lacked immensely, since it felt like every game has consisted of looking around for a wake up call. Two things give a team extra life. The first one is a trade, since change of scenery can change the energy of a group, which is still necessary with certain holes on the roster. The second is a player emerging right in front of your eyes. Now I won’t say this is completely “emerging” since Herro’s on a max contract, but he’s hitting new strides in the half-court at the moment. When this team needed it most, Herro gave them the boost.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Spurs

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Prior to the Spurs last win against Houston, they lost 11 games in a row.

Now walking into the Heat’s arena, a clutch game was almost too predictable.

Some takeaways from another bad loss…

#1: A different substitution pattern seen early in this one…

Substitution patterns have been all over the place this year, mostly since the roster has been all over the place. Now with a mostly healthy roster, the expectation is to mostly mirror Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, then Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry. At least that was the usual focus. Yet tonight, we saw Herro and Caleb Martin exit early for Max Strus and Victor Oladipo, which pretty much meant there was a large portion of time shortly after where Lowry, Butler, and Bam were all on the bench simultaneously. Yeah, that’s a lot on Herro to try and make work, especially with the roller he has to work with. Just keeping track of this stuff along the way, but this is a trend that I don’t expect to stick by any means.

#2: Jimmy Butler channeling scorer Jimmy Butler early on, even when he doesn’t want to.

In games like this one against the Spurs, Butler usually loves to sit back and play play-maker. It’s what we saw in that Grizzlies game in Memphis, as he wasn’t aggressive at all and the Heat couldn’t keep up at all. Yet as the Heat began to tail off again in that second quarter, Butler began doing what he does best. Pick and roll, mid-range bucket. Pick and roll, hard drive. Pick and roll, foul. Rinse. Repeat. There’s no doubt at all that he can score with the best of them, but that’s just not his style (unless it’s playoff time). It’s always good to see Butler dominate in that inside the arc range just as a healthy reminder, but we seriously shouldn’t need to see that in a game like this against the Spurs.

#3: All eyes on the point of attack defense.

The Spurs led by 2 at the half, and there were a mixture of things that led to that result. But I’d say by far the biggest element was the way the Spurs were able to walk right into the paint, time and time again. They were up to 36 paint points at the half, while shooting 18 of 22 in that area. So, what’s leading to that? This takes me right to the point of attack, since this has been another one of those common trends that just can’t occur. It’s one of the reasons the Heat have sat in zone, since teams seem to burst right by that initial line of defense when in man. The Spurs were sending cross screens and curls at Miami the entire half, and the Heat just couldn’t keep up. It hurts even more when Bam is not on the floor covering it up down low, but that’s another issue in its own right. Needs to be patched.

#4: Tyler Herro gets hot from deep, but more important, he’s reactionary.

Herro had a great start to this game, since it seemed like his attacks were timely and on point, while providing a bit of the necessary pressure. Fast forward to the third quarter, he scored in a much different approach, which simply consisted of getting hot from three. The first two triples of the quarter came from Adebayo kicking out following a paint touch, as Herro capitalized. But shortly after, then it turned into stepping into the pull-up. But more importantly, it was a reactionary process. Defender goes under off a Butler screen, he pulls and knocks it down. Same thing a few possessions later, they go under and Herro knocks it down. Interesting choice when a guy gets hot like that, but a good sign to see Herro read that in real time.

#5: The back-up 5 convo.

We often hear about finding the perfect 4 or 5 next to Bam, but how about we direct our attention to the perfect 5 behind* Bam. We’ve talked before about how things plummet when Bam Adebayo exits, and the entire goal is to stay as close to neutral as possible. But well, the Dewayne Dedmon usage just continues to be more and more interesting. He was 1 for 8 in this game, while shooting up 3 triples, which just stalls out the offense for large pockets of the night. The Heat weren’t expecting this to be the front-court rotation entering the year, but the injury of Omer Yurtseven forced them into this. Just remember: when talking trades, an extra piece in the trade for back-up big will be a major addition.

Jimmy Butler-Bam Adebayo Two-Man Game: Finding a Base

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After a much needed win at home against the Clippers, the Heat showed off the ultimate blueprint with Bam Adebayo leading the way as the offensive force, while Jimmy Butler closed it out late when most needed.

But more importantly, they did it together.

While these two top guys have showed they can make late playoff runs together as the primary threats, the two-man game just has never seemed to click.

Defenders go under on the Butler screen, playing a lot more 2-on-2, compared to the usual 2-on-1 seen within a pick and roll like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.

There also falls a lot of weight on the pull-up jumper of Jimmy Butler, which is never a regular season reliable factor.

But against the Clippers, it almost seemed like the Heat found a very minor trend that shifted the looks they would get out of that action. Yes, it helps that you were getting aggressive Adebayo. Yes, it helps that after Butler missed his first two shots of the game, he didn’t miss the rest of the night. But still, there was a moment of realization.

Take a look at this possession as an example. Marcus Morris fights over the screen and stays right at the hip of Butler in an empty corner PnR. As I stated before, they aren’t playing in space, since it’s a 2-on-2 match inside the arc at this point.

He hits Bam in the pocket for the contested floater, which bounces off the front of the rim.

What was the main problem? Well, go back and watch the speed that Bam slips out of that screen.

While it’s clear that the quick burst and speedy roll fits the style of a Herro or Lowry PnR, that is mst definitely not the case when Butler is head of the action. He’s more methodical, reactionary, and slow-paced.

Not holding that screen a second longer just throws off the entire two-man pairing on this possession. So, let me show what that actually looks like…

Same set-up. Bam gives the hand-off to Butler, who reverses back into an empty corner PnR. Paul George begins to fight over the screen in similar fashion, except Bam just holds positioning for that extra second.

That’s big time.

Butler loops around baseline, basically forcing Zubac to fly up at him which pulls him out of position. Gives a slight pump-fake, Bam dives down the right slot, and it’s an easy feed for the Bam dunk.

We can talk chemistry. We can talk skill-set. We can talk coverages. But I’m serious: it is all about the timing when it comes to this pairing.

While this is the blueprint against a deep drop, there are also new counters to switching. Going back to that recent game against the Celtics in Boston, both Adebayo and Butler found real comfort off those switches in different ways.

Butler spammed the Al Horford switch late in that game to close it out, but Adebayo was also sealing off the smaller wing player as seen in the clip above.

After the switch occurs, Butler immediately stops in his tracks to point at Bam to post-up for the entry pass. He catches it, faces up, and turns into a strong drive to draw the foul, which was a crucial play in that game under a minute to go in overtime.

But to further my point on the Butler-Bam connection rising, go back and watch that clip again. But don’t watch Bam this time on the catch, just keep your eyes on Butler.

As soon as Bam gets in position to burst down the lane, Butler sprints back out to clear-out Horford from providing weak-side help. These are the needed elements to make this Heat offense work so smoothly.

While we talk so often about how elite the Herro-Bam PnR has consistently been since the middle of the season last year, would you believe me if I told you the Butler-Bam PnR has been better statistically this year?

Of course the Herro-Bam pairing almost doubles the volume of Butler and Bam, but the point still stands: Herro-Bam PnR puts up 1.25 points per possession, while the Butler-Bam PnR is putting up 1.28 PPP.

This isn’t to overly analyze and compare these two, but it really showcases just how efficient these guys have been in that set. By far the best we’ve seen since Butler landed in Miami a few seasons ago.

Since we’re talking specifics, we’ve also seen a new set Miami has been getting to, trying to maximize Butler and Bam together when one of them is not in the action.

Let’s start with last night (looking at the clip above): Butler clears to the dunker spot as Herro and Bam ease into a normal PnR. Herro feeds it to Bam right in the pocket, which looks like his go-to jumper is making a return yet again, right?

Wrong.

Butler notices George overly-orchestrating on the weak-side, as he flips dunker spots and Bam hits him for the easy push shot at the rim.

You may be thinking: this isn’t a planned thing, that’s just a coincidental play with the defense falling asleep. So let’s back it up a game further:

Heat open the second half in Memphis with the need to create some positive offense. It was a night where Butler was no where near aggressive, so they run this immediately.

Ball in the hands of Bam, Butler sets a pin-down for Herro to fly off, as Lowry loops into a back-screen for Butler to drift baseline.

Bam is baiting the defense left already, as he hits Butler for the easy baseline fadeaway. Once again, this is all the intention to try and keep Bam in the action as much as possible, while forcing Butler into that dunker spot roaming mode.

But it doesn’t stop here, let’s go back even further:

Now we’re back to the Boston game. Under a minute to go in regulation, Lowry and Bam run a pick and roll. Butler yet again notices Grant Williams fall asleep as he stations in the dunker spot, before flipping his spot again for the easy floater at the rim.

The exact play from the Clippers game that I showed previously.

They’re finding ways to not only maximize Butler and Adebayo within the action, but also finding some actions that don’t simply leave one of the two stars in spot-up mode.

In terms of this Heat team as a whole right now, they need a lot more from their role players/bench to truly push forward into more wins in this regular season.

But the Heat’s top guys finding a way to balance each other in the half-court together: that’s a development that was not expected by any means.