Tag Archive for: Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo Taking Another Defensive Leap As We Speak

/0 Comments/in , /by

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

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

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

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

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

Loading
Loading...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How is this eventually countered for the offense?

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

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

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

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

How is that exactly?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that’s a hard point to argue.

 

For business window graphics, interior office signage, custom flags, custom banners and sign repair, reach out to SignsBrowardFortLauderdale.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Spurs

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Heat took down the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, as Kyle Lowry made his return.

Tyler Herro shined, Bam Adebayo controlled, and Jimmy Butler provided just enough to take the 4th quarter off.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: The early game Heat story: the bench mob carrying the way offensively.

Bam Adebayo got Miami going early with a quick six, and Duncan Robinson followed with the following nine. But other than that for the first 20 minutes of play, no other starter was providing that scoring juice. Yet as the bench group fully got themselves in, we saw things begin to click. Dewayne Dedmon’s solidity jumps off the screen, just through his ability to play such a simple game and receive constant relief points when other things breakdown. Max Strus had moments where he hit the three-point gaps to fire away, and took advantage. Gabe Vincent is an interesting one, since as much as we view him as a high level Kyle Lowry filler, his best minutes this season have actually come next to Lowry. And well, Tyler Herro looked like Tyler Herro when he was out there leading that group, which is the most important element on nights when it seems like the vets just kinda want to coast through.

#2: More big man lineups?

We’ve seen a minor trend that Erik Spoelstra has thrown our way over this recent stretch, and that’s big lineups with Adebayo at the 4. We saw it for longer stretches next to Chris Silva in a recent game, but does that really even count? Probably not. Anyway, as much as many Heat fans seem to be screaming about the insertion of Omer Yurtseven next to Bam, we got to see some more of Dedmon next to him. For one, we’ve actually seen more of that stretch ability from Dedmon at this level than Yurtseven, as he drilled another three tonight, but that’s besides the point. It almost feels like they’re just getting in these reps on nights they know they can have trial runs. Why would they want to get in these reps? Well, some teams like Cleveland could be a potential playoff match-up in the future, and they want to dictate pace at all times. They aren’t going to go to that long in that scenario, but it’ll be on their bingo card.

#3: The best version of Tyler Herro? Third option attacker.

Looking at the first half shot profile of Tyler Herro, it was a good amount of drives. More specifically, it was a lot of fast-break drives, but things were still being generated in the half-court. It’s something to monitor when evaluating the guys out there around him, since he’s not a primary attacker on a team, which we saw when both Butler and Lowry were out. Butler returns, Lowry still out, and Herro is in a secondary attacker role which still is an adjustment in many ways. It isn’t that free-flowing offensive role that he sees so often off the bench. But now as both Butler and Lowry are back, we see him shift back into his usual semi-driving role, which he undoubtedly is most comfortable in. It may not seem like a big shift, or at least one that jumps right off the screen, but it differs in terms of the plate sitting on Herro’s lap.

#4: The telling factor when it’s a Jimmy Butler type night.

It’s one thing to get hyped up for big games so that your skill-set can elevate. But it almost seems like a completely other thing for Jimmy Butler, since when he almost plays in the manner that he isn’t even trying, that’s when his game looks to be at its best. Starting from the end of the second quarter on, we saw that turn with him. Sealing down low for over the top post position for easy lay-ins. Getting to the line. And something that hasn’t been gone to enough recently: driving off the catch. It’s one of Butler’s most elite offensive elements, since simply there’s no one on this San Antonio roster that can handle a shoulder dropping Butler on the attack following a healthy head-start. Once again, that may seem like a minor tweak, but it’s a major shift when he starts getting to it in game 3 of a playoff series. And much of that head-start is adding back their primary ball-handler in Lowry.

Loading
Loading...

#5: Kyle Lowry back. Heat offense is back.

Kyle Lowry made his return tonight vs San Antonio, and he seemed to burn the most calories hysterically laughing, since he looked to just be having a great time joking around with Jimmy Butler. But in terms of on the floor, Lowry doesn’t have to do a lot to impact the game. Actually, he doesn’t even need to have a made field goal to shift the offense. His presence alone changes the looks for all those around him, and simply, the other main 3 counterparts understood the assignment. Butler-Adebayo-Herro all controlled this game during different spurts, and that’s a good change of pace compared to the heavy reliance on role players as of late. It should be said that the Heat just did what they should have against this low tier Spurs team with missing pieces, but they needed one to get back on track. And they did that.

 

For business window graphics, interior office signage, custom flags, custom banners and sign repair, reach out to SignsBrowardFortLauderdale.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Toronto

/0 Comments/in , /by

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

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

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

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Welcome aggressive Bam Adebayo to the show.

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

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

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

#3: Dominating the inside early.

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

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

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

Loading
Loading...

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

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

 

For business window graphics, interior office signage, custom flags, custom banners and sign repair, reach out to SignsBrowardFortLauderdale.

The Main Victor Oladipo Element for this Heat Team

/0 Comments/in , /by

No Jimmy Butler-no Kyle Lowry on Monday night against the Boston Celtics. What is the product of that equation? Well, it shows an offensive game-plan that lacks one of the Heat’s most crucial elements: rim pressure.

Tyler Herro was pretty much the only one who could semi-do it on a very awkward offensive night, but he’s clearly a complementary driver and attacker at this stage in his career, and not a primary reliable source in that way.

So, those points get you thinking. Missing top dogs on the roster? Missing rim pressure offensively? Missing that main dish on a night where guys like Max Strus provide the complementary 27 points?

Yeah, in theory, there isn’t a better filler/answer to those questions than a healthy Victor Oladipo.

And yet, as the clock hit midnight late last night, could we officially be in the return month of the Heat’s potential shiny new toy?

Loading
Loading...

The thing about Oladipo is that he can fill a lot of holes and provide a lot of things, but when discussing it this far away from actually seeing him out there, it’s tough to predict how he will look in certain aspects of his game.

Defense is the thing that’ll shoot up his minutes per game immensely, since ultimately I feel that’s what will keep him on the floor for extended time. Guys like Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent have been elite on-ball stoppers as of late, but adding in one of the better off-ball hounds, navigating screens everywhere on the floor is just another beast.

But once again, there’s a caveat: we don’t know if that’ll still be intact as soon as he returns.

While I could dissect so many different elements of his game that’ll provide a major plus to this Heat team down the stretch of the year, I want to keep this relevant to what we’ve seen as of late, and that’s the need for his on-ball attack.

The last two games from Miami have highlighted the drive and kick that they rely on so heavily. Against Toronto, it was their only good looking offense in those 3 overtimes, but the frequency of it wasn’t as high as it should’ve been. Against Boston, the Celtics wouldn’t help off the weak-side corner, which pretty much eliminates the “kick” in drive and kick.

But was it truly the “kick” that was eliminated? Absolutely not.

The thing Miami was without in that scenario was the “drive.” As pointed out earlier, Herro being the primary attacker leaves a top tier defense picking their poison, and the choice wasn’t a very difficult one.

Yet in a drive and kick offense, it’s something Oladipo is built for.

Looking at those clips up above, you see a guy that can draw multiple defenders into the lane when attacking, almost in Butler fashion when he’s rolling on a certain night. In that second clip, when facing Miami in game 4 of the Bubble playoffs, he takes the iso on Butler, gets past just enough to collapse Herro-Crowder-Bam, then makes a live skip pass to the opposite wing for a 3.

When evaluating talent, that stuff doesn’t just disappear. We can talk about potentially lacking that initial speed to get by Butler on that isolation, but those reads will always be there to stay. And that’s what’ll make the lives of guys like Butler and Lowry so much easier.

Speaking of the debate about him having that burst to make plays at the rim, I’m not so sure he relies on it as much as some think. There’s no doubt he’s an explosive player on both ends, but he uses more finesse than pure quickness.

Looking at the first two clips above, during that short stint with Miami, you can see that little euro step was his penetration go-to when getting that one-on-one under the rim.

No matter if it’s an iso on James Wiseman or a horns set into a hand-off and size mismatch down low on Dennis Schroder, there are ways for Dipo to apply that much needed rim pressure without that “burst.”

But it should be mentioned that this operation should not be looked at like the last. As many reports have shown, the injury has actually been repaired in a way that wasn’t the case when he got to Miami last season. It’s more about eliminating the degree of re-injury instead of worrying about that explosive push, but we will just have to see how that plays out.

Another part of his offensive bag that requires skill over quickness is his ability to get to the line.

In his 4 games with Miami last year, (yes, very small sample size), he got to the line at least 5 times in three of those games. He just has a knack for drawing contact and forcing defenders to make that swipe, which could be his most useful tool in a playoff series.

The Heat currently rank 24th in free throw attempts per game, but that may be one of the biggest shifting numbers once the playoffs begin. Once Lowry and Butler are actually on the floor together for longer than a day or two, while Dipo can be that “Butler off the bench” as a pace provider by getting to the line, it’s essentially the perfect fit.

Loading
Loading...

Oladipo will no doubt have to earn his spot from these high level role players like Martin or Strus when he makes his return, but there’s also no doubt that his build is the picture perfect type of player for what this team needs at this moment in time.

Rim pressure, check.

Perfect balance off the bench to the game of Tyler Herro, check.

Defensive versatility late in games to eliminate singular defenders getting picked on, check.

And just a high level talent who has done it in this league for quite some time at an elite standard, definite check.

That timer is dwindling down sooner and sooner on Oladipo’s return, and games like last night against Boston will dwindle down shortly after.

We can have the conversation about playoff rotations, and who plays where, but I can guarantee Dipo will be a part of that if healthy.

And when Victor Oladipo is your team’s 7th man come playoff time, I’d say you’re in an OK spot.

 

For business window graphics, interior office signage, custom flags, custom banners and sign repair, reach out to SignsBrowardFortLauderdale.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Boston

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Heat had a short rotation in this one without Jimmy Butler, PJ Tucker, and Kyle Lowry, and well, they fell short to the Celtics.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Super rough offensive start by Miami.

When looking down the roster of available players, it felt like Tyler Herro starting was the move. The reasoning was that plugging in Caleb Martin and Max Strus for Jimmy Butler and PJ Tucker leaves you with a very little amount of shot creation to open up the game. And well, two Duncan Robinson fouls later and an eventual 14 point first quarter, it was showing that formula wasn’t the right play tonight. The only way to survive in that state is to both bomb away from three and capitalize in that fashion. Yet, nothing seemed to fall in that opening spam, or the ones that followed. Then, a first half turn was made in that second quarter, while it felt the energy levels picked up after some tough Tyler Herro shots and creation. Yet, once again, that was the end of that run shortly after.

#2: Is there more to unpack with Caleb Martin?

When grabbing the defensive rebound with clear numbers in front, a certain outlet pass always seems to be the right one: Caleb Martin on the break. There aren’t many better options in that space, since not only is he an athletic finisher, but he’s hard to slow down in space, and can collapse a scrambling transition defense like seen in that second quarter. But in a big picture sense, I think there might be more to unpack with Martin offensively. Seeing him drive with the right into a strong poster dunk on Robert Williams aside, he continues to show these half-court flashes as a penetration guy. I’m not sure if the handle is all the way there for that consistently, but on night’s like this with limited creators and play-makers, it’s not the worst thing to open up. Since well, his role all year is to just plug right into the role of whatever is necessary in that game.

#3: Silva-Adebayo spark?

When that game turned around early as mentioned before, it was kind of sparked by a front-court of Bam Adebayo and Chris Silva. Totally normal, right? This is not to have the Adebayo at the 4 conversation, since he’s certainly a perfectly fitted 5 on this roster when healthy, but it makes sense in games like this one. If Omer Yurtseven wasn’t in protocols, it would be a great trial run, especially considering Boston’s big front with Al Horford and Robert Williams. Anyway, they went the Silva-Adebayo route for that stretch, and the part that stood out there was Bam not having to play the middle of the 2-3 zone. With clear mismatches, zone was the only usable outlet in this game in general, but rebounding was problematic at times within it, due to the inability to just put a body on your match-up. But Silva got some boards, and it led to a decent run for Miami on the other end. In all, it just didn’t make much sense, so necessary to bring up. (And yet, not something I’d love to see again…)

#4: The hardest game to adjust the offensive plan.

Coach Erik Spoelstra has found a way offensively whenever guys have gone down, but looking around as Miami trails in the third, it just felt like they didn’t “have enough.” The reason is that Adebayo getting his fourth foul meant more on Gabe Vincent’s plate, and not in a positive light. Vincent isn’t a true point guard, but he’s been an incredible filler due to his ability to get Miami into their offensive triggers with the regular starting lineup around him. Tonight, specifically when Adebayo went to the bench, Vincent was asked to work an offense that essentially had no triggers. Like I said, we’ve seen Miami adjust to things offensively, but the one and only way to get out of it was to play the perimeter game and try to shoot your way out of it. Just a rough match-up when you don’t have that main element.

Loading
Loading...

#5: Onto the 4th game in 5 nights.

Well, after seeing Miami’s struggles without 3 starters, while the others were completely cold from beyond the arc, the fifth takeaway has to be onto the next one. Or more importantly, onto the next injury report. It’s pretty clear that Butler and Tucker needed to take this game off, even if it ended in an L, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they immediately came back tomorrow. This team has fillers for singular players and can step up into different roles, but 3 starters down is just another beast. It’s no longer asking to plug a specific skill or role, but now you’re forcing these fillers to shift the prior theme and simply enter takeover mode. Like I said, Martin had moments, and Max Strus put together a pretty impressive night, but that’s the complementary element. They just didn’t have the thing to actually be complemented in this one.

 

For business window graphics, interior office signage, custom flags, custom banners and sign repair, reach out to SignsBrowardFortLauderdale.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to the Raptors

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Heat were in the mud against the Toronto Raptors. The absolute mud. Down 10 heading into the fourth, then boom, they hit you.

They looked like they had it handled late, but a late foul call gave Scottie Barnes two free throws to send it to OT.

Then it went to double OT. Then Triple OT.

But eventually, they fell short after a missed Herro three to potentially take the lead in that third OT.

So, here are some takeaways from this one, mostly focusing on regulation…

(Full 7 quarter dive tomorrow morning)

#1: Toronto’s unique team providing visible issues for Miami.

On paper, the Toronto Raptors are the type of team Miami should struggle with. Not only do they have length, but they have switchable length. We saw that early in this one with Miami’s offense, specifically in non-Jimmy Butler lineups or pure bench units. The reason is that they can cut off the head of the snake at an elite level, which was Tyler Herro in these stretches. That led to just horrible looking offense, due to the inability to trigger their main actions. On the other end of the floor, there were certain match-ups that it was clear Miami needed to key in on. Gary Trent Jr was cooking, Fred VanVleet provides problems, and Paschal Siakam can really take advantage of the mismatch. The issue: Miami was providing that mismatch frequently early on, since soft switching was seen most.

#2: Pure Jimmy Butler offensive takeover.

Well, Jimmy Butler went nuclear in that first half. We saw him score 24 points in that span, but it was more about how he was doing it. Not only did he spark his entire team, and the whole FTX Arena, to finish the second quarter, but his finishing was being shown at an elite level. Emphasis on elite. It’s something we keep track of often when Butler gets around the rim, but he was finishing in acrobatic ways around the Raptors lengthy match-ups, instead of the usual pure bully ball against weaker defenders. Stuff like this needs to be viewed at a broader level in moments like this: when Butler’s playing like this, he’s hard to stop. And less importantly in terms of team success, that Eastern Conference starting All Star spot looks closer to being filled.

#3: An intriguing PJ Tucker skill.

A PJ Tucker skill on a Heat post-game piece? Who would’ve thought? I could potentially spend way too much time on the things Tucker provides as a spacer on both ends, but it’s important when noticing some areas of him branching out slowly within his role in that corner. Early in the first, Tucker catches in the corner, puts the ball on the floor to drive baseline, hangs in the air, and hits Gabe Vincent in the opposite corner. Shortly after, Tucker and Vincent copied and pasted the same exact play on opposite sides of the floor. Why is this important? Well, when things breakdown in a playoff series to much simpler elements, an ability to have your corner specialist as something other than a stiff shooter is so crucial. And after we’ve seen his play-making surge, it isn’t the worst thing to get to.

#4: Tyler Herro still searching for the length counter.

Looking down the line of this season, aside from the last time Tyler Herro faced the Raptors, some of Herro’s worst games come when he faces a great amount of length. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the first one as they oddly slowed down Herro with one big guy rotating over on him after another as he tried to drive, but the Toronto Raptors seem to provide even more problems. With Herro’s need for the screen, every time one comes it’s a new switchable Raptors defender to hound him. And like I said prior, placing Scottie Barnes on him during the all bench lineups really cut off Miami’s offensive mobility. If he can’t breakthrough that specific match-up, we will see more teams take their lengthy, versatile defender and place him onto Herro in different playoff series.

Loading
Loading...

#5: Max Strus comes alive to begin the fourth.

Down 10 going into the fourth quarter, while efficient offense doesn’t even seem like an option, Spoelstra rolls out the Vincent-Herro-Strus-Martin-Dedmon lineup. A few minutes later, Nick Nurse is on the court calling a timeout following two big time Max Strus threes and a Gabe Vincent lay-in. More big time fourth quarter plays came after that as well, including a Tyler Herro shake on OG Anunoby for a three and a miraculous shot by Butler as he forced it up and off the glass. But the point is this: seeing Strus do what he does best, which is spark things for the Heat’s offense, sums up his role later in the season quite perfectly. Robinson will probably be the lone rotation shooter, but when offense can’t get going, and you’re down double digits in the fourth, look to Strus since there’s a chance he can bail you out. But yet, he wasn’t the closer. Three more quarters came shortly after, and Miami fell just short.

 

For business window graphics, interior office signage, custom flags, custom banners and sign repair, reach out to SignsBrowardFortLauderdale.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Clippers

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Heat faced the LA Clippers on the front end of a back to back, and the Heat closed it out late as the Clippers fought hard to make a comeback.

Another big shot from PJ Tucker in the corner was truly the dagger, as some Jimmy Butler late free throws put them over the top.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Jimmy Butler’s best individual skill on display.

After seeing Jimmy Butler’s hot start on Friday night, it was clear that has left big toe was far from irritated. Flowing into offense nicely, hitting guys on back-cuts constantly, and well, being the defensive anchor in a very favorable defensive scheme. It may sound odd, but he’s better defensively against spread out talent. Big time names are individual fun for Bam Adebayo and PJ Tucker, but Butler’s home is off the ball. Ivica Zubac catches it at the elbow extended early in the first to get the Clippers into offense. Butler edges up slowly on the weak-side, then bursts. Butler always likes to call it timely gambles, but I call it a pure skill and knack that he possesses. Much like he can make unbelievable reads on the offensive end as a passer, his defensive reads bypass it by far.

#2: Duncan Robinson happened again, but mixing in other things.

When you see drop coverage, you see Duncan Robinson. As I’ve said in the past, it’s much easier for him to flow into looks with the task of just eliminating his one on-ball defender on the perimeter. But it puts a defense in an odd spot any time he touches the floor. It only takes one possession where a miscommunication occurs, and there Robinson is in space firing away a triple. Aside from those obvious elements, his reads were incredible early on. And when I say reads, I mean his off-ball ones. Moving with the ball on the attack, watching his defender sink into tagging mode, then flying right down the baseline for an easy layup inside. His cutting was great in this one, and like I said, it just puts that much more stress on a defense on a nightly basis. Crazy what making shots can shift.

#3: Oh, PJ Tucker was active early offensively? What a surprise.

When watching a Heat game this season, it’s impossible not to notice PJ Tucker on both sides of the floor, each and every possession. He’s just so active in that space, that it’s hard to miss his hard lay-out screens, crafty positioning within the perimeter, and volume shot making. The outside shots were there once again early on, but the inside flip shots closely followed. His presence down there was a necessity with the way the Clippers would collapse, and it actually led to a few trips to the line for him, on a night where there was a very friendly whistle on both ends. We can evaluate his impact as a role player under a microscope night in and night out, but the truth is he isn’t playing like a role player. He’s performing like a core piece, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon.

#4: Gabe Vincent decided to join in from one spot on the floor tonight. Just one.

Whenever Gabe Vincent is discussed on these post-game pieces, it’s usually me highlighting his defensive expertise with elite ball pressure and half court hounding. But tonight…tonight was different. Vincent absolutely exploded in the third quarter, three after three after three after three. Most of them seemed to come from that right wing without moving, but all jokes aside, this is a guy that has made two total transformation in the span of two years. Straight shooter converted to defensive stopper with point guard duties, while the shot now loops back around for another cycle. There’s great developmental stories in the Miami Heat’s franchise history, but then there’s Vincent. Simple in a class of his own in terms of immediate turn around stories. But as he told me before the season, he altered his jumper for the better.

Loading
Loading...

#5: Predicting the Miami Heat’s late season rotation is a pointless exercise.

Whenever I address the Heat’s potential rotation late in the season after certain guys play well, something is noticed: it’s constantly fluctuating on opinion. But at this moment in time, it feels like one thing is apparent. As good as Max Strus has been, and can continue to grow the more games he plays, it just seems like he’s not in a simplified rotation if Duncan Robinson is playing this way. We were saying the same thing when Robinson went through his slump, but now that Robinson is moving, it doesn’t look like he’s going back. The way is to clearly lean toward defensive guards, in Vincent and Caleb Martin, who are shooting at an incredible rate at the moment. Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo will be back eventually, but for now, these two guys are filling in just fine.

 

For business window graphics, interior office signage, custom flags, custom banners and sign repair, reach out to SignsBrowardFortLauderdale.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Knicks

/1 Comment/in , /by

The Miami Heat took down the New York Knicks at home in comfortable fashion. Pure offensive and defensive control from the tip-off to the final buzzer.

Tyler Herro returned, Jimmy Butler stayed steady, and PJ Tucker and Duncan Robinson provided the needed boost.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Duncan Robinson killing the Knicks early in ways we’ve seen, PJ Tucker in ways we haven’t.

The Miami Heat came out absolutely firing to start this game, and it was generated by two people in that span. Duncan Robinson had a very favorable match-up with this Knicks defense, since you ultimately feel much more comfortable with him against that deep drop. The screener just needs to take out one defender, leading to wide open looks immediately, before they begin to blitz out a bit later. PJ Tucker, on the other hand, goes on offensive runs in an unexpected manner, since well, “offensive runs” and PJ Tucker never used to mix. Jimmy Butler did a great job of drawing bodies on drives and finding the corner shooter on the kick-out, which Tucker was the result back-to-back early in the first. Then once unexpected corner gravity occurs, that floater and oddly amazing finishing enters.

#2: Tyler Herro is back…like he never left.

Tyler Herro entered the health and safety protocols about a week ago, but he made his return in this one. But while Robinson exploited things that made sense on paper, Herro went in a different direction. All indicators were that Herro would totally exploit the mid-range pull-up against that drop, but he utilized the other two elements of his game instead early. The three was falling, but more important, his downhill presence was something to note. Initiating contact on pick and roll drives while finishing in traffic is quite the consistent addition for his offensive game at this point. But just overall seeing him control the game in full bench lineups, while handling and creating for himself at an extremely high level, are the most essential parts about this one. When his creation looks like this to score, it changes the offensive trajectory of this team.

#3: Miami’s defensive excellence early on was expected on paper.

Much like I said Robinson had a visible advantage on paper, the Miami Heat’s entire defense had a favorable match-up. After seeing the Knicks immediate reaction when things go down, they completely spam strong side Julius Randle reps for him to try and score or create. But the Heat love that type of play-style since they can speed you up right out the gate. When switching the way they have, the plan was to fully double Randle in that high post upon any insertion, much like they did against LeBron James a few nights ago. And when he begins to make the quick reads, it’s all about rotating on the back-side at a high level, which they did for some time. But minor tweaks had to be made, such as leaving less of a gap between the weak-side corner defender and the corner shooter. And well, those adjustments are what make this defense so scary.

#4: Another night of pure Jimmy Butler all around control.

Jimmy Butler followed up a game where he finished with a triple double in a pure passing clinic, by coming right back around the next game for another display of pure all around control. For one, to touch on a few points from before, he’s the beneficiary for the hard doubles on the high post guy, since frankly, that’s his defensive home. He also had some moments of very nice reads, specifically on drive and kicks, but the story was his scoring. A high scoring night from Butler is great, but a high scoring efficient night from Butler is what takes him up a notch. He was finishing at a high level around the rim, which could go either way at times, and just really utilized a ton of angles to his advantage throughout. Butler may be evaluated under a microscope at times, but man can he control a game like this with plain ease, making the Kyle Lowry return even more intriguing.

Loading
Loading...

#5: This Heat team’s depth isn’t just when guys go down. It’s a nightly event.

Whenever you watch this Heat team. Whenever you hear people talk about this Heat team. Whenever you look at the roster of this Heat team. There’s a similar theme that always pops out first when looking for adjectives: depth. Guys go down, others step up, and it’s just nothing new since it’s a “next man up” mentality. But that description isn’t as simple as just having back-up plans when guys are out or aren’t performing to their standards. More importantly, this is a team that can hurt you with so many different groups on a night to night basis. What I mean by that is, as we saw tonight, it was Butler-Herro-Robinson-Tucker who led the way offensively. But over this past week, Vincent-Strus-Martin-Adebayo have all had “game-high” moments as well. That’s what makes this group so scary, and as we continue to say, they still aren’t full. Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo are still looming in different manners.

 

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

The Miami Heat are Better Suited Now Following the Hardships

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Heat are the 1st seed in the East at this moment in time. They sit 13 games over .500, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, and Tyler Herro have only played 11 of the 47 games together this season, and the guys on the lower half of the roster have emerged.

We’ve seen so many times in the past when certain teams get hot in the regular season, but playoff ball is just strictly dependent on the right match-up. So what makes the Heat fall outside of that category?

Well, the simple answer was portrayed to start this piece, since there’s always that element that a fully healthy roster can elevate this group even further, plus the late addition of Victor Oladipo pretty soon.

But the more important answer is that Erik Spoelstra has found some things along the way this season. Things that wouldn’t have been found if guys didn’t go down.

For starters, we’ve seen a gem in Omer Yurtseven emerge, who plugged right into the starting lineup as that expected filler, and performed at a very high level to generate some wins throughout the month of December.

A guy on a two-way contract named Caleb Martin turned into a legitimate rotation player, locking down opposing teams’ best players and scoring the basketball at a rate many didn’t think he could at this level.

A couple of previous two-way projects, in Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, have taken some major steps in their development so far this season as well, due to Strus’ continued elite shooting and trusted skill-set, and Vincent’s improved three-ball, increased court vision, continued defense, and general all-around play.

But that list of developmental players isn’t the main reason that this team is better suited after the previous events. It’s the things Erik Spoelstra was forced into with those specific players.

As mentioned before, Adebayo goes down to begin the month of December with a lengthy time period ahead, but how does this Heat team survive on the defensive end without their anchor?

Well, as Spoelstra has said a million times this season, it’s next man up.

Yurtseven stepping in meant a total shift was coming from the usual switching that occurs in a Miami Heat defensive scheme. And although the switching bothered some observers at times, it led to one of the better defenses in the league for a decent period of time.

With the big man combo of Yurtseven and Dewayne Dedmon, Miami had to blend strictly into a drop coverage team, which at first screams defensive comfortability for other teams to expose. Does Spoelstra have as many tricks in his bag on that end as he once did with Adebayo?

The answer was yes.

We saw him change things rotationally or through match-ups, but the immediate trust to blitz against top tier guards showed the solidity of this team’s back-line rotations and defensive mentality.

So, how did this change put Miami in a better spot moving forward?

Well, Spo has clearly shown that he’s not afraid to shift the defensive coverage from possession to possession, but seeing Miami survive with Yurtseven as a blitzer or off-ball mover, tells me the Adebayo defensive play-book just opened up.

It means that offenses will never get comfortable. Adebayo can drop and blitz, switch and double, or lay back as the free safety in the zone. These conversations are easier to have when Vincent and Martin are hounding guys at the point of attack, but that 7 week hiatus from Adebayo may have changed some perspective on that side of the floor.

And more importantly, that is something I believe Erik Spoelstra has already slipped in his pocket to return to come playoff time.

On the offensive end, many things just simply come down to player production at the right time, since this is a team that has quite the amount of options down the line if one guy isn’t performing up to their standards.

But as much as adjustments have been made on the defensive end all year, double that for their offensive structure.

No Adebayo and Butler is a hard combination to be without when running an offense. Luckily for the Heat, PJ Tucker stepped up in a way that it almost felt like they weren’t even gone, since they utilized him in a very similar fashion. (Which makes absolutely zero sense in theory)

They would line Tucker up on the strong-side wing with his back to the basket, and flow into their heavy movement offense with stagger screens, back-cuts, pin-downs, hand-offs, and more. That usage shot up even more when they’ve been without Kyle Lowry, which hasn’t been for too long aside from this past week.

But figuring out that Tucker can play in these different spots, and expanding his offensive role little by little, can really change things when they get everybody back. For one, staggering lineups is truly unnecessary when looking at the amount of creators they have on the roster, but it also allows them to put guys like Adebayo in more score-friendly spots, Lowry in higher frequency off-ball spaces, and Butler can essentially split “carries” with Tucker in many ways.

Along with finding that Tucker can play within a bigger role, they found some places to insert him into along the way as well. Something I’ve brought up frequently is Miami’s recent offensive base, which I briefly displayed when discussing the role of Tucker previously.

As seen above, it leaves Miami with a simple insert pass to a guy like Butler on the wing, four guys clear-out to the weak-side for the action to begin, and chaos quickly follows. A bunch of misdirections are used in the process to try and put the defense in a very awkward position, eventually leading to an open cutter around the basket or a three-point attempt on one of the flares.

This may seem oddly specific and unrelated to the original topic of Miami finding things in the process of being without top players, but I highly doubt we would have seen such a diverse offensive playbook in the event that Adebayo and Butler were healthy for the majority of the season thus far.

And yet, that’s what makes this Heat team much more promising as they move forward, and much different than last season’s team: they’re a diverse group now.

Lastly, we’ve still yet to see one of the main elements to this Heat offense due to the inability to get them at full strength: mid-range play.

As much as they’ve previously been a super high spot-up three-ball team, they’ve been last in frequency within that category for quite some time now. And with three of their four best players having a high talent for the mid-range jumper, while Butler has it at times, that was the theme of this team coming in.

Even when Adebayo went down, many of those things carried over. Herro and Lowry still attacked drop coverages at a high level like they usually do, but the mid-range numbers dropped from 15 a game to 10.5 a game over that span.

Why is that?

Well as much as Spoelstra can emulate everything on this roster, that rolling pull-up threat was just no where to be found on this team. Tucker developed a nice looking floater, but that’s not a mid-range roller that they were missing. Yurtseven and Dedmon don’t have that in their bag, it’s one of Martin’s only offensive deficits, and Markieff Morris may be the only one to obtain it, but he hasn’t played in a very long time.

Now, as Adebayo returns to the lineup, who exits at this very moment?

Lowry and Herro, as Herro entered the protocols and Lowry has been away from the team due to personal reasons, which also could be the much needed time off this season.

So let’s take a look around the roster again, what guards can fill the ball-handler pull-up void without those back-court guys?

Duncan Robinson and Strus definitely aren’t the guys for the job, Butler hasn’t been hugely efficient with that this year, and Vincent has actually done it to a decent degree, but not enough for defenses to worry about it.

The point is that it’s been a constant adjustment period within one of the team’s biggest offensive strengths, but they’ve found a way.

And now if that element isn’t falling, like what happened against Milwaukee in last year’s post-season, alternatives are being found sooner than before.

Loading
Loading...

Talking about getting whole with top level talent is one thing, but getting the pieces back together to experiment within lineups and sets is another thing.

As I said prior, this Heat team sits atop the East, even though they’ve experienced a never-ending cycle of guys exiting and others returning.

“It’s best case scenario when you’re able to learn in a win,” said Duncan Robinson after the Heat’s win over the Lakers. And that right there is the theme of their season so far.

They’ve been in rough spots, picked up on new players and schemes for the long haul, yet still find themselves in the one seed in the Eastern Conference.

There’s no doubt this Heat team is better suited for a lengthy late-season run following the pick-ups they have made along the way.

 

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 Win Over Lakers

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Heat came out firing against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, but barely squeaked it out in the end.

PJ Tucker came up big down the stretch with big play after big play, but Caleb Martin sealed it with a late steal and finish to close it out.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Jimmy Butler bounce back…with bounce passes.

Jimmy Butler has been a hot topic recently after his struggles down the stretch against Atlanta, but like he usually does, he bounced back. Not in the same scoring manner that he always comes back in, but with a complete passing display that gave him 10 assists well before the halftime buzzer even went off. How was he getting guys such good looks? Well, part of it is guys just hitting shots at a high level. But the main element was his overall half-court movement. Stagnant nights lead to rough shooting and rough passing, but when you flow with the off-ball movement shooter, great things happen. That’s what he did throughout that first half, and it’s something to keep in mind with the other big 3 counterparts. It allows Bam Adebayo to be aggressive Bam Adebayo, which he has been, and it leads to Kyle Lowry needing to step up as the off-ball scorer we know he will be come playoff time.

#2: Duncan Robinson playing his game.

When I say Duncan Robinson was playing his game, that doesn’t just mean he was hitting from deep. It’s about the process. As I’ve discussed on every one of these takeaway pieces, Robinson shooting without hesitation is the key. There have been too many occasions where he slightly hesitates in a fashion he hasn’t in past years, and we’re seeing a breakthrough at this point in time. Another point that must be made is that Robinson is 100% a drop killer. It’s something I’ve brought up about Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry when they face drop coverage with their mid-range pull-up, but Robinson elevates that even further when he’s hot. All it takes is one defender to eliminate for an open three to be found, and that’s what got him going early. And well, many potential playoff match-ups will see a similar look.

#3: Miami playing the “help defense” game all the way.

Usually I take a section of this piece to talk strictly defensive scheme, but something else was noted on that end. For starters, as expected, Erik Spoelstra went immediately to his coveted match-up move with his versatile front-court, placing PJ Tucker on LeBron James so Bam Adebayo can quickly switch onto him with Tucker dropping on Dwight Howard. But as we saw right after, that wasn’t the primary move. The change was that no matter who LeBron had on his back in the high post, that help defender would come swarming. Jimmy Butler kicked that off with constant gambles, and it leads to some swings, some help, and usually a three-point attempt from a below average shooter when looking at that Lakers’ starting lineup. Both Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin picked right up in Butler’s spot with swarming help, furthering the point that these guys aren’t just on-ball stoppers. They’re complete defensive threats.

#4: Once again, Dewayne Dedmon is the ultimate back-up big for this Heat team.

The funny thing about the Dewayne Dedmon-Omer Yurtseven conversation is that…it’s not a conversation. Like I’ve stated many times, Yurtseven did some outstanding things as the filler on this team, and will continue to evolve and play that role this season, but the back-up big role is Dedmon’s and it isn’t close. The reason for that is the best quality for a back-up big is consistency, and man is that an adjective for Dedmon. Every single night he plays, he gives you the same exact thing. Simple rolling, great hands, exceptional finishing. And well, he extends plays. When playing the role of small bursts, energy and play extension are two of the biggest non-statistical elements. Dedmon has definitely shown that he’ll bring the energy, but fighting down low for fouls is the equivalent of exciting Yurtseven offensive rebounds. And yet, probably a more reliable element in this role specifically.

Loading
Loading...

#5: Confidence win for Miami.

Talking about confidence wins when the Heat beat a struggling Lakers team may seem odd, but they needed to follow up that rough ending against the Hawks. Not only that, but the ugly offensive showing needed some cleaning up, and it wasn’t about the team aspect. Much like tonight, Robinson, Martin, Vincent, Strus, and others came up big to give Miami a chance. But Butler’s struggles and the lack of Herro and Lowry held them back. Well, tonight, Butler and Adebayo proved yet again they can get up for hyped up games, and don’t need every last piece, just like Herro and Lowry didn’t for big games prior. This Heat team has found ways to win with many different combinations, but the back-end of the rotation has stayed familiar. And it should look familiar as they move into the playoffs as well.

 

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