Tag Archive for: Tyler Herro

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over the Suns

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The Miami Heat faced the best team in the league tonight, in the Phoenix Suns, and completely dominated without both Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro led the way off the bench, but pure outside shooting and offensive execution was the main reason for this.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Duncan Robinson steps down into bench role, but steps up in production.

It was one of those unexpected, yet expected moves that Erik Spoelstra pulled before this game with Max Strus staying in the starting lineup and Duncan Robinson staying in reserve mode. But as much as I thought I’d be discussing Strus’ hot start, Robinson absolutely took over the spotlight. It isn’t even much schematic points that need to be made, except that his confidence looked like it totally surged. Every shot, he had his legs under him and wasn’t swaying in anyway like he usually does after a couple don’t drop. Now, with him coming off the bench, the part many had their eyes on were the minutes of Tyler Herro and him together. And well, when you’re shooting like that, it’ll work. They did run some Herro-Robinson pick and pops with Robinson screening and slipping, which is the exact way to maximize that combo.

#2: Miami shifts who the offense is worked through, and an unexpected guy is the focal point.

I’ve talked a ton about the importance of PJ Tucker in that play-making role, but we saw a shift to begin this one. Initially, we saw much more of Tucker surveying in the dunker spot when one would drive and feed, instead of his usual back to the basket on the wing three. But that aside, they found a guy in the middle of the floor to just make the right sprays, and that guy’s name was Omer Yurtseven. Seven first half assists doesn’t even tell the full story, but just him stepping up when the offense needed that from him says a lot. We’ve seen monster scoring stretches from him this year. We’ve seen nonstop rebounding hounding from him as well. But that first half was the most promising stretch of basketball from Yurtseven that I’ve seen up to this point.

#3: Tyler Herro surprises in other ways now.

Yet again, it was a bit of a shaky start for Tyler Herro. Instead of being surprised by his wild shot-making or unexpected struggles, he surprised in a different way tonight. As I loaded up the box score for the first half, I did not expect there to be a 17 next to Herro’s name. Not only that, but he battled back to 50% shooting up to that point, which is just a big tell of where his game has gone over the last year. When he couldn’t get going tonight, he quickly got into “physical mode,” which is something I’d like to see him enter more often. One fast-break dunk looked to spark some things for him on the attack, and he began driving with his left shoulder leading the way. No more avoiding contact and wild scoops. Okay, there were a few scoops, but when the majority is just strong play from your young guard, good things will happen, which it did, as he ended up finishing the game with one of his best scoring games of the season.

#4: If Miami gets this offensive production most nights, they’ve found the perfect complements for Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

Roster construction is always a hot topic when talking about teams in the NBA, and more importantly, it’s a bigger topic for contending teams. Right now, the Heat are definitely a contending team. And when looking at the depth of this team, it’s led to us thinking about combinations that will work best in a playoff setting around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but I’m just not so sure there’s *one* right answer. But no matter who those guys end up being, this type of shooting around those two guys is the ultimate complements to each of their games. Even going back to Robinson and Strus, if both are shooting like this in a few months, there won’t be many minutes where one isn’t on the floor. That is the formula for Butler and Adebayo lineups, and Erik Spoelstra has found that formula.

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#5: The Heat just keep doing it.

8-2. That’s the Miami Heat’s record against the top 3 seeds in both the Eastern and Western Conference. No matter who has been available, how many road games they play, or what player is currently in a slump, they’ve still found ways against the top teams in this league. They handled Brooklyn early in the year, dominated the Chicago match-up, and won the majority of games against the Bucks, which they were majorly shorthanded for. On the other side of the league, they lost to Golden State on this trip, yet swept the match-up with the Utah Jazz, and handled business tonight against the Phoenix Suns. That slate of games is as impressive as it gets. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo just watching from the sideline, as the young and hungry continue to battle through win after win. And well, that’s all that is needed. Buy time for Butler, Adebayo, and others, then it’s time to anchor down once the post-season hits. But they’re in a picture perfect position at this moment in time.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Rockets

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The Miami Heat’s starting five were a familiar bunch, but after that, it was a little tougher to remember other than Mario Chalmers.

Even with that, Jimmy Butler led the way in this one as Miami glided by the Houston Rockets, but he wasn’t alone.

So, here are some takeaways from this interesting game…

#1: Who is this Guy?

With 10-day contracts flying in left and right, something I pointed out before this game was that at least one would stick. And well, there was surely one “Guy” that jumped off the screen. Kyle Guy has had an interesting start to his NBA career, which eventually led him to the G-League, but he looked like a pretty clear NBA level player in this game tonight. Not just due to his hot outside shooting and comfort on the ball in the pick and roll, but through his immediate confidence. That matters. Flashy pass after flashy pass pretty much set the stage on who this guy was, but as I said, making Tyler Herro-like difficult shots just put the cherry on top. He filled up the stat sheet in every possible category, and it just seems like this always happens with this Heat team. This is where they initially pop.

#2: Jimmy Butler doing Jimmy Butler things.

Jimmy Butler doesn’t feel like a necessary talking point on a night where it’s all about 10 day contracts and unexpected play-styles, but he continues to shine no matter what. For one, 19 points at the half while going 6 of 10 from the field just shows his mindset in this one. He had a three to begin the half then one to finish it at the buzzer, but other than that, it was complete inside play and free throw line antics. The other aspect of this is just his control on the game no matter who is on the floor. This wasn’t like last game where he had a career high 15 assists either. He actually had 0 at the half, but still his ability to draw 2 and create opportunities for others is a true gift and asset in the game of basketball. But yet again, it’s just Butler doing Butler things.

#3: The underrated aspect of Caleb Martin.

Looking at the halftime stat sheet where Miami had 74 points scored, Caleb Martin probably isn’t even top 5 in players that would jump off that piece of paper. And that’s why I bring up the point underrated. We know what Martin is at this stage, and he’s widely appreciated, but passing right over the fact that his solidity is expected is just unfair. He’s polished up his three-ball, he provides a splash of rim pressure that wasn’t originally expected when the signing was made, and his defensive positioning stands out more than anything. It’s one thing to be very good and talented at pressuring from baseline to baseline, but it’s another thing to just always be in the right spot. Caleb Martin is both of those. Yes, he’s gone from two-way to unlimited regular season games available, but maybe that next step will need to be taken pretty soon.

#4: Some minor player evaluations from this one.

In a game like this, it’s important to pack up the youthful evaluations into one section. The main one that we already know about is Omer Yurtseven, but he deserves some love too. The fact that he went from a Summer League product to a back-end roster guy to one of the primary guys available is just wild. And another double-double added to the catalog just shows his potential. But to discuss some more of the 10 days, looking back at my recent piece, Haywood Highsmith was the guy I was highest on. He’s a Heat guy: plays bigger than he is, plays defense, and provides enough offensive spacing with his corner jumper. And well, he showcased all three of those things in his minutes. Obviously it’s hard to lock up a spot at this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they come back to him at some point in the future.

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#5: The difference between Tyler Herro this year and last year.

Tyler Herro didn’t have a great game tonight with his inefficient shooting. I’ve seen him navigate almost every coverage this league has thrown at him, but the one thing that has proved to bother him more than anything is length. He saw a bit of it early when they would switch Christian Wood onto him, and it led to him having to slow things down and make the right decision. But the difference with a down game from Herro now compared to before is he can still impact winning without being that total scorer. Tonight, his passing shined again just like it has much of this season, but that keeps him above water. Being able to have the ball in his hands a ton, still collapsing the defense, and making the correct reads with drop-offs or skip passes is major for his development. Of course late-game scoring is still needed from him in games like this, but him surviving matters big time in the big picture.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Wizards

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The Miami Heat faced the Washington Wizards on the front-end of a back to back Tuesday night, and it was another game where guys kept being added to the injury report.

Udonis Haslem entered the health and safety protocols early in the day, while Max Strus entered them as well with about 30 minutes til tip-off.

Last minute changes were made, and Miami adjusted well. So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: One of Tyler Herro’s most impressive all-around halves.

Tyler Herro has had plenty of moments where his all-around game really shines, but I haven’t seen it shine this bright in a 24 minute stint like it did in the first half tonight. 20 points, 3 for 3 from beyond the arc, 3 of 6 on twos, and 5 of 6 from the line. He had plenty of bounce to him when he’d draw certain mismatches, which isn’t always his biggest strength. An isolation is the outcome, so what’s the next move? The answer to that tonight was a quick 1-2 dribble, explode, and get to the basket for a layup or trip to the line. And that worked. Speaking of all-around play, it has been a heck of a week for Herro as a play-maker. Both hitting the roller and making the kick-out when defenses collapse has really stuck out with him. Is it just an evolving young player? Is it stepping up in the absence of Kyle Lowry? I’d say a combination of both.

#2: The mid-post void has been filled.

Something I drill a ton when discussing a functional Miami Heat offense is mid-post play. Jimmy Butler provides it. Bam Adebayo provides it. Markieff Morris provides it. PJ Tucker has tried to provide it. But well, that list of names has been the injury report as of late. Butler being back means heavy mid-post spamming is back, and very good things come out of it. It’s where most of his assists were coming from actually. His defender is on his back in an empty corner, while Miami can rely on their biggest offensive skill for some time now: off-ball movement. Omer Yurtseven rises to the top of the key, Duncan Robinson flies off the stagger screen, and boom. Butler hits the open Robinson on the wing three if lagging behind, or hit Yurtseven on the slip if they overplay. It’s simple, but it leads to very fluid offense for this team.

#3: Some more creative Erik Spoelstra ways.

When you essentially have one big on your nine man roster, and the second big is KZ Okpala, yeah, it calls for some creative juices. Some things were pretty similar to what we’re used to: heavy blitzing with Yurtseven, which got beat a ton early; full-out switching with Okpala at the 5; 2-2-1 press. The interesting thing about that press was many times it backed into man instead of a zone, and more importantly, there were times when the zone wasn’t even 2-2-1. They went into a man press at times very briefly, since they’d back off rather quickly, but it still does wonders when spearheaded by Gabe Vincent. He was giving Spencer Dinwiddie a headache all night with his baseline to baseline play, but it was leading to a lower and lower shot clock when the first action was ran for Washington. Miami had a great offensive start which stood out on the score-board, but it’s intriguing when you can mix things up like this defensively with this many guys out, and it still is effective.

#4: A Duncan Robinson night.

Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and Duncan Robinson on the same night? Okay. Robinson had a bit of a rough start to this one to say the least, but the usage just kept growing more and more. For about half of the first quarter, every single action was run through Robinson, and I mean every single one. Even when he wasn’t hitting. But “not hitting” turned around pretty quickly as he got some to fall to begin the third, giving him a 7 for 12 stat-line from beyond the arc at that point. To relate back to a previous point, almost all of Robinson’s third quarter triples came off a Butler mid-post feed. Another small element to Robinson’s game that I picked up on as well is him wrestling between usual tight coverage and an over-play. It’s a hard thing to tell a part in the natural speed of the game, but it’s a major thing to obtain when you are a shooter of Robinson’s caliber. He seemed like he’s really improved in that area, which was never even bad to start.

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#5: Some Butler rest ahead of a back-to-back. Key word “some,” since it didn’t last long.

Eight man rotations and rest don’t really mix together, but that was essentially the case for Jimmy Butler tonight. Well, maybe for a second. While sitting on the bench to begin the fourth, Gabe Vincent hits a deep three with the shot-clock expiring, and Butler points up to the sky. Why? Well, that shot seemed to say ‘your night is over now,’ as the lead expanded even greater. But as Washington edged closer, Butler had to re-enter with 6 minutes left in the fourth. And well, on a late drive with a minute to go, he tweaked his ankle a bit, hurting this team more and more. With another game tomorrow in San Antonio, a fully charged Butler is needed. Yes, he just missed significant time so rest has already been gotten, but heavy minute back-to-backs can get to anyone. And like I said, running an eight man rotation surely doesn’t help that point. With limited bigs available right now, guys like Butler are flying across the game-plan in different roles. But with PJ Tucker listed as questionable the last two games, it could be a good sign a return could be made as soon as tomorrow.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over the Magic

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The Miami Heat had an early tip-off Sunday afternoon, and they took care of business against the Orlando Magic in a Jimmy Butler return.

Tyler Herro ejection, young guys continue to soar, and the OG gets some more run.

So, here are five takeaways from this one…

#1: Jimmy Butler comes out firing to start.

Jimmy Butler has missed a lengthy period of time recently with that back injury, but this didn’t look like the last time he came back. In that game, he couldn’t even run the open floor without making a face, but tonight, he was clearly ready. Receiver like fades down the floor for easy buckets, defending pick and rolls like he never left, and getting that whistle as frequently as ever. Firing doesn’t mean he was shooting the ball great, because that wasn’t the case, but he was providing a decent pace and getting to the line with ease. The Heat have missed Jimmy Butler, but the issue is that they are still missing plenty of other guys on this roster. Tyler Herro being staggered with that one top dog has kept them afloat, but it was definitely good for Butler to get back into the swing of things.

#2: Udonis Haslem enters, Udonis Haslem produces.

Udonis Haslem enters, and the crowd goes wild. But way too often, we just end that statement there. We don’t go beyond that standing ovation or finger pointing in the face of Dwight Howard. But we should, especially in this one. He provides things that this team needs right now with the lack of bigs. Off-ball screening at the top of the key, good positional rolling, and a savvy way around the rim. Even when Omer Yurtseven was providing decent stretches, it’s important to balance that with a trusted piece, since frankly, there’s just nobody else that is next in line. It’s wild that it took this long to call Haslem’s name when necessary, but it’s far from too late. He’s needed big time right now.

#3: Tyler Herro with an early passing display.

Tyler Herro’s first half shot profile was definitely interesting. Every shot was as tough as it could get, which eventually led to some words from RJ Hampton, sparking an eventual back and forth and a double technical. But beyond that, Herro began impacting the game in another way. Almost too much. He was heavily relying on his play-making, leading to a 6 assist stat-line half-way through the second quarter. It may have been a surprise when initially seeing that number, but he was intentional with his passing. Collapsing the defense with his drive and kicks, feeding Haslem continually on that roll, and just surveying that mid-range as that continued threat. It was an interesting start, but seeing that evolve at this point is a very good sight. And it’s a good thing we saw it early, since his night ended early after being ejected.

#4: The young guys are competing: in the game and for their spot.

Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, Omer Yurtseven. These guys have all had fantastic individual performances this season, but yet again while looking at tonight, they step up collectively. No Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, PJ Tucker, Markieff Morris, Dewayne Dedmon, and still Victor Oladipo, yet Miami’s still winning games due to the production of these inexperienced and developing young guys. Vincent, Strus, and Martin have already been given their flowers, but Yurtseven was showcasing himself in this one for sure. Planting himself down low and turning with the post-hook appeared to be the formula. But now only are guys like him competing for wins like this one, they’re competing for their spot. I don’t know if any of them will find themselves in an 8/9 man playoff rotation, but they’ve all made some pretty great cases.

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#5: Ball movement, ball movement, and more ball movement.

We can talk about awkward lineups, poor shooting, and less free throws as recent stand-outs with the Heat, but ball movement has kept them above water offensively. Of course the young guys I was referring to is a major part with all of their big performances, but they’ve been within that ball movement category. Early in the fourth, Miami assisted on 27 of their 30 shot makes up to that point. No iso possessions or clear-out post-ups, since even if that is displayed, a kick-out is almost always the outcome. Without 2 of your better passers, in Lowry and Bam, they’ve been able to carry that over pretty well, to overcome 13% shooting from three, which was the case a good portion of the first half. The intriguing part about this is how it’ll look with a fully healthy roster.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Pistons

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The Miami Heat played a wild one against a depleted Detroit Pistons team, but don’t let that distract you from Miami being just as slim.

Some big shots from Tyler Herro and Max Strus down the stretch iced it for Miami.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Down another body.

The Miami Heat have been dealing with availability issues recently, and not in the same way the rest of the league is. It’s not that they’re covered in health and safety protocol tags, but instead pure injuries. And well, it was a rough start to this one as another front-court guy on this team went down, and a pretty important one at that. Dewayne Dedmon going through his usual sets as the roll man, yet this specific play he ended up on the floor in a ton of pain. He ended up getting up on his own power and walked straight to the locker room, which ended up being called a knee sprain. Obviously Miami slightly dodged a bullet since it could’ve been a lot worse, but it’s yet another hurdle that Miami will have to leap over and monitor. The theme of their season.

#2: Three-point shooting comparison quite unbalanced. 

At the half, the Detroit Pistons were shooting 11 for 21 from beyond the arc, while Miami was 5 of 19. The interesting part about those numbers was Miami slightly padded theirs a bit to end the half, behind Tyler Herro and Max Strus explosions which I’ll get into next. The threes being generated on both sides were quite different as well. Detroit was just picking apart Miami’s zone and finding the open man, which was spread around equally as every Piston starter had at least 2 threes at the half as well. Miami, on the other hand, just couldn’t get them to drop within the offense, leaving them with 4 starters half-way through with no made three. When two teams are down so many guys like these two teams are, usually the team with the better outside shooting numbers has the lead. And well, when they’re that one-sided, you put yourself in a tough spot.

#3: The Tyler Herro-Max Strus show early.

Aside from all of the struggles I discussed in the last section, Max Strus kept them afloat early and Tyler Herro took the keys from there. 33 of 55 first half points from Miami were scored by Herro and Strus. The role of Strus early was intriguing, and it led to a 7-0 run from him. As he’s slotted into starting power forward, he began merging into that role a bit. Baseline roaming, dunker spot reps, which led to an easy dunk early in the first. Herro was just doing Herro-like things. Really carving things up inside the arc, leading to tough mid-range fades and nice lay-ins around the rim. But most of all, his control stood out. Running certain lineups that many of us thought we’d only see in Summer League, yet he’s still playing within the offense. And well, that’s an improved player.

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#4: Udonis Haslem, the spark.

With Dedmon going down early, Miami had to quickly transition into a strict, and small, 8 man rotation for a good portion of the game. Well, that was until Erik Spoelstra gave Udonis Haslem the look to enter the game late in the third. After some rough possessions to start, he quickly gave Miami some production, aside from the big time home crowd spark. One immediate and-1 after the whole team did some complaining on the other end, and a nice face-up jumper down on the box right after. Like I said, sometimes that stuff doesn’t even truly matter in games like this. Instead, it leaves many looking around for the ignitable piece to get a group going. And UD can do that rather quickly, as Miami finished the third quarter strong.

#5: Marcus Garrett giving Miami some underappreciated minutes.

Whenever Marcus Garrett has gotten some run over this recent stretch, his stat-line has never really popped at all in any category. Why is that? Well, he’s another one of those Heat guys that doesn’t get rated upon numbers on a piece of paper, especially considering the main part of his game is on the defensive end. And tonight was a game where he really showed out as a pure ball-hawk. Not only in a Gabe Vincent-like way from baseline to baseline, but by cutting off simple reads in pick and rolls at the top of the key possession after possession. Haslem may have been the spark to finish the third, but Garrett was the spark to kick off the fourth. One play where he forced Cory Joseph into a quick pass and Herro stole it and dunked it was the fire setter. Yet, shortly after, he found himself in perfect position for a much needed charge. That stuff speaks volume.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Pacers

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The Miami Heat had the ultimate bounce back game on Tuesday night, beating the Indiana Pacers in intriguing fashion.

We can focus on certain guys in this one, but this was one of those cliche phrases: a team effort.

So, here are five takeaways from this one…

#1: The front-court projects coming up big without the front-court starters.

No Jimmy Butler. No PJ Tucker. No Bam Adebayo. That scarce front-court led to Erik Spoelstra plugging in Max Strus at the 4, but others stepped up even more in that spot. After a bad looking game from KZ Okpala and Omer Yurtseven against Detroit, they came up big in this one early on. The key: using them like themselves, instead of an Adebayo/Tucker role. Okpala was a very efficient 3 of 3 at the half, hitting a nice 3 in the corner, attacking well, and playing some of his best individual defense of the season in my opinion. Yurtseven was just playing one of his most active games of his young NBA career, hitting the boards hard, facilitating at a serviceable level, and setting some nice screens. These guys are still projects, but some reassurance in games like this is a great sign when down so many players.

#2: Duncan Robinson shifting has game little by little? Indeed.

The Duncan Robinson discussion is always an interesting one to have. Did he have another off game to evaluate or did he break the slump? But in the big picture, I have something else to think about: if the shot has been falling all year for him at a decent rate, we would be having the complete opposite conversation about Robinson. Why is that? Well, his inside game has improved more than anyone could’ve expected, and that’s not an overstatement. He took more dribbles in the last 6 minutes of the second quarter than he has in a single game all season. And those dribbles were leading to some nice looking sprays, nice retreat feeds in the lane, and most of all, an ability to really attack at a decent rate. His game has shifted, and threes falling like they were tonight puts it on full display.

#3: My microscopic game take: the defensive adjustments.

Looking at some things on a smaller level from this game, the defensive adjustments were intriguing, yet not unexpected. I don’t remember the last time an NBA team ran zone on the first possession of a game, but that was the case tonight. When Robinson and Strus are your front-court starters, it’s basically necessary. While that worked frequently, there was another outlet that didn’t work as much: blitzing. There are certain teams that just can’t work against, and there are certain lineups of your own that can’t work for. Tonight was one of them. Dedmon blitzing a pick and roll has worked well when PJ Tucker is the awaiting weak-side tagger. But when it’s Robinson or Strus on the back-side, it’s pure mayhem. Two passes, one lay-in. Obviously it didn’t last long since Miami played a great defensive game, but still something to keep in mind.

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#4: The biggest individual basketball leap on this Heat team this season.

Speaking of microscopic takes, another young guy development must be discussed. I’ve spent a lot of time recently talking about Gabe Vincent, but something else must be discussed. The recent topic has been three-point shooting, since that shot has been falling at a much better rate, but the fact that he rounded out every part of his game throughout his slump stands out more. An off-ball guard had to turn into an on-ball threat real quick, as he told me before the season. Yet, his handles look as crisp as anybody on this team currently. It’s not just about the highlight-like pull-back dribbles for good looking threes, but instead keeping his dribble alive, constantly shifting the defenders body, and much more. If you asked me what’s been the biggest young guy growth, my answer would 100% be Vincent’s handle.

#5: Tyler Herro is back.

I think many of us were viewing the name Tyler Herro as a name on the injury report too much, instead of the complete offensive player that can come back and make an immediate impact. I wouldn’t say this was his best game tonight, but that’s what you would expect when first returning. Shots will be short, but his ability to still impact the game in his minutes and shoot through the slight “off” early is big time. Then, all of a sudden, another burst has arrived. One three here, another mid-range fade there. And well, that’s just Herro at this stage. Coming into the season, if you were to tell me you knew what you were getting from Herro on a night to night basis more than any of the top guys, I’d push back a bit. But that has been the case. Tyler Herro is back, and they’ve missed him.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Cleveland

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The Miami Heat lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers once again, and it was in similar fashion. Short-handed, some offensive issues, and top player struggles.

So let’s hop right into some takeaways from this one…

#1: PJ Tucker with the early impact.

Last game against Chicago, PJ Tucker finished the game with 8 points on 3 of 7 shooting, while going 2 for 4 from three. What was Tucker’s stat-line 6 minutes into this game tonight? You guessed it: 8 points on 3 of 7 shooting, while going 2 for 4 from deep. That may seem like a positive thing individually, but it’s also not the greatest indication for the team. When a guys highest attempts in a game is 10 so far this season, 7 in the first few minutes usually means somethings wrong. We saw things breakdown later, but Tucker was that steady rock that kept them going. Some great box-outs, timely boards early, and that coveted corner triple. Being a number one option on a night like this is something nobody could’ve expected coming into the season.

#2: Tyler Herro’s one struggling defensive adjustment this season.

Tyler Herro hasn’t had many down games so far this season, but the one single time I’ve seen him rattled was that home match-up with Cleveland back in Miami. To begin his NBA career, drop coverage was the only thing he could truly pick apart, but he’s expanded upon that this year. He has counters for switches, counters for blitzes, but the one thing he hasn’t shown a comfortable counter for is length. Guys like Lauri Markkanen blanketing him on the perimeter, basically daring him to drive into a funneled death trap of more bigs. If he continues to navigate the outside, his main release valve for separation can’t be gotten to. His high release point is his way around tight defense, but it’s impossible to rely on that against three 7 footers. Spo drew up a decent game-plan for him with higher screening and more room to operate, but things were still a bit odd.

#3: Dewayne Dedmon is not Bam Adebayo, so he shouldn’t be used as such.

With the usage of Cleveland’s bigs, it was clearly a rough time for Dewayne Dedmon. He can handle his own against guys like that, but he’s much better as the complementary piece with match-ups like this, who can be used as an altered body for Bam Adebayo. But tonight, he’s it. Gabe Vincent actually made some nice plays by tying up the big in the post, but ultimately that doubling can only get you so far, as I said on Twitter in the second quarter. Shortly after, the Cavs found the open areas to attack. On the other side of the ball, Dedmon has been great in his simple offensive role, but when the offense is at its absolute worst, is when Dedmon is being used like Bam. News flash: that should never happen. Having him on the wing for hand-offs three straight possessions won’t cut it. He’s capable in spurts, but the over-reliance can hurt them against teams like this.

#4: Duncan Robinson the ball-handler?

This wasn’t the greatest shooting night from Duncan Robinson, but the difference with tonight is he actually fought through to still make an impact offensively. Like I said after last game, he let the two-point shot dictate the three instead of vice versa. Now tonight, he stuck to a game-plan no matter the shots falling or not. Something that was seen out the gate with him was that when he put the ball on the floor to drive, good things happened. It wasn’t just the flashy behind the back passes to Dedmon down low. It was just his comfort levels being through the roof. He wasn’t rushing as a passer, he wasn’t rushing as a dribbler. He was just making the right reads with guys on his hip. And that’s what can counter his poor shooting some nights. Yet, many times it’ll still lead to losses like this.

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#5: An obvious takeaway, but tonight’s issue falls into the Jimmy Butler column.

Evaluating the team stats throughout the night, it felt like it never aligned to the score. Miami and Cleveland stayed neck and neck in field goals, field goals attempted, threes, threes attempted, etc. The one stat that wasn’t close all night was free throw attempts, and more importantly, free throws made. Not making the limited free throws that were provided is weird in itself. But ultimately, it isn’t a surprise that occurred, since it’s just what comes with the personnel they had. There wasn’t one guy in Miami’s rotation tonight that was somebody who can reliably draw fouls, other than Kyle Lowry who hasn’t done that very exclusively this season. I wouldn’t say it is an issue due to it not being expected anyway, but that was the difference maker tonight in terms of statistics.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over the Bucks

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Well, talk about entertaining.

The Miami Heat faced off against the reigning champ Milwaukee Bucks without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and pulled off a win led by their two-way star Caleb Martin.

So, let’s dive into what happened a bit…

#1: Caleb Martin coming out with some fire, literally.

Caleb Martin entered the starting lineup for the injured Jimmy Butler, which came as a surprise to some due to the recent formula of inserting Tyler Herro. It made sense due to the idea of actually obtaining a Khris Middleton defender in this one, but that was the least of his worries. The offensive stuff took over instead. He actually got in a bit of a skurmish with Bobby Portis on the floor in the second, leading to some more fire in his eyes. He came down with a power block at the rim on Portis shortly after, while yelling in a similar way Portis did all night. Then some more 3’s rained down, as Martin shushed in the direction of Portis. This performance from him was much more than a back forth with Portis, though. This was yet another showing of a rotational player in this league. Not a two-way.

#2: Miami finding the holes in Milwaukee’s defense early, which is hard to do without the premier guys.

On a positive note, the Heat held their own early due to the defensive presence on the floor, but the offense was sustained throughout in a different way. Yes Martin was a big part of it, but it was the definition of team offense. Bigs like Cousins were playing high on the drop and blitzing the ball handler, leading to some immediate counters from Miami. Quick pocket pass, which ultimately forces the 4 on 3, while providing a clear outlet with their reads: the dunker spot. Back to back possessions this was run in the second quarter, one with a dunk for KZ Okpala and the other a layup for Tyler Herro. When you don’t have Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, you can’t be individually dominant. The reads must be quick and with a purpose, which is something Herro struggled doing early. Tucker, on the other hand, didn’t.

#3: Some rotational changes for defensive purposes.

After diving into some first half offense, we must talk about the Heat semi-handling the Bucks’ stars without the two main pieces of their defensive structure. From a schematic perspective, they were not going to let Giannis Antetokounmpo dominate them inside. They dropped down 2 guys from the corners almost every time he had the ball, forcing the kick-outs for settling threes. Miami switched between Omer Yurtseven and KZ Okpala early for differing reasons. Yurtseven was the guy to match-up with Cousins early, and he didn’t too bad of a job. But to finish off the half, Spo just mirrored his minutes with Dedmon, leaving Okpala as the option when Antetokounmpo was the 5. Tucker defended, while KZ did his thing on help and switches. As I said, for defending a team as talented as the Bucks at the top of the roster, they did a great job with what they had.

#4: Kyle Lowry coming alive.

Kyle Lowry had a pretty interesting night to say the least. He didn’t have a great start whatsoever, while the shot attempts just kept coming. And without your two best players, he had to keep shooting the ball to stay in this game late. To finish the third, a change was made. Not with Lowry, but who was next to him. Herro and Robinson exited, Vincent and Strus enter. That almost feels to be an indication to Lowry that it’s scoring time. Herro generating so many turnovers on the ball meant more on Lowry’s plate as a play-maker, but he balanced it well. If you don’t get highly efficient and fiery Lowry, you need assertive Lowry. They got that guy tonight to a certain degree. Plus, Max Strus happened.

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#5: PJ Tucker or Bam Adebayo?

PJ Tucker has been a lot of things with this Heat team, but new things continue to pop up with his play-style. Tonight’s topic: play-making. You can’t use Dewayne Dedmon in a Bam Adebayo offensive role in any capacity, but you can use Tucker in some of those same spots. Running 4 on 3’s after doubles, perimeter hand-offs, front of the rim flips, and mid-post touches. Seeing him play in a Bam-lite role and impact the game late like he did showed a lot about his future playoff role with this Heat team. But more importantly, he can be the ultimate regular season filler if needed. Not to put up exact Bam numbers in the scoring or rebounding column, but he can do just enough to get by.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Memphis

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The Miami Heat fell short to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, and that wasn’t even the worst news of the night. Jimmy Butler returned after 4 games, while it was clear that he shouldn’t have been playing whatsoever, ending with him being sent back to the locker room in the third.

But here are some takeaways from this interesting game…

#1: Miami’s defensive issues right out the gate.

When looking at the scoreboard alone, you can tell that Miami couldn’t score, while also couldn’t stop the Grizzlies from scoring. A terrible combination in the game of basketball. The defensive issues is just essentially life without Bam Adebayo. They did some more switching with Jimmy Butler back, but it was more of that big man recovery stuff as Dewayne Dedmon rotates down and the guards scramble. Adebayo would always stay out on that ball-handler as the ball would rotate into the big with a guard on his back, leaving many observers screaming. Yet, that is now known as the good times. In a Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra defensive system, options is all they need. And they’re limited at this moment in time, combined with a semi-ginger Jimmy Butler.

#2: How are teams scheming against this new look Heat offense?

Adebayo is important, but is he as important as not being able to score on the offensive end night after night? Absolutely not. This leaves many questioning the issues on that end on nights like this, and one thing truly stood out. For one, Butler coming out quite rusty is an issue in itself, but that’s not the whole story. Although PJ Tucker has been great, solid defenders like Steven Adams can take advantage pretty easily. He’s gotten better inside the lane with that one-handed floater, but it’s not on super high volume that leave teams scheming against it. That means guys like Adams can free lance the lane on drives from Butler or Herro, limiting spacing for the top usage guys on the roster. It is what it is, since that’s going to happen in the playoffs, but release valves need to be shown much quicker on these nights.

#3: Tyler Herro doing what he does off the bench yet again.

Not many teams can play a game where you’re just buying time for your sixth man to come in and takeover. But that feels to be the case many games with this Heat team. Even with Butler in, they need that smooth scorer who can do it from any spot on the floor, especially considering there isn’t one bit of reluctancy with the amount of shots he should take. Upon entering, he was carving up that mid-range against the drop coverage that he loves, then sprinkled in more and more drives to the rim with the utilization of that backboard. But the issue is that checking your watch over and over in games like this can get you in trouble. That doesn’t mean he should start, since his role is working as a bench leader, but early starter production must rise for this formula to work. And being 7th in minutes on the team after 3 quarters should never be the case as well.

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#4: Some interesting minute distributions in this one.

Plain and simple: Tyler Herro was your best player tonight. No Bam Adebayo, an injured Jimmy Butler, and a patchy Kyle Lowry confirms that even more. But logging the 7th most minutes on the team through 3 quarters is just a very off stat to come across. The starting lineup discussion is one thing to have, but the argument is that he’s going to get the minutes anyway. Well, tonight that wasn’t really the case, even after coming out playing decently well. Another interesting substitution was playing Max Strus for a 3 minute span, then leaving him on the bench for the rest of the competitive minutes. On a night where you can’t really score, using Strus doesn’t seem like the worst thing in the world. Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin are great defenders, and that’s a cool theme to have, but relying on that skill of theirs to win games won’t work. Matching offense potentially can.

#5: Jimmy Butler playing through injury, which didn’t feel like the right call.

Jimmy Butler missed the last four games due to a tailbone injury, and if you thought he was taking his time coming back, this game against Memphis gave you your answer: he’s hurt. Early in this game, he fell right on that same spot on his back which left him in some pain, but the gingerly run came much earlier. He couldn’t move even close to the same way that he usually can, looked super uncomfortable with facial expressions, and frankly, had zero business being out there. Yes, it’s good to see him show some heart to want to battle with his team, but sometimes it’s just hugely unnecessary when trailing by double digits in a game in December. He headed back to the locker room mid-way through the third quarter, and that felt way too late for that to occur. He showed his usual grit, but definitely wasn’t the right call.

 

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Bucks

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The Miami Heat faced off against the reigning champs tonight, and both sides looked quite different. No Giannis Antetokounmpo, no Jimmy Butler, no Bam Adebayo.

With that said, many short term takeaways can be made about this group, but the second night of a back to back without you’re two best players is why it’s hard to harp too much on this game.

So, here are some things I took away from this one…

#1: The Heat’s offense falling right into the Bucks trap.

Seeing the Bucks scoring 69 points in the first half may immediately equate to discussing the Heat’s defense, but I feel there were more things to note the other way around. The first reason for that was Milwaukee’s defense was schematically set up to compete tonight, and they did their job early. Everybody was instantly uncomfortable on that side of the floor with their solid help defense into quick rotations. That blended into an even worse trend for the offense: settling for shots. The mascot for that description was Caleb Martin threes, since the Bucks began to help further and further away for the ball to land in that exact spot. If he tried to penetrate, they were ready to help and rotate again. It’s more credit to Milwaukee early than pure Miami issues, but the shot profile cannot shift that dramatically.

#2: First half: comparing the top duo performances.

In a game when all headliners are off the table, in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo, the top dogs still matter. Well, the new top dogs. That led to all eyes on Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton for the Bucks, and they did their part, combining for 31 first half points and just controlling each side of the ball in the ways that they usually do. The issue was that Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro weren’t able to match that rhythm, as their first half is summarized by a combined 4 for 18 half of basketball. Once again, a lot of that refers back to the previous takeaway with the way the defense flipped completely between each team, but it’s just hard to win games like that. Herro being swarmed and Lowry on the second night of a back-to-back are the primary reasons for it falling off early.

#3: The bench player of the game continues.

Thinking back over this previous stretch, it always feels that Miami has one of their current/previous two-ways headlining a game in some way. Omer Yurtseven killing it late last night, Gabe Vincent stepping up when needed, Caleb Martin providing a spark. But tonight seemed to be Max Strus’ night after seeing his immediate impact in that struggling offense. Some quick threes kept Miami in it to some degree, basically keeping the theme of Robinson and Strus switching on and off every single night. To touch on a positive, discussing specific bench pieces stepping up in a scenario without Butler, Adebayo, Morris, and still no Oladipo, is a great sign in the big picture. And when it’s Strus, it’s an even bigger indicator due to him having the best odds to sustain his spot in that nine-man rotation for the remainder of the year.

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#4: Did Miami have enough? I don’t think so.

When Coach Spo or players talk about this team in terms of injuries, the same exact phrase comes up: “We have enough.” But it’s one thing to say it, and another thing to take it into consideration on a night like this. My opinion: they just didn’t have enough. That’s not a reflection of depth, since as I said before, many of them have done their part, but it’s much more about the overall structure when missing your two best players. The team’s leading scorer is missing, of course scoring is down. The team’s leading rebounder is missing, of course you’re losing that battle. They can squeak out some games, but until Butler returns, it’ll be hard to fully struggle in both of those departments from night to night and be okay. And frankly, high level play from Lowry and Robinson can mask them not having enough. When they look like guys on the second night of a back to back, it’s clearly different.

#5: On to the next.

The Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies are up next for this Miami Heat team, which is important to note in this post-game piece since it represents the Heat’s mindset tonight: already on the plane ride home. This next slate of games should be interesting for Miami, and the focus should be all about getting past December 15th, as the weaker teams in this league are all they will be facing to finish off the month. But that two-week period before the easier games is all about one thing, and one thing only: Jimmy Butler. It feels like we’re trending towards him suiting up on Monday night, but it feels necessary if Miami wants to end up with a W. Yes, the Grizzlies may be Morant-less, but with a win tonight, they’ll improve to a 4 game winning streak. And hot shooting teams that can hurt you from multiple angles screams the need of your best player on the floor. So, on to the next.

 

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