Heat Getting Playoff Production From Unlikely Sources

Precisely twelve days ago – or 288 hours to be exact – the Miami Heat were fighting for their season. Squaring off against the Chicago Bulls in a play-in game, the winner would be awarded the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. But a win was no gift. It meant having to face the 58-24 Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, a team predicated on size, talent, and shooting. Lots of shooting. In every way, the Bucks are the antithesis of Miami. A win against the Bulls and an invitation to the playoff ultimately wouldn’t mean much. Or at least we thought.

 

Fast forward to the present, and the Heat finds themselves up 3-1 against the top-seeded “juggernaut”, with an opportunity to send them packing on Wednesday.

 

But how?

 

How can a team so inconsistent and beset by problems find themselves in this position?

 

Two words: Playoff Jimmy.

 

Jimmy Butler’s performance in Game 4 on Monday night was otherworldly. It was the greatest individual performance in Heat playoff history. And that’s saying something when you consider which players have dawned a Heat jersey over the years.

 

His final tally was video-game-like: 56 points and nine rebounds on 78% true shooting. In doing so, he became just the 3rd player in NBA playoff history to score at least 55 points on 75% true shooting or better. Elite stuff.

 

While Butler has single-handedly carried Miami through four games, it would be remiss to recognize a few players who have stepped up in this series. And odds are if not for their level of play, it’s likely Miami isn’t in a position to close this out on Wednesday. Here are a few noteworthy performances that have helped the Heat take command of this series.

 

Kyle Lowry Is Taking And Making Shots

 

Lowry has been the proverbial punching bag among Heat fans for much of this season, and rightfully so. The man is earning $28 million this season and has essentially been unplayable for much of the season. While his production still doesn’t quite match his expensive price tag, he’s making shots and doing all of the little stuff that annoys opposing teams.

 

Through 6 playoff games (two play-in games included), Lowry is hitting nearly 64% of his two’s while shooting 45% from three. More importantly, he’s playing aggressively on offense.

 

Per Cleaning The Glass, he’s taken 43% of his field goal attempts from the mid-range. This was a spot Lowry took advantage of earlier in his career. He was an assassin pulling up around a screen, killing defenses playing drop. This was a big frustration during the regular season, as he only took 21% of his shots from the mid-range.

Now utilizing the mid-range more aggressively, his 43% frequency across six games is a career-high by more than 3%.

 

Lowry’s aggressiveness is uber important to Miami’s offensive flow as Milwaukee is among one of the most drop-heavy teams in the league. And with Bam Adebayo still earning his wings as a shooting threat, Lowry’s willingness to take and make the mid-range pull-up has put Milwaukee’s defense on their heels at times.

 

On top of his offensive aggression, Lowry has continued to do all of the little things that make him annoying to play against. His six deflections rank eighth among players with less than 100 minutes this postseason.

 

He still may not be performing as advertised when Miami inked him to a large deal last offseason, but his play has impacted winning this postseason.

 

Caleb Martin Isn’t Afraid Of The Big Stage

 

If not for Martin, Miami is likely going back to Milwaukee with the series tied. The story of Monday’s fourth quarter was obviously Butler, but Martin gave Miami huge minutes. There was a two-minute span with under five minutes left where Martin had a stretch of the following:

 

Rebound – Drawn Foul – Two Free Throws – Offensive Rebound – Two-Point Jumper (with a DeShawn Stevenson palm-in-face celebration directed at Giannis Antetokounmpo) – Three-Point Jumper

 

All of this occurred from the 4:18 mark down to 2:43 left.

 

Simply put, Miami doesn’t close this game out if it weren’t for Martin. The man literally looked at Giannis in the witching hour of a playoff game and hit him with the DeShawn Stevenson celebration. Do you know how much confidence you have to have to pull that off?

 

This stretch summed up who Martin is as a player. We’re talking about a guy who was on a two-way contract last season contributing to winning basketball in the playoffs. If that’s not the quintessential Miami Heat player, then I don’t know what is.

 

Through six postseason games, he has an eFG of 72% and is hitting 47% of his attempts from three (8-17). Much to the tune of Butler, he is elevating his game when it matters most. All in all, he is outplaying the 3-year, $20 million contract he signed this offseason.

 

Miami Runs On Duncan

 

Arguably the biggest story through the first four games of this series has been the play of Duncan Robinson. Labeled as one of the league’s worst contracts, Robinson has been unplayable for most of the season, with memories of his blazing-hot 2020 breakout season seeming far away.

 

When Tyler Herro broke his hand in the first half of Game 1, Erik Spoelstra was left with no choice. Robinson had to play.

 

Since the moment he checked into Game 1, he’s shot 76% from three. Seventy-six percent. 13-17 from downtown.

 

Not only has this given Miami a jolt in the points department, but the Bucks now need to fear him when he’s on the court. His presence on the floor is a weapon again, just as it was in 2020.

 

Robinson didn’t attempt a single shot in the second half of Game 4. Why? Because a Bucks defender was glued to his hip. As a result, Miami had more driving lanes and opportunities to attack the basket.

 

This is the Robinson that Miami signed to a $90M contract a couple of seasons ago. If he can continue to shoot with this much confidence, Miami’s lackluster offense could quickly turn into a daunting task for teams to slow down.

 

Honorable Mention: Haywood Highsmith Gaining Confidence

 

With injuries to Victor Oladipo and the aforementioned Tyler Herro, Spoelstra has had no choice but to dig deep into his bag of rotations. This included giving Highsmith meaningful minutes in Game 4, along with a big-time task: Slow down Giannis.

 

I mean, the guy was literally playing basketball at a Division II school two years ago and is now guarding a former MVP in the playoffs.

 

So, how did he do?

 

According to NBA.com’s matchup tracker, Highsmith defended Giannis for 13 possessions, held him to 2-6 shooting (33%), and forced one turnover.

 

While it is a small sample size, Highsmith’s length allows him to bother opposing players. That, along with his high motor, should give Spoelstra more trust in deploying him on Giannis for small stretches going forward.

 

You’re never going to shut down a player of Giannis’ caliber, but you can never have enough capable and rested bodies to throw at him. Highsmith is proving to be capable.