Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Bam Adebayo Sets Career Milestone in Heat’s Win Over Hawks

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The Miami Heat’s second road win of the season came 32 days after the group’s first dub away from home.

Undermanned and undersized, the Heat rolled into State Farm Arena struggling early and found themselves down nine points at the intermission. Although, there were a few bright spots.

Atlanta was lighting it up from deep, making 5/10 triples in the opening period and holding Miami to 39.1% shooting from the field. Max Strus and Bam Adebayo were the only productive offensive players in this stretch for the Heat. They were a combined 7/12 from the field, while the rest of the outfit shot 2/11 from the floor.

It wasn’t like Atlanta was doing anything special contesting on kick outs to the perimeter. Miami missed four makeable 3-point shots that weren’t challenged in the first quarter, deepening their hole.

The Hawks’ defensive game plan was to limit the Heat’s action in the interior. It worked for the first quarter by only giving up eight points in the paint and sending their guests to the line just once through the first 12 minutes.

Slowly but surely, Miami adjusted on both sides. In the second quarter, they nearly doubled their paint production to 14 points and held the hosts to 28.6% efficiency from deep by disrupting the offense with the 2-3 zone.

On one play, Dejounte Murray caught a pass in the right corner, and Kyle Lowry instantly closed out. Kyle trapped his matchup and pressured him into throwing a reckless lob toward the elbow that Haywood Highsmith intercepted.

When the Heat doubled Trae Young on the right wing, he passed to an opening on the left side of the arc. Tyler Herro, one of the backline defenders covering the paint and corner, sprinted forward for the contest, influencing the miss.

On a pick-and-roll play with Murray and Frank Kaminsky, Miami iced the ball handler as he wrapped around the screen. This left Hawks rookie AJ Griffin open on the left wing. Herro, again, came in flying in from the middle like an F16 fighter jet and forced the miss.

Miami came out of the recess in a hole, but it quickly dug itself out and pushed Atlanta in. Bam Adebayo had 14 points in the third quarter, matching his output for the first half. He ruthlessly attacked the basket, making all five interior shots in the period, plus four free throws.

Three of his finishes were set up as a result of PNR. Herro designed the first two and Lowry the third. His fourth basket came after he was fed in the dunker spot. Lowry’s drive in transition attracted the help of Adebayo’s matchup, John Collins, leaving Miami’s big man open. Bam caught the pass, took one dribble and faded in the lane for two.

Against Atlanta’s feeble zone, Lowry passed to Adebayo in the center as he was guarded by Griffin. Bam posted up, dribbled once, and turned for a seven-foot hook shot that pecked the front of the iron before dropping in.

Adebayo finished the game with 32 points on 13/20 attempts with eight rebounds, one assist and one rejection. It became the first time in his career that he broke 30 points in consecutive games, per Basketball Reference.

In the previous outing, Miami’s win at home over Washington on Friday, ”No Ceiling,” powered the Heat to a dub with 38 points and 12 rebounds.

This version of Adebayo, the two-way wrecking ball averaging better than 25 points and 10 rebounds over the last six games, looks like a top-three big man. He doesn’t play outside of himself. Against the Hawks, he took two tries outside of the lane and missed both, yet in the paint, he shot 72.2%, and that’s where 26 of his points came from.

Bam has ascended to a level that impacts the game as much as his All-Star teammate, Butler. Holding this together forever is the next step to finally unleashing #13.

*****

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Mateo’s Hoop Diary: No Ceiling for Bam Adebayo

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It was the third encounter in a week between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards. Each outfit had copped a win at home, and habits and weaknesses were understood by both sides heading into Friday night’s game. At this point, it was a battle of wills.

 

Observations

 

The Heat rolled into their 20th game without Jimmy Butler, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson. The starting lineup was Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jović and Bam Adebayo.

 

The boxscore is not kind to this rotation. Through two games, they score 28.5 points on 52.3% shooting from the field, but the opponent (Washington) scores five more points on 60.5% efficiency from the floor, per NBA Stats.

 

Yet, the team is 2-0 in the games they start.

 

A few factors contributing to the rough defensive numbers are A. Miami is using a rookie, Jović, out of necessity with so many guys out.  Despite his unmistakable feel for the game, he is still raw, and someone defenses will likely target first. B. Herro finally returned over the past two wins after missing eight straight nights with a hurt ankle.  C. The Heat have no choice but to rely heavily on the 2-3 zone because the guys available, aside from Adebayo,  Martin, and maybe Lowry, can’t be counted on to get a stop by themselves.  

 

Nonetheless, this five-man unit produced 39 of 110 Heat points in 14.5 minutes on Friday.

 

But what won Miami the game?

 

The Heatles were much sharper in the zone than the Wizards.  Both squads shot below 30% from deep, but the home team managed to close off the lane more effectively.  The hosts gave up only 46 points in the box to their rivals.

 

Contesting the 3-point line, Miami had length covering the baseline and corner.  On one play, Bradley Beal curled around a Kristaps Porziņģis dribble-handoff and broke into the square as he was iced by Herro and Adebayo.  He then dished to the corner, but Jović closed out perfectly on Deni Avdija in the corner, forcing the miss.

 

In another instance, Washington had a mismatch in transition as Dewayne Dedmon matched up with Corey Kispert. Barton passed to Kispert, who was running towards the right wing, but Dedmon only stayed a step behind the arc.  Unwisely, Washington’s 3-point specialist hoisted a triple over his 7-foot tall defender, kissing nothing but the front of the iron.  

 

 Miami obliterated Washington’s interior, scoring 62 paint points.  Trays weren’t falling with ease from deep for the Heat, but they managed to get inside the teeth of the opponent’s zone for a shot inside without much resistance.

 

Adebayo finished with 38 points, making 68% of his attempts, with 12 rebounds and three dimes.  His two-way production guided them through 36 minutes.  His fourth-quarter mastery catapulted the Heat to victory.

 

With Miami down six points in the final period, Adebayo ran a DHO with Herro on the left wing.  As both defenders blitzed Tyler, he snuck a bounce pass between the coverage into a rolling Adebayo for the jam.

 

On his next bucket,  in transition, Adebayo dribbled downhill past Kyle Kuzma for a soft finish at the cup. 

 

For his third, fourth-quarter basket, he posted up Anthony Gill in the low post and backed him down into the lane.  Adebayo then turned for a right-handed five-foot hook shot.  

 

As the roll man after a pick set for Martin, Adebayo trailed the cutting ball handler, who missed at the rim.  #13 went up for the putback and forced a goaltend.

 

On his last field goal, the Lowry-Adebayo pick and roll was run flawlessly.  With the Heat up a point and 28 seconds remaining, Adebayo set a high screen for Lowry to shed Beal. Kyle cut right as Bam rolled left, attacking the drop coverage.  The bounce pass was delivered into the pocket as “No Ceiling” kept cutting and finished through Porziņģis.  

 

In the fourth quarter, Bam scored 12 points, making 5/7 shots.

 

Adebayo Recently

 

Over his last five games (Heat are 3-2), Adebayo is averaging 24.2 points a night on 48% efficiency from the field, plus 10.6 boards and 2.8 assists, per Basketball Reference.  Butler only played in one of those games- Miami’s one-point win at home over Phoenix on Nov. 14. 

 

Also noteworthy about this minuscule sample size is that Adebayo is making 7/8 free throws a  night.  Getting to the line more than a few times a game helps a team by giving the players a breather, and they can get into defensive position much easier following the last freebie.  

 

With the team undermanned and some personnel in different roles than last season, Adebayo must continue this stretch of brilliance when Butler returns to the lineup.  He and JB are the squad’s best options for creating pressure inside.  The best way to make sure the group’s snipers are left alone or poorly defended is if the two of them inflict maximum damage in the lane.

 

To his credit, Bam has shown up yearly with improvements to his scoring arsenal.  Last season, 60.8% of baskets were assisted.  Through 18 games in this campaign, only 52.9% of buckets come with help, per Basketball Reference.    

 

 

 

Reflecting on Roberto Luongo’s Hockey Hall of Fame Induction

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TORONTO – On Monday night, Roberto Luongo was enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF), forever acknowledging him as one of the greatest hockey players to ever live. 

 

His career was an extremely successful one, with six all-star appearances, two Olympic gold medals, 489 career wins – which ranks fourth all-time, and becoming the first goalie to captain an NHL team in 60 years.

 

Besides a 24 game spell with the New York Islanders in 1999-2000, Luongo spent the entirety of his 19-season Hall of Fame career with the Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks. Luongo became the first player who spent the majority of their career with the Panthers (572 of 1,044 games) to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

 

Over the weekend, Luongo reminisced on his long professional hockey career. The Canadian media was very keen on hearing about the triumphs of the 2010 Olympics, which Lu was more than happy to discuss. The story of how Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal came to be because Lu moved the puck to Scott Niedermayer behind the net rather than freezing it was the tale that he told. 

 

When asked about which team he’d prefer to represent as he went into the Hall, Lu went with the safe answer, “Team Canada.” 

 

As big of a star Lu was during his playing days with the Canadian national team, he was just as much of an icon in Vancouver and Florida. “Luuuu” chants echoed through Scotiabank Arena when he was presented his Hall of Fame blazer by Hockey Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald. The same chants were heard on the red carpet of Meridian Hall as Luongo stepped out of the limo and inside the venue as he took the stage on induction night.

 

The HHOF induction ceremonies were a fun experience for all involved. The inductees spent the weekend with their families and former teammates.

 

Former Florida Panthers captain and now Luongo’s colleague in the Florida front office, Bryan McCabe, was in Toronto for the induction, he spoke about his time with Lu. 

 

“It’s been awesome (working with him), he’s a really intelligent guy, brings a lot to the table and it’s been a pleasure getting to know him off the ice over the last few years,” McCabe said.

 

Going into the Hall alongside Luongo were his former Canucks teammates, Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Both players mentioned Lu in their induction speeches. 

 

“Being inducted into the hall of fame is truly an honor but doing it alongside Roberto makes it so much more special,” Daniel said. “You raised the standards on our team and made everyone believe that average was never an option. I’m proud to call you a friend.” 

 

Henrik spoke about the culture the Canucks core had during their best years and said Lu was at the forefront of that. 

 

“Roberto, you were the face of that culture, I’ve never been around anyone with the same determination and willingness to do anything to get better, it’s an honor to be here tonight with you,” Henrik said.  

 

As a Montreal native, Luongo joined an elite cast of Quebec goalies to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The likes of Jacques Plante, Georges Vezina, Martin Brodeur, Rogie Vachon and Patrick Roy were all legends in their own right, hailing from the Canadian province. 

 

“It was a big part of our upbringing to know that all of these great Quebec goalies are some of the best goalies in the world,” Luongo said. “I wanted to be like them… just to be able to say that I’m going into the same Hall of Fame as they are, it’s a tremendous honor.” 

 

The humble nature of Lu, as it always is, was on full display this weekend. He took the time to recognize some key figures that got him where he was today. 

 

Lu told me that one goaltender he wanted to style his game after as a teenager was former Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, Patrick Roy. In his early years, he was able to learn under Roy’s former goalie coach, Francois Allaire.

 

“The one (coach) that really made me who I was is Francois Allaire,” Luongo said. “He’s the one that really installed the technical part of the game in me… he really kicked off my career and gave me a solid foundation to build off of.” 

 

Lu came to South Florida as a young man in 2000. He was in his early twenties, with just 24 NHL games under his belt. Five years later in 2006 when he was traded to Vancouver, he left South Florida as a bonafide star in the league, playing in 317 games with the Panthers. During his first stint in Florida, Lu would also meet his wife Gina – with the help of a former teammate. 

 

“I remember after one practice Scott Mellanby came up to me and said, I want to take you to an Italian place… the owner wants to meet you,” Luongo said.

 

“After a little bit of time he started inviting me over to the house, I was having dinner there, it was like another family,” Luongo said during his induction speech. “Wouldn’t you know they had a daughter, and that happens to be the love of my life, Gina.”

 

While Mellanby will forever live in the memory of Panthers fans for being the player who killed the rat in the locker room during their run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final, Luongo remembered his former teammate over the weekend for changing his life, literally.   

 

The best years of Luongo’s career were undoubtedly when he was in Vancouver. In his eight year run with the Canucks, they made the playoffs six times, won six division titles, two Presidents’ Trophies and went to Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

 

When the NHL went on break for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Luongo led Canada to the top of the hockey world as they defeated the Americans in overtime to claim the gold medal, with over 16 million people watching across the country. To this day people in Canada still talk about Luongo’s play in that tournament.  

 

While the Vancouver Luongo teams had consistent playoff appearances and a roster which would see multiple players become Hall of Famers, it was the complete opposite for Lu’s Panthers teams. 

 

Florida never made the playoffs in the first five years they had Luongo between the pipes. When he returned to the Panthers in March of 2014 for his second go, Lu had one goal: take the Panthers to the playoffs. 

 

“With the Panthers, when I came back on my second stint I was dead set on it, I wanted to make the playoffs with them,” Luongo said. “When I got traded back… a lot of people thought I was going to run into the sunset as they said, but for me I really wanted to witness a playoff series with that team.”

 

In 2016, that Panthers playoff dream would happen. This time around, Lu had a series of future NHL stars around him, with the likes of a young Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad. Florida faced off against the team that drafted him, the New York Islanders in the first-round. Unfortunately, the Panthers didn’t win the series and Lu never got to play with that Panthers core in their prime. That would be the only time Luongo reached the postseason with the team before retiring in 2019.

 

Today, Lu is still with the Panthers organization in a front office role. He currently serves as the Special Advisor to General Manager Bill Zito.

 

His ties to the South Florida community will always be there.  He is the first Panther player to have his jersey retired, while also being inducted into the Hall with most of his career being spent in a Panthers uniform. His wife was born and raised in the area and they have brought up their family there.

 

“I think It’s a great place to bring up your family, that’s why we made it our home… it’ll always be home for me, I enjoy living there and it’s a great place to raise a family,” Luongo said.

 

With his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Roberto Luongo will forever be remembered by hockey fans for his stellar on ice play, his off the ice personality (especially his Twitter account) and all that he’s accomplished with Team Canada, Vancouver and Florida. He now rightfully has his place amongst hockey’s greatest legends and will so for the rest of time.

Five Takeaways from Panthers win over Capitals

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For the first time since last season’s playoffs, the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals faced off at FLA Live Arena.

 

Florida won the game 5-2, backstopped by a stellar performance from Sergei Bobrovsky and two-goal night from Carter Verhaeghe.

 

Here’s tonight’s takeaways.

 

The Sam’s are buzzing

It was no secret that both Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett had slower starts to the season than they would have liked. Both players respectively had the best season of their careers in 2021-2022, so there was some cause for concern as the two had only one goal between them when Florida hit the road a few weeks ago.

 

The Sam’s seemed to have gotten over the snake bite ever since they both got on the board in the game against Anaheim on Nov. 6. 

 

Tonight, Reinhart scored a baseball style goal on the powerplay as he batted the puck from midair past Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper. 

 

Unlike Saturday where he scored twice against Edmonton, Bennett didn’t find the back of the net tonight, however he was very noticeable on the ice against Washington, specifically when the Panthers were skating in transition and when he was around the front of goal.

 

When the Sam’s are going, good things happen for the Panthers. 

 

Florida winning the special teams battle won them the game

You never want to give the Washington Capitals a power play… why? There’s this guy on their team that is 13 goals away from having the second most of all-time in NHL history. Yes, it’s Alex Ovechkin.

 

Ovi has a permanent residence on the left faceoff circle in every hockey arena across the world. He has the most powerplay goals all-time with 290 and counting. So you don’t want to give him a chance to get 291. 

 

Florida went to the box five times tonight, which isn’t ideal after what was mentioned about Ovechkin. Yet, Florida came up huge on the penalty kill, going 5-for-5 on the PK, due in large part to the great game played by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

 

The power play was perfect, literally

The Panthers penalty kill was 100 percent tonight. As for the power play, which has been a struggle for most of this season, that department also had a perfect night, scoring on their one and only attempt of the game. 

 

Florida usually gets more than one crack at the man-advantage on most nights as their fast transition game and offensive zone play gets teams to bite. Tonight, that wasn’t the case with Washington going to the box only once, but that one penalty cost them a goal against as Sam Reinhart scored to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the second period. 

 

Florida’s missed opportunities on special teams has hurt them in close games this season, but tonight it was the opposite. 

 

Sergei Bobrovsky was more than solid – 40 saves and the win

For the last three games prior to tonight, the crease was Spencer Knight’s. Because of that, Bob hasn’t played in 10 days, with his last start coming on Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.

 

Tonight, Bobrovsky was back in the net and his performance propelled Florida to the win tonight. 

 

Bob ended the night with 40 saves and was the brick wall that kept Washington scoreless on the power play. 

 

During the third period, Washington was all over Florida for most of the frame, putting 21 shots on Bob and scoring a goal to make it a one-goal game.

 

With the Panthers looking like they could lose the lead at any minute, Bob kept the team in check with his play, before the late game goal support came in from Carter Verhaeghe.

 

Swaggy gets two-goals… again

It seems like when Carter Verhaeghe scores, he does it in bunches – which isn’t wrong as he’s scored two goals in a game four times this year while scoring one goal only twice. 

 

The Capitals are no stranger to Verhaeghe’s offensive abilities as he dominated them in the playoffs last season with 12 points in six games. 

 

Verhaeghe missed a few shifts in the game tonight as he went to the Panthers dressing room after taking a hit up high from Capitals forward Lars Eller. It was a good sign to see him come back to the bench, and it was even better to see him score the two insurance goals late in the third.   

 

The entire top line got on the scoresheet tonight, with Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk both picking up three points in the win. 

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Bam Adebayo to the Rescue (Alive, They Cried)

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The Heat’s pulse-dropping win over the burning Suns boosted its record to 7-7, and for the first time this season, the group is at .500.  

 

As the road team retreated to the locker room, the home crowd gave their squad a feverish standing ovation.  Although, with fewer than eight minutes left, the game was trending toward the opposite outcome.

 

Miami was ahead by a point at the half (58-57) and didn’t see the lead again until the last two minutes.  The Heatles suffered another notorious turd quarter and were outscored by eight.  The slippage hit its climax in the fourth as Phoenix ascended to a 13-point lead.  

 

The hosting unit had shot 1/8, four minutes into the final period, only scoring five points, while Phoenix buried a quick 11.  Next, Jimmy Butler was inserted for Gabe Vincent, and, alive, they cried.

 

On their next possession, Kyle Lowry stood on the left wing, guarded tightly by Devin Booker.  As soon as his defender’s left foot moved a step back, #7 had his opening.  Lowry then put the ball on the floor and darted to the middle, but his man didn’t give up on the play. Booker managed to seal off the lane after a couple of steps into it, but Kyle hit a seven-foot floater over the defense.

 

The Suns came back the other way seeing the Heat’s 2-3 zone.  Booker passed to Bismack Biyombo, posting Butler in the lane. Biyombo couldn’t get more than a dribble off before JB’s left tentacle reached around, poking the rock free for Bam Adebayo to recover and take off on the break. 

 

As Adebayo raced downhill, Booker backpedaled with him and reached for a strip at the ring wing. Bam casually spun past him for an acrobatic layup outside the restricted area while taking contact from Torrey Craig.  

 

Max Strus scored the next bucket for Miami. He breezed past Booker at the top of the key and beat Deandre Ayton, in drop coverage, to the cup for the finger roll.

 

On the following possession, Caleb Martin batted away Ayton’s pass to the corner, over to Butler. The 3-2 fastbreak started with Jimmy dribbling up the middle, with Kyle dashing to his left and Bam gliding to his right. Booker and Mikal Bridges were the only Suns tracking the play and managed to seal off the restricted area from a cutting Adebayo, but he just took a foul and hit a runner over the defense.  The Suns called a timeout, but their lead was cut to three following Bam’s made free throw.  

 

With fewer than five minutes left, Bridges lost the ball in the paint, and Adebayo took off the break.  He ran and give-and-go with Strus cutting right and was fed back in the lane for the slam.  

 

Butler scored the next pair of points at the line.  He earned the trip to the charity stripe by taking a smack from the helping Ayton on the arm.

 

Then Martin got involved in the action by hitting a triple in the right corner as he faded to the left. Craig’s contest was weak because he bit on the pump fake and had to reenter the shooting space.  

 

On their next turn with the ball, Lowry was in the right corner when he noticed his man, Booker, was overcommitted, guarding the post with his back toward the shooter.  Lowry shifted to the wing and fired away for three.  Booker’s contest was a second too late, and now Miami had its first lead since the opening minute of the second half.

 

Phoenix refused to go away quietly.  On their next possession, Booker came out from the middle, curling to the right-wing Butler on his tail.  Ayton set a weak pick, and Butler went over it, getting a handoff in Booker’s grill as he launched away.  It was a solid contest but against a greater offense.  The Suns were back up by one (110-109).

 

The shootout continued with Lowry cutting left as Adebayo split his screen and rolled to his right.  Miami’s QB caught the help of Ayton and Craig as he entered the post and attempted a floater that bounced too high off the glass.  Adebayo kept rolling and soared through the air for the putback lay-in.  

 

The pendulum swung again towards the home team, but for a mere 12 seconds until Cameron Payne and Ayton ran PNR to switch Martin off the ball.  Adebayo stayed with his matchup, but Phoenix’s big-man had shed Caleb, and Payne took an open path to the paint and hit a floater over Butler. 

 

The crowd was delirious. Coach Spo then called a timeout and relayed his instruction.

 

The Heat inbounded with a full shot clock from the sideline and went to work with some Lowry-Adebayo PNR.  Bam caught the pass on the roll behind the line, attempted a runner, and was fouled by Ayton.  He buried his freebies, giving Miami a 113-112 lead that it wouldn’t concede.  

 

Guarding the next play, Miami was fortunate Payne bricked his uncontested driving layup through the middle.  Yet, Ayton recovered the miss and passed outside to reset.  Ten seconds were left.  Butler guarded Booker at the top of the key and forced him to drive right.  Booker pulled up at the elbow, got rejected by #22, and picked up his miss. Frantically, he got off the next shot he could, fading on the right wing with Butler perfectly contesting.  

 

The ball hit the side of the iron as the final buzzer rang.  The Heat survived and extended the club’s winning streak to three games—Miami’s longest stretch of decent play for the season.

 

When Butler checked in with 7:44 left in the game, ESPN Analytics’ chart said Phoenix had a 97.9% probability of winning.   His influence on the rest of the squad activated them as if Frankenstein’s Monster had come to life on the operating table.  

 

Adebayo dropped 14 points, making 80% of his field goals in all 12 minutes of the fourth.  Lowry and Strus were the next leading scorers for Miami in the period, with five apiece.

 

Off to Toronto, the Heatles go for the third matchup of the season with the Raptors on Wednesday.

  

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Positives and Negatives of the Heat’s Week Four

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The Heatles improved to a 6-7 record entering the fifth week of the NBA season.  In week four, Miami played three games at home, losing one to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday and beating the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday and Saturday.

 

During these three games, the Heat flashed moments of their former selves.  They also demonstrated a handful of bad habits.  Let’s examine the positive and negative aspects of the Heat through week four.

 

Positives:

1. Seizing the passing lanes

 

Miami came away with 27 steals and forced 52 turnovers in their last three matches at home.   Jimmy Butler was responsible for a third of the takeaways. In total, the Heat scored 67 points off turnovers  Yet, the high volume of interceptions in the passing lanes and forced errors skewed their rebounding numbers.

 

Yes, Miami was beaten on the boards 50-38 in their overtime win against Charlotte. But the Heat would have had more opportunities to recover the ball off the glass if the other team didn’t lose it 20 times.  

 

Nonetheless, these repeated instances were a reason why Miami took more field goal attempts in all three games.  

2. Dependable at the line

 

In week four, Miami averaged 24 free throw attempts a night but more impressively converted 83.4% of their shots.  Butler, as usual, was the Heat’s most reliable option to get to the “welfare line.”  He logged 26/28 freebies, helping his squad by cutting the flow of the game and giving his teammates a break on defense.  

 

When Butler wants to, he can get to the line at will.  He’s currently averaging the third-highest volume of attempts in his career (8.3) that come as a result of his consistent pressure in the lane.  This season, Butler is averaging 66.7% of his tries from 0-10 feet from the hoop, a new career high.  

 

As a unit, the Heatles shoot 86.7% for the year, which puts them at  #1 in the league.  Counting only the players who qualify for league leaders, Miami only has one guy who shoots below 80% at the line, Caleb Martin (72.7).  

 

3. Money in the paint

 

Over three nights, Miami made 75/123 (61%) interior shots with a combined 150 points in the paint.  

 

Even on a night where they couldn’t hit anything from outside the square, like on Thursday against Charlotte, Miami was still sharp attacking the box, cashing 63% of their attempts in the non-restricted area.

 

Miami’s best options at attacking the interior are Butler and Bam Adebayo.  Their quick recognition of their opponent’s 2-3 zone coverage did not deter them from breaking down the scheme by attacking the middle, clenching the defense and giving extra space to shooters on the perimeter.  

 

4. Crisp ball movement without a starter + a role player filling big shoes

 

Tyler Herro hasn’t played since Nov. 4 in the Heat’s loss at Indiana.  Despite his absence, Miami still logged a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio with Max Strus inserted into the starting rotation. In the first quarter against Charlotte on Saturday, 11 of Miami’s 14 baskets of the period were assisted.  

 

One play that stood out during the Heat’s most recent victory was Kyle Lowry’s eighth dime of the night.  At the top of the key, he noticed Robinson on the left wing with his defender, James Bouknight, wholly turned away from the ball.  Robinson, not known for attacking inside, darted to the basket with his man draped all over him. Lowry still hit his man on the run, and Robinson finished with Bouknight behind his hip.  

 

Another sequence worth mentioning occurred with fewer than six minutes left in the same game.  At the top of the key, Gabe Vincent was matched up with LaMelo Ball.  Adebayo then came in, splitting a screen, and rolled right to the basket as Vincent went left, attacking the drop coverage.  A couple of steps into the lane, Gabe lobbed up the rock as Mason Plumlee was caught in no man’s land.  Adebayo reached into the heavens and powered the rock through the cylinder.  

 

For the week, Miami turned the ball over 10.7 times a night.  Passes were executed with precision when the opponent overcommitted on the Heat’s rim attacks or when a mismatch was identified.   

 

This year, Herro is a near 20-point per-game scorer.  Filling in for #14, Strus averaged 19.6 points on 42.4% shooting from 3-point range on 11 attempts a night.  Mad Max put constant strain on the opposing defense by having his man actively trail him + curling around screens and firing away in the openings of the zone.  

 

5. Offensively productive second unit

 

In week four, Miami’s bench was relied on for 35 points a game, outscoring all three of its opponents by an average of five points.  For the stretch, the Heat’s strongest reserve was Vincent. 

 

In overtime on Thursday, he took a pair of trips to the line and was immaculate.  On Saturday, both his buckets in the fourth quarter were difficult shots.  The first materialized from a left-wing drive.  Vincent circled toward the left low post, turned, and hit a fadeaway jumper over the taller Ball to give Miami a 13-point lead.

 

On his next basket, Dedmon ran a dribble hand-off on the right wing for Vincent, and Ball went under the pick.  As Vincent turned the corner of the screen and entered the lane, Ball was back on his right hip but was thrust backward by Gabe’s strong side.  Vincent picked up his dribble, faded and hit the nylon.  

 

Now for the other side of the coin.

 

Negatives:

1. Paint Coverage

 

In the past two seasons, the Heat were #1 in opponent scoring in the paint, giving up only 42.1 points in the area both years.  In this campaign, Miami has dropped to fourth after a three-game stretch conceding 51.3 paint points.  

 

When Miami went to the 2-3 zone, Charlotte’s Kelly Oubre had no issues getting to the middle past Robinson or Strus and finishing.  Ball, in single coverage with Martin or attacking through PNR, was also able to get to the box on his terms and convert.  

2. Inefficient catch-and-shooting 

 

The Heat are too skilled from deep to be shooting 33% on catch-and-shoot triples for the season and over the last three games.  

 

Lowry took six of these shots on Thursday, some with the help of a screen and missed five.  The lift on his legs looked fine, but he was missing makeable looks and wide-open trays.  

 

Robinson had the same issues all week, launching away from deep. When a pass from a teammate beat the closeout defender, he was still off target.  Against Portland, when hit with a pass by Butler on the right wing, Robinson unthinkably fired away over the much shorter Damian Lillard by fading to the side.  Clank. 

3. Not capitalizing enough on the break

 

Miami did make its rivals pay when they committed a lousy pass, having 18.8% of its total points for the stretch attributed to scoring off turnovers.  Although, only 9.8% of their output was created on the fastbreak.  

 

In the future, the Heat must maximize these opportunities by out-hustling the opponent, so they have easier chances to score on 3-on-2, 2-on-1, or any break upper hand.  Usually, the starting lineup features four players who could get down the court in a hurry.  It also has a distinguished veteran QB who is highly proficient at launching hit-ahead passes that leave defenders out of the picture.  

 

For the season, Miami is 25th in the NBA in this category at 10.2%.  In week four, the Heat were 18th best in the NBA in this stat, yet they had a lower percentage (9.8) than the yearly average.

 

4. Opponents shot well from the field

 

Through three games, Miami’s defensive rating was 111, and opponents recorded better than league-average efficiency from the field (50.9%, LA- 46.5%).  In the future, everyone not named Adebayo, Butler and Martin will need to show more consistency staying in front of their man and closing out to shooters on drive-and-kick plays.  

 

5. Too dependent on Butler to get to the line

 

Despite the Heat’s stellar shooting at the line, players other than Butler are not getting there enough.  JB was responsible for 43% of Miami’s free throw points during week 4. He took 9.3 charity shots, and his teammates tied for next in attempts were Adebayo and Vincent, each averaging 3.3 tries. 

 

That volume is too low for Bam, and it’s below what he logs for the year (4.2).  Adebayo’s percentage of shots taken from 0-3 from the cup has dropped 5.8 points and his efficiency in that spot has fallen 7.7 points as well.  

 

Weekly Grade: C+

Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa and Trent Sherfield dance in celebration of a touchdown against the Browns.

Pressure Point: First-place Dolphins well positioned for playoff push

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Tyreek Hill said he’s going to the Bahamas to “sit by the beach and drink some mimosas” during the Miami Dolphins’ bye week.

The star wide receiver has certainly earned it, a major reasons the Dolphins are 7-3 and alone in first place in the AFC East following Sunday’s 39-17 romp over the Cleveland Browns — and Buffalo’s subsequent loss to Minnesota.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Jeff Wilson Jr. followed Hill all the way to Paradise Island, just as the running back did on the way to the promised land of the end zone Sunday with his speedy teammate waving him through like a motorcycle cop clearing the express lane for a VIP.

That was one of an inordinate number of giddy, feel-good moments in the Dolphins’ fourth consecutive win that featured so much dancing and jiving and celebrating it was as if everyone at Hard Rock Stadium had taken a deep hit of helium and was jabbering with high-pitched glee like Minnie Mouse.

I mean, when have you seen this team so well in sync?

There was Wilson, who seemingly materialized out of thin air in an oh-by-the-way trade deadline deal by GM Chris Grier, running for 117 yards at a 7.0 per-carry average.

Kudos to Dolphins’ O-line

The much-maligned offensive line not only kept Tua Tagovailoa sack free, it paved the way for a team total 195 yards rushing, with Raheem Mostert going for 65 yards while averaging 8.1 a carry including a 24-yard touchdown gallop that broke the game open on the first possession of the second half.

There was the defense overcoming a shaky start and turning in one of the better efforts of the season with newcomer Bradley Chubb beginning to show the impact he can have with half a sack and three quarterback hurries.

And most significant, Tagovailoa summoning chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP” with a third consecutive sublime performance of three touchdown passes, no interceptions and passer rating of 135.0 or better.

Not only has he not thrown so much as a near interception in the past three weeks, it’s tough to recall a pass that wasn’t right on target. The absolute dime he delivered to Trent Sherfield in the corner of the end zone was worth watching over and over again.

One other thing of note: the Dolphins didn’t punt in the game.

Dolphins haven’t been 7-3 since 2001

Considering Tagovailoa missed 2 ½ games with a concussion (or two) and there were serious questions about his health and future, the Dolphins arrived at their well-deserved week off sitting about as pretty as anyone could have dreamed.

Then the first round of mimosas was delivered on the house courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings winning 33-30 in overtime at Buffalo in as compelling of a regular-season game as you’ll see this or any season.

That gifted the division lead to the Dolphins, who had already lifted themselves into a rarefied place.

That was noted in the tweet of the day by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, who wrote:

“The last time the Dolphins were 7-3 was 2001.
– 24 starting QBs ago
– 8 head coaches ago
– 7 stadium names ago
– Heat had zero titles
– LeBron was in HS
– iPod came out
– iPhone was 6 years away
– Tua was 3
– Mike McDaniel was a Yale freshman
– Tom Brady was a first-year starter”

Plenty of work ahead for Dolphins

In diverging from the frustrating past two decades (at least to this point), the Dolphins have positioned themselves well for the final seven-game push for playoff position, a stretch that features ample opportunity but is certain to deliver plenty of adversity along the way.

Already some on the horizon. According to various media reports Sunday night, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah suffered a season-ending triceps injury.

Of the four remaining games outside the AFC East, only the Los Angeles Chargers (away on Dec. 11) are over .500.

Ultimately it will be the final round against the three division rivals — Dec. 17 or 18 at Buffalo, Jan. 1 at New England and the season finale on Jan. 7 or 8 at home against the Jets — that will determine whether the Dolphins will be toasting success or drowning their sorrows at season’s end.

At 7-3 entering the bye week, they have good season to feel pretty damn good about themselves for this momentous moment.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

Tyreek Hill does a flip in celebration of scoring a touchdown for the Dolphins in the win against the Bears.

Pressure Point: Dolphins count on high-flying offense to keep pace in tight AFC East

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The plot has certainly thickened in the AFC East race after the Miami Dolphins held off Justin Fields and the Bears in Chicago and the resurgent New York Jets put the kibosh on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the second half at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

That left the Bills, Dolphins and Jets each with six wins, Buffalo holding a thin grip on first place at 6-2, having played one fewer game. The Dolphins and Jets, each 6-3, have a tiebreaker advantage over Buffalo, as New York does over Miami.

With New England close behind at 5-4, the division couldn’t offer more intrigue entering the second half of the season. All four teams are over .500 after nine weeks of play.

This would be an opportune time for the Dolphins to have a bye week and catch their breath after chasing Fields all over Soldier Field. But first they must face the Browns, with one of the league’s best rushing offenses, before getting a week off to sort out their defensive woes.

Tua, Fields put on memorable show

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are on a three-game winning streak after prevailing in one of the wildest games of the season, 35-32 in what was a showcase of two of the NFL’s most exciting young quarterbacks.

The numbers were insane.

Tua Tagovailoa completed 21 of 30 passes for 302 yards, with three touchdowns, no interceptions and no sacks.

Fields not only threw for three touchdowns, he ran for another while setting a regular-season rushing record by a quarterback with 178 yards on 15 carries.
As frustrating as it was to watch Fields run around and through the Miami defense, including a 61-yard touchdown scamper, it sure was entertaining to watch Tagovailoa shredding the Bears’ pass defense, averaging 10.1 yards per attempt.

Can’t cover Tyreek Hill

Tyreek Hill had seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown, and is now over 1,000 yards receiving for the season. Jaylen Waddle also had a TD grab while catching five passes for 85 yards.

Running back Jeff Wilson, whose acquisition from the 49ers last week was overshadowed by the trade for pass-rush stud Bradley Chubb, ended up leading Miami with 51 yards rushing while averaging 5.7 a carry and caught what proved to be the winning touchdown pass.

Ironically, Tua put the victory in jeopardy by misfiring on fourth-down passes on consecutive drives into Chicago territory in the second half. But the Dolphins defense finally got the game-sealing stop with a sack by Duke Riley followed by two incompletions.

The hope is Chubb’s presence will elevate the defense when he gets fully integrated into the unit — he provided pressure that helped force a punt in the third quarter. But there are more problems in containment and coverage than one player can solve.

Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard isn’t playing at that level as he copes with a lingering groin issue and counterpart Byron Jones still has not played this season and who knows if he will.

Fortunately for Miami, Tagovailoa is healthy and playing the best he has in his career, making full use of the most dynamic receiving duo in the game. Hill is a legitimate MVP candidate.

Dolphins go as far as Tua and Co. take them

The teams Miami is vying with in the division are in sharp contrast to the Dolphins’ strengths. The Jets are getting it done with defense and running the ball; that was a winning formula Sunday against Buffalo. The Bills have one of the league’s top defenses and the sort of running quarterback in Allen that has given Miami fits.

Having to win high-scoring games may not be the classic formula for success. But as long as the Dolphins keep Tua upright and he can keep the offense rolling like the past couple of weeks, they have a chance to make it interesting and entertaining the second half of the season. Sunday’s win at Chicago was all of that.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Evolution of Max Strus’ Game

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Max Strus is a dangerous sharpshooter who has become the perfect role player. His combustibility from beyond the arc earned him a spot in the starting rotation at the end of last season and made him again one of coach Spo’s trusted eight this year.

Strus is not a one-dimensional player. His primary role will likely always be as a premium deep threat, but he has made noticeable improvements scoring inside the arc through the Heat’s first 10 games (4–6).

Last season (2021/2022), Strus took 78.4% of his shots from 3-point range. His volume from that area has dropped to 64.1% this year. Despite a lower frequency, he has become harder to guard because his efficiency has risen on two-pointers.

In Miami’s win over the Sacramento Kings, Strus hit 2/5 from deep while converting a pair of shots in the restricted area. On his first made two-pointer, he beat everyone on the break, catching a pass launched by Kyle Lowry in the backcourt. Strus caught the rock just outside the restricted area, gathered, and came up for a layup with Keegan Murray on his tail.

His other inside finish came in the halfcourt. From the top of the key, Strus cut inside, curled to the left baseline, and dusted Kevin Huerter on the dive back to the basket, assisted by a bounce pass from Bam Adebayo for a layup.

In Tuesday’s win at home against the Golden State Warriors, 10/17 of Strus’ attempts came from the outside (4/10), but he consistently put pressure on the rim too.

In transition, he caught a hit-ahead pass from Adebayo as Kevon Looney closed out to the right wing. Strus faked a dribble pick-up, freezing Looney while he dashed inside for a soft lay-in.

On the next inside score, Strus caught a pass on the left wing and immediately darted past Andrew Wiggins, hitting a floater over Draymond Green in the low post.

The trend continued for Miami’s ignitable marksman in the Heat’s narrow loss in Indiana on Friday. Half of Stus’ makes came in the restricted area, but two of those scores stemmed from steals.

Covering the left wing in Miami’s 2-3 zone, Strus recognized that Myles Turner was about to pass to Tyrese Haliburton up top the moment a pindown was set by Jalen Smith. Max blew up the play by bursting forward, intercepting the rock, and slamming it through the cylinder on a none-on-one fastbreak.

On the next two-point play, Strus closed out to the right wing as Bennedict Mathurin caught a pass. Indiana’s rookie put Strus on his back hip but was stripped in the lane because he shifted his dribble back to his right hand. Strus recovered the ball and took it to the cup, finishing past a contest by Haliburton in front and Turner behind him as he converted the finger roll.

His final inside score came in the halfcourt. Caleb Martin crossed over Turner in the right corner and cut through the baseline. Strus, standing at the left wing, noticed the defense ball watching the breakdown and not sending help. He then cut through the lane, received the pass, and layed it up softly.

On shots from 3-10 feet from the rim, Strus is shooting 50% from the field. In 2021/2022, only 5.3% of his attempts came from that zone. This season, he has nearly doubled his shots from that territory while also raising his efficiency by 6.3%.

Through 10 games, #31 has finished five dunks. Last year in 68 matches, he slammed seven.

Currently, he’s averaging 14.2 points on 44.8% shooting from the field and 37% from deep. Plus 4.6 boards and a couple of assists a night too. But Strus is more than that.

He’s turned into the ideal role player- an egoless and complete teammate. He produces on the court, never throws anyone under the bus, and accepts whatever duty is shouldered on him.

Strus is a guy who keeps polishing his game because still has the hunger that comes with going undrafted. His work ethic is unteachable. People like him are special.

Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Nets Can’t Do Anything Right

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The Nets’ public relations disaster ended with Kyrie Irving and the team pledging to donate half a million dollars each towards causes that work to eliminate hate in the community. I award the team and Irving zero nobility points -irreversible damage has been done.

 

According to the FBI, the Jewish community is the most targeted religious group in the United States.  Just in 2020, there were 683 recorded hate crimes against them.  What Irving did is serious and would be enough to cost him his job in most places outside of sports.  Promoting those views on his platform makes it unsafe for Jewish people.

 

The excuse that the idling Nets were waiting for the counsel of the ADL will be accepted by many. Brooklyn should’ve suspended Irving the moment he promoted antisemitic propaganda. Letting him play signaled to the public the Nits didn’t think it was a big enough issue until they had more information. Essentially it means they don’t know how to take charge of their organization. 

 

It’s inconceivable how Joe Tsai became a boss when his word doesn’t mean anything.  Supposedly he was going to have Steve Nash and Sean Marks’ backs, but one of them was already sacrificed on the altar of a poor start of the season.  Nash was canned and Ime Udoka, the man, the Boston Celtics, suspended for an inappropriate relationship, has emerged as a strong front runner.  The Celtics weren’t clear on nature of the improper relationship. 

 

It isn’t fair to Brooklyn’s women and Jewish fanbase how they have handled these matters.  Irving’s views, which were backtracked, are, at best, dangerously misguided and, at worst, intentionally cruel.  

 

Fact: Kyrie didn’t even apologize.  The best he could do was say through a press release, “I am aware of the negative impact of my posts towards the Jewish community, and I take responsibility.  I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles…”  

 

Then on Thursday, when he was asked by a scrum of reporters about the joint statement, Irving wouldn’t answer if he was apologizing.  When peppered by ESPN’s Nick Friedell on if he has antisemitic beliefs, all he could say is that he embraces all walks of life and he couldn’t be antisemitic because he knows where he comes from.

 

I’m glad he said, at least on the record, that he doesn’t share every view of the filth he endorsed.  It shouldn’t be swept under the rug that the book the film is based on despicably denies the Holocaust.  The “documentary” itself promotes garbage from Adolf Hitler too.

 

 There was no “I am sorry” in Irving’s statement.  How remorseful can this pointless contrarian really be?  Forgive me if I am a bit suspicious of his intent to soothe the emotions of observers.  He hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt to say the Nets didn’t pressure him into doing this.  

 

Before the Nets, Irving and the ADL released their joint statement, insufficient press releases were made public by NBA Communications and the NBA Players Association.  Neither of these declarations named the problem:  Irving.  Instead, they said the bare minimum. 

 

NBA Coms said, “Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable…”

 

The Players Association said, “Antisemitism has no place in our society… We will continue to work on identifying and combating all hate speech wherever it arises.”

 

The NBPA’s statement is BS.  Irving is still incomprehensibly a vice president of their union.  One of their own validated bigotry, and they didn’t hold him accountable.  

 

Imagine if NBA personnel were held to the same standard people outside of sports are.  It was just 16 months ago that Google fired Amr Awadallah over his antisemitic views.  In 2020, Beverly Hills police chief Sandra Spagnoli was forced into early retirement after lawsuits alleged racism, antisemitism, and harassment.  In 2019, the Palm Beach County school board fired principal William Latson from Spanish River Community High School because he wouldn’t acknowledge the Holocaust as factual.

 

Irving is fortunate he still has a gig in the NBA, but this is the last year of his deal.  Even before this nonsense, I couldn’t imagine any team outside of the Lakers soliciting for his services owing to the fact that he’s overpaid and undependable.  This latest headache is the icing on the cake.

  

As for Udoka becoming a front runner, he has an adequate understanding of the game and has earned respect on that front.  It’s evident by the fact that his Boston team managed to claim the second seed after a poor start to the season and came two wins away from a title.  But a coach is supposed to be a leader of a group.

 

His conduct was unbecoming of a teacher, and it remains to be seen the ultimate impact of how the mess ended in Boston.  It’s no secret that athletes and their colleagues fool around.  I am not excusing that wicked behavior, but you shouldn’t be untrustworthy at work.  Udoka couldn’t follow protocol and reportedly sent more inappropriate messages to other women in the organization.

 

The Nets considering Udoka makes it clear that winning is a priority over keeping a respectable workplace environment.  

 

If he gets the job, good luck to Udoka dealing with Irving.