Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Heat finished off the Suns in Phoenix and takeaways

The Heat completed their back-to-back set in Utah and Phoenix with a pair of wins, as Bam Adebayo stepped up as a jump shooter on both nights, and the youngsters took over the fourth quarter against the Suns. It was the back end of their five-game road trip that lasted seven nights (2-3), and there are multiple things they can build on. 

 The Heat’s offensive rebounding, repeated trips to the charity line, plus Adebayo’s jump shooting, and Norman Powell’s rim pressure gave them an 11-point advantage going into the second quarter.

Yet the Suns tied it up five minutes later as they blasted the lane while the Heat briefly went cold. The latter eventually rediscovered their mojo and went into halftime up 10 and later experienced more turbulence in the third quarter. 

Jaime Jaquez Jr. subsequently sullied schemes with five pull-up jumpers and drive-bys in the fourth, while Pelle Larsson was immaculate on three close-range attempts. The other edge was contesting cleanly on most of Phoenix’s late 3-pointers. 

The Heat won 111-102. Jaquez said he is ready to go home to Miami, and that the team is “done talking about it, we just need to go do it,” regarding the upcoming stretch of games.

Coach Erik Spoelstra wasn’t planning on playing him all of the fourth quarter, but Jaquez kept “generating so many good things” while Phoenix was going small, with Royce O’Neale at center.  

Four of the next five are in Miami. The other outing includes the make-up game the Heat have to play with the Bulls in Chicago, which was originally scheduled for Jan. 8. 

Takeaways:

• Andrew Wiggins, Kasparas Jakučionis and Adebayo combined for 11 of the team’s 18 offensive rebounds. Keep in mind that the Heat set their season high in offensive rebounds on Saturday in Utah (26), and then had 18 in Phoenix, tying for the fourth-most this year. Furthermore, the Heat are athletic enough to be a huge factor on the offensive glass every night. When they hear Spoelstra telling them to impose their will, it can’t always be on rim attacks or side-to-side passes that expose the arc. The Heat can be in almost any game by hitting the boards this hard. 

• Devin Booker and Jalen Green were absent, affecting the Suns’ playmaking and three-level scoring. One thing they can do very well is force over-help away from the arc. Still, the late protection is another area the Heat need to follow up on, because lately they’ve allowed way too many open to wide-open looks this season. Teams must be surrendering at least 10 points per game from shading away from the 3-point line, biting on pump fakes and lunging at shooters. Considering how undisciplined most of the league is, the Heat can have a serious edge by committing to being the best team in this department.

• Adebayo has picked up his scoring in January and it’s helping give the team direction. Don’t forget he went nearly a month without scoring at least 20 points and now has done it seven times in his last eight nights. He’s shot 43.9% over that span, but it doesn’t matter. An aggressive Adebayo makes a lot of good things happen and inspires the troops.

• Jaquez had 20 points and made 72.7% of his attempts, tying for his fifth-most accurate night of the year. His role as the second-unit leader is one of the three most important on the team because they need him to sustain their preferred pace.