Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Nuggets

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The Heat lose in a back and forth in Denver. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro both played very well, but ultimately couldn’t generate enough stops to walk out of that building with a win.

But here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: The Heat’s first half offense: short jumpers and rough offense.

The Heat struggled to begin this game in the half-court, as the high altitude was clearly a bother. A little past the midway mark of the second quarter, the Heat were shooting 33% from the field, as Jimmy Butler was 1 for 5, Bam Adebayo was 2 for 8, and Tyler Herro was 1 for 6. Miami ended up running off 12 points in the final two minutes of the second quarter to juice up their numbers a bit and give them momentum. At the same time as those Heat stats, the Nuggets were shooting 61% from the field and 53% from three. How was this a game? Well, the Heat had 9 offensive boards to begin the game to the Nuggets 0. They also forced double the amount of turnovers in that first half. So, that was basically the blueprint.

#2: Max Strus providing the necessary spark.

As I just addressed that 12 point run by Miami in the final two minutes stretch before the half, Max Strus had 8 of those points. He got in the lane for a left-handed scoop to get Miami on the board out of the timeout, but the threes flowed in shortly after. A Kyle Lowry pick and roll on the right wing masked a weak-side hammer screen from Adebayo to give Strus a wide open three in the left corner. But the key wasn’t the process, it’s Strus actually finding his way as an efficient shooter again. With the recent rough patch, he has needed moments like this to get him back in a rhythm. And well, he’s still never seen a shot contest in his life, as he will fire over just about any close-out.

#3: Bam Adebayo adjusted back into drop coverage against Nikola Jokic.

If I can present that same question I threw out there earlier, how was Miami in the game early even with all of those one-sided stats? Well, minor adjustments like this one changed the pace. The Heat’s defensive activity really picked up on that second quarter specifically, but that was due to the fact they could double and recover much more freely with Adebayo glued to Nikola Jokic in drop. We saw some switches early, but they settled back in that drop after realizing they needed to mirror the minutes of Jokic with Bam. Now, Jokic did have 7 assists at the half, but that was mostly due to the fact Bam was forcing him into that role. More hand-offs and PnR’s means the Heat’s point of attack defense has to screen navigate. We saw some counter matches in this one, but Bam in drop against elite centers is always the answer. Just go back to the second round series against Joel Embiid and Philly.

#4: The third quarter: the Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro show

Through the first 8 minutes of play in the third quarter, the Heat scored 23 points. All 23 of those points were from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. The Heat changed up the substitution pattern a bit with Jimmy Butler exiting early, meaning a heavy dosage of Herro-Bam PnR. Herro found both his pull-up three and the floater in the in-between game after a tough start to the game. Bam was playing with some real energy as a roller and out of his face-up, as many of his points simply came from getting to the line consistently in Butler fashion. That’s one of the most important elements when watching Bam offensively: just getting a friendly whistle. Anyway, having these two lead the way for a giant chunk of time in this environment is promising.

#5: Fourth quarter summary: Butler’s adjustment to Nuggets forcing a certain switch to Herro ball late to stalling out.

Jimmy Butler was being a menace on the defensive end all night. Getting into his usual free safety antics by hitting passing pockets, but his eventual offensive recognition in this game is what truly stood out. Early in the fourth quarter, Adebayo and Herro went to the bench, so Butler could run with the second unit. In that same sense, DeAndre Jordan was the opposing big in this stretch. Butler recognizing, just kept attacking Jordan in drop coverage as he should. But the reason it stood out was because he played it perfectly. We don’t see Butler floaters too often, but he was spamming it in this period. Jordan exited, Jokic entered. Yet Bam was still on the bench. Shortly after he walked to the scorers table, but that short stint can flip a game, which it did in a sense. Into late-game stuff, the Nuggets were forcing a Kyle Lowry switch onto Aaron Gordon possession after possession, giving them a real offensive base. Now down to the three minute mark, Herro began getting into his bag. Isolation into pull-up. Catch and shoot three. Drawing fouls. He was great, but everything else began falling apart. The offense somewhat stalled, but they just couldn’t generate a stop lat with Jamal Murray surging. Nuggets shooting 59% from both the field and from three just won’t cut it.

Three Keys to the game vs Patriots

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It’s week 17 as the Miami Dolphins head over to Foxborough. Let’s dive into the keys to the game: Dolphins vs Patriots, part two.

Three Keys vs Patriots

Running the ball effectively

Miami can’t seem to consistently commit to running the football, but when it does it generally has some success. Mostert leads the team with 791 yards with a 4.9-yard average while Wilson adds 275 yards at a healthy 5.2-yard clip.

The Patriots have a good run defense, ranks ninth in the league, allowing 109.8 yards per game on the ground. They are also the 10th ranked rushing defense in EPA/play. Furthermore when looking into third and fourth down rushing plays the Patriots are the 4th best rush defense in EPA/Play.

On the other hand, Miami is the 17th best rush offense in EPA/Play but the third worst in third and fourth in EPA/Play partly as they pass more often than run.

While we know that Mike McDaniel is a pass happy play caller, the Dolphins run the ball efficiently on early downs. They are 6th best in the league in EPA/Rush on first and second down. Conversely, the Patriot’s rush defense is ranked 16th on early downs.

It will come down to moving the ball by running early and efficiently to get into manageable third and short situations and convert. The Dolphins rank 9th in third down conversion EPA. Certainly a factor to watch in Dolphins vs Patriots.

Getting three and outs

The Dolphins defense has not been that bad late in the season compared to the start of the season. They have been and elite run defense.

However, with the injuries in the secondary their strength has turned into a weakness. Getting the Defense off the field on third downs will be key in Dolphins vs Patriots.

They Dolphins are the 5th worst defense in passing yards allowed per game (245), and 4th worst over their last three games. Also, they are the 12th worst dropback passing defense in EPA.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is the fourth worst passer in EPA/Play and the offense overall passes the football 6% over expected than what they should on third and shorts.

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Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer will have to be aggressive in getting after Mac Jones and limiting third down conversion so the Patriots do not sustain drives.

The Dolphins defense ranks sixth worse in EPA given up on third downs, it will be intriguing if defensive coordinator Josh Boyer gets aggressive and gets after Mac Jones to limit third down conversions.

Jason Sanders will have to be special

This season Jason Sanders has been in a funk. Sanders, who was once deemed to be automatic is 1-4 from the 50 yard yard line and out. He has an 82% extra point percentage which is 24th in the league.

Not to mention he had a “missed kick” on a 93 yard kickoff return against the Packers last Sunday.

Sanders will have to be reliable for the Dolphins special teams unit, especially if the Dolphins offense can’t score in the redzone. Especially as the Dolphins rank sixth worse in red zone touchdown percentage since week 12.

 

***This article was originally published on the ATB Network by Hussam Patel***

 

Hussam Patel is a Miami Dolphins contributor and Lead NFL Draft analyst at Five Reasons Sports Network, Director of Scouting at PhinManiacs and Editor at Dolphins ATB. Follow him on Twitter at @HussamPatel

Five Takeaways from Panthers’ dominating win over Canadiens

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SUNRISE: The Florida Panthers put a close to their 2022 at home tonight with a dominant 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.


The Panthers will play Friday night in Carolina before starting the new year at home against the New York Rangers.

 

Here’s tonight’s takeaways: 

 

Barkov returns with a career-night

The Panthers were without captain Aleksaner Barkov for three games after he was injured Dec. 17 in New Jersey.

 

In his first game back since the injury, Barkov did not wait long to put his stamp on the game. 2:37 into the first, Barkov took a point-shot from Gustav Forsling off the leg, and into the Habs net. 

 

Later in the period, with the Panthers on the power play, Barkov let a shot fly from the circle and buried it past Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault. 

 

Still in the first period, with Barkov now on hat trick watch, No. 16 put away his third goal of the period, and the hats rained from the rafters of FLA Live Arena.

 

Barkov finished his night back with 5 points, tying his career-high.

 

The boys are back in town – Gudas, Barkov, Ekblad

A few weeks ago it seemed like every night there was another player coming out of the Panthers lineup, while AHL call ups were coming in.

 

After a few additional days without a game following the holiday break, the Panthers got some of their big boys back; Barkov, Ekblad and Gudas.

 

Barkov had five points tonight, while Ekblad and Gudas shaped what has often been a depleted blue line this season. 

 

“The guy had no points but Radko Gudas has a huge impact on that game tonight in terms of the minutes we have to play the other defenseman,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Having those guys come back, it felt a little bit like the first game of the season in some ways, so there’s an excitement going out.”

 

Let the power play bells ring

With Florida having what was as close to a full lineup as possible tonight, they had all their top guns out there on power play unit 1. 

 

The top unit delivered tonight, scoring on three of their attempts of the game, on goals from Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk (x2). 


With Montreal also having luck tonight on the power play, these goals were important for Florida. 

 

Matthew Tkachuk increases his team lead in points

It was a quiet few days for Matthew Tkachuk as the Panthers forward was going through his worst scoring drought of the season… three games. 

 

Tkachuk made up for lost time tonight with four points, including two goals on the power play, right in front of the net.

 

“I think he was raised right to be at the net,” Aleksander Barkov said. “He knows where to be and what to do there, so it’s great to have that type of guy on the team.”

 

The 25-year-old now has team-high 44 points in just 33 games this season.

 

Tonight’s game felt a lot more like last year’s Panthers team

The 2021-2022 Panthers scored more goals than any team in the 2000’s. This year’s team however hasn’t been able to run away with games like they did last year.

 

Florida had a jump in their step from puck-drop and it looked like they were hungrier on the puck than Montreal. 

 

Led by Barkov’s first period hat trick and an early second period goal by Matthew Tkachuk, Florida was in the driver’s seat.

 

The icing on the cake was an extremely dominating third period by the Cats, where they scored three goals while preventing Montreal from generating anything around Bobrovsky even-strength.  

 

The night ended with a mid third period Pepas appearance, a seven goal performance and a “we want 10” chant from the Sunrise crowd.  

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Lakers

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A rather healthy Heat team, minus Kyle Lowry, faced off at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

A strong night by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo offensively gave the Heat the offensive blueprint on the way to the win.

Some takeaways from this game…

#1: Jimmy Butler carrying the first half offensive shot distribution.

Isolation. An inside the arc burst to either side of the floor. A slow, methodical spin move back to the inside. Bucket. That was a simple way of describing how Jimmy Butler got to 19 first half points. Even after missing time by any means, he usually comes back in similar fashion. But instead of diving in that direction, there is definitely something to be said about the pure 1-on-1 ability of Butler. Simply, teams have shown they don’t really have an answer for that element of his game, nor do they want to display it. Opposing teams won’t send that double too often since they know what will happen next when combining Butler’s passing and Miami’s movement. Anyways, it’s always good to watch this version of Butler on the offensive end.

#2: The continued finger-prints of Victor Oladipo on the defensive end.

When talking about the Heat’s defense, we usually start in two completely different places. Either the point of attack issues, or to praise the defensive excellence of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. Well, Victor Oladipo would like a word in both areas. In terms of one-on-one ability, there aren’t many guards in this league with the natural ability that he possesses. His lateral quickness, even after multiple injuries, is something wild to see. He can cut off any ball-handler just by beating you to the spot. His instincts are also a major part of this, since he makes timely swipes to accumulate steals, as seen in the Eastern Conference Finals against Jaylen Brown. Those instincts blend into off-ball positioning leading into the charge surge. He has been great in that field, and feels necessary to note.

#3: Some X’s and O’s talk: the Heat’s recent spam of a certain action.

In the previous game against the Timberwolves, the Heat spammed one specific action for the final two minutes of the third quarter, which pretty much put them in a position to eventually win the game. Double drag: the Heat’s ball handler will come off a pair of screens, with the first one popping and the second one diving. It’s a simple action to basically spread the floor a bit and possibly force a switch. But we saw it a ton again tonight. It’s really heavy in the Duncan Robinson lineups since he’s always that initial screen to immediately slip, but this set is what got Tyler Herro going finally in that second quarter. That flowed him to the rim a bit more with added paint touches, basically turning into a Herro-Bam PnR, creating a very good shot diet. Like I said, it’s simple, but it’s also crucial.

#4: A change-up in game-plan for the Heat again? Yes.

Speaking of that last game vs Minnesota, I asked Kyle Lowry after the game about the uptick in pace, which he basically said you are forced into game-plan changes without Butler and Adebayo. That would be correct. But what about a game-plan shift when both of them are playing? We saw that tonight. Although Spo always preaches getting to 40 three-point attempts, while the Heat still did get up a bunch tonight, the goal was to have more going at the rim. That ties back to both the Butler and Herro points in this piece. They wanted to attack the Lakers lack of rim protection at the moment, and well, that’s not a hard thing to adjust to when that description fits your two best players exactly. This team simply cannot rely on three-point shooting, even if it gets hot for a month or two. Having this base will always be key.

#5: Wait, is Caleb Martin the three-point specialist now?

It’s been a running joke for a while that Caleb Martin essentially can’t miss when his foot is on the three-point line, and that held up in this game. To finish the third quarter, he had 13 points with three triples, but the only two 2 point field goals were with his foot on that line. So in theory, that should’ve been 5 triples. Jokes aside, this emergence has really been something to document. He’s super confident in that jumper following a size-up jab step, while also providing stuff off the catch a good bit. If the Heat were in a better spot this season in terms of winning, we would be discussing this jump much more. With all of the talk about a “four,” he has been outstanding this season in whatever role they’ve placed him in.

Reasons Stephen Curry is the best offensive player in NBA history

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LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the three biggest names in basketball history. All three players in this discourse are basketball players who have scored more than 30,000 points. Though Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has a long way to go before he reaches that goal, he should be regarded as a more potent offensive weapon than any other player in the NBA. And when it comes to NBA, there is a huge popularity of this amazon the online gaming fans. Are you one of them? If so, FanDuel Ohio can be interesting for you. 

 

Therefore, this article will give you reasons why Steph Curry is the greatest offensive basketball player of all time. So let’s get started! 

3 Reasons Stephen Curry is the best offensive player in NBA history

Here are three reasons why Curry is the greatest offensive player in NBA history:

Stephen Curry is the all-time greatest attacking weapon

 

In the NBA, many players have the ability to score points. Curry is unique because he has a talent that no one else in the league possesses: his three-point shots are so accurate they’re almost impossible for other players to defend against.

When Curry gets into the paint, a defense must guard him but it frequently doesn’t matter whether you have one or two guys on him. He’ll demand payment from either situation.

 

In his career, Curry has averaged more than 25 points six times and more than 30 points a game twice. He holds the record for most 3-pointers made in NBA history: he averages 24.3 per game and shoots about 43% from behind the arc.

 

He has averaged over 20 points per game in each of his 10 NBA seasons. It doesn’t take him many shots to get there, but the majority of his damage is still caused by extremely talented teams and not volume shooting.

Everyone has an issue with him

 

Stephen Curry, who is known for his long-range shots, initiated a shot called the Logo 3. The attempt proved problematic not just for defenders but also for video game developers; trying to make it work was tricky business. Curry routinely hits improbable shots, but usually, that’s because other people are hitting impossible ones.

 

Curry changed the game, but only by successfully replicating his offensive successes in real life. That strengthens his argument as the best offensive weapon.

Take Him as a Threat

 

When Stephen Curry grabs a rebound and crosses half-court, he is a danger. Defenses must place their best defenders on him for almost 94 feet. In spite of defenses focusing on stopping him, he frequently creates scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Curry is a constant threat on the open floor, and he presents unique challenges because of it. No other elite scorer moves as quickly or efficiently on the court as Curry does, and that versatility makes him extra dangerous off-ball.

 

Steph Curry is the hardest player to defend alone because defenders are frequently humiliated. He has become a dominant ball handler and humiliates opponents with his skill.

Final Words

 

Although LeBron James and Larry Bird are the only players in NBA history to score at a rate comparable with that of Curry, neither of them ever moved off the ball like he does or handled it as well.

 

Stephen Curry is a tremendously talented player, who does many things well on the offensive end of the court. His ability to shoot threes and distribute for his teammates makes him one of the greatest offensive threats in NBA history, regardless of position or era.

What Do You Need to Know About Basketball?

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Basketball is one of the most well-known sports which is played throughout the world. The team sport involves two teams having five players each who are playing to fulfill a primary goal of the game, i.e., scoring against the other team via throwing the ball at a height of 300cm under specific rules. Various institutions have made both indoor plus outdoor courts for the game.

The basketball courts’ dimensions can vary, meaning there are no set limits for the height, length of time, size of a basketball, etc. In addition, the experience and skills of the players playing the game can also vary.  The fast-moving game involves various physical activities like passing, dribbling, shooting, defense, rebounding, etc.

At the end of the day, basketball is actually about as simple of a game for newcomers to grasp as Sloto Cash, so let’s jump right in!

Benefits of basketball on the health of players

In the game, there are various points for starting and stopping. Although it’s not considered an aerobic sport, it still provides multiple benefits. Playing basketball helps burn calories. For example, playing basketball for an hour will allow the player to burn 630-730 calories!

In addition, it is beneficial in building endurance and improves coordination and balance. The player learns self-discipline and develops concentration. Most players consider the game a source of building their muscles.

Other benefits of the game

Having a monotonous and boring routine might make you lazy. Most people who do remote jobs cannot communicate with others. Playing basketball would not only help them take action but also allow them to interact with others. It would be helpful to learn from people how to be a good basketball player.

People can play the sport all year round as it is indoors. There is no requirement on the number of players, i.e., a minimum of two persons can play the game. Besides this, each player can practice alone as well. All he needs is a ball and a hoop.

Points in a game

When a team in a basketball game does a basket, they are given two points, and the ball is automatically assigned to the next team. However, if it is made outside the three-point arc, the team is given three points, and for a free throw, the team is given one point. The points are awarded to the team for free throws based on specific rules, including the fouls made in half or even type of foul.

Fouling a shooter results in free throws given to the shooter based on the location from where he shot. Standing beyond the three-point line will award him with three points. However, team fouls do not give the team free throws until they reach a specific number during that half. Once the number is reached, the player is given 1 to 1 opportunity.

Game clock

Each game is divided into two sections. All levels of the game have two halves. Various colleges, schools, and universities conduct basketball game session that varies from 20 minutes to one hour.

These halves are divided into quarters consisting of 8 minutes. In between the halves, there is a gap of a few minutes; however, the gap between the quarters is comparatively shorter. If there is a tie between the two teams, an overtime period is conducted for varying lengths.

Violations of the game

  1. Dribbling the ball with a hand at great distance to the side is considered a violation of the game.
  2. Dribbling the ball with both hands is known as a double dribble. It is another violation of the game.
  3. Two or more players of the opposing team will get the ball at the same time. To prevent this, the referee stops such action and gives the ball to the team one by one on a rotating basis.
  4. When a defensive player interferes with a shot while the ball is falling towards the basket after being touched with the backboard or while being in the cylinder above the rim, it is known as Goaltending. If an offensive player commits this, it is considered a violation, plus the ball is given to the opposing team.
  5. Once the offense brings the ball across the mid-court line, they cannot cross the line back while having the ball. If they cross the mid-court line, the ball is given to the other team member to pass the inbound.
  6. The player passing the ball has a time limit of five seconds to pass it. If he does not give the ball, it is given to another team member, which means having the ball for more than five seconds and having shot-clock restrictions, which require the team to shoot within the given timeframe.

Personal foul penalties

  1. If a player is shooting while being fouled, he is awarded two free throws if the shoot does not go in, but if it goes in, he will get one free throw.
  2. If the player is fouled while not shooting, the ball will be given to the team on which the foul is committed. The team receives the ball near the baseline and gets only five seconds to pass the ball into the court.
  3. The fouled player is awarded two free throws if the team commits ten or more fouls.
  4. The fouled person will receive one free throw if the team commits seven or more fouls. In case of making a shot, he is given another free throw.

Intentional foul

In case of physical contact of the player with another player to snatch the ball, having no other intention is considered an intentional foul and a judgment call for officials.

Flagrant foul

Violent contact with the opponent is considered a flagrant foul. Such fouls include kicking, punching, and hitting.

Technical foul

Coach or any player can commit technical foul which is related to the manners of the basketball game.

Position of player

Center

The central position is basically for the tallest players. They are positioned near the basket.

Defensive: The primary responsibility of the center while defending is to prevent shooting by an opponent, which s done by blocking the shots. In this case, the players at the center are expected to get rebounds as they are taller.

Offensive: The center’s goal is to provide an open area so players can shoot or pass the ball. They block the defenders by screening or picking, which will open the way for other players so that they can run to score a goal. Such a position might receive put-backs and offensive rebounds.

Forward

The next tallest ones are given the forward position. They play the game under the hoop. In addition, they may also be required to play under the wings or in corner areas.

Defensive: the defensive responsibilities, in this case, would be preventing the drives to score a goal plus rebounding.

Offensive: They are responsible for taking outside shots, rebounding, and driving for goals.

Guard

This section is reserved for the shortest players who are required skills related to fast dribbling, seeing the court, plus passing. They bring the ball down the court or even set offensive plays.

Defensive: Being defensive, the guard is responsible for contesting shots, stealing passes, preventing drives to the hoop, plus boxing out.

Offensive: The guard’s primary responsibility is dribbling, setting up offensive play, and passing. In addition, they also are required to drive to the basket.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Wolves

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The Miami Heat faced the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Monday night, and it wasn’t pretty.

A late fading corner shot by Tyler Herro put them up 6 on the way to the win.

Some takeaways from this one…

#1: The Heat’s early paint touches…needed.

No Jimmy Butler. No Bam Adebayo. No paint touches? That’s usually the case on nights like this, since threes begin to fire across the board within this roster. But Kyle Lowry was a large portion of the paint attacks early in this one. Not only the usual pick and roll to draw help before kicking, but he was self creating at the rim. I will say, mostly in the non-Gobert minutes since that’s the ideal spot. After subbing out, the back-court of Gabe Vincent and Victor Oladipo took the floor, which was the debut of that duo this season. And well, Oladipo was clear his rim attacks would be pure. Even if it doesn’t equate to constant points in the scoring column, that pressure is crucial. Not only in development throughout the year, but setting up the defense for future possessions.

#2: Let me say it again: are we watching the Heat’s new back-up center?

Orlando Robinson was the only true center on the roster in this one without Adebayo, Dewayne Dedmon, and Omer Yurtseven, yet Nikola Jovic was given the start for spacing purposes. Yet he came in soon after, and well, he was producing. He was cleaning up around the rim for easy second chance points, but mainly his feel for the offense has never felt clunky. Things aren’t forced, his screens are solid, and he’s always available on those dives to the basket, which young players tend to struggle with. There’s still some work to be done beyond the surface, but that comes with any young undrafted player. Right now, there’s not a better option on the roster for that spot. So let’s keep the Orlando Robinson thing rolling.

#3: The Heat’s game-plan tonight: Pushin P(ace).

The Heat are generally known for their half-court heavy offense, since the transition thing has never been in their wheelhouse. But tonight it wasn’t just Lowry and crew deciding to get past the half-court line quicker on the fly, this was a game-plan set thing. After makes, the Heat were flushing their way down the floor, taking me to an early Caleb Martin possession. Off a make, they inbounded to Martin. He got down the floor, and to the rim, for an and-1 with 19 seconds left on the shot clock. Yeah, that’s new. It created an interesting dynamic to their offense for a better flow, mainly due to the Gobert led Timberwolves half-court defense not being able to set up properly.

#4: The opposing run and Heat leakage: part 142 (or something like that).

As the Heat possessed a 10 point lead halfway through the third quarter, I put it on twitter that it was the make or break portion of the game. The blueprint was simple: if they continued to push pace and get into the paint, they would be fine. If they settled for shots, it would soon be a tie game. Well, four minutes later, it was a tie game. The entire Heat offensive structure throughout this game was actions for shooters. Pindowns for Robinson, slip screens for Strus. Those were the things creating the shot profile for Miami throughout. Following that run by Minnesota, credit to Kyle Lowry for really getting things back out the mud. A floater out of the pick and roll, a hand-off to Robinson for three, a pull-up triple out of high PnR, and a feed out of a double were the final possessions of the quarter. They needed that counter punch in this one, and Lowry gave it to them.

#5: The Heat got the night from their two sharp-shooters.

After three quarters, the Heat shot 12 of 41 from beyond the arc. Max Strus and Duncan Robinson were 8 of 14, while the rest of the Heat were 4 of 27. The three-point shooting struggles continue, but the two primary actual sharp-shooters carrying the load in that department is a decent start for the direction they are trying to go. When the Heat are without Butler and Bam, it always comes down to three-point shooting. But more importantly, we see an action revamp since there’s more focus on running consistent creative actions for Robinson and Strus. Robinson gets many of the hand-offs and elbow actions to fly into his rhythm on the move. Strus is mainly off the catch or following a slip screen with the ball-handler drawing two. But getting this type of performance was necessary to stay above water.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Pacers

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The Heat fall to the Pacers…

Some takeaways…

#1: Tyrese Haliburton’s adjustment from last Heat game to now.

The last time the Heat faced the Pacers in Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton had a rough night. 0 for 9 shooting due to the Heat’s game-plan to switch Bam Adebayo out and fully eliminate him in the half-court. So, what was his adjustment? He had 5 threes at the half, and it was basically responding to the similar PnR coverage. His adjustment was to just immediately pull without waiting for the switch. When a player has the ability to shoot from farther out, it’s really the one and only thing that can stump that pure switch. A lot of the Pacers early shooting was just hitting most shots from their diet, but the Haliburton part of it was schemed.

#2: Jimmy Butler back, the Heat still reliant on him.

Jimmy Butler had 14 points at the half, as most of that contribution was made in that opening quarter. The first action following the tip-off was a Kyle Lowry cross screen for Butler, who caught the entry pass on the opposite side in the low post for the bucket. The Pacers are one of the only teams to place a smaller defender on Butler and live with it, as Andrew Nembhard has seen him primarily in both match-ups. We saw the pick-up in attempts going toward the rim, which all starts with Butler setting the tone in that way, as well as the trips to the line. This team needs Butler to be that type of force for the offense to function correctly, and I don’t know if that’s extremely a good thing.

#3: Bam Adebayo’s elbow spam into attack.

Aside from the early offensive plan to get Butler going toward the rim, the bigger point was to get Bam Adebayo some post splits and elbow touches. Not really to force him to operate as a play-maker continually, but to work that face-up in space. We saw things we are used to such as the pull-up fade and pure rim attacks following a few jab steps, but he worked in some foul drawing techniques. He was really initiating the contact off those drives to get Myles Turner in foul trouble, forcing him to the bench. Following him going to the bench, Jalen Smith enters. Adebayo throws three straight pump-fakes his way before he bit and Bam jumped into him. We often talk aggression, but these type of counters is something to keep an eye on.

#4: Orlando Robinson minutes with no Dewayne Dedmon.

The Heat’s rotation was pretty much back together in this one, except Dewayne Dedmon was out. That gave an even larger look into the potential of a full rotation, with another big man filling in for the non-Bam minutes. That guy was Orlando Robinson. He’s still very early on in his development, but I definitely didn’t mind those minutes at all. They utilized him defensively just like you would expect, if you watched what they did for developing bigs such as Omer Yurtseven last season. If you put him in an action, they’re just going to continually blitz you. He did a decent job at recovering at respectable speeds back into the lane, which is all you can really ask for in his minutes. He has limitations in certain aspects as expected, but it’s still worth a deeper look.

#5: The run happened again. Then a counter by Miami. Then the final punch by Haliburton.

Heading into the fourth quarter down two, we’ve seen this play-out too many times to know what was coming next. The offense begins to slip even further than we’ve recently seen throughout the season, as the opposing team breaks down the point of attack for easy opportunities. That came in the form of constant three-point shooting dominance from the Pacers guard room. Even though I touched on it early, it really begun and ended with Haliburton tonight who just couldn’t be slowed down. But ultimately this isn’t a Haliburton thing. It isn’t a Pacers thing. It’s a Heat thing at this point. The Heat found a counter punch late, though, led by…Haywood Highsmith? From short roll passes to dunker spot spacing to catch and drives, he gave them some very good minutes as Butler went out. Pacers cooled off for a bit as the Heat gained some energy, but still they had a large hole to dig themselves out of. Down 3 with 16 seconds left, they had to draw up a play, and they designed the perfect one. Strus off a pindown into a down-screen for Herro to receive with some momentum to the right wing. Tie game. But well, Haliburton happened again. A deep 3 wins them the game to finish it.

Five Takeaways from Panthers’ loss to Devils

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SUNRISE:  Two days after losing 7-3 in Boston, the Panthers dropped their second game in a row to the New Jersey Devils 4-2 at FLA Live Arena.

 

The visiting Devils were able to snap their six game losing streak, while the Panthers have dropped three of their last four games at home. 

 

Here’s tonight’s takeaways:

 

Eric Staal scores in consecutive games

This December has been a good one for Eric Staal.

 

The veteran forward has tallied 8 points in 11 games this month. In the 16 previous games, he failed to get a single point on the scoresheet. 

 

After signing with the team towards the end of October, the Panthers have had to rely on his services frequently with all the injuries they have suffered. It was a rough start to his Panthers career, however his recent production in the stat column has been fairly consistent heading into the holiday break

 

Florida gets Anton Lundell back  

The 21-year-old center has missed the last nine games due to a non-COVID illness. Tonight was the first game Lundell has played since Dec. 1 in Vancouver. 

 

The Finn didn’t seem to have any issue jumping back into the flow of things tonight. He played 14 minutes and was able to get on the scoresheet with an assist on Eetu Luostarinen’s goal.

 

“[It] felt great, it’s been a really long time. Tough time to be out,” Lundell said. “I’m finally happy that I’m able to join the team.”

 

He was also penalized with his first career NHL fight, though Lundell wasn’t sure if he’d count it as a tilt. 

 

“I don’t know if it counts as a fight or a wrestling match but whatever,” he added. 

 

Mackenzie Blackwood flipped the script of the game with key saves in the third

The Devils goaltender ended the night with 34 saves on 36 shots. 

 

The Panthers really peppered him around the front of goal, however he stood tall to keep it a one goal game when the Devils were trailing 2-1. 

 

He was able to make a flashy glove save on Ryan Lomberg in front of his goal. If that went in, the Panthers would have taken a two goal lead.

 

Less than a minute after that big save, the Devils went the other way and tied the game of of Jesper Bratt’s second goal of the game. 

 

With the Panthers down 3-2, they pulled the goalie for an extra attacker in the dying minutes of the third. The Cats had chances in high-scoring areas, but Blackwood slammed the door and the Devils put away the game with an empty netter. 

 

Sam Bennett’s puck control game was on full display

A big standout for me tonight was Sam Bennett’s composure on the puck. 

 

As the Panthers moved up the ice in transition, Bennett was really good at weaving around the Devil’s players to open up the ice. 

 

When Eetu Luostarinen scored to put the Panthers up 2-1 in the second, Bennett diced through the neutral zone, chipped the puck to himself on the boards, avoided a check and spun into open ice to hit a streaking Luostarinen. 

 

A huge part of Bennett’s game is his skating ability with the puck. That was evident tonight. 

 

Eetu Luostarinen gets one goal closer to surpassing his career-high 

It’s been a sort of breakout year for 24-year-old Eetu Luostarinen. 

 

He played the majority of last season as the fourth line center, which meant his ice time wasn’t ideal to showcase his skills. 

 

This season he was pushed up to the top-9 as a winger. With the increased ice time and role on the team, Luostarinen has shined. 

 

Last year, he finished the season with 9 goals in 78 games. In his 34th game of this season, Luostarinen buried his 8th.

 

He’s just one goal away from equaling his career-high goal total and we aren’t at the halfway point of the season yet. Luostarinen is on pace to shatter last year’s goal total. 

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Bulls

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The Heat drop the opening game of this home stand to the Chicago Bulls, and it wasn’t a surprise.

When you struggle to shoot and defend, you don’t win basketball games.

The Heat got a good night from Bam, but the drop-off from there was steep. Not a huge margin for error with this roster.

Five takeaways tonight…

#1: No Butler. No Lowry. Yes Bam.

It was a rough start for the Heat in the first quarter, since if you exclude Bam Adebayo, the Heat shot 4 of 18 from the field. Adebayo, though, was 4 of 4 from the field. At the half, he was 7 for 7 from the field for 16 points, along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Oh, and he can play defense a little. For one, he was just getting to his go-to in that 8 foot range, simply flowing right into the pull-up effortlessly. His second level of impact came through running the floor. Not through transition points, but getting Miami into early offense. Hand-off at 18 seconds at the shot clock isn’t the usual, but it is when your big is playing point guard. Lastly, the Heat’s shooters were being blitzed heavily. What does that mean? Slip, pocket pass, kick when tag comes, assist. Adebayo was doing some very good things in this one, if the stats didn’t say so already.

#2: The Heat’s defensive game-plan: a full game timeline. From bad to good to worse.

The Heat came out in pure Chicago Bulls match-up fashion: switch the pick and roll to have Adebayo shut the water off, as the Victor Oladipo/Max Strus type fights for his life by fronting the post. Quickly after Nikola Vucevic started 4 of 4, the Heat shifted to a zone. From there, Zach LaVine got hot through shooting spot-ups above the break, largely decided by the Heat’s 2-3 zone. But then the adjustment came. The Heat built a rhythm as they went back to more of that double and recover scheme. Basically if Vucevic was found as a mid-range post-up hub, or DeRozan got to his middy area, the Heat were shooting over a second defender. That caused turnovers, and got Miami easy buckets for a positive run to finish the first half. The issue was that it seemed they couldn’t get back to that. In the second half, the switching returned, and so did Vucevic’s interior scoring. Point of attack issues continue to re-appear. The theme: this team has good stretches of game-plan, but it usually fades on night’s like this.

#3: A minor play for many, a telling play for me.

As I stated before, Herro was seeing doubles out of the PnR in this one. Yes I know, no surprise. He had a slow start, but began picking up as a scorer late in the second quarter. But more importantly, he was making the right pocket pass reads along the way. To finish the second quarter, he flows right into a middle of the floor PnR, and the same doubles flies his way. Except this time, the pocket pass wasn’t thrown. He got up in the air, turned, and flung an over-head pass to Robinson on the left wing for three. Those are the minor elements needed to perfect the overplaying he’s going to see. It’s not always going to be the conventional way to get him out of awkward scenarios. Plays like that are important to shelf for the moment.

#4: A certain Oladipo led lineup explains a lot of the night.

In pockets of this game, the Heat went to a certain 5 man lineup that I proclaimed the “let Dipo cook” grouping: Oladipo-Robinson-Strus with a mixture of Highsmith-Cain-Dedmon. Obviously a tough lineup to try and win generally, but it was all about Oladipo creating at the top of the key for himself or others. And well, that wasn’t a good thing. The issue was that when he was creating for others, that never seemed to end in a positive result. Nothing against his play-making or constant skip passes, but the reliance on Dedmon as a hand-off hub says a lot. Plus Dipo’s own shot wasn’t falling consistently, and there’s a heavy reliance on the three-ball. The Heat ran a reluctant eight man rotation in this one, but it was clear those off pockets of the game were too tough to overcome on either end of the floor.

#5: So, about the Bulls relation to the Heat…

When speaking trades, there are many teams that will be looking to tank even further in search of that number 1 pick in the upcoming draft. Other teams will just begin to sell as they fall down the charts, which includes the Chicago Bulls. When watching this team live tonight, it raises the question of who would improve this roster. Well the answer to that is many of them, but let me just stay with DeMar DeRozan. If you can find a way to add him to this roster, you do it. I know it’s not the prettiest fit on paper, but watching Spo tinker with Sioux Falls players every night to try and make it work, just give him the talent. Figure everything else out later. Obviously this is an ideal scenario, but it doesn’t feel as out of reach as past conversation. In my personal opinion, I’d try and poke around that as long as possible.