Tag Archive for: Miami Heat

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Victory Over the Knicks

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The Miami Heat came out with a win in a close one against the New York Knicks. After a late Tyler Herro three, followed by more Jimmy Butler scrappiness, the Heat extend their winning streak to 3 games. Here are five takeaways from this game…

#1: Miami’s first half roller coaster caused by Jimmy Butler’s minutes.

There were clear ups and downs in the first half for Miami, and it was all due to the playing time split involving Jimmy Butler. Jimmy came out early with an offensive purpose, which was to get to the free throw line. But other than that tactic, Miami had no other effective early offense. They shot 33% in the first quarter, which allowed New York to climb back into it. As Butler exited after that, it seemed like Miami simply fell apart, which caused Miami trailing by 13. But once again, Butler enters and changes the entire dynamic of the team, leading to easy buckets for teammates due to his downhill gravity. It’s a pretty obvious topic to discuss overall impact with Butler, but it needs to be noted when he controls the pacing of a game for a half when nothing was being generated.

#2: One of those Kelly Olynyk shooting nights.

When Kelly Olynyk’s name gets mentioned in one of these takeaway pieces, it’s either a very poor shooting night, or an elite shooting night. And well, it was one of those nights for Olynyk where everything is falling. One of the most important shots of the game for him is the first one, since there’s usually a sense of the direction in which he’s heading the rest of the game. He shot 5 for 6 from beyond the arc in the first half, which basically kept Miami afloat to finish the second quarter. He also wasn’t bad defensively tonight, since he had a pretty favorable match-up that didn’t involve a lot of movement. When Miami gets this type of Olynyk, it opens a lot of things up for others, especially since opposing teams have to make decisions to continue to hound Duncan Robinson, or key in on Olynyk for a bit.

#3: Kendrick Nunn improving in necessary offensive areas.

I discussed recently the different areas of Kendrick Nunn’s game that has improved, but one that was on display tonight was as a catch and shoot guy. Being a spot-up guy was not a part of his game that he was very comfortable with last season, but the continued confidence over this past stretch has allowed him to thrive in this area. Nunn has found himself on essentially every one of these pieces as of late, and the reason that’s important is because consistency has been his area of worry. Not consistency throughout a game, but consistency from game to game. And he’s proven since his first opportunity this season that he can do just that, but the starting position has truly elevated that point even more.

#4: There’s still a lack of rotational clarity.

Other than Miami figuring out that Kendrick Nunn being the starter and Tyler Herro playing off the bench works so well, there’s still a lot of uncertainty with the overall rotation. This doesn’t have anything to do with Gabe Vincent filling in for Goran Dragic off the bench, but more about the fit with the other guys. As I’ve mentioned with Andre Iguodala, he fits well with one of Bam Adebayo or Jimmy Butler, and Coach Spo seems to notice that as well. But him going to that more means increased lineup complications. Another player that falls under the category of rotational clarity is rookie Precious Achiuwa. All of his minutes come when Adebayo needs a break on the sideline, which means he has no time to get into any sort of rhythm. These small personnel things will be altered as the season progresses.

#5: Bam Adebayo learning the ways of Jimmy Butler.

Adebayo and Butler are basically the only two players worth discussing in that second half, but it’s about the way that they were scoring their points. When I asked Adebayo about Butler after Sunday’s game, he discussed learning things from him, such as drawing fouls at certain parts of the game. And well, we began seeing that tonight, since both of them lived at the free throw line all night. Although Butler utilized it to generate offense and momentum for the team, Adebayo used it for a self boost in his offensive game. It’s clear that is when he can bring on-court intensity and energy, but it also channels his aggression. If he can continue to get to the free throw line as a natural part of his game, that changes a lot of things on nights when he struggles a bit getting into a rhythm.

A Breakdown of Andre Iguodala’s Defensive Presence

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When discussing certain NBA players who do all of the small things to help their team win a basketball game, Andre Iguodala is probably one of the first names that would come up. It’s clear that most of those big time impact plays take place on the defensive end, especially in Sunday’s game against the New York Knicks.

Here’s a deep dive into some of the moments that stood out from Andre Iguodala on Sunday afternoon…

– Interior Presence to Perimeter Presence leads to a Forced Shot

Andre Iguodala is widely known for his ability to wreck havoc on the perimeter, but there has been major improvement on handling the inside with bigger guys.

As seen here, Iguodala is battling with Julius Randle as he fights for the post-up, and Iggy gives him absolutely zero room to get into a comfortable shot. He buys just enough time for Jimmy Butler to come for the double, leading to a pass out to the perimeter.

Iguodala then switches onto RJ Barret, although it seemed as if it was an unnecessary switch, leaving Kendrick Nunn guarding Randle. He immediately goes for the help, as Randle kicks it out to the corner late in the shot clock, leading to a great defensive possession for Miami, mostly due to the constant movement from Iguodala.

– Active Hands means Constant Disruption

Iguodala’s active hands are probably the most unique part of his game, but picking moments to use them is even more impressive.

One thing you don’t want to do in a pick and roll with Iguodala defending is pick up your dribble, since he will swarm you in an instant. On this play, he doubles Alec Burks as he picks up his dribble, and Iguodala immediately gets his hand on the basketball. The ball then rolls out of bounds off of Burks, as Miami gets the ball back.

Another reason plays like this are so important is because it’s obvious the intensity that is generated from this type of play. It’s one of the small reasons for Iggy’s overall importance to this team.

– Anticipating Passes Points to High IQ

Being able to anticipate passes off the ball is one of the major defensive things that points to high IQ.

Iguodala is on the left block as Randle spreads out to the corner, while Iggy is totally focused on the developing pick and roll at the top of the key. As he sees the lob pass get thrown, he times it perfectly to get the steal, and gets Miami right into their fast-break offense.

Teams notice when a guy like Iguodala is on the floor lurking, which leads to natural discomfort throughout.

– Coach Spo Finds a Perfect Iggy Lineup Fit

It’s necessary to take a quick second to evaluate the offensive side of the ball with Iguodala in. There has been a clear spacing issue with certain lineups, since defenses go for constant doubles to force an Iggy three ball.

The way that can be fixed is by going to certain lineups that fit him. When he shares the floor with both Butler and Adebayo, there’s limited ways to overcome that spacing burden. But playing Iguodala with only one of Butler or Adebayo cures that automatically. Surrounding those two with three shooters is all that is needed to have a functional offense in spurts of the game, but all three may be needed to close.

When these three have shared the floor this season, they have an offensive rating of 82. While when just Butler and Iguodala share the floor, they have an offensive rating of 97, and Adebayo and Iguodala have an offensive rating of 104. The eye test has proved this to be true, and so have the numbers.

– Physicality and Quickness means Uncomfortable Screener

Iguodala has been a screener’s nightmare this season, since he’s been playing a lot of power forward. As mentioned previously, he has the physicality to handle you down low, but the lateral quickness to stop you on the perimeter.

On this possession, Miami is in a 2-3 zone, and the clear offensive goal is to take Iguodala out of the equation from the top of that zone. The only issue with that plan is that he won’t be eliminated easily. Iguodala fights through it, leading to an offensive foul on Taj Gibson.

– A Superstar’s Safety Net

There is a certain comfort level when Iguodala is on the floor, especially for the young guys. But it seems important to note the role he plays for Adebayo every single night.

Adebayo loves to defend out on the perimeter, but it makes it harder for him since he has to worry about what is happening on the back side. Except there doesn’t seem to be any worries about the interior when he realizes Iguodala is controlling that part of the floor.

After Adebayo doubles, it leaves Iguodala covering both Gibson at the rim and Obi Toppin in the corner. As soon as they find the open man, Iguodala sprints out to contest, leading to a missed shot.

– Late Game Stops Leads to Iguodala on the Ball

With under a minute to play, Miami leads by one and clearly needs a stop.

Randle tries to take Iguodala off the dribble, but his lateral quickness allows him to cut him off fairly easily. Randle then dumps it off to Burks as Iggy switches onto him, and it led to a very tough fade-away triple with Iguodala in his face.

These moments at the end of games show how necessary it is for Iguodala to be on the floor, no matter the offensive spacing issues that may occur.

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Knicks

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The Miami Heat faced off against the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon, and came away with a win after a late Tyler Herro three to ice it. Here are five takeaways from the game…

#1: Kendrick Nunn hops into starting lineup, and continues to thrive.

Kendrick Nunn jumped into the starting point guard position with Goran Dragic out, while Tyler Herro can continue his bench dominance. It’s clear that Nunn gives Miami the exact type of offensive play that they were missing in the starting lineup, since he’s a guy that can just get a bucket. He was basically the guy who kept Miami afloat in many of the early stretches with that lineup, especially since his catch and shoot abilities out on the perimeter were working. That’s the one part of his game that comes with some question marks any given night, since his ability to get to the basket has been pretty consistent as of late. He has proved himself in every opportunity he has been given this season to this point, and it seems that now he is here to stay.

#2: The new Tyler Herro role is what Miami has been missing.

There are a couple of elements to this new Tyler Herro role making sense for him as a player. For one, it allows him to play with a bit of freedom with the second unit, especially in the non-Jimmy Butler minutes. He is given the necessary spacing, along with a rolling big in Bam Adebayo or Precious Achiuwa. Erik Spoelstra has talked about “simplifying” the game for Achiuwa as much as possible, but why not do the same for Herro? He’s had a lot on his plate lately in the starting position, mostly since his biggest strength is playing with a scoring mentality. And well, that’s exactly what has been seen the past two games, while sprinkling in some lob and skip passes when attacking the basket. This role makes sense for both Herro and this Heat team, which will make even more sense when Goran Dragic returns.

#3: Defending the three continues to be an issue.

Now to some of the issues with this Heat team at the moment, Miami’s perimeter defense on three point shots continues to be problematic. Instead of getting into the exact specifics for these issues that I’ve discussed over and over, it seems necessary to discuss how can they overcome it with the current personnel. One way is by transitioning to a complete offensive team, since most of their one-way players are offensively sound, but that just does not seem like a viable option at this point. Not only would a Miami Heat team not do that, but their offense has been choppy in spurts this season as well. Also, a very known thing is that when shots are falling on offense, the defense begins to elevate slowly. So if Miami can just figure out that side of the ball consistently, there will be gradual improvement as long as the current team can stay healthy.

#4: The Andre Iguodala effect.

Andre Iguodala stood out in today’s game in a way that he usually does, not by tremendous stats, but through all-around impact. In a game where Miami’s defense was the biggest weakness, he fills a lot of those holes as soon as he enters. Obviously his defensive abilities and movement contributes to the team feeling much more comfortable, but his leadership and vocal abilities on that end seem to do the job as well. There seemed to be some clarity about specific lineups to utilize Iguodala, since the lineups with him, Butler, and Adebayo limit offensive spacing. But when he shares the floor with one of Butler or Adebayo, everything comes together slowly on that end. He wrecks havoc out on the perimeter on a regular basis, but also showed his ability to control the interior against bigger opponents, which is important for Miami to realize moving forward.

#5: Bam Adebayo making end of shot-clock jumpers with pure confidence.

Bam Adebayo had a few moments in today’s game where he got into the shooting motion in the mid-range area after noticing a low shot-clock. The reason this is important is because there’s a common theme with those exact jumpers. The ones he shoots without hesitation, lead to a much improved shooter. It seems as if this has been said for quite some time now, but he has that ability in his offensive package already. It just comes down to him finding the right times to utilize it, possibly with a full shot-clock. I’ve mentioned the importance of attacking the basket to draw fouls, as seen on Friday night, but as we continue to see him expanding his range, the timing of his attempts seem more essential than the efficiency.

A Breakdown of Kendrick Nunn’s Scoring Abilities

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Kendrick Nunn is one of the most interesting players for this Heat team moving forward, since he will have an even bigger role with Avery Bradley and Goran Dragic out. There’s a possibility he could be the starter on Sunday, due to the natural fit, while Tyler Herro can control the second unit, but only time will tell.

Here’s a look at Nunn’s offensive package against Washington on Friday night…

– Nunn attacks poor defenders, which Miami needs to do more

If there is any team that knows about attacking poor defenders, it’s this Heat team. Opposing teams constantly hunting favorable match-ups hurts them, but Miami must play the same game.

Kendrick Nunn seemed to be the only one to attack Washington’s weaker defenders. As seen here, Kendrick begins to breakdown his defender out on the perimeter, leading to a blow by for a layup at the rim.

These are the types of things Miami has been missing as of late, since not only was an offensive spark necessary, but utilizing the spots of the floor that have been problems.

– The jab step equals natural shooting flow

The jab step technique is something I’ve mentioned when breaking down Bam Adebayo’s shooting abilities. When he faces a defender up, it’s not always about using a jab step for separation, but using it to get into a natural shooting flow.

Nunn, on the other hand, utilizes it for both reasons. He uses it for slight separation as seen on this play, since Rui Hachimura turns his body just enough for Nunn to immediately pull. But it seems that jab step allows him to get into the jump-shot in the most comfortable way.

Some players utilize a step-back, others may utilize a crossover. But this small technique for him holds much more value than it may appear.

– Dragic-Nunn minutes effective when this occurs

The Goran Dragic and Nunn minutes have been the one combo that has been a bit of a worry. There was some concern that they don’t fit well together offensively, and both struggle on the defensive side of the ball as well.

The one way that they can work together, though, is Nunn attacking the way he did here. He’s a very explosive player, while Dragic bases himself off craftiness, so them working off each other in this fashion seems to be the only effective way.

If Nunn continues to prove himself over this next stretch while Miami is loaded with injuries at the guard position, Coach Erik Spoelstra may need these two to work on a nightly basis.

– Major improvements with quick decisions on shot attempts

Now, after looking at Nunn’s offensive game in a deeper way, this was easily the biggest improvement that was seen. He knows how to utilize his body for a sliver of space to get into his shooting motion, for either a jumper or floater.

As seen here, he blows by his defender, and gives a slight bump to allow him to get his shot off against the grain as a lefty. Another thing that stood out here was his decision making on personal shot attempts. Instead of the past uncertainty between going into a normal jumper or floater, he makes those choices much quicker, which is necessary for a natural scorer.

These small mechanical adjustments that he has made will allow him to be a much more trusted player, and can contribute to the uncertainty involving consistency.

– The Butler-Nunn duo makes starting him much easier

As mentioned previously, there’s a chance Nunn could end up as the starting point guard for the time being, but the offensive connection with Jimmy Butler makes that much easier.

The first play was an inbound play, which the primary option is to pass out to the wing to Dragic as Adebayo sets the screen. Butler notices Nunn on the cut, and gives it to him by the basket, since he has a clear size advantage. The following play, Butler runs a dribble hand-off with Nunn, as he pulls with zero hesitation.

If there was any certain offensive need to plug into that starting lineup, it would be what Nunn gives them, while Herro can be given the keys to the second unit to do what he does best, as I broke down as well.

A Breakdown of Tyler Herro’s Offensive Package in New Role

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The Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards on Friday night, but the main discussion following the game was about the changing role that could occur moving forward. Goran Dragic started in front of Tyler Herro for the night, while Herro looked very comfortable in that bench role.

Anyway, here’s a look into his offensive performance last night…

–  Herro reading a defense, exposing drop coverage

Herro has discussed in the past his comfort level when playing against a drop coverage, without going into details for obvious reasons. His unique pull-up mid-range game allows him to thrive off pick and rolls at an efficient rate.

On this play, Jimmy Butler slips off of an off-ball screen, leading to Rui Hachimura switching onto Herro. He then gets the ball on the wing as Bam Adebayo steps up to set the screen. Herro then finds himself socially distanced from the dropping Alex Len and the trailing Hachimura, leading to a bucket on his favorite part of the floor.

– Confident jumpers mean efficient jumpers

This part of Herro’s game is obvious, since confidence is what makes his entire offensive game flow. After seeing the shot attempt a few nights ago, where he took a few dribbles before shooting a wide open corner three, made it seem his shooting confidence was not as high as it once was.

As seen here, this is his most fluid way to shoot a three. Catch and shoot while running full speed up the floor. The reason for that exactly probably has more to do with mechanics than mentality, since he uses his legs much more on those types of shots.

Playing as a reserve allows even more opportunities for shots like this, since he’s without the pressure of being the primary distributor.

– Herro-Achiuwa PnR equals many options

Taking a dive into the Herro and Precious Achiuwa pick and roll is something I did fairly recently, but it still seems necessary to point out the many options with this exact set.

Achiuwa has one offensive role that he plays perfectly, which simply means set the screen, roll to the basket, and be ready for the lob pass or clean up on a shot attempt.

Herro takes a contested jumper on the baseline, while two Washington players go for the box out on the energized Achiuwa. He could tell the shot was short as soon as it left his hands, which led to the offensive rebound. But the way he put the ball right back up with zero hesitation stands out even more.

Some players I’ve discussed don’t look at the rim enough, which is why those guys need to watch that part of Herro’s game a bit more.

– Fast paced offense leads to all eyes on Herro

As Herro leads the charge with this specific unit, the defense is aware that he’s the go to scorer, especially when playing with a lead in a fast paced offense.

As describe previously, his pull-up threes are some of his favorite, which is the main reason for this type of play favoring him. The reason this play stood out, though, is because of the way defenders react to him. As he brings the ball up the floor here, all five defenders are totally focused on him, which ultimately led to a corner three for Kelly Olynyk.

– The Butler-Herro connection is clear off drive and kicks

Butler-Herro drive and kicks has been something they have been pretty great with since last year’s regular season. When Butler is aggressive, defenses begin to collapse and shooters find themselves open.

On this play, Herro’s ability to read Butler is very impressive. As Herro acts like he’s clearing out to the top of the key, he immediately reacts to get in front of the pass for Butler to hit him in an open area. These small things won’t look so small when it’s utilized in a tight game, where they catch the defense off-guard.

– The bench role means offensive freedom

One of the biggest changes for Herro going from starter to reserve last night, is the level of freedom he can play with in the offense. No Butler on the floor, no Adebayo on the floor, and no Dragic on the floor means Herro has a fully controlled offense.

As seen by his loose cross-overs, he began playing with a different type of freedom, since the starting role seems to make him tense at times with the many things on his plate.

He also notices that since he’s the go to guy on the floor, he needs to do go to guy things, which means attacking the basket to draw fouls. If he can get to the free throw line a bit more due to offensive aggression, that may be the part of his scoring package that can absolutely elevate him.

– More drop coverage exposure

It feels necessary to show another moment from the game with Herro exposing drop coverage, except this time the defender goes under the screen.

Once he notices the defender going under, he stops at the exact spot on the floor that was needed, leading to yet another basket. Going back to my point about him shooting triples while running full speed, this falls under that category as well, since he shoots so well when stopping on a dime.

– The Herro lob pass much different than other Heat guards

To look at Herro’s passing for a moment, it’s been obvious that his lob passes have been much better this season. Dragic has been throwing them much more, as well as some others, but there’s one major difference between them and Herro.

He passes them in a very loose way, which means it’s hard for a defender to tell if it’s a shot attempt or a pass attempt. He throws a lot of them underhand, as seen on this play, which may seem easier to defend, but it’s harder to predict. These types of attributes showcase his overall talent to be more unique than some may realize.

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Wizards

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The Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards on Friday night, in what felt like a must win game. A strong Kendrick Nunn performance, once granted the opportunity, was promising for his role moving forward. Well, here are five takeaways from the game….

#1: Bam Adebayo getting to a familiar spot on the floor: The free throw line.

The first thing that stood out tonight for Miami was the franchise centerpiece, Bam Adebayo, getting to the free throw at an absolute incredible rate. He went 11 for 11 from the line in the first quarter, and I’m not sure if making 11 straight free throws, or getting fouled that many times is more impressive. Drawing that many fouls alludes to a certain level of offensive aggression, which was needed from their stars on a night that was essentially a must win. 19 first half points on only 4 shot makes truly shows where his mind was with the ball in his hands. Of course it’s great to look at this from an individual perspective, but it’s necessary to look into the near future a bit. If Adebayo can continue to make this a part of his consistent offensive package, things not only change for him, but for this team.

#2: Kendrick Nunn gets an opportunity, Kendrick Nunn capitalizes. 

Avery Bradley will be out for approximately a month after the recent injury, which ultimately means more Kendrick Nunn minutes. When looking back at the recent stretch where Nunn stepped in, he was one of Miami’s most consistent players surprisingly, but somehow ended up being the odd man out again. But tonight, he officially looked like the guy who finished second in rookie of the year voting a year ago. Nunn scoring 15 first half points on 75% shooting gives an idea of how his night was, but the continued question will be if he can sustain it for a long period. And well, the only way to answer that question is to give him an opportunity for a long stretch, which he will have over the next few weeks. Miami adding a straight up scorer into the rotation may be the immediate fix at the moment, and can help them string together some wins.

#3: Jimmy Butler playing with a purpose, as seen through his body language and facial expressions.

One thing that was noticed about Jimmy Butler out the gate was his level of intensity he was bringing, by his body language and facial expressions alone. He seemed to know exactly what he was going to do in that first quarter, which is give Miami as big of a lead as possible before exiting. And the main goal from there was about keeping their foot on the gas pedal, which is exactly what they did to close the half. Some nights I discuss the necessity of Jimmy Butler stepping up offensively to be the superstar he is, but tonight his superstar leadership levels were more important. The players can bounce off of that fairly easily, especially since guys have been talking about the need to play for each other. Butler setting the tone early in the game says a lot about the footprint he looks to put on this team game by game.

#4: A Kelly Olynyk third quarter confidence booster.

I’m pretty sure everybody is aware of the roller coaster of Kelly Olynyk. You see the high of highs and you see the low of lows. The thing about his peak levels is that they’re generated or sparked by a specific moment. And well, after Miami held a trusted lead in the third quarter, he began to get his shot going, and that may be all he needed for this next stretch. When Olynyk plays with a lead, he always seems to play at a different level, which could have something to do with a bit less pressure to get shots up. Either way, this specific moment in the game may not seem to hold much value, but there’s a possibility it does in the grand scheme of things. And only time will tell if that quarter can be sustainable for Olynyk over larger minutes.

#5: The starting lineup changes, but could it change again?

Now, I definitely didn’t expect bringing this up as a possibility tonight, but here we are. Tyler Herro looked very good tonight in the sixth man role, mostly since he knows his role is to just score the basketball without an immense amount of worry as a point guard. Goran Dragic started in his place, and although he looked good, it’s just not sustainable for a 34 year old to get an increase in minutes this early in the season. But after the Kendrick Nunn performance we saw yet again tonight, could he find his way into a starting position? I mean, it would allow Dragic and Herro to direct the second unit as they did last season while Nunn can be granted a scoring role for the starters which could be a huge boost. Although I believe Herro will be back in the starting lineup, it’s something to evaluate as a possibility for the near future.

Miami’s Continued Search to Find A True Identity

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The word identity is something that Coach Erik Spoelstra continually harps on, and as of right now, it’s apparent this Heat team has yet to truly find it.

There are a few reasons for this. For one, the current personnel does not allow them to excel in one particular area, due to the many one-way players on the roster. The Brooklyn Nets, for example, may not be a great defensive team, but they know their identity is just to outscore the opponent.

Miami’s lack of point of attack defenders make you think that’s the only issue, but the guys who can defend don’t being a whole lot offensively.

Another thing that can lead to the finding of an identity is a strong bond between a team, as we saw this Heat team had in the bubble. But as of right now, many players are discussing things relating to finding that connection that they once had.

Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro mentioned after Wednesday’s loss that they need to play for each other once again. And Kelly Olynyk mentioned after shoot-around today, “The more time we can spend together, and build those connections and bonds, is going to be good for us.”

Now, the main reason this stuff about utilizing time to “build connections” is being discussed, is because this season is the complete opposite of the bubble. The only thing there was to do in the bubble was go to practice as much as possible, which allows Miami to thrive. Also, being around one another for a long period of time contributes to on-court success.

This season though, they basically want you to practice as least as possible, due to all of the testing things you must go through in order to  get into the building. This led to Miami not having shoot-arounds in the morning before games ever, except for today.

I’m curious if players will take it upon themselves moving forward to go through early morning testing and practice more, to try and fix whatever the issues are at the moment. Since the Miami Heat answer always seems to be more work, especially a team led by Jimmy Butler.

If Miami moves forward without any roster changes, this may be the only fix to find a true identity. This will lead to Miami needing their best player, Jimmy Butler, to step up in a much earlier fashion than previously expected.

As players have said, it’s about taking it game by game, and that’s exactly what the Heat must do over this next stretch. Once they string a few wins together, the issues of this team will become much less obvious.

A Breakdown of the Miami Heat’s Late-Game Offense

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The Miami Heat dropped yet another game on Wednesday night, this time to the Washington Wizards. One of the biggest issues that stood out was late-game offense, since spacing, sets, or even lineups looked to be problematic.

Take a look at this deep dive into the Miami Heat’s late fourth quarter issues from Wednesday night…

– Crunch time bucket leads to disappearing ball movement

As seen here, the game is tied with just under 3 minutes to play. This is usually the time where Miami’s offense begins to shift a bit for no apparent reason, although it shifted earlier than usual against the Wizards yesterday. There are a couple things to takeaway from this possession. For one, Goran Dragic dribbling around down the stretch is not what Miami wants to take place, but it seemed as if it was necessary. While Miami’s off ball movement became stagnant late in the game, Goran took it upon himself, per usual, to try and make a play to bail Miami out. And although he finds a way to do it a lot of the time, it didn’t occur last night. Identity is something that should continue to be discussed, since offense changing late in games means the offense does not have a clear identity.

– Sloppy possession down the stretch against the league’s worst defense

To be completely honest, this might be the worst offensive possession I’ve ever seen. For starters, Tyler Herro taking the three to begin the possession is a classic Tyler Herro shot, but highly unnecessary. He’s being guarded by a very poor defender in Davis Bertans, and had the opportunity to attack the basket 2 on 1 with a rolling Bam Adebayo. Then Tyler gets the ball in the corner to drive baseline, and makes the right read to find the open Goran Dragic, but passes it over his head. This leads to more chaos, since Kelly Olynyk holds on to the ball while shifting his feet a bit. Although you don’t want Kelly putting the ball on the deck, he acted as if he was trapped when he could have kept the dribble alive to get a man open. Somehow this possession ended up in a foul call, which was ruled not in the shooting motion, granting Miami another chance at a score, which is shown next.

– No offense generated leads to unnecessary shot attempts late in shot clock

The following possession with a short shot clock, Miami had another chance to tie this game up. Jimmy attacks the basket on the crowded side of the floor, and forces a pass to a back-peddling Kelly Olynyk who fumbles it a bit. He makes the pass back out to the perimeter, and the possession ends up with a Jimmy Butler three at the end of the shot clock. It doesn’t matter what team you’re playing in this league, you just don’t win games when the offensive execution in a tight game looks like this. Also, take a look at the beginning of this play. Not only does Jimmy Butler not look at the basket and stare at Kelly Olynyk the entire time. But more importantly, he had a rolling Bam on the open side of the floor, who could have thrown it down if Jimmy threw the lob pass. As mentioned previously, the team’s best players need to be the best players down the stretch, and Miami leaning on other guys instead ultimately hurt them once again.

– Need a bucket should mean need Jimmy Butler

To continue my previous statement, a team’s best player must be the guy closing out a game for you, especially when his name is Jimmy Butler. But as seen here, Miami is down one with 20 seconds remaining, and Jimmy Butler does not even touch the ball. This doesn’t mean that others are taking shots that they shouldn’t be taking. It actually means that Jimmy needs to be the voice that he always is to say “give me the ball.” On this play, he watched the possession play out without even calling for the ball, and as I just said, that’s an issue. This big time possession began with a Bam Adebayo dribble hand-off to Kelly Olynyk. And if you take a closer look, the interior is wide open to begin the play. Bam had a clear opportunity to take Alex Len one-on-one to the basket, which he has shown to be one of his biggest strengths. But ultimately, that didn’t occur and it ended in yet another empty possession.

– Final shot of regulation showcases a few issues

Now, there are a couple elements to this final possession of regulation. For starters, not only is the best shooter on the team not on the floor, but one of the best shooters in the league. Even if there is a higher comfort level to run this exact offensive set to Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson must be on the floor. Kelly Olynyk standing in the corner on this possession just showcases my point even more. For one, having the option to pass it in to Duncan Robinson for a turnaround catch and shoot three is always great to have. But more importantly, his gravity is something that is constantly discussed, and it could have created increased opportunities for others with the defense watching Duncan closely. Either way, the entire Washington defense knew what was coming when Tyler Herro was the in-bounder, leading to a tough shot and a tough loss.

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Loss to Washington

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The Miami Heat went down to the wire with the Washington Wizards, and lost yet again in a game that was basically a must win. Some awful and sloppy late fourth quarter offensive possessions led to yet another late Miami collapses. Here are five takeaways from the game…

#1: Tyler Herro must’ve heard the Bradley Beal trade talks.

Well, Tyler Herro seemed to play with an offensive purpose in the first half on Wednesday night, and it just so happened to be against Bradley Beal who is constantly in trade talks. Seventeen points while shooting 7-9 from the field in the first half is impressive on it’s own, but the way he was doing it stood out more. The reason shots were falling at that rate was because of the confidence level Tyler was playing with. It’s always visible with his body language on his jumpers oddly, since when he jumps higher utilizing his legs, the shots looks better. It also makes those opportunities easier when he’s able to get to the rim as easy as he does now. His touch around the rim continues to impress, since as I’ve mentioned in the past, he utilizes the backboard in a way that not many players do at his age.

#2: Miami’s offense turned to constant penetration and paint activity.

When discussing the Miami Heat’s offense, it usually begins with three point shooting generated by dribble hand-offs. But tonight the plan seemed to include getting to the rim, not only for a good portion of possessions, but basically the entire first quarter. This is a very positive thing for a few reasons. For one, early activity at the rim allows increased three point opportunities for guys like Duncan Robinson as seen in the second quarter. It’s also the area of the floor where Miami’s two stars love to operate. It wasn’t about getting to the rim for Jimmy Butler to get points, but instead where that got him which was the free throw line. If Miami can continue to rely on their play around the rim and mid-range area, it opens up everything in their entire offense.

#3: Miami’s perimeter defenders became essential on isolation sets.

Jimmy Butler, Avery Bradley, Andre Iguodala, and even Bam Adebayo are the guys known for wrecking havoc out on the perimeter when defending one-on-one. And after seeing a good amount of isolation sets from Washington, it generated transition offense for Miami. Andre Iguodala is known for his unique and active hands when defending individually, while Avery Bradley’s defensive grit and will was shown by his ability to pick up full court. Jimmy Butler also got a good amount of deflections, which is pretty much expected when he is on the floor. Miami clearly has defensive holes that tried to get covered up by these guys on the perimeter, and it worked for possessions early on. Now, that probably won’t be the case on a nightly basis, but it’s a positive aspect for Miami’s high impact guys.

#4: Third quarter offense becomes stagnant, settling for threes once again.

It’s one thing to get into your offensive sets and shoot up open threes. It’s another thing to get away from dribble penetration completely to begin chucking up catch and shoot threes. The play I discussed tonight that proved Miami getting away from what was working was a 3 on 2 fast-break, which led to Jimmy Butler kicking it out for a Kelly Olynyk three. These empty possessions add up, especially when offensive spacing basically becomes non-existent out of nowhere in the third quarter. The common denominator for Miami’s lack of offensive effectiveness begins with Jimmy Butler becoming a non-factor as he began to shy away from the ball. Even on a great scoring night from Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler is the only person who can spark and generate a working Miami offense, and when he begins to play off the ball, things fall apart.

#5: The continued quest to find their offensive identity.

Finding the identity of this Heat team is something Coach Erik Spoelstra has harped on since the beginning of the season. The issue is that it’s hard to have a sustainable identity with the current personnel, due to the mix of one dimensional guys either defensively or offensively. Looking at the Brooklyn Nets for example, although their defense looks to be very problematic, they know their identity is just to score points and outscore the opponent. Miami’s inconsistent lineups doesn’t allow a natural flow, since there’s no wholesome continuity generated on either end. As mentioned previously though, nonstop offensive aggression from Jimmy Butler patches those issues up a bit, but when he becomes an off-ball guy for long stretches, it leads to Miami falling off on both ends of the floor very fast.

The Awakening of Jimmy Butler Has Arrived

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When looking at the current state of the Miami Heat, it’s clear that taking it game by game is necessary since they’re 7-13 through 20 games and sit at the 13th seed in the East.

It’s been a roller coaster of events for the Heat to start the season, but now with a healthy roster, it’s time to takeoff. And more importantly, it’s time for Jimmy Butler to takeoff.

Jimmy has the ability to step up in every facet, as he showed in his first game back after missing three weeks to Covid. This is his team, and he’s now going to prove that yet again.

It has been discussed that saving Jimmy Butler for a playoff run is essential, but in order to make a playoff run, you need to actually get into a playoff seed. And now, he’s going to look to takeover now before it’s too late, and possibly rest later.

He’s the superstar of this Heat team, and he can turn it on at any moment. The only question with him has been when he decides to turn it on, but that time is now. If there’s anything that is known about Jimmy Butler, it’s that he hates losing more than the average person.

Although he declined to speak with media after Monday’s loss, Goran Dragic said yesterday after practice, “It’s no excuses Jimmy said.” The message in the locker room and practice the past 24 hours has to be a strong one. And not just from Jimmy, since Goran said nobody could sleep after their performance.

The point is that not only is Jimmy Butler the star of this team, he’s also the leader. And going from making the Finals to starting the season 7-13 does not sit well with him. Of course he will still be the guy who sets up teammates and gets others involved, but he won’t let it get to the point that it got to Monday night.

If Miami has a 10 point lead against a lower tiered team, you better believe Jimmy will take initiative to close it out so it doesn’t come down to a buzzer beating three point attempt.

As mentioned before, he has a switch that can be turned on at any moment, and starting tonight that switch will be turned on once the whistle blows at 8:00. Jimmy said a few nights ago, “The losing is over,” but now that he had to take that loss right to the chest, it seems as if that may be true now.

Jimmy Butler has been awakened, and now a display of offensive firepower and winning mentality will try and lead Miami back into the mix over this next stretch.