Photo credit: Heat.com

You don’t often see an Eastern Conference team playing a Western Conference team twice in one week. But that’s what happened when the Miami Heat hosted the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Coming off a disappointing road loss against the Sacramento Kings, Miami was trying to get a bounce-back win back home. Both teams went back and forth throughout the whole game. The game ended up going down the wire. In the end, Miami was able to seal the victory with a huge Jimmy Butler jumper in the last seconds of the game. With the win, Miami moves to 3-5 for the season. Here are my takeaways from Tuesday’s victory over Golden State.

Strong Fourth Quarter

The Heat entered the fourth period trailing 94-86. Golden State had outscored the Heat 38-28 in the third period and pushed their lead to eight. However, in the fourth quarter, Miami was able to bounce back. The team got multiple stops down the stretch. Both Duncan Robinson and Max Strus were able to knock down a couple of triples. Most importantly, Butler was able to get his game going at the right time. He hit a nasty spin move on Andrew Wiggins to get to the basket for the and-1. A couple of possessions later, with a three-point lead, Butler was able to seal the deal with a pull-up jumper. Miami outscored Golden State 30-15 in the fourth period.

Bench Provides Spark

Miami’s offense was very shaky in the beginning of the game. There were a couple of bad isolation plays to start. Tyler Herro kept trying to drive over the Warriors’ length and was unsuccessful. With the offense not functioning to start, Butler kept taking three-pointers. Overall, there was no flow in the Heat’s offense early on. They needed a spark from somewhere else. And that spark came from the Heat’s bench trio of Gabe Vincent, Strus and Robinson. The Heat kept going with the dribble handoffs and got the offense going. There was a lot more motion in the Heat’s offense once the bench came in compared to the first unit. When there’s ball and player movement, the offense looks much smoother.

Robinson and Strus Big Night

The two players who provided a huge boost off the bench were Strus and Robinson. With the Heat’s offense struggling, Strus got offense going. He was already up to 11 points with around nine minutes left in the second period. Robinson later joined him and shined in multiple spots of the floor. There was the spot-up shooting, movement off the ball, and passing out of the double-teams. Both players are already threats with their three-point shooting. But when they provide this type of production, it helps the team out a lot. Now, it’s about being more consistent with it.

Herro Leaves Game with Eye Injury

Herro’s night ended early when he got poked in the eye during the second quarter. When battling for a rebound, Herro was swiped across the face by Warriors’ guard Moses Moody. He left the game before halftime and never returned. At the time of his departure, he had two points on 1-of-4 shooting and one block. He struggled early against the Warriors’ length and couldn’t get going offensively. After the game, the Heat guard told reporters he’s hopeful to play in Wednesday’s game against the Kings.

Next up: The Sacramento Kings. Game tips off at 7:30pm eastern time.

Photo credit: Sun Sentinel

The Miami Heat finished last season as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. They were one made Jimmy Butler three-pointer away from reaching the NBA Finals. Despite being close to the NBA Finals, Miami brought back much of their roster without acquiring new talent. So far, they have a record of 1-3 through the first four games. All four of these games were a part of the season-opening homestead. Miami is now trying to bounce back after a slow start. Kyle Lowry says part of the problem is the team is figuring each other out.

“We’re just trying to figure it out,” Lowry told the Miami Herald after Monday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. “I mean, honestly, it’s four games in. I think we’re trying to figure it out. I know we said running it back, and I agree with that, but we still have different guys in different roles in different situations. So, we have to figure it out, how to all be on the same page.”

Adjusting to Lineup changes

The 36-year-old point guard was acquired during the 2021 offseason in a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto. Lowry was brought in to be a playmaker and orchestrate the team’s offense. He played a huge part in Miami grabbing the one seed while dealing with injuries to Bam Adebayo and Butler. This season, he’s one of many Heat players trying to figure things out. After a good season off the bench last season, Tyler Herro has been starting alongside Lowry this season. Lowry is now playing off the ball more this season with his usage rate being lower than last season.

“We got guys who can really play basketball,” Lowry said. “We’ve got guys who can really make plays and we’ve just got to all find ways to mix and match, not take turns, but figure out how to play off each other a little bit better and play with each other a little bit better. Honestly, everybody has a different role this year, things are a little bit different, right? Tyler’s in the starting lineup and Bam’s more aggressive. We’ve got different lineups with this, that and the other and we’re just trying to figure it out right now.”

Lowry’s Solution

So far, Lowry has been inconsistent. There’s been two decent games and two bad ones. On Monday, he scored seven points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field and 1-of-6 shooting from three-point range, two rebounds, and three assists. Through four games, Lowry is averaging 10.8 points while shooting 28.2 percent from the field, 28 percent from three, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. As the third highest-paid player on the roster, Miami needs more from its point guard. Especially as a threat on the offensive end, where he’s been struggling to hit shots. One solution Lowry proposes is giving him the ball more to run the Heat’s offense.

“I could probably have the ball a little bit longer, keep the ball in my hands a little bit more. That could help,” Lowry said when asked how he can generate more shots for himself. “But I’m an unselfish player. So sometimes it’s called for you to kind of get off the ball and let the game come to you.”

Miami begins its three-game road trip tonight against the Portland Trailblazers. After Wednesday’s game, they’ll face the defending world champion Golden State Warriors on Thursday and finish the road trip on Saturday against the Sacramento Kings. Entering the road trip with a 1-3 record is not ideal, but the Heat have shown in the past they can come together on the road. We’ll see if they can do it again this time.

Photo credit: Heat.com

For the first time since the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat met in Miami again. After losing a tough Game 7 at home, Miami was looking for revenge on Friday. The game went back and forth with each team making big runs. However, the Celtics were able to hold off a Heat rally to win in the end. Boston’s top two players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both combined for 51 points. Tyler Herro led Miami with 25 points in the Heat’s loss. With the loss, Miami moves to 0-2 for the season. Here are my takeaways from the game.

Adebayo Aggressive Early and Making Shots

Even though Bam Adebayo struggled on opening night against the Chicago Bulls, aggression wasn’t the issue. It was the fact that he was missing shots. On Friday, he stayed aggressive, and the shots were falling. The Celtics gave him the mid-range jumper and he was hitting them. By the end of the first half, he had 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting. The issue was he kept getting into foul trouble. He picked up his first two fouls in the first six minutes of the game. And later in the third period, he had four fouls. Every time Adebayo went to the bench, the Celtics made huge runs. Miami tried to stay afloat with Dewayne Dedmon and Haywood Highsmith playing backup center minutes. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.

Defensive Issues Remain

Against the Bulls the other night, Miami’s defensive rotations weren’t good. There were late rotations, early switching, and not much communication. On Friday, it wasn’t much better. The Celtics two stars were able to pick up their isolation matchups pretty easily. Miami also allowed too many wide-open threes. Miami usually has success with switching and helping. However, they should consider mixing it up against a team like Boston. Maybe mix in some drop coverages at times with Adebayo on the floor. Last season, they were able to hold their own with drop coverages while Adebayo was out. It doesn’t hurt to mix it up throughout the season.

Offensive Issues

In addition to the defensive issues, there were issues on the other end as well. Miami’s offense was very stagnant at times. With the current roster, you would think the team would have better movement on offense. They have shooters who move well without the ball. Two on-ball creators on the floor at the same times as well. But yet, the offense remains stagnant with only two-man actions. And while the two-man action was going, the spacers were just standing still. With no movement, it’s easier for the defense to muck up things on that end of the floor. This is a team that cannot rely heavily on isolation plays. It’s an area Miami has to clean up as the season progresses.

Lowry Has His Moments

Heading into Friday’s contest, most of the eyes were on Kyle Lowry. Lowry had a bad showing against the Bulls on Wednesday. He had two points on 1 of 7 shooting against the Bulls. The pull-up triple wasn’t there at all. That changed on Friday. Lowry looked better than he was on Wednesday. He bounced back hitting on a couple of jumpers, especially the pull-up triples. When he’s hitting the pull-up triples, it changes things for Miami’s half-court offense. It opens up the pass to the roller with more space. Defensively, Lowry also had good moments. He drew offensive fouls, got in the passing lanes, and dove for loose balls. His effort on the defensive end in the third period spark a big Heat run to grab the lead. Lowry finished the night with 17 points and six assists.

Next up: The Toronto Raptors on Saturday.

Photo credit: Heat.com

The Miami Heat season is officially back. But the season opener didn’t inspire any confidence. Despite missing Zach Lavine, the Chicago Bulls gave the Heat fits all night long, especially in the second half. The second half was where things went south for Miami. Demar Derozan got going with 19 points in the third period. He was able to get to his sweet spots with ease. Miami made a run in the fourth period to cut the lead the four. But then, the Bulls pulled away in the end and sealed the victory. Here are my takeaways from Wednesday’s loss to Chicago.

Replacing P.J. Tucker

Who’s going to be the Heat’s starting power forward? That was the question surrounding the team after P. J. Tucker’s departure. In the first game of the season, the Heat went with Caleb Martin. Like Herro, Martin started off very well. He provided early rim pressure and shooting. This was something we didn’t see much of last season. However, he was quiet the rest of the game. Martin finished with seven points and three rebounds. While Tucker wasn’t a great offensive player, his toughness was definitely missed. With Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon in foul trouble, the Heat did not have a player to fill in. Usually, Tucker served as the team’s small ball center in these moments.

Defense

The Heat pride themselves on being a great defensive team. They’re usually a team that plays hard and physical on that end. There were multiple times where the Heat’s defense would energize their offense. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday. Miami’s defense was a step slow, particularly in the second half. The Bulls were getting easy baskets at the rim, mostly off of simple back cuts. The defensive rotations weren’t as good as they normally are. Derozan tore the Heat defense apart multiple times in the third period. This was a game where Miami’s defense wasn’t felt from a physical standpoint. If they want to compete against the best, they’ll have to step it on that end of the floor.

Bam Struggles

Heading into the season there was a lot of talk about Miami needing an aggressive Adebayo. That’s exactly what they got on Wednesday. He took a team high 10 field goal attempts in the first half. Unfortunately, the shots were not falling down. Some of the shots he took looked flat and rushed. The shots Adebayo took were easy shots that he would normally make. It was a really frustrating night for the Heat big man. He picked up his fourth foul and sat out the majority of the third quarter. Adebayo didn’t have that usual fire that he usually has. Adebayo ended the night with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Herro Starts Hot

At the end of last season, Tyler Herro made it known that he was looking to start. This season, he’s got his wish. And he definitely got off to a hot start. Herro scored 11 of Miami’s first 16 points in the first period. He scored off of pull ups, floaters, and three pointers. Also, he was one of the Heat’s better players of the night. Like the playoffs, the Bulls sent doubles at him above the three-point line. Herro displayed great patience and was able to snake his way to the basket. He looked very confident against the blitzes. It’s going to be a very important part of his development. Herro finished the night with 23 points,

Next up: The Boston Celtics. Game tips off at 7:30pm eastern on Friday.