After losing their first Play-In game on Tuesday, the Miami Heat found themselves in danger of elimination on Friday. They faced a tough defensive team in the Chicago Bulls, who have been hot on that end since the break. It was a physical game between both teams throughout the night. It appeared the Bulls were in total control with five minutes left in the game, but then Miami sparked a run. Led by their star player Jimmy Butler, Miami was able to close out the Bulls. With the win, Miami advances to the NBA Playoffs. Here are my takeaways from Friday’s win over Chicago.
Jimmy Clutch
Before Friday’s game, Butler was named a finalist for the NBA Clutch player award. And he showed why down the stretch. Before Butler entered the game in the fourth quarter, Miami was trailing by four with 9:41 left in the period. After the game, they ended up winning by 11. With the season on the line, Buter was ultra-aggressive down the stretch. On the defensive end, he was playing the passing lanes and getting steals. Offensively, he willed his way to the basket and got multiple and-one plays. From there, he also set up his teammates for open shots, especially Max Strus. This was Butler’s time and he showed why he’s a finalist for the clutch award. Butler ended the night with 31 points and five rebounds.
Strus is Loose
Last game, Strus only had three points. Yes, three points. However, Friday was a different story. Strus started the night off strong, converting on his first four triples of the game. With his defenders sagging off him, Strus kept getting open and making them pay. He hit three pointers after three pointers. At times, he was the only one making them from the outside. By halftime, he had six triples. It could have been seven triples, but one of his triples was removed with him stepping out of bounds. Sounds familiar right? Regardless, Strus was huge for Miami. He finished with 31 points on the night.
Adebayo’s Offensive Struggles Continue
Bam Adebayo‘s offensive struggles have been a weird study. Since the All-Star break, he’s been struggling on that end of the floor. The midrange shots he was hitting before were falling short. At times, he’s even seemed hesitant to score. And there also times where he didn’t look at the basket. His offensive struggles continued on Friday. Adebayo shot 1 of 9 from the field against the Bulls. But defensively, he was huge. He was a beast on the boards and was very active on defense. He picked up a big block on Chicago down the stretch as well. This was enough to advance to the playoffs. But, Miami is going to need him to shake off the rust very soon. Adebayo finished the night with eight points, and 17 rebounds.
On to the Playoffs
With Friday’s win, Miami moves on to the NBA Playoffs. Now, a tall task(literally and figuratively) awaits them. Miami will travel to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. A team that previously put them out back in 2021. This would be a huge series for Miami’s top trio. Adebayo is certainly a x-factor for the this series. With the Bucks playing drop coverage, the midrange shots will be there for him to take. He’s certainly going to have to take them shots and be ready to shoot them. Milwaukee will likely be favored to win this series. It’s going to be an interesting series to watch. We’ll see what happens.
