It took some time, but it seems the Miami Heat are finally finding their identity once more.
The Miami Heat may already be 26 games into 2017-18, but fans have rarely seen Miami Heat Basketball being played.
That is, fluid ball-movement, sharp-shooting from downtown and high-level defense.
Instead, this team has struggled with inconsistency across the board. Looking more like the 11-30 group Heat Nation wishes to forget, than the 30-11 success story that had the entire league talking.
To play Devil’s Advocate, not completely without reason. After all, there have been a handful of health issues, most notably Rodney McGruder’s leg fracture and Hassan Whiteside’s twice over knee bruise. And yes, Justise Winslow’s return and the addition of Kelly Olynyk forced head coach Erik Spoelstra to make some strategical changes.
But this isn’t a team that makes excuses. So nor should fans.
The good news is, it seems like they may not even have to anymore. Because lately, the Heat have returned to their old ways.
Currently on a two game winning streak, it’s more than just back-to-back wins that should be encouraging. It’s how they managed to secure those wins, that really speaks to the fact that Miami could very well be on the up-and-up.
For starters, there were no third quarter woes against the Brooklyn Nets in Mexico City or versus the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. Instead, the Heat allowed their competition to average just 38 points in the second half, shooting 32.1 percent (25.9 percent from beyond-the-arc).
"“Hopefully that’s something we can build on,” Spoelstra said. “I liked how we got stronger, tougher more resilient in both second halves – different guys in each game – and took a lot of pressure off ourselves by getting multiple stops and then the offense becomes a little easier going down the other end.”"
Offensively, it’s guys like Tyler Johnson who have stepped up. The guard totaled 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the win over Brooklyn, and 14 points (shooting 5-for-10) in Memphis. This includes combining for 6-of-11 from 3-point land, an area the team hasn’t looked itself from, for some time now.
Josh Richardson also had a nice game against the Grizzlies, scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from downtown. Continuing to prove president Pat Riley made the right decision in giving him a four-year, $42 million contract this past summer.
Perhaps even more relieving however, is how strong Miami has been defensively lately. In large part thanks to rookie Bam Adebayo.
Having to step up for a still sidelined Hassan Whiteside, the young buck has certainly risen to the challenge. He had 14 points to his name on Monday, but also locked it down on the other end, with four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. All in 23 minutes of play. From catching lobs to blocking shots to setting screen assists… the 20-year-old can really do it all.
The whole team has stepped up their defense though. In fact, the Heat rank second in the league in opponent field-goal percentage within six feet of the basket. Meaning that as a unit, their rim protection is second to none.
Olynyk deserves a whole lot of praise too.
Take his performance in Mexico City, where he finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. And overall, Miami has a 105.7 defensive rating with the 7-footer, as opposed to 103.3 when he’s not on the floor.
Next: Should the Miami Heat be worried about guard Dion Waiters?
With two good recent wins under their belt, here’s hoping the Miami Heat can take advantage of an easier schedule ahead. The team will host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight, at 7:30 PM ET.