The Miami Heat closed out the regular season with an overtime win over the Toronto Raptors.
It took overtime to decide where the Miami Heat would land in the playoffs.
With under a minute left in regulation, it was still up in the air if the Heat would finish eighth, seventh or sixth in the Eastern Conference. At the end of the night however, the answer was sixth.
Whether you like it or not, Miami will be playing the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. To get to that spot, the Heat had to take down the top-ranked team in the East, the Toronto Raptors.
At points, it looked like Miami would be a quick postseason exit. Then, they hit their stride. It was a game that will give the Heat momentum, as they head into the playoffs.
Here are three takeaways from Miami’s win over Toronto.
The big man game is still relevant
This game was centered around the big men: Jonas Valanclunas and Hassan Whiteside.
At first, it looked like Valanclunas was the way to go for the Raptors. Six quick points on 2-for-3 shooting, Whiteside struggled to find a way to slow him down.
Whiteside’s typical shove style shot was not working for him. 2-for-8 shooting in the first six minutes of play illustrated his struggle. But, the big man was still big on the boards. Eight rebounds in that same amount of time, showed his value to the team. Rebounding ended up being the only thing Whiteside could do against the Raptors. He would end the night shooting a horrendous 5-for-16
When it wasn’t Valanciunas working the Heats’ defense, it was Jakob Poeltl. The 7-footer seemed unstoppable, with his perfect 4-for-4 start.
Despite Whitesides’ ugly night, Kelly Olynyk came up clutch. Miami made things interesting with a fourth-quarter run. Olynyk was the one who made the big plays during that run, to give the Heat the lead.
Pace is still a problem
Defensively, we continue to see that Miami struggles with teams that like to push the ball.
Whether that is in transition or isolation, the Heat don’t defend it well. DeMar DeRozan had zero issues taking the ball to the rack and scoring. His partner in crime, Kyle Lowry, found the same type of success.
On the opposite side, the up-tempo pace was bringing Miami some offensive success. Being able to push the ball was key on an ugly shooting night. The Heat ended the night shooting just 43.4 percent, thanks to a strong push late.
The only time Miami looked like they were in any type of rhythm, was when they were able to push the ball and swing it quickly. When the Heat weren’t able to push the pace, the shot selection dropped dramatically.
Yet, when the Heat were able to push the ball late, Wayne Ellington hit his stride. Ellington hit his 226th 3-pointer to set the single-season franchise record and gave the Heat an 102-99 lead.
Everything opens up when Miami can push offensively.
Oh Bam!
Bam Adebayo hasn’t played much here recently. Who knows if it has more to do with the Heat wanting to make a late-season push, or Whiteside’s comments about playing time.
Either way, he got his chance. Immediately, the rookie made an impact. Five quick points thanks to a three-point play, gave Miami a reason to believe. He helped spur a run that eventually would tie the game at 85.
He came up huge on the defensive end. In his limited time, Bam had four rebounds, with quite possibly the biggest one under 25 seconds left to play in regulation. Bam’s three-point play to kick off overtime put the Heat ahead, and they never looked back.
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