The Miami Heat have been on a pretty good offensive run lately. They’ve been able to rack up the points on the opposition and especially now when they needed to.
Though their defense had been their core strength for much of the season until the end of March, they’ve since flipped the switch, making their offense the focal point. That’s the sum of it, but here are the facts of it.
Heat Through March 31
— Couper Moorhead (@CoupNBA) May 12, 2021
Offensive Rating: 107.7 (Rank 25)
Defensive Rating: 109.1 (Rank 6)
Net Rating: -1.3 (Rank 21)
Heat Since April 1
Offensive Rating: 116.5 (Rank 5)
Defensive Rating: 114.4 (Rank 24)
Net Rating: +2.1 (Rank 16)
While that’s amounted to good news, based on the Miami Heat’s ability to win needed games in above timeframes, that’s especially when you consider what they did to close in on the fifth NBA Playoff seed. While they could still finish as high as fourth, it’s unlikely, but they won’t finish any lower than sixth either.
Hopefully they could get to the fourth seed for a definite home court advantage in the first-round. It would also be extremely fortunate, based on the Miami Heat’s 3-0 record against them this season, that they could face the Knicks in the first round.
With Atlanta 6-1 over their last seven and only with Houston left to play though, it’s unlikely they drop another one, leaving the Miami Heat in the fifth seed. That’s still good for Miami, as they can just do what they need to from there.
Here’s why that’s so.
The Miami Heat have gotten a ton from Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic of late.
The Miami Heat have seen a resurgence of late. Not only are they really striking it hot as a team on the offensive side of the ball, but two guys in particular have come back in a major way over the last few games.
Goran Dragic and Tyler Herro were major parts of the what the Miami Heat were able to do last season during the now legendary, NBA Bubble, and postseason as a whole. As a matter of fact, they were essential.
It would not have been possible without them and their contributions to the team. Well, in the glory of the 80’s cult classic horror film series, Poltergeist, “They’re Back!”
Over their last few games, Herro and Dragic are the perfect bench destroyers for Miami. Tyler has scored 81 points in his last four games, a 20.25 point average, on 16/25 from deep.
That’s some shooting and well over 50 percent there. Goran Dragic has also been very productive for the Miami Heat and their bench, hitting big shots at the right time for them.
He’s shooting 15/36 from deep over his last six games, with high double-digit point totals in quite a few of them. You just only hope it all is sustainable with these two.
If so, then then any team in the East should fear them… and any other team for that matter.
With the Miami Heat’s offensive production and their clutch defensive abilities, they can go far.
Listen, the Miami Heat are going to be ok. Jimmy Butler is not only finding a little bit of three-ball touch, including more of it in his game and actually going 4/4 from deep in their most recent win over Philadelphia but he is still an absolutely elite defender.
Leading the league in steals and all the rest of that considered, he still might not even be the best defender on his own team. Think about that though?
Perhaps, the best is Bam Adebayo? But the beauty of it all is that for everything that really matters, like winning as a team and championship trophies, it’s the best possible situation to have two of the best stars in the league and defensively oriented two-way superstars.
Say what you want about their tiers, be that simply stars or whatnot, but for what they are to Miami, what they can do at their peak, and their brands of basketball, their superstardom, in that vantage, has to be understood. They should both absolutely make the NBA’s All Defensive First Team, to put a cherry on top of it, but also lead the Heat offensively on most nights.
That’s just it though. When you think about all that, the rest of their team like the dually lethal, cool, and soon to be paid Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn, Goran and Tyler’s production, and all else they can throw at you, that’s why it is sustainable.
If they can continue to make the big stops at the biggest times, they can have success. At least, that should be the hope.