This road trip has been up and down for the Miami Heat, but one thing that has been consistent is P.J. Tucker. Tucker, against the Los Angeles Lakers, played solid defense and as he always does.
To start the road trip, Tucker was shooting his floater more than usual. Los Angeles was playing off of him, which is when he began to attack the rim more, looking to score.
You can be sure that a lot of Miami fans were stunned to see Tucker around the rim looking to score, but oddly enough, it’s proven effective.
Tucker has also been boxing out anybody he can see.
He finished that game with ten points and thirteen rebounds. On Miami’s last possession, Tucker was standing in the corner, only to crash the glass hard to get the offensive rebound for a nasty putback slam to force overtime.
Miami would lose in overtime, but it wasn’t because of Tucker. Miami would have another chance to secure a win in LA though and this time, against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tucker had another solid game, adding six points and ten rebounds. Tucker, as always, was guarding 1-5.
He guarded anyone from Paul George on the perimeter to down low on center, Ivica Zubac. Again, Miami just couldn’t hold on to leads in Los Angeles .
With Kyle Lowry taking over in the fourth quarter, it looked to be a comeback in the making, but it was too late. With Miami losing close back to back games, going against the Utah Jazz in Utah would never be an easy night out.
But Miami came out and played really well… at least, until the fourth quarter came around. Even in a win, Miami made it more of a game then it should have been.
For the sake of the purpose here though, that inability to put teams away is something to be shelved for later. The guy who really impressed, again, against Utah was Tucker.
He finished the game with thirteen points, eleven rebounds, three assist and made three range shots to tie it all together. It was, by far, his best game as the member of the Miami Heat.
Tucker’s floater game was on display again and again, proving to be a rather effective weapon for him. Utah was playing off of him and he read the floor very well.
He even brought the ball up a couple times to run Miami’s offense, which I don’t think any Miami fans saw coming. He also shows capable of running the dribble-handoff game as well.
As a roller, he is much better than I thought he would be. The floater is something that can’t be mentioned enough in that scenario, but he isn’t an awful passer either and mostly because he always looks to make the right play.
He has always been a Heat Guy, through and through, in the eyes of many Miami Heat fans. Tucker is everything that Miami preaches.
Yes, he fits the “Culture”. It seems as if he was born to play for Miami.
They finally have their four-man that can switch on the perimeter and defend down low. I’ve been writing for a while now on how Tucker is a hand in glove fit for them too, so it’s no shocker here.
As of now, he has been everything and more for Miami. He is, of course, shooting the corner three ball good.
He’s what a glue guy should be, someone who excels mightily at the little things and just wants to win at the end of the day. Oh and how can we forget about him and Kyle Lowry leading the way for Miami when it comes to taking charges.
In fact, Miami leads the league in charges and by a wide margin, with a huge thanks to those two guys. The Culture is strong with this team and though it starts with the guys that have been here the longest, at this point, it now ends with the enforcer, the dog, and the legit Miami Heat Guy, P.J. Tucker.