Miami Heat’s Blowout Defeat To Suns Serves Several Important Purposes
By Will Salinas
Miami Heat: Blowout Defeat To Suns Serves Several Important Purposes
When a team is able to do a complete 180 like that and make things difficult, the players and coaching staff need to be prepared to adapt and run other sets or actions. We saw Miami get Duncan Robinson and other players going with handoffs and three-point shots off screens but in the second half, Phoenix was ready to switch any and everything.
The Miami Heat kept forcing it though, eventually leading to players just standing around and watching Bam Adebayo fake handoffs. The offense became stagnant while watching players isolate against Phoenix.
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Against the second-best defense in the NBA, not only isn’t that any fun to watch, but it won’t get you back in the ball game either.
At the end of the first half, Kyle Lowry had seven assists but finished with 10 total, which is shocking given the huge dropoff in the second half. There were moments where Lowry would just be standing on the wing watching the offense play out and that is not how Miami wins ball games.
When Lowry was assertive and actually looking to create, the offense would come to life, such as the Lowry-Bam pick and roll. It’s a simple play, but when you run the same sets or take plays off, you make it easier for a smart and tenacious team like Phoenix to take advantage.
That’s just what they did.