The Miami Heat are coming off one of their more wacky losses of the season. They would lose to a Philadelphia 76ers team on Monday that, quite frankly, was a shell of themselves.
Coming into the contest without Joel Embiid and James Harden going for them, the Philadelphia 76ers would have to rely on a different approach to get it done.
That’s exactly what they did.
The Miami Heat could have been better at a lot of the little things in Monday’s contest, such as hitting the boards and not allowing so many Philadelphia second chance opportunities, but that wasn’t the real thing that doomed them.
They could have overcome those things, as they have many times this season. What they couldn’t overcome though was being bludgeoned in the middle of the paint and at the rim.
On the way to allowing 50 points in the painted area, almost half of Philadelphia’s points, the Miami Heat’s defense would be tested over and over again on their ability to keep the opposition out of the paint.
Miami Heat: Philadelphia Attack A Great Motivational Tool For Tyler Herro
Keeping a team out of the pain and away from easy shots is all heart, grit, and defense. The Miami Heat could have been better about or in all of those areas on Monday.
They could have played with more fight or heart, shown more determination or grit, and simply, played better defense. While this was the case for the entire Miami Heat team on Monday, they singled one guy out on Philadelphia’s side.
Though Tyler Herro has been an absolute terror on the offensive side of the ball, as of late, he was the main victim of the Philadelphia 76er late-game attack. It seemed like every 76er looking to score had a shot, though their two main ballhandling guards were the ones to really do a lot of damage to Herro.
When Shake Milton got ready, he went through Herro on the way to the cup and the paint. When Tyrese Maxey felt like it, he went around Herro into the painted area and to the basket.
It was really that simple.
Miami Heat: Tyler Herro Was Attacked By Shake Milton And Tyrese Maxey At Will
While it sounds bad enough when you read it, it played even worse in live time. They see that seeing is believing—so, let’s do that
Here are a few instances that really paint the picture. The first will be from Milton and his style of attack.
The second will show Maxey’s speed attack. Be warned, what you are about to witness isn’t anything pretty.
A tie ball game at 88 each, this shot shows Philadelphia guard, Shake Milton, muscling through Herro for an easy look at the basket. Though this could have been called an offensive foul but there are a few things to that.
Milton pushes off, in some form or fashion on most of his attempts and they don’t call it, so you can’t expect them to in this scenario. This is also just a common thing in hoops, as each individual offensive player has their own nuances to them when it comes to being nifty in creating space, which is allowed.
Tyler Herro should know this though. He, not only, guards these guys every single day of his career but he had guarded Milton a few times at this point in the contest.
He has to bump back, meeting Milton’s physicality with resistance, which will then give him a better chance at contesting whatever he decides to do as a result of that resistance. Here is a play that encapsulates how Maxey did it.
With a simple size up and stutter-step, Maxey was able to go right by Herro to the rim. Herro had his help defender at the rim to contest, but after allowing him to get that deep, it didn’t matter.
Listen, it hasn’t been an issue for a ton of the season, as Herro has been able to hold his own, while the Miami Heat have done a great job at helping him out in these spots. You can’t not have him on the floor though, as he’s one of your best offensive options on the team.
The only other option is for him to take situations like these, use them as motivation, and get better on the other side. This was them clearly attacking him and his weakness.
That has to mean something to the third-year pro. You expect and assume it does because based on what you know about him, when there are criticisms, critiques, or weaknesses that are highlighted, he takes them seriously about getting better.
That’s just how we got to where we are with him now being an elite scorer and the frontrunner for the NBA’s Sixth Man Of The Year after a second year filled with criticism. Right?
He needs to get better on defense, which you trust he will, especially after instances like these. They should only serve to motivate him greatly to do so.