Another 3-1 week for the Miami Heat, including a three-game winning streak punctuated with a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day. This week we’re focusing our attention on a rookie who continues to impress and two returnees who have helped this team immensely.
1️⃣ Merry Christmas, Jaime!
Thirty one points and 10 rebounds on 73.3% from the field to lead your team on Christmas Day? Not only is that unusual, but it’s pretty much unheard of from a rookie – only five other rookies did it: Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Walt Bellamy. But it was exactly what Jaime Jaquez Jr. gave the Heat on Monday night in Jimmy Butler’s absence.
We keep getting out of words for what Jaquez is doing, yet we continue to talk about him. Because how can you not? He’s showing consistency and evolution throughout the year that is not easy to find and has been the best rookie scorer of December.
Against the Sixers, Jaquez was unafraid of contact once again, embracing it as a way to get to the rim and find ways to score.
In the first clip he gets the ball deep from Kevin Love. Gives Morris a little dribble to his left to be able to turn right and finish with his best hand, away from his defender.
Then in transition, he decelerates quickly with Morris’ momentum carrying him, gives him a behind the back move and attacks Bamba, pump faking before going up with contact from a 7-footer.
In the third clip, Jaquez attacks right and switches hands in order to set up his next move, as he spins using Kelly Oubre’s body well to figure out where he is and win his position.
And in the last clip, the Heat notice a mismatch with Maxey on Jaquez, but Harris quickly switches with him. Jaquez catches, gets to a more comfortable position and attacks right. Stops on a dime, gives Harris a small pump fake to get him in the air and goes up with a little push shot.
2️⃣ Bam keeps his DPOY campaign alive
The Heat were 23rd in defensive rating in the eight games Bam Adebayo missed. They are fifth since he returned.
No, that’s not a typo. A 120.5-rated defense posted a 112.4 defensive rating in the last four games – eight fewer points allowed per 100 possessions. Bam’s presence on the defensive end continues to be key for Erik Spoelstra, as his Defensive Player of the Year campaign continues.
Although he’s doing it at a smaller rate, Bam’s switching continues to be elite. Notice how he closes out hard on Anthony Edwards but still denies the path to the rim, staying low to the ground and using some physicality. Ends up forcing a leaning fadeaway pull up from Edwards.
In the second clip, he’s matched up with Goga Bitadze in the low post. Again, he keeps him away from the restricted area with his physicality and doesn’t go for any of his shot fakes or gets carried away with his spin. Ends up contesting a tough baby hook, forcing the miss and never allowing Bitadze to get into a comfortable spot.
The third clip is pretty straightforward. Tobias Harris is in transition and has the advantage over Duncan Robinson. The Heat have numbers so Bam is able to stay with them and come from the help side to block. He goes up with two hands and gives Harris no chance at a basket.
And last but definitely not least, a classic Bam floor coverage. In a high drop after the Capela screen for Trae Young, he denies any opportunity at an inside pass while also not allowing a shot while Caleb Martin recovers. Once he does, Bam back pedals to get back to Capela and intercepts the lob.
3️⃣ How may Herro assist you?
Tyler Herro is another player that has made his return this past week. And he’s come out firing, with 26.3 points on 48.1% from the floor. But we’ll be focusing on his assists. Herro was second on the team in assists and front court touches last week from the players that appeared in the four games (Bam Adebayo beat him in both categories). He looks to be making decisions faster and finding teammates, on top of scoring.
See how, in the first clip, he’s waiting for a decision from the Wolves defense. Not forcing, not going for a contested jumper. He gets Gobert’s full focus, waits for Love to pop out to the corner and hits him with a bounce pass for an easy three.
In the second clip, the same patience. He attacks the pick-and-roll, gets Bitadze on him and waits for Cole Anthony to come. He goes with a little pump fake to get both defenders in the air before finding Thomas Bryant under the rim.
Simple pick and roll with Bam on the third clip, with Robinson and Lowry spacing the floor on the weak side. Both Maxey and Oubre leave the paint open as Bamba and Melton concentrate on Herro, which allows him to hit his center in stride for an easy dunk.
The fourth clip has the Sixers already preparing for the Bam screen by getting in front. So, Duncan Robinson moves to the wing after he and Herro reads Maxey’s position, hitting his shooter for an open three.
3️⃣ How may Herro assist you?
Tyler Herro is another player that has made his return this past week. And he’s come out firing, with 26.3 points on 48.1% from the floor. But we’ll be focusing on his assists. Herro was second on the team in assists and front court touches last week from the players that appeared in the four games (Bam Adebayo beat him in both categories). He looks to be making decisions faster and finding teammates, on top of scoring.
See how, in the first clip, he’s waiting for a decision from the Wolves defense. Not forcing, not going for a contested jumper. He gets Gobert’s full focus, waits for Love to pop out to the corner and hits him with a bounce pass for an easy three.
In the second clip, the same patience. He attacks the pick-and-roll, gets Bitadze on him and waits for Cole Anthony to come. He goes with a little pump fake to get both defenders in the air before finding Thomas Bryant under the rim.
Simple pick and roll with Bam on the third clip, with Robinson and Lowry spacing the floor on the weak side. Both Maxey and Oubre leave the paint open as Bamba and Melton concentrate on Herro, which allows him to hit his center in stride for an easy dunk.
The fourth clip has the Sixers already preparing for the Bam screen by getting in front. So, Duncan Robinson moves to the wing after he and Herro reads Maxey’s position, hitting his shooter for an open three.
4️⃣ Problems with turnovers
We continue with Tyler Herro, although on a negative note. The Heat had the eighth-most turnovers in the league last week at 14.3 per game, with Herro collecting 3.5. Part of his development as a higher usage guy will have bumps on the road, so this is normal and some turnovers are somewhat encouraged as he continues to develop his handle. But there were some things that stood out that he can quickly correct.
Herro creates a problem for himself in the first clip by going too fast. He attacks the middle of the Magic defense with an advantage and some colleagues running behind. He almost loses the ball, gets back and risks a pass to Lowry with no real need.
In the second clip, Herro comes off a dribble handoff with Bam Adebayo and immediately stops his dribble, without the Hawks defense committing to him or Bam. He tries the pass and Murray intercepts it.
Pick and roll with Bam for the third clip, with Herro going too fast yet again. The Heat have an advantage, but he drives too deep, which forces him to stop his dribble and pivot, allowing Melton to recover his position and steal the pass to the corner.
Another pick and roll with Bam that Oubre defends well. And again, Herro stops his dribble. He jumps from his position and from there, it’s tough to find an open teammate against a set defense. Still, he had better options in Bam at first and Lowry after, but especially if he didn’t stop his dribble.
5️⃣ Struggling against height
Despite a much better week in terms of fourth quarters, it didn’t start like that. The Heat scored 25 points on 36% shooting in the last quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It doesn’t bode well for the Heat that Jimmy Butler played less than five minutes in the deciding period against the best defense in the league, with only one shot – a fadeaway contested three in the wing to try to send the game to overtime.
In the first clip, Duncan Robinson attacks the pick and roll and misses a pocket pass opportunity to Bam, but is still able to get the ball to him. Now Adebayo has the ball with five defenders in or around the paint and Jaquez open in the wing, but decides to go for a push shot with Naz Reid all over him.
In the second clip, the Heat decide to post up Bam against Rudy Gobert. Everyone else is spaced out, but no one on the Wolves is helping because they have Gobert where they want him: in the paint. Bam attacks left but has to go around a taller defender and ends up with an unbalanced shot on the other side of the rim.
Richardson tries to attack Towns off the switch but to no avail. He goes back and finds Adebayo. He decides to attack the same spot, where Towns still is, gives Gobert a eurostep but is too slow, which allows Gobert to recover and block the shot.
And finally, we have Jaquez in the post against Kyle Anderson. Adebayo is at the free-throw line with Gobert watching the ball, Highsmith decides to cut, bringing Naz Reid to the ball as well. There’s just no spacing and the rookie ends up with a forced shot against three defenders.