Takeaways from one of Heat’s most impressive wins of the season and a rare loss for Bucks
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 105-89 win over the Milwaukee Bucks (52-9) on Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena ...
1. Where has this Heat (39-22) team been for the past two months?
Miami has been playing .500 basketball for the past two months, entering Monday with a 14-14 record over its previous 28 games. During this 28-game stretch, Miami posted an offensive rating of 114.4 and a defensive rating of 113. That equals a net rating of 1.4, which is where a team hovering around .500 should be at.
In just the last two weeks, the Heat dropped three games to three of the NBA’s worst teams — the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
But on Monday, the Heat defeated the team with the NBA’s best record. Miami earned a 16-point win over Milwaukee, handing the Bucks just their ninth loss of the season.
“This is how we want to play all the time,” Jimmy Butler said. “Unfortunately, we do not do that. Tonight could be what we look like.”
Monday’s result wasn’t even particularly close either, as it marked the Bucks’ second-most lopsided defeat of the season. The only one worse was a 22-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 6.
The Bucks gave up the lead with 2:11 remaining in the first quarter and trailed the rest of the way.
The Heat posted a net rating of 15.4 in the game. That’s a lot better than the middling 1.4 number it had recorded over the previous 28 games.
Yes, Milwaukee was playing on the second night of a back-to-back set. But the Bucks also entered with a perfect 8-0 record this season on the second night of back-to-backs.
The Heat also has a knack for playing its best basketball against the Eastern Conference’s best teams. Miami is 9-3 against the top-six teams in the East this season.
2. Where has this Heat defense been for the past two months?
The Heat’s defense has been statistically mediocre this season, with the league’s 14th-best defensive rating (allowing 109.1 points per 100 possessions). And it has been even worse over the two-month stretch leading into Monday’s win, with the Heat posting the league’s 20th-best defensive rating over its previous 28 games (allowing 113 points per 100 possessions).
But then Monday happened, and the Heat limited the Bucks to a season-low 89 points on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 7-of-34 shooting on threes. Milwaukee entered averaging 13.9 three-point makes per game on 36.2 percent shooting from deep.
Miami posted an elite defensive rating of 91.8 in Monday’s victory. It marked the Heat’s third-best single-game defensive rating of the season and its best since an 84-76 win over the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 2.
“We’ve had moments like tonight,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Heat’s defense. “I’m not saying we can hold great offensive teams to under 90 points every time, it’s not realistic. But we have it in us, a better version defensively where we can do it more consistently.”
One of the keys to the Heat’s defensive success against the Bucks was keeping reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the paint. Mission accomplished, as Miami sent four and sometimes five defenders at Antetokounmpo every time he touched the ball in the paint.
“We were just loading up and contesting every shot at the rim” Butler said of the Heat’s strategy when defending Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo matched a season-low with 13 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 shooting on threes to go with 15 rebounds and just three assists in 31 minutes. He shot just 4-of-8 from inside the restricted area Monday, a place where he has shot 73 percent from and has averaged 7.6 makes per game from this season.
“They just make it tough,” Antetokounmpo said of the Heat. “The Heat is a team that plays hard. They’re a team that plays 48 minutes, and that’s what they did tonight. It wasn’t just tough for me, it was tough for everybody.”
Heat big man Bam Adebayo was especially impressive defensively, as he was used to defend Antetokounmpo during certain stretches and was able to stay in front of him in isolation. Adebayo struggled with the Bucks’ length offensively, but still finished with 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
The question is: Can this Heat defense show up more frequently moving forward?
3. The Heat’s offense was really good from three-point range, and it had to be.
Making outside shots against Milwaukee is important because the Bucks’ defense gives up the most three-point attempts in the league and is also the best at protecting the rim.
The Heat took advantage of its three-point looks, finishing 18 of 37 from beyond the arc. That’s the formula for success against the Bucks, which own the league’s top defensive rating.
“It’s tough to beat a team that shoots like that. Some of it was good execution,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They cut hard, they screen hard and moved the ball well to get open looks.”
Jae Crowder led the Heat’s impressive shooting display with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 shooting on threes. Goran Dragic (15 points on 3-of-7 shooting on threes), Kelly Olynyk (11 points on 3-of-3 shooting on threes) and Duncan Robinson (nine points on 3-of-7 shooting on threes) combined to shoot 9 of 17 from deep. Even Butler made a three to finish with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
The Heat has had this type of game before, after all it does own the league’s second-best team three-point shooting percentage this season. Miami has made 18 or more threes while shooting better than 45 percent from beyond the arc in four games this season.
Miami needed this type of shooting display because it really struggled against Milwaukee’s length around the rim. The Bucks, which entered limiting opponents to a league-low 54.4 percent shooting from inside the restricted area, held the Heat to 10-of-21 shooting at the rim Monday.
“You have to be very detailed in your execution and what type of shots you are trying to get,” Spoelstra said of playing against the Bucks’ defense. “If your spacing is off, they can suffocate you. If you are not detailed with your screens or not detailed with where the ball needs to go, they can pack that paint as well as anybody. ... You have to make some threes, but they also have to be good threes. I think for the most part, we had some that were in our wheelhouse.”
Miami actually finished with more made threes (18) than made shots from inside the paint, where it finished 15 of 41.
Even with the Heat’s efficient night from three-point range, it still finished with a subpar offensive rating of 107.1 on Monday. It marked Miami’s lowest offensive rating since a Feb. 12 loss to the Utah Jazz. That’s how good the Bucks’ defense is.
4. Two of the Bucks’ nine losses this season have come to the Heat. Does Miami match up well against Milwaukee?
It has only been two games. So, I wouldn’t exactly classify the Heat as the favorite in a playoff series against the Bucks yet.
Miami leads the season series against Milwaukee 2-0 after also defeating the Bucks 131-126 in an overtime win in Milwaukee. The teams face off for the final time this season on March 16 in Milwaukee.
“Maybe it is just matchups,” Butler said. “But I think anyone can be beaten on any given day. Let’s not sit here and pretend. We made some shots and got some shots. They missed some shots. It helps. ... We take away from this that we can compete at the highest level, but we know we have to play this way every day from here on out.”
But this is clear, the formula to beat the Bucks is to make a lot of threes because that’s the shot Milwaukee’s elite defense gives up. As previously mentioned, the Heat is one of the league’s top three-point shooting teams. Miami also has Adebayo and a lot of capable defenders to throw at Antetokounmpo.
So, maybe Miami does match up relatively well with Milwaukee. But again, it has only been two games.
5. The Heat continues to strengthen its hold on the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed, and is slowly getting closer to the third spot.
Monday’s win pushed Miami two games ahead of the fifth spot, which is now occupied by the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers have the same record as the Philadelphia 76ers, but Indiana holds the edge because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Heat also closed to within three games of the third-place Boston Celtics and 3.5 games of the second-place Toronto Raptors.
With 21 regular-season games remaining, a finish anywhere between second place and sixth place in the East is possible for the Heat.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 12:15 AM.
