Miami Heat/Paul Pierce saga takes another odd turn. And more remarkable Robinson feats
A six-pack of Miami Heat notes on a Wednesday:
▪ While Kendrick Perkins and Scottie Pippen continue to talk up the Heat in ways that would make Pat Riley proud, Paul Pierce remains something of a killjoy when assessing Miami’s playoff chances -- more so than any prominent commentator on ESPN’s staff.
And the Heat has certainly noticed, so much so that it playfully poked Pierce on its social media account this week, which is pretty unusual.
After the Heat’s win against Boston on Tuesday, the Heat tweeted a photo of Pierce checking two phones - with a Heat cap superimposed on his head - with the caption: “Look who we caught refreshing all of our social feeds looking for the #WINNING post.” (See the tweet below.)
It’s not that Pierce has leveled any outrageous criticism of the Heat. But he clearly believes they’re not ready to do anything significant in the playoffs.
Several times this season, Pierce has suggested Perkins is too optimistic about the Heat’s chances.
And that theme continued this week when Pierce expressed shock that Perkins could possibly suggest that Miami could beat Milwaukee in the playoffs.
“I heard Perk this morning saying he’s got the Heat over the Bucks,” Pierce said. “I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that. Let me tell you something. Listen: The Heat are good. They play hard.”
But…
“There is no pressure on them in the regular season. As a matter of fact, I think they overachieved in my eyes because when you look at the backcourt of Dunn [he meant Kendrick Nunn] and [Duncan] Robinson, they got [Tyler] Herro, these are three young guys that they depend on.
“Now get them in a playoff setting, deep in the playoffs, I’m not sure if they’re going to be ready for the spotlight yet. They haven’t played any meaningful games yet. That’s all I’m saying. They’ve got a bright future. They’re just young. Look at what Fred Van Vleet is doing to them [Monday].They are going to have backcourt issues. In a playoff setting, it’s a little bit different when your backcourt are two rookies.”
Earlier this year, Pierce scoffed at Riley’s suggestion that the Heat is close to being a championship contender.
“If the Miami Heat is close, that means every team in the NBA is close,” Pierce said. “I don’t think they’re close. Let me tell you when you’re close. You’re close if you have a top five player playing on your team. That is the main ingredient. I say this and I’ll always say this with the exclusion of the Detroit Pistons who won in the early 2000s.”
And in April, Pierce claimed he was a better player than Dwyane Wade and that Wade needed other stars around him to win championships.
Perkins, for his part, keeps defending the Heat:
“Miami’s got a team full of dogs [to throw at Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo],” Perkins said. “I’m talking about Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala, Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn is probably second or third in rookie of the year. Jimmy Butler is more clutch than Giannis in the playoffs.”
Butler will miss the Heat-Bucks game on Thursday because of what the Heat is listing as a foot injury. Goran Dragic is questionable.
▪ How well does the Heat play with Duncan Robinson on the floor? The numbers are staggering.
For the season, Miami has outscored teams by 355 points when Robinson is on the court. Nobody else on the team is close to that. Bam Adebayo is next at plus 240.
Robinson again led the team in plus/minus against Boston on Tuesday, with Miami outscoring Boston by 13 when he was on the floor while being outscored by seven when he was off.
Robinson has the NBA’s 11th best plus/minus this year, behind only six Milwaukee Bucks players, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum and Pascal Siakam.
At plus 355, Robinson has a better plus/minus than several All-Stars on very good teams, including Toronto’s Kyle Lowry (plus 286), the Lakers’ Anthony Davis (plus 272) and Houston’s James Harden (246).
And get this: Even though he has permitted some penetrations, players defended by Robinson are shooting just 7 for 21 since the NBA’s re-start. Miami’s defensive rating has been best with Robinson on the court, more so than any other player.
As we’ve noted, excluding the great Steph Curry, no player in NBA history with as many threes in a season has shot them at as high a percentage as Robinson, who has 252 three-pointers on 44.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
▪ One source said this is the first time in a few years that the Heat has had a team without anyone who complains about his role or playing time or anything, for that matter. That’s one reason the coaching staff loves this team.
▪ Adebayo not only is one of the NBA’s most improved players. He’s also Nostradamus, apparently.
“October 8th, me and Bam had a conversation about his season and we were predicting his stats,” TNT analyst and former Heat guard Dwyane Wade said Tuesday. “I said Bam was going to average 14 points, eight rebounds and three and a half assists. Bam told me I was crazy, and was going to average 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.”
TNT host Adam Lefkoe then asked what Adebayo was averaging. Wade smiled and said: “16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.” (That’s true but the precise numbers are 16.3, 10.5, 5.1).
▪ Quick stuff part 1: Both Wade and Celtics coach Brad Stevens made a point about how well the Heat was cutting without the ball on Tuesday, which has become an underrated key to Miami’s effectiveness, particularly with Robinson, Herro and Nunn. “They did a great job cutting; they exposed us,” Stevens said…
Adebayo’s 40 double/doubles are seventh-most in the NBA this season…
Nunn needs 13 points to become the first undrafted rookie to reach 1000 points in a season in the Common Draft Era (since 1966).
▪ Quick stuff part 2: A bit overlooked Tuesday was Andre Iguodala’s impact - eight rebounds, two blocks, four assists and a steal to go with six points in 31 minutes. That was by far the most he has played since the Heat acquired him in February; he’s averaging a career low 19.1 minutes in 17 games. Iguodala’s minutes jumped largely because Butler missed the game. And Spoelstra has made clear how much he trusts and values Iguodala...
Reggie Miller, who calls his second consecutive Heat game with Kevin Harlan on TNT on Thursday (against Milwaukee), emerged from working Tuesday’s Heat win against Boston downplaying either team’s chance in the East. “Milwaukee and Toronto are clear cut above the rest in the East,” Miller said.
Here’s my Wednesday Dolphins piece with Adam Beasley on Albert Wilson opting out, Miami’s options to replace him and a creative thing the Dolphins are doing.
Here’s my second Wednesday Dolphins piece with Adam Beasley on one starting defensive tackle going on the COVID-19 list and the other dishing on where he stands.
Here’s my Wednesday UM 6-pack with lots of nuggets.
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 7:38 PM.
