Here’s full Heat schedule announced Thursday morning. And can Ariza replicate Crowder?
The NBA announced the full playoff schedule well after midnight on Wednesday night. Here’s the Heat-Bucks series (all times are Eastern Time):
Game 1: 2 p.m. Saturday in Milwaukee on ESPN and Bally Sports Sun.
Game 2: 7:30 p.m. Monday in Milwaukee on TNT and Bally Sports Sun
Game 3: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 27 in Miami on TNT and Bally Sports Sun
Game 4: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 29, in Miami on TNT and Bally Sports Sun
Game 5 if needed: Tuesday, June 1 in Milwaukee; time and TV to be determined
Game 6 if needed: Thursday, June 3 in Miami; time and TV to be determined
Game 7 if needed: Saturday, June 5 in Milwaukee; time and TV to be determined
The marquee ABC telecasts will be of Game 1 and 4 of Lakers-Phoenix at 3:30 p.m. the next two Sundays; Game 1 of Boston-Brooklyn at 8 p.m. Saturday and Game 3 of Boston-Brooklyn at 8:30 p.m. Friday; and surprisingly, Game 4 of New York-Atlanta at 1 p.m. on Sunday May 30.
ARIZA IMPACT
For weeks this season, the Heat wondered how it could replace Jae Crowder’s toughness, defensive acumen and versatility and three-point shooting once the playoffs arrived.
Miami certainly has found a skilled, battle-tested facsimile in Trevor Ariza, who was acquired by the Heat on March 17 after never reporting to the Thunder to begin the season.
Both fit the mold of former small forwards successfully recast as power forwards in this modern day NBA game.
But Ariza is sheepish about anyone assuming that he will step in and give the Heat precisely with Crowder offered in last year’s playoff run before Crowder left for a three-year, $30 million deal with Phoenix.
“Jae was an unbelievable player for this team; the things he did do for this team were really good [and] the chemistry they had was great,” Ariza said after the Heat practiced on Wednesday in advance of Saturday’s opener of the Heat’s first-round playoff series at Milwaukee.
“But it’s a different team. We might be similar players but we have different roles and different attributes about ourselves. To say I can come in and do what he did would probably be disrespectful to what he brings to teams. I’m my own individual player. I would like to think what I do is good.”
Ariza - who at 35 is five years older than Crowder - figures to take turns defending Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton.
“For 17 seasons, I’ve been guarding the top guys on each team in the regular season and postseason,” he said. “At this point, whoever is in front of me doesn’t really matter.”
Even though Milwaukee has an exceptional frontcourt with Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Brook Lopez, Ariza takes comfort in the fact that all of the Heat’s starting frontcourt players (himself, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo) can defend players with different skill sets.
“Absolutely; there’s a lot of comfort,” he said. “We have two of the best defenders in the league in Jimmy and Bam and our team defense; our schemes are really good. We pay attention to detail. I’m very confident in our abilities to go out and give our best effort and try to slow those people down.”
Ariza will need to be at his best to match what Crowder gave the Heat against the Bucks in last year’s playoffs.
Ariza averaged 9.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals and shot 41.1 percent from the field and 35 percent on threes in his 30 games for the Heat, including 27 starts.
By contrast, Crowder averaged 11.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and shot 48.2 percent from the field and 44.5 percent on threes in 20 games and eight starts during the regular season for Miami after his acquisition from Memphis, then averaged 15.2 points and shot 43.1 percent on threes in the five-game Eastern semifinals win against the Bucks before his shooting and scoring averages declined in the final two rounds.
One area where Ariza, to this point, has had a statistical edge over what Crowder gave the Heat:
The player Crowder was guarding during the regular season shot 48.7 percent and 46.3 percent in the playoffs. Ariza has limited that player to 43 percent shooting this season.
“Every time he steps on the court, he brings that energy, he brings that edge,” Adebayo said of Ariza on Wednesday. “That’s what you need. You need a guy with an edge, a guy that’s a little like UD [Udonis Haslem]. You need guys like that.
“TA on the court, when something isn’t right, it’s a back and forth going, it’s a different person. You all get the chilled TA. You need guys who will do anything to win.”
Erik Spoelstra loves how he has fit in.
“Having a guy like Trevor with his versatility and experience is important in any series,” Spoelstra said. “Really helps us defensively with matchups, being able to guard multiple guys and also be able to defend in multiple schemes. Offensively, he’s fit in as if he has been here for a long period of time.”
HEALTH UPDATE
The Heat returned to practice on Wednesday with everyone healthy and able to participate except Victor Oladipo, who is recovering from knee surgery that will sideline him into next season.
Butler, who missed the Heat’s final two games with back issues, was a full go at Wednesday’s session, Miami’s first court work since ending the season Sunday night in Detroit.
“We haven’t had a day like that in a while; we really haven’t had a practice [since] we landed in Portland [on April 10],” Spoelstra said. “We feel we’ve been playing with a high level of intensity and emotion the last several weeks, and that still isn’t the level of what you can expect in the playoffs. We have enough veteran guys to understand that.”
Spoelstra is pleased that Goran Dragic will be healthy heading into the playoffs.
“This year was about managing the schedule and managing his body and getting physically right and in rhythm by the end,” Spoelstra said. “That’s when he was playing his best basketball last handful of weeks. Biggest moments [are] when the competition tends to bring out the best in him.”
Spoelstra addressed several issues:
▪ On whether he expects an even different level from Butler, who set career highs in rebounds and assists averages this season: “Jimmy has played at an incredibly high level all season long and he’s done it on both ends of the court. This will be a new challenge.”
▪ On the Bucks: “They have guys who really play well off of Giannis.”
▪ On how the season has played out: “This has been a really enjoyable season. That includes all the adversities and incredible challenges. I found it fascinating; it was so much different than any other season. Gives you a chance grow in different ways than you normally would in an NBA season.”
▪ Asked about Bucks guard Jrue Holiday saying that Milwaukee has a “bit more” talent than the Heat, Spoelstra offered a one-sentence response: “It has nothing to do with how this series is going to play out.”
Here’s my Wednesday piece on five reasons the Heat beat Milwaukee in last year’s playoffs and the likelihood of that happening again.
Here’s my Wednesday Dolphins piece on Miami’s altered front seven.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 6:15 PM.
