The impressive data on Heat’s starters. And world’s second-most popular team gets boost
When it comes to the reunion of this Heat starting lineup, it hardly seems to matter that Duncan Robinson’s shooting has been uneven, that Kyle Lowry has scored just 22 points and P.J. Tucker 15 in the past three games.
Here’s what does matter: That starting unit that hadn’t played together since Thanksgiving weekend — Lowry, Tucker, Robinson, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo — is 3-0 as a quintet since reuniting last Thursday in San Antonio, and Miami has outscored teams by 28 points in 43 minutes when they have been on the floor together during that stretch.
“It was everything everybody expected,” Adebayo said of that starting five. “You get a guy like P.J. who fits on defense, hits corner shots, plays the right way, wants to get everybody involved. You have [Lowry] who is facilitating, getting everyone involved. He’s not even taking so many shots a night. But he has so much impact, him and P.J.
“I feel like they fit perfectly for us. We’re starting to get closer and closer to 100 percent on being a flat out great starting unit.”
The success of the starting group isn’t a surprise, but the bench continues to exceed expectations.
Miami’s reserves have outscored the opponent’s backups by 76 points this season, tied for fourth best in the league. The Heat’s bench is shooting 38.8 percent on three-pointers, which is best in the league.
Even beyond Tyler Herro’s growth, Butler said the significant leap by Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin doesn’t surprise him.
“I don’t think so, just because I see the amount of work they put in,” Butler said. “They stick to their strengths, try to stay away from their weaknesses, like everybody on our roster.
“But they’re just confident. They know that they belong in this league. And more than anything, they belong on this team.”
As Adebayo said of the reserves: “It’s great to see them hooping. There’s no drop-off when they’re playing like that. They keep the same pace. They’ve moving the ball. They’re getting each other involved. And that’s how we want those guys to play.”
Center Dwayne Dedmon — by far the oldest player in the bench rotation at 32 — said: “I’ve been challenging them every game, ‘When we get in the game, we have to make sure there’s no letup, we control the lead or take it up.’”
D.C. SUPPORT
The Heat is the second-most popular team in the world behind only the Golden State Warriors, according to a study released in December by bookies.com, which used metrics on Google searches worldwide.
And the large contingent of Heat fans at opposing arenas — in Atlanta, New York, Washington and elsewhere — offers some measure of supporting evidence.
Several thousand fans in Capital One Center in downtown Washington cheered the Heat throughout Monday’s game, shouting “Let’s Go Heat” and “We Want [Udonis] Haslem” when Miami took a big lead in the second half.
“That was unique,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve been in some other arenas, you get it when it’s in Orlando, you get it when it’s in some other places. I’ve had some surprising ones. We had that chant in New York a couple of years ago. That was really shocking. And this one was a little but surprising.
“But the guys should feel good about that. Hopefully, it’s bigger than just the brand of the Heat. It’s also that people respect how our guys compete and try to do it the right way.”
Heat players appreciate the support.
“Heat Nation has been traveling, especially this road trip,” Vincent said. “They’ve been following us everywhere we go. So it’s been fun to have them in the crowd and cheer us on.”
Adebayo said: “I feel like we get a lot of love in D.C.”
The vocal Heat support during Monday’s game displeased a Wizards TV studio commentator.
“One thing that I did notice that I haven’t heard in this building before was the entire building was chanting ‘Let’s go Heat,’” Chris Miller said on NBC Sports Washington’s postgame show.
“Normally it’s in the section where the visiting players are. There’s that tunnel area. But that was not cool. But you buy your tickets, you get to chant and do whatever you want.”
OLADIPO UPDATE
Heat guard Victor Oladipo — coming off last summer’s quadriceps tendon surgery — continues to participate in intense on-court workouts and two-on-two games after practice and before games.
But he’s not yet participating in full team practices, suggesting a return is not imminent. But Adebayo said he’s close to ready.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 1:47 PM.
