Couper Moorhead

YouTube video by Miami HEAT Pelle unlocked EVERYTHING that made this ‘W’ look so good 😤 #nba #analysis #highlights

Erik Spoelstra got a ton of mileage with zone and double-big looks against the Rockets, but it was Pelle Larsson who busted Houston’s chosen coverage when they tried to put a center on him.

After The Buzzer Short: youtube.com/shorts/5AV7L...

Miami used 44 possessions of zone defense vs. Houston tonight, a season high by a good margin, allowing just 0.64 ppp.

Of the 29 possessions with Bam-Ware on the floor, 15 of them were in zone. Durant was off the floor for 11 of those, with Houston scoring just 0.42 ppp.

Kevin Durant was a handful as always, but the Heat pulled out a clutch win for two main reasons.

One, Pelle Larsson took the right approach to being defended by Sengun. And two, the Bam-Ware lineup dominated the non-Durant minutes with zone.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

And we have ourselves another clutch Heat game.

That's four times now Pelle Larsson has scored going right into Sengun's chest.

Niko is hurt (back) and not available.

Durant being a +17 in a one-point game tracks with what we've seen so far. Heat's best minutes, by far, came when they went zone (with the double-big look) against Houston's lineups that were more lacking in shooting and creation.

I don't know if the Heat have seen any lineup with less shooting than what Houston had out there when KD/Reed were resting. Zone accomplished a lot during those minutes.

Just about any time the Heat shoot 6-of-13 (6-of-12 before a heave) from three in a quarter, it's typically going to be a good quarter. But Jaime's rim pressure (3-of-3 at the rim) is the supplemental offense that makes it a very good offensive quarter.

Pretty much everything the Heat are running is directly at Sengun, who has been defending Pelle Larsson. Larsson took him to the rim a couple times early, then Rockets double Herro off screen to a swing-swing corner three, and both Herro and Wiggins have hit threes over Sengun.

This one may matter more than others.

The Sixers may have beaten Miami at their own game early on, but after a spirited comeback behind Adebayo and Herro threes, the Heat again struggled for late offense as their opponent packed the paint.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

And we have ourselves another clutch Heat game.

Heat getting beat 15-2 in fast-break points in the first half is not something we've seen often this year, if at all.

Yep, that’s exactly it.

Not a Heat stat, but pretty cool. Among the 25 players with at least 20 made lobs this season, their average Shot Quality (expected eFG) on those shots is 87%, per Genius Sports tracking data.

Victor Wembanyama's Shot Quality on *made* lobs is 77.1. Only player below 84.

YouTube video by Miami HEAT These Are *THE MOST* Important HEAT Storylines For The Rest Of The 25-26 Regular Season

Traded Top 5’s with Amy Audibert on the most important Heat storylines for the rest of the season.

We left no stone unturned, with plenty of talk about Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware and the rest of the rotation.

After The Buzzer Podcast: youtu.be/0EbrgmNkHz0?...

YouTube video by Miami HEAT These Are *THE MOST* Important HEAT Storylines For The Rest Of The 25-26 Regular Season

Traded Top 5’s with Amy Audibert on the most important Heat storylines for the rest of the season.

We left no stone unturned, with plenty of talk about Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware and the rest of the rotation.

After The Buzzer Podcast: youtu.be/0EbrgmNkHz0?...

It wasn't odd that the Bucks got hot to stay in it, nor that Miami went cold despite decent looks. Those things happen.

What stood, out, though, was that when the Heat's offense fell into a late rut, it was at the rim where they were beaten.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

And we have ourselves another clutch Heat game.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but all those fight scenes people are creating with the latest AI release that shall not be named are absolute trash.

Yeah, stats like that are both about you and your impact as a player and how the rotation sets up behind you. In the past they often had Jimmy-led lineups when Bam was off the floor.

Miami has been better in Defensive Rating with Bam ON the court since he was drafted, which is no surprise to anyone, but they've never been so much better in Offensive Rating differential (+6.0) with him than this season.

Last 10 Heat Games by Net Rating...

Bam ON: +21.6
Bam OFF: -10.1

He's now No. 12 in the league this season with an On/Off differential of +10.2.

If BLADES OF THE GUARDIANS had been made with the practicality of thirty years ago - a pain though it would’ve been - we might’ve been talking about an action all timer. As is, still a fun watch of the sort we don’t often get that unfortunately looks as bad as all superhero slop.

Plus-Minus isn't perfect, but after watching how much Memphis attention Bam Adebayo drew all night, whether he had the ball or night, him finishing a team-best +27 while scoring just 13 points on seven shots makes all the sense in the world.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

The Grizzlies are doing absolutely everything in their power to prevent Bam from getting a paint touch with one of their many smaller players on him. Everyone else is playing with a pre-made advantage every possession.

Heat are on pace for north of 80 points in the paint largely because the Grizzlies, both shorthanded and severely undersized, are in rotation on just about every possession and their closeouts are inviting drives. This is close mainly because bench defense was a step behind.

The Heat aren't known for their rim pressure nor their rim defense, as more of a deterrence team, but they flipped the script in Atlanta as they dominated the paint.

Plus, Herro returned and looked...just like Herro always looks.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

The Hawks are 14-of-39 in the paint tonight and 1-of-7 in the midrange. Miami's offensive pace has been to their standards but they're getting this done on defense.

Very