Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks Game Breakdown #1

Welcome to the first game breakdown of the season. After each game, you will see my thoughts on the game, film breakdown, and other interesting bits that stood out to me.

This was not what I expected. The Milwaukee Bucks were without Jrue Holiday, Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez, Rodney Hood, Semi Ojeleye, and Donte DiVincenzo, but I still wasn’t expecting this. If you’ve been a Miami Heat fan for a while, you know that we can beat the best team in the league then lose to a bench the next day.

However, as soon as the game started — quite literally, the very first possession — the Heat came to play. This game was over before the first quarter because for the first time in a very, very long time I’ve felt comfortable with a lead. Last year we probably would have blown that lead in a couple of possessions.

Despite this game being a huge blowout win, there were many things to take from it — Bam Adebayo’s aggressiveness, Tyler Herro leading both teams in points, PJ Tucker’s role, Kyle Lowry’s impact beyond the stat sheet, and much more — so, let’s get straight to it.

Bam’s Aggressiveness

For the entire season last year, everyone wanted Adebayo to be more aggressive. That’s it. We didn’t care if he even made the shots — simply be aggressive.

And that’s what we got.

He ended the game with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal on 65.8% true shooting. The stats, however, don’t tell the whole story of how great he started the game. What matters is how he got those points too. Per NBA stats, 7 out of 13 shots were jump shots, two of which were long mid-range shots.

What was great about these shots is they came without hesitation and the fact he was asking for them — jab step situation or even pulling up for a shot, as you can see in the video below (Clip 3, 5, 6, and 8).

You can see from the first possession of the game how he pushed the pace and drove to the rim for an easy bucket.

The second clip is the interesting one. Knowing the Heat always looking for that dribble hand-off and Duncan Robinson’s immense gravity, the Bucks were focused on that action. Adebayo clearly noticing Giannis Antetokounmpo’s stance, he faked the DHO and burst to the rim — once he did that, there was no stopping him.

And my favorite Adebayo play of the night was the and-one after going coast to coast. How many bigs do you know that can run the floor, quick crossover, draw the contact, and make a tough shot?

This is the Adebayo the Heat will need to be consistent.

Herro’s Scoring

I know it’s just one game, but Herro is already looking good. After having a somewhat disappointing season last year due to many factors, it seems like he didn’t give a damn about what everyone was saying.

I keep thinking could Herro lead this team in scoring? And technically, yes. Because of how the Heat play, there are many candidates that could lead the team in scoring and you wouldn’t be wrong to pick any one of them. What makes Herro a likely candidate, though, is how comfortable he looks on the court.

Last season, his role wasn’t clearly defined, but this year with Kyle Lowry makes it easier for him. This allows Herro to just be himself. That’s why he finished the game with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists shooting 68.3% true shooting.

It was impressive to see him score in a variety of ways — whether it was a pull-up mid-range, pull-up 3, or attacking the rim.

Becoming a threat from all three levels will make his game even more impactful. He still needs to work on that floater and try to draw more contact to get to the line. I’ve read in a piece about Jayson Tatum by Jared Weiss and how he mentioned that to be an effective distributor, it needs to start with getting to the line.

Getting to the rim is not about just getting to the rim and finishing. It’s about getting the defense to make a decision and once they do, that should open up teammates along the perimeter. But that starts with Herro going up strong and making the defense over-commit to him when he attacks.

Here’s the play of the night. And no, I don’t care if you say it was a foul on Max Strus or if Herro traveled.

Defense, Defense, Defense

We all knew this team was going to be great defensively. A Heat team somehow always ends up being one of the best defensive teams with any type of personnel.

Of course, luck comes into play and players will miss some shots. There won’t be many games where the Bucks shoot 38.1% from the field and 28.6% from deep. But this game still showed some great defensive flashes that will continue throughout the season.

Take for instance that Antetkounmpo went 1–7 when guarded by Adebayo — and that is the only field goal a player made against Adebayo.

Here are three defensive plays that stood out in particular.

Just look at the second and third clips. Look how well the team does even when they are scrambling on defense. Starts of with a double on Antetokounmpo to get the ball out of his hands and as soon as he passes, the defense recovers.

As you can also see, the two defensive possessions end with Tucker. That is why he’s here. He gets the steal in the first clip and draws a charge in the next.

Things that Caught My Eye

• Lowry’s presence is real, even when he doesn’t show up in the stat sheet
• The Heat had 22 fast break points, which would have ranked 3rd most last season for this team
• Liked what I saw from Strus and his and-one
• This play in particular — Butler going to work on his own while there is a double screen for Robinson. This draws the two help-side defenders and gives Butler a clear path to the rim

• We scored 137 points with Robinson and Lowry combining for 13 points on 4–18 shooting
• Butler can sit on the bench without us blowing leads

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Originally published at https://www.simplyballin.com.