Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans Game Breakdown #15

Welcome to Simply Ballin’s game breakdown of the Miami Heat. After each game, you will see my thoughts on the game, film breakdown, and other interesting bits that stood out to me.

Unfortunately, this breakdown will be a short one and without any film breakdowns

Butler Doing Everything

It didn’t matter that Jimmy Butler didn’t play the last four three games.

It didn’t matter that there was no Bam Adeyabo or Kyle Lowry — he knew without the two of the top-3 players, he would have to step up.

He finished the game with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists — his eighth triple-double in Miami, which is good enough for second all-time, just behind LeBron James.

With Tyler Herro struggling, Butler took on the responsibility to score 21 points in the first half and only missed four times. That is one of the most impressive things about Butler. He can score the ball so efficiently whilst also not shooting many 3s.

One of the reasons for that is his ability to get to the rim and draw the foul or make the right kick-out for an open man. He had 12 free throw attempts — the rest of the team had just five.

And when you think about it, he also did this when the New Orleans Pelicans knew he was their number one guy. There were times on the court when it was three undrafted guys, KZ Okpala, and Butler.

Getting Help From Everywhere

With no Lowry and Adebayo, the help had to come elsewhere. That becomes more important when Herro is inserted in the starting line-up.

In an ideal world, Herro is the Heat’s 20 point scorer off the bench that comes in and gets a bucket.

Who takes that role when injuries hit? Well, it was a collective effort.

Gabe Vincent played 27 minutes — the third-most minutes — and gave the team 13 points with 3–6 from deep.

Caleb Martin, who has been underrated all season long, gave the team 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. A simply all-around effort from Martin. I’ve been impressed with his effort on defense too.

And Max Strus, oh, just 15 points with 4–6 from deep. For the season, he is averaging 41.3% on 4.2 attempts. He is becoming a solid rotation piece that can come off the bench and hit a bunch of 3s.

When needed, the team’s three players that wouldn’t touch the court in the playoffs if fully healthy still somehow put up 40 points.

Herro Finding his Touch

It was a rough start for Herro — a really rough start. In the first half, nothing was falling for him and the Heat probably wouldn’t have won had that continued for the rest of the game.

But this Herro we are talking about. He has been one of the better scorers from this season and you never know when he will start to get hot — and that is exactly what he did.

After only scoring two points on 1–7 shooting in the first half, he flipped the switch.

I don’t know if it’s something to point out anymore, seeing as this has become quite regular now. Herro got his points in a number of ways — he gets to his spots in the mid-range, got to the rim, and going 3–3 from deep.

Those 17 points were crucial in Heat beating the Pelicans.

Things that Caught My Eye

• Okpala was a minus 16, as he finished the game with 0 points on 0–4 shooting — all from downtown
• Udonis Haslem giving quality minutes — and some people still have the audacity to say he is a waste of a roster spot
• The team still went 16–25 at the rim
• Liked the decrease in turnovers‍

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