Did I overwork the numbers a little bit to filter down exactly how good of a week Tyler Herro had? Yeah, probably.
Is it still pretty cool seeing him in such an exclusive group? Definitely.
After The Buzzer Short: youtube.com/shorts/hnbN8...
The only players this season to go +215 or better across any 15 games:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Bam Adebayo
Derrick White
Also, Since All-Star...
Bam ON Only: +15.1 Net (210 Min)
Bam + Ware: +29.6 Net (79 Min)
Ware ON Only: -1.0 Net (135 Min)
Not coincidentally, Bam is +125 total since All-Star, No. 5 in the NBA (behind three Spurs and Knueppel).
Since January 15, Miami 3pt Shooting w/ Bam+Ware combo...
Heat: 39-103 (37.8%)
Opponents: 19-94 (20.2%)
Minutes have been good, vs. mostly bench groups, just something to keep in mind when you see the wild numbers like +46.7 Net Rating in 120 minutes.
In what's been as good a stretch of wins as Miami has had in a while, it's been the zone defense, and Bam Adebayo's impact, leading the way.
Against Houston, Charlotte and Detroit, the Heat played zone 37% of the time, allowing 0.82 ppp in it.
Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...
Miami leads Detroit by 19 at halftime despite shooting 4-of-15 from three. Bam is a game-high +18.
While we should acknowledge Detroit's brutal bit of scheduling that they are dealing with, the Heat are completely outplaying them in almost every aspect of the game.
We don't have enough evidence to fully support this, but Dru Smith might have a bit of a Haywood Highsmith-Jayson Tatum thing going on with Cade Cunningham.
On the latest episode of the Dunker Spot
-Deep Dive into the Miami Heat with Heat Insider @coupnba.bsky.social
YT: youtu.be/Oumz_ErZ-oA?...
Heat Halfcourt Defense vs. Charlotte
Zone: 0.91 ppp (30 poss, 15 in 4th Q)
Man: 1.13 ppp (50 poss)
Awesome as Herro was, clutch as Bam and Dru were, this was a return for the 3-And-Z Heat.
Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...
And we have ourselves another clutch Heat game.
You win a game like this however you can, but we're to the point where the shooting - 15-of-28 from 3pt - is doing a lot of the work, perhaps too much, for Miami offensively.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has tied his career-high with four threes.
Hornets being up three when Miami is 9-18 from 3pt and Charlotte is 9-28 not the most ideal combination. Oddly feels like a Celtics game with regards to how the arc volume interacts with Miami defense. Hornets have attempted 11 corner threes.
Some of it is just personnel, but it's always interesting when Spo goes zone against a high-volume shooting team. Almost like they're knowingly robbing a team of their natural balance.
Pretty even quarter, separation is really only because of a handful of free-throws for Miami. Shot Quality may favor Charlotte slightly, even with some of LaMelo's more ambitious attempts.
Had a great time going long on this Heat team with @stevejones20 and @NekiasNBA, covering just about anything and everything. Enjoy.
youtu.be/Oumz_ErZ-oA?...
As rare as it was to see Bam Adebayo in foul trouble, what Kel'el Ware did in his absence against the Nets was even more uncommon.
Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...
Ware also has the first 10-10-5-5 game *off the bench* in NBA history.
Kel'el Ware has the first 10-10-5-5 game in Heat history and is the 22nd player in NBA history to hit those marks (with blocks and steals).
Nic Claxton keeps trying Ware in the center of the zone and I'm not entirely sure why.
He'll need some assists in the fourth quarter, but Kel'el Ware - at 9-7-1-4-6 - is theoretically within reach of a 5x5 game.
Erik Spoelstra remains the best in the league at drawing up -- and getting -- a lob out of a timeout.
The Nets are on pace for, I kid you not, about 60 turnovers.
🫡
Heat Net Rating 2025-26
Bam ON: +7.4 (1,698 min)
Bam OFF: -2.9 (1,283 min)
Let's talk about it, quickly.
After The Buzzer Short: youtube.com/shorts/Ui1hZ...
Much as they did against Houston, the Heat ran their double-big, Bam-Ware, lineup with plenty of zone against Brooklyn's paint-forward attack.
Much like Houston, Brooklyn couldn't hit a shot.
Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...
The Rockets didn't make a single three with Bam and Kel'el on the floor together the other night, with plenty of zone being used, and I'm not sure Brooklyn has either.
Nolan Traore has done some nice things in this one, but Davion Mitchell has been a very touch matchup, physically, for him.
Nets have been playing hard enough, but they've been pretty clearly overmatched so far. Shooting 3-of-13 from three is not the formula for lottery-bound teams against Miami.
