Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers Game Breakdown #23
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.
Side-note: This breakdown is going to be shorter and just focused on some key stuff without much film breakdown.
Quick Thoughts:
For the first time in a while, I've stayed up late to watch the game live. And for the first time this season, the Heat won a game when I watch it live.
Again, the Heat were without Jimmy Butler, but it didn't matter. That's because they had aggressive Kyle Lowry this time.
Good things happen when the Heat get that Lowry.
It wasn't just him, though — and man, was this needed!
After doing cardio against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Duncan Robinson had one of, if not, the best game so far this season.
It was a good team effort — shooting 53% from the field, 47% from deep, and 84% from the line.
Five players also scored in double digits, with two scoring more than 20. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Heat had a 125.6 offensive rating (91st percentile) and had a 63.0% effective field goal.
Robinson's Game of the Season?
Maybe all he needed was to break his 3pt scoring streak — he finished with 24 points and went 4-7 from deep.
That's always a good sign to see especially recently. Getting him going from deep will almost always give the team a better chance to win. Not only that but the more games like these, the better chance we see the Robinson that we all know.
All it takes is a couple of these games to get your confidence up and start making those open looks you would normally make.
However, that's not what I've been most impressed with from this game. He had three shots made inside the arc and seven free throw attempts.
Over the past 10-ish games, the amount of 2s he's attempting has increased, but with him struggling from deep, those 2s didn't feel impactful.
When he's going off from 3 and now he is attacking hard closeouts, give you a pass fake, then finish with a floater, that is impactful.
He was showcasing moves I haven't seen from him this season.
And as I've said time and time again, this is what the Heat need from him. He is much more dangerous attacking the rim and trying to finish or making the defense collapse and making the right read — he is an underrated passer.
Unless he's 7-7, I don't want him taking a dribble to the left and chucking up another shot.
Fun fact, this is the third time in his career where he attempted seven free throws or more.
Lowry's Aggressive Start:
Another player that sort of struggled against the Cavaliers — this wasn't the case here.
He came out strong and aggressive from the tip. In the first quarter, he had 11 points and 3-5 from deep. With Butler out, that is the Lowry that the Heat need.
Even when he doesn't score as much later on.
The Heat needs him to be this assertive and go look to score and then get others going. He has to set the tone and by doing so — by becoming that scoring threat at the beginning of the game, he will collapse defenses and draw that attention.
Against the Cavaliers, I've noted that he had a dozen of drives but most of them just led to the shot clock running out and forcing a bad shot.
Finally, he also got nine assists — which is what he does. He does a great job at finding guys an open look. And also what was impressive is how well he did with a lineup full off undrafted players.
Per PBP Stats, Lowry, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, and Yurt Seven were plus five in seven minutes.
Other Interesting Tidbits:
The Heat had a great shooting night from deep
They couldn't get to the line enough — only 13 attempts
The Indiana Pacers shot 25% from deep
The Heat actually got outrebounded by one and by three offensive rebounds
The Pacers had 33 free throw attempts — yikes
Yurtseven getting minutes was a rollercoaster