Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 138-122 Miami Heat NBA playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks:
– This is what happens when you feature a rotation of Lilliputians
– Eventually you get cut down to size.
– What was most humbling Wednesday night was the Heat got cut down to size with the Bucks playing without the length of their leading man.
– Which does not bode well when Giannis Antetokounmpo makes his return.
– If the Bucks even need him in this matchup.
– There was a reason the Heat got Dewayne Dedmon in advance of their series with the Bucks in 2021.
– A reason they worked so extensively with Omer Yurtseven during October’s training camp.
– A reason Cody Zeller was added in February before the buyout deadline.
– But if you don’t play that height, it doesn’t matter.
– So the Bucks took it inside.
– Which opened the outside game.
– And then piled it on from there.
– Which begs the question . . .
– Better roster: The Heat’s whole roster or the Bucks’ roster without Giannis?
– It now feels as if the Bucks lead the series 1-1.
– Even with the Heat, in theory, having stole homecourt advantage.
– This wasn’t just a victory for the Bucks.
– It was a statement.
– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with Duncan Robinson as the replacement starter for sidelined Tyler Herro. with the opening lineup rounded out by Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent.
– That group had played 11 minutes together this season prior to Wednesday.
– With the start, Butler tied Alonzo Mourning for sixth on the NBA all-time playoff list and tied Michael Finley and Rik Smits for 72nd on the NBA all-time playoff list, moving him past Marc Gasol.
– With the appearance, Robinson tied Goran Dragic and Shaquille O’Neal for 16th on the Heat all-time playoff list.
– Spoelstra made clear the focus remained feeding Butler and Adebayo.
– “Everybody knows where the ball’s going,” Spoelstra said. “We know it. They know it. Our players know it. But you do have to have different layers and there have to be X-factors. We have the kind of guys that can step up.”
– But not to the level of the Bucks on this night.
– With Wednesday the Heat’s first full game with Herro not available this postseason, Adebayo said it was just a case of more of the same.
– “Next man up, man,” he said. “You know, it’s been like this this whole season, guys being out. If anything, it taught us that we can, we can still win games when guys go out.”
– Said Butler on the subject, “It’s a hurdle, but we’ll figure it out. We’ll get it going.”
– The next man up was Robinson, and that wasn’t good enough.
– Spoelstra said the Heat prepared for the Bucks with or without Antetokounmpo.
– “We played both scenarios the other night,” he said of Antetokounmpo going out in the first half of Game 1. “This season, we’ve played them with both lineups. A lot of our prep, you have to be responsible and talk about what you’re doing with GA with the way he can break down your defense.”
– Spoelstra added, “The other minutes, they have guys that can put a lot of pressure on your defense and we saw that the other night with Middleton and Holiday.”
– As Milwaukee did.
– Spoelstra said with or without Antetokounmpo the focus has to remain on the Bucks’ 3-point game.
– “Regardless,” he said, “they average over 40 threes a game. And if they can drive and kick and get to some of those earlier attacks, they can put a lot of points on the board.”
– Milwaukee then shot 21 of 21 from beyond the arc in the first half.
– Spoelstra said the Heat entered the series prepared for the Buck’ zone.
– “We’ve faced zone a decent amount this year,” he said. “So I feel like it’s been something that we’ve had to go through every shootaround, just what our package is, what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
– He added, “In the playoffs, you have to be ready for anything. Every team is just trying to figure it out. The other team gets on a little bit of a roll, what can you do to make an adjustment?”
– The Heat had 55 points in the first half.
– That wasn’t the issue.
– It was the Bucks had 81 in the first half.
– An advantage for both teams when it came to minutes and fatigue is that it was the only game in the series over a five-day span.
– “We’re not where we were six weeks ago,” Spoelstra said of measuring minutes. “This is by any means necessary.”
– That, Spoelstra said, included taking the minutes regulator off Butler.
– “It’s all of us,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve had these discussions and all the work that he’s put in all season long. But in particular, the plan for the last three months has prepared him for whatever is necessary in the playoffs.”
– Kyle Lowry entered as the Heat first reserve, after two early fouls on Robinson.
– Kevin Love and Caleb Martin then followed together.
– With Victor Oladipo, who did not play in Game 1, making it nine deep for the Heat, before it got out of control.
– Butler’s first three pointer moved him past former Heat guard Mario Chalmers,Sam Cassell and Kenny Smith for 79th on the NBA all-time playoff list.
– Butler’s third shot moved him past Mario Chalmers for fourth on the Heat all-time playoff list.
– Butler tied Tim Duncan and Jerome Kersey for 44th on the all-time NBA playoff steals list before checking out late in the third quarter.
– Strus’ first 3-pointer was the 50th of his playoff career.
– Adebayo’s second defensive rebound was the 200th of his playoff career.
– With his 10th point, Adebayo passed Dragic for ninth on the Heat’s all-time playoff list.
– Vincent’s second 3-pointer moved him past Jason Williams for 24th on the Heat all-time playoff list.
– Vincent’s third assist moved him past Anthony Carter for 17th on the Heat all-time playoff list.
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