The day after Christmas, the Miami Heat still found themselves shorthanded against the Orlando Magic. Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin returned, but Kyle Lowry entered health and safety protocols. The Heat’s other five regular rotation players remained out as well. The Magic also dealt with a depleted roster. It wasn’t a pretty game with both teams having their shooting struggles. Miami only shot 10-of-34 from beyond the arc. However, Miami still found a way to win by attacking the paint and drawing fouls. With the win, Miami moves to 21-13 for the regular season. Here are my takeaways from Sunday’s win over Orlando.
Jimmy’s Back
Butler was back in action for the Heat on Sunday. Unlike his last return, he appeared more ready this time around. There were no grimaces or limps for the Heat star. He drew plenty of whistles with ease, rebounded well, and defended hard. The shooting struggles were there with Butler going 5-of-14 from the field. However, he still impacted the game in other ways. During one stretch in the fourth quarter, he played at the center spot. It was good to see Butler out there with the team again. While Miami’s wins without him were impressive, they’re an even better team with him. Butler finished the night with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
.@JimmyButler provided a steadying presence on the court today, tying the team lead with 17 pts to go along with 11 rebs, 4 asts & 3 stls pic.twitter.com/ot4caD0Zvc
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 26, 2021
Haslem Stays in Rotation
For the past few seasons, we haven’t seen much of Udonis Haslem on the floor. The only time he’s on the floor is when it’s garbage time. This season, however, has been different. With a couple of their frontcourt players sidelined, Miami has had to call Haslem’s number more than usual. So far, Haslem has been great in his minutes. He’s setting good screens, in great positions for the roll, and is very savvy around the basket. Haslem ended the night with eight points and five rebounds in eleven minutes of action.
Yurtseven Posts Career-highs
Once again, Miami found themselves short in the big man depth. This made rookie center Omer Yurtseven even more essential for the team. He played well in his first career start. His offensive rebounds and putbacks were huge. With Miami struggling from the field, Yurtseven’s interior scoring was needed at times. He did a great job of finishing around the rim once he received the pass. Defensively, he’s still a work in progress. But, he’s showing some improvement in being a rim protector for Miami. Hopefully, he can keep this strong play-up as the team battles injuries. Yurtseven ended the night with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Have a day big man!@OmerYurtseven5 had a career game with 16 pts & 15 rebs in his first start 💪 pic.twitter.com/YL9K0vo7jc
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 26, 2021
Herro Gets Ejected
Tyler Herro had a very quiet offensive game on Sunday. Herro’s shots kept falling short. However, his passing game was very impressive. With Lowry out, Herro stepped up as a facilitator. He was feeding his teammates off the pick and roll and driving and kicking it off to shooters. By halftime, he had six assists. Unfortunately, his night ended shortly when he was ejected for picking up a second technical foul. He had picked up a double technical early in the game after a back and forth with R.J. Hampton. His second technical foul was for his reaction to an offensive foul call. Herro finished the night with two points and eight assists.
Next up: The Washington Wizards. The game tips off on Tuesday at 7:30 PM EST.
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