The Miami Heat have now won five straight games.
It was a fun back-and-forth game between the Heat and the Jazz with great basketball play from its best three players. In the end, the Heat were able to take down the league’s best team. Miami is beginning to play like the squad that went to the NBA Finals last year and with the win, they are now 16-17 for the season.
Here are my takeaways from Friday’s win over Utah.
Jimmy continues his strong play
The Jazz had no answer for Jimmy Butler on this night. Butler was able to get his spots on the floor without trouble. Like usual, he kept drawing fouls against defenders. The jumpers were also going in. He was aggressive from start to finish on both ends. Overall, it was a good game from the Heat star.
OUR CLOSER ???? pic.twitter.com/CWWLGZ7WlT
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 27, 2021
Butler finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.
Bam’s offensive aggression
Miami’s other big name, Bam Adebayo, was also aggressive. He attacked without hesitation despite going up against Rudy Gobert. He had the one-hand push shots going. Bam kept deferring to those shots instead of challenging Gobert at the rim. It was good to see Bam be aggressive. Most importantly, he was very decisive with his moves.
It took a Bam packed stat line ????
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 27, 2021
19 Pts / 11 Rebs / 7 Asts / 1 Blk / 1 Stl pic.twitter.com/S1HI2GWf91
Adebayo finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists
Goran hot off the bench
Goran Dragic played exceptionally well in his second game back with the Heat. He was aggressive all night, and went right at Gobert a couple times at the rim. Dragic almost single-handedly outscored the Jazz bench by himself, scoring 26 points while the Jazz bench had 32. When healthy, he makes the team much better. He showed that firsthand on Friday.
THE 6MOY CAMPAIGN ???? pic.twitter.com/pBu304bBmz
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 27, 2021
Dragic finished with 26 points and three assists.
Surprising rotation move
There was one surprise on Friday night. Instead of bringing Precious Achiuwa off the bench, Miami went with KZ Okpala. Kelly Olynyk remained on the floor as the center. The move was probably made with Gobert in mind. Achiuwa is not a threat from the outside. Okpala still plays timid on the offensive end but remains aggressive on the defensive end.
Next up: Home versus the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. Game tips off at 8 p.m. EST
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Main Image designed by Jeremy Guerin IG: @jeremycguerin
