It was a tale of two nights. After a disastrous performance on Tuesday, the Miami Heat put up a much better fight. Miami brought a more defensive intensity to the game. They did a much better job of defending the perimeter. Even though the Milwaukee Bucks went up by double digits, Miami went on a huge run in the second half to close the game. With the win, Miami is now 2-2 for the season.
Here are my takeaways from Wednesday’s victory.
Bam More Aggressive
For Miami to win Wednesday’s game, they needed Bam Adebayo to be more aggressive. Even though Bam’ a good facilitator, he played too passive on Tuesday. The Heat All-Star only had seven shot attempts. But this time, Bam knew he had to attack more. And he did. He had a couple of jumpers and even took Giannis Antetokounmpo off the dribble for a nice layup. This is the Adebayo Miami needs to see more of.
Froze the DPOY 💥 #BAMSZN
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 31, 2020
Points In The Paint // @vicopainting pic.twitter.com/TfO2mXoQ3d
Adebayo finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists.
Herro’s Double-Double
It was a quiet first half for Miami guard Tyler Herro. However, the guard picked it up in the second half. He helped lead the Heat’s comeback in the third period. He attacked the rim and also attacked the boards. Herro grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds against the Bucks.
Sometimes #TylerTuesday carries into Wednesday
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 31, 2020
21 Pts / 15 MASSIVE BOARDS / 4 Asts pic.twitter.com/7Vi0ZfMhDM
Herro finished the night with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
Dragic Carrying the Offensive Load
With Jimmy Butler out, Miami needed Goran Dragic to pick up the scoring slack, which he did. With Miami struggling with turnovers, having Dragic take control of the offense was essential. He hit a couple of big three-pointers in the fourth to keep Miami ahead. He probably didn’t expect to carry such a huge load early on, but it’s necessary for this team right now. At least until Butler returns.
Dragic finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Avery Bradley’s Defense
Miami knew it had to get off to a better start. So, it was not surprising that they decided to start Avery Bradley and Andre Igoudala. Bradley immediately showed the impact he can have on the team. He did a very good job of slowing down Khris Middleton, who played exceptionally well the previous night. He also made timely cuts to the basket and hit on a couple of three-pointers.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1344503234338107392
Bradley finished with 16 points.
Next Up: The Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The game tips off at 7 pm EST.
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