Miami Heat flash dangerous potential in beating Boston Celtics without Jimmy Butler
Miami Heat flash dangerous potential in win over Boston
After narrowly losing to the Toronto Raptors, heading into a game the very next night against the Boston Celtics (without Jimmy Butler, who sat out precautionarily with ankle soreness) wasn’t the most ideal of scenarios for the Miami Heat.
Nevertheless, instead of dropping a second-straight game (which would have been understandable considering the circumstances) the Jimmy-less Heat rose to the occasion and dominated the Celtics from opening tip to the final whistle.
Through three games in the NBA’s restart, the Heat are 2-1. That includes an impressive win over the Celtics and blowing out the Denver Nuggets in their restart opener. Perhaps more important, through three games, the Heat has continued to flash their dangerous potential heading into the playoffs.
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Against the Celtics, the Heat dominated without Jimmy. The way they did it should scare the rest of the East. Not only did they do it with crisp passing and incredible ball-movement on the offensive end, but they also did it with a great defense on the other end of the floor.
Bam Adebayo continues to be the versatile anchor on defense, with the additions of Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala already paying dividends on that end of the floor. Moving Crowder into the starting lineup gives this team added versatility on defense, something that Meyers Leonard simply couldn’t provide the Heat during the regular season.
Even without Jimmy Butler on the floor, with Crowder and Iguodala, the Heat have other high-level wing defender options. I’m not sure that’s something Miami had at its disposal before the NBA trade deadline move – especially without a healthy Justise Winslow.
Another good sign for the Heat’s offense was the reemergence of Duncan Robinson who was all but erased against the Raptors. In the loss to Toronto, Robinson only attempted four shots. Against Boston, the Heat made it a priority to get Robinson opportunities. That’s exactly what happened. Robinson finished with 21 points (5-11 3-PT) and was a team-high +13 on the night.
Without Jimmy, Goran Dragic stepped up in a big way off the bench to add 20 points. Kelly Olynyk started in place of Jimmy and finished with 15 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Olynyk wasn’t the presence that Jimmy was, but the production was exactly what the Heat needed.
Miami has made it clear all year long that they’re a team that can beat you a number of ways – even when their 3-point shot isn’t falling. That’s partly what makes them so dangerous as a playoff team in the Eastern Conference.
The scariest part of all this for the rest of the Eastern Conference is the fact that we haven’t even seen the best of the Heat. Even though they’re 2-1 through three games, against the most difficult schedule in the league’s restart, you can make the argument that Miami still hasn’t played a complete game.
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When fully healthy, this is a team that can beat any team on any given night. The Miami Heat have proven that in the restart thus far. Their win against Boston, even without Jimmy Butler, was just another example of that.