Three encouraging signs after the Miami Heat blowout the defending champs in their season opener.
Heading into their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Miami Heat. Especially after an offseason in which they added Kyle Lowry, PJ Tucker, and Markieff Morris.
On one hand, you would expect a transition for the Heat. Rotations were new and it generally takes time for new players to mesh together. Additionally, would it take this group of veterans time to acclimate to the new season?
At least for one game, none of that seemed to be the case. From the opening tip against the Bucks, this Heat team looked like it had played with each other for the past few seasons and their crafty veterans didn’t look anything like that.
Miami looked energized, active, on the mission, and overwhelming against the Bucks. If you didn’t believe that the Heat was a real contender in the Eastern Conference, perhaps it’s time to readjust that thinking.
If the Heat can remain healthy, there’s no question they’re going to be a problem come playoff time.
We explore three encouraging signs from Miami’s complete beatdown of the Bucs in their regular-season opener.
Encouraging signs for the Miami Heat: Bam looked aggressive
Since becoming a full-time starter for the Heat, there has been little to gripe about Bam Adebayo. He’s a hard worker, an excellent and versatile defensive player, and has grown his offensive skill set since breaking into the league.
However, last year, the one knock on him was his lack of aggressiveness at times. At least through one game this year, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be the case. For one, the addition of Kyle Lowry should help. He’s going to force-feed Bam on the offensive end and we saw that time and time again in the preseason and in the regular-season opener.
Bam finished with the most shot attempts (13) of the starting 5 and got to the free-throw line five times. He was also a team-high plus-30 on the night. Bam seems like he’s well on his way for another All-NBA type season for the Heat.
Encouraging signs for the Miami Heat: Jimmy looked healthy – and was having fun again
Ever since the Heat made the run to the NBA Finals in the restart bubble, Jimmy Butler never seemed right. And that’s probably because he hadn’t had a full offseason as a member of the Heat until this past summer. Now, in his third season with the team, he looked healthy, happy, and ready to lead this team.
In the season opener, that much was evident. Jimmy was all smiles as he finally had a full supporting cast and his best to date with the Heat. Jimmy casually finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and four rebounds while going 9-11 from the free-throw line.
Most of all, Jimmy looked comfortable and fresh – for the first time in a long time. If the Heat can continue to manage Jimmy’s body this season, there’s no question that this is a team that could emerge as a dark horse threat in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs.
Encouraging signs for the Miami Heat: Tyler Herro looked like a machine
All of last season, the narrative around this Heat team was about how they had regressed. Key players on their roster had tired legs on most nights and perhaps what was most jarring was Tyler Herro’s regression during his sophomore season.
Throughout the offseason, all we heard was about Herro’s work ethic and how he had put on weight in preparation for the new year. He proved as much during the preseason as he was impressive, but it’s preseason.
In the team’s season opener, Herro backed up all of that offseason hype that surrounded him. He finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists on 56 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from 3-point range. Oh, and he did all that in just 24 minutes of action.
Herro looked like an entirely different player in the season opener and if this is the player that the Heat is getting consistently this season, it should absolutely raise the team’s ceiling.