Chris Bosh recently told his Heat teammates to play every game like its their last, because you never really know when that day will come. Right now, Miami seems to be taking Bosh’s advice to heart.
Game 1
Miami came out firing, with Luol Deng sinking his first of many sideline threes while leading the Heat to a 7-1 start. The Hornets closed the gap to 13-11 before Miami exploded to finish the first quarter up 41-22. Following the first quarter, Charlotte coach Steve Clifford lamented how the Heat got everything they wanted, how the Hornets were pulverized by the pick-and-roll. It’s true. Hassan Whiteside did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted to. Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade got into the teeth of the defense, and Deng couldn’t miss.
It’s a make or miss league, and the Heat couldn’t miss in Game 1. However, their swarming defense certainly helped. Charlotte was a top-five defense during the regular season, which is amazing considering Michael Kidd-Gilchrist missed essentially the whole year—but they just have too many exploitable matchups on that end. Pairing Frank Kaminsky with Al Jefferson while Jeremy Lin is in the backcourt is a recipe for disaster defensively. Kaminsky ended up having to regularly cover Winslow and other perimeter fours. There was a sequence where Winslow caught the ball right above the free-throw line and Kaminsky closed out without getting reckless, but Winslow still managed to blow right by him and finish off the glass. The next trip down the court Winslow ran full speed at Kaminsky and then side-stepped him for a fast break layup.
Game 2
Miami continued to use its size and length as an advantage, though Cody Zeller and Al Jefferson made Hassan Whiteside work on defense by stretching them out and hitting a few jumpers. For as great as Whiteside was once again in Game 2, he still struggles a bit when forced outside of his comfort zone defensively. Zeller and Jefferson combined to score 33 points on 23 shots.
Meanwhile, Kemba Walker needed 29 shots to score his 29 points, and Nicolas Batum exited the game with an ankle injury. Overall, I thought the Hornets did a better job of matching up defensively, but pairing Jeremy Lin and Kemba Walker seems futile given how much it cripples the defense. Wade went throwback on Wednesday, and he was letting Courtney Lee hear all about it too.
In the playoffs, each players’ individual weaknesses become that much more visible. The Heat only have to hide Dragic on defense among the top seven guys, and even 33-year-old eighth-man Amare Stoudemire has been holding his own to an extent.
The Good
Just about everything. The five starters and rookie duo off the bench have been superb. Through two games, the Heat are shooting a blistering 18-34 from beyond the arc.
The Bad
Hassan Whiteside’s one-on-one and pick-and-roll defense in Game 2. Jefferson took it to him all night, and Zeller got off to a good start as well. Maybe if Batum hadn’t gotten hurt, the second contest would have been closer.
Looking Ahead
With Batum potentially out for the remainder of the series, can Miami close the Hornets out in four and earn some rest before the second round? Marvin Williams has scored two points on 1-17 from the floor through two games, and if he doesn’t pick it up now with Batum injured this series will almost certainly be a walkover.
Charlotte might need to get creative with its lineups because I don’t think going small with Walker and Lin for heavy minutes will work. If Clifford isn’t giving Jeremy Lamb and Troy Daniels decent time in Game 3 I’d be pretty surprised. Without an elite rim protector, the Hornets have to do what they can to keep Miami outside of the paint altogether—which won’t be easy since the Heat have averaged the most paint points beginning after the All-Star break.
Right now, the Hornets have yet to muster up an effective counter move to combat Miami’s inside-out offensive attack. Without length on the perimeter, the Heat will likely continue dominating the paint with relative ease. When you’re winning like Miami, you keep doing what you’re doing.
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