What’s behind Heat’s recent turnaround? Team has regained its defensive identity
The Heat’s identity crisis is over — just in time for the final weeks of the regular season as it works to make a push up the Eastern Conference standings.
After dropping seven consecutive games in January for its longest losing streak since the 2007-08 season, the Heat (34-26) has bounced back to win 10 of its past 13 games behind a defensive resurgence.
The club has improved from one game above
.500 to eight games above .500 at the 60-game mark.
“I think there’s a better understanding of what wins for us,” coach Erik Spoelstra said with just 22 games left in the regular season. “We compete and defend, we create the karma we need. If we don’t, we pay the price.”
Just weeks after recording the NBA’s fourthworst defensive rating (124.2 points allowed per 100 possessions ) during its seven-game losing streak, the Heat has turned things around to post the league’s secondbest defensive rating (106.7 points allowed per 100 possessions) during the current 10-3 stretch. Only the Minnesota Timberwolves have a better defensive rating than the Heat during this 13-game run.
This revival had the
Heat entering Monday with the NBA’s eighth-best defensive rating this season. That’s been enough to negate some of its ongoing offensive issues: The Heat has the NBA’s No. 21 offensive rating this season and No. 18 offensive rating during the 10-3 surge.
The Heat concludes its two-game homestand Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. (Bally Sports Sun) against 9-51 Detroit before facing Dallas and Oklahoma City on the road back-to-back Thursday and Friday.
Spoelstra said it won’t be easy for the Heat to maintain its defensive improvement.
“It’s not easy. This league is hard,” he said. “The offenses now are super dynamic. Speed, space and pace make it challenging for every single team. So the biggest thing you have to wrap your mind around is doing tough things, and that doesn’t even guarantee anything. It just gives you a better chance at it.”
What has led to the Heat’s improved results on defense?
Some of it is schematic, with the Heat relying on its press zone more often.
The Heat has allowed just 0.97 points per possession on 16.2 zone defensive possessions per game over the last 13 games, compared to 1.21 points per possession on just 8.7 zone defensive possessions in the first 47 games.
But some of it comes down to simply doing things better, as a defense that is built to cut off driving lanes and limit opportunities at the rim has done exactly that. After allowing an average of
23.3 shots from within the restricted area during its seven-game losing streak, the Heat has cut that number down to 18.8 during this 13-game span.
The Heat also has limited second-chance opportunities and forced more turnovers lately.
“Our identity on defense,” center Bam Adebayo said of what has stood out during the last 13 games. “Really getting stops, really getting teams in the mud and we’re letting that be our offense. We feel like it’s easier when you play in transition than taking the ball out of the net.”
It’s also easier for the Heat when Jimmy Butler is at the center of the offense and producing at an AllNBA level.
After averaging 21.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 49.1 percent from the field over the Heat’s first 47 games, Butler has turned his game up a notch. He has averaged 24.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 55.6 percent during this 13-game stretch as he gears up for the postseason.
The Heat is 12-4 this season when Butler finishes a game with a usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the court) of 25 percent or higher. Five of those 16 games from Butler have come during this 10-3 surge.
“I love this game, I love this city, this organization, these guys that I get to hoop with,” Butler said. “This is the fun part. This is what you do the entire summer for and the preseason and before All-Star break. Now you get to show out, you get to show everybody who you are as an individual and as a player and who your team is. So right now is when we all want to be playing and we want to keep winning.”
The Heat needs to keep winning if it wants to avoid the play-in tournament, as it entered Monday in seventh place in the East. Only 21⁄2 games separated the fourth and eighth-place teams.
The play-in tournament features the sevenththrough 10th-place teams competing for the final two playoff seeds in each conference. Since this version of the NBA’s playin tourney began in the 2020-21 season, the Heat is the only play-in team to reach the NBA Finals. Miami made it to the championship series last June as the No. 8 seed.
The Heat would rather not face that uphill road again, hoping to create an easier playoff path behind its defensive identity and the All-NBA version of Butler.
“We’ve been telling you all all along that we’re going to be just fine,” Butler said. “We see who we are and we have to continue to pour into that. So when we’re guarding,
Atlantic
Boston
New York Philadelphia Brooklyn Toronto Southeast
Orlando Miami Atlanta Charlotte Washington Central
Milwaukee Cleveland Indiana Chicago Detroit
Southwest
New Orleans Dallas Houston Memphis San Antonio Northwest
Oklahoma City Minnesota Denver
Utah
Portland Pacific
L.A. Clippers Sacramento Phoenix Golden State L.A. Lakers
42 42 42 27 17 W
18 19 19 34 42
L
.700 .689 .689 .443 .288
Pct
TUESDAY
Detroit at Miami, 7:30
Orlando at Charlotte, 7
Atlanta at New York, 7:30
Boston at Cleveland, 7:30
New Orleans at Toronto, 7:30 Philadelphia at Brooklyn, 7:30 San Antonio at Houston, 8 Indiana at Dallas, 8:30
Phoenix at Denver, 10
MONDAY
Memphis at Brooklyn
L.A. Clippers at Milwaukee Portland at Minnesota Washington at Utah
Chicago at Sacramento
Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers
SUNDAY
Philadelphia 120, Dallas 116 Boston 140, Golden State 88
L.A. Clippers 89, Minnesota 88 Orlando 113, Detroit 91
Toronto 111, Charlotte 106
New York 107, Cleveland 98
San Antonio 117, Indiana 105 Oklahoma City 118, Phoenix 110
when we’re not even worried about offense and we’re worried about the defensive end, the game is easy.”
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang
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