1. HEAT hasn't featured in much of a small-ball lineup this season, but that's exactly what the Los Angeles Lakers did in the absence of Anthony Davis (MCL Sprain). They may start big with Dwight Howard (a lineup that was -10 in the first six minutes, -13 overall), but from there they cycle through a lineup featuring LeBron James and Stanley Johnson in five. Huh. The problem for the Lakers is that along with Bam Adebayo, Miami has a big who can defend just as well as the younger, so Miami had no reason to shy away from their switching plan - even when the Lakers Generating on-paper Advantage matchups, HEAT stunned them with double teams. And at the other end, where Carmelo Anthony was often the defending center while Johnson or James took on Jimmy Butler, Miami didn't change a thing, running the same offense they always went for as it was a run for Adabayo or Dwayne Deadman. Used to produce rim-runs. ,
In theory those smaller Lakers lineup would have created more driving room, but HEAT continued to shrink the body in paint, which pleased the Los Angeles team, shooting 11 of 40 of the three kickout and swing-pass sequences. Tried to bow the defense with. Often landed the ball back in the hands of James or Russell Westbrook. The Lakers made their run in the fourth quarter—as Adebayo got into trouble with a foul—to shrink the lead to four, but it was less on the strength of their shooting or spacing and more brute force than anything.
2. If it had an interesting strategic wrinkle, it was that the Lakers were often strong sidings of Butler's post/iso, bringing an assistant defender into the lane as a deterrent measure against Butler's attacks. This is a tactic that became popular when used by Tom Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls and has become more or less common since then, although fewer teams probably do it than a few years ago.
It didn't matter much tonight, as Butler was more than happy to take advantage of the defense—one already lacking in size and length from rushing lanes—bending himself out of shape, on his way to the first half. Provided 10 assists. His tenth regular season triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists) with HEAT. This broke a tie with James taking the all-time franchise lead. Notably, the Lakers stopped setting up their defenses down the stretch like this, but it's something that will likely show up in the postseason.
3. The first half was as impressive as you will see this season. Miami won the paint points, 30–22. The cutters were cutting. Rollers were running. The ball never stopped moving. Miami won the shooting game 11-in-17 by three to 4-of-18 of the Lakers. Duncan Robinson started 4-of-6 as the Lakers vacated the middle of the floor to place a body on him. And Miami won the battle for possession, with just five turnovers that helped them score eight more field-goals than their opponent.
Overall, HEAT gave an offensive rating of 143.8 in the half, their scoring margin no more than just 17 due to bursts of downhill force by James (18 in the half) and Westbrook (11). The offense ended in the second half (44 points total) - switching Miami's way at times could happen - but as HEAT has done so often this season, they extended their opening lead with a pair of defenses and hustle. terminated. Late, important three from Robinson and PJ Tucker.