The Miami HEAT face the Chicago Bulls Sunday afternoon at United Center. The
HEAT defeated the Bulls 97-91 in their last meeting on Nov. 1. Tip-off is set
for 3:30 PM. Television coverage on FOX Sports Sun begins at 3:00 PM. You can
also listen to the action live on 790 The Ticket.
1: How was Miami able to have such an explosive offensive game against the
Wolves?
Couper Moorhead: This was as complete a victory as Miami has had all season.
Their defense was just as active as it was against Boston and with Jeff Teague
missing the game, the Wolves never appeared to find any sort of consistent
offensive organization. The HEAT were even able to put Justise Winslow, and
later James Johnson, on Karl-Anthony Towns for most of the evening and his
aggressive ball denial had Minnesota struggling to find ways to even get their
best offensive player a touch.
Offensively, however, this was a tour de force. There are different ways of
logging shot location, but according to player tracking data Miami’s 21 attempts
on corner threes were the most any team has taken in a single game over the past
two seasons. Minnesota isn’t an elite defensive team and that’s important to
note, but that’s also part of the season-long process. The HEAT were leading the
league in corner threes before they played the Wolves, so it stands to reason
that against a weaker defense they would be able to get to their strengths even
more. Now, you still have to make the shots you get and the HEAT made 19-of-39
from deep including 11-of-17 between Wayne Ellington and Goran Dragic, but it’s
the consistency in shot quality that allows teams to occasionally have such
extreme nights.
Joe Beguiristain: Simply put, the HEAT got to their identity and stuck to what
works. Miami’s attackers routinely got into the paint, collapsed the defense and
kicked it out to open shooters on the perimeter. As such, the HEAT dished out a
season-high 29 assists on 38 made field goals and shot 19-of-39 (48.7 percent)
from downtown. Perhaps the most encouraging part of Miami’s performance was that
the team was able to sustain its high level of play throughout the whole game.
In fact, once the HEAT took a 4-2 lead with 10:52 remaining in the first
quarter, they never looked back. Naturally, Wayne Ellington led the way with 21
points on 6-of-9 from deep and helped extend Miami’s lead to 20 in the fourth
quarter.
When you pair this win along with Wednesday night’s performance against the
Celtics, it’s clear that the two grueling practices after the HEAT’s loss to the
Pacers struck a chord with the team. As long as Miami stays committed to the
work, things will work themselves out like they have been recently.
2: What did we learn from the previous matchup with Chicago?
Couper: That even though he’s a rookie, Lauri Markkanen should not be
underestimated. Chicago’s offense has been among the lowest in the league all
season but for a time the Jerian Grant-Markkanen pick-and-roll combo was the
very best combination in the league (they’re still in the Top 15). Against
Miami, the Bulls were able to quickly get to their actions, draw a switch and
then take advantage of Markkanen’s size advantage in the post in part by
utilizing Robin Lopez’ skills at the high post. Markkanen has a long way to go,
of course, but the Bulls essentially use him as a young Dirk Nowitzki, trying to
find him advantageous situations on the court, either in the post or popping off
a screen, where he can simply shoot over the top of other players. Lopez usually
tends to have good games against the HEAT no matter what team he is playing for,
but Markkanen is the player who can put Chicago’s offense over the top on any
given night.
Joe: We learned that while the Bulls have struggled mightily this year, they
have a few guys who can make some noise on the offensive end. Like Coup stated
above, one of those players is rookie Lauri Markkanen. The 20-year-old had a
solid outing in that last matchup against the HEAT and scored 25 points on
9-of-18 shooting. As a whole, the talented 7-footer showed his versatility with
pick-and-pop jumpers, aggressive attacks and finishes inside.
With Justise Winslow now starting at power forward, we’ll likely see him guard
Markkanen more than he did on Nov. 1. Remember, the former Duke Blue Devil had a
fantastic defensive performance against Karl-Anthony Towns on Friday. We’ll see
how he follows that up.
3: Has there been any secret to Miami’s bench units being more productive
lately?
Couper: They’re defending again. While the fifth man varies between Dion
Waiters, Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson, the four-man group of Wayne
Ellington, Tyler Johnson, James Johnson and Kelly Olynyk now has a defensive
rating of 99.3 points allowed per 100 possessions in 90 minutes – a mark that
would be Top 10 in the league among all teams. Between the shooting of Ellington
and Olynyk, plus the Johnson-Johnson handoff combination, this unit is clearly
capable of having some explosive offensive nights but the bench groups carried a
bulk of Miami’s defensive value in the second half last season so it’s very
positive to see them able to recapture that effectiveness with slightly
difference personnel.
Joe: This kind of goes back to my first answer, but Miami’s bench has gotten
back to its roots. James Johnson is handling the ball as usual and dazzling with
nifty touch passes (he led the team with eight assists on Friday night), Tyler
Johnson is keeping the opposition guessing with catch-and-shoot jumpers and
attacks to the rim and Wayne Ellington is getting to his spots on the perimeter.
When you add Kelly Olynyk to the mix, another sharp passer who gives his
teammates open shots with screen handoffs like JJ, you start to see how things
have turned around for the second unit.
As a whole, Miami’s bench holding its own on both ends of the floor has gone a
long way in the team winning three of its last four games. If that trend
continues, the HEAT should be able to find success more often than not.
Highlights:
Nov. 1 – Bulls at HEAT
Jan. 27 – HEAT at Bulls
Game Notes:
Efficiencies (Rank):
Player: Goran Dragic
Player: Wayne Ellington
Player: James Johnson
Player: Tyler Johnson
Player: Kelly Olynyk
Player: Josh Richardson
Player: Dion Waiters
Player: Justise Winslow
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/heat/preview-miachi-171126
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Miami Heat, Goran Dragic, Wayne Ellington, James
Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters, Justise
Winslow, Miami Heat
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Taxonomy: Game Preview
Story Link: http://www.nba.com/heat/preview-miachi-171126
