This is a team designed to suffocate you on defense for the first 43 minutes so that it doesn't need to score much in the last five. The Heat ranked 21st in fourth-quarter offensive rating this season and 24th in clutch offensive rating. Miami's offense around Butler has been a problem all series, but its fourth-quarter offense has been a concern all season. Miami's primary weakness is getting exposed There was an error processing your subscription.ģ. If nothing else, some Robinson minutes might make life easier for the rest of the offense, because Butler can't score 40 every night. Is it time to dust off Duncan Robinson? Miami's $90 million shooter has made eight 3-pointers in their playoff opener against the Hawks and has scarcely been seen since. That's Tyler Herro's entire job, but he's shot just 9-of-27 over the past two games. The Heat have never asked Adebayo to carry a major shot-creation burden. "I'd put it this way, you don't want to play with it," Lowry said after Game 4. The question here becomes… can anyone else step up offensively for the Heat? Anyone at all? Kyle Lowry is dealing with a severe hamstring injury. He scored just under 40 percent of Miami's points in the two games these teams just played in Philadelphia. After averaging 21.4 points per game in the regular season, Butler is at nearly 30 in the playoffs. He scored 40 in the Game 4 loss, but until Bam Adebayo's late-game scoring binge, he had three times as many points as all of his teammates. This postseason has just forced his hand. He's not going to take 20 shots every night by choice. He likes playing in Miami's egalitarian offense. Jimmy Butler is a great scorer, but not always an especially eager one. It's entirely possible that the shooting variance swings against him in Game 5 and we're right back where we started. But I don't think we're quite at the point where we can view 30-point outings as something we can expect frequently out of Harden yet. Even in his compromised state, he's been a stellar playmaker for Philly throughout the postseason. But neither is 6-of-10 and without that hot shooting, the conversations surrounding his performance probably aren't changing much.
Harden had shot 28.3 percent on his 3s in Philly's past eight playoff games. But it's not as though he rediscovered his old first step.
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He was certainly more aggressive as an attacker, and his 10 free throw attempts were the second-most he's earned this postseason. He only made two two-point shots in the entire game. This wasn't even a throwback to his old self. After all, he averaged just shy of 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds two seasons ago. He made nearly as many 3-pointers (six) as the Heat did as a team (seven).Īnd yet, I can't help but wonder what it says about Harden that this is the sort of performance he's getting praised for. The numbers, in a vacuum, were stellar: 31 points, nine assists and seven rebounds is the sort of production a team should expect out of a player it has invested as much in as Philly has in Harden. James Harden was Philadelphia's best player on Sunday. Will the real James Harden please stand up?
Here are the biggest takeaways from Game 4. These two teams will square off in South Beach on Tuesday night in Game 4 with the opening tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m. In the end, Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 40 points but it was the Sixers' balanced attack, led by James Harden's 31 points, nine assists and seven rebounds that ultimately led to the win for Philly to even the series. major way on their home floor with the team's MVP candidate on the floor. After losing the first two games without the services of Joel Embiid, Philadelphia has bounced back in a.
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The Philadelphia 76ers have new life in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Miami Heat following their 116-108 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night.
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