The Miami HEAT face the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The HEAT fell to the Thunder 106-94 in their last meeting on Dec. 27, 2016. Tip-off is set for 8:00 PM. Television coverage on FOX Sports Sun begins at 7:30 PM. You can also listen to the action live on 790 The Ticket.
1: Is there anything to say about Miami’s dominant victory over the New York Knicks?
Couper Moorhead: This was another one of those spring games that comes and goes without much of a thought given to it by history, with the Knicks missing Kristaps Porziņģis for the rest of the season and headed towards the lottery, but it highlighted a crucial look that’s been great for the HEAT all season. Against New York, the HEAT scored 153.9 points per 100 possessions with Kelly Olynyk on the floor – and against New York every minute with Olynyk on the floor featured him at the center position. For the season, Miami scores 119.7 points per 100 whenever Olynyk is the lone big man on the floor, a number that’s essentially best offense of all time level. Now, the defense isn’t always great with those groups but it’s become increasingly clear that with Olynyk running handoffs and pick-and-rolls on the perimeter and no defenders inside the paint to help on Miami’s dribble attackers, the HEAT become incredibly difficult to stop. Keep this in mind for the postseason.
Joe Beguiristain: Above all else, it was good to see the HEAT take care of business against a Knicks team that was down its best player. But as Coup mentioned above, Kelly Olynyk was the catalyst once more thanks to a multitude of shot-fakes, ball-fakes, fake handoffs and superb passes to his teammates. While the 7-footer has opened things up for Miami’s offense all season, his recent run on both ends has been quite remarkable.
How so?
Well, Olynyk is averaging 14.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on 55.2 percent shooting over his past 10. Not only have the HEAT gone 7-3 over that span, but they’ve also outscored their opponents by 23.6 points per 100 possessions with KO on the floor.
Unreal.
In addition to Olynyk, James Johnson has also played better of late. In particular against New York, JJ made a fantastic hustle play midway through the third quarter to dive for a loose ball past midcourt and then block Tim Hardaway Jr. on the opposite wing. Keep in mind that Miami was already up by 15 points when that play occurred.
Simply put, you can’t teach hustle, energy or effort. It’s all about the HEAT Culture.
2: With this being our first look at the Thunder this year, how has their season gone? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Couper: The Thunder are 43-30 and, as of Thursday, Top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, one of the best signs of a quality playoff team. But the Western Conference has been so competitive this season that they’ve fluctuated between just about each of the non-top two seeds in the playoff race. They could still get to No. 3 but could also drop to No. 8 or even out of the playoffs entirely with a bad stretch of games. In other words, the Thunder are still playing for their postseason lives as much as they are for homecourt in the first round.
Joe: Although the Thunder got off to a slow 8-12 start, they eventually figured things out with their new personnel. As you’d imagine with Paul George and Carmelo Anthony now in the fray, Oklahoma City is one of the better offensive teams in the league. While Russell Westbrook is nearly averaging a triple-double (again), the Thunder also really benefit when Anthony is on the floor. In fact, Oklahoma City scores 110.1 points per 100 possessions with the former Knick on the court, which is second on the team behind newcomer Corey Brewer.
That said, it’s been a major adjustment for Anthony and George since those guys used to dominate the ball on their old squads. Things are obviously different with the Thunder, as Westbrook leads OKC with a 33.5 percent usage rate, while George and Anthony are at 25.4 percent and 23.1 percent, respectively. Each member of the trio has had to make some changes for the betterment of the team, but it seems to be working out for the most part.
3: What aspect of this matchup will be most important for Miami?
Couper: Similar to the Philadelphia 76ers who have tested Miami’s offense as well as any team this season, the Thunder are a tough matchup because they have a lot of size and length throughout their lineup that allows them to switch perimeter actions and, with Steven Adams, jam up the middle of the floor at the same time. That’s the type of defense that can flatten out any team in the league on the right night, even without Roberson (Corey Brewer has been getting those starters minutes). It’s not often that Miami’s guards could be faced with a 6’9” primary defender in Paul George while not enjoying a size advantage anywhere else. Which brings this back to those spread-out Olynyk lineups we mentioned before. If you don’t have size in your favor, having the floor spread so you can execute and speed your way to the rim becomes even more important.
And then there’s Russell Westbrook, as much of a force of nature as anyone in this league. The key with him, and it’s easier said than done, is keep him taking jumpers off the dribble, where he’s less efficient, and prevent him from getting downhill torwards the paint. It can be tough to pinch in the proper help defenders when the Thunder have enough shooters on the floor, but Miami has been highly adept recently at helping off the right players to shrink the floor for opposing attackers.
Lastly, note that Dwyane Wade is questionable to play and Hassan Whiteside is out again.
Joe: Defensively, Miami has to be wary of the Westbrook/Steven Adams pick-and-roll. Since Adams is one of the better screeners in the league, that allows Westbrook to either attack himself, find Adams on the roll or Anthony and George on the perimeter. For the season, Adams is scoring 1.23 points per possession as the PnR roll man and averaging 4.8 screen assists per game, while George is shooting 41.8 percent on catch-and-shoot treys.
In terms of when the HEAT are on the offensive end, they just need to keep the ball moving like they have recently (64.5 assist percentage over the past five games). It’ll be tough since Oklahoma City is the best defensive team Miami has seen since Portland, but the HEAT understand what’s at stake.
Highlights:
Game Notes:
- The HEAT have won seven of ten and are 39-33.
- The Thunder have won six of seven and enter the contest at 43-30.
- Kelly Olynyk is averaging 14.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on 55.2 percent shooting over his past 10 outings.
- Russell Westbrook leads Oklahoma City in points (25.4), assists (10.2) and rebounds (9.7) per game.
- Dwyane Wade (left hamstring strain) is listed as questionable and Hassan Whiteside (left hip flexor strain) is out.
Efficiencies (Rank):
- HEAT Offense: 104.9 (19)
- HEAT Defense: 104.6 (10)
- Thunder Offense: 107.4 (10)
- Thunder Defense: 104.4 (9)