Five thoughts about the Miami Heat vs Golden State Warriors

Seeing Double

Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both posted double-double performances in last night’s win over the Golden State Warriors. Both players combined for almost half of Miami’s 55 rebounds. According to ESPN, Butler led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Adebayo picked up 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Strength in numbers

Heat acquisitions Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala both contributed significantly to the Heat’s road win. Crowder dropped 21 points and eight boards while Iggy grabbed a bucket, five rebounds, and two assists. The Heat also got plenty of help from the bench. Goran Dragic also scored 15 points while Kelly Olynyk dropped 15 as well.

50
50 is the magic number. That is the total number of points that Miami scored in the paint. Why does this matter? Since the beginning of this season, Miami had developed more into a perimeter threat with the shooting ability of Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. Although this is against a KD, Steph and Klay-less Warriors team this is a promising sign. This shows that Miami can adjust and won’t resort to being a one-dimensional team should their shots not drop. This is especially important since the playoffs are right around the corner.

Push for Playoffs

Following last night’s win, Miami sits in fourth in the conference, three games behind the Boston Celtics. As the regular winds down the push to maintain a top seed are becoming more urgent. Losses to the Trailblazers, Clippers, and Kings pushed Miami down to the fourth seed. Miami still has plenty of time to climb back up the conference but with under 30 games left it won’t be easy.

Final Thoughts

Although the Heat lost three games straight before taking out the Warriors, they are still in a good position in the east. After acquiring Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala, and Solomon Hill through trades, Heat President Pat Riley made it clear that he is taking another shot at building another super team? Is this team championship contenders? Not yet but I believe that they can make it to the finals. Only time will tell.