Heat open season with win over Bucks: 5 things we learned, including Bam Adebayo's aggression
The Miami Heat defeat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks to open the 2021-22 season.
The Heat opened up the 2021-22 season Thursday with a 137-95 win over the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Here are five observations from a fun night at FTX Arena.
1. The opening run
Sometimes the game’s decisive run can happen in the first few minutes, and that’s what happened Thursday when the Heat opened the game with a 26-5 run that set the tone for the night. The lead was up to 29 by halftime. It got as high as 42.
Missing starters Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, as well as key reserve Bobby Portis, the Bucks played small with Giannis Antetokounmpo at center. That allowed Bam Adebayo — Miami’s top Giannis stopper — to defend the reigning Finals MVP for most of the night. Giannis finished with 15 points on 4 for 11 shooting, and was just 1 for 6 when defended by Adebayo.
This freed up Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler and P.J. Tucker to swarm Milwaukee’s perimeter players. The result? Milwaukee shot just 38.1% and missed 10 of their first 11 shots.
It’s easy to attribute this loss to Milwaukee’s absences, but the Heat deserve credit for putting on display what can make them special this season. Early penetration led to open 3s, they tallied 29 assists on 51 makes and turned over Milwaukee 15 times leading to 21 easy points.
The game opened with Lowry stealing a Khris Middleton pass and finding Bam on the break for a layup. Moments later, Tucker stole the ball from Middleton and hit Butler for a running dunk. Tyler Herro’s assist to Tucker, who set a screen and popped open for a 3, put them up by 19. The run was punctuated by Herro’s pull-up jumper that prompted a Bucks timeout. After only 9:34 of game time, the Heat led 26-5.
In the final seconds of the period, Max Strus blocked a fastbreak layup attempt, Herro picked up the loose ball and fired a 32-foot leaning jumper that gave Miami a 23-point lead to end the quarter.
Herro’s 27 points were a game-high. He poured in 10 of his 18 shots and had six rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes.
2. An aggressive Bam Adebayo
Not only was Adebayo’s defense a huge part of that opening run, but he also scored seven of Miami’s first 11 points on a pair of driving layups, a free throw and a mid-range jumper all created on his own without a teammate assist. He finished with 20 points on 9 for 13 shooting, plus 13 rebounds, in 23 minutes.
This is the Bam the Heat are hoping for this season: DPOY-caliber defense and aggressive offense. Adebayo was criticized at times last season for being too passive. During media day, he vowed to be more aggressive. If something was working on offense, he said, he would keep attacking.
Well, because of Milwaukee’s lack of size, Bam attacked the paint over and over. Five of his nine makes came off post-ups in or around the restricted area and he scored eight points off turnovers. Here’s a mashup of some of his better moments.
"I think it's just the constant evolution of a great player,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Each year he's added to his game and we continue to try to maximize all the areas on the floor."
“I’m picking my spots more,” Adebayo said.
When he plays like this, there are few players that can match Bam’s combination of size, speed and skill. He’s a unicorn center in a league that just saw another, Nikola Jokic, win MVP and a 7-foot, open-floor menace in Giannis win a championship.
Most preseason rankings had Adebayo somewhere between the 20th and 25th best player in the league. He probably needs to be even better than that if the Heat are to meet their title aspirations.
3. Quote of the night
After getting swept by the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, Herro said “It feels amazing” to get a win against the defending champs to open the season.
“Obviously last year we felt like we got embarrassed getting swept in the first round,” Herro said. “So any time we can bounce back and get revenge, in a way, it feels good to get a win."
4. Injury scare
Lowry exited the game in the second quarter after stepping on the foot of Pat Connaughton and turning his left ankle. Lowry promptly limped to the locker room but returned to the Heat’s bench moments later. After stretching his ankle with a band, he checked back into the game. He appeared to be fine the rest of the night, finishing with five points and six assists in 24 minutes. He was not made available to media for a status update.
5. Up next
After a day off from practice, the Heat travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers Saturday. They’ll return home for a game against the Magic on Monday. A pair of softer opponents before heading to Brooklyn to face the Nets Wednesday. Another test against an Eastern Conference favorite.
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