Are The Blazers Figuring Things Out?
From Zach Lowe’s 10 things to my Blazers’ new and improved defense, there were a lot of things to talk about last night in the NBA. I broke it all down.
Charlotte Hornets (99) vs Miami Heat (114)
This game featured two teams with a combined record of 7-2. The Charlotte Hornets and their red-hot offense against the Heat and their stout defense. Who would end up winning this battle?
It was the Heat’s defense, which simply suffocated the Hornets. The Heat controlled this game and led for most of the way. They played excellently on both ends and looked like the far better team.
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets fell behind in this game and never recovered. They were getting outrebounded and the Heat were making them pay. Shots weren’t falling and the Hornets fell by 26 at one point in the first half. Even when the offense picked up in the 2nd half, it was far little too late.
At Least PJ Washington Looked Good?
There weren’t too many positives for the Hornets in this game. Lamelo Ball and Miles Bridges struggled offensively, but PJ Washington had a pretty good game after missing the last few contests with a knee injury.
And he came in and looked good. Washington’s starting role has been taken away since last season, but he’s still a talented player who can come in do damage off the best.
His first minutes came in the first quarter where he quickly scored 7 points and gave the Hornets some life. When the Hornets were down by 20+ points in the 2nd quarter, he played some great defense. He got a few steals, blocked a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer, and gave the Hornets some life.
In 23 minutes, Washington was rather productive
9 points – 5 rebounds – 2 steals – 2 blocks
That’s not too bad, especially for somebody who might feel (slightly) slighted by not starting anymore. Washington is a talented player, but it’s no guarantee that he is going to be with the team long-term. Performances like this off the bench make it a lot easier for the Hornets to re-sign him.
All the Hornets need is for somebody to donate Terry Rozier an ankle. Rozier has hardly played this season after getting that contract extension this offseason. He gives this offense yet another weapon, making them even more potent than they already are.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat have gotten off to a great start this season. Their defense is amongst the best in the league and their offense has shown it can be good when their stars are rolling on all cylinders.
They burst out to a big lead in this game and never looked back. Powered by an excellent defense plus from scoring from their All-Stars, the Heat are off to the perfect start in 2022.
Defense
With the Heat’s additions of PJ Tucker, Kyle Lowry, and Markieff Morris this offseason, the defense was expected to be elite. And it has been. The Heat have one of the best defensive units in the NBA. They are long, versatile, and hyper-aggressive on that end.
They can guard anybody and that’s a factual statement so far this season
Miami Heat’s Defense In 2022
93.6 Defensive Rating (1st)
39.1% Opponent FG% (1st)
29.8 Opponent 3-PT% (4th)
8.0 Opponent OREB (2nd)
7.6 Opponent 2nd Chance Points (2nd)
40.4 Opponent Points In The Paint (4th)
Yeah, I’d say that defense is pretty good.
Who Needs Kyle Lowry?
When the Heat added Kyle Lowry, I assumed that they had found the perfect 3rd option for their offense. Somebody who was a pass-first guy, but someone who could also take over games. But Kyle Lowry hasn’t been scoring the ball with the Heat. His playmaking is still very valuable, but the Heat have found a new 3rd option.
Tyler “James” (not his actual middle name) Herro. Behind Butler and Bam, Herro has stepped into that role, making Lowry their 4th option on offense, which is a luxury.
The Big 3 of Butler-Adebayo-Herro dominated this game. Let’s start with Jimmy Buckets.
Jimmy Butler
Butler just dominated the Hornets in this game by just being Jimmy Butler. Butler made 12 shots in this game. All but 3 of them came outside of the paint, as Butler just bullied his way inside against the Hornets.
Butler fought through contact, hit a variety of tough fallaways and putbacks, en route to 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Butler has had a great start to the season and unlike most stars, he hasn’t been affected by the new foul calling changes.
Butler looked great in this game and when he has things going from the mid-range, along with his tank-like ability to fight through contact, trying to stop Jimmy Butler is going to be hard.
Bam Adebayo
Edrice Femi had himself a night. The Hornets don’t exactly have any options down low that can match Bam, and he knew it as well as they did.
Adebayo got a lot of easy dunks/layups to start the game. The Heat leaked out in transition and the smaller Hornets acted as such as Adebayo just swatted them away. He hit a few jump shots, but like Butler, just lived in the paint. He cut to the basket a few times and was just a problem down low.
He finished with 26 points, 19 rebounds with 2 steals on 10/16 shooting from the field. Adebayo was a +18 in this game, as he just changes the game so much for Miami.
His defense remains great and his offense continues to look much improved from what we saw when he first entered the league. The next step might be a 3-PT shot, which would make Adebayo one of the best all-around centers in the NBA.
Tyler Herro
Tyler Herro was awful in 2021. He was thrust into a ball-handling role and his production went down even as his volume went up. But, it looks like Herro is ready for the limelight this season.
He has his swagger back and he is scoring as he did like in the Bubble. He is attacking defenders relentlessly and is currently the frontrunner for 6th Man of the Year. While that’s great, Herro’s playmaking stood out to me in this game.
Herro finished with 6 assists on the night, which is a good sign for somebody who is primarily a scorer. Herro worked well in the pick-and-rolls with Adebayo and Butler, where 3 of his 6 assists came from. Other times, it was just making the smart pass instead of trying to force things.
Herro is averaging a career-high 4.4 assists per game this season, as he’s become a better playmaker. I attribute this to Herro being in control more. He feels more comfortable in this new role off the bench and he is playing the best basketball of his career.
The Heat are good. Who knew that would happen? Their defense has been incredible to start this season and when Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo start scoring, it’s incredibly hard to beat them. While their depth isn’t great, they have jumped out of the gates strong to start this season.
Now it’s just time for Duncan Robinson to start making shots. Kind of got a $90 million dollar contract to do just that.
Zach Lowe’s 10 Things
IT’S BACK.
One of the best recurring segments in all of basketball media, Zach Lowe and his 10 things are back. I always liked this segment, a deep dive into some cool stats and recurring things that might slip by most basketball fans.
I won’t be reacting to all 10 of these (obviously), but just a few that jump out at me. Get ready for some confusing advanced stats (while paying for ESPN+, of course).
Harrison Barnes Has Been AMAZING This Season
Harrison Barnes is playing like an All-NBA wing right now, carrying the Sacramento Kings with guys like De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton slumping. I don’t think that many NBA fans would have predicted that before the season. But it’s true.
Barnes’ secret? The long-ball. Before this season, Barnes shot 38% from 3 on 3.4 attempts per game. Nothing eye-opening, just a good shooter who can’t be left alone. But this season, Barnes is shooting 7.2 threes per game and he’s shooting 53%.
WHAT??
That’s not only an insane jump in volume, it’s also an insane jump in his efficiency. A big reason for this is Barnes is hitting his pull-up jump shots more often.
In 2022, Barnes is doing this from his pull-ups;
4.2 points – 50% FG – 50% 3-PT
That’s good, but it looks even better when you consider how Barnes had faired the previous two seasons;
Harrison Barnes Pull-Up Jumpshooting (2020-21)
1.6 points – 35% FG – 38% 3-PT
Barnes is shooting more pull-ups and he’s become much more efficient. Barnes is having a career season and is a huge reason for the Kings’ early 3-2 start this season. Barnes is leaning into 3-pointers and is hitting his pull-up jump shots better than ever.
If only he could have done this during the 2016 NBA Finals. If only.
The Raptors Need Gary Trent Jr. To Pass The Ball More
I was expecting better results from the Toronto Raptors this season, but without Pascal Siakam and real depth, they have struggled. They are currently 3-3, but they have looked very promising and very bad this season. One player who the Raptors depend on heavily is Gary Trent Jr.
Trent broke out in Portland and landed in Toronto last March at the trade deadline. The Raptors re-signed him this offseason, with plans of him being their flamethrower off the bench. Trent provides three-level scoring along defense, which you saw in last night’s game as he saved the Raptors from a late collapse against the Magic.
But if there’s one thing Trent can’t do right now, is create for others. Through 6 games this season, he has just 7 assists in total (1.2 per game). For his career, he’s averaged a measly 1.1 assists per game. Trent is a complimentary scorer, not a secondary ball-handler.
But what’s surprising is that Trent isn’t some sort of spot-up shooter. Guys like Kyle Korver or Steve Kerr, who just stood at the 3-PT line and made timely shots. Trent attacks the basket a lot, but for whatever reason, he just doesn’t get assists. Whether it be because he doesn’t see open teammates or because he chooses not to.
The Raptors, with their lack of ball-handlers, are 27th in assists in the NBA (20.0 per game). They need guys other than Fred VanVleet to distribute the ball because VanVleet is being asked to do too much. But other than Trent, where can the playmaking come from?
It really can’t come consistently from the likes of Scottie Barnes or OG Anunoby. Getting Trent to play make more and create for others would make the offense a little less clunky.
Portland Trail Blazers
Wait? What’s that? Is that…playing consistently? Whoa. Are those good defensive rotations? Wait, Is Damian Lillard back? I have a lot of questions.
Through the first 4 games of the season, my Blazers had two horrible games and two great games. In this game, we finally saw some things carry over from one of the good games. The defense on everybody not named Paul George was excellent and the offense was balanced.
Beating a team that went to the Western Conference Finals last season 111-92? Am I watching the Portland Trail Blazers?
Solid Defense (On Everybody Not Named Paul George)
Other than the nonexistent defense on Paul George, the Blazers had a really good night defensively. They allowed just 28 points in the paint and forced the Clippers to shoot from outside. LA obliged, but they shot just 9/33 from 3-PT range (27%) when you don’t include the 6/9 3’s that PG-13 made.
Portland didn’t force turnovers, but they forced tough shots. The Clippers used the shot clock on a lot of possessions, as Portland’s defense was able to defend for the whole 24-second possession on multiple occasions.
The Blazers currently have the 6th best defense in the NBA (102.1 defensive rating). While that rating is ballooned by some blowouts that we’ve had this season, it’s a sign that this defense is better. Guys like Larry Nance Jr, Nassir Little, and Cody Zeller are making an impact and you’re seeing the results.
Damian Lillard Is Finding His Way
Damian Lillard started the 2022 season incredibly slow. He looked out of shape, injured, or a mix of the two. He wasn’t hitting his outside shots, didn’t look as explosive, and all-around, he didn’t look like the Damian Lillard we all know and love.
But he’s started to play better and this game against the Clippers was his comeback game. More specifically, this play;
That explosion, that ability to rise up over defenders, you saw it on this play and throughout this game. And it was beautiful to watch.
Dame had his best game of the season. He finished with 25 points and 6 assists, hitting 5/7 from deep and shooting 53% from deep.
He’s back.
The Blazers played another balanced, aesthetically pleasing game. All 12 Blazers who played in this game scored. The defense looked great all night. The bench unit continued to play hard, fast, and give the starters some much-needed rest.
While the Blazers still rely on good 3-PT shooting (46% in this game) to win, the defense has looked pretty good this season. Jusuf Nurkic is still a great defensive center down low and getting Norman Powell back helps the defense.
If Dame and CJ can start to click? Then this team can start to hit the next gear, which will be fun. Portland plays Charlotte on Sunday next, which should be an exciting game.
What Are Your Thoughts From Today’s Games? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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