1. Relative to the extent of his responsibilities on both ends of the court, Bam Adebayo is functionally Miami’s most important player. Compared to the gargantuan offensive burden that Tyrese Haliburton carries, you can say the same about him for Indiana.
So, with both players out, Saturday night was a story of how teams adapt without the players who give them their identity on a beat-by-beat basis.
In the first half, it was the Pacers, who opened the game 1 of 10 from the field, who found a way to play true to who they are and want to be. Miami had no trouble scoring — the Pacers aren’t great defensively with or without Haliburton — as they lived in the paint, shot 8 of 16 from three and participated in any company action, whether these are lobs in the background for Jimmy Butler. or downhill transfers for Duncan Robinson, they wanted. But without Adebayo, the paint was open. Even though the Pacers, outside of Aaron Nesmith (3 of 4 from three in the first half), struggled from deep, they continued to turn the ball over until they found a half-step d advantage and push through, workout after workout. , finishing 21 of 29 in the paint. It wasn’t quite the great game they played against Haliburton, but it was with the same efficiency (127.5 offensive rating) that they maintained the tie, 65-65, even if Miami played mainly in the lead.
For the first five minutes of the third, Indiana played the best individual defense they have played in this two-game series – every paint attempt was contested, every changeup was clean, every play had a defender attached to the ball – and with their shooting Coming in, the result was a 15-2 run and a 10-point lead. Back to the two teams trading baskets after that, but this time with Miami playing from behind like they did for the first three quarters of Thursday’s game. Pacers by eight heading into the fourth, with the question lingering as to how they would close without their closer.
Miami went back to Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the post to open the fourth as they have done so often lately, especially without Tyler Herro available, but Butler would come back early after nine minutes as Indiana increased the lead to 12 .a corner three from Bruce Brown. Butler had no trouble scoring, it was just a matter of making saves. After closing at six, Miami again trailed 11 after just two scoreless possessions. Not enough stops in the end, Indiana winning 144-129, a much closer match than that until the last five minutes.
2. The Pacers made the threes they didn’t make Thursday, hitting 16 of 32 — Miami was almost as good from deep, 12 of 25, albeit with lower volume — and that was one of the main reasons why they released things. from range before the final buzzer, but the story of the last two games, especially in the minutes Adebayo didn’t play, was that Indiana couldn’t be stopped from getting into the paint.
It didn’t matter who it was, whether it was Nesmith (20 points) and Bennedict Mathurin (16 points on 10 shots) early or Bruce Brown (7 of 9 in the paint, 30 points on 16 shots) and TJ McConnell. (8 of 9 on top paint jumpers, 2 of 2 from mid range for 20 points) Throughout, the Pacers continued to get into the paint, executing action after action until daylight broke. presents and bursts through these windows no. no matter how many HEAT players had their arms in the way. After scoring 74 in the paint Thursday with Haliburton in charge, Indiana followed up with 76 tonight without its engine.
The Pacers then played their identity on both ends without their star, posting an offensive rating of 148.5 and giving up 133 for 100 on the other end. And the HEAT, without Adebayo, didn’t, allowing score after score — as well as 20 in transition — when the central tenet of Spoelstra’s defense is limiting precisely those opportunities. There’s a reason Adebayo is so lauded for his defense: his abilities extend far beyond his perimeter switching, as he’s just as responsible for keeping the ball out of the paint as any other elite center in the league.
3. One of the most interesting aspects of this two-game series was Rick Carlisle’s decision to ask Obi Toppin (22 points on eight shots), Indiana’s starting point guard, to defend Butler each time. that both were in the match. Now, Miami is usually positionless outside of their starting centers, so teams that start with two bigger players have to put the second one somewhere, but Carlisle easily could have had Toppin over Haywood Highsmith – who left the game early with back spasms and didn’t come back – or Caleb Martin. Instead, he chose to follow in the wake of what others have done before by sticking his most mobile length on Butler and forcing him to find a path over or under. Toppin is no Anthony Davis or Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he has long arms and was generally Indiana’s most disciplined defender on Butler.
So it was interesting to note that Butler (33 points on 23 shots) never tried to beat Topping from the outside in. As Jaquez Jr. said after Thursday’s game, the game plan was to beat Indiana inside and Butler took that to heart, jamming his shoulders into Topping to sneak in and hit the restricted area. Credit Toppin in this ongoing battle for not committing fouls and relying on his length to challenge, often making Butler hang up without a dribble, but also credit Butler for his creativity, always happy to wait for the defender’s patience until he can find. a window for a durable finish. This won’t be the last time a coach puts length on Butler, and at least in this case Butler showed, by running Toppin off multiple screens down the stretch to get a step, or even a changeup, with no one else able to avoid making a mistake, that there are ways to succeed in these missions with the right angles.
