What We Learned From Heat-76ers Eastern Conference Semifinals Series
The Miami Heat closed out their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night up in Philadelphia, winning 99-90 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second-time in the last three seasons.
Up as many as 20 points in the second-half of Game 6, the Heat ran away with this closeout game thanks to Jimmy Butler once again.
The All-Star wing went for 32 points and 8 rebounds, as he had been the main catalyst for the Heat all series long. Perhaps the X-factor that emerged for them in this series though was Max Strus, who scored 20 points in Game 6.
Between finding a balance offensively and continuing to be a top-tier defensive team, the Heat looked strong in their series against the 76ers.
As for Philadelphia, an offseason full of question marks will begin due to the ineffectiveness of their stars in this series.
At times, the 76ers looked like they could not be bothered and this lack of energy and effort is definitely going to be a key point of emphasis for them as they head into the offseason looking to prove that they are in fact championship contenders moving forward.
This semifinals series ended up being pretty lopsided in favor of the Heat, but here are the key details we learned from this series between Miami and Philadelphia.
James Harden Nearing The End Of His Career?
The biggest takeaway from this series on the 76ers’ side of things is the play of James Harden and his long-term future with the team.
When the Sixers traded for Harden at the trade deadline this year, there was a lot of hype in Philadelphia surrounding their All-Star duo of James Harden and Joel Embiid, especially since they moved Ben Simmons to get the ten-time All-Star guard.
Now, Harden enters the offseason with just a $47.3 million player option for the 2022-23 season on his contract and it does not appear as if the organization is going to give him a max-level contract extension anytime soon.
Set to turn 33-years-old in August and coming off some very lackluster performances in the postseason, there are going to be a ton of questions this offseason about whether or not this is it for the best of Harden.
He has won a league MVP award, he is one of 45 different players in NBA history to make the All-Star Game at least 10 times, all of which are or will be Hall-of-Famers, and he is a three-time scoring champion.
Other than winning a ring, there is not much James Harden has left to prove in his career and due to the fact that he has regressed tremendously as a player since leaving Houston, the end of his career could very well be upon him.
Harden did not look motivated in a Sixers’ uniform other than his first few games with the team and after yet another disappointing playoff exit, the 76ers are going to be sent back to the drawing boards, trying to devise a plan for how to actually be a championship contender.
Maybe a full offseason of rest can get James Harden back to the All-Star, All-NBA player he was a couple of seasons ago, but he has one more year left on his contract in Philadelphia and they may not be willing to pay him a whole lot to stick around.
Miami Is Built For The Playoffs
When you compare Miami’s roster compared to that of Philadelphia's, it is very clear to see that the Heat have much more depth and that their roster is built for a series like this one that just concluded.
Offense and high-level scoring has become a massive part of team’s game plans around the NBA in recent years and while you do need to score to win the game, you also need to be able to stop your opponents from scoring.
Defensively, the Heat are and have been a top-tier defensive team for a while and Pat Riley built this roster with the mindset of it being an elite defensive team late into the playoffs.
P.J. Tucker, Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Victor Oladipo and even guys like Markieff Morris and Dewayne Dedmon are all long-time veterans in this league that have had prior playoff experience before.
Add in younger, high-level talents like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo and all of a sudden, this team looks like it was built to withstand long playoff series.
Being able to play to their strengths, the Heat put together their roster this past offseason knowing that they would be in a position to contend for a championship.
Erik Spoelstra Outcoached Doc Rivers
Many tend to think that a coach in the NBA is only as good as their players, but there are some pretty talented coaches in this league that get the most out of their players and Erik Spoelstra happens to be one of those with the Miami Heat.
Spoelstra is the epitome of a “player’s coach,” as time-and-time again he has helped develop unpolished and unnoticed talents into key contributors for his championship-level teams.
He did so during the Heat’s title runs in 2012 and 2013 and he is doing so again with this year’s team.
Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Dewayne Dedmon and Omer Yurtseven were all undrafted players, yet they have all made an impact on the Heat this season and Erik Spoelstra has put them in position to succeed.
Aside from player development and his rotations in this series versus Philadelphia, Spoelstra also made all the right adjustments defensively for the Heat.
Following Games 3 and 4, which the Heat lost on the road in Philly, Miami reverted back to stopping the 76ers on-the-drive and inside the paint offensively. As a result, they held the Sixers to just 85 and 90 points the final two games of this series, both of which were won by the Heat.
Doc Rivers made zero in-game adjustments for the 76ers compared to Erik Spoelstra and his staff making a handful of changes throughout this series, which is why the Heat were able to close things out in six games.
Playoff Jimmy Butler Is Elite
During the regular season, Jimmy Butler averaged 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.6 steals and he shot 48% from the floor. These are really good numbers for the six-time All-Star.
During this year’s playoffs, Jimmy Butler is averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.1 steals and is shooting 52.5% from the floor, 36.4% from three-point range. Those are elite-level numbers for him.
Very few players in this league kick things into a higher gear during the playoffs and wind up averaging better numbers than they did during the regular season, but Butler is one of those rare players.
When it is playoff time, Jimmy Butler is one of the best in the league and he has proven that with the Miami Heat over the last few seasons. If you want a perfect example of this, just look at what he did in the 2020 NBA Bubble when he carried the Heat to the NBA Finals with Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic hurt!
Proving to be a factor both shooting from the perimeter and scoring at the rim, Butler has really transcended his game to the next level in the postseason yet again and he is the reason why the Heat have a great chance of advancing to the NBA Finals for the second-time in the last two seasons.
All of the other pieces they have on their roster are crucial to their success, but Jimmy Butler is the key to the Heat possibly winning another title.
Arguably one of the best two-way players in the league, Butler led Miami in scoring in four of the six games they played against Philadelphia and looking ahead to the Eastern Conference Finals, we should expect nothing less from the Heat’s All-Star leader.
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- What's Next For James Harden, 76ers Entering The Offseason: The Philadelphia 76ers lost in six games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, casting doubt on the future of this franchise and All-Star James Harden’s long-term future in Philadelphia. CLICK HERE.
