Miami’s Perimeter Defense Has Brought the Heat Recently
The Miami Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets 104-87 on Sunday.
The result showed a common theme for Heat basketball as of late. Miami held the visitors to just 10 made triples on 40 attempts. That performance comes after some of the best defensive outings from deep on the year for the Heat.
Miami has played differently since leaving for its five-game road trip in late December. The Heat faced off with the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 28 to kick off the West Coast visit. Miami held shooters, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, to a combined 26 points and held the Warriors to 24 percent from deep. The Heat then held the Utah Jazz to 27 percent on three-point attempts in their next contest.
The peak of the team’s recent defensive dominance came against the Los Angeles Lakers. In a Jan. 3 victory, Miami allowed Los Angeles to make just 4 of its 30 attempts from the arc. LeBron James failed to hit a three of his own in the 110-96 Heat win.
The road trip ended with a 17-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, but there was something that was overlooked about that matchup. Despite the loss, Miami contained Phoenix stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who made made just four of 13 shots from deep.
Success continued for the Heat since returning home as well. Miami held the Orlando Magic to just 12 made triples on 40 attempts during its Jan. 12 matchup. Sunday’s contest against the Hornets continued that trend. Charlotte was just one of 18 from three-point land in the first half.
Prior to that road trip, the Heat allowed teams to hit 37.6 percent of their three-point shots. That would put Miami 18th in the NBA over the full season. Thankfully for Erik Spoelstra’s squad, the Heat have held opponents to 31.4 percent from three over their past nine games. That would easily be the best mark over the full season.
One could argue that the recent perimeter success is simply a reflection of who Miami has played. The Magic, Jazz, Hornets, and Lakers are all among the bottom third of the league in three-point shooting percentage. The Heat won’t face a top-ten from deep until they play the Boston Celtics on Jan. 25. Until then, maybe it will be a mystery as to whether Miami’s impressive perimeter defense has been a fluke or a legitimate force.
Casey Fahrer is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at caseyfahrer716@gmail.com.
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