Inside The Heat

Miami Heat need to keep defending when it matters

Ethan J. Skolnick|
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Miami Heat

For all of the flattery for the Miami Heat's offensive transformation this season, the Heat remain a defense-first organization under Erik Spoelstra.

But the defense has shown some slippage, especially in the continued absence of Bam Adebayo.

The Heat have fallen to 15th in defensive rating, after spending much of the first month in the top 10. Considering their increased pace this season, that's the statistic that most matters, because unlike points per game it adjusts to that spike in speed.

Adebayo's return is close, but not imminent; it does not appear he will play Monday in the rematch against the Knicks, this time at home. And he's in doubt for Jimmy Butler's (second) return, Wednesday with the Golden State Warriors.

What's most important, especially until then, it whether the Heat can make a stand late in games, something that hasn't been the case in the last two losses, first against a Cleveland squad without Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley ad then against a Knicks team without Jalen Brunson and O.G. Anunoby. That can't continue, especially with Brunson and Anunoby out again tonight.

They can't be letting Landry Shamet get loose again, for starters.

Overall, the Heat have actually defended fairly well down the stretch, as evidenced by this statistic.

It sure hasn't seemed like the Heat have been stingy in a lot of clutch situations, but they do have the players to do it, especially with Adebayo on the floor. Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and even Jaime Jaquez Jr. have defended well. Miami needs more from Norman Powell on that end, if his elite scoring is going to lead to more consistent winning.

This is an area in which Tyler Herro's return won't be especially helpful, though Herro is a good rebounder for a guard, and rebounding has been an issue in terms of finishing defensive possessions. You can argue that the Heat have lost two to three games due to letting teams get too many second chances, starting with the season opener in Orlando in which Wendell Carter Jr. went wild. It was a huge problem in New York as well, due to Mitchell Robinson's activity.

Let's see how the Heat defend against the Knicks with another opportunity, as they try to defend a winning record, now just 7-6 on the season.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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