Watch any cooking show on TV and you will see that chefs, at least true professionals always keep a case of knives. While most of us domestic chefs (with varying degrees of ability) are involved using one type of knife, professional chefs have a wide selection of knives on everything from vegetables to pork to the Amazon package. Different lengths, shapes and sharpness, to give them the perfect tool for each specific task.
Coming into the NBA Finals, Miami Heat coach Eric Spolstra had a big case of knives, from which to select, his team had the ability to pull the full blade on him based on what he wanted. Need more athleticism? Here’s Derrick Jones Jr.’s three minutes Want the floor in space? Check in, Kelly Check Linick.
But now, after 1 game 1 at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers, Groen Dragic and Balm Adebayo are skeptical, Spoilstra may find his two best and most versatile knives missing from the case. And even if they were available, it wouldn’t be nearly as intense.
Hard enough to beat the Lakers. Beating them without your second leading postseason scorer And Even in a team whose 12-4 in the playoffs, one of your two All-Stars is almost impossible. According to Sportsline data scientist Stephen Ohna, the heat goes from an underdog in Game 2 to a 10.5-point underdog in Game 2, unless Dragic and Adebayo play.
“We know we can win. We do. But we know, we’ve got to play perfect, man,” said hit all-star Jimmy Butler, who has an ankle injury. “We know we can’t bounce back and forth. So coming into Game 2, all the odds, backing against the wall, yad, yad, yad, we got to win.”
Rookie hit guard Tyler Harrow, who got a breakout postseason individually, but a rough Game 1 with the team’s worst minus-35 in the score, echoed Butler’s feelings about having a delicate margin of imaginative error against LeBron James-Anthony Davis. Led Lakers.
“Every possession is a matter, especially when you’re playing a team that we’re playing,” Harrow said Thursday. “They’re very talented, and you need to play an almost perfect game, so as I said, we need to get the right shots, we need to play harder. And we have to be more physical. To be the team that hit the Miami We need to play like we are. “
Speaking to the media on the day between games 1 and 2, almost every member of the hit said they need to play more physically and force the Lakers to play their game instead of playing around their game. It’s hard to play like you when you’re literally not on the court due to injuries.
So how can Spoilstra and Heat end the potential damage to Dragik, who has the interest of a torn planter in his left leg, and Adebayo, who deals with neck strain? Call them “next men,” and that over-used trope – “heat culture.” Let’s rely on that old clich.
In theory, Dragic is a simple component to change – not easy, but Easy. The 34-year-old guard has an average of 19.8 points and has 4.6 assists Giving the Lakers all sorts of troubles Before his exit in Game 1, but the hit for Heat and Kendrick Nunn could change his minutes even more, taking him into the lineup to start the druggie playoff before he started for the hit for most of the regular season. Nunn played just 29 total playoff minutes before Game 1, but during Game 2’s 19 non-competitive minutes, he scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
Heat forward Jay Crowde said Noon, who arrived late in the bubble after a fight with COVID-19, realized he was out of circulation in the team’s opening round series against the Indiana pacers. He who p. Like Crowd told him to be ready because his moment would come sometime.
“I tell him just get ready, get ready. I’ve seen the story a million times where someone is in rotation during the season, then he’s out of circulation, and in the couple series he’s back in circulation,” the mob said on Thursday. . “So, you have to prepare and be a professional, and this is my message as a team leader, especially an older person who has an eye.”
Spoilestra said Nunn’s performance on Wednesday did not require him to earn any playing time, as he has seen how hard the nun has been working in practice over the past few months. Still, he said, getting significant game time on Thursday could help Nunn get into the rhythm.
Spoilstra said of Noon on Thursday, “This guy has a very competitive character. He overcame a lot, and he was a big weapon for us during that year. So it’s good to see him get that kind of rhythm.” “[His Game 1 performance] This head coach had nothing to suggest, oh, now I can trust him. I see it behind the scenes when I don’t see anyone. I enjoy seeing all that work and just checking all the boxes to make sure he is ready when the opportunity arises. “
Nunn and Dragic are both left-handed, first-of-the-line first-line defenders that are about the same size, but they mostly stop the similarity. Dragic is an outside shooter, a good ball-handler and a better finisher around the rim. According to Synergy Sports Technologies.com, the average per-occupancy in peak-and-roll conditions, including the Nun Pass, was 1.118 points per th 47th percentile, while Dragic was 1.3 points per threshold. But the nun can be a skilled scorer when rolling, desperately in need of a hit in this series.
If necessary, replacing Adebayo would be more difficult – practically impossible. The 23-year-old impact on both ends of the court is essential to Miami’s success through its size, skill, athleticism and versatility.
“I think almost everything changes because of how much Bum does us aggressively and defensively,” Harrow said of the possibility of playing without Adebayo. “Whatever happens with the balm, I’m sure there are some adjustments in the coach that we’re going to make. I really can’t tell you what it would look like without the balm. We’ll see what happens.”
The heat has subsided, with Solomon Hill or Andre Igudala at the center, but it will be difficult to resize the Lakers and introduce rim-protection issues. Instead we’ll look at ly linic and possibly yers Meyers Leonard, which brings at least one aspect that isn’t de Debayo – 3-point shooting. Offensively, they could pull Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis or Jawale McGee away from the basket, potentially freeing the lane for more drives and cuts.
Overall, if the heat is without Dragic or Adebayo or both, no amount of X and O is going to save them. Winning is based on playing harder, better and smarter – something that all postsense has long been through.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said: “The movement, the diversity, the balance with which they play, everyone is on the court all the time with how well they progress without a basketball and how good their big guys are at passing a basketball. There is danger. ” Thursday. “We think it’s very difficult for this Miami team to defend any team we’ve played in the play-offs so far, and there’s a reason they’re 12-coming into the series. We can’t disappoint our defenders exactly.”
