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Erik Spoelstra has the Miami Heat playing with extreme confidence
After a sensational fourth quarter, in which the Miami Heat outscored the Milwaukee Bucks by 27 points, Erik Spoelstra has his team playing at an unprecedented level as they are now up 3-0 at the No. 1 in the Eastern Conference and just one game away from the Heat’s first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2014.
For a team that many believed would be a team eliminated from the first round of the playoffs before the season, he can’t help but be in awe of what the Heat have been able to do in their first seven games of the postseason.
Against the Indiana Pacers, perhaps it was expected. The Pacers limped into the playoffs and were a shell of who they were in the regular season. They were swept by the Heat, but many saw that result as soon as it was announced that Domantas Sabonis would miss the playoffs.
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Against the historically big Bucks, however, no one saw THIS coming. The Heat were somewhat the hot pick before the series, but many jumped in to pick the Heat in six or seven. I don’t think anyone, with a straight face, chose the Heat to win the first three games of this series.
So what has changed for the Heat and the Bucks?
For one thing, it’s easy to blame Mike Budenholzer. It is an easy target. For a coach with a reputation for not making big adjustments from the regular season to the playoffs, he’s an easy scapegoat. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are still playing minutes like it’s the regular season and the Bucks haven’t changed their offensive game plan much.
If the Bucks lose this series, Budenholzer will likely take the fall.
However, there is much more going on in this series than just Budenholzer not making adjustments or playing his stars long enough.
At the other end of the sideline, Erik Spoelstra is, once again, proving why he is one of the best coaches in the NBA. In this series alone, he has put his team in position to win in many ways against the Bucks. In Game 1, Jimmy Butler led the Heat in the fourth quarter. In Game 2, the Heat looked a bit like themselves, receiving contributions from many: seven players scoring in double figures.
Then there was Game 3, where Jimmy single-handedly outscored the Bucks in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Bucks by 27 points in the fourth alone. In a sketchy way, Spoelstra has been ready for just about everything Budenholzer and the Bucks have thrown at them.
Even when Budenholzer appeared to succumb to crowd pressure in Game 3 and Giannis defended Jimmy late in the fourth quarter, Spo made a simple adjustment to put Giannis on the pick-and-roll, leaving no help on the weak side. while Jimmy wreaked havoc on the Bucks’ defense. to finish the game.
By the end of Game 3, Budeholzer and the Bucks looked like a team that had used up all their ammunition for the first three quarters and was left stunned and confused by what was happening in the fourth.
Defensively, Spoelstra has done a great job of limiting Giannis and the Bucks by creating a wall in the paint on defense and is forcing anyone not named Giannis to beat them. It has worked so far. What’s also been luxurious for Spoelstra is the fact that he hasn’t even had to use Jimmy or Bam Adebayo exclusively on Giannis until now.
Instead, he’s used Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala, Derrick Jones Jr. to take Giannis’s assignment when they’re on the court. While none of those players who are considered Giannis blocks in any way have helped the Heat keep Jimmy and Bam fresh and help maintain the rest of defensive integrity.
The Miami Heat may not be the best team, but they are playing that way right now. Erik Spoelstra can’t seem to do anything wrong and Heat players just aren’t scared of the Milwaukee Bucks. That mindset starts at the top, gaining ground every step of the way. Sitting with a 3-0 series lead, the Heat can smell blood. Can they finish the job?
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