DENVER – Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 111-108 NBA Finals victory over the Denver Nuggets:
– Say this about Gabe Vincent, he’s not afraid.
– Oh, and he’s going to be paid.
– There was a time when Vincent stood as the Heat placeholder at point guard.
– Now he essentially is irreplaceable.
– Basically picking up in this one with his 3-point shooting where Max Strus left off.
– Not, not your traditional assists point guard.
– But that is not the need with this team.
– It’s the shooting.
– Because it will take big shooting games for the Heat to conquer the Nuggets...
BOSTON – Observations and other notes of interest from Monday night’s 103-84 NBA playoff victory over the Boston Celtics:
– At one point in the Eastern Conference finals, the question was if Heat forward Caleb Martin was the best value player in the series, in light of the three-year, $20.4 million contract he signed last summer.
– By the end of the East finals, the question was whether he was the best player in the series.
– As in a series that also included Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
– Remarkable stuff.
– Sometimes it’s about more than star power.
– Sometimes...
BOSTON – Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 110-97 NBA playoff loss to the Boston Celtics:
– Erik Spoelstra doesn’t panic.
– But he does read the room.
– And the situation.
– Unemotionally and detached when needed.
– This is one of those times.
– With all due respect to what Kevin Love has offered since his February arrival.
– Heat-Celtics has become a scramble.
– A scoring scramble.
– And that requires mobility.
– Something Caleb Martin offers in overdrive.
– And something Love, at 34, lacks.
– Before Love’s arrival, Martin was the starter.
– With the Heat with a...
MIAMI – Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 116-99 NBA playoff loss to the Boston Celtics:
– The Celtics looked like the Celtics.
– Playing defense.
– Making 3-pointers.
– With Jayson Tatum scoring when needed.
– The concern meter still is mitigated by the Heat’s 3-1 series lead.
– But Boston finally has regained its stride.
– This is a team that came back from 3-2 the previous round against the 76ers.
– It would be that again with a Heat loss on Thursday night at TD Garden.
– Panic? No.
– Urgency? Yes.
– Because this constant pushing of Jimmy Butler takes a toll.
–...
MIAMI – Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 128-102 NBA playoff victory over the Boston Celtics:
– The decision entering the night seemingly was whether Kevin Love would remain a Heat starter with the Celtics moving to small ball with their first five.
– It turns out that Love made the decision for coach Erik Spoelstra, when he was forced out by an ankle injury with 4:47 remaining in the opening period.
– In this game, it did not matter.
– And might have been beneficial.
– With Caleb Martin playing so well.
– (Is there a better value contract in the league at the moment...
BOSTON – Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 111-105 NBA playoff victory over the Boston Celtics:
– Among the biggest surprises in the East finals to this point is the Celtics electing not to play to their apparent strength at the start of games.
– The height of Robert Williams might have been needed at the outset against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
– But Bam Adebayo isn’t Joel Embiid and the Heat aren’t the 76ers.
– By the start of Friday’s second half, the Celtics were back to their small lineup.
– Derrick White in and Williams out.
– That created conundrums...
BOSTON – Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 123-116 NBA playoff victory over the Boston Celtics:
– A big problem?
– It certainly looked that way at the outset, when Robert Williams was dominating inside early for the Celtics.
– It looked that way when Heat backup center Cody Zeller struggled in his opening stint (and later his ensuing stint).
– It looked that way when the Heat tried to play Max Strus on Al Horford, as they did during the regular season.
– And it looked that way when Kevin Love was taken off the floor when the Celtics went small.
– But to their credit,...
NEW YORK — Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 111-105 NBA playoff loss to the New York Knicks:
– It could have been a Bam Adebayo game for the Heat.
– And perhaps, in his own way, it was.
– The issue with Adebayo, at least with this roster, hasn’t been about such an immediate ascension.
– The leading man is in place, even if absent Tuesday night.
– So even with Jimmy Butler out, coach Erik Spoelstra stressed perspective, at least when it came to Tuesday’s expectations.
– “They don’t change dramatically,” Spoelstra said of Adebayo. “He doesn’t need to score 50 for us...