As a Knicks fan, there are few things that pain me more than laying praise at the feet of the Miami Heat. But what they did to the Charlotte Hornets in Game 7 of their first round playoff series was worthy of commendation from even their biggest of detractors. The series finale was a master class in the game of basketball. From every facet of offense to every nuance of defense, the Heat were unrelenting.
They bludgeoned the upstart Hornets to the point in the third quarter where the game felt more like the Harlem Globetrotters versus the Washington Generals than a true NBA playoff affair. The 106-73 final felt almost too close for the disparity between the two teams. While it was an unfitting end to a stellar season for Charlotte, it reaffirmed Miami’s place in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got something to say, but nothing comes out when they move their lips just a bunch of gibberish, we all act like we forgot about the Miami Heat.
While the Cavaliers and Raptors have rightfully claimed the headlines this season in the East, the Miami Heat have lurked in the shadows waiting to strike. The loss of Chris Bosh to yet another medical woe was big, but the team has rallied among themselves entering postseason play. Miami has taken quite the Spursian approach with their aging centerpieces, namely Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson. The former has been handled with kid gloves in 2015-16, and that has paid dividends in this series. He’s averaged nearly 20 points and 5 assists per game in controlled minutes. The latter, a waiver claim in February from the Nets, has helped stabilize a starting lineup that was in flux with the Bosh situation.
But in Game 7, neither of those men were the key factors in the beating that was bestowed upon the Hornets. The Heat were led by the tandem of Luol Deng and Goran Dragic, who combined to score 40 points on 17-for-26 shooting. Not only were they unconscious on the offensive end, they bottled up Charlotte’s most potent offensive weapons on the defensive end.
Kemba Walker shot an abysmal 3-for-16 from the field for just 9 points. Nicolas Batum was one of only three Hornets to hit double figures, going 3-for-9 off the bench for 10 points. Courtney Lee was the easily the most efficient player for Charlotte on the evening, and he still ended up a -20 plus/minus. The clamps that the Heat put on the perimeter options for the Hornets were tremendous, and are more important going forward into the series against the Raptors than the offensive output.
Dragic and Deng have been underwhelming during their respective stints in South Beach, but Game 7 showed what could happen when both men were on. Whether it be in the half court or in transition, everything flowed superbly through the duo. It made things so much easier on Wade and even more so for Defensive Player of the Year bronze medalist Hassan Whiteside down low. It is safe to say that getting the ball with barely any time left on the shot clock was just as much a part to Frank Kaminsky and Al Jefferson’s nightmare afternoon as Whiteside’s D was.
Going forward, the Heat could potentially be favorites against a Raptors team that barely escaped against Indiana in their Game 7. Wade will be well rested and his compatriots are gaining a confidence they were sapped of after lackluster regular seasons. The Heat were the embodiment of their team moniker on Sunday night. We all should expect more of the same against the Raptors in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.