When Tyler Herro was injured in the Miami Heat's first game in this playoffs in mid-April, meaning ages ago, he managed to contribute 12 points in less than 20 minutes per game and an excellent percentage. And the Heat were on their way to a surprise away win over the No. 1 seed in the East, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra answers a question from the Israel Hayom emissary
After suffering a fractured hand, reporting that he would be fit for the "final" was nothing more than a way to indicate time, another way of saying "out for another 7 weeks." Moreover, it was an alternative to the only plausible thing that could be written at the time: that Tyler Herro was done with the season.
But that injury didn't stop the Heat. Not against the Bucks, not against the Knicks and not against the Celtics. It's been more than seven weeks — and still nothing has stopped Jimmy Butler and Erik Spoelstra's team, which will host the Denver Nuggets tonight for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, tied 1-1. In other words, she has home-field advantage.
Meanwhile, home-field advantage in the Finals currently lies with a team that has won just 44 regular-season games — a number Denver reached as early as Feb. 28, before taking its foot off the gas after securing first place in the West en route to a 29-53 season.
But that's not even the strangest thing about Miami — the No. 8 seed that finished 7th in the East, but got the inferior rating because it lost a play-in game against Atlanta (before barely surviving one last and decisive game against the Bulls, a 40-win team this season).
Another strange thing is that an injury to Hiro – the third best player on the team – only made us marvel at how deep her roster is, that is, realize how deep her roster is. Because it's not something that anyone would have said seriously about just a month and a half ago.
Spoelstra, Photo by USA TODAY Sports
Next Man Up
But where there is a "vacuum" comes "culture". The Next Man Up element is something shared by many inspiring teams throughout history, and the Heat are another vivid illustration of that.
Where did Hiro's 20 points go? Butler went from 23 to 27 in the playoffs, Caleb Martin from 9 to 13, Gabe Vincent from 9 to 14, Duncan Robinson from 6 to 9. That's almost all that was lost. And as a team, they went from 109.5 points per game in the regular season to 110.7 in the playoffs. Yes, where the pace slows down and defenses improve and referees let play? That's where they came up.
The Heat are the only team to have played more than one series whose scoring average per game has risen in the playoffs compared to the regular season — and that, again, is without their leading outside scorers.
And why do we talk so much about Hiro? Simply because, hey, we've made it to the final! And Hiro is approaching fitness. Reports as of Tuesday afternoon local time, Hero is only "doubtful" for Game 3.
Nikola Jokic, photo: Getty
Limit even Jokic
As if Spoelstra — the best coach in the league (can you say that openly?) — needed more rabbits in his hat. This is the man who transformed his team's zone defense from Game 1 to Game 2 and managed to steer Nikola Jokic — the best player in the league (can you say that already?) — into a game of 41 points, but only 4 assists on 5 turnovers. The first time in the playoffs and the third time all season that he's losing more, something finds his teammates baskets.
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Now he gets another active and energetic wingspan sniper to his battery of energetic wing snipers. Will Hiro get minutes in Game 3? Maybe just later? Will it decide the series? Who knows. Did Spoelstra need another trick? Not. Will he know how to use it just right to maximize the Heat's chances? All the evidence points to "Yes!" Because sometimes it's not just "culture," it's just being a super coach.
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