Well, talk about entertaining.

The Miami Heat faced off against the reigning champ Milwaukee Bucks without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and pulled off a win led by their two-way star Caleb Martin.

So, let’s dive into what happened a bit…

#1: Caleb Martin coming out with some fire, literally.

Caleb Martin entered the starting lineup for the injured Jimmy Butler, which came as a surprise to some due to the recent formula of inserting Tyler Herro. It made sense due to the idea of actually obtaining a Khris Middleton defender in this one, but that was the least of his worries. The offensive stuff took over instead. He actually got in a bit of a skurmish with Bobby Portis on the floor in the second, leading to some more fire in his eyes. He came down with a power block at the rim on Portis shortly after, while yelling in a similar way Portis did all night. Then some more 3’s rained down, as Martin shushed in the direction of Portis. This performance from him was much more than a back forth with Portis, though. This was yet another showing of a rotational player in this league. Not a two-way.

#2: Miami finding the holes in Milwaukee’s defense early, which is hard to do without the premier guys.

On a positive note, the Heat held their own early due to the defensive presence on the floor, but the offense was sustained throughout in a different way. Yes Martin was a big part of it, but it was the definition of team offense. Bigs like Cousins were playing high on the drop and blitzing the ball handler, leading to some immediate counters from Miami. Quick pocket pass, which ultimately forces the 4 on 3, while providing a clear outlet with their reads: the dunker spot. Back to back possessions this was run in the second quarter, one with a dunk for KZ Okpala and the other a layup for Tyler Herro. When you don’t have Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, you can’t be individually dominant. The reads must be quick and with a purpose, which is something Herro struggled doing early. Tucker, on the other hand, didn’t.

#3: Some rotational changes for defensive purposes.

After diving into some first half offense, we must talk about the Heat semi-handling the Bucks’ stars without the two main pieces of their defensive structure. From a schematic perspective, they were not going to let Giannis Antetokounmpo dominate them inside. They dropped down 2 guys from the corners almost every time he had the ball, forcing the kick-outs for settling threes. Miami switched between Omer Yurtseven and KZ Okpala early for differing reasons. Yurtseven was the guy to match-up with Cousins early, and he didn’t too bad of a job. But to finish off the half, Spo just mirrored his minutes with Dedmon, leaving Okpala as the option when Antetokounmpo was the 5. Tucker defended, while KZ did his thing on help and switches. As I said, for defending a team as talented as the Bucks at the top of the roster, they did a great job with what they had.

#4: Kyle Lowry coming alive.

Kyle Lowry had a pretty interesting night to say the least. He didn’t have a great start whatsoever, while the shot attempts just kept coming. And without your two best players, he had to keep shooting the ball to stay in this game late. To finish the third, a change was made. Not with Lowry, but who was next to him. Herro and Robinson exited, Vincent and Strus enter. That almost feels to be an indication to Lowry that it’s scoring time. Herro generating so many turnovers on the ball meant more on Lowry’s plate as a play-maker, but he balanced it well. If you don’t get highly efficient and fiery Lowry, you need assertive Lowry. They got that guy tonight to a certain degree. Plus, Max Strus happened.

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#5: PJ Tucker or Bam Adebayo?

PJ Tucker has been a lot of things with this Heat team, but new things continue to pop up with his play-style. Tonight’s topic: play-making. You can’t use Dewayne Dedmon in a Bam Adebayo offensive role in any capacity, but you can use Tucker in some of those same spots. Running 4 on 3’s after doubles, perimeter hand-offs, front of the rim flips, and mid-post touches. Seeing him play in a Bam-lite role and impact the game late like he did showed a lot about his future playoff role with this Heat team. But more importantly, he can be the ultimate regular season filler if needed. Not to put up exact Bam numbers in the scoring or rebounding column, but he can do just enough to get by.

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