Run it Back! NBA Week in Review - Miami Heat Week 18

Run it Back! NBA Week in Review - Miami Heat Week 18 === eric-_2_02-23-2025_154015: [00:00:00] Week 18 of the 2024 25 NBA season is over, which means it's time to run it back. This is Run It Back, NBA week in review, heat edition. I'm Eric Labrador, contributor at thepeachbasket. net covering the heat. This is the show where we recap the week that was in the NBA and then highlight the marquee matchup for the week to come for the heat. We start with the only objective overall NBA power rankings anywhere. You can read more about how we get to these rankings and see the entire list at thepeachbasket. net. As for the Heat, they move up to 16th because of their 1 0 week. They're still 7th in the Eastern Conference. Tyler Hero led the Heat, or the team, in assist steals and blocks, and Bam Adebayo in total offensive and defensive rebounds. Now to the game, the one and only game that they played in Week 18 against [00:01:00] Toronto. Toronto has always played the Heat tough, especially in Toronto. In the last 10 games that the Heat played against Toronto, they're 6 4, but they were 2 4 when playing Toronto in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena. So this was a good test for the new crew. The Heat were playing well for three quarters, but then gave up the lead in the fourth. They were up 94 87, and then the Raptors outscored them 11 3 to tie the game at 98. R. J. Barrett and Emmanuel Quigley were the main scorers for the Raptors. The Raptors were on their way to winning the game, but Andrew Wiggins was fouled by R. J. Barrett with 46 seconds remaining, and Wiggins sunk three free throws to send the game into overtime. After that, the Heat took over and finished the game off. The most glaring statistic to take note of that actually correlates with the victory was that the heat outscored Toronto by 18 inside the paint.[00:02:00] This goes against the current trend of NBA teams to live and die from the three point line. And for me it's refreshing. Tyler Hero, Andrew Wiggins, and Bambi, the big three, quote unquote, so to speak, for the heat. All had jump shots, floaters, dunks, and layups during the game. Duncan Robbins and Tabuk also had two beautiful cutting layups in the third quarter. The Heat offense can go back to their identity from last season, where they balanced the transition half court and full court game, where their inside paint scoring allowed clearer shots from the three point line. Andrew Wiggins, it was born and raised in Toronto. And finally, after 11 years in the NBA, won his first game in Toronto as a member of the opposing team. I personally went to the Heat game at Toronto in 2022, and I saw [00:03:00] them get blown out of the gym. So the Raptors do play very tough at Scotiabank Arena. Scotty Barnes is one of my favorite players that I wish was on the Heat. RJ Barrett is also is from Toronto and has been playing very well there since he was traded before last season from the Knicks But the Heat managed to pull this one out. Let's hope that there's more in the future It's not a part of week 18, but tonight the Heat will be playing Milwaukee at 5 serve form Milwaukee Buck Arena, I don't know Milwaukee traded Chris Crittle, Chris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma the deadline So the Heaters will be playing a new Bucs team. Kuzma, as per the Bucs fan site, behind the Bucs pass, said that Kuzma played, has played well so far, and understands his role as a complementary piece behind Giannis Anetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. This was during the Thursday game against the [00:04:00] Clippers. Kuzma took the primary defensive assignment against the Clippers best, James Harden, Bogdan Bogdanovich, and Kawhi Leonard, both of whom were injured. and held them the one for 10 shooting. He played well against Washington on Friday and scored 19 points. The Heat have to account for him or else he's going to kill them. He usually plays well against the Heat. Jonathan Dame are listed as probable, so they'll likely play. The Heat and Bucks have split the last 10 games head to head, but the Bucks have won the last four. The Bucks are fifth in the Eastern Conference, so they've positioned themselves as usual. For the Tune up test primary test for the heat to prove that they can compete against the top five teams in the east It's going to be a good game So as I mentioned In our segment of the marquee matchup, there is no Marquee matchup one matchup game coming in week 19 from a fan's point of view [00:05:00] and from tyler hero's point of view There really is no marquee matchup So to speak The Heat are 7th in the East, and the probability for them to contend right now for the Eastern Conference is difficult. Any fan, as talk radio hosts would say, would be bored with simply watching the Heat strictly because of the basketball. They would need some other reason to watch. Then, I will preview the whole week. The Heat will play four games and would do a lot to increase the fans attention if they won all four games. Any Heat fan really should want the Heat to beat teams like Atlanta with Trae Young, who by my account is a bit of a prima donna player, especially Indiana, where Indiana always beats Miami, and last game that they played the Heat, they killed them. I'll preview all the [00:06:00] four games coming this week, and they do play a home and home series At Atlanta on Monday and then home and home here at the Casea Center on Wednesday There's a game against Milwaukee that we've talked about and then they finish with a Friday night home game against Indiana at the Casea Center Atlanta had a tough game against Orlando where Trey Young spoke out against the referees after the game Not at all surprising. Indiana, as per the Indy Star, are trying to get Tyrese Halliburton warmed up more on offense at the beginning of games because he's been going through a slump. Indiana, from the start of the season, they've picked up the pace and have a pretty good record, as does Milwaukee. The last time, like I said, that he played Indiana, Halliburton scored his 20 points and they ran the Heat out of the building. It's The Heat will, with their new players, will take on this assignment as another opportunity to prove themselves. [00:07:00] The offense needs to duplicate their balance that they showed in the game against Toronto. Cuts to the basket, moving the ball around, everybody involved, getting fouls, then the shots clear up at the three point line. That's the way the Heat are and always should be. The defense, even though they gave up, The lead in the fourth quarter again they're continuing to gel and then plugging in the holes of their slices of swiss cheese that they produce every game. This finally leads me into the full court press. I take the time and I google search the heat and players names to see any interesting articles that pop out. The first one was that Tyler Hero works. A one hour shift at Raising Cane's in Doral. Raising Cane's is a franchise fast food takeout place. He [00:08:00] worked an hour. Everybody was happy. Everybody was crazy about him. Now, for me, he should work four hours a day, five days a week, and then go play basketball. So he can really lean into that man of the people thing. Being a part time worker is not easy. Then he went on a podcast and freely admitted that the heat weren't contenders this year. That's an obvious take. And it's really good that Tyler Hero said that. He's, taking being more vocal about being the leader of the heat. But it's very obvious right now. Let's see what happens when the heat do become a contending team and you know will his Openness Be curtailed will he struggle to find words, but right now Yeah, I don't think it'll hurt any [00:09:00] egos By him just saying that we're not contenders Michael Sands second from the Charles, Sir Charles in Charge website fan site threw out a list of players that might want to be traded in the upcoming season. And he floated Bam out of Bio as a possible guy that would want to ask for a trade. He prefaced it. By saying we could get to a point where bam dot So he really hedged the take The reason being is that he thinks that the heat are going to put their eggs in the tyler hero basket and almost make bam touchable and give all and tyler hero untouchable giving him a all the pomp and credit for everything. And then Bam's going to think like Jimmy and say, Hey, I'm feeling underappreciated. I'm, I know I can make more money going elsewhere. And cry foul. I don't agree with a take. It's [00:10:00] really hedged. So it's really early to say that I didn't really look at any, any other parts of the list. Finally Aja Wilson finally came out on an interview with People Magazine talking about her relationship with Bam Adebayo. And it was hilarious last year when after the Olympics she was spotted in the commission chambers and Mayor Miami Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava highlighted her specifically and said I guess you're here because of bam. So the cat was out of the bag then But finally she's coming out and openly talking about it. So it looks like they have their you know their story straight together that they could talk about it without any members of the press Asking questions that they're not ready for that's it week 18 of the 2024 25 nba season is in the books Join me next week after week 18 when we once again run it [00:11:00] back.