So far this season, competition in the East has been fierce, but the top of the list is not the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, nor the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets with luxurious paper lineups. The Miami Heat consolidated their top spot in the Eastern Conference after defeating the Washington Wizards on the road, and no one should doubt now that the Heat have the strength to compete for the championship this season.
Although the offseason is full of recruits, not many people would have thought that the Heat's record could be ranked first in the Eastern Conference, especially if the former All-Star Victor Oladipo has not played so far in the season, which would have had a greater impact on the Heat. But this team has excellent hard strength and some unique advantages of its own, starting with the heat's deep lineup. In the game against the Wizards, the Heat's highest-scoring Bam Adebayo scored only 21 points. But the attack point of this team is too average, and they have a total of 7 players scoring in double figures, which is even more difficult for opponents to defend.
The heat of the whole people does not rely on the core to fight alone, they emphasize sharing and transferring the ball, who has the best chance to shoot, let the player shoot. So in addition to a few main players, ordinary role players can also play very happily. For example, substitute center Dwyane D'Edmund, who has been playing badly in the past two seasons, may not know when he will leave the league. But this season in the Heat, Dwayne Dedmond seems to usher in the second spring of his career, against the Wizards he scored 11 points and 5 rebounds, +22 plus-minus and even the highest of all the players on both teams, which shows how good the environment and locker room atmosphere have a great impact on players.
Secondly, the Heat should be the team that is best at Taobao in the championship group. In today's league, there are not few teams that value and are good at drafting, but the Heat are more special, and they are especially good at cultivating the draft. Among the Heat's bench players, there are three young people who have lost the draft, and they have also performed well. Since entering the league, Gable Vincent has been playing for the Heat, shooting 6-of-9 against the Wizards, including 4 three-pointers, and efficiently cutting 16 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. So far this season, Vincent has averaged 9.5 points, 2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, plus nearly 40% of the three-point shooting rate, which is a very good deputy.
Strus started his career with the Bulls, but was given up after playing only 2 games before the Heat claimed him. In this game, Strus did not get much performance, so the data of 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals was not remarkable. But throughout the season, Strus was probably the Heat's biggest surprise, averaging 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game at the age of 25, and shooting more than 40 percent from the field and three-point range. Due to the ups and downs of Duncan Robinson's form this season, Strus filled the corresponding gap and became the most trusted outside shooter in the Heat.
Caleb Martin also did well, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the three-point line for 15 points and 3 assists. For the first two seasons of his career, Caleb Martin played for the Charlotte Hornets, and this season he moved to the Miami Heat. So far this season, Caleb Martin has averaged 9.4 points and 4 rebounds per game, shooting more than 50% from the field and shooting 37.7% from three-point range. The functions and characteristics of these three players are also very similar, that is, although they are mediocre talented, they have strong tactical execution, and their projection and ball quotient are also excellent.
Finally, the Heat showed an airtight defense, and after taking the Washington Wizards lightly, the Heat also achieved three consecutive wins, and the high-intensity defense during this period was the main reason for the Heat's consecutive victories. Against the San Antonio Spurs, the Heat only scored 95 points, while in the game against the Charlotte Hornets, the other side simply scored only 86 points. And this away game against the Washington Wizards, if it were not for the early loss of the suspense of the game, the Heat sent a large number of substitute players, coupled with some slack, the Wizards are likely to score less than 100.
This is actually not surprising, the Heat's defensive resources are quite rich, the three core Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry, can be said to be an all-rounder of attack and defense. In addition to them, the Heat, including the likes of PJ Tucker and Dedmund, also have excellent defensive abilities. In this case, it allows the Heat to build a brass-like defense line, and many players in the squad have both speed, confrontation and awareness, and the Heat can also use unlimited changes of defense, which is bound to give other teams a headache. Facts have proved that so far this season, the results of the Heat will not be simply good luck, after last season's tragic defeat, the Heat has officially made a comeback, once again becoming a force that the league's powers dare not despise.