Miami, FL

Heat get ‘gnarly’ to crash Hawks’ party in Game 4

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2022

Heat get ‘gnarly’ to crash Hawks’ party in Game 4

ATLANTA — There have been loads of indicators pointing to a possible letdown for the Japanese Convention’s top-seeded Miami Warmth in Sunday’s Recreation 4.

Kyle Lowry was a late scratch due to a left hamstring pressure. The Atlanta Hawks’ defensive anchor, Clint Capela, returned from a hyperextended proper knee to make his sequence debut. The State Farm Enviornment crowd, nonetheless hyped from Trae Younger’s game-winner on Friday, appeared to cap a ravishing spring weekend in The A with a series-tying win for his or her underdog Hawks, the place the house staff had gained 21 of its final 24 video games.

As a substitute, Miami dominated with its protection in a 110-86 victory in what was its finest exhibiting of the postseason to date — all issues thought of — to construct a 3-1 lead on the No. 8-seeded Hawks.

“We’ve got some gnarly opponents in our locker room that love huge challenges,” Warmth coach Erik Spoelstra stated.

Miami’s sport plan was easy: Attempt to management the ball and comprise Younger. Coming off 14 turnovers in Recreation 3 and enjoying with out their level guard in Lowry, the Warmth displayed magnificent poise on the offensive finish and completed with simply seven turnovers, in comparison with 15 for Atlanta. Most of these got here in rubbish time as Miami solely had two miscues as a staff by the tip of the third quarter when it had already constructed a 19-point lead.

The Warmth’s zero turnovers within the first half had been a playoff franchise report, in keeping with ESPN Stats & Info analysis.

“All people to a person in that locker room knew that we could not have a 15-20 turnover sport,” Spoelstra stated. “That was going to ignite this crowd, ignite that staff, so we needed to be very coherent with our execution with out our quarterback.”

And Younger, the breakout star of final 12 months’s playoffs, continued to battle mightily in opposition to Miami. As heroic as his closing flourish was in Recreation 3, the remainder of the sequence has been a nightmare for the fourth-year guard. The Warmth held him to 9 factors on 3-for-11 taking pictures with 5 turnovers on Sunday, mirroring his underwhelming efforts in Recreation 1 (eight factors on 1-for-12 taking pictures) and Recreation 2 (10 turnovers and 2-for-10 taking pictures from 3).

“I have never been guarded like this … constantly, since highschool,” Younger stated afterwards.

Sunday marked the primary sport of Younger’s four-year profession — common season and postseason mixed — the place all of his factors got here on 3-pointers. It was additionally the primary time in his profession when he failed to try multiple shot from 2-point vary. For the sequence, Younger now has 24 turnovers and simply 20 made discipline targets.

Jimmy Butler, who led Miami with 36 factors on 12-for-21 taking pictures, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, stated it has been the Warmth’s staff strategy that is made the distinction in opposition to Atlanta’s star, rattling off eight names — P.J. Tucker, Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin, Victor Oladipo, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro and Lowry — who’ve shadowed Younger 1-on-1 to date.

“You continuously should have your head on a swivel when you’re him,” stated Butler.

And Tucker, who had 14 factors on 5-for-7 taking pictures, eight rebounds and three assists, stated a part of Miami’s plan was to focus on Younger when it had the ball on offense.

“He is too good of a scorer to not make him work on protection,” stated Tucker, who posted Younger up a number of instances Sunday.

Vincent (11 factors, 4 assists) was regular beginning in Lowry’s place and Oladipo additionally benefited from the enjoying time opened up by the purpose guard’s absence. The previous All-Star guard scored simply six factors on 3-for-10 taking pictures however had 4 assists and extra rebounds than Capela (eight to seven) in making his postseason debut for Miami.

Miami outscored Atlanta by 28 within the 23 minutes Oladipo was on the ground.

“He is actually labored diligently, he is made himself accessible,” Spoelstra stated of Oladipo, who has missed a lot of the final three seasons due to knee and quadriceps accidents. “You do not adore it that it is below these circumstances however we knew one thing would occur — because it all the time does with each staff within the playoffs — due to that vitality that he is giving into this, he was ready for it. He gave us some actually good two-way minutes.”

The Warmth can closeout the sequence in Tuesday’s Recreation 5 and would play the winner of the Philadelphia-Toronto sequence within the second spherical. The 76ers are up 3-1.

“Tonight was a very good one, however we received one other one which we received to get,” Butler stated.

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Miami, FL

NBA draft now with a halftime, with Heat back at it for second round Thursday

Published

4 hours ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

NBA draft now with a halftime, with Heat back at it for second round Thursday

MIAMI — This time, the NBA draft comes with a halftime, the league for the first time spreading the two rounds over two days.

So Wednesday night the main course, the first 30 selections over the first round at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Thursday at 4 p.m at ESPN’s New York studios, the final 28 selections (with picks forfeited due to previous salary-cap violations by the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns.)

For the Miami Heat and the rest of the league, it means an opportunity for a double exhale. Not only about the 17 hours between the rounds, but teams are now given four minutes in the second round per selection instead of the previous two (there remains a five-minute limit between selections in the first round).

“It’s going to be a lot of digging of information between the two rounds,” said Adam Simon, the Heat’s vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager, who oversees the team’s draft.

With the Heat entering the draft process slotted at No. 43 overall, the 13th selection of the second round, the break in the draft will mean a reset of the intel process, with teams having played some of their hand in the first round.

“So it’s either going to be a lot of maneuvering or a lot of lying,” Simon said of the chatter during the break, “one or the other.”

As it is, having a second-round pick is somewhat of a Heat anomaly.

The last time the Heat emerged from the second round with a selection was when they traded for the rights to KZ Okpala in 2019. That foray led to an uneven partnership on a three-year contract the Heat eventually dealt for salary-cap relief.

The second round is one that is played by its own rules – numerous rules. Unlike first-round selections, which come with guaranteed contracts, players selected in the second round are not slotted into a specific salary scale. Further, some teams make second-round selections with the intent of signing those picks to two-way contracts, which do not count against the salary cap. In addition, second-round agreements often are made with overseas players to have such selections remain overseas and therefore count neither against next season’s salary cap nor roster limit.

While the Wild West nature of the season round hasn’t changed, what has is the added time for agents to influence the process.

“I anticipate a lot of phone calls between teams and agents, and agents trying to figure out where their players are going to go,” Simon of the break between rounds, with the Heat’s war room set up on the team’s practice court at Kaseya Center.

With the NBA’s rookie scale, the first round is formulaic.

“The second round, there’s the ability to sign players to four-year contracts or two-way contracts or ‘stash,’ you take a foreign player, leave him over,” Simon said. “So I think every agent’s going to have a different agenda, and some are going to want their players to try to get to certain teams.

“They’re going to do what they can to maybe potentially get their player to a team. And then at the same time, there’ll be teams trying to find out from agents where they think their players are going to go and help them to maneuver.”

Recent Heat second-round picks

2024: No. 43 (own selection).

2023: None.

2022: None.

2021: None.

2020: None.

2019: Bol Bol (No. 44, immediately dealt to Denver Nuggets). Traded for No. 32 selection KZ Okpala.

2018: None.

2017: None.

2016: None.

2015: Josh Richardson (No. 40).

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Miami, FL

2025 NCAA Tournament Projections Has Miami As An Eighth Seed; First Alert: June 25, 2024

Published

11 hours ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

2025 NCAA Tournament Projections Has Miami As An Eighth Seed; First Alert: June 25, 2024

Joe Lunardi’s has released his second early predictions his 2025 NCAA Tournament projections and he has the Hurricanes as an eighth seed.

The Miami Hurricanes missed the tournament last season, after finishing the previous year in the Final Four. That year they lost to eventual champions UConn Huskies and had most of its roster either was drafted in the NBA, graduated, or transfered. This season they have a chance to return with an impressive resume.

The Hurricanes in Lunardi’s first prediction had the Jim Larrañaga lead squad as a sixth seed before dropping them in the recent predictions. The Hurricanes have many expectations to come back after their disappointing season. This could be the chance to get back in toe national light for what they can be.

No games scheduled.

No results.

66 Days.

X(Twitter): @CanesCentralSI

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Miami, FL

Live Updates: Miami Marlins at Kansas City Royals (Game Two)

Published

19 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Press Room

Live Updates: Miami Marlins at Kansas City Royals (Game Two)

On Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium, the Kansas City Royals (43-37) are set to face the Miami Marlins (27-51). With the Royals currently in contention for an AL Wild Card spot, every game holds significant weight as they aim to build on their recent successes against a lower-ranked opponents.

Seth Lugo takes the mound for Kansas City, boasting an impressive 10-2 record with a stellar 2.42 ERA and 87 strikeouts. Lugo’s consistency and dominance on the mound have been instrumental for the Royals this season, providing stability in crucial games.

The Marlins will counter with Yonny Chirinos, who recently joined their roster. Chirinos brings a 0-0 record and a 3.60 ERA with six strikeouts. His role in Miami’s rotation marks an opportunity for him to establish himself and contribute to the Marlins’ efforts to disrupt the Royals’ offense.

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