Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers Game #58 Notes
Welcome to my game notes. A simple, basic idea where I’ll be sharing my notes from each Heat game. It will be going through the game in a chronological order, going through anything that stood out to me, whether it’s actions, themes, adjustments or anything fun — if you have followed me on Twitter, it’s basically what my old game threads used to be. Each quarter will have the video accompanied at the beginning that include all of the notes, and additional clips throughout to highlight those individual plays. It’s to allow me to nerd out focusing on the Xs and Os more freely.
Today, let’s go through the Heat-Pacers game. Some key points from the notes:
A lot of Duncan offense off-ball. Very different when he was against Sheppard vs Nesmith
Poor transition defense cost them a lot throughout the game, particularly in the fourth
Bam’s closeouts were subpar and that gave the Pacers a lot of open 3s
Haliburton hunting Herro… but also Herro hunting Haliburton
Offense
1st Quarter
11:41 — Starting off with a bunch of the actions getting blown up initially, leading to a late clock. Ends with a Herro-Adebayo empty PNR → under + rescreen then Herro gets a show → Bam on the short roll with Pascal already helping early in the paint off Ware and goes for the open pu 2pt
10:57 — JJJ not taking the shot vs Turner but he does a good job attacking the closeout and gets to the rim
10:36 — Bam had a cross-match vs Nesmith but no one thought to reset and it ended with a Herro PNR going for a long floater
9:44 — Quickly going into a JJJ ISO post vs Hali with the whole side cleared → He is drawing the double from Nesmith off Davion one pass away but then it’s so easy to recover because Pascal is ignoring Ware and Turner can help inside because Bam is just standing in the corner. Once the kick is made, smooth rotations with no advantage → Herro does bail out with the 3pt foul
9:03 — Herro-Davion pistol handoff into a Ware PNR but then he’s going to a strongside with JJJ and Bam in the corner. He does make the kick to Bam in the corner but the paint is so packed that this is the only choice
8:25 — Herro-Adebayo quick empty PNR but I didn’t like this shot selection at all. Going up for a contested pull-up with 20s on the clock is a choice; Haliburton was also helping off Davion one pass away(that will be key later)
I don’t like the spacing at all playing Ware/Bam/JJJ together
6:20 — play for Bam with the cross-screen from Ware but then as he drives baseline, Nesmith doesn’t care about JJJ at all and is looking to help in the paint even as JJJ lifts up. Bam also goes for a fading shot
5:08 — Davion-Herro-Ware double PNR; Herro kind of just ghosts the screen and that causes confusion with the potential switch & Davion gets a good drive which forces Bryant to step up and open up Ware on the lob
4:30 — Davion hub → with Herro/Duncan/Ware on the other side looking to come off screens. Toppin panicked when Ware got near Duncan and that allowed Duncan to have a perfectly clean cut to the rim; Good find from Davion. There’s also no help from the corner by Nesmith off of Haywood
3:30 — Herro-Ware-Duncan Spain PNR. The Pacers defended that well with the switch and also the early help off Davion from the far corner onto Ware rolling. He would’ve a clean look because of the slip. I don’t like how they didn’t get a clean look out of that with some of the poor spacing with Haywood/Davion in the corner
2:58 — Davion brings the ball → Duncan instantly comes off a screen from Ware. Haliburton wasn’t paying attention and wasn’t glued so that’s a wide-open 3pt
2:15 — Duncan coming off a screen and he’s drawing 2 defenders to stick with him. That good cut from Ware because Toppin was also with him and that took away the potential rotation opening up Haywood for the open 3pt
1:38 — Herro-Duncan-Ware double PNR. Sheppard cheats over the screen too early and that gives Herro a good move to cross back and reject the first screen. Forces the defense to be higher and he splits it well. Ware slips and rolls forcing TJM to come help. I didn’t like the decision from Herro to settle for the floater when he has the open kick to Davion
0:36 — great flow offensively. Davion pushing pace. Nothing comes out on the kick to Bam. He quickly gets to the elbow. Look for a handoff to Davion. That gets denied, so Herro instantly looks like he’s going for the handoff only to be overplayed by TJM and cuts instead. He does so as Davion is still cutting which takes away the potential rotation from Sheppard. Love the timing
2nd Quarter
11:32 — Kyle post hub vs TJM. Pascal is looking to help off of Haywood. Duncan smartly looks to set a screen & that gets a wide-open Haywood 3pt
11:12 — More Kyle with the ball as the hub. Duncan quickly comes off a Bam backscreen. That draws the help. It’s an easy kick, but the Pacers do a great job rotating out of it and it ends in a contested drive from Rozier
10:30 — Starts off with Kyle as the hub again on the elbow then it goes to Haywood up top. I like Duncan’s off-ball movement to get Sheppard trailing as he comes off the pindown. That does draw 2 on the ball but no advantage came out. TJM rotated early to take the roll, and that should’ve been a skip to the corner to Rozier
The second game in a row that I’ve noticed the defense not being keen to help off of Haywood in the corner
8:10 — Those Duncan-Adebayo handoffs just keep the defense always on their toes. Sheppard goes over the screen the first time but relaxes for a split second and by the time he realizes, it’s already another handoff going the other way
7:10 — more off-ball offense for Duncan. Looks to get a screen from Adebayo but gets top-locked. He then continues to cut and sprint to come off the pindown. Great job from Nesmith(He’s been much better at denying those actions than Sheppard). It ends with a Duncan-Adebayo PNR with drawing Turner at the level.
Toppin is ignoring Anderson from the corner to help on the roll. The advantage is gone and that’s down to Haywood not moving well into the right space. Anderson does a good job cutting from the corner to draw Haliburton, as he was the one zoning up. But both Haywood and Rozier are too close together and Nembhard is able to cover the passing window to both of them. Had Haywood drifted to the corner, that’s an open kick
6:38 — So much offense going through Duncan running around. That is literally their source. But Nesmith is doing everything to take everything away from those off-ball actions. It flows back into another handoff going the opposite way. Toppin is again helping off Anderson very early to sit in the paint
5:20 — There are plenty of these quick actions in early offense. Davion usually brings up the ball and just waits for either Herro/Duncan to come off the pindown from Ware. That pindown action is used a lot to start the offense
4:58 — I love it when Davion pushes the pace. He attacks Haliburton quickly off the dribble, gets deep to the paint, draws the defense, and makes the kick. That gives Herro a wide open 3pt
4:27 — Second straight drive from Davion quickly against Haliburton. This time takes him to the rim for the layup
3:42 — Herro-Ware-Burks Spain PNR(#2). Pacers have defended the action twice well with Haliburton switching
2:23 — I’m not a fan of actions like these. It’s just Herro-Adebayo looking to get into their stuff but then it’s three players being statues doing absolutely nothing. Haliburton is helping off BURKS in the paint to make sure to be early on a potential roll
1:40 — Bam off a rebound looks to back down Pascal and draws help from Nembhard before it kind of turns into a soft double. Good decision from Jaquez to move to the corner and let it fly
1:22 — Loving the confidence from Davion on those 3s. Pull up in transition? Sure
0:40 — Bam in the post vs Nembhard. Pascal comes to double and kicks out the mismatch with Jaquez again 1 pass away. Jaquez does a good job moving into the right space and is able to beat the closeout off the catch and get to the rim
Jaquez really needs to get that shot up or look to attack closeouts on the go. Too many times, he gets the pass and makes a decision too late
0:6 — Herro-Burks PNR looking to attack Haliburton on the show. Gets a drive and goes for the floater in the paint. The Pacers have been getting him to that spot
3rd Quarter
11:30 — Good action for Bam to come off a screen from Jaquez around the paint to quickly attack Turner as he catches, but the finish inside has to be better
10:32 — Herro-Bam empty handoff just one dribble to attack and is seeing Haliburton showing strong help off Burks 1 pass away and that’s an easy kick
9:42 — Herro-Davion pistol handoff into a Bam PNR. I like this setup because Nesmith has to make a decision whether to help Bam or stay on Mitchell up top, but that’s all happening so fast. Herro gets the drive and sees help from Pascal off Haywood but it doesn’t deter the drive fully. Ends in a wide-open lob
9:16 — Go into a similar play but with Burks this time. Herro-Burks pistol handoff into Bam PNR(but he doesn’t “really” set a screen this time). Turner is fully dropping now instead of higher up and Pascal is way more aggressive at providing that help to Haywood. Good adjustment from the Pacers. It ends with a Herro ISO vs Turner seeing such strong help from Nesmith off of Davion(again that will matter on the last possession)
8:30 — Herro-Haywood PNR gets Haliburton on the show then switch. Then flowing into a Bam PNR where he rejects it and gets to his spot around the paint over Haliburton. Nesmith is helping off Davion to be early in the paint
7:51 — Herro-Davion PNR. Again looking to get Haliburton on the show but this time it’s more aggressive and pushes Herro to the corner. Davion could’ve attacked the recovery from Haliburton better. Offense instead resets
Defenses are really not paying attention to Davion up top and that makes some of the rotations so much easier and smaller
5:50 — Bam as the hub in delay. Good off-ball movement from Herro. He looks for Davion to screen him to get Haliburton on him but Pascal reads that well and pre-switches now you’re asking Pascal to chase Herro around coming off the screen and before he can recover and attempt to take away the handoff, Herro rejects it and gets a wide open pull up
3:52 — Davion cross-matched with Bryant. Good quick burst to take him off the dribble. Able to draw the foul
The offense without Bam/Herro on is so poor. I don’t get the minutes without those two. All of the off-ball actions don’t hit the same without Bam. That’s how they ended the third quarter
0:38 — I love Haywood. Those actions where he flows into a Duncan handoff almost always result in a switch vs any opponent. And when he slips, he is a good decision-maker on the short roll. This time, it didn’t end in a great shot from Burks but then Haywood being Haywood still moves well to get the offensive rebound
4th Quarter
11:50 — Ware elbow hub into a Burks handoff after coming off a pindown but this is just an action before the action that is meant for an elevator screen for Duncan — we saw this against the Hawks. No advantage on this play, though, and the whole possession is blown up
The offense continues to struggle with both Herro/Bam on the bench. No actions are able to get anything going if the defense switches or if they step up to take away those off-ball actions
9:55 — Rozier-Duncan PNR but he sets a pick and it’s an automatic switch
9:25 — Rozier-Duncan PNR, but this time, it’s a ghost screen and it gives Rozier the lane to drive because the defense is confused
I don’t like Rozier running a lot of the PNR if it doesn’t give him those kind of advantages because all he does is move east to right. There’s no downhill threat or an attempt to do so. Getting screens from shooters » getting screens from bigs
7:18 — Herro hub with Bam off a Duncan screen into an elbow hub → Duncan then looks to backscreen Herro but it turns into a pindown for Duncan instead to flow into a handoff with Bam. But he’s drawing a stunt from Haliburton off Davion in the corner and Nesmith is fighting for his life
6:50 — Herro-Davion PNR; looking to get Haliburton on the show and he rejects the screen again driving into the floater. Pascal helps off Haywood in the strong corner completely to force it
5:40 — Herro-Davion-Bam double PNR to get Haliburton him. He aggressively looks to show but ends in a switch. Herro flows into another PNR with Bam. He’s able to get downhill and with Duncan 1 pass away, there’s no help in the gap from Nesmith. Instead forces help from the corner and a kick, and swing to Duncan gets an open 3pt
I liked a lot of the PNR actions with Herro driving the middle
5:05 — Not a fan of this shot from Herro out of a double PNR. He has the pull-up with 16s on the clock but that could’ve easily been an attack on Nesmith going middle, as he had all of the momentum to attack that closeout and had a big advantage vs Pascal, that could’ve been a catch, and shoot to Haywood
I think that’s one of the points that Herro needs to develop now. If EYE can accurately predict what a player is going to do, the defense already knew that months ago and scouted counters to take that away. I know Herro is going for that pull up, but so does the defense and that gives him the advantage now:
Instead of looking to pull up, give that a head fake and attack Nesmith the other way.
4:40 — Herro-Davion another PNR to get Haliburton showing. Herro looks to split the defense but a loose handle ends in a TOV
4:26 — Herro-Davion-Bam double PNR getting Haliburton on a show. That puts Nembhard at a disadvantage against the Bam screen and opens up a pocket pass for Bam to get to the paint
There’s a lot of hunting going on from Herro
3:58 — Herro-Davion-Ware PNR. Another show and recovery on the first screen. No advantage → Goes into Bam ISO post vs Pascal
3:45 — Herro-Bam-Duncan Spain PNR(#3). The defense just switches and he goes for a late-clock stepback vs Sheppard
3:10 — Bam delay hub. Quickly goes into a Duncan handoff(Sheppard has been struggling to keep up with Duncan off-ball). Turns the corner drives, and gets a lob to Bam. There was no tag from Nembhard with him on Herro
2:40 — Pacers brought in Nesmith for Sheppard to make sure to stick with Duncan and that’s what he did. All of the screening actions, he was on him. It was only the last screen that he got hit and an open 3pt happened
1:57 — Another possession that didn’t go anywhere because Nesmith is making sure that Duncan is NOT going to get free. I really enjoyed Nesmith guarding Duncan
1:50 — But this is why Duncan is great. Bam as the hub. Duncan comes off the Davion pindown and he needed just a tiny little room of space and he’s gone and Nesmith is trailing. He gets run off the line but goes for the open floater
1:18 — Herro-Davion PNR. Attacking Haliburton on the show. This time he splits the defense so well and goes for the open floater that comes up short. I like the action. I like the shot but I don’t know if that was smart time management. They had a 2pt lead with 1:20 left and he goes into the first action rather early. Still, a good, open-look
0:55 — Herro-Davion-Bam PNR. He gets the switch on Haliburton. Davion is one pass away and that’s where those constant reads from Herro previously paid off. Nembhard was showing a lot of help at the nail and basically went to soft double Herro. He makes the swing and Davion seals it
Defense
1st Quarter
10:40 — Haliburton turned the corner on Davion and got to the rim but couldn’t finish — Pacers struggled to finish at the rim
10:00 — Haliburton-Turner PNR but this time Jaquez on Hali after an off-ball switch. Does a good job initially, then goes over, and that forces some help from Bam at the elbow and open swing to Pascal 3pt
8:50 — Pacers offense just makes you work. Nembhard-Pascal PNR. Bam switches then it’s Pascal on Herro forcing a double but resets → Nembhard attacks Davion, but solid defense until late, and now the Heat are in rotation on the kick and Pascal gets his 2nd 3pt
7:58 — Nembhard-Pascal PNR. Herro goes under and it’s a wide-open 3pt. Too easy
7:04 — really good rotations from Ware to kick out the mismatch from Turner vs Jaquez and then from Pascal vs Herro. It still ends in a tough fade from Pascal
6:37 — Herro cross matched with Pascal. It quickly flows into Haliburton-Pascal handoff. That ends in a switch but Pascal smartly slips and Jaquez doesn’t realize he needs to help as the low man. I also don’t get why Bam just can’t recognize that and offer to switch. Bam was matched with Nembhard, he could’ve told Jaquez to go up and Bam to be the low man off of Nesmith. This makes Spo mad and calls a TO
5:58 — another 3pt that is coming from showing a lot of help one pass away at the elbow. This time it’s Turner
4:43 — Haliburton gets Herro on the switch and just goes for a stepback 3pt
4:20 — Haliburton now gets Duncan on the switch and it’s the same stepback 3pt. That’s 2 in row
3:13 — This can’t happen. This is off a make. Haliburton makes an outlet pass and it’s Toppin vs Herro down low sealing him for a good look at the rim. He’s getting a layup with three other defenders doing nothing
2:44 — Full court press into zone(#1). TJM is able to split the defense for his signature fade but Davion doesn’t put a body on Bryant and gets the board
2:00 — More some kind of zone(#2). It feels like a zone. It looks like a zone. But it also feels like man at times, too. Poor defense from Ware inside the paint on Toppin flash. Gets another layup because he’s late to help and offers some contest. That was weak
1:20 — Zone def(#3). Haywood is denying Turner flashing middle well. They use Turner to screen TJM and then roll into the paint. Bam steps up but he gets an open fade
0:3 — Rozier’s first possession checking in and he’s already letting a blowby happen
2nd Quarter
11:48 — TJM-Pascal PNR. Haywood is in a drop and Rozier is trailing but shadows the drive well and allows Haywood to recover on the block
10:08 — Solid peel switching from Rozier on the drive after Duncan gets beat
9:42 — Pascal drawing an immediate double vs Anderson from Duncan off of Sheppard. Bam with a late reaction to go and contest
9:05 — Zone def(#4). Haywood “really” going under TJM and daring him to shoot. Wide open 3pt
Pascal looking to get Anderson to switch on him three times now
8:25 — defensive breakdown. Kind of in a zone again(#5) to make sure that Bam is in the paint but I think he overhelped initially, which forced more help on the Turner drive and that opened up Pascal for 3pt. Another wide open 3pt
The defense against 3s was bad
7:30 — Why is Haywood going UNDER Haliburton on the off-ball screen? No effort to recover either and it’s another open 3pt
6:27 — Nembhard-Turner PNR. Rozier gets caught on the screen, forcing Bam to help more on the drive and that opens up Turner on the wide-open pop. Late contest from Bam too
Every 3pt they’re hitting is wide-open
4:36 — Nembhard has been kind of cooking getting to his spots with ease against Herro
3:55 — Nembhard again attacks Herro, this time in transition, and gets a good layup
2:40 — Ware is literally watching as the shot goes up and lets Bryant get good positioning on the box out for the ORB
2:05 — Haliburton-Nembhard PNR getting Herro to switch. Then it flows into a Haliburton-Turner PNR, which Bam shows and allows Herro to recover
1:05 — Pascal ISO post vs Jaquez. Drawing a double immediately. The Heat didn’t want to allow for that matchup to go 1v1
3rd Quarter
11:50 — So much movement from the Pacers and ball reversal making the defense work a lot → It ends with Haliburton coming off a flare screen then attacking and forcing Bam to switch before he goes for the stepback 3pt. The third time he hit it
11:03 — Davion trailing Haliburton off-ball. Kind of sleeping on the action before Hali flew into the handoff
10:13 — Great quick anticipation from Davion off-ball to get into the passing lanes on the drive kick
8:50 — Haliburton quickly flows into a backscreen for Nembhard to force the Herro switch → Then goes into Turner PNR, dragging it out, and opens up another pop
7:35 — Herro cross-matched with Pascal. Giving him space in the paint to look and seal him. That forces Burks to help off Nesmith and it’s a wide-open 3pt
6:23 — Haliburton gets a step on Haywood on the drive but that’s a great recovery on the block
5:38 — Poor getting back on def forces Haywood to be recovering and is out of position on Turner trailing. His shot forces a very hard closeout. He easily pumps fakes and drives. Bam is late on the help and gives up a layup
4:37 — Davion Icing the Haliburton-Bryant PNR with Ware in high drop. Duncan is showing the help to tag but goes back too early and almost gives up the open roll. Got lucky there
Going back to the Hawks game, Duncan has had a few possessions not being in a good position to help
3:35 — I love Haywood’s instant processing on some of the rotations and help. Quickly realizes he needs to peel switch. What I do hate is TJM’s signature fade in the paint with the clock running down. I hate that shot
2:17 — Davion is showing a lot of help from TJM in the corner. Giving the same treatment he receives
1:20 — Again. I HATE TJM fading around the paint. This is definitely one of those shots that I believe are going in every single time
4th Quarter
10:10 — Zone def(#6). Pretty good at not allowing anything easy and collapsing on the drive to force tougher shots on the kick outs
9:13 — Poor defense getting back and all of that set off the dominos for putting the defense in rotation off Pascal's rim running that forced help, and it’s just easy kicks moving the ball around and ends with a wide-open Pascal 3pt
8:40 — More easy offense because they didn’t get back and Pascal was able to attack Haywood who wasn’t in a good position. Gets to the rim for a layup
8:10 — Third straight possession with the defense not getting back entirely. Duncan is cross-matched with Pascal and has a good post position. Ware comes to help on Nembhard driving(who’s wide open because Burks isn’t even past half court). That draws the defense and Turner gets a wide-open 3pt
It’s this stretch defensively that closed the gap. Three looks off the poor defense.
7:50 — Solid defense from Davion vs Haliburton pressuring him. Duncan also shows help in gaps. Pascal was able to attack off the catch after he lifted against Haywood and draw the foul
7:35 — Pascal again goes to Haywood with ease. Using his strength to get a clean look in the mid-range with no one nearby
7:02 — Poor transition defense. Not fully matched up and Bam is late to contest Turner trailing 3pt
I don’t know how Bam has been late to so many closeouts that all resulted in open 3s
6:36 — Nembhard-Haliburton PNR gets Herro on the switch. Haliburton-Turner PNR with Herro trailing. Davion is then forced to provide help but there’s an exchange with Pascal-Nembhard and he gets a wide-open 3pt on the lift. Davion doesn’t realize
5:55 — Pascal matched up with Duncan in early offense. One of the easiest blow-bys all game long and Bam is late to help(didn’t want to help off Turner fully)
3:00 — Haliburton-Pascal-Turner double PNR. No one wants to switch, so it’s Davion looking to go under and over to recover. But I love the decision from Haliburton to throw the pass to Turner to flow into the handoff instead of dribbling himself. That allowed him to get more speed Ware had to step up and that also forced Bam to tag and that opened up Pascal for open 3pt. That was a great design to stress the defense well
2:18 — Nembhard-Pascal PNR. Auto switch. And it’s just Pascal rising up for a 3pt vs Herro
1:10 — Haliburton-Pascal-Turner double PNR. They go to the same exact thing. Hali also pitches the ball. But this time Ware is dropping more and Bam doesn’t come off to tag. It doesn’t matter because now Haliburton has the momentum to snatchback for a middy
If you managed to get to the end, I appreciate you taking the time!