When the Miami Heat started 7-11 this season, many wondered what was wrong with them and felt they needed to make a trade in order to jump-start their weak offense.
But they have won 15 of their last 24 games to improve to 22-20, and they now hold the eighth spot in the competitive Eastern Conference.
Miami got itself a 112-111 win on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that is a bit more dangerous than its 18-23 record would suggest, as they boast one of the leading scorers in the NBA in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Heat were led by Jimmy Butler, who poured in 35 points thanks to his perfect 23-of-23 mark from the free throw line.
THAT'S A BAAAAD MAN 🥶 pic.twitter.com/ENqbeFx7xb
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 11, 2023
In fact, as a team, they went 40-of-40 from the charity stripe, which set a new league record for most free throws made without a single miss.
Broke the NBA record by going a perfect 40-40 at the free throw line.
Fitting way to end the game. pic.twitter.com/UB1vZIaShv
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 11, 2023
The key to Miami’s resurgence has been its defense, which looked anemic in October and November.
But they’re third in defensive rating in their last 15 games, which has brought their ranking on the season in that category up to sixth.
Another key has been the improved play of big man Bam Adebayo, who has put up 23.7 points on 56.1 percent shooting and 10.4 rebounds in his last 20 contests.
He did not play on Tuesday, nor did Tyler Herro or Kyle Lowry, but the fact that the team has been winning games with regularity despite being shorthanded is a very encouraging sign.
As usual, the Heat are flying under the radar, but they’re also serving notice that they will have something to say about how the Eastern Conference playoffs turn out this spring.
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