In what was supposed to be a must win game for Miami, turned into another fiasco down the stretch. The Heat played the Sixers close throughout the first half, but a minor lapse from Goran Dragic after slapping Ben Simmons across the head, the Sixers went on a 20 to 8 run throughout the third quarter and never looked back. Though the Heat had their moments in the fourth quarter, which looked like they were about to come back into this game, their minor lapses on defense and allowing the Sixers to get into the passing lanes and cutting through their rotations became their undoing, en route to a 104 to 91 win, eliminating Miami.
J.J. Redick once again led the way in scoring for the Sixers, making 27 points, while Simmons and Joel Embiid (pronounced Em-beed), were in double double figures. Simmons made 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Embiid had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Marco Belinelli (pronounced Bel-lin-nel-lee), who was the hero of Game 1 for Philadelphia, made 11 points, and Robert Covington with 10 points.
As for Miami, Kelly Olynyk (pronounced Ol-lin-nik) made 18 points and was the most consistent player for the Heat in that series. Tyler Johnson, who was quiet throughout much of the series, scored 16 points, Dragic with 15 points, Justise Winslow made 12 points, and Dwyane Wade had 11 points.
There are a lot to takeaway from this series, but the one thing that stands out the most was its physicality and the fouls that were committed by Miami, specifically ones by Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside was the most ineffective player for the Heat, having averaged 6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the postseason. A far cry from the numbers that he puts up during the regular season.
And so, the Miami Heat’s season has come to an end, which now leaves them with a long summer to look at some options within their roster. Expect the Heat to make some moves in the offseason, albeit after reviewing the performances of their players from this series with Philadelphia.
The Heat Check Magazine 