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After winning the first two contests of their series against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat suffered a lopsided loss in Game 3 as Joel Embiid finally made his return. The star big man has yet to be in the pink of health though his presence surely uplifted the spirits of his teammates and made a significant difference for them in this game.
The Sixers will have to win another tilt on their home floor in order to tie the series at 2 games apiece come Game 4. With that said, the Heat must find ways to counter their attack and bounce back in order to regain control of the matchup and go for a commanding 3-1 series lead.
With that said, let's take a look at three adjustments the Heat must make after their disappointing Game 3 loss to the Sixers.
3 adjustments Heat must make after Game 3 loss
3. More Heat players should contribute to the scoring department.
Scoring has never been a problem for the Heat in the first two games of this series. Aside from the usual numbers of Jimmy Butler, they also received production from guys like Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Victor Oladipo.
In Game 3, Miami didn't get to have the usual contributions from their key players as most of them struggled on the floor. Only Butler (33 points) and Herro (14 points) scored in double digits while Kyle Lowry was kept scoreless in the game after playing 25 minutes. Their struggles definitely hindered the Heat from keeping up with the scoring production of their opponents.
Meanwhile, guys like Oladipo, Adebayo, and Max Strus must be more aggressive in finding their shots in order to have a bigger impact for Miami on the offensive end. On the other hand, four Sixers players scored in double digits including Danny Green, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and James Harden. If the Heat can't find ways to get more players involved in scoring then this series will definitely be tighter than expected.
2. Heat must make more of their shots from various spots on the floor.
The lack of scoring production primarily stemmed from the Heat's inability to make most of their shots on the floor. They evidently struggled to get their offensive rhythm going as they shot lower than the Sixers in every major shooting category in Game 3. The Heat only made 35.1% of their shots from the field as compared to their opponents' 47.8%.
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A big discrepancy in three-point shooting was also seen between the two teams as the Heat settled with a dismal 23.3% while the Sixers drained 48.5% of their attempts from beyond the arc. In terms of free-throw shooting, Miami only shot 75% while Philadelphia made 86.4%.
Due to their failure to make shots, the Heat were also outmatched in the assists department, 14-22. All in all, not having a good shooting day in Game 3 caused Erik Spoelstra's squad a ton of problems as they fell behind and absorbed a 20-point beating from their opponents. They will definitely have to solve their shooting woes come Game 4 if they want to regain the momentum in this series before the Sixers get a chance to do so.
1. Bam Adebayo needs to play at a higher level on both ends of the floor.
In Game 3, Joel Embiid has been the bane to a Heat side that was supposed to gun for a 3-0 advantage in this series. In his return, the five-time All-Star didn't have a perfect outing but he did sufficient damage to neutralize the momentum of their opponents. Despite not being in the pink of health, Embiid notched 18 points, 11 rebounds, and an assist in 36 minutes of action.
On the other side, Bam Adebayo was coming off a solid performance in Game 2 where he led the Heat in scoring with 23 points to go with nine rebounds and three assists. However, it should be noted that he did it primarily against Philadelphia's backup centers in DeAndre Jordan and Paul Reed.
In Game 4, Adebayo finally met his match in the returning Embiid. Though he wasn't fully healthy, the Cameroonian still proved to be too much for Adebayo on both ends of the floor. The Heat's big man was only limited to nine points, three rebounds, and an assist in 34 minutes played. As one of the main contributors to Miami, much more is expected from Adebayo, especially in the scoring and rebounding departments. Him tallying pedestrian numbers certainly won't help the Heat's cause moving forward.
As the series progresses, Embiid is expected to regain his rhythm as he tries to put his team on his back to get in the thick of things in this series. At the same time, Adebayo must find a way to match his opponent's intensity and make sure that he will also get to play at a higher level for the remainder of this series.
