It was especially odd that they tried to go into why the Shawn Kemp trade was so important/pivotal without talking about Brian Grant at all.

That Jail Blazers doc on Netflix left *a lot* to be desired, nice as it was to hear Damon and Bonzi speak. Just pretended like half the team didn't exist, didn't have a coach, and didn't mention a word about what made those teams unique.

Heat vs. Hornets Play-In

Defensive Rating
Bam ON: 90.9 (11 min)
Bam OFF: 135.4 (42 min)

Jrue holding up with the ball there to avoid the intentional foul and bring the last man back toward him before passing ahead is a heck of a split-second awareness play.

Our CMS is being its usual delightful self. Should remedy in a minute or two.

The Heat nearly executed the same No Bam formula, with plenty of 3-And-Z, that has served them well for years.

But in the end it was the No Bam defense and rebounding that cost them as the one-game danger of the Play-In finally cost them.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

In the end the only way to kill the Play-In Heat was with a Cthulhu amount of chaos. What a damn game. Those last 30 minutes barely feel real.

And we have ourselves another clutch Heat game.

Heat being 11-of-28 from three when Herro and Powell have only taken three combined is about as massive as it gets, especially with Ball 2-of-12 from deep.

Zone really jammed Charlotte up for about five minutes back in early March and it's doing it again, giving Davion Mitchell the window to play the hero.

Ware, Jaquez Jr. and Mitchell have taken 13 of Miami's 20 attempts from three. Powell and Herro have only combined to take two, with Wiggins filling in the rest.

Threes have often been the great equalizer for Miami whenever Bam is out, so good to note where they are coming.

Pretty funny that the second Miami took all their rim protection off the floor was when LaMelo decided to take the two deepest threes of the night.

Question now is if Charlotte sends more help after Bam scores twice on Diabate in the post. Heat station their best shooter up top on those touches to make it really difficult to double without the rest of your defense being locked in on rotations.

Good sign for Miami that they are getting early feet in the paint like this, even if Charlotte has contested a few of them well.

I'll be shocked if Bam doesn't make it to All-Defense, but I also hope this is the season that finally offers a mass understanding that he's one of the most impactful rebounders in the league *as a center*.

Final On/Off DReb% Differential

1. Bam +7.2%
2. Chet +4.7%
3. Jokic +4.7%

Bam was also No. 1 in this category last season.

Final On/Off Differential Numbers

1. Jokic +16.3
2. Wembanyama +15.2
3. Kawhi +14.4
4. SGA +11.7
5. Bam +11.4

(Min 1,800 minutes)

In part because they've been so good, Charlotte has played a league-low 12 clutch games since Jan 15, where they are 6-6 with a -17 Net Rating in a tiny sample size. One of those losses was to Miami, when the Hornets scored 19 points in the 4th Q.

The Hornets were a very different team when Miami beat them twice in the first month of the season, so if you only look at the last two matchups, Miami won when they (and Herro) went nuts from three (47.4 percent) and Charlotte won when Bam didn't play at all.

The Heat did their job in beating Atlanta, but they'll remain the No. 10 seed as they head up for Tuesday's Play-In game in Charlotte.

Standings watch is over, clarity is in hand. All that's left to do is win.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

Miami's defense is on an unprecedented (for them) run in the wrong direction, but is it as bad as it looks?

Plus, has Tyler Herro again taken a step forward and what the regular season has taught us about the new offense.

Notebook Vol. 104: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

Miami's defense is on an unprecedented (for them) run in the wrong direction, but is it as bad as it looks?

Plus, has Tyler Herro again taken a step forward and what the regular season has taught us about the new offense.

Notebook Vol. 104: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

The Heat did what they had to do, but their fate was in the hands of others. Despite their win in Washington, they're locked into the 9-10 bracket of the Play-In.

As always, the last day of the regular season is worth a close look.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

Miami's 14-of-29 shooting from three is perhaps carrying a bit too much weight against the Wizards tonight.

Doesn't answer everything, but I do think there has been some pretty bad shooting luck going against them and that has caused a chain of reaction with the rest of the defense.

The numbers aren't everything, but this remains the most crucial aspect of Miami's defense the past few weeks.

3pt Defense Since March 14...

Shot Quality: 52.28 (1st)
Contest Rate: 64.7% (1st)
FG Percentage: 40.6% (29th)

The Raptors were a puzzle the Heat weren't able to solve this season, and that has left them needing help to get out of the No. 10 seed.

Takeaways: www.nba.com/heat/news/co...

Don't know if the Heat have found solutions here so much as they've hit a metric ton of threes, but they're playing fast, loose and hard and have earned much better looks as a result.

Heat being able to make some threes (3-of-14 tonight) would make a world of difference in this matchup, but the matchup also makes it more of a Shot Quality problem than a Make-or-Miss problem. They had to earn their 38 in the paint as much as any this season.

The Heat have had their 3rd, 4th and 5th lowest Offensive Rating games against Toronto, and their 2nd, 9th and 14th lowest Shot Quality games against them to match.

Had some better looks from three last night than in December, but their 3rd lowest 2pt Shot Quality in trade.