Bam Adebayo, Haywood Highsmith deserve credit for Miami's improved defense

Swirling trade rumors and social media chatter haven’t impeded focus on the Miami Heat’s core philosophy: making defensive adjustments.

As the Jimmy Butler trade debate continues, coach Erik Spoelstra remains locked in on what has sparked his team’s turnaround after its 5-7 start. That shouldn’t come as any surprise about a three-time NBA champion whose coaching path started with a video coordinator job in 1995. I can’t imagine any good NBA coach lacking obsession with assessing what adjustments their team needs, but Spoelstra remains in his own class of maximizing what is in front of him without making — or accepting — any excuses.

One of the latest examples of Spoelstra’s on-the-fly savvy has been Miami’s improved interior defense. Though the Heat remain the league’s least active shot-blocking team, Spo and Co. have gradually resolved their early-season rebounding troubles, which has played a huge role in Miami sporting one of the NBA’s best defenses as it has won seven of its last 10 games. In that span, according to NBA.com, the Heat have been among the league’s best rebounding teams, ranking fifth in contested boards since Nov. 18.

Even more impressively, even if Miami isn’t blocking shots by the boatload, it isn’t allowing endless opportunities at easy points, as evidenced by its league-low 20.7 percent free-throw rate yielded to opponents on the season. That figure drops to 19.8 percent when accounting for the sound play in recent weeks.

It shouldn’t be surprising Miami is restoring its defensive identity, because Spoelstra trusts his key players, namely Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Haywood Highsmith. In that trio, Spoelstra knows he has players who can make adjustments among teammates without their coach stressing himself into calling for a tweak — and rightfully so.

Among the 19 active players with at least 1,000 career steals, Butler is one of two with more swipes than fouls committed. The other is two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Adebayo is the only player who has earned an All-Defensive nod in each of the previous five seasons. His combination of IQ, communication and mobility helps Miami force opponents into plenty of awkward, less-than-ideal shot attempts, even if the Heat (on pace to rank last in blocked shots for the fifth straight season) don’t reject many of them.

Highsmith’s case? Anyone around the Heat appreciates his willingness and knack for being all over the court as opposing offenses run out of good options and time on the shot clock.

In Miami’s last 10 games, opponents are shooting only 29.2 percent overall and 19.6 percent on 3s with four or fewer seconds on the shot clock, good for fifth and ninth in the league.

“At some point, there’s no hiding,” Spoelstra said. “You gotta guard, take the challenge. That’s why I don’t like to get too much in the weeds about schemes. At some point, out of the scheme, it’s gonna be one-on-one … at some point. Whether or not we’re in our zone. Whether we’re in a trapping defense. Whether we’re switching, it doesn’t matter. The ball is gonna go somewhere, and you gotta guard. And then, you gotta finish it off with some kind of rebound effort.”

Possession control is vital in a league where a few minutes could be the difference between leading or trailing by double digits. It’s the basketball version of life coming at you fast, but with fun stats and the occasional highlight. So far, the Heat are on pace to enjoy their first top-10 offensive ranking since Butler’s first season in South Florida, so balancing out defensive and rebounding issues could give the team room to improve, should things either remain in place (i.e., Butler not being dealt by the Feb. 6 trade deadline) or improving (acquiring more size to maintain interior presence).

Role players like Kevin Love and Dru Smith remain key to Spoelstra comfortably surrounding his defensive trio with like-minded veterans. Love’s rebounding and floor-spacing are important for Miami’s ability to keep Adebayo on the court without compromising presence. And Smith, whom Adebayo calls one of the team’s energizer bunnies, boasts quick feet and hands. Even on their worst day, the Heat are annoying to play against simply because they enjoy making offensive possessions miserable for opponents — you’d almost prefer them to block your shot instead of exhausting you with timely rotations and inconvenient deflections as the shot clock whittles down.

“It’s always going to be a point of emphasis for our defense to protect the paint,” Spoelstra said. “Protect the muscle areas, limit teams from getting easy baskets. Is that easy in this league? No, but if you want to have a good defense, you gotta take away those kinds of easy relief points.”

Given how well things have gone for Miami in recent weeks, Spoelstra wants to focus on the main thing, which is to notch wins now and worry about individuality later. So long as everyone maximizes their roles, he trusts the team should be fine and be satisfied with whatever ceiling it reaches. Highsmith, for example, has the team’s lowest usage rate, but he’s shooting a career-best 41.7 percent from deep. Butler remains sound in timing his best moments, so it’s no surprise he’s enjoying the best shooting season of his 14-year career (55.7 percent). And, in Adebayo’s case, his 57.9 percent shooting during Miami’s three-game win streak better resembles what his team needs to maximize its two-way ceiling.

Ultimately, Spoelstra remains more focused on the big-picture task than anyone’s ego as the Heat continue navigating the season and Eastern Conference standings.

“I don’t want to talk about anybody’s touches, shot attempts — their role,” he said. “You know what the role is? Whatever the role has been the last three games. That’s what it is. That’s what I want everybody focusing on.”

(Top photo: Andrew Lahodynskyj / Getty Images )