Bam Adebayo, Pelle Larsson lead Miami Heat past Bulls in bounce back
Yes, we’re recapping Heat vs Bulls again.
This is part 3 of this mini series, playing each other for a third time in four days. Yet somehow, each game has looked different for both teams.
Davion Mitchell made his return for Miami, getting right back into that starting lineup, while Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, and Nikola Jovic were out.
Coby White and Nikola Vucevic returned for Chicago, while Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith remained out.
The Heat took care of business out the gate this time around, getting out to an early lead behind some hot scoring, and more importantly sustaining it the rest of the game.
So let’s discuss some takeaways from this one:
1. Pelle Larsson’s offensive run continues.
It was just 24 hours ago that Pelle Larsson logged his career high in a loss to this same Bulls team with 22 points. But he wasn’t done there. As the Heat got out to an early lead tonight, Pelle Larsson was a catalyst scoring 10 points in the opening four minutes, before getting to 18 points and 3 triples by halftime. He’s picked his spots and moments so well as of late, where his big offensive nights never seem like he’s doing too much. Even aside from the scoring, his big left handed block to end the first quarter on a dunk attempt describes his nightly impact perfectly.
2. Bam Adebayo builds off his big fourth quarter a night ago.
Bam Adebayo has a clear match-up advantage against this Bulls group. A night ago it almost seemed they figured they wouldn’t need an Adebayo takeover to win against that team, but ultimately he was forced to get ultra-aggressive in that fourth quarter before falling short. Yet tonight, he didn’t wait until that final quarter. He dropped 19 points in the first half alone, getting up 11 shot attempts and knocking down 8 of them. He was extremely physical inside, working the size advantages, plus getting back to some of that short mid-range stuff. Almost looked like his shot profile of past years, but it was clicking for him, no doubt.
3. Davion Mitchell: a noticeable difference maker.
The one Heat change in the rotation this game was Davion Mitchell returning from injury and plugging back into that starting lineup. There was a noticeable shift with him back out there, and I’m not just talking about his hounding on-ball defense. The offensive pace difference was clear, as the ball just moves better when he’s out there. We know about the isolation opportunities for Adebayo, Larsson, and Jaime Jaquez Jr, but Mitchell just forces a defense to start rotating. He was efficient with his shot making, and put guys in the right spots. A good player to get back into a rhythm, as he’s not a Heat player with any nerves heading into Thursday’s deadline.
