Nba playoffs, Miami Heat-Atlanta Hawks 115-91 in race-1, Gallinari 17 points

Defense, determination, talent and depth. Miami shows off all the weapons that have made it the best team in the Eastern Conference and crushes Atlanta 115-91 in game-1 of the series between the first and eighth in the East. From the second quarter onwards there was no match: the Miami’s defense completely thwarted the Atlanta attack, starting with public danger number 1 Trae Young, held at 8 points with 1/12 shooting. The only effective offensive weapon of the Hawks, but the 17 points of the blue were not enough to annoy the Heat. Atlanta will have to change a lot, starting with its own offensive determination, to annoy Miami in race-2, scheduled for Tuesday also in South Beach.

choral

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The Heat are to be applauded for their chorality. Sure, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro are real talents, but the reason Miami won the East is the group, of which even the best of the team are wonderful members. Spoelstra’s team plays by heart: everyone knows their role, what is expected of them and what the teammates with whom they share the field have to do. No one tries to be a phenomenon, not even Butler who is the most talented of all. This is what makes Spoelstra’s team special, dangerous to the point of having won the East despite injuries and Covid. The ease with which Miami dominated Game-1 was devastating: it is not only a slap in the face of the ambitions of Atlanta, who entered the playoffs through the back door of the Play-In, to be able to annoy the Heat, but it is also a message to the entire Nba that Spoelstra’s team has everything it takes to be special. In the regular season, on the rare occasions in which he played fully, Miami showed that he had very few rivals: on his debut in the playoffs he confirmed this, with an incredible defense and a balanced attack, with the forward Duncan Robinson who thanks to the exploit of the fourth period closes with 27 points, his career maximum in the playoffs.

failure

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The Atlanta flop is so resounding that the Hawks seemed too bad to be true. Miami has mounted a suffocating guard on Trae Young, who instead of involving his teammates as he had done in the early slow times of the Play-In went adrift taking the whole team with him. The only exception was Danilo Gallinari, who especially in the second period (10 of his 17 points) found a way to pierce the Miami wall. Despite his talent and his experience, the blue alone was not enough to even get close to the Heat. How did the return of John Collins not help: stopped from 11 March, the one who on paper is the second best player in Miami started from the bench trying to help out with 10 points as a change of longs, where Onyeka Okongwu replaced in quintet Clint Capela, out for at least a week. The Swiss’s injury has taken away his anchor in Atlanta: on the pitch it has been seen, both because there was no protection to the iron in defense and because in attack Young did not have a terminal near the iron towards which to direct his passes. The Swiss will not return to game-2: understanding how to organize the attack (16 assists and 17 turnovers in game-1), how to beat the Miami defense, must be priority number 1 in the next two days. Otherwise this series is likely to be over already.

the match

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Tense match at the start, but Miami keeps Atlanta 3/17 from the field and reaches the first siren ahead 23-17. The extension in the second period, built on a devastating 7/13 from three in the period to which the revived Duncan Robinson contributes (3/4 from outside in the first half). Miami reaches the break ahead 59-40 and then overflows in the third quarter, hitting +28 with Butler and Tucker before closing at 86-60. The fourth period thus turned into a long garbage time, filled with applause from the Ftx Arena and Atlanta’s desperate desire to find some foothold to hope for a better race-2. Something completely different will be needed.

You love me: Robinson 27 (1/1 of two, 8/9 of three, 1/1 free throws), Butler 21, Tucker 16. Rebounds: Adebayo 6, Butler 6. Assists: Lowry 9

Atlanta: GALLINARI 17 (4/9, 1/3, 6/6 tl), 5 rebounds in 29 ‘. Hunter 14, Collins 10, Knox 10. Rebounds: Okongwu 7. Assists: Wright 6.