Biggest takeaways from the Miami Heats back to back wins

Jimmy Butler started the week by telling the media what he truly thought about his team and the outside noise. “We’re still going to win the championship, and I don’t care what nobody says". He continued "Count us out. We’re going to win the f*cking championship. I’m telling you. I don’t give a damn that we started 2-5.”

The Miami Heat were definitely struggling at this point as they lost the last two games of their three game road trip to the very teams they were about to face in a back to back at home. The Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. Both teams showed their advantages on Miami in the last two games, so it was extremely important for the Heat to come out and prove they are the team we expected them to be this season.

Well, they did just that.

The Miami Heat made a statement with their first winning streak of the season, and on a back to back no less. First, they defeated the Warriors 116-109 behind the back of some clutch play from Butler. They then followed it up with a close 110-107 win over the Kings that was missing both De'Aaron Fox and Butler.

In both games, we got incredible play from multiple players and the hope is that we can take this momentum into the long home stand. So for this article I'll be listing my biggest takeaways from these last two wins.

1. Duncan Robinson should be in the regular rotation

The Duncan Robinson experiment didn't look particularly great in the first seven games of the season as he averaged just 5.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.1 APG on 36.4/36.4/100 shooting splits in just 12 minutes per game. In the last two games, he was a much bigger part of the rotation playing 25.3 minutes per game and averaging 10.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.0 APG on 43.8/46.2/100 shooting splits.

Duncan was impacting the game with more than just his outside shot as he was making the rotations on defense and doing the little things you expect from anyone that puts on a Heat uniform. I heard Sean Rochester mention that it finally feels like he's truly embraced Heat Culture and that definitely fits what we say from Robinson in these last two games.

Against the Warriors, Robinson had a typical strong performance for himself as he was an absolute sniper from deep. He shot 5-of-8 from outside and finished with 17 points, two rebounds and three assists. He bailed out the Heat on multiple possessions down the stretch with timely three point bombs and his size and length were factors on the defensive end.

The second game was very different. Robinson had a poor shooting night as he finished with just four points on 1-of-5 shooting from three and we all know when that happens he's always taken out of the rotation for someone that'll give them more defensively. That didn't happen here. He played well into the fourth quarter and made some impactful plays down the stretch including grabbing six huge rebounds for Miami.

Duncan is starting to do the little things and the gravity his shooting has on the floor is just too much to ignore. He should be in the rotation.

2. Bam Adebayo has awakened

The worries I had for Bam Adebayo at the beginning of the season have gone away as it feels like we are seeing an aggressive Bam that is here to stay. In the last three games, he's attempted at least 15 field goals and the urgency to make something happen when the ball is in his hands is there. These are all great things because when Bam is confident and in rhythm it feels like there is no one that can stop him. The issue is if Bam could get into that zone on a consistent basis.

Lately, it's felt like he can do it. He's driving to the rim with more aggression and his finishing around the rim when he's met with resistance has looked better. He's not looking to defer to teammates as often as he would before, which is a great sign for the rest of the season. Playmaking is a natural part of Bams' game so it will come within the flow of the offense. He had six assists in both wins as his all-around game is starting to shine through as the season progresses.

Probably the biggest improvement that has to be mentioned is his comfort shooting from mid-range. He's starting to put himself in the conversation with the better shooting bigs in the game as he's knocking down 47.6% of his 2.3 attempts for the season. You can immediately tell when Bam is in a groove as he breaks down centers with his ball handling and uses his length to get the shot over the contest.

Of course I can't talk about Bam without mentioning his elite defensive work. There have been plenty of instances this season already that can be used to fuel his Defensive Player of the Year campaign. None of us will be forgetting Bam's nasty chase down block on Jordan Poole anytime soon, that's for sure.

3. Bench was a huge factor in both victories

In the first seven games of the season the Miami Heat bench was extremely inconsistent and averaged 28.7 PPG. In the last two games, Miami does not win without their bench as they averaged 39.0 PPG and they got huge contributions from players like Duncan, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and somehow Dewayne Dedmon.

Strus and Duncan both went off in the win against the Warriors scoring 24 and 17 points, respectively, while also providing solid defense on the other end. Vincent didn't shoot very well, but he did have eight assists and was a team best +29 on the night. Proving that his game is not effected by the amount of shots he makes, which is exactly what the Heat and most of us smart fans love about him the most.

Against the Kings, the Heat were without Butler, so Strus was forced into the starting lineup. This means it was up to the three-man bench unit of Robinson, Vincent and Dedmon to hold down the fort. Pretty scary to type, to be honest, but they did extremely well. Especially Dedmon, who looked completely washed before putting up a solid 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a block in the win.