Jimmy and Max lead as the Miami Heat eliminate the Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers fans left the arena with a little over six minutes left in the game as the Miami Heat completely embarrass their team (final score) in Game 6 to eliminate them from the playoffs. The Heat simply had more heart and effort in this one and were in control from start to finish.

Honestly, I can’t even blame the fans for leaving half way through the final quarter as their team just looked lifeless for the majority of this game. Jimmy Butler gave it to his old team as he finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Just a dominant all-around game from our superstar, who once again could get to any spot on the floor he wanted and was punishing poor defenders like James Harden and Tyrese Maxey. Butler has been a consistent force for the Miami Heat throughout these playoffs and he now enters the second Conference Finals of his career.

Now we all know the Miami Heat’s defense was suffocating and elite, but the only thing that will be talked about from this game will be the disappearance of Harden in the second half. He had zero points and just two shot attempts in the half and 11 points, nine assists and four turnovers overall. There were multiple times throughout the second half where you can see Harden just walking down the court. PJ Tucker was fronting him the entire length of the court and never let up. In renturn, Harden showed no fight or effort. He and Maxey would see multiple defenders on every drive and when they would kick it out the help defense was always there. Just perfect execution all around from the players and the coaching staff.

How smart do the Miami Heat look for locking up Gabe Vincent and Max Strus till the end of next season? Two undrafted players that are not only starting for them in the playoffs, but playing huge roles in an elimination game in the Semi-Finals! Today wasn’t Vincent’s best game offensively, but he played great defense all game long and finished with seven points and six assists. Strus on the other hand was as loose as ever. He finished the game with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting and 4-of-10 from three to go with 11 rebounds, five assists and a game-high +23. We can argue that Strus has been the second best player for the Heat in these playoffs. Just incredible development by the Strus and the organization and it needs to be talked about more.

You surely won’t agree with my next statement if you are only looking at the box score: Bam Adebayo was dominant in this game. He did not allow Joel Embiid to do anything he wanted. Aside from a few baskets from offensive rebounds, Embiid was completely taken out of the paint. Bam showcased why he should have been in consideration for DPOY as he hounded the 76ers star from start to finish. On top of the defensive masterclass he displayed, Bam finished with 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. He consistently makes winning plays and us as fans (me included) just need to sit back and enjoy it.

The Miami Heat came into this game knowing they were the better team and they showed it. Can’t express enough how incredible Jimmy is playing and we’re going to need every bit of it moving forward as we await either the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals!

Let’s go Heat!