Miami Heat make statement with dominate Game 1 win

The 1st seeded Miami Heat opened up the 2022 NBA Playoffs with an impressive 115-91 Game 1 win over the 8th seeded Atlanta Hawks. Looking every bit the part of a number one seed in this competitive Eastern Conference.

The Heat started this game a bit inconsistent on offense, but those concerns were gone by the time we got into the 2nd quarter. Duncan Robinson was an absolute sniper and is easily the Player of the Game after hitting a franchise playoff record eight three pointers to finish with 27 points for a playoff career high. There was just nothing Atlanta could do to slow him down and the Heat rode that hot shooting to a 30 point lead in the second half. Now we could never expect to get this kind of production from Duncan in every game, but to have him as an option off the bench alongside 6MOY Tyler Herro, who had a cold shooting game, is an amazing asset. Bam Adebayo had his usual impact on both sides of the floor, but just didn’t look too comfortable on the offensive end after being away from the team due to health and safety protocols. Expect a more engaged Bam moving forward.

For the Hawks, there wasn’t many good things to say really. Trae Young was an ice cold 1-for-12 from the field to finish with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and six turnovers. One of his worst performances of the year had a lot to do with what the Heat were throwing at him defensively. They got some decent shooting from Danilo Gallinari and Deandre Hunter, but it was not able to keep up with the Heats maniacal defense. The Heat were able to switch every pick and make every shot Young take feel rushed or off balance, but also staying connected with shooters. Bojan Bogdanovic finished 0-for-8 from the field for crying out loud. It was a full display of the versatility of Miami Heat defense and a big reason why they expect to make a long playoff run.

Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and PJ Tucker were the steady ship you would expect from your veterans. Whenever their name was called on the offensive end they answered and shot a combined 19-for-31 from the field including a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc for Tucker. Lowry was playing strong defense on Young whenever he was switched onto him and even picked his pocket and unselfishly assisted Max Strus on the other end. Butler was the steady flow of offensive production you hope to get from him throughout the playoff run. He was what felt like a season worst 2-for-7 from the free throw line, but everything else was clicking on all cylinders. His physicality was already in prime playoff form as he got into it with Trae early on in the first quarter. All things we love to see from our leader Jimmy “Buckets”.

The Heat will now take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2, which will be on TNT, Tuesday, April 19th at the FTX arena. I expect the Hawks to come out a lot better, but I also expect the Heat to bring the same type of defensive intensity they showed us in this dominant wire to wire victory. See you all then!