Shooting struggles continue as Heat drop Game 4

Another atrocious shooting performance from the Miami Heat as they lose to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 116-108 at the Wells Fargo Center. When players say it's a make or miss league, they weren't kidding. The Heat shot 7-of-35 from three and just could not buy a basket unless they were wearing a Jimmy Butler jersey.

Butler finished another masterful performance with 40 points on 13-of-20 shooting and 12-of-13 from the free throw line to go with six assists, two steals, two blocks and just one turnover. This includes 17 points in third quarter! He did what he had to do to keep his team in the game and he was doing it in every way you can think of. He was getting to the line at will, finishing around Joel Embiid, hit two three's and he was the only Heat player that was showing aggression from start to finish for the second game in a row.

You have to credit the Sixers for getting the job done at home. They were able to get the MVP Embiid back and they rode that momentum to two big victories at home. These wins haven't been flukes either as they've been able to find better offensive looks with good ball movement and they are getting three's from their entire roster. Seven different Philadelphia players hit a three in Game 4. That is a very healthy offense and one that looks to continue that momentum heading back to South Beach for Game 5.

James Harden had his renaissance game of the series as he finished with 31 points on 8-of-18 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line to go with his signature seven rebounds and nine assists. He was doing it all in the fourth quarter as he had 16 points in the final frame and came up with clutch baskets at the end of this one to help the Sixers pull away for the win. His step backs were falling and he was able to get to the basket pretty easily on a few possessions. It's easy to see the effect Embiid has on the floor as his presence opens up everything for his teammates and it forces the Heat defense to work extra hard to deny him the ball, which in turn means less legs on offense for your jump shots. Embiid had his usual 24 and 11 on an efficient 7-of-13 shooting. His combination of size and finesse is just unfair for anyone to guard, ask Bam Adebayo.

Speaking of Bam, I have reached a point where even when he has a solid night I can't help but get frustrated with his lack of aggression and urgency on the offensive side of the ball. His numbers looked solid tonight with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with seven rebounds and four assists, but he continues to be extremely passive in key moments. There were moments in this game and specifically in the third quarter when Embiid was on the bench where Bam did not even look to attack the basket. You are being paid like a star player and need to take advantage of matchups like that every time he possibly can. Even when the shot clock is winding down, he prefers to look for a dribble hand off instead off going to the basket and drawing some contact. As you can tell it's extremely frustrating. As for Kyle Lowry, his hamstring flared up in the first half and it got to a point where he could barely get down the court and his shooting reflected that. He finished with six points on 3-of-10 shooting, seven assists and four turnovers. He couldn't even finish the game due to the injury and with hamstrings you just never know when it will be 100%.

Erik Spoelstra had to get creative tonight with his rotations as Dewayne Dedmon missed the game due to an illness. He decided to tighten the rotation and go small with Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo getting the main minutes off the bench. Unfortunately, they were inefficient in that time as they combined to shoot 7-of-21 with three assists and five turnovers. That is never going to be a recipe for success and Herro needs to get back to what made him the 6MOY and aggressively look for his shot whether it's the three, mid-range or drawing contact at the rim. He's one of the biggest reasons we were the top seed in the Eastern Conference and we are going to need him to be at his best for the rest of this series.

This game was just another tough one to watch as we had multiple chance, once again, to take the lead and steal one on the road, but we just could not get over that hump. So we are now facing a best of 3 series against a team that has all the momentum. Will this gritty Miami Heat team be able to stand up to the challenge and take down the Philadelphia 76ers or will they succumb to the pressure? We'll just have to wait and find out on Tuesday.