my perspective last night I saw a lot of good things, I need to see them being consistent with them:
1. Jimmy playing peak level, still has game, there is a miniscule loss in speed for sure you can see on the defensive end, but he is still high iq and more than capable of still being our #1 scorer on uber efficiency.
2. Bam middy wasn't scouted as strong in the beginning of the season and he was feasting, when teams made it a point to give him only that shot diet vs plays at the rim, plus crowed him with multiple players/double/tripple teams it totally has made his January a bad month on FG%, also add a bit here that we need to account for his injury which could be a factor on his mobility to get to his spots, however the Pick & Roll game with Herro, Rozier if used correctly is going to get him going much earlier in the game, and when he starts getting that play it will also open up opportunities for open three pointers as the defense will eventually start playing for the lob and disregarding the ball handler. In the past the Herro/Bam two man game has always been great don't understand why we went away from it as much.
3. Jimmy two man game with Love, you could tell Jimmy's best Pick and roll is with a big who can screen and shot the 3ball, which is why Jimmy/Bam pick and roll is none existent, staggering Jimmy w/Love & Herro w/Bam is a recipe that will work as long as Herro makes it so that the Lob/pass is the priority in the scheme and then play to the shot when they decide that Bam is the priority after the screen, also Kevin has to hit the 3ball too, for them to respect the Jimmy/Love pick and roll.
4. The other team were still blowing by our guard tandem in the beginning of the game, Herro/Rozier is a bad defensive combination, Spo however after the first quarter spent the rest of the game making sure those guys were staggered as much as possible, and that Jrich or Caleb were at the off guard defensively moving forward to relieve some point of attack issues on those guys, the back line did a great job as well on rotating, crips rotations were key here, also cannot forget the Zone defense also helped alleviate some issues there. Staggering both of Herro/Rozier allowed them to basically feel comfortable not having to give up the ball distribution ie your turn my turn your turn my turn, etc. You could see that Rozier is far more natural as a distributor as well, I mean he had less time with the ball in his hands, was quick to pass the moment an opening presented itself and managed to get 2 more assist than Herro while having the ball far less.
5. Role players did their job, and kept their free lancing to a minimum which is where we usually lose and have empty possessions, clearly saw Spo call a time out when Caleb when away, he stills seems a bit gun hoe for my taste, but Spo was quick to pull that cord as soon as it looked like he got to comfortable going free lancing. Both Caleb and Jrich best spots on the defensive side were clear as day as the off-guard/2guard. Their length/wingspan and 6'-5" height is perfect at that position, when those guys are task as primary ball handlers or playing the Forwards positions is when we look bad.
6. The only thing I still need to understand, I believe Sammy made note of this yesterday after the game is, Rozier's role, because all of the corrections made during yesterdays game primarily could have been made without having Rozier on this team, but a just a 3&D with good court vision at the PG, hell Kyle could have done the same thing except perhaps for being guarded tight for his lack of speed, no longer being able to collapse the paint. If Miami is going to keep Herro and his game will be used the way it was done last night, it would have been better served going after a PF instead of another lead Guard. So I just want to see how Spo finds a way to get Rozier in the Rozier/Love - Rozier/Bam - Rozier/Jimmy pick and roll a bit more and let him go 1v1 to force a collapse at the paint. I understand he still hasn't had a practice with the team as of yet, so there is still some cohesion that needs to still keep filling out with the team and himself.
7. Size is still an Issue here, we obviously can be successful without Duncan as shown last night, so I think this should be a clear message to the team that perhaps his contract may be best suited to find that starting level PF, as much as I see Highsmith being successful and a great perimeter defender, even when he forces the miss, it results in an offensive rebound and putback, so while the data shows him being good, it may not translate the way we think. We can't always fall back on zone defense as a way to cover for size and speed. Spo will need to know that a lineup based on size, needs to be implemented against the teams that force the issue in that regard, I don't believe that lineup exist yet, or at least he may not feel comfortable with one currently, or that player may not be on the roster yet either.