Heat finds winning combination as Jimmy Butler trade rumors swirl

After two nights of NBA Cup quarterfinal games, the league returns to its regular schedule through Saturday – when the league heads to Las Vegas.

That’s when the NBA will host the semifinals, starting with a matinee featuring the new Atlanta Hawks (14-12) against the Milwaukee Bucks (13-11), who have won eight of their Last 10 matches.

Next up, the nightcap in Vegas will feature two young, athletic teams, as well as the current top two seeds in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets (17-8) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (19-5) .

This all leads up to the NBA Cup Finals, which will feature the winners from each conference, and take place on Tuesday.

Here are some takeaways from week seven of the NBA regular season.

Amid Jimmy Butler trade rumors, Heat are playing their best basketball of the season

Star forward Jimmy Butler’s name has been popping up in trade rumors this week. Despite this, the Miami Heat (12-10) are playing their best hoops of the year.

After tinkering with different starting lineups, coach Erik Spoelstra appears to have found a winning combo: Butler, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and defensive guard Haywood Highsmith. Among all five-man lineups with at least 115 minutes on the floor, this unit leads the entire NBA in net rating (20.8).

In comparison, the starting lineup used by the Boston Celtics before the return of center Kristaps Porziņģis ranks second (20.6).

Herro, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, is easily playing the best basketball of his career, averaging points (24.2) and assists (5). The biggest development is his shot selection. Herro virtually eliminated the less efficient midrange, opting for drives and 3s. The result was increased efficiency; Herro is averaging career highs in field goal percentage (47.7%), 3-point percentage (42.2%) and field goal percentage (59.6%).

Miami has won three in a row and is 7-3 in its last 10, with wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers (21-4), Los Angeles Lakers (13-11) and Dallas Mavericks (16-9). ) during this period.

But Butler, 35, has a player option for next season, so Miami must make the decision to trade him before the deadline or risk losing him for nothing if he opts out of his deal. Still, if the Heat continue to win in the new year, it will only make it harder to justify breaking up the core.

The Suns suffered another blow and are struggling to stay afloat

The Phoenix Suns (12-11) are playing their last three games, all played without star Kevin Durant (sprained ankle). This is just the latest setback in a season complicated by injuries.

The Suns have lost nine of their last 12 games, but it’s becoming clear that Durant is the key to their success; Of the 10 games Durant has missed this season, Phoenix has only one win. Of the 13 games he played in, Phoenix only lost two.

Center Jusuf Nurkić is dealing with an ankle injury himself, although his production is down, averaging his lowest point total (8.9) since the 2016-17 season (8). Because his playing opportunities have been reduced – given the addition of point guard Tyus Jones in the offseason – Nurkić is averaging just 1.3 assists per game, down from 4 last season.

Hawks hitting the window could be candidates for escape

There’s one clear reason the Hawks (14-12) have won seven of their last eight games: rebounding. No team has been better than Atlanta over the last eight games, with the Hawks leading the NBA in rebounding percentage, with 54.2 percent of them.

In fact, the Hawks have outscored their opponent in each of the last eight games, and they’ve done so by an average margin of 8.4 rebounds per game. And it’s not just scrubs that the Hawks have beaten recently.

Atlanta has wins against the New York Knicks (Wednesday night to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA Cup), the Lakers, the red-hot Bucks and against the NBA’s best Cavaliers (twice). .

So now the Hawks have the best record in the NBA since Thanksgiving.

The grizzly bears are completely in tears. Maybe it’s a mirage

First, a caveat: beating weaker opponents is something good teams do should TO DO. It is nevertheless difficult to draw definitive conclusions from the recent match of the Memphis Grizzlies (17-8), winners of nine of the last ten games.

Eight of those wins during this stretch have come against teams currently below .500.

Granted, the other win came against the defending champions, the Celtics. Memphis held MVP candidate Jayson Tatum to just 1-of-10 shooting from 3 and held Boston to 40 percent field goal shooting — matching their lowest output of the season.

Ja Morant is once again a wizard of the game, Jaren Jackson Jr. has been steady and the Grizzlies have solid depth, especially with the addition of rookie Jaylen Wells. Youngster GG Jackson remains out after off-season foot surgery. The Grizzlies rank fifth in offensive rating (116.5), seventh in defensive rating (108.4) and fourth in net rating (8). They have pieces to fight.

The 76ers are finally healthy. Can they save their season?

The Philadelphia 76ers are enjoying a nice little five-day break after the game. This comes at a perfect time.

On Sunday, in their last game, the 76ers (7-15) defeated the Chicago Bulls to win their fourth in their last five games. It was also the first time all season that Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George – their undisputed Big Three – started and finished a game.

There were no notable minutes restrictions and Embiid had a double-double (31 points, 12 rebounds), while Maxey recorded his first career triple-double (25 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds). ).

Frankly, a little patience might be in order. Embiid missed his first seven field goal attempts and looked a little hesitant early in the game. But the second quarter was just a glimpse of what the Sixers can be when they click; Philadelphia – led by Embiid’s methodical shooting – went on a 16-0 run to be down 39 in the second quarter. The Sixers never trailed again from that point on.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA rewind: Heat finds winning combo amid Jimmy Butler trade rumors