Tag Archive for: Miami Heat

5 Things to Watch in Miami Heat’s First Official Game

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The Miami Heat will be playing their first official regular season game of the NBA restart on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are a tough game to start out against for the Heat since they are pretty strong defensively. Well, here’s some things to look out for in Saturday’s game…

#1: The Heat need good interior defense to beat this Nuggets team.

The Miami Heat have struggled this season with their perimeter defense, mostly at the point of attack. Well, this Denver Nuggets team will challenge them on the interior. Miami’s bigs will have to deal with not only one of the best centers in the league in Nikola Jokic, but also the rest of their lengthy bigs off of the bench. Meyers Leonard will probably see most of the match-up against Jokic, but Bam will probably get some possessions on him in the fourth quarter. The containment of Jokic in this game is important since this is a similar match-up they may see in a series against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Instead of countering Nikola Jokic all game with Meyers Leonard, Erik Spoelstra will need to go stretches with Bam as the center, since he can attack Jokic’s weaknesses on defense.

#2: Kendrick Nunn getting back to his old self.

Kendrick Nunn has been trying to get back into mid-season form since arriving to the bubble late after testing positive for Covid-19. He was a little rusty in the two scrimmage games he played, but the more games he plays, the better he will look. In the second scrimmage, Kendrick scored 5 points on 29% shooting, and in the third scrimmage he scored 6 points on 20% shooting. He will definitely look to pick that back up, especially since he will be out there on the floor with one of the most productive starting lineups in the league. He also is a major part of the offense since he can attack the rim and control the mid-range, which is something the Heat haven’t done a lot of on offense in these scrimmage games.

#3: Miami’s offensive players will receive more minutes.

As mentioned previously, Miami’s defense has been the biggest problem throughout the season, but their offense has enough firepower to exceed their defensive struggles in this game. This is because Denver has seemed to have the exact opposite problem than the Heat. Denver has been pretty strong defensively this season, but has struggled at times on offense. The Nugget’s offense only goes as far as Jamal Murray takes them, which may be a problem for the Heat since they’ve struggled against similar guards. But, Miami will most likely look to beat this team the way they know how to. Shooting the ball. For example, we will probably see more Kelly Olynyk minutes than Derrick Jones Jr minutes since they will just try to straight up outscore this Denver team.

#4: Heat’s depth must outweigh Denver’s depth.

One of Miami’s biggest strengths of the team has been their solid depth. But, Denver is one of those teams that has pretty solid depth themselves. They do have a lot of guys injured at the moment, which may hurt their depth, but they have the kind of role players that seem to break out against the Heat. Miami’s bench will need to outperform Denver’s bench if they want to win this game. Plain and simple. The Nugget’s offense has tailed off this season when the bench unit enters the floor, which it seems as if it improves when Miami does it at times. If Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Jae Crowder, and others can get a rhythm going early, they will most likely win this game. But on the other hand, if Denver’s bench out performs Miami, it’ll be a hard game to win once NIkola Jokic and Jamal Murray enter back in.

#5: A Jimmy Butler offensive display.

Jimmy Butler has shown that his strengths are basically everything other than scoring this year, since he can play-make and defend at such an elite level. Well, he showed what he can do offensively in the last scrimmage game when he scored 18 points 80% shooting. This is what the Heat need Jimmy to do once the postseason comes around. The team trusts him scoring the ball, the coaches trust him scoring the ball, the fans trust him shooting the ball. But, Jimmy needs to trust himself scoring the ball. He obviously needs to continue to play-make and defend as his number one option, but will need to have scoring confidence at ends of games when the team needs him. If Miami begins to have trouble with Denver’s physical defense, look for Jimmy Butler to step up as the elite scorer that he is in this game.

5 Key Moments from Media Availability with Spoelstra, Dragic, DJJ

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The Miami Heat had an earlier practice than usual on Thursday, while other teams are preparing for the first regular season game of the restart tonight. This was the first official practice for the Heat that will prepare them for these types of regular season games. Well, here’s what they had to say about their preparation for Saturday against the Denver Nuggets…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

Coach Erik Spoelstra talks a little about the preparation for these regular season games coming up. He says the plan is to “adjust and play the depth as necessary.” This is definitely a major advantage for the Heat, as mentioned many times. It seems pretty clear that depth is the biggest strength of their team. Sometimes it seems as if Spoelstra has a little too much depth to mess around with, but this is definitely a good problem to have in this format. He also says “I have to remain open to pivot as needed.” Spoelstra is one of the only coaches that have the ability to adjust quickly and succeed at it. As there’s been many different x-factors discussed for this season, Spoelstra may be the biggest one.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

Goran Dragic seems pretty excited to get back out their on the court with the team in games that count. He said, “I can’t wait to start.” He also mentions that today’s practice was really intense, which means they’re starting to ramp stuff up a little more. These practices are being utilized right now as a type of scouting format. The coaching staff is trying to find the guys that are in the best shape right now and who they can trust. This very well may be Goran Dragic. As mentioned before, it’s been very obvious that veterans are made for this format more than young guys. Plus, Goran is one of the Heat’s primary play-makers, which will begin to be needed more and more over the course of the next few weeks.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Derrick Jones Jr got to talk with some media today after practice as well. He starts it off discussing the Heat’s primary struggle. Defense. He said, “We just got to get a little bit better rhythm playing together. Just getting locked in on defense.” Derrick Jones Jr is one of the few guys on the roster that has the ability to fix this problem. It’s been obvious that the defensive struggles have come from the lack of defense from the Heat’s guards. And well, DJJ has the ability to match-up against other guards, which he mentions, “I want to guard the best player every night.” But, there’s a lot of question marks around what he will be able to offer offensively. It seems pretty clear that Spo will have to make a decision on what he wants to prioritize.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

Spoelstra talks a little about the importance of these scrimmage games for this Heat team. He says, “We didn’t play particularly well in our last game, but there were moments in each game where we made progress.” The Heat’s final scrimmage game was definitely a bad note to leave on, but as Spoelstra said, they’re focusing on the positive moments. These scrimmages have helped Spoelstra find the right lineups, defensive schemes, and mainly the type of environment. Last game’s disaster may be the best thing that could’ve happened to the team, since that makes them practice that much harder and truly understand what it takes to win these games.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

The Miami Heat have just released some new shirts on the social justice issues. The team wore them in practice today, which include “Enough is enough,” “Silence is compliance,” and much more. Derrick Jones Jr talked a little about the shirts, saying “I love it.” He says there are some people that aren’t very comfortable speaking about this matter, so the shirt does the talking for them. Erik Spoelstra also spoke about these shirts, saying “This is the shirt that resonates with me,” when speaking about the “Silence is compliance” shirt he was wearing. This team continues to be vocal with their stance on social justice aspects, which is one of the main reasons they wanted to get back onto the highest stage possible.

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Loss in Final Scrimmage Game

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The Miami Heat had quite a rough showing in their final scrimmage game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Miami lost 128-110, which left the team with a negative note heading into the regular season games. Here are my five takeaways from this game…

#1: Defense continues to look problematic.

Miami’s defense has been one of the biggest questions for the Heat heading into the bubble. And well, this still stands. Perimeter defense has been the biggest problem since there’s a lack of defensive guards on this Heat team. Jimmy Butler and Derrick Jones Jr will definitely get a load of opposing team’s back-courts due to the lack of point of attack defense. There was also some trouble with interior defense since there was a physical big on the court in Jonas Valanciunas. But the biggest takeaway is something that Duncan Robinson said after the game, “defensive connection.” This seemed to be the major defensive issue in today’s performance.

#2: Turnovers are Miami’s biggest downfall.

Turnovers are just one of the issues in tonight’s performance, but it’s something we’ve seen in all three scrimmages. Most of these turnovers seem to come from costly and forced passes. This may be due to the fact that guys like Jimmy are trying to get everyone back in rhythm, since he had 5 turnovers in today’s scrimmage. It also may be due to the increased speed in these games in the bubble. These games are much like summer league games, which is a constant display of pushing the ball. More offensive possessions means more turnovers. Either way, this is something the Heat will need to touch up while they get closer and closer to the postseason.

#3: Veterans hold the Heat’s key to success.

There was a lot of discussion before play began in the bubble on whether veterans or young guys would benefit more. Well, these scrimmages have proved that its veterans definitely benefit much more. Many believe this is just an experience thing, but I think it may be due to no fans in the stands. These young guys are so used to feeding off of the crowd. One example would be Tyler Herro. Most of his impressive scoring stretches this year have been at home games, and at times when the crowd is into the game. This just proves that their should never be a time when one of Jimmy Butler, Andre Igyuodala, and Goran Dragic are not on the court.

#4: Spoelstra is still finding lineups with chemistry.

During these three scrimmage games, there’s been certain lineups that just don’t fit well together. Guys like Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk, or Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo, have proved to have natural chemistry and efficiency when on the court together. But, it’s been obvious that Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn don’t have the best of numbers when they share the court. This is definitely something that Coach Spo has kept track of. Also, the zone defense is definitely impressive at times, but should only be used with certain lineups. There’s been many times where they put their defensive wings up top, but leave Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic down low. This lead to many points in the paint, and will continue to be problematic if not utilized correctly.

#5: Jimmy Butler looked smooth on offense.

Although Jimmy Butler only played 22 minutes today, he put on one of his best offensive showings in a while. But the most essential part about it was the efficiency. Efficiency has been in question when talking abut Jimmy Butler, especially since he’s become more of a play-maker than a scorer with the Heat. This may be due to Bam Adebayo returning to the lineup alongside Jimmy, which they played most of their minutes together on the floor today. If Jimmy could keep this up on the offensive side of the ball and the Heat can polish up on defense, they will be a tough out come playoff time.

5 Main Comments from Media Scrum with Spoelstra, Adebayo, Crowder

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The Heat had another late practice Monday night, in preparation for the Heat’s third and final scrimmage game. Coach Erik Spoelstra gave a clearer outlook on the Heat’s lineup for the scrimmage game, while Bam Adebayo touched on a much more important topic. Here’s what they had to say…

Comment #1:

Erik Spoelstra talked about the return of Bam Adebayo to the lineup after he tested positive for corona virus. He said, “He’s had several good days of rock solid work.” This was one of the main reasons Bam didn’t play Saturday. He had just arrived and didn’t have a chance to get in game shape. But now, he’s starting to look like he’s in mid-season form since he stayed in shape during the hiatus. Spoelstra also adds, “He will play.” This is one of the biggest things Heat fans want to get a look at again. They want to see their developing superstar back out their on the court wearing that red and black.

Comment #2:

Spoelstra mentions that everyone will be available tomorrow for the scrimmage, except rookie KZ Okpala. This seems to clear up a lot of misconception for Heat fans since they’ve been waiting to see him get some minutes. It’s like fans fully expect him to be a star, and how can you blame them since it seems every young guy the Heat get turns into one. KZ will most likely not see the court during their time in the bubble, but it’s probably for the best. Not only give him time to fully heal, but also time to fully understand the league. Duncan Robinson didn’t see the court in his rookie year, which he spent doing exactly what Okpala is doing now. Don’t be surprised if KZ Okpala comes out of no where next year to be a key player off the bench.

Comment #3:

Spoelstra talks about how this environment has been treating them and what he expects from the team. He begins saying that he’s been telling players to leave their rooms or stop playing video games. This almost seems as if this was aimed at a particular person. Maybe not. But either way, as long as they are producing on the court, that’s all that really matters. He also says he suggested players to go out and play golf. Goran Dragic seemed to take advantage of the opportunity which he played golf for the first time ever. Spoelstra ends with, “It’s been easier to focus on your team. And even for the guys. Life is simple here.” Although it’s all focus for this Heat team, this may not be the case for every team in the bubble. The teams still here in October will be lead by guys that are the most mentally tough and “focused.”

Comment #4:

Jae Crowder got to discuss tomorrow’s scrimmage as well, which he seems to know a lot about. When Jae talked about playing his old team in Memphis, he said “I’m going to take it very serious.” He adds that they want to put it together as a team and play the right way in these games. Kelly Olynyk has seemed to “play the right way” in these games, which Jae said has really helped him out with the second unit. He raves about Kelly’s versatility since they can use different sets against other defenses. He also began to rave about Tyler Herro, which he said his confidence is what surprised him so much. What I took from what Jae said during this time is his positivity in himself with the second unit. Between his high praise in Kelly and Tyler, and his learning from Goran and Andre, he truly believes this will be a X-factor for this team.

Comment #5:

Bam Adebayo got to talk with some media tonight as well, but in a much different sense. He took the road of answering every question with getting justice for Breonna Taylor. Getting this message across to both media and fans is truly essential. He wants to make sure that this stays on people’s minds, especially since this is a much more important discussion than talking about how practice went. Bam and others have been vocally active on social justice issues since their arrival, which is the main goal for the NBA as a whole during their time in the bubble. Bam ends with the quote that everybody not only needs to support, but act upon. “Black Lives Matter, people.”

 

5 Key Moments from Post-Game Media Call with Spoelstra, Herro, Nunn

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After the Heat’s loss in Saturday’s scrimmage game, Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn spoke about different improvements they can make and their current health standpoint. Coach Erik Spoelstra also shared his opinion on this. Here’s what they had to say…

Post-Game Comment #1:

Erik Spoelstra talked about Tyler Herro’s impressive bounce back game today, which he said “He’s fearless.” This seemed to be true when he went up to try and dunk on Rudy Gobert early in the third quarter. Spoelstra also said that he continues to develop his skill level, which was proven true with his play-making ability today. Another aspect of his game that has shown major strengths is his rebounding. As he continues to round out his game, he continues to show signs of a superstar type player in this league, and it is evident Spoelstra thinks the same.

Post-Game Comment #2:

Spoelstra talked a little about the main problem that hurts this Miami Heat team, which is the point of attack defense. Spoelstra said “You nailed it on the head.” He knows the problem that they have defensively, which is why we see him try so many different schemes. No matter if it’s changing to zone or rolling with a new lineup, Spo is constantly adjusting to try and fix this. He also mentions how important it is, which was seen in the first half of today’s game. Donovan Mitchell would get right by one of the Heat’s guards and throw a lob to Rudy Gobert. This is what put the Heat in such a bad position early, and will happen again if they don’t fix it quick.

Post-Game Comment #3:

As mentioned previously, getting Tyler Herro these opportunities now, will benefit him so greatly in the future. Tyler says, “I feel comfortable,” when discussing running the offense for majority of his time in the game. The most important thing for a ball handler is comfortability and the most important thing for a shooter is confidence. Well, Tyler’s got both. Tyler also mentions that he’s still young and learning, which is why these scrimmages impact him more than any other player on the team. Especially with his eagerness to learn, Tyler will pick up on this quick and be a major threat come playoff time.

Post-Game Comment #4:

Tyler Herro talks about watching both Devin Booker and CJ McCollum in pick and roll situations. After Tyler was compared to Devin Booker coming out of the draft, it’s amazing to see how much more realistic this becomes the more he plays. He said, “Taking extra dribbles, making the right pass, getting off the ball early.” These are all things I’ve said he had improved on in today’s game alone. This is another instance of being comfortable. Their must be a certain level of confidence in your skill-set to make certain passes and dribble moves, which was seen today a lot.

Post-Game Comment #5:
Kendrick Nunn “Well it’s definitely a different kind of rhythm. By the first game of the season, I will have everything under control.”

Kendrick Nunn also got to talk with some media today after his first game back, which he discussed getting back into the swing of things. Kendrick said, “It’s a different kind of rhythm.” Well, it’s definitely a different kind of rhythm when you don’t pick up a basketball for four months. His stamina definitely didn’t seem to be a problem in today’s game, which Spoelstra mentioned yesterday was due to the fact that he put in so much work in May and June. Kendrick also said he thinks he will have everything under control by the first game of the season. This will be a very helpful addition for the Heat’s offensive firepower, but may be mixed in with different lineups then we saw today. Since some of those lineups did not have enough defense on the floor.

5 Takeaways from Heat’s Second Scrimmage Game

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The Miami Heat had an evening scrimmage game on Saturday, and they fell short, 101-99. The Heat were without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in this game, which was due to rest in preparation for the counting regular season games. Well, here’s what was seen in this game…

#1: Kelly Olynyk solidifying big minutes off the bench.

Kelly Olynyk’s spot in the rotation has been in question due to the Heat’s major depth. Well, Kelly proved he can definitely be utilized after he put up 27 points in today’s scrimmage. This was one of the major factors that the Heat were in this game, since the Heat’s starters struggled early. Kelly was a threat at all three levels on the offensive side of the ball, which then opened up the floor for guys like Jae Crowder. We know Kelly is capable of doing this on offense, but the question is consistency. If he can do this on a regular basis, he will be a major part of this Heat rotation.

#2: Tyler Herro bounces back after tough shooting game.

Tyler Herro was coming off of a game that struggled from beyond the arc. His shooting seemed to be back to mid-season form, but that’s not what stood out. What stood out was his play-making improvements. He seems to be getting much more comfortable with running the point, which is a role the Heat would love him to play. This has especially been the case at ends of games, when Tyler runs the offense and is the go to scorer. This is just a glimpse of what we can expect from Tyler in the next three years, where he may be the primary play-maker on the roster.

#3: Heat’s offense is choppy without Jimmy Butler.

Jimmy Butler took the day off on Saturday, after a hard practice the night prior. Something I mentioned after the first scrimmage game was how much more fluid the offense was when Jimmy was on the floor. This seemed pretty evident in this game since the offense was very choppy throughout, especially with the first unit. Though Tyler and Iguodala did a good job running the offense today, it just isn’t the same without Butler on the floor. Guys like Duncan Robinson and Meyers Leonard benefit when Jimmy is playing, since he constantly draws people in, which forces wide open threes. Don’t be alarmed by the tough scoring night by Miami, since this will be fixed quickly upon both Jimmy and Bam’s return.

#4: Turnovers become problematic for Heat rhythm.

The Heat seemed to make some mistakes throughout this game on both sides of the ball, but turnovers seemed to be a big one. We know the defensive mistakes that were made due to the lack of a defensively strong back-court. But, the offense will need to clean themselves up, especially in games that are tight down the stretch. This may be something else that falls under the Jimmy category without him running the offense, but there will be times without him on the floor, and they need to be trusted. This also may be due to the fact that most of the guys are trying to get back to their pre-hiatus form, but hopefully this won’t carry over into the regular season games.

#5: Heat’s bench unit seems to be Miami’s biggest advantage.

To end on a positive note, Miami’s bench unit seems to grow stronger and stronger every time they play. Between the Kelly Olynyk display, Jae Crowder shooting, and Tyler Herro play-making, it seems as if this will be the biggest match-up for other teams. At times it feels like the team is getting better once the bench enters, which is not the case for many other teams. Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala are two other names off the bench that will impact this team, especially when the playoffs get going. Even Soloman Hill had good stretches throughout the game with his perimeter defense. As repeated over and over about this team, their depth is going to be a huge problem for opposing teams.

5 Main Comments from Media Availability with Spoelstra, Adebayo, Nunn

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Heat’s starters Kendrick Nunn and Bam Adebayo finally arrived to Orlando on Tuesday. And after 48 hours of quarantining, they’re back on the practice floor. After a light practice night for Kendrick and Bam, they got to talk with some media about both their readiness and this Heat team’s odds. Here’s what they had to say…

Post-Practice Comment #1:

Spoelstra began talking about the availability of Nunn and Adebayo in Saturday’s scrimmage game. He said “I’m open to it.” This definitely means that both Nunn and Adebayo showed good signs in practice in the bubble if they’re already ready for the games. Spo did also say that “They worked intelligently today in practice,” and mentioned that they put a ton of time in May and June which put them in this position. Both Bam and Nunn add a huge spark to their respective sides of the ball. With the addition of Nunn’s scoring and Bam’s defense, it’ll be interesting to see how they come back.

Post-Practice Comment #2:

Coach Spoelstra got asked about the fact that this environment may impact shooters in a much more positive way. He responded, “I believe in our shooters. Our shooters are elite.” This seemed to be evidently true in Wednesday’s scrimmage game against the Kings. Especially for Duncan Robinson. But Spo also added to this question saying that he’s actually heard the exact opposite about the shooting in this environment, but says, “I’ll take it.” Well, if it’s harder for some shooters, it definitely doesn’t apply to this Heat roster after what we saw in their first game back.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Nunn began his discussion with media talking about the process of having Covid-19. He said he had mild symptoms and he feels pretty strong. Nunn also mentioned one of the biggest helps during this stretch was keeping in contact with Bam Adebayo since it was “the same routine trying to get over Covid.” But on the basketball side of things, Kendrick seemed pretty positive about his return to the court. He said he will definitely try to “persuade” Spo to let him play tomorrow. This will be a very big improvement to the offense, especially since it brings a guy who can attack the rim and control the mid-range, which is something we didn’t see on Wednesday.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

After Adebayo talked about his experience with Covid-19 as well, which he described as “boring,” he began to talk about this Heat teams odds. He says their goal doesn’t change just because they took some time off. He says, “Our ultimate goal is to win a championship, that’s the mindset.” That is the “mindset” of this team in general since that is pretty similar to what Jimmy Butler said about this team a few days prior. It’s great to hear Bam continue to have this mindset even with the many distractions he’s had to deal with. He said he felt scared today during practice since he hasn’t played.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

Adebayo got to talk about the expectation coming into the season for him and how that’s impacted him. He says, “Got my opportunity now I gotta produce.” That’s another great example of the “mindset” of this young star. He knows how good he can be, especially since the work ethic with him is no problem. Adebayo also says that the biggest motivation for him was the doubters that didn’t think he could be what he wanted to be.  He says, “I wanted to prove them wrong.” This is definitely what he did, since he wasn’t even looked at as a top 15 center coming into the season, and is now a top 5 center at only 23 years old. He ends his media session saying, “Alright everybody don’t forget, Black Lives Matter.” Though Bam says the ultimate goal is a championship, the real ultimate goal is to get this message across since it truly is “Bigger than Basketball.”

5 Takeaways from Heat’s First Scrimmage Game

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The Miami Heat got the win against the Sacrament Kings in their first scrimmage game in the bubble, 104-98. There were a lot of positives from this team throughout the game, especially the amount of talented depth on the roster. Here’s five takeaways on the Heat from this scrimmage game, heading into the regular season and playoffs.

#1: Duncan Robinson hasn’t skipped a beat.

Duncan Robinson apparently wasn’t fazed by a four month layoff with no basketball. He started the first quarter with four threes. This is something that is expected from Duncan, but not many expected it to happen this fast. Especially since Duncan didn’t have his running mate, Bam Adebayo, who usually sets him up for his three point attempts. This shooting display eventually impacted the rest of the team, which usually happens once Duncan gets going. It opens up the floor for the rest of the team. If he’s doing this after not picking up a basketball for 1/3 of a year, it’s a scary sight on what he will be doing in the next few weeks.

#2: Andre Iguodala is positioning himself for major playoff minutes.

If there was one guy that was a surprise in this game, it was Andre Iguodala. He seemed to be comfortable running the point throughout the game, and definitely slows the game down. He has a natural feel for the game, most likely due to the fact that he’s had plenty of playoff experience. He seems to have a pretty good on court connection with Heat rookie Tyler Herro. This seems to be a connection on and off the court, since Andre spoke about this relationship with media on Friday. Andre seems to fit right in with every lineup, which subsequently means he will be one of the first guys looked to off the bench when Spo is in a tough spot.

#3: Jimmy Butler forces a smooth running offense.

The Jimmy Butler narrative has seemed to be the same all season. Shooting struggles, but major play-making improvements. This was shown in the first quarter of the scrimmage when Jimmy couldn’t get in a rhythm shooting the basketball. But, once he went to the bench, the team looked kind of lost. He has such control of the offense with passing, leadership, and spacing off of the ball. Which when Jimmy checked back in the game in the second, the team looked much more under control. This isn’t too much of a shock since it’s always tough to get in a groove with your leader off the floor, but will need to be fixed in order to beat teams like Milwaukee or Boston.

#4: Miami’s defensive lineup looked effective.

One of the most intriguing lineups on this heat team is the defensive lineup of Jimmy-Crowder-Iguodala-DJJ-Bam. We got a slight glimpse at this lineup in the scrimmage, of couse excluding Bam, and it seemed pretty productive. The defensive veratilities of this lineup gave the Kings major trouble. One of the biggest questions with this lineup was the offense. And there seemed to be no problem there since Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala, and Derrick Jones Jr looked pretty offensively sound. Now, adding Bam Adebayo to this lineup only makes it scarier, which means there’s a big possibility we will see Coach Spo pull this card in the postseason.

#5: Tyler Herro dusting off the rust.

Tyler Herro had to get through some rough patches in the first game back after a couple of months. Though he ended the game with 15 points, he had some trouble shooting the ball, going 0/7 from three. One of the only positives of his struggles, is that it’s a learning curve. Coach Spo left Tyler in the game throughout his difficult stretches, which seemed like Spo wanted him to figure it out. This is the only way for a young guy to get better of course. He continued to fight through his shooting problems, which caused him to attack the basket and play make. He began to draw fouls and get in a bit of a rhythm. These struggles in games like this, will only make Tyler more comfortable in a playoff setting.

Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn Back with Heat in Orlando

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Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn have officially arrived in the Orlando bubble to join the Miami Heat.

Both Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn were delayed to the fact that both tested positive for Covid-19. Now that they’ve arrived, they will need to quarantine for at least 36 hours and receive two negative tests.

Bam and Nunn will also not be playing in Wednesday’s scrimmage game against the Sacramento Kings. But if their quarantining goes according to plan, they should be ready to go by the second scrimmage on Saturday.

This news was reported by the 5 reasons sports network over the weekend….

What this means for the team?

Bam Adebayo is currently the Heat’s most irreplaceable piece on the team, which is why his return is so important. Bam’s defensive duties for this team goes without saying, but his presence is what is key. He’s an eye sore for other teams on both sides of the ball. And of course, his positive personality will light up the Heat’s practice room whenever.

Kendrick Nunn on the other hand is one of Miami’s talented go to scorers. He has been an important piece to this team all season since there’s been some rough patches with the point guard position. Though his jumper has been streaky at times, his ability to attack the rim and keep his confidence from midrange was revelatory for a rookie, as he broke through the rookie wall just before the Covid-19 break.

It goes without saying that it’s a big deal when two of your starters go out in any circumstance. But the most important thing with their arrival for this team is their locker room presence. This gives the team confidence that it has enough to compete with anyone. No wonder Erik Spoelstra’s been smiling.

Post-Practice Comments

5 Post-Practice Comments from Spoelstra, Haslem, DJJ Zoom calls

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The Miami Heat had an evening practice on Tuesday afternoon, preparing for Wednesday’s first scrimmage game. Udonis Haslem and Derrick Jones Jr spoke to the media on Zoom afterwards about the team’s current status and the preparation before tomorrow. Here’s five main Post-Practice Comments from Sports, UD and DJJ.

Post-Practice Comments #1:

There has been a lot of excitement from the players this week after practice as they get closer to the return of play. Spoelstra touched on this saying that’s all they’ve been talking about, especially for the game tomorrow. He also mentioned that every player in the bubble right now will get minutes tomorrow, which might mean no minutes upon the return of Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn. This then gives these guys the time they need to get back to 100%, and gives some of the bench guys an opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation.

Post-Practice Comments #2:

Udonis Haslem got asked about what he likes about this type of environment, he replied, “Ain’t nobody complaining. We got a no complain rule.” This is indeed true with this team, especially under their leader UD. Haslem has talked about this bubble in the past and always talks about one thing, focus. He wants their guys to be with their guys and essentially stay locked in. He also said “We got a short amount of time to get a whole lot of work done,” when referring to the return of play. Although we don’t know the minutes UD will get over the next few weeks, we do know he’s been putting in more work than most team’s starting lineups.

Post-Practice Comment #3:

Derrick Jones Jr begins the discussion with the joy of getting back to doing what he loves. He said, “This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.”

All of the guys feel the same way, but it’s a bit different for Derrick. He’s had a bit of a rocky road throughout this hiatus after testing positive for Covid-19. At the end of the day, he just wants to get back to basketball. Derrick will look to play some major minutes off of the bench for the Heat. He may be asked to jump into the starting lineup some nights for match-up reasons.

Post-Practice Comment #4:

Andre Iguodala is one of the Heat’s most intriguing players entering the playoffs. His experience–His defense–His leadership. Which is why it was great to hear Erik talk so highly of him today after practice. He said: “He’s gotten better each day.” Spoelstra also says that this has been great for him since he didn’t have a training camp before the season. He also ends the discussion saying that he’s seen the different ways that he can impact a game to help the team win. Spoelstra will definitely look to Iguodala in tough spots since he’s a guy he can trust in a playoff game.

Post-Practice Comment #5:

Spoelstra starts saying that at some point you can’t look at this situation from a basketball perspective. He says they are so grateful to partake in this since there are so many people around the world right now out of work. He says he’s talked to the team about this recently and thinks it’s important. Erik Spoelstra and the Heat have been using these zoom calls with media to touch on all of the important things going on in our world. They’ve discussed the pandemic, social injustice, and much more over the course of the last two weeks in hopes of getting their point across. They clearly have a bigger goal in mind beyond basketball.

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