Miami Heat Fans Get FANTASTIC NEWS After The Spurs Preseason Game!

Miami Heat Fans Get FANTASTIC NEWS After The Spurs Preseason Game!

[Music] The Miami Heat had their third preseason game last night against the Spurs. They lost again, making them 0 and3. Now, I don’t really care about that because to me, some of the positive takeaways from last night’s preseason game outweighs the negatives. And we will touch on the negatives at the end of today’s show. But the great news revolving around this heat team is all having to do with their last two first round picks. You see pictured right here, Kel Wear and Casper Yakonis, because those two were phenomenal last night. And I want to start with the rookie 20th overall pick, Casper Yakonis, because he did make his heat debut last night if you count the preseason. returned from his wrist sprain injury on his left hand. Had some black tape on it, but was out there and looking good. He finished the night playing 25 minutes. He had eight points. But the part I want to focus on is the assist to turnovers. He had 10 assists, 10 assists to three turnovers. Pretty good ratio there. But when you actually go beyond the stat sheet, he really only had two turnovers. What do I mean by that? Well, one of his credited turnovers, he picked up a loose ball after Hawz had an errant dribble, picked it up, one dribble, and then someone knocked it off of his leg out of bounds. Like, that’s not a real turnover. So, to me, he only had two. So, he had really 10 assists to two turnovers. But the part that also was so encouraging was not only his playmaking, but his defensive presence. He was a pest. He was really good at sliding his feet, staying in front. His rotations were strong, and it led to him forcing a couple turnovers, even had a block as well. Like, there’s no doubt about it. Did he struggle with his three-point shot yesterday and his overall shot? Absolutely, he did. But I don’t think you could have wanted anything else from the 20th overall pick, the 19-year-old rookie. He displayed defense. He displayed grit. He displayed an unbelievable IQ in terms of the way he can see passes and the way that he can playmake for others. I mean, he had that one play where he was driving left, got cut off at the baseline, so stopped, picked up his dribble, spinned, and then somehow caught Kell Wear on the other side of the rim with a lob, easy pitch, easy catch, lays in the layup. Like, there’s not many people can make that pass. I’m willing to make or this statement that Casper Yakonis is the only player on the Heat roster that would be able to see that pass and actually make that pass. That is how good of a playmaker this kid is. And it’s been his calling card and his biggest strength going back to when he was playing for Lithuania in last year as a true freshman at Illinois. Did he have turnover issues? Absolutely. Did he have efficiency issues at times? Absolutely. But you cannot discredit his ability to make the wow passes. It’s unbelievable the creation and creativity that he has. Make sure you go follow me over on Twitter. You’ll get daily Heat content, Miami Heat highlights, instant analysis. I live tweet every single Miami Heat game with my thoughts and clips. So go give me a follow if you haven’t already. Currently have 2,395. I need five followers to get to 2400. Let’s get to 2400 right now. I like I just briefly mentioned it. His playmaking was through the roof, man. And I think you could confidently say he is the best passer on this Heat roster. And we’re talking about a 19-year-old rookie. Like I like that’s how confident I feel. And I’m not overreacting, I think, when I say this because I said this when they drafted him in late June. I was like, “This is a special player. This is a great pick.” He was sixth on my NBA draft big board. Only trailing um who who Oh my god, I’m spacing on the number one overall pick. Oh, Cooper Flag. My goodness. Only trailing Cooper Flag, Dylan Harper, Edgecomb, Trey Johnson, and Jeremiah Fears. Those were my top five. Yak Jonas was right there at number six. I think he is a phenomenal player. And as I’ve mentioned, he’s 19. He’s a lot of room to grow. Like, and here’s another part that was intriguing. I was critical of Yakonis because of how poor he played in the summer league and I always mention maybe we should relax because he’s not playing with NBA level guys and he is a player that needs to be surrounded by equal level talent to be able to showcase his talent but also his strengths in terms of his ability to playmate. Well, we saw him have actual NBA players alongside him in this preseason game and he dominated. Like, he was not good in the summer league. There’s no sugar coating it. The first three games at the California Classic looked like we drafted someone that only plays at the YMCA, but he did improve in the Vegas summer league in his three games. Scored 15 a night. The assist numbers weren’t really there. The efficiency increased. But the point I’m trying to make is we just saw a more calm, a more relaxed and confident Casper versus Yak Chotus last night. The game did not seem too fast for him. He played at his own pace and executed at the highest level. I really like what I saw last night from Yak Jonas. If you can’t tell, I am super super excited. I originally thought this is a guy that was likely going to play in the G- League most of the season, but if he’s able to consistently show that defense from last night as well as his playmaking, I just don’t know how you can’t have him in the Heat rotation this upcoming season. Are you with me? What is your excitement level for the first round pick out of Illinois, Casper Yakonis? Scale it for me down in the comments section. Scale is 1 to 10. Moving on, the other first round pick from last season, Kel Wear. He absolutely dominated last night. I mean, he was the best player on the floor the entire night. That includes a Norman Powell, Bameio, Victor Wemanyama, Devin Vel. Like, you watch that game, you come away with it. Holy KL Wear was the best player on both teams. 29 points, 12 boards, back-to-back double doubles in the preseason. had 18 points and 13 boards on Monday night. Had a block and a steal. That block was on Victor Webbyama by the way. Completely bodied him. We drove, got cut off, spinned, tried to go up and under on a pump fake and Wear did not bite and blocked the shot. Shooting 12 of 19 from the field and three of six from three. I mean this was when you think of what’s potential looks like at the highest degree it is that that is the truth is like that is why we are so excited about him and have I been extremely hard on KL wear absolutely have we seen Eric Spolstra be extremely hard on Khalware in the public eye but that is why it is not hate. It is understanding what Khal Wear’s true potential is. Cuz when you watch him, there is a legit chance he becomes a top five player in the NBA. Seriously, the way he looked last night, top five player in the NBA potential. His ability to shoot, rim, protect, rebound, finish around the rim. But the issue that we see with Wear is that he is not giving you 100% effort every night. And we know when he gives you 100% effort, he is capable of putting up those big numbers and wow moments and highlights that we saw against the Spurs last evening. Like we want him to unlock his max full potential, but the only way that we get that is if he plays 100% every single night. Come on, Co. We believe in you. Just need you to show it every night, man. More coming up here in a second. But this episode is brought to you by Prize Pix. You and I make decisions every single day. The right decisions on Prize Pix can get you paid. Price Pix, by the way, is the only app that offers stacks, meaning you can pick the same player up to three times in the same lineup. Want to pick more on KL Wear’s rebounds, assists, points? Well, now you can pick all of them in the same lineup only on prize picks. They also offer injury reboots. So, if one of your players leaves the game in the first half and doesn’t return, prize picks will not count it as a loss. Join millions of users and sign up for America’s number one fantasy sports app. I have an entry for the season in basketball. You can play daily. You can play season long. I got more than Brandon Miller, 22 points per game. Less than Dylan Harper points per game, 13.2. and more than Luca Don at 29.1 points per game. Download the prize picks app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. 100% effort KL wear is the absolute X factor for Miami. I’ve labeled Yoic as an X-factor, but if you get KL Wear locked in for an 82 game season where he’s giving you a 100% effort every single night, this is a guy that can elevate the Heat from a fringe playin team, fringe playoff team where I think they could be anywhere between a six and like nine seed this season to a top four team in the Eastern Conference. That is the level of talent KL Wear displays because you could play him with Bam if he’s able to consistently knock down threes like we saw last night. You could play him as the lone big. You can run the offense through him in the high post, the pick and roll, pick and pop game, but also let him eat on the offensive glass as well as rim running in the pick and roll. Like if he gives you his 100% effort, that is an absolute X factor. It’s unbelievable to watch the difference in Kel Wear when he gives you max effort in comparison to like 65 70% effort which we see too often. I don’t know maybe you just got to tell him that he plays Victor Wanyama every day. Like in all seriousness, we watched KL Wear have his breakout on the scene moment in the regular season last year in that game against the Spurs where they started wear in the starting five with Bam and Wear dominated WY played outplayed him and then last night it’s matched up at times with him again coming off the bench and outplayed him again. Like I don’t know maybe he just takes that matchup personal. I don’t know what it is, but it’s seen it twice now. Klo wear versus WBY. We wear wins the matchup. Can we just play the Spurs every night? Like, is that crazy to ask just to get to K Wear? I don’t know, man. Just a funny joke. But something I’ve noticed, man, the guy’s unbelievable. Played WBY twice and absolutely dominated both times. Hit that sub button. We were live for last night’s game, folks. It was a blast to be back on the channel live. will be live next for the season opener 13 days from today on October 22nd against the Orlando Magic. Don’t miss another one. Subscribe and turn on notifications if you want top-notch heat coverage. I’d also be remissed if I didn’t talk about Haime Hawz Jr’s performance last night because I’ve been critical of Haime. Didn’t like how he looked in the starting lineup in the first two preseason games. Well, Drew Smith got the start last night alongside Yoic, Bam, Wiggins, and Powell. And Hawkins just looks so much better off the bench with that second unit. Played in 28 minutes. Actually played the most minutes out of anyone in that game yesterday. Had 19 points on six of eight shooting. Didn’t even attempt the three, but was able to generate easy looks for himself by getting to the charity stripe seven times where he made all seven free throws. This is the efficient Haime Hakez Jr. that we saw frequently during his rookie season where he finished on the AllNBA first team rookie and was top three in rookie of the year voting. Like that’s just his role, man. Bring him off the bench and do not give him the ball in his hands. Seriously, like the way you’re going to get the most out of Haime Hawkins Jr. is having him come off the bench and letting him get out in transition and letting him feast off of back door cuts, timely cuts in the pick and roll. Like, if you just put the ball in Haime’s hand and say, “You’re a point forward. Can you bring the ball up and get the offense started?” It’s not going to work out. The fit just isn’t there. It isn’t. Let him play off ball. Let him come off the bench and let him be an ignitable guy after the first five come out of the game. Simply how it has to be for Haimeme Hawkeyes Jr. But I liked what I saw last night. Hopefully he continues to find his stride. All right, I got four other takeaways before we head out of here on today’s show. One, starters look like blurted out, but it was very frustrating to watch. Drew Smith, Yak or Drew Smith, Powell, Bam, Wiggins wear. They didn’t play good. They fell down early in the first quarter and then the second unit came in that youthful second unit of Yakonis, Kashad Johnson, Wear, Hawz, Larson. They were awesome. They were fantastic. They they were the most exciting part of yesterday’s game. But and then the starters come back in to close the final five, six minutes of the second quarter and they were lethargic, they were lazy, they were sloppy. It was just bad basketball from the crew at the end of the second quarter and it bled a little bit into the third quarter as well when they played for the first five, six minutes of the second half. Second takeaway, it’s time to worry about Bam. Listen, Bam in a bio. We know what he is offensively. He’s an 18 to 19 point per game guy. He’s not going to give you 25 a night. Um, but he’s going to lead your defense and he’s going to give you 18 and 10 on like 50% shooting. But man, his inefficiency in the mid-range right now, it’s concerning he has not been able to find his shot in these three preseason games. And the only reason why I am a little bit concerned, I’m not pressing the panic button right now, but he started off the season last year so poorly. He didn’t really find his stride offensively until late January and February. Like we can’t have another November and December where BAM is averaging 14 a night and shooting 43% from the field. He’d do that and he does that. I mean Miami is going to be picking inside the top 10 this year. So can’t have that from BAM. Norm Powell is so fun. 18 points back-to-back games in with 18 points. Played a little bit more in this one than he did in the second game of the preseason. only had nine points at halftime, but had nine points in the first eight minutes of that third quarter. You could just see how good of a scorer he is. He’s so comfortable off ball, on ball. He can hit that little eight-foot running floater that he did two or three times last night. Can bury a triple if he’s left open. Can leverage that three-point shot into a drive to collapse the defense and score for himself or like I said, collapse the defense and kick out for a teammate. I love what Norman Pal is going to bring to the table this season. going to be a true true blessing to watch him this year. The final takeaway, I’m over Kashad Johnson. I don’t know why he has a standard guaranteed deal. I said that when the Heat gave it to him in the early parts of the off season. I get it. He’s an athletic four that the Heat want to develop. He just doesn’t really possess anything that moves me in a positive way. Like, is he a decent defender and an athlete? Yeah. And maybe they’re trying to develop him into that like Haywood Heismith role, but he will never be the three-point shooter that Haywood Heismith was. And he will never be the defender that Haywood was either. Shod’s an athlete and when he gets out in transition, boys, it’s fun to watch, but you can’t have him have the ball in his hands at all. You don’t trust him to make a shot from beyond the arc. I I just don’t understand the benefit of keeping him on a standard deal on a two-way contract. Yeah, absolutely. in to continue having him in the organization and develop him. But on a standard guaranteed deal, that was a mistake from the get-go. And I and I’m just over Kashad Johnson. I just really am. I’m sorry. Love the guy. He seems like a good dude. But I from a pure basketball roster decision, don’t get it one bit. All right, I’ll do it for today’s show. If you want more on the Miami Heat, as I mentioned earlier, follow me over on Twitter, Nick Rolloff. Appreciate everybody for watching today’s video. Have one going out tomorrow as well. So, I’ll see you then. [Music]

Miami Heat fans should be FIRED UP about what they saw in the Heat vs. Spurs NBA Preseason game! The last two Heat first round picks, Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis, flashed their true potential! Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS and use code CLNS and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Heat Report host Nic Rohloff recaps the Heat Spurs game alongside the Heat stats and Miami Heat highlights. Ware led all scorers with 29 points while Jakucionis led everyone in assists, with 10. Jaime Jaquez Jr. also had a good performance off the bench with 19 points. This Miami Heat YouTube video features Heat news and Heat rumors from the NBA Preseason.

Can’t get enough Miami Heat content? Well, follow host Nic Rohloff on social media for more around the Miami Heat: https://twitter.com/nic_rohloff

Kel’el Ware stats and highlights from the NBA Preseason:
29 PTS, 12 REB, 1 BLK/1 STL, 12/19 FG, 3/6 3P

Kasparas Jakucionis, 20th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, made his Heat preseason debut last night against San Antonio. Jakucionis has been dealing with a wrist sprain that kept him out of the first two preseason games.

Missed our recent Miami Heat YouTube coverage? We got you covered:
– Miami Heat Winners & Losers From NBA Preseason Heat vs. Bucks Ft. Nikola Jovic, Kel’el Ware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xse9rM-nt8
– Do The Miami Heat Have A HIDDEN GEM?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fryuvg3Tq6U
– Nikola Jovic STARTING? Miami Heat Preseason Takeaways vs. Orlando Magic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7GVv3B_TcY

Get down in the comments and answer today’s Heat questions!
– Excitement level for Kasparas Jakucionis? Scale of 1-10

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Jaime Jaquez Jr. highlights:
19 PTS, 3 REB, 6/8 FG, 0/0 3P, 7/7 FT

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