Nikola Jovic STARTING? Miami Heat Preseason Takeaways vs. Orlando Magic

Nikola Jovic STARTING? Miami Heat Preseason Takeaways vs. Orlando Magic

Welcome into the Heat Report by Chat Sports. I am Nick Rolloloff. We are here on a Sunday morning after the Heat’s first preseason game in Puerto Rico where they played the Orlando Magic. They lost 126 to 118. But there are a lot of positive takeaways that I have from this game. primarily the first half when we saw pretty much the entire Heat starting lineup in bench play and then in the second half you only really saw some reserve players as well as the exhibit 10 and two-way contract guys. So, we’re going to go through all my takeaways here on today’s show, but make sure you are subscribed to the channel and make sure you are having your notifications turned on. We’re going to be live on Wednesday, October 8th for the Heats preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs. So subscribe and join us for that live show. It’s going to be a lot of fun. But the first takeaway that I have is obviously the starting lineup. No DaVon Mitchell, no Casper Siakonis, no Tyler Herro, no Terry Rosier. So the Heat’s guard rotation was very thin and you were going to wonder who was in that starting lineup where the Heat started with Haime Hakez Jr. Norman Powell, Bameabio, Andrew Wiggins, and Nola Yovic. So Kel Wear not in the starting lineup. he came off of the bench. More on that here in a second. But I’ll briefly talk about no starting point guard. Obviously, I think that is very because I think it’s because they didn’t have any guards to begin with and they didn’t really want to start Drew Smith. He only played 10 minutes into this game. Obviously, still easing his way back from the ACL surgery, but he looked good in his limited minutes. He was very um disruptive in this game. That was the word I was looking for here. But I was a big fan of what I saw from Drew Smith. And listen, Haime, did he still have some turnover issues and ball security issues? Absolutely. I don’t think that he is going to start. Now, it was a fascinating starting lineup because they were so versatile on both sides of the floor. Any one of those five players could bring the ball up and start the offense. And also, any five of those players can borderline switch and defend any position. So, in that first quarter where we saw them start, they got off to a good lead. They were leading 2921 after the first 12 minutes. I was a big fan of that lineup and should they start? No. But with Hero out for the first month, the Heat are going to have to be creative with how they have their lineups and how they get their offense going. And having a lineup with that much size and versatility and switchability is something that I’m a big fan of. So, I do think that’s a lineup that I wouldn’t hate seeing this season at this point, especially early on with no Tyler Hero. But, let’s get into the starting lineup because I think Hakez if DaVon Mitchell was not sore in his calf or Yakonis like they would have started a true point guard. So, I don’t think Haime is going to start with Hero out for the first month. But, I think the other four that is where it’s heading. Powell, Wiggins, Yovic, and Bam. And we’ve been saying here on the channel for the last two to three weeks that after the entire off season having Khal Wear as a starter, most people just believing that Wear was going to be that starter since he started the back end of last season and everyone was so bullish on the Bam Wear four five combination and rightfully so. I think that has a lot of potential for the future. But once Hero went down and it was announced he was going to miss the first month of the season, it made all the sense in the world to plug Nicole Yoic into that four spot into that front court next to Wiggins and Bam and start him because what does Yoic provide? He provides IQ, defensive versatility. He provides spacing and ball handling as well and the ability to get out in transition and play quick. Wear can do some of those things, but he cannot playmake like Yoic. He is obviously not as consistent as a floor spacer as Yovic. And honestly, I think Yoic is becoming an underrated defender. He had some good minutes guarding Paulo Bancerero yesterday. He showed me some nice things in that playoff series defensively and his ability to defend like threes and Isaac Aoro and Max Strus at times throughout that series. So to me, I think Yovic allows Miami in that front court of him, Wiggins, and Bam to switch almost everything and they just become a fast-paced, disruptive defense that leads into their transition game where Yoic absolutely excels. And we also saw him isolate on Paulo Banero yesterday and hit a step back three from the top of the key. So to me, Yovic is doing everything that you’d want to see from a guy who just got a massive extension earlier this week. And I know it was just one preseason game, but the way that I’ve heard other people talk about how Yovic has played in the training camp this past week and then what we saw in the preseason, this is an ascending 22-year-old basketball player that the Heat just committed $15.6 million to per season for the next four years after this final rookie year is over. Yoic is growing. He’s going to be a starter. And if I’ll be honest with you, even when Tyler Hero returns, I have to imagine the Heat starting lineup will be Hero, Powell, Wiggins, Yoic, Bam. I think that is where we’re heading. Maybe one day down the road, we can have a Yoic, Bam, and Wear starting front court. That’s obviously the goal. All of these young players excel and can work together in the starting five. But with how this R lineup and roster is constructed for the beginning part of the season, Yoic should be a starter. he will be a starter. And I really liked what I saw there. But let me know what was your biggest takeaway from this Heat preseason game. I know they lost, but what was it? Was it Yoic in the starting lineup? Was another performance? Was it something else? Let me know. Pin comment on today’s show. The second biggest takeaway I had from this game, we talked about it this entire week at Heat Media Day. Yoic, Spolstra, and some of these other young guys were talking about how they’re more youthful than they were in the past. They’re more athletic and they can play faster. Eric Spolstra even mentioned, “Yeah, we’re going to work on trying to play a little bit faster this season on the offensive end, but it also has to start with defense so you can get stops and get out in transition so you’re not taking the ball underneath your own basket every single time.” Very fair. But what we saw in this opening preseason game was everything that we hoped for in terms of upgraded pace and the way that they move the ball offensively, in terms of quick, sharp. It was awesome to watch. And I was focusing in on the first half for sure because you can’t really just look at this and say, “All right, how did they play in the second half?” Like those guys aren’t going to be on the roster. But either way, there has been what about 14 teams to play in the preseason so far. Who has the number one pace of play? It is the Miami Heat. In this game yesterday, NBA logged their pace at 106.5. That is the best in the preseason so far. Some teams have played two games, some teams have only played one. Some teams haven’t even played yet. Um last year Miami was in 97 98 range of pace which was bottom three in the NBA. So after one preseason game very limited sample size very early and it’s just the preseason we have to wait for the regular season but that pace was significantly higher than what we saw over the last three or four years where they have failed to get to that 100 pace threshold in each of the last four seasons. So they talked about playing faster this past week. We’ve heard out of training camp that they were playing a little bit quicker in their intra squad scrimmages and we saw it in the first preseason game. And how about this as well? When you look at the Heat’s assist percentage from last night, how many of their buckets were off of assists? 71.1% out of those 13 14 teams that have played in the preseason so far. That is number two. Yes. So in the first preseason game, they played very quick. They were moving the ball and it was almost that style of offensive play that we see from the Indiana Pacers and Rick Carile because they don’t have a certified NBA bucket getter that’s going to give them 2830 a game. No, they have just a collection of good basketball players that can all go for 30 on a given night, but they’re all going to average anywhere between 14 and 22 points per game. And that is how the Miami Heat with the limited talent that they have can really reach their full potential is sharing the ball, getting everybody involved using that Indiana Pacers style of offensive play. And we’ve seen them get to the conference finals and NBA finals in the last two seasons. This is no fluke. So that’s how the Heat have to play and they have the capability of doing that. Hero can play in that role. Bam can play in that role. Yovic certainly can. Norman Powell can play in that role and we’ll see players like DaVon Mitchell be like that guy like a TJ McConnell. Like I think there are a lot of similarities between the Pacers and the Heat to where Miami could reach that point if they have that style of play and they can stay healthy where they can ultimately be disruptive, be a top six team in the East. And I’m not just overreacting from the first preseason game here, but if you want to see a pathway to the Heat contending in the NBA playoffs, that style of play and efficiency and offensive game is how that will have to get done. All right, another takeaway from this game. Andrew Wiggins, I thought he looked absolutely phenomenal and comfortable. He played 12 minutes in the first half, had 11 points, four or six from the field, couple threes, one off the catch, one off a step back on the left uh wing. He looked great and it was just the first preseason game, but we heard Eric Spolster talk about it. We’ve seen some other people report that the Heat have been very pleased and happy with how Andrew Wiggins have progressed and has looked and been in Miami this entire NBA offseason. Obviously, it was a rough beginning for Wiggins last season in Miami where he was good in the 17 regular season games he played, but he missed 16 games. So, he played 17 of 33 possible games and then really struggled in the NBA playoffs. But hopefully second season, more comfortability in this Heat system. He is more acclimated with this team in this roster and is going to be able to put together some really good minutes this year. I thought he looked good. He looked comfortable. And if that three-point shot can be consistent to where he’s shooting 38% from three this year, that will only set up his dribble drive. And with how balanced and fast this team could play, Wiggins could be a very big beneficiary of that to where he’s getting more open looks from beyond the arc, but he also can get out in transition and uses athleticism and length to get to the rim as well. Couple more takeaways before we round out today’s show. Norman Powell only shot two of six, one of three from three, had a couple turnovers, but you just watch him on the court the way he moves and without a question is the most offensively gifted player the Heat have while Tyler Hero’s out for his injury. And when they return and have both Powell and Hero together, I’ll be fun and excited to watch those two work in the back court together offensively. Defensively, we’ll have those questions. But on the offensive end, it will be a ton of fun to see those two work together. He had a tough deep right-wing three with a hand in his face. I thought he did a great job of breaking down opposing defenses, collapsing the defense and kicking it out for some open looks. Now, do he have to capitalize on those a little bit better and make smarter decisions after those kickouts? Absolutely. But you just see what Powell can bring to the table in a halfcourt offensive set. Final thing we’re going to talk about before we head out on today’s show and let you guys enjoy your Sunday. Bam bio. Um, didn’t get a shot to fall in this game, 0 for five, but I loved the way the Heat used him offensively. He was there a hub. They got him a lot of looks early in the shot clock. He was aggressive on the offensive end. Like I mentioned, yes, he didn’t make a shot. He was 0 for five, but in the 13 minutes in the first half he played, he got to the free throw line eight times and he went seven of eight from the free throw line. I don’t expect him to average 10 free throws a game because that would be among the top five in the entire NBA. But an aggressive BAM and a Heat team that is focused on getting BAM more looks, more shots closer to the rim and getting him downhill is how he will reach his offensive potential. And he could really help the Heat get points by getting to the free throw line. So, to me, I really like the way they use BAM early in how fast this offense played, and I’m a big fan of what I saw. They’ve got another preseason game on Monday, and then they got one on Wednesday as well, which we’ll be live for. So, make sure you subscribe, make sure you join us for that live show, and we’ll see you tomorrow with another video. Go Heat.

Miami Heat kicked off the NBA Preseason in Puerto Rico against the Orlando Magic. Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell, Kasparas Jackuionis, and Terry Rozier all didn’t play but there were a lot of positives to take away from the Heat vs. Magic preseason game. Heat Report Nic Rohloff goes through the Heat stats against Orlando, and breaks down how the Heat roster fared under head coach Erik Spoelstra. Nikola Jovic started over Kel’el Ware, and looked extremely comfortable coming off his extension he signed with the Heat earlier in the week. Bam Adebayo looked aggressive offensively, and Andrew Wiggins looked more comfortable in a Heat uniform. This Heat YouTube video has Heat Magic highlights, Heat news, and Miami Heat rumors during the NBA Preseason.

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Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic stats in NBA Preseason:
Andrew Wiggins: 11 PTS, 2 AST, 4/6 FG, 2/2 3P
Nikola Jovic: 10 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 3/6 FG, 1/3 3P
Kel’el Ware: 10 PTS, 9 REB, 4/10 FG
Bam Adebayo: 7 PTS, 5 REB, 7/8 FT
Norman Powell: 5 PTS, 2/6 FG, 1/3 3P

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