Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović, Bam Adebayo, Erik Spoelstra | Postgame Interviews | October 24, 2025

Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović, Bam Adebayo, Erik Spoelstra | Postgame Interviews | October 24, 2025

Um, it’s I’ll say it’s a lot of fun. It’s something we’ve been working on for a while. Something we’ve uh really bought into, I think, as a team. And you just seeing seeing all that buy in come come to life on the floor. Um, I think we’ve been due for a win like this. We’ve been putting on in a lot of work. Um, we’ve seen a lot of results in practice and everything. We just haven’t seen the game, but tonight was, I think, a night that was welld deserved for us. How much has it helped your game just that style of play, being able to get down the hill and play fast? I think it’s great. You know, I think uh being able to get into the paint is something that uh I think I’m really good at and so it just makes makes it easier. Everyone’s moving, reads are easier. Uh you know, the decision-m just becomes a lot easier and uh you know, everyone becomes a recipient. You talk about playing fast, but how much conditioning work went into that in the offseason and preseason maybe more than usual to play this speed right away? Yeah, I think a lot of guys would tell you we did a lot of running in uh training camp and even, you know, preseason leading up. We were always doing drills to get us conditioned and uh you know it’s prepares for this and um you know we feel very confident in our conditioning going into you know third quarter, fourth quarter. We know that we can lean on that and understand that we put the work in to get our bodies in the best shape possible. Seemed like there was a really nice and comfortable chemistry with that second unit that you picked up where the starters left off. What was the feeling running and gunning with those guys? I mean, obviously it’s it’s it’s pretty easy, you know, uh whether I’m a first unit or a second, it’s it’s it’s easy to play with these guys. Uh especially with second unit, I feel like, you know, I can probably look better because uh they play more of a really really fast pace kind of style of basketball. So, it helps me. And uh it’s more movement, you know, we don’t got a lot of really iso players like like the first unit. So, yeah, it helps. But uh uh it’s it’s easy to play with everyone. Like like I said, it’s it was a matchup thing today. Uh we start with K and Bam. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I start again, but it’s it really doesn’t matter to me. You’ve been here long enough to know this is not typical Eric Spolster heat and the way you’re playing at the pace you’re playing right now. Are you surprised that he has stayed with it and allowed it and and you can reap the rewards? Yeah, because since I came, we always say that we’re going to play fast every year. we don’t really do it, you know, and then we kind of go back to the a slow pace, get steady in the post, you know, and make sure you know how to attack this year from jump really. He he he really wanted us to play this way and uh I feel like co coaches and everybody were pretty happy in a locker room because we haven’t really had games like this the last season, the last few years, you know, where we just go off and do do what we know we can do and uh we we really stay dedicated, you know. I I feel like all the all the running and the the training came that was really hard. I think it will pay off and it it will for sure help us look look a lot better. The results have obviously been really good through the first two games. What do you feel like the faster pace maybe has unlocked this offensively with you guys get to this number? I mean having a great defense I feel like is is really important but I I think defense can get you only to the to one point. I feel like offensively you have to be great. You have to put ball in the basket if you want to win. And uh uh we maybe don’t have the best names in the league, but playing this way helps us put more points on the board and and just look better. It’s easier for guys like you know me, Haime Wigs, you know, to just score easier and and you know, be more efficient this way. And uh this for sure going to help us win. We’ve been working on that all off season, man. um relocation and then shooting. Obviously, you know, I’ve I’ve evolved a lot uh through my nine years in this league. So, uh just seeing a lot of this and keeping up with the game. Year nine for you and I think the first eight years you probably have been a bottom 10 pace team now to see you guys playing at this speed. How surprising is it and and how fun is it to play this style? No, I mean not surprising at all. Uh uh we knew after after last year Spose was going to switch up the whole philosophy of this offense. He told me that uh he said he wanted he wanted us to play faster and we are um you know playing with a pace like this just you love to see everybody collectively having fun everybody getting to touch the ball like you can’t really scout plays for us like you there is no plays in the whole fast I don’t think spo ran a play And that just shows like besides me in the corner. Yeah. Besides denying denying Norm in the corner. But what else you hope? Yeah. You know Norm can just stay in the corner. Were there times in the game when you looked at the scoreboard and saw we have that after one. We have that total at halftime. I mean will those numbers like did they require a double take and could you honestly at points know how much you were hit by? Uh yeah, but you know that’s how you get soft in the mind. Um and our thing was we wanted to win this game. You know, we we felt like we let one go in Orlando, but we we said if we we hold him to one one shot and run, we’re in good shape and we did that tonight. A couple of the guys have talked about the conditioning work that went into playing this style. How much of that has played into the way you guys are playing early on and how much you see it as an advantage in games when you’re playing other teams? I mean, you see it You know, you see it when you know, we have some hard days in training camp. Uh to get oursel ready for this type of playing style and you know, playing that fast. You know, it started from early playing and pickup when we playing, we got to get the ball ahead 4 seconds and uh playing with that type of place all summer, you get used to it. So now it’s just it’s second nature for us at this point. You know, we got a we got little things to clean up turnover wise, but far as us playing with this type of pace and space and everybody feeling involved, like this is a great thing for a team like this. After the loss to Orlando, um was there more of an emphasis to get down and dirty and get to hustle plays tonight? Uh yeah, I feel like that was the deciding factor in that game and you know, you hate to lose games when it comes to 50/50 balls, you know. a guy just diving on the floor, makes a play, and then it it it leads to like a layup and those back breaker offensive rebounds that that we let go. Um, so yeah, it was a different mindset coming in this game. You guys seem to be moving with a lot of intention, not just moving um bodywise, but also the ball. Um, you said you guys did that in pickup. How how long do you see this lasting or you trying to make it last all season? Trying to make it last all season. You know, it’s fun when we play like this. It’s fun when we can get up and down. You can run with that pace and uh obviously Misha makes shots dictate that, but like our thing is just to keep keep playing the style of basketball where there’s no hole. We’re swinging, we’re cutting. Like I said, it’s hard to scout a team where everybody’s live. Uh so that’s what we were trying to get to. That’s trying to be our identity. All right. I know you might not say you drew it up that way. No, definitely did not. But just to see what you envisioned in camp and before come to fruition, how satisfying and fulfilling is it? Well, it it was good to see it on on both ends of the court. Uh there was a collective will again, this is very similar to what we saw on opening night in in Orlando. um you know just u obviously a little bit more you know oomph going you know the other way. Uh but we had seen more of these kind of moments uh during training camp and you know preseason practices uh and then stretches you know during the preseason that that’s why we’re you know encouraged. Uh this is probably a little bit of uh you know a little bit of everything. It was probably an off night for them. Um, you know, we were disappointed about not coming away with a win in Orlando. We really felt like once we were up seven that we should have won that game. Guys were really uh motivated to get this one tonight. Um, and uh, everybody was uh, in a good rhythm, you know, particularly in that in that first half. Uh, but it was good to see us, you know, show this, you know, in a game where it’s not just uh, our practice sessions, you know, behind the scenes. Yeah. Yeah, he did it. Uh and and that’s what he did the other night, too, right? I mean, um you know, his his play and his competitive will that that’s an that’s an inspiring act, you know, for everybody else to raise their level. uh he did it, you know, taking the challenge obviously on a on a great player uh but also anchoring our defense and then offensively, you know, he was just in in a great flow, great rhythm. Um he’s making quick decisions with it. His confidence is just continuing to grow. He’s had, you know, a lot of, you know, um sessions like this in our practice sessions. Uh but he’s also not forcing it. You know, he’s making the right play if he needs to. um if the ball finds him, he’s he’s just being really assertive and and that’s what we need from him. The big lineup, was that a matchup thing? Was that something after looking for tape Wednesday you thought might settle the rotation? No, I mean the last four days of preseason, it was, you know, both guys were hurt. I’m talking about Kell and and Nico. They’re minor injuries, but uh I didn’t know who was going to be available that first night. I was kind of leaning toward this starting lineup going into game one. And then Kell had a um you know a neck spasm. Then he had a a minor sprained ankle where he didn’t practice the day before the game. Um but he was moving great in the Orlando game. I I wanted, you know, if if I would have known that, I I would like to have had more minutes for him. And this is, you know, a good way to get all three of those guys the minutes, you know, that we need uh in Bam and Kell and and Nico. Um but we’ll see. You know, uh there might be certain games where it makes more sense to to start Nico. It it doesn’t really matter. Um, in my mind, I know, um, you know, probably to other people it might, but, uh, those guys are going to get minutes and we need Kell and Nico to grow and, um, and assume more responsibilities as the season goes on. Regardless, about Simone and then basically what you said came to fruition. How much of you off your bench in that role? You know, we just want to continue to feed him confidence. Um, you know, I pregame I I’ve, you know, Italy was my scout, so I literally watched every single one of his games for two years uh over there. Um, and he’s, you know, he’s a an explosive number one option, you know, for for Italy. And, um, you know, when you shoulder those kind of responsibilities and have everybody game planning against you and still able to have, you know, big games, that that was really impressive. He was um one of my favorite players from from both of those tournaments. Um and uh you know when the I mean an opportunity to acquire him, I felt like I I knew his game really well and um I I you know thought that he’d be a really good fit. Um you know he competes on on the defensive end as well. So I think that’ll continue to get better. Yeah, we we would love to have that and we want to um feed them confidence, you know, they’re they’re a group that uh is better than the sum of their parts, you know, because they they play really well together. They play a collective game and uh their games complement each other defensively, you know, they’re solid. Uh so hopefully that that can continue to grow and hopefully you know our starters uh set the tone for games for us and then you know our second unit can change the energy of a game that that’s really what you want from a a second unit. So it seems like you know you just talked about growth with Kame. Um seeing the growth from game to game tonight for Jame Nico and Ko how did you feel on the sideline seeing them bounce back? Yeah, it’s fun when you see it all come together and, you know, for each one of them. That that’s not going to happen every single night. Uh, from my lens, uh, it’s going to be, uh, really important how they handle it when the game’s not going necessarily, uh, their way or in a flow where they might not have, you know, um, you know, just that that great rhythm. How can they still impact the game? how can they get back uh and and impact it where it’s not going to snowball the other way? Uh and you know, each one of them have been working on that, you know, and um they each have different things, uh you know, to to try to focus on. I don’t have to get into all those details right now, but Haime’s been in a really good place all summer long. He he spent a a great deal of time, you know, in LA and and a significant amount of time in in Miami. Um he came into camp really prepared, clear mind. Um and I think, you know, how we’ve setting things up just really uh plays to his strengths. All right. Thank you.

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Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović, Bam Adebayo and Erik Spoelstra spoke to the media following Friday night’s game vs. the Memphis Grizzlies.

0:00 Jaime Jaquez Jr.
1:11 Nikola Jović
3:38 Bam Adebayo
7:21 Erik Spoelstra

MIA vs. MEM Boxscore:
https://www.nba.com/heat/gamedayhub?gameID=0022500094

Coup’s Takeaways 📝:
https://www.nba.com/heat/news/coups-takeaways-historic-hit-offense-memphis-adebayo-ware-jaquez-jovic

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