Q: Ira, what a joy to have a player like Norman Powell. Nothing fancy, no drama, just points on demand. He was huge at the finish against the Warriors and prevented something very bad from happening. – Hank.
A: And ironically, did it with a former Heat drama king looking on in street clothes from the opposing bench, with Jimmy Butler doing with the Warriors what he did all so often with the Heat, taking the night off. But, as with Butler, it’s almost as if Erik Spoelstra turned for salvation when he inserted Norman midway through the fourth quarter. And while Bam Adebayo got several key baskets down the stretch, it was Norman who made the most definitive statements. And, yes, without drama, just baskets on demand. No, it should not have been this hard against what the Warriors fielded. But Powell made sure it ultimately didn’t go south, doing it in his quietly consistent manor.
Q: What was that? Where else do you get hamburger at filet mignon prices? Instead of Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, we get Moses Moody, Gui Santos, Trayce Jackson-Davis? Hold the stone crabs, I’ll be having krab instead. – Sandy.
A: The greater issue here is that with Stephen Curry missing last season’s game in Miami, the NBA could have done better in scheduling the Warriors’ lone visit of the season as part of something other than a back-to-back set and the third game in four nights for Golden State. Steve Kerr did what he had to do for the greater good of his team. But it’s as if Heat fans were robbed of the opportunity to see Stephen Curry for the first time in two years as soon as the schedule was released in August. The reality in today’s NBA is that the home team is the only team with an obligation to the fans, that you better be coming to see the home team. To that end, Bam Adebayo made it back Wednesday, with Tyler Herro expected to be back in action at Kaseya Center next week.
Q: I think if Kel’el Ware is the Heat center of the future you have to just let him play, stay on him, but let him play and at 22 live with the results. – Douglas.
A: But with the NBA mostly downsizing in this era of pace, the reality is that Bam Adebayo is the center of the future. Until Erik Spoelstra fully commits to going double big, if he does at all, then Kel’el Ware will continue to be a No. 2 to Bam. For now, Bam and Kel’el appears to be mostly a matchup-based equation. That had Kel’el back to a reserve role Wednesday night. While Spoelstra said he considered going double-big, he said the Warriors’ smaller lineup precluded such an approach.