The Miami Heat secured a 120-117 preseason win over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday evening in the first of a back-to-back inside Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla.
Bam Adebayo led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. He also had three boards and three steals, plus two steals and two blocks.
Nikola Jovic and Jimmy Butler were both incredibly active defensively in their 24 minutes together; it appears the Heat have emphasized being more active with their hands–especially with its starting lineup of Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Butler, Jovic and Adebayo.
That lineup accounted for 10 steals in those 24 minutes together–plus four blocks. Butler and Jovic had three steals apiece while Herro had the remaining one of the pairing.
This lineup won’t get blocks, so getting in the passing lanes and securing key strips is an easy way for this lineup–which has shown great potential in transition–to run and get easy baskets.
Miami’s starting 5 finished a plus-2 in those 24 minutes, shooting a combined 47.6 percent (20-42) from the floor and 5-of-23 from beyond the arc.
Its bench unit got quality minutes from both Duncan Robinson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Robinson had 10 points, three rebounds and four assists on 4-of-7 shooting and 2-of-3 from deep; Jaquez posted 15 points, six rebounds and five assists on 5-of-11 shooting and 5-of-8 from the charity across 18 minutes.
Jaquez and Robinson both received ball-handling reps throughout their two stints alongside Dru Smith and Alec Burks, who both struggled offensively. The Heat also ran out one of their prime Summer League lineups–Isaiah Stevens, Kel’el Ware, Josh Christopher Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson–for the final 4:56, finshing a plus-3.
There isn’t too much to take away. Though, the Heat are continuing to prioritize long-range attempts and shots in the paint instead of dreaded contested 2s, where they have lived the last two seasons. All but four of its 120 points came from 3-point range, in the paint or at the free-throw line, where they went 26-of-34 (76.5 percent).
That’s a step in the right direction.
Miami will look to back up Tuesday’s win with a Wednesday make-up game against the Atlanta Hawks inside Kaseya Center–where we’ll likely see the majority of the young guns flash their skill.
What were your thoughts on Tuesday’s three-point win over San Antonio? Let us know in the comments!
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I would like to see Jaquez start a game. At this stage, Jovic’s size doesn’t seem to be making much of a difference and his overall game is not as good as Jaquez’. What happened to Highsmith?
The Starters have an interception party!!!!
The new playstyle of attack the paint and threes with minimal mid range is going great. We are getting a high chance of causing the opp to foul. The only thing i am worried is the increase chance of getting injured.
For 5 minutes. The summer league team did great.