As the Miami Heat enter arguably their most rigid portion of their 82-game schedule, they have the No. 9-ranked offense with top-7 marks in both effective field goal percentage and true-shooting percentage.
There is still plenty of basketball left to be played, but against three solid defenses — the Orlando Magic (who have underperformed), New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs — the Heat’s new up-tempo offense has drastically exceeded expectations.
And one of their under-the-radar additions this summer — Simone Fontecchio, acquired in the Duncan Robinson sign-and-trade — has been one of the NBA’s best shooters through this very early (and small) sample of the season.
Simone Fontecchio leads NBA in 3-point percentage after 10 days:
Fontecchio was brought in earlier this offseason to replace the greatest shooter in franchise history in Robinson, whose gravity on was unparalleled.
Through one week, Fontecchio’s presence at the back-end of Erik Spoelstra’s rotation has been more than felt.
Small sample size galore: Of players who have attempted at least 25 3-pointers, the 28-year-old leads the NBA in 3-point percentage at 59.3 percent, canning 16 of his 27 3-point attempts. He’s knocked down at least three 3-pointers in each of his last four games, including five in Thursday’s 107-101 loss to San Antonio.
In his final season in Detroit last year, Fontecchio averaged 5.9 points on 33.5 percent shooting from 3-point range, nearly seven percentage points worse than his 40.5 percent mark in 2022-23. So far with Miami, Fontecchio’s averaging 13.8 points on an absurd 80.9 percent true shooting mark, one that’s very unsustainable.
The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter is one of five Heat players who are shooting at least 40.0 percent from 3-point range. Eventually, he will come back to earth. But the longer that Fontecchio is able to knock down spot-up 3s at a respectable clip, the better, especially since that’s where his most of his value rests.
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seattle ram 49ers might be best div in football
might break Dunc’s record if he continues this. but no complaints here if he does
I have the feeling Simone (like Mitchell, Powell, Jaquez and Smith) has found a home in Miami that brings out the best in him. I’m hoping it does the same for Wiggins, Ware and perhaps Herro.
The only way I would consider trading him would be as part of a Herro trade for Morant. Otherwise, if he is still playing the way he has by Christmas, I would consider exploring the possibility of an agreement on a team friendly extension.
need size though u see houston team
its possible Heat culture can “tame” Ja Morant. but can we find another another player other than Simone?