The Miami Heat wrapped up their preseason Friday night against the Orlando Magic, losing 136-115. Miami was without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and Pelle Larsson, who missed the Heat’s final three preseason games with an undisclosed illness.
Still, it was a successful night for the Heat’s young guns. Ryan Conwell led the way with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. He scored 16 of those points in the second half, and also added seven assists with one steal in 30 minutes off the bench.
Nikola Jovic finished a very encouraging preseason on a high note, tallying 12 points and six rebounds on 4-of-6 shooting. Andrew Wiggins had 13 points while Bobby Portis had 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
With preseason now over, here were a few of my biggest big-picture takeaways, sans Giannis putting on his Michael Myers mask and terrorizing the NBA:
There’s reason to be excited about Ryan Conwell’s role as a rookie:
In the first two games, Conwell’s stock was trending downward. I was never worried about his viability as a pro — it was his first taste of professional basketball against other pros. Though he oftentimes looked uncomfortable and hesitant, which triggered poor results.
It didn’t take long for him to adjust, averaging 18.7 points and 5.7 assists over his final three games. As comfortable as he looked as a secondary passer, his role as a rookie will be best in an off-ball role. Conwell shot 40 percent from deep on 6.7 attempts over his final three games. And I feel strongly that he will be one of the Heat’s best volume shooters with more reps, which he can eventually parlay into more creation with improved ballhandling.
I remain perplexed by one Heat two-way player:
I just don’t see it with Vlad Goldin. The 7-footer played in three of the Heat’s five preseason games, scoring just four points with two boards in 7:26 on Friday. He’s a bad rebounder for his size, he’s a poor defender in space and he’s an extremely poor finisher around the rim. I haven’t seen improvement, yet the Heat were quick to give him the two-way qualifying offer this offseason.
I ask the Heat organization, which is smarter than I will ever be: What am I missing, other than him being a “break glass in case of emergency” big?
Run Davion, run:
Where does Davion Mitchell rank among the fastest players in the NBA with the ball in his hands? Just look at this rep here:
Is the 95th percentile too low?
Mitchell is incredibly important to the Heat’s fast-paced structure. His ability to generate paint touches, pass with either hand and finish through contact are valuable skills for a backcourt without much ballhandling. He’s the head of the snake. Mitchell goes from 0 to 60 in 0.4 seconds and keeps heaving coal on his own fire.
Given the lack of guard depth, one wonders if Mitchell will exceed 29 minutes a game for the first time in his soon-to-be six-year career.
Maybe I was already wrong about Andrew Wiggins’ fit:
I’ve been wrong before, and I will be wrong again. You can’t bat 1.000!
Heading into the summer, given the Heat’s lack of creation depth, I was worried about a carryover from Wiggins’ role last year, which required too much self-creation despite shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from 3-point range. Still, Wiggins’ ballhandling in a fast-paced system was a concern, as he often dribbled himself into too much traffic, leading to his highest single-season turnover rate since 2019-20.
Those concerns didn’t go away when the Heat acquired Antetokounmpo. Preseason has quieted some of my speculation regarding how much he will have to dribble. He was excellent, averaging 14.7 points on 61.5 percent shooting and 6-of-12 from 3-point range. For him, the less offensive responsibility, the better.
Is Nikola Jovic’s confidence back?:
The Heat saw everything they needed to see from Jovic this preseason.
Rebounding? Check; he amassed 5.5 over 21.7 minutes per game, hauling down 17.8 percent of available misses defensively. Defense? Check. 3-point shooting? Check; he canned 42.9 percent of his 3.5 triple tries per game. Finishing? Check. You see this?
I believe he should begin the season in the rotation after a horrendous fourth season. As long as he doesn’t (over)think or mope whenever he makes a mistake, he’ll be a regular contributor to this team as a defender, passer and floor spacer.
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Sacramento Kings guard Ben Simmons has sustained a torn Achilles tendon and will undergo surgery, the team announced Sunday.Glad he didnt steal mickey$ Glad sm not our gm lol
The season is upon us! Now about getting the games here in pbc. Annoying.
? I thought you were in Dade?
Over-the-Air (Free): Heat games are broadcast on My15 (WTCN / Channel 43) for viewers in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast (covering Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee, and Indian River counties). [1, 2]
The only preseason game I looked forward to was the Orlando/Heat match. I won’ say I was disappointed with the outcome but one thing stood out clear. Small ball against Orlando will not work for the Heat. In the 1st half when Heat had size on the floor they were competitive but when Spo leaned on his tendency for small ball, the Heat suffered immensely.
Small ball is for small teams. Heat no longer a small team. Giannis, Bam, Portis, Richards, Jovic and Vlad the Impaler (in a pinch).
u do realize bam greek didnt play
Good news….Richards apparently made the team. They got rid of about four players today, all G League types. One who got cut was just picked up yesterday (Ausar). Maybe he was expected to go to Sioux Falls all along.
Yes, Ausar is going to the SF. Technically, they have until 5pm to waive Richards, so he’s not in just yet, but I don’t see any chance that he’s released. He’s had a really good camp. However, the player on the clock now is Gardner. He only has a $500k guarantee if he’s released by January. We like him, but he’s been inconsistent. Also, if they can find a better prospect than Vlad for his 2 way spot, they should do it. He hasn’t impresser much and is now redundant.
Agree. I dont see future for Vlad in NBA. But Gardner is a keeper.
Your reaction surprised me. Seems you had doubts.
dav klay pelle vs ant melo divicenzo thank gd we have greek.jaden mcdaniels very good defender.davs gonna have to give us some pts with a bc like the wolves.if after 40 games hes in single digits scoring need to be replaced imo.to win it all cant have starting pg averaging single digits imo
Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. Meanwhile, enjoy the journey.
e reid greek rc im a lucky guy
About Conwell. He is a good scorer, thats for sure. I m not sold on his defense, playmaking and ball distribution yet. We will see. I agree on other takeaways.
I am not fully sold on him either. He scored a lot of his points this preseason against scrubs. But, I am rooting for him. U of Miami played Louisville just before going to the tournament in an important game last year and Conwell made some big three point shots. That’s why I thought his three point shooting would actually be a little better than it has been so far. But, it seems to be improving steadily and it’s understandable that he just needs to adjust to this league. And he does seem to have other aspects to his game beyond just long range shooting. He is a bit of a playmaker and assist guy too, so there is definite potential.
A development project. But he might get his chance.
As noted, he shot 40% his last 3 games. If he can stay at or above 38%, I’d be happy with that. Remember, too, that he is a streaky shooter. He might miss 4 in a row, then hit 5 in a row.
His predraft profile listed:
Strengths:
Weaknesses
I see him as a combo or shooting guard. His defense and playmaking will need work.
This game shows the obvious. The strength of the team is the frontcourt.
Not just Bam/Giannis, the pair of Niko/Portis is also good enough to held its own against starters of the opposite team.
It also shows, that there should be around 10 players rotation, with Gardner, Simone, Richards, Conwell out of regular rotation for now, but ready to fill the holes instantly if needed.
The weak point is point guard position. If Mitchell goes down, we are in big troubles.
Klay will hit some shots eventually, but he wont get more then 10 shots a game, that’s clear. Timmy is a better player right now, but having Klay starting is the right decision. For now.
Good observations. I agree with all of them. There is one caveat to preseason play and that is some stats are built up while playing against low rotation subs. Still, there is a lot to be optimistic about going into the real games.
Agree.
u get the games?
Starting with the regular season I do. Not before. I see you got the last few games. Did you need an antenna?
yes i dont get wplg local news ch 10 abc shows same news as fox channel with att but get abc programming so i needed to get over air antenna to get wplg .alls good now for this heat season.
All cable providers in dade, Broward, and pb are getting wplg. They are contracted to do so.
att doesnt rc
I agree on all five points. Much to be positive about. Season opener is almost here
ant melo whos guarding them prob dav wiggy ,then again nobody in the world can guard greek.whos klay guarding?they got kuminga mcdaniels at forward both very athletic.this should be a nailbiter one of about 40 nailbiters(less than 5 pts)at least on paper it is one game first game u never know
NBA should get a very good idea how good Miami’s defense will be right off the bat against T’Wolves.
Klay can stick kuminga, since he’s a below average 3 pt shooter.
two even teams sm should be close game bc adv them fc us .we got the best player though