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Coup's Takeaways: Heat Near Full Strength as Starters Get First Minutes Together and Larsson Wins It at the Line



Speed continues to be the name of the game, at least in the early going.


We’re only on the second game of preseason and it already feels as if we’re repeating ourselves a bit, but pace has clearly been a major point of emphasis and it was even more noticeable today with the full, presumed starting lineup available in Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo with Nikola Jovic again taking the fifth spot. From the jump that group was running the lanes hard on every rebound and turnover – it almost looks like they’re trying to permanently play on the counter were this soccer – and at the center of most of those possessions was Jovic, both presenting himself as a hit-ahead option and the primary playmaker before settling into the halfcourt. We may be dating ourselves a bit here at this point but if you think of the impact Steve Nash had on the Phoenix Suns in the mid-2000’s that’s effectively what has been emphasized with Jovic in transition. Granted Nash is a Hall of Famer and Jovic is a third-year player still finding his way in the league so don’t take things too literally, and the half-court game is a different story.


The offense itself was a little stop and start in terms of putting points on the board – in the first half when Erik Spoelstra was running with what for the time being appears to be the 10-man rotation – but that was mostly due to both Miami and New Orleans struggling from the three-point line. Still, plenty of usage for both Herro and Rozier as they combined for 23 points on 18 shots in those opening quarters, several sets called by Spoelstra clearly designed to get Rozier and Herro’s shot creating abilities working in tandem with Adebayo often functioning as a connective hub.


No conclusions to draw right now as we’ll check in on the pace numbers later, you can simply feel when watching the group that needs time and repetitions that Jovic – he only scored three points but that’s largely beside the point – may be setting up as the rug that really ties the room together.


As expected once Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. were healthy enough to play they took their spots in the rotation as Alec Burks – previously starting – was given the day off and Pelle Larsson didn’t figure into the first-half bench rotation. There was some question as to whether or not Miami would extend their rotation to 11 in order to factor in another center, something Spoelstra did at times last year to keep Kevin Love’s minutes down while not overextending Adebayo, but tonight neither Thomas Bryant nor Kel’el Ware played in the first half. Bryant then started the second half as Adebayo and Love’s duties were finished for the evening, that secondary group going on a run against a mixed Pelicans lineup that put the game mostly out of reach.


It's too early to say for sure what Spoelstra will do with the rotation given his proclivities toward experimentation in that area, but all we’ve seen so far is the same intended starters, as mentioned above, with a bench five that includes Jaquez Jr., Love, Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith and Dru Smith as the backup point guard.


It may not be the most scintillating talking point and yet it’s half the game when it comes to preseason, where every team is sorting out exactly who they’re going to be, and who they’re going to play, comes opening night.


The young guys and roster hopefuls got their time toward the end of the third and for all of the fourth, this time Zyon Pullin and Nassir Little getting run with Ware, Larsson and Josh Christopher. Not a ton of note from that group outside of one beautiful off-ball cut from Larsson – continuing to look like a most natural fit for Spoelstra’s offense – which later led into a separate cut along nearly the same sideline-to-rim trajectory that turned into game-winning free-throws. That group gave up some transition scores to New Orleans while the Pelicans ate into the double-digit lead for a clutch game that Miami took, 101-99. The passing of Isaiah Stevens had been the element making that group sing when it sang, particularly when it came to getting the ball to Ware in his ideal zones, and without him there was a little less natural flow while spacing and usage was sorted out on the fly. Ware did, however, get a post touch that ended in a dunk with a minute to play that temporarily put Miami up two and it’ll be interesting to see how much studio space Ware is afforded this season to explore his back-to-the-basket game. With three more games this week there will be plenty of opportunities for the young guys to get their reps.


By ML Staff. Courtesy of NBA. Words by Couper Moorhead. For Miami HEAT tickets click here.

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