Coup’s Takeaways: Jovic Turns in Career Night as Miami Scores 74 Paint Points in Tight Game With Similarly-styled Blazers

Miami and Portland have next to zero history on the basketball court, but whenever they meet something interesting almost always happens.

There’s been a little feast or famine to Miami’s offense in these two games without Bam Adebayo, and in this one they opened 1-of-15 from the field and 0-of-9 in the paint, second-year center Donovan Clingan giving them issues in the paint with his rim protection as he also tipped at least two lobs headed the direction of Kel’el Ware. Portland’s lead was 15-3 before anyone could blink.

As has already happened so often in this young season, the game changed as soon as the bench started to cycle in. Jaime Jaquez Jr. got to the rim for a couple quick scores before a minute had elapsed, and with Dru Smith getting a hand on everything and turning those deflections the other way for scores, Portland’s lead dwindled to three by the end of the first quarter.

With the full bench opening the second period, Nikola Jovic at the nominal center spot, the HEAT’s zone gave Portland issues upon issues, their threes not falling and their drives going nowhere except into a mass of bodies. As the turnovers mounted, Miami’s offense evened out, Smith tipping Shaedon Sharpe’s dribble in one-on-one full-court pressure for a pick-six – the bench group with 29 of Miami’s 41 at that stage.

Portland fought back with a flurry of threes that finally fell, but it was 72-65 at the break all the same, Miami’s cold start but a distant memory in the face of another efficient half. After the 0-of-9 opening in the paint, they finished 20-of-22 the rest of the way.

Much like the HEAT, the Blazers are not a team to go quietly into the night, having just handed Oklahoma City their first loss of the season after trailing big.  Even while Norm Powell enjoyed a free three in the corner after Portland suddenly helped off the strong side despite stringently avoiding sending that help in the first half, it was Portland out in front again in the third, Clingan again disrupting in the middle.

Miami’s turn again, tough finishes through and around contact powering an immediate 11-0 run, Portland struggling for traction on offense whenever Deni Avdija wasn’t on the floor. Between Jaquez Jr. and Pelle Larsson, Portland’s bench units could neither protect the rim nor absorb the contact one-on-one to properly contest. All downhill for Miami, in the best of ways.

The lead grew to double digits again despite a run of Portland and-one’s in the paint, and as soon as that moment passed Portland was back within a single possession, Avdija again getting to his spots off the dribble as the Blazers sat in zone on the other end.

HEAT up, 100-97 after three, with 60 points in the paint and counting as both teams continued to be cold from outside.

Blazers back in front with Shaedon Sharpe building on a strong second half, but Miami kept driving into contact and drawing whistles, no sign of let up on either side. It was quiet and measured, but Nikola Jovic was having his best game of the season, a stop-and-pop three in transition again gaining the lead as he surpassed the 20-point mark, another quick three coming soon after.

Clutch game, of course, teams trading fouls with five to play, the HEAT’s democratic approach creating opportunities at angles Portland didn’t see coming. All tied up with three to go, just as soon as Portland appeared about to go back up Clingan slipped on a paint catch and Powell drew a transition take foul going the other way, with Jaquez Jr. back-cutting Sharpe on the next possession.

And odd ending, in a way, with an odd rhythm, but it was Miami’s all the same, 136-131, finishing off a back-to-back of victories despite missing Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

Two numbers in the box-score more or less defined this game. On Portland’s side, Avdija was a +24 in his 37 minutes, as he scored 33 on 21 shots. When Avdija was in the game, Portland had consistent offense off the dribble. When he wasn’t, they didn’t.

And the avatar for many of those minutes with Avdija off, until a strong finish at the close, was Nikola Jovic, putting up a career night with 29 points on 16 shots to go with seven assists, nine rebounds and, the other key number here, a +20 in his 31 minutes. Miami’s bench outscored Portland’s, 63-33, which was quite easily the difference in the game.

It had been a bit of a cool start for Jovic as Jaquez Jr. garnered most of the early flowers for the HEAT’s bench offense, but Jovic was too good of a fit – he was a standout in training camp and preseason before an injury kept him out of a few preseason games – for the HEAT’s up-tempo, attacking offense for the game to not eventually come to him.

While Jovic did finish 3-of-7 from three, including a huge pair in the fourth, the most encouraging part of his night was that he finished 7-of-9 in the paint with eight trips to the line, battering Portland’s smaller defenders with his physicality as he attacked confidently throughout the night. When we say Jovic’s evening was quiet until the end, that’s only because it was steady, but not particularly noisy, just a man filling his role and the role calling on him for aggression.

Does he need to score 29, or even 20, to be effective? Hardly. Like everyone on Miami’s bench, he just needs to play that role and do what needs to be done efficiently. Against Portland, it all clicked together and Jovic reminded everyone just how much talent he’s working with.

Because the HEAT’s offense is so predicated on attacking, quickly, in one-on-one situations, this is less a season to be watching pick-and-roll coverages and more one to keep a close eye on how teams are playing Miami’s drives and their rules for help.

When Clingan was in the game to sweep over to the ball side on the attack, Miami had their struggles. But throughout the game it was clear Portland didn’t want to help too much, perhaps because their system is built on trusting the individual defenders, and the HEAT took regular advantage, worming and shouldering their way into the paint, nearly every play on the roster coming up with creative and tough finishes – not all of them easy – in the lane. As a result, Miami put up 74 points in the paint, including 36 rim attempts (26 makes).

Portland did eventually adjust, and they did it in two ways. First, coach Tiago Splitter went small with their cadre of big forwards manning the frontcourt positions. But as part of that they also went zone, that zone loading up on Miami’s drives at the arc in ways the Blazers had been doing the opposite of before.

Portland is a zone team. They work on it, and they’ve used it almost as much as Miami in recent years. But it was also on trend after seeing Denver go zone against them earlier in the week. A few late threes made the difference, and when Grant fouled out the Blazers went back to man with Clingan in, this time the drives earning trips to the line.

More to monitor as the games come, but so far the teams that have struggled against the HEAT the most, especially against the physical bench, are the teams that have tried to play the one-on-one game.

By ML Staff. Courtesy of NBA.