Heat Rumors

Southeast Notes: Daniels, Herro, Spoelstra, Salaün

November 13th, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Entering play on Wednesday, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels‘ has 31 more deflections (76 total) and 15 more steals (36 total) than any other NBA player, establishing himself as one of the league’s very best defenders. He’s also holding his own offensively, averaging a career-high 14.3 points per game on 46.9% shooting.

As Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution details, Daniels’ breakout third season is making the Hawks’ return in this summer’s Dejounte Murray trade look better and better.

“Coming here was just was so good for his confidence, both offensively and confidence defensively,” said teammate Larry Nance Jr., who was traded with Daniels from New Orleans to Atlanta. “He’s taking some more gambles now, and obviously they’re paying off. So, I truly could not be happier for a guy that is so deserving of the praise and the opportunity he’s gotten.”

While Nance suggested Daniels has an increased willingness to take gambles on defense, head coach Quin Snyder made it clear that the third-year guard’s impressive defensive numbers aren’t just a result of taking more risks that might hurt the Hawks if they backfire.

“What’s impressive to me about that is, usually when you get that many steals, it’s because you’re gambling,” Snyder said. “You take yourself out of a play. And rarely is he taking himself out of the play. He may not steal the ball, but he’s still in position. He’s calculated with that. He’s just, he’s so focused. And, it’s unusual. You don’t take it for granted that he brings it every night.”

We have more from around the Southeast:

Ahead of the season, Heat president Pat Riley challenged his team’s top four players to be the best versions of themselves. Tyler Herro is the only one meeting that challenge so far, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who refers to the former Sixth Man of the Year as Miami’s first-month MVP after he put up 40 points in a loss to Detroit on Tuesday. “He’s having a hell of a year,” teammate Bam Adebayo said. “He deserves that All-Star nod. We’ve been pushing him for three or four years to get that nod. He’s healthy, playing at his own pace, making decisions, making plays.”
Head coach Erik Spoelstra took the blame for that overtime loss to Detroit on Tuesday after he tried to call for a timeout the Heat didn’t have in the game’s final seconds, allowing the Pistons to hit a tie-breaking technical free throw. “There’s really no excuse for that,” Spoelstra said (story via The Associated Press). “I’m 17 years in. We had talked about it in the huddle, I knew that we didn’t have anything. I just got emotional and reactive on that and I made just a horrendous mistake there at the end. It’s a shame.”
After starting Tidjane Salaün in place of Miles Bridges for the Hornets‘ first two games after Bridges was diagnosed with a knee bone bruise, head coach Charles Lee turned instead to Grant Williams to take Bridges’ spot on Tuesday, writes Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Still, Salaün played roughly as many minutes off the bench as he did as a starter, and Lee said he’s encouraged by the progress he has seen from the 19-year-old. The Hornets’ coach noted that the speed of the game, the language barrier, and learning a new system and terminology have all been challenges for Salaun, but Lee believes the rookie forward is getting more comfortable. “He’s just getting better with more reps, which makes sense for young guys,” Lee said. “… I love his energy and effort and the competitiveness he plays with every time he’s on the floor.”

Southeast Notes: Bitadze, Carter, Jovic, Love, Sarr

November 12th, 2024 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Magic center Goga Bitadze, who stepped up when Wendell Carter was injured and started 33 games last season, finds himself in a similar position this fall. With Carter on the shelf due to left foot plantar fasciitis, Bitadze has started the past four games for Orlando and has averaged a double-double (10.5 points, 10.5 rebounds) to go along with 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per night in those starts.

“He’s just steady,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said on Sunday, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). “He just stays ready the entire time. Doesn’t say a word when he’s asked to do something; he goes out and does it. He’s a great rim protector, does a great job in the pick and roll … He’s a facilitator on offense, getting guys in position in places on the floor. He just stays ready and that’s part of this team. We always talk about the next man up and guys are starting to step up into that role with other guys being out.”

As Beede writes, Bitadze was a free agent over the summer and potentially could’ve found a larger role and/or more money outside of Orlando, but he chose to stick with the Magic on a three-year, $25MM deal. The big man feels comfortable with the team that took a shot on him in February 2023, days after he was cut by Indiana.

“The guys (and) the coaching staff make it easy,” Bitadze said. “When you’re having joy every single practice, every single day with these guys, playing time is not that important, if you understand what I mean. It’s not that hard.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Carter is “doing well” and “slowly progressing” in his recovery from his foot ailment, according to Mosley, but the Magic center will miss his fifth consecutive game on Tuesday as Orlando faces Charlotte, tweets Beede.
Heat forward Nikola Jovic came off the bench for the first time this fall on Sunday in Minnesota, but ended up having his best game of the young season, helping Miami claim a one-point win with 15 points and seven rebounds. After the game, head coach Erik Spoelstra challenged Jovic to maintain that level going forward. “This is the standard now,” Spoelstra said, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I don’t want to retreat, I don’t want to have to do things to get something out of players. He was very good tonight from the detail standpoint, the effort standpoint, rebounding, size, defending multiple efforts.”
Heat forward/center Kevin Love, who made his season debut on Sunday following an early-season absence due to a personal family matter, lauded the organization for giving him the time off he needed, Chiang writes for The Herald. “They were so amazing in supporting me, letting me have my time and allowing me to come back refreshed in my mind,” Love said. “… The support was unbelievable from my teammates, coaching staff, organization. … Now that I’m back, I’m just trying to add that freshness, that lightness to the locker room and hopefully help out there, as well.”
After making just 2-of-9 shots from the field on Monday, rookie big man Alex Sarr has a .330 FG% and a .186 3PT% for the season. That’s okay with the Wizards, who knew Sarr’s offense was well behind his defense and are prepared to be patient with the No. 2 overall pick, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. “This is part of the maturation of going through this league,” head coach Brian Keefe said. “You have to see all these different types of matchups. I’ve coached a lot of great players in this league … and you have to go through the fire. And you learn by doing and being out there and seeing what it feels like.”

Southeast Notes: Butler, Kuzma, Young, Nance Jr.

November 11th, 2024 at 5:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler will miss his second straight game and the Heat‘s NBA Cup opener in Detroit on Tuesday, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets.

Butler, who has not appeared in more than 65 regular season games in any of the last six seasons due to a variety of injuries, is dealing with an ankle sprain. The star swingman has a $52.4MM player option after this season and Miami’s front office was reluctant to discuss a maximum-salary extension over the summer due to his injury history.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Kyle Kuzma is back in action on Monday after missing the last five games with a groin strain, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Kuzma had been averaging 17 points on 32.7% shooting through three games prior to the injury. The Wizards have lost their four games without him.
Trae Young has been playing more off the ball to make the Hawks’ offense less predictable, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “When I am off the ball, guys are worried about me and they’re connected to me and on my body,” Young said. “So it allows teammates to have a lot of space to go and create for themselves and others, too.” Now it’s up to his teammates to make it work. “We’re not always waiting for Trae to create for everyone, but to learn to create for each other,” Bogdan Bogdanović said. “So he’s going to continue to do what he does the best. But, we need to come together and increase that level of creation as a team.“ Young is listed as out for Tuesday’s game against Boston due to right Achilles tendinitis, Brad Rowland tweets.
Larry Nance Jr. could be an attractive trade candidate, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic tweets. The veteran forward has been a valuable reserve for the Hawks after being included in the blockbuster trade that sent Dejounte Murray to New Orleans. Nance, playing on his fifth team, has an $11MM expiring contract.

Jimmy Butler To Miss First Game With Sprained Ankle

November 9th, 2024 at 9:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Minnesota after leaving Friday’s contest in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle, relays Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. It will be the first missed game of the season for Butler, who has accepted the challenge of trying to be available more often during the regular season. It’s also another obstacle for a 3-5 Miami team that’s already dealing with adversity. “This group has got to figure it out,” Duncan Robinson said. “We got some good stretches defensively. You’ve got to learn how to win. You’ve got guys that have done it before. It’s just not going to come automatically.”

Heat Notes: Ware, Butler, Larsson, Rotation, Herro

November 9th, 2024 at 10:15am CST by Earnest Marshall

Heat No. 15 overall pick Kel’el Ware got his first meaningful action on Wednesday against Phoenix. He was the second-string center for the first time in his rookie campaign, impressing his teammates in 13 minutes of play, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.

“I think he did great,” Heat star Jimmy Butler said. “Jumping up there, contesting shots, rebounding, he made a three, made a little hook. The more plays, the more reps that he gets, the more comfortable he’s going to get and he’s going to be able to pick his spots a lot better on the floor. That only comes with time and reps.”

The Indiana product is averaging 2.3 points in just 6.0 minutes per game in four appearances this fall. His role is likely to gradually increase as the season goes on.

“He’s been really progressing quickly behind the scenes,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Wednesday. “He kept himself ready. I thought his minutes were very good. I thought they were encouraging.”

Ware again played ahead of Thomas Bryant in Friday’s loss, but he committed two early fouls, resulting in Bryant seeing more minutes. When Kevin Love returns to the rotation, Ware could be moved back to the end of the rotation, but he’s thankful for getting the chance to contribute early.

“It’s satisfying,” Ware said. “I guess you could say it’s more a dream come true because you put in the work to be able to perform at your best. That’s always good to me.”

We have more from the Heat:

Butler exited the team’s Friday matchup with the Nuggets due to a sprained ankle and was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest, Chiang reports. With the team at 3-5, the Heat are now facing the possibility of being without Butler for a handful of games. The star swingman missed two games with a sprained ankle last season and he did stay in the game immediately after sustaining this injury, so it seems unlikely to result in an extended absence.
Rookie second-round pick Pelle Larsson started the second half in place of Butler. It’s the fourth straight game Larsson has received double-digit minutes, Chiang relays. The Arizona product is averaging 6.6 points this season while making 64.7% of his shots and 45.5% of his three-pointers.
Amid speculation that Haywood Highsmith could replace Nikola Jovic in the starting lineup, the Wheeling Jesuit alum again started the third quarter over Jovic, Chiang details in the same piece. However, Jovic played more than the five minutes he did in Wednesday’s contest, finishing Friday’s game with 19 minutes played. “[Jovic] knows the deal,” Spoelstra said. “Look, I’m not going to change the standards. He knows what the deal is. It has to be a level of energy and effort, make an impact. It’s not just him. That’s an easy target. Look the game gets in a double-digit game, you’re grasping for whatever. And at that point, I have to make decisions. If something is not working, I’m paid to make decisions and go to something else.“
If the Heat make rotation changes, subbing in Highsmith for Jovic would make some level of sense, opines Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel. Winderman also writes that he’d put Duncan Robinson in the starting lineup over Terry Rozier, allowing Rozier to serve as a spark off the bench and the second unit to consist of Love, Jaime Jaquez, Larsson and Alec Burks.
Herro has served as the cornerstone of consistency for the Heat this season, Winderman writes in a separate piece. With Butler and Adebayo’s offensive production fluctuating in the early part of the season, Herro’s helped the team keep games close by averaging 22.9 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 49.6% from the field and 45.1% from three. “He’s been really focused on that, committed to being efficient,” Spoelstra said. “His profile has been great. He’s got great confidence. But the last couple years, his game has really grown, and now it’s just taking that next step of efficiency, reading defenders, and making the right play over and over and over.“

Southeast Notes: Highsmith, Ware, Risacher, Skyhawks, Sarr

November 7th, 2024 at 5:32pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Heat‘s starting lineup of Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo is being outscored by 16.6 points per 100 possessions through seven games this season. With the team struggling in third quarters, coach Erik Spoelstra made the decision to sub in Haywood Highsmith for Jovic to open the second half against Phoenix on Wednesday, as noted by Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

“[Highsmith] had given us good minutes in that first half, and we were looking to do something just to change the energy of these third quarters. It had nothing to do with Niko,” Spoelstra said of the change.

Highsmith went on to score 19 points off the bench while Jovic only played five minutes for the game. Despite Highsmith’s success, Spoelstra didn’t indicate whether it would be a permanent change moving forward, instead noting the fluidity of the lineup from game to game.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” Jovic said. “Lately, the first unit has been struggling a little bit and I guess coach was trying to find the right matchups. [Highsmith] did a good job against KD in the first half. Coach told me before we went out that he’s going to play him and just stay ready.”

Jovic has started all seven of the Heat’s games to begin the year and has averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per contest. Highsmith is averaging just 6.4 MPG and has received a pair of DNP-CDs thus far. Highsmith re-signed with the Heat on a two-year, $10.8MM deal this summer despite drawing interest from other teams.

“I’m, in a sense, used to this,” Highsmith said. “Some games, I might not be in the rotation or I might be in the rotation. I’m always going to be ready no matter what.”

The Heat next play on Friday night against Denver. The starting power forward position will be something to monitor for Miami moving forward.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The starting four spot wasn’t the only Heat lineup change, as rookie center Kel’el Ware earned rotation minutes over Thomas Bryant for the first time this season, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel observes. Ware played over 13 minutes and recorded seven points, three rebounds, two steals and a block. Bryant had played every game for the Heat before Wednesday’s outing, averaging 4.8 PPG and 3.8 RPG.
Hawks No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher had the best game of his young career on Wednesday, recording career highs of 33 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, as noted by ESPN. Risacher’s big game puts him right back into consideration for Rookie of the Year in the early weeks of the season, as he maintained the confidence to keep shooting despite entering the game making just 32.9% of his field goal attempts thus far. That confidence paid off with a 61.1% shooting night on Wednesday. “[Head coach Quin Snyder] basically tells me to shoot the f—ing ball,” this year’s No. 1 pick said. “That’s not just from him. That’s from everybody on the coaching staff and my teammates. It helps with my confidence.“
The Hawks‘ G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, announced its opening night roster, Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Former NBA players Tony Bradley and Kevon Harris help make up the roster, while two-way players Dominick Barlow, Seth Lundy and Keaton Wallace will likely spend time with the Skyhawks. No. 43 overall pick Nikola Djurisic, who suffered a foot injury and is rehabbing, is on the roster and will continue to develop and recover.
According to Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network, Wizards No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr is off to one of the best shot-blocking starts ever for a first-year player. Sarr became the first rookie since 1993 to have multiple blocks in each of his first six NBA games. The center is averaging 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per night and has recorded 11 total blocks in his last three outings.

Largest Trade Exceptions Available This Season

November 6th, 2024 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of the NBA’s 2025 trade deadline, it’s worth keeping in mind which teams hold traded player exceptions that could come in handy to grease the wheels on an in-season deal.

As we explain in our glossary, a traded player exception allows a team to take on salary in a trade without sending out any salary in return. The amount of the exception (plus $250K for non-apron teams) is the amount of salary the team is permitted to take back without salary-matching – either in a single deal or in multiple trades – for one year.

For instance, a team with a $10MM trade exception could acquire a player earning $4MM and a second player earning $6MM without having to worry about sending out any outgoing salary.

In recent years, sizable traded player exceptions have served as wild cards that helped accommodate both pre-deadline and offseason deals. For example, after creating a $9.5MM trade exception when they sent Royce O’Neale to the Suns ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, the Nets used that TPE to acquire Ziaire Williams and a future draft pick in an offseason trade that allowed Memphis to shed some salary.

Many trade exceptions expire without being used, but as our tracker shows, there are several sizable ones available this season that could be useful when trade season begins in earnest.

Here are the 15 biggest trade exceptions around the NBA for now, along with their expiry dates in parentheses:

Atlanta Hawks: $25,266,266 (7/7/25)
Brooklyn Nets: $23,300,000 (7/7/25)
Chicago Bulls: $17,506,232 (7/8/25)
Dallas Mavericks: $16,193,183 (7/7/25)
Memphis Grizzlies: $12,600,000 (2/3/25)
Washington Wizards: $12,402,000 (2/10/25)
New Orleans Pelicans: $9,900,000 (7/7/25)
Minnesota Timberwolves: $8,780,488 (7/7/25)
Portland Trail Blazers: $6,875,000 (7/7/25)
Miami Heat: $6,477,319 (1/23/25)
Sacramento Kings: $6,341,464 (6/30/25)
Memphis Grizzlies: $6,133,005 (7/21/25)
Sacramento Kings: $5,893,768 (7/8/25)
New Orleans Pelicans: $5,722,116 (1/17/25)
Denver Nuggets: $5,250,000 (7/7/25)

A number of these trade exceptions are more likely to be used next offseason, when teams could have more cap flexibility, than during the current season, when so many clubs are within spitting distance of the luxury tax line or a hard cap.

For example, using even a small portion of that $25MM+ exception during the season would push the Hawks‘ team salary into tax territory, but with several contracts coming off their books next summer, they’d be in a better position to take on a big salary at that time.

The exceptions that expire before next offseason are the ones to watch more closely during the season. That $12MM+ Wizards TPE is especially intriguing, since Washington is one of the few teams with plenty of breathing room below the tax threshold. They could use nearly all of that exception at the deadline and still avoid becoming a taxpayer.

The two TPEs listed in italics can’t be used at all, since the Heat are currently operating over the first tax apron, while the Timberwolves are over the second apron. Apron teams are prohibited from using trade exceptions that were generated during the prior season (like Miami’s) or that were created by sending out a player via sign-and-trade (like Minnesota’s).

It’s worth noting that some of these exceptions may be used in a deal that could otherwise be completed using salary matching. For example, a team with a $12MM trade exception that swaps one $10MM player for another could use the exception to take on the incoming player and create a new $10MM exception using the outgoing player.

Given tax and apron considerations, we may see some deals along those lines during the season, since using a TPE in that manner would allow a team to essentially roll it over for another year.

Heat Notes: Love, Jaquez, Third Quarters, Rotation, Larsson, Ware

November 5th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love won’t make his season debut on Wednesday. The veteran power forward has already been ruled out by the Heat for their road game in Phoenix due to “return to competition reconditioning,” the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang tweets.

Love recently returned to the team after missing the first few weeks due to personal reasons.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. will also miss Wednesday’s contest due to a stomach illness. Jaquez didn’t travel to Phoenix but is expected to rejoin the group at some point during the team’s six-game trip, Chiang adds in a separate tweet. Love did make the trip to Phoenix and is expected to make his season debut during the road swing.

Here’s more on the Heat:

The team has a third-quarter problem and might need to tweak the lineup to fix it, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Replacing Nikola Jovic with Jaquez or Haywood Highsmith might be the simplest way to address the problem, according to Jackson, who notes that Miami has outscored opponents by 17 points in the first quarter, 25 points in the second quarter and 17 in the fourth but has been outscored by 52 in the third. The Heat are the NBA’s lowest-scoring team in the third quarter.
Despite the absences of Love and Jaquez on Monday, coach Erik Spoelstra went 11 deep into his bench during the first quarter alone, Chiang writes. Highsmith and rookie Pelle Larsson were the first two players off the bench, followed by Alec Burks, Thomas Bryant, Josh Richardson and Duncan Robinson.
Larsson continues to look like one of the steals of the draft. The No. 44 overall pick had 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes on Monday, Chiang adds. “He is a two way player,” Spoelstra said. “Even though he’s a rookie by NBA standards, he has a great deal of competitive experience. He’s savvy, has the toughness we like, can guard multiple positions.”
The Heat’s first-rounder, Kel’el Ware, has been forced to take a wait-and-see approach. He has only made two brief appearances off the bench. “I can’t control what the Coach does,” Ware told Chiang. “So whenever coach Spo decides to put me in, I’ll be ready.”

Bucks Rumors: Antetokounmpo, Early Struggles, Beauchamp

November 4th, 2024 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks are off to a 1-5 start this season after falling to the Cavaliers at home on Saturday for their fifth straight loss, but the “league-wide lusting” for Giannis Antetokounmpo had begun even before Milwaukee stumbled out of the gate, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.

As Stein explains, outside interest in Antetokounmpo – and optimism that he could eventually become available – stems from two key factors. The first is the Bucks’ salary cap and roster situation, since the club is operating over the second tax apron with an aging core and limited trade assets.

The second factor, Stein says, is an interview that Antetokounmpo gave to Tania Gaguli of The New York Times in August 2023. In that conversation, which took place before the Bucks acquired Damian Lillard, the star forward expressed a desire to remain in Milwaukee for the rest of his career only if he continues to believe the team is capable of winning another title.

While there has been no indication that Giannis has lost faith in the current iteration of the Bucks, the team isn’t in a great spot, coming off two straight first-round exits and having posted a sub-.500 regular season record (18-24) so far under head coach Doc Rivers. Things won’t get any easier on Monday night with another game against the Cavaliers on tap, this time in Cleveland, though Antetokounmpo was encouraged by what he saw as forward progress in Saturday’s one-point loss.

“I think we are headed towards the right direction,” he said, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Now, that doesn’t mean we’re going to go to a five-game winning streak or 10-game winning streak, but I know that we are playing better and we trust another.”

Here’s more on the struggling Bucks:

In the event that Antetokounmpo becomes available via trade, a “credible” list of potential suitors would likely start with the Warriors, Heat, Nets, and Knicks, Stein states in his Substack story. While New York looks like a somewhat improbable suitor based on its current roster and draft assets, Stein says he’s heard “more than one rival team” wonder if having a star like Karl-Anthony Towns available to put in a future offer for Giannis was one of the reasons why the Knicks were willing to pull the trigger on that preseason deal with Minnesota. I’m a little skeptical that Towns is the sort of the player the Bucks would target if they ever seriously consider trading Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks and MarJon Beauchamp‘s representatives at Klutch Sports are working together to try to find a new home for the third-year forward, league sources tell Stein. Beauchamp, the No. 24 pick in the 2022 draft, has yet to emerge as a rotation player and recently had his fourth-year option for 2025/26 option declined, putting him on track to become an unrestricted free agent in July 2025. As long as they continue to operate above the second apron, the Bucks wouldn’t be able to aggregate the 24-year-old’s salary ($2,733,720) with another player’s salary for matching purposes in a bigger deal.
Beauchamp spoke to Owczarski of The Journal Sentinel on Saturday about his reaction to the Bucks declining his option. “I needed that to kind of put a fire under me,” he said. “So, I know who I am though and I know what (kind of) basketball player I am so I’m not really phased on that. I know that my work will always show and as long as I believe in myself, I’m not really worried about that. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, you know? I’m still worried about right now and controlling what I can control.”

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Richardson, Lillard, Love, Robinson

November 3rd, 2024 at 8:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bam Adebayo erupted offensively during the Heat‘s game against Washington in Mexico City on Saturday. Adebayo poured in 32 points after averaging only 11 points in the first four games. Adebayo said his teammates were determined to get him the ball, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

“My teammates got me going from the jump,” Adebayo said. “We’re pros, man. Once we see the ball go in a couple times, it becomes like an ocean. Then you just get in a flow and you just get locked in, and it just feels like the ball is going to go in every time for you.”

We have more on the Heat:

Josh Richardson played 16 minutes in his season debut on Saturday and didn’t score. Richardson, who has been battling shoulder, heel and calf injuries, had one assist and a rebound. “Great to be back out there. Lot of rust to knock off, but I’m grateful!” Richardson tweeted.
Could the Heat make another run at Damian Lillard, as they did in the summer of 2023? Ira Winderman of the Miami Herald believes that could happen if Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade. Winderman also anticipates the price tag for Lillard would be reduced, compared to the package Portland was seeking last year, given the guard’s age and contract.
Kevin Love could make his season debut on Monday. The veteran forward is listed as available after missing the first five games due to personal reasons, Winderman tweets. Duncan Robinson, who missed the game in Mexico City for personal reasons, will also be available for Miami’s contest against Sacramento.

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