Heat Notes: Slump, Adebayo, Herro, Larsson, Jovic, Ware
While head coach Erik Spoelstra thought the Heat showed some positive signs in consecutive road losses in Boston and New York, he was left searching for answers following the team’s third straight defeat on Tuesday, a lopsided home loss to Toronto, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“This is not what I would have predicted,” Spoelstra said following Tuesday’s 21-point loss. “I thought we were ready. I thought we had a good session this morning. I thought coming off of our last two games, on the road, even though there were losses, there were way more good things than negative things. In the New York game, we competed with a great spirit. That kind of game, you win a lot of games. But I don’t even know right now.”
As Chiang details, Miami entered December with a 13-7 record and the NBA’s 13th-ranked offense and third-ranked defense. But the team has gone just 2-8 so far this month, the worst mark in the league, with an offensive rating that ranks 27th and a defensive rating that ranks 18th over that stretch to fall back to .500 (15-15).
Third-year wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. said each player on the team needs to take accountability for his performance, starting with himself.
“I think it all starts individually,” Jaquez said. “We all got to look ourselves in the mirror. I know I can do a lot more. There’s a lot more that I know I can bring to this team. And just got to go dig deep and find it, bring it out. That goes for every one of us. It’s a tough stretch right now, and we’re really going to discover who we are in this time. And I’m confident in this team, I’m confident in this locker room. It’s something that we’re just going to have to battle through.”
Here’s more from Miami:
- Bam Adebayo has been in an offensive rut that coincides with the Heat’s slide down the standings, Chiang writes in another story. While the team’s new free-flowing offense earned praise early in the season, it has limited some of the go-to actions the Heat used to run for the three-time All-Star big man. Adebayo is taking fewer shots at the rim and more from long distance, but he has only converted 31.4% of his three-point looks, one of the worst marks in the league among players with four-plus attempts per game, Chiang notes. “It sucks,” Adebayo said of his ongoing shooting slump. “But it’s part of the NBA, it’s a long season. So fighting through whatever I’ve got to fight through, figure out how I can impact winning and do that instead of focusing on shots not falling. Just play basketball and shots will eventually start falling.”
- Adebayo is dealing with lower back soreness and is questionable for Friday’s matchup at Atlanta, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays. Guard Tyler Herro will miss his sixth straight game due to a right big toe contusion, but Pelle Larsson (left ankle sprain) and Nikola Jovic (right elbow contusion/laceration) are probable to suit up against the Hawks, Winderman adds. Larsson has been out for the past five games, while Jovic has been sidelined for the past four.
- Knicks head coach Mike Brown was effusive in his praise of Kel’el Ware after Sunday’s loss in New York, according to Chiang. The second-year Heat center had one of the best games of his career, finishing with 28 points (on 11-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from long distance) and 19 rebounds in 35 minutes. “I’ll tell you, Kel’el Ware, he was a beast tonight on the glass,” Brown said at the start of his post-game press conference on Sunday. “This is one of the very few times we got our behinds kicked on the glass, and a lot of it is attributed to him and the way he rebounded on both ends of the floor, and then he shot the mess out of the basketball. We told our guys he’s been shooting it really well. We just didn’t get to his body. It’s a little tough because he’s seven feet. So, with a guy like that, you almost got to close all the way to his chest just to try to hopefully make him put it on the floor.”
Heat Notes: Jakucionis, Guard Depth, Adebayo, Ware, Rozier
Friday’s loss at Boston was the sixth in the last seven games for the Heat, but they got an encouraging performance from rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscription required). Pressed into duty because of the team’s lengthy injured list, the 20th pick in this year’s draft got his first career start and responded with 17 points in nearly 36 minutes.
“He gives us the energy, the pace. He’s fearless in terms of his play-making, aggressiveness, getting into the paint,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He has really improved his three-point shooting. So that was definitely a bright spot. With Davion (Mitchell) being out, Kas got an opportunity and he really played well.”
Jakucionis has dealt with a bumpy start to his NBA career, caused in part by a sprained left wrist that sidelined him for part of training camp and the preseason, along with a strained right groin that forced him to miss the first seven regular season games. He has been playing mainly in the G League, where he’s averaging 16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game with Sioux Falls.
“You never know when the chance is coming, when D-Mitch was out,” Jakucionis said. “I just have to be ready every time they need me, and I’m trying to stay ready every time they need me.”
There’s more on the Heat:
- Jakucionis’ potential emergence adds to an extremely crowded backcourt in Miami, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel states in a mailbag column (subscription required). Injuries have been a factor so far, but Jakucionis could eventually be competing for playing time with Mitchell, Norman Powell, Tyler Herro and Dru Smith. Winderman notes that Pelle Larsson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are also used in guard roles, so there could be difficult decisions about playing time if everyone gets healthy.
- Spoelstra experimented with small-ball lineups earlier in the season, but injuries have forced him to rely more on the double-big combination of Bam Adebayo and second-year center Kel’el Ware, Winderman observes in a separate story. The Heat tend to use Ware in drop coverage to protect the rim, while switching on defense more often when he’s not in the game. “I mean, it keeps teams off balance,” Adebayo said. “We’ve got to look at it in a positive way. We keep teams off balance.”
- In another piece, Winderman calls for commissioner Adam Silver to make a decision on what the Heat can do with Terry Rozier‘s contract before the January 7 salary guarantee date and the February 5 trade deadline get any closer.
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Ware, Jakucionis, Wiggins
Bam Adebayo admitted on Friday that he needs to be more efficient. As Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald points out, the Heat big man is shooting just 10-of-23 (43.5%) from inside the arc and 0-of-3 from three-point range in the first two games of the team’s current three-game road trip. He also had three of his shot attempts blocked.
“I got to figure it out,” he said. “I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m accepting accountability. I’ve got to be better. I’m letting my team down, and it’s going to shift. Like I said, it’s going to shift. I’ve been through these times before. A lot of guys go through it. We’ll figure it out.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- On the flip side, Kel’el Ware scored a team-high 24 points and made a career high six three-pointers in a loss to Boston on Friday. “I’m just getting more comfortable out there,” he said. “Playing through the game, playing through the flow.”
- The Heat only had 10 players available, which thrust rookie point guard Kasparas Jakucionis into a bigger role — he made a good impression. In his first NBA start, Jakucionis had 17 points, five offensive rebounds and just one turnover in 35 minutes, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. Coach Erik Spoelstra believes the time he spent in the G League proved beneficial. “What I will say is he’s here for a reason right now and not in Sioux Falls,” he said, per Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “I was extremely pleased with his eight games in Sioux Falls. Every game, he got in better game condition. He’s in superior shape, but also more confident. He did things that contributed to winning.”
- Andrew Wiggins‘ name has surfaced in trade rumors but he’s trying to ignore the speculation, Winderman writes. “I try not to think about it. I don’t really go on social media and search my name or anything that has to do with me, so I don’t really hear too much of anything, unless someone comes up and tells me,” he said.
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Big Lineup, Fontecchio, Herro
The Heat–Magic matchup in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup will tip off shortly. Bam Adebayo believes Miami can not only make noise during the in-season tournament but also the postseason.
“People are going to call us crazy, but I think we’re a contender,” Adebayo told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “We’re going to be called delusional. But how I look at delusion [is] if you ask how many people could be NBA players, what is the percentage of that? So, you’ve got to have a little bit of delusion when it comes to speaking stuff into existence. Like I always say, ‘Speak stuff into existence that matters.’ Manifest things that matter. Being able to just dream about that, write it down and keep looking at that. That goes a long way. And some of that is real. So, I think we’re contenders when we’re fully healthy.”
Following last season’s trade sending Jimmy Butler to Golden State, Adebayo has embraced the role of team leader and face of the franchise.
“This season, for sure, it’s like I’m the one in the driver’s seat,” Adebayo said. “That’s a big responsibility. It’s a big ask. But if they didn’t believe in me, they wouldn’t put me in the seat. That’s how I look at it. If I haven’t done things in the past where they were comfortable with saying, ‘He can be our guide,’ and I wouldn’t be in this seat.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Coach Erik Spoelstra is banking on the two-big lineup of Adebayo and Kel’el Ware to show improvement. “I just want to see that group, when we play bigger, just for it to be a plus,” Spoelstra said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “So we have some work to do there. It should be a very good defensive group, but that’s a group that hasn’t been able to defend so far, and we’ve got to continue to work at that.” The Heat has been outscored by 12.5 points per 100 possessions in the 123 minutes Adebayo and Ware have played together this season.
- Simone Fontecchio snapped a three-point shooting slump by hitting four outside shots against the Kings on Saturday. Spoelstra didn’t consider taking the Italian forward out of the rotation despite his shooting woes. “For us we know the value that he brings,” Spoelstra said, per Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “One way or another, he gives you the gravity. But all the other details, we’ve been really encouraged by the team defense that he provides. He’s very detailed. He’s intentional. He wants to do the right thing defensively. He also has a toughness about him. He handles his own under the basket, rebounding against bigger players. He sticks his nose in there.”
- After a two-game absence with a toe contusion, Tyler Herro was cleared to return for tonight’s game. Herro is averaging 23.8 points in the five games he’s played. He’s in the starting lineup tonight, Chiang tweets.
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Ware, Herro, NBA Cup
Bam Adebayo passed Glen Rice for third place on the Heat‘s all-time scoring list during his 24-point performance on Friday. He trails only Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning and should catch Mourning sometime this season.
“That’s really incredible. What an achievement,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I had no idea. Wow, that’s awesome. I would have mentioned something to him, even though it was kind of a buzzkill there at the end [of the loss].
“But that’s just a testament to his consistency, his work ethic. He came in basically as a defensive player and he’s really honed his skills offensively to become so much more versatile. On a tough night and a tough loss, that’s one heck of an accomplishment. He’s going to keep going.”
Adebayo’s performance wasn’t enough, as the Heat lost to the Magic, 106-105.
“I can’t really put that into words, man,” Adebayo said. “I would have liked to have done it in a win, but having the opportunity to pass some of these greats. Obviously, being able to pass them and bring them back into the present day. I’m pretty sure at some point when I see Glen, he’s going to give me a big hug. That’s my guy.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Spoelstra went back to a big starting lineup of Adebayo and Kel’el Ware but he didn’t stick with it the whole game, Chiang notes. Ware was subbed out with 2:06 left in the third quarter and he never returned. “That starting group was a little bit uneven tonight,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve got to continue to work on that. I just want to see that group, when we play bigger, just for it to be a plus. So we have some work to do there. It should be a very good defensive group, but that’s a group that hasn’t been able to defend so far, and we’ve got to continue to work at that.”
- Five games after returning from ankle surgery, Tyler Herro was sidelined on Friday due to toe irritation. As Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes, the game was the 18th that Herro has missed this season, which means he’s no longer eligible for postseason awards, including All-NBA, since he won’t appear in at least 65 contests. While it’s highly unlikely that the Heat front office would have offered Herro a super-max extension anyway, that’s now officially off the table for the 2026 offseason. Herro underwent an MRI on Saturday which confirmed a toe contusion and he’s now considered day-to-day, Winderman tweets.
- The Heat will face the Magic again on Tuesday, this time in the NBA Cup knockout round. Winderman explains from a scheduling standpoint why they might be better off getting bounced in the quarterfinals, noting that a win could lead to a potential 11-day journey across all four time zones.
Latest On Giannis Antetokounmpo
In the wake of a Shams Charania report stating that star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has reopened conversations with the Bucks about his future, head coach Doc Rivers – who dismissed Antetokounmpo-related trade speculation in October – reacted with exasperation when asked about the latest rumors.
“So, here we go again. There’s been no conversations,” Rivers told reporters, including Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter links). “I want to make it clear for the – I want to say one more time – for the 50th time, and clearly it’s not getting to one network, for sure, Giannis has never asked to be traded. Ever. I can’t make that more clear. … I talk to the source every single day, every single day. And he loves Milwaukee and he loves the Bucks.”
Rivers’ veiled shot at ESPN was likely a reference not only to Charania’s reporting but also to a comment made by another one of the network’s NBA reporters, Brian Windhorst, during an ESPN Cleveland radio appearance (Twitter video link).
Windhorst went viral on Wednesday after saying that Antetokounmpo “asked to be traded already” prior to the season, a reference to the Bucks’ trade talks with the Knicks reportedly instigated by Giannis. During an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday morning, Windhorst walked back that remark to some extent.
“Doc can say with a straight face that there was no trade demand, and I think that’s true. He didn’t demand it,” Windhorst said of Antetokounmpo (YouTube link). “However, those (offseason) discussions (with the Knicks) were not the Bucks’ idea, I assure you.”
Team sources who spoke to Nehm and Sam Amick of The Athletic downplayed the “severity” of the situation with Giannis and confirmed that he hasn’t formally requested a trade at this point.
However, with Milwaukee off to a slow start this season and Antetokounmpo raising eyebrows by scrubbing his social media accounts of virtually all their content, leaving little reference to the Bucks, speculation will continue to run rampant as potential suitors keep a close eye on the situation.
“I talked to teams yesterday that immediately scheduled meetings to talk about whether they would make an offer (if Antetokounmpo requests a trade),” Windhorst said on Get Up. “The Knicks would potentially be on Giannis’ list, but the feel would be that Giannis might expand (that list). … Because he’s only got one guaranteed year left (after this season), he would probably have a role in directing where the Bucks might send him.”
Windhorst added that all involved parties – including Giannis and the Bucks – would probably like to have clarity on which way the situation is headed within the next couple weeks or so, and pointed to December 15 as a date to watch, since many offseason signees become trade-eligible at that point.
Here’s more on Giannis and the Bucks:
- Brian Lewis of The New York Post has long reported that the Nets have interest in Antetokounmpo, but he suggests the timing might not be right for Brooklyn if the two-time MVP requests a trade in the coming weeks or months. As Lewis explains, the Nets are now in full-on tank mode and don’t yet have an obvious young franchise player to pair with Giannis.
- The Heat would and should be interested in Antetokounmpo if he were to ask for a change of scenery, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. However, Winderman suggests that including Bam Adebayo in an offer would be a “non-starter” for Miami and it’s unclear if the rest of the team’s assets would be enough to entice Milwaukee — especially if the Heat aren’t offered any compensation from the NBA for the first-round pick they traded for Terry Rozier without knowing he was being looked at for unusual betting activity.
- ESPN’s NBA experts take a look at five hypothetical trades that might work for the Bucks and Antetokounmpo, exploring scenarios that send the star forward to the Hawks, Rockets, Knicks, Spurs, and Warriors.
- Despite the uncertainty surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future and the fact that he left Wednesday’s game after just three minutes due to a calf injury, the Bucks picked up their best win of the season, beating Detroit by a score of 113-109. Big man Bobby Portis said the Bucks had a team meeting before the game that helped everyone “get settled in,” as Jack Maloney of CBS Sports relays (via Twitter).
- In case you missed it, Antetokounmpo’s calf strain is expected to keep him on the shelf for about two-to-four weeks.
Scottie Barnes, Cason Wallace Named Defensive Players Of The Month
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November, while Thunder guard Cason Wallace won the award for the Western Conference, according to an announcement from the NBA (Twitter link).
Barnes led the surprising Raptors to a 14-7 record through the end of November, and the team posted the NBA’s sixth-best defensive rating (111.5) during that time. According to the league, the versatile 6’8″ forward ranked fourth in the East in deflections in October/November (4.0 per game) and was the only player in the NBA to rack up at least 30 steals and 30 blocks.
Wallace, meanwhile, is one of many standout defenders on a dominant Thunder team that went 20-1 with a remarkable 103.6 defensive rating in October/November. Oklahoma City was three-and-a-half games better than any other NBA club during that time, and its defensive rating was nearly seven points per 100 possessions better than that of the second-place Rockets (110.3).
While the Thunder’s defensive performance is a team effort, Wallace led the NBA in steals per game (2.2) to open the season and also had more deflections per game (5.0) than any other player in the West, despite playing a relatively modest 28.6 minutes per contest.
It’s the first time that either Barnes or Wallace has won the Defensive Player of the Month award, which was introduced at the start of last season. According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other players nominated in the East were Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart — Mobley and Daniels each earned Defensive Player of the Month recognition twice last season.
In the West, Wallace’s Thunder teammates Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren were also nominated. Rockets guard Amen Thompson was the only non-OKC nominee in the conference.
Bam Adebayo Cleared To Return For Heat
Heat star Bam Adebayo will return to action on Wednesday vs. Golden State, the team announced, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
Adebayo has been out since November 5, having missed Miami’s past six contests due to a left big toe sprain. The team held its own in his absence, winning four of six games and registering a pair of two-point victories over the conference-rival Knicks and Cavaliers during that stretch.
In his seven healthy games this season, Adebayo averaged 22.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, with a .462/.356/.861 shooting line. He was averaging 6.4 three-point attempts per night in those first seven outings, which would be a career high by far — he shot 2.8 shots threes per game in 2024/25 after attempting a total of just 104 in his first seven seasons.
Kel’el Ware has been starting at center with Adebayo out and has recorded four consecutive double-doubles, with averages of 15.0 PPG and 14.3 RPG during that stretch. Ware and Adebayo started alongside one another five times earlier in the season, so Adebayo’s return doesn’t necessarily mean that head coach Erik Spoelstra will move the second-year big man back to the bench.
Either way, Ware figures to play a significant role, since the Heat will be monitoring Adebayo’s minutes in his first game back, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Additionally, while Adebayo will be backin action , the Heat won’t have a fully healthy frontcourt, as Nikola Jovic (hip) will miss Wednesday’s game, tweets Winderman.
The Heat will be taking on a shorthanded Warriors team. After previously ruling out Stephen Curry (right ankle soreness), Al Horford (left toe injury management), and Jonathan Kuminga (bilateral patellar tendonitis), Golden State has also downgraded Jimmy Butler (right low back strain) and Draymond Green (illness) to out, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Black, Heat, Butler, Jakucionis
As they go through a full-fledged rebuild, the Wizards are spending big on their support staff and infrastructure, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who says the team has been encouraged by the fact that top prospects in recent years – including Alex Sarr and Ace Bailey – have been enthusiastic about coming to D.C.
Still, with Washington off to a miserable 1-12 start this fall and ranking dead last in the NBA in net rating (-16.1), Josh Robbins of The Athletic wonders whether the club can continue losing at this rate without stunting the growth of its most promising young players. Corey Kispert – a relative veteran at age 26 – offered a thoughtful response when presented with that question, pointing out that there are pros and cons to the situation the Wizards’ young players are in.
“The guys that are in the building now that are first- and second-year players have a much greater opportunity to play a ton more minutes than I ever did my first couple of years,” Kispert said. “That’s for better or for worse, but they can come in and they can play and they can try things and they grow on the floor. And that’s a really big blessing for them, and they should absolutely take advantage of that.
“But what that does impair, I think, is that winning is a skill and learning how to win is a skill. And it’s not something that you can just flip on and off from year to year. That’s something that you have to be taught and you have to practice. Those games where we are in crunch-time situations — like Detroit, for example, a few games ago (on Nov. 10) — that’s a learning opportunity for our young guys to learn how to win and what it takes to close out games.
“I’m really looking forward to these guys getting more opportunities to learn how to win, and I hope that us as vets can teach them that within our practices and within our games, whether it’s a word on the sideline or the way that we play or the way we try to play.”
We have more from around the Southeast:
- Anthony Black has had an up-and-down start to the season, but after scoring single-digit points in five of his previous seven games, the Magic guard contributed 18 points in Sunday’s loss to Houston, then had a season-high 21 in Tuesday’s win over Golden State. Those performances – particularly Tuesday’s – provided a reminder of the former No. 6 overall pick’s ability to raise Orlando’s ceiling, as Robbins writes for The Athletic. “I think A.B. is someone who can impact the game on both sides,” Magic forward Franz Wagner said. “When someone like that has the right energy, it’s really contagious for everybody else. … I think he’s a super-important player for our team. Obviously, with some guys out and him seeing more minutes, we need him to play like that consistently.”
- Wednesday’s game against Golden State will be the Heat‘s first meeting with Jimmy Butler this season after the two sides had an ugly divorce last winter, but Miami’s players and coaches are downplaying that narrative, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “We already have done the game, so how many games do we have to play for it not to be the big storyline?” head coach Erik Spoelstra said, pointing out that Butler visited Miami as a member of the Warriors in March. Bam Adebayo, who is “optimistic” about returning after missing six games with a left big toe sprain, echoed his coach’s sentiment: “You move forward in life. We got a great team playing great basketball, and you want to continue that rather than try to chase a headline.”
- Without a spot in the rotation for first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis, the Heat recently assigned the rookie guard to the G League, where he has already appeared in two games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Chiang writes for The Miami Herald. Jakucionis is viewing it not as a demotion but as an opportunity to get crucial in-game reps. “I just need live basketball, to be honest,” the 19-year-old said. “… I think it’s good to just be able to come here, play, and the development part is very good. So I think that’s a good thing.”
Southeast Notes: Adebayo, Banchero, Mann, Wizards, Alexander-Walker
Heat center Bam Adebayo hasn’t played since November 5 due to a toe injury, but he could be back in action Wednesday. He’s listed as questionable to play against Golden State, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets.
Miami has posted a 4-2 record in his absence.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Paolo Banchero will miss his third consecutive game on Tuesday due to a groin strain. However, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said his star player is making progress, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. “Paolo’s doing well,” Mosley said. “He’s been going through some non-contact, hard weight room workouts with our training staff. His spirits are great.”
- Hornets guard Tre Mann departed Monday’s game against Toronto with left ankle soreness, the team’s PR department tweets. He played 12 minutes before exiting. Mann is averaging 10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 22 minutes per game.
- The Wizards have gotten a little too good at tanking, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post writes. They suffered a 23-point blowout at the hands of another rebuilding team, the Nets, on Sunday. It was the Wizards’ 11th straight defeat and their NBA-worst sixth loss by at least 20 points. According to forward Kyshawn George, coach Brian Keefe gave this message to the team after the game, before the players held their own meeting: “Look at yourself in the mirror and answer the deeper questions. It’s more than basketball. What do you really want in life? What do you want to build? What do we want to do here as an organization? Just make sure you answer the question correctly and come up with the correct mindset the next day.”
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker was acquired by the Hawks in a sign-and-trade deal this summer. He delivered in the clutch against Phoenix on Sunday, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta erase a 22-point deficit in the two-point victory. That capped a 4-0 road swing. “I just think we have a resilient group. I think we put our head down when we came together this entire trip,” Alexander-Walker said, per Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.