Heat Notes: Ware, Herro, Wiggins, Powell, Fontecchio
Kel’el Ware was thrust into a significant role on Thursday with Bam Adebayo in foul trouble, and the second-year Heat center delivered in impressive fashion, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Ware, who had 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high five steals in 29 minutes during Tuesday’s blowout win over Brooklyn, one-upped that performance in Thursday’s victory over the Nets, compiling 16 points, 11 rebounds, a career-high seven blocks, and a career-high-tying five steals in 32 minutes.
According to Winderman, Ware became the first player in Heat history to record a 10-10-5-5 stat line and the first player in NBA history to do it off the bench. The 21-year-old big man is the first player in franchise history to have seven blocks and five steals in a game — the last NBA player to register those numbers was Josh Smith in 2007.
“It shows that I’m impacting the game,” Ware said. “And I’m going out there and I’m affecting it — being able to help my team, prove that I can play and be a plus.”
Head coach Erik Spoelstra likes what he’s seen recently of Ware, who had 10 points, four rebounds, four blocks and a steal in Friday’s win over the red-hot Hornets.
“I think his teammates are encouraging him to be more aggressive, guard the basket,” Spoelstra said. “He’s getting more alert on situations. I’m encouraged by his last handful of games. He’s doing a lot of things that are impacting the game.”
We have more from Miami:
- The Heat picked up their fourth straight victory on Friday in Charlotte and snapped the Hornet’s six-game winning streak in the process, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Tyler Herro had his best game of the season, finishing with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists (against zero turnovers). The 26-year-old shooting guard was plus-18 in 37 minutes during the eight-point victory. “He was sensational tonight,” Spoelstra said. “Tyler, you can see he’s gaining more rhythm each game. Tonight, the three ball started to go for him. It opens up so much for his game. He can put the ball on the floor. The nine rebounds were needed because they’re a handful on the glass.”
- Starting forward Andrew Wiggins was sidelined on Friday due to bilateral patellar tendinitis, the team announced (via Twitter). “He’s dealt with it for the last handful of days, and it didn’t loosen up enough today to be available,” Spoelstra said before the game, per Jackson. “But hopefully we can treat him and hopefully make sure it’s a short-term thing.”
- Norman Powell (right groin strain) missed his fourth straight game on Friday, while Simone Fontecchio (left groin strained) missed his second consecutive contest, according to Winderman. “We have some competitive, tough-minded guys in the locker room,” Spoelstra said of his players attempting to shorten timelines for absences. “We do want to be responsible. That was the case with Norm and Timo (Fontecchio). Hopefully, if you get to things early and you really attack it with the rehab, it can be shorter term.”
Grizzlies Reportedly Lower Asking Price For Ja Morant
After trading Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah on Tuesday, the Grizzlies have lowered their asking price for point guard Ja Morant “dramatically,” rival teams tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports first reported that rivals were anticipating a reduction in Memphis’ price tag on Morant, which could pave the way for the two-time All-Star to change teams this week.
Iko describes the market for Morant as “diminished,” while Chris Mannix of SI.com agrees that interest has been limited, citing “availability, attitude and diminished production” as areas of concern for potential Morant suitors. However, Iko notes that some of those would-be suitors may return to the table after balking at Memphis’ previous demands.
The Grizzlies have increasingly recognized that a Morant trade won’t net them the same sort of hauls that they got for Jackson and Desmond Bane, Iko writes, and teams like the Timberwolves and Heat will have more interest in the guard as a buy-low target than they would’ve at Memphis’ initial price point.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints hears that the Grizzlies want to acquire some sort of draft compensation for Morant and may be inclined to accept the first offer that features a first-round pick, though that would presumably hinge on how much salary they’re being asked to take on. Sources tell Fischer that Memphis has conveyed a willingness to take on long-term contracts if they’re attached to worthwhile draft compensation.
Here’s more on Morant:
- While the Kings have been frequently linked to Morant, sources tell Fischer that their interest continues to be “minimal,” and James Ham of The Kings Beat hears similar rumblings, writing that Sacramento isn’t actively pursuing Morant and hasn’t spoken to the Grizzlies for two or three days. That doesn’t mean Sacramento is entirely out of the picture — Siegel cites league sources who believe the Kings would consider a Morant deal if it means moving off some of their own multiyear contracts, including perhaps those of Malik Monk and/or DeMar DeRozan. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) also hears that Sacramento remains involved for Morant.
- Both the Timberwolves and Heat remain in the hunt for Giannis Antetokounmpo, so until there’s resolution on that front, they’ll presumably keep any potential Giannis-related trade assets off the table in talks with the Grizzlies. Miami has hoped to be able to land Morant for a Trae Young-esque return, Siegel explains. The Miami Herald has frequently mentioned Terry Rozier‘s and Simone Fontecchio‘s expiring contracts as a possible package for Morant, which would be an even lighter package than what Atlanta got for Young, but would create significant cap flexibility going forward for Memphis.
- There’s a “growing thought” that the Heat would be willing to sign Morant to the kind of contract extension he’ll be seeking beyond his current deal, sources tell Iko. Morant is under contract for two years and $87MM after this season.
- In addition to gauging the market for Morant, the Grizzlies have interest in potentially facilitating an Antetokounmpo trade and are closely monitoring that situation, according to Iko, who says Memphis explored the possibility of reacquiring Mike Conley from the Timberwolves before he was dealt to Chicago.
Heat Notes: Ware, Haslem, Midway Point, Grades, Powell, Wiggins
Heat second-year big man Kel’el Ware continues to frustrate the coaching staff with his inconsistency. Ware was benched during the second half of the team’s loss to Boston on Thursday and coach Erik Spoelstra called him out afterward, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.
“It was a tough matchup for him in Boston with all the coverages, and the same thing (Thursday),” Spoelstra said. “He just has to stay ready. Look, with Kel’el, I know that’s a lightning-rod topic. He needs to get back to where he was eight weeks ago, seven weeks ago, where I felt and everybody in the building felt, he was stacking days, good days. He’s stacking days in the wrong direction now. He’s just got to get back to that. Stack days, build those habits, make sure you’re ready and play the minutes that you’re playing to a point where it makes me want to play you more.”
Former Heat player Udonis Haslem said during a Prime Video appearance that Ware needs to make the coaches believe he’s deserving of more playing time.
“Put them in a position to earn their money,” Haslem said. “Put them in a position to say, ‘He is one of our top seven or right guys, he should be playing. Let me figure out ways to get him more minutes because he deserves those minutes.’ I understand your minutes are going to fluctuate based on the situation with coaches. There is nothing you can do about it. But what you can do is every time you step out on the basketball court, make sure your minutes are impactful, make sure your minutes are positive.”
Bam Adebayo made similar comments to the media.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- With a 21-20 record at the midway point of the season, Miami hasn’t played to its potential, in Spoelstra’s view. “We feel like we’re better than where we are, but we are what our record is right now. That’s the bottom line,” the Heat coach said, per Chiang. “If you play games on paper, I think right now we would have a better record. But that’s not the case right now.” Adebayo believes the players need to be more focused and mentally tougher. “We are better than what our record says,” he said. “But until all of us commit to doing role-player things, we’ll keep being in the middle of the pack, mediocre. Until guys get sick of that middle ground of being seventh, eighth and not want to really make a push to be fourth or third in the East, we’re going to stay right here.”
- The Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman hands out midseason grades and gives Norman Powell an A and Jaime Jaquez Jr. an A-. Disappointing offseason acquisition Simone Fontecchio was awarded a D-.
- In the same story, Winderman opines that the front office might be better off trading Powell and Andrew Wiggins, noting the team is wallowing in mediocrity and could help its long-term outlook by acquiring draft capital. Powell will be an unrestricted free agent after the season while Wiggins holds a player option worth over $30.1MM for next season.
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: Fontecchio, Rozier, Hornets Trade, Offense
Forward Simone Fontecchio was acquired by the Heat this summer in a sign-and-trade deal that sent Duncan Robinson to Detroit.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra was familiar with Fontecchio’s game, having extensively scouted his play with the Italian national team during the 2023 and 2024 offseasons while serving as an assistant with Team USA, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“Italy was my scout, so I literally watched every single one of his games for two years over there,” said Spoelstra, who has since been promoted to Team USA head coach. “He’s an explosive number-one option for Italy. When you shoulder those kinds of responsibilities and have everyone game-planning against you, yet still are able to have big games, that was really impressive.”
It was unclear how much Fontecchio would play for Miami this season after a disappointing ’24/25 campaign with the Pistons in which he shot just 33.5% from long distance. But he has been in the rotation ahead of young players like Pelle Larsson to this point, Winderman writes, and has gotten off to a strong start through two games, averaging 13.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.5 APG and 1.0 SPG in 21.0 MPG.
“For us, it’s a different option,” Spoelstra said. “We like his competitiveness. He, obviously, can really shoot the ball, but he’s not limited to that. He’s able to do other things like put the ball on the floor, fly off screens or just space off of your better players. We’re just really thankful that we have him with us.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- In the wake of Terry Rozier‘s arrest — he’s facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being accused of removing himself from a March 2023 game (when he was a member of the Hornets) so that several “under” prop bets would hit — Winderman argues the NBA should “right a wrong” and either rescind the first-round pick Miami owes Charlotte or give the Heat a compensatory first-rounder. As Winderman explains, the Heat reportedly didn’t know about the incident when they traded for Rozier in January 2024, nor were they aware of any league investigation into the matter. If Miami was granted a compensatory pick, the team would have its full complement of future first-rounders available to trade — the Heat are currently limited by the Stepien rule, Winderman notes.
- In a mailbag for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman says the league could also opt to remove Rozier’s salary from the Heat’s cap sheet while his legal situation plays out. The 31-year-old would still continue to be paid in Winderman’s hypothetical, but not counting against the team’s books would give Miami much more financial flexibility, both now and going forward.
- The Heat have been pleased with their new uptempo offense through two games, but they want to make sure it’s firing on all cylinders for an entire season, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “Playing with a pace like this, you love to see everybody collectively having fun, everybody getting to touch the ball,” Bam Adebayo said. “You can’t really scout plays for us. There are no plays. In the whole first half [Friday against the Grizzlies], I don’t think Spo ran a play. We’re trying to make it last all season. It’s fun when we play like this. It’s fun when we can get up and down, and run with that pace. And obviously, we need to make shots to dictate that. But our thing is just to keep playing this style of basketball, where there’s no hold. We’re swinging, we’re cutting. It’s hard to scout a team when everybody is live. So that’s what we’re trying to get to and that’s starting to be our identity.”
Heat Notes: Rozier, Cap, Offense, Fontecchio
In the wake of Terry Rozier‘s arrest, the Heat had a team meeting on Thursday to “address things,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said on Friday, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). While Spoelstra noted that the team has learned how to “compartmentalize” off-court issues and focus on the next game, Rozier was popular in the locker room and teammates couldn’t help but notice his absence at Friday’s shootaround.
“You support him, through and through. That’s our brother at the end of the day,” big man Bam Adebayo said. “It felt kind of weird in him not being here, actually, because he’s usually the first person I get to talk to in the morning, and he brings that great energy to our team.”
Rozier is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being accused of removing himself from a March 2023 game (when he was a member of the Hornets) so that several “under” prop bets would hit. While Spoelstra and Rozier’s teammates didn’t address the specifics of the case on Friday, they uniformly expressed support for the veteran guard, who has been placed on leave by the NBA.
“I mean obviously we can’t comment on the situation,” Spoelstra said. “But Terry is somebody who is very dear to all of us. He’s had a real positive impact on our locker room, and the staff and players alike, and that includes last year, when he wasn’t in the rotation oftentimes. We send our thoughts and our care for him as he goes through this.”
Here’s more on the Heat, including additional notes on the Rozier situation:
- Because Rozier has been placed on leave rather than being suspended or having his contract voided, he’ll continue to occupy a Heat roster spot and will continue to be paid his $26.6MM salary for the time being, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald outlines. The Heat would only gain immediate cap relief if the NBA decided to void Rozier’s contract, which would remove it from the team’s books.
- Jackson posits (via Twitter) that the Heat were “wronged” by the NBA, which looked into unusual betting activity related to that March 2023 game at the time and found no wrongdoing by Rozier. The Heat reportedly weren’t informed of that investigation before trading for the veteran guard in January 2024. While Jackson stresses that he doesn’t expect the team to take any extreme measures like suing the NBA, he suggests it remains to be seen whether the Heat will seek some sort of restitution.
- The Heat couldn’t pull out a victory over the Magic in Wednesday’s season opener, but Spoelstra was encouraged by how an offense that looked faster and more efficient than last season’s unit, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I don’t want to take too much of a moral victory on this,” Spoelstra said. “I just see a blueprint for us, and I think there are some things that are going to get better and better as we spend more time with each other.”
- In a wide-ranging conversation with Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype, new Heat forward Simone Fontecchio spoke about his transition from the EuroLeague to the NBA, what he thinks his role will be in Miami, and several other topics. According to Fontecchio, continuing to improve defensively is a priority for him this season. “I don’t like to be looked at as a casual European guy that doesn’t play defense, just to shoot, you know?” he said. “I never liked that. And I think I was never like that. So hopefully, I’ll keep working on that, keep getting better and better, and people will start to realize that too.”
Heat Notes: Mitchell, Ware, Jakucionis, Keels
Kasparas Jakucionis and Pelle Larsson returned from injuries to make their preseason debuts on Wednesday, and there appears to be more good news on the horizon for the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang for the Miami Herald. According to Chiang, guard Davion Mitchell, who missed part of training camp with calf soreness and has yet to suit up during the preseason, is expected to be available for Sunday’s game against the Magic.
The 27-year-old point guard was not overly concerned about the injury.
“It was just a calf strain,” he said. “I kind of felt something in my calf. They kind of have been cautious of it because obviously the calf is a big part, especially with the injuries [around the NBA] that we had last year and things like that. So they kind of just wanted to be cautious and make sure I’m ready 100 percent.”
With Tyler Herro likely to miss the first month of the season as he recovers from left ankle surgery, Mitchell is expected to be vying for the role of day-one starter for the Heat. After playing some of the best basketball of his career down the stretch last season, he expressed frustration with being slowed down by the injury.
“Especially with the new offense we got, you kind of want to get that chemistry together to play faster,” he said. “So I kind of got a little step behind not going through the actual games with them. But I’ve been doing it in practice, so I feel good about it.”
Chiang also notes that Simone Fontecchio is participating in practice but remains limited due to left lower leg tightness. Herro and Terry Rozier are both still out without firm return dates.
We have more news from the Heat:
- After Kel’el Ware put up a double-double in the Heat’s second preseason game, head coach Erik Spoelstra expressed that he was not moved by the big numbers and wanted the big man to focus on making a positive impact on the game. Ware wasn’t discouraged by those remarks, viewing them instead as an opportunity, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (subscriber link). “I always take anything Spo says to me as motivation,” Ware said. “I take it and I try to impact it in my game and I try to play as hard as I can.” Ware responded on Wednesday with 29 points and 12 rebounds — and most importantly, he helped the Heat outscore the Spurs by 10 when he was on the court. It was a big performance, and his coach noticed. “He put a lot of it together,” Spoelstra said. “His pick-and-roll coverages were really good, protecting the basket. He was closing out when he needed to. He rebounded the ball very well. And he was playing with force.” While Ware has a lot of skill, playing with force is a clear point of emphasis for Spoelstra. “My favorite play was when he had an opportunity to shoot a three at the top of the key and he just drove it so hard,” Spoelstra said.
- Also turning in an impressive performance on Wednesday night was Jakucionis, who scored eight points and handed out 10 assists in his preseason debut after missing the first two games with a sprained wrist. It was a strong start for the 2025 first-round pick, writes Chiang. Spoelstra noted that there was already a budding chemistry between the rookie point guard and second-year big man, saying, “You can see a natural connection between him and Kel’el.” Jakucionis, for his part, knows there’s still a lot of work to do, especially in terms of scoring efficiency. “I’m just trying to be consistent, stay the same,” he said. “Discipline, and stay the same mind. Don’t go too high when I’m doing good and don’t go too low when I’m doing not that good. So I’m just trying to stay consistent, stay the same way, and just improving every day to try to get 1 percent better.“
- Ware and Jakucionas were not the only recent Heat first-round picks to show out on Wednesday, Chiang writes in a separate article. Jaime Jaquez Jr., coming off a slightly disappointing sophomore season, scored 19 points on eight shots in 28 minutes. He impressed Spoelstra, who, characteristically, still wants to see more from the young forward. “He’s such a downhill force that he’s going to attract help-side defenders,” Spoelstra said. “So naturally, he has to evolve and make enough plays to keep the defense honest because we need him to be aggressive.”
- Trevor Keels was recently waived in order for Miami to sign Gabe Madsen. Both players are expected to end up with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Winderman writes (subscriber link). Spoelstra spoke on the two players, both of whom showed enough for the Heat coach to take notice. “We want to continue to develop him, for sure,” Spoelstra said of Keels. “He showed a lot of improvement over the last few weeks. He’s gotten in better shape. He’s committed to our defensive system. And I told him this is just the beginning.” As for Madsen, Spoelstra saw some of the famous “Heat Culture” in the young guard. “He showed a level of grit, a competitive toughness that we like,” Spoelstra said. “And he’s also skilled. He knows how to play without the ball and shoot the ball, or drive off those catches. So we’re encouraged by that.”
Doncic, Slovenia Advance In EuroBasket With Win Over Italy
Despite a mild injury scare during the first half of Sunday’s game, Lakers star Luka Doncic led the Slovenian national team to an 84-77 victory over Italy at EuroBasket 2025, securing the country’s spot in the quarterfinals.
After pouring in 22 points in the first quarter, Doncic left the court to get his quad muscle stretched out in the Slovenian locker room, a league source tells Dan Woike of The Athletic. However, he returned to the floor a few minutes later and finished the first half with 30 points, en route to a 42-point, 10-rebound performance.
It was the first time in the tournament that Doncic has scored at least 40 points in a game, but he got close a couple times during the group stage and is now averaging 34.0 points per contest, making him this year’s leading scorer at EuroBasket by a considerable margin. He’s just the third player in the past 30 years to have at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in a EuroBasket game, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops, joining Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki (2001) and Spain’s Pau Gasol (2015).
Shooting guard Klemen Prepelic (11 points on 3-of-10 shooting) was the only other Slovenian player to score in double-digits.
Heat forward Simone Fontecchio led the way for the Italians with 22 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Italy was a +11 when Fontecchio was on the court, but was outscored by 18 points during his time on the bench.
Sunday’s game may be longtime NBA forward Danilo Gallinari‘s last for Italy, as he has suggested he plans to retire from the national team after EuroBasket. He had 10 points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of action.
Italy’s head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco also confirmed after Sunday’s loss to Slovenia that he plans to step down from his role with the national team, as Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com relays.
“It’s my last game with Italy,” Pozzecco told reporters. “I want to thank my president, Giovanni Petrucci, for giving me this honor to become coach of the national team. From deep of my heart, it’s like… Maybe, for sure, the best moment of my life. It was a real honor to have this role in Italian basketball.”
Three of the EuroBasket quarterfinals have now been set. Turkey will face Poland on Tuesday, while Slovenia matches up with Germany and Finland plays Georgia on Wednesday. Lithuania, which will play on Tuesday, awaits the winner of today’s showdown between Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s Greek team and Deni Avdija‘s Israeli squad.
Heat Notes: Riley, EuroBasket, Fontecchio, Jovic, Ware
With Heat owner Micky Arison set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend and team president Pat Riley among the prior honorees slated to present him, Riley reflected on his 30 years with the organization, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“Micky and I had that kind of relationship back and forth, but always positive about what we’re trying to do,” Riley said. “If he didn’t like something, he would tell me, ‘I don’t think we should go that way,’ and I wouldn’t go that way. If he said, ‘Go for it. Damn right, let’s go for it,’ we had the same mentality.
“But if you don’t take a risk — a big-three type risk [signing free agent All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010], Lamar Odom type risk or Shaquille O’Neal type risk or Jimmy Butler type risk or whatever it is — then you’re too afraid and there’s a fear of failure there,” Riley continued. “So when you make a calculated risk, he has made a lot of them with me — some of them haven’t worked, some of them have worked big time.”
With Riley running its front office, Miami has made a total of seven NBA Finals, winning three championships.
There’s more out of Miami:
- While playing for their respective national teams at EuroBasket this year, Heat role players Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson and Simone Fontecchio are all showing out in larger roles than they’ve had in Miami so far. Still, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel cautions that their production shouldn’t necessarily indicate that they’re capable of taking a leap with the Heat in 2025/26.
- There had been “strong rumbles” last month that the Heat were looking into trading Fontecchio, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). Stein notes that this buzz happened before Miami traded Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn. Now that the Heat find themselves below the league’s luxury tax following the Highsmith deal, there is likely little urgency to offload Fontecchio.
- With Jovic playing an outsized role for his native Serbia in EuroBasket, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald considers whether Miami would be served better by starting the young forward in the frontcourt next to Bam Adebayo over center Kel’el Ware. Jackson notes that shifting Adebayo to the four spot while starting Ware at the five last year proved statistically more effective than keeping Adebayo at center and starting Jovic.
EuroBasket Notes: Fontecchio, Avdija, Sarr, Vucevic, Sengun
After shooting a rough 23.8% from the field in Italy’s first two EuroBasket games, Heat forward Simone Fontecchio rebounded in a big way on Sunday. As The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang (Twitter link) relays, Fontecchio poured in 39 points while shooting 65.0% from the field and 70.0% from three in a win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also added eight rebounds and three assists across 37 minutes.
The Italian forward broke his country’s all-time single-game scoring record, surpassing Andrea Bargnani‘s 36 points in 2011. The only other modern player in Italy’s all-time top five is Danilo Gallinari‘s 33 points in 2015.
Fontecchio’s breakout EuroBasket game, which included seven three-pointers, is an encouraging sign for the Heat. Fontecchio arrived in Miami in the trade that sent the Heat’s all-time leader in three-pointers, Duncan Robinson, to the Pistons.
We have more from EuroBasket:
- Israel pulled off an upset in Group D with a 80-69 win over France behind a 23-point, eight-rebound, five-steal performance from Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, per Eurohoops.net. According to the official French National Team page (Twitter link), Wizards center Alex Sarr missed the game to rest a minor right calf injury.
- Bulls center Nikola Vucevic helped deliver Montenegro a huge win over Sweden in Group B, recording 23 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. As BasketNews details, Vucevic’s performance was one of his best in a national team jersey. “It felt great, great team effort, proud of all the guys, really competed, really left it all on the floor,” Vucevic said. “Anybody that came into the game played, had huge impact at different points right throughout the game and that’s what we needed.”
- Alperen Sengun notched 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Estonia and has led Turkey to a 4-0 record in Group A. According to Eurohoops.net, the Rockets center became the first player in the last 30 years to record at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in three straight EuroBasket games.