Three observations from the Miami Heat’s 124-111 road win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
Haywood Highsmith on the move
Highsmith was a perfect 6 for 6 on Friday night, making all four of his shots in the restricted area and two from the corner. Filling in for Jimmy Butler, sidelined for his third straight game with a right ankle sprain, Highsmith did his best to fit in and complement Miami’s other starters.
So much can be accomplished by just moving off the ball, and Highsmith made things easy for himself and others by doing exactly that. Here’s his first basket of the game, bailing out the offense after Kevin Love got trapped and picked up his dribble.
Highsmith timed his move perfectly, cutting behind Tyrese Haliburton and making himself available for Love. This might not seem like a big thing, but it’s important for a Heat offense trying to dig up as many points as possible.
Bam Adebayo finding success in the side pick-and-roll
As Adebayo has gotten off to a slow start in Miami’s adjusted offense, coach Erik Spoelstra has been trying to help his star center find his spots.
In Indiana, the Heat queued up several side pick-and-rolls to get Adebayo the ball on the move and in his sweet spot in the extended paint area.
Instead of worrying too much about getting to the rim, Adebayo let it rip before the Pacers defense could contest.
This was a big part of Adebayo’s finding his rhythm en route to tallying 30 points on 10 of 17 shooting.
Nikola Jovic making things happen
Jovic was moved to the bench after starting the first eight games of the season. Spoelstra’s message was clear: Jovic needed to be less of a passenger on offense and find ways to make an impact.
In the second quarter of Friday’s win, Miami’s offense stalled a bit, making just one field goal in a 2-minute span. Watch Jovic – wearing a mask after breaking his nose earlier in the week – create a scoring opportunity.
Jovic sees the paint open up and concocts a plan. He signals to Terry Rozier to pass to Jaime Jaquez Jr. above the break. When Rozier throws the pass, Jovic makes a break to set a screen but slips it in the last second for an easy layup.
Watch the Heat bench. Associate head coach Chris Quinn pumps his fist and hollers, and several assistants on the back bench stand and applaud. This is exactly what the Heat have been asking of Jovic.