5 Things U Can Heat: Spoelstra's uncharacteristic decision & takes are flying

The Miami Heat went 1-2 in an intense week filled with a rollercoaster of emotions. Life without Jimmy Butler didn't have to wait until the summer, as he spent most of the three games this week nursing an ankle injury. The Heat showed plenty of fight without him. Tyler Herro's feel-good story continued even though his backcourt mate isn't seeing the same success. Erik Spoelstra had critical moments on both sides of the spectrum, but it is obvious how important Miami Heat basketball is to Spo.

Heat show life without Butler led by Spo's decision-making

The Heat waltzed into the Target Center in Minneapolis and defeated the Timberwolves for the first time since 2018. Butler, who famously has a troubled relationship with the Wolves, couldn't suit up. They mustered enough fight and got one more stop to steal a game where they were +230 dogs. Herro's brilliance continued as he ripped Minnesota defenders for 26 points. Nikola Jovic had his best game of the year after being benched in favor of veteran sniper Kevin Love. Niko had a bounce-back game paired with a game-winning layup.

No one in the arena thought this play would end at the basket, so Spo hit the Wolves in the face with the unexpected. Spo entrusted Jovic with this game-winning burden even after benching him this game—that type of trust rebuilds a player's confidence.

Spo tried a little of everything in the 135-122 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He tinkered with the lineups and threw different looks at the perennial Western Conference powerhouse. With Butler rolling his ankle early in the game, Spo had to make magic with the guys in his locker room. The Nuggets got a huge lead with their fast-paced brand of hoops, but Spo said enough of that in the second period. The Heat went zone and stifled the Nugget's offense. With no Jokic on the floor, nobody on Denver got to the middle of the zone to crack it.

It was a different story when the best player in the world checked back in. Jokic reached the middle of the zone and converted on those soft-touch push-shots repeatably. Bam Adebayo and Thomas Bryant tried to do their work early and beat Jokic to the spot, but it was out of the defense's control when Jokic got the ball with feet in the paint. The big fella is well on his way to claiming his fourth(!) MVP. Spo made lemonade from scratch in those two games. He displayed why he's a top-15 coach in those two outings but had a head-scratching moment in the Motor City a few nights later.

Even the greatest have slip-ups

When the 10 (or 11) players took the floor on the final possession in Detroit, I was immediately befuddled by JB Bickerstaff's decision to have Cade Cunningham be the inbound passer. He's their best scorer. But the Pistons only needed two and didn't have much time. I never saw this game getting tied up in a million years due to Heat players not communicating.

The screen comes, Bam is stuck, Rozier stays with the shotmaking Malik Beasley, and boom, that's a Jalen Duren dunk to tie the game. We know the rest. Spo lost his cool, was furious about the allowed lob, and called a timeout he didn't have. This uncharacteristic mistake was the biggest blunder of the night and robbed the Heat of double overtime after the tech was called—a great game ended in a way the Heat aren't accustomed to. Spo doesn't get a pass as he held himself accountable in the postgame presser.

Spo was visibly fighting back tears due to his mixup. This means something to him. You have to respect a guy who puts it all on himself. It's easy to think, Of course, he should do that; it's his fault, but that's not always how leaders handle things (check out the excuse-filled season Aaron Rodgers has put together).

Please don't get too carried away about this loss because they won't lose games like this moving forward. It was a bizarre one-off moment that coincidentally saw Jalen Rose in attendance. Rose is a Detroit native and former teammate of Chris Webber, who called a timeout he didn't have in the '93 NCAA national title game. Spo is a legend who outwitted Wolves coach Chris Finch earlier this week. He is still the best in the business; mistakes happen. We move.

Jovic finishing at the cup

In a week full of scrutinized decisions, the move to swap Jovic for veteran sniper Kevin Love was the right one. Niko responded by scoring 15 points, drilling two triples, and converting on the game-winning layup in Minnesota. He has yet to get that Olympic boost some players get after representing their country in the summer (Adebayo, either). It was clear Niko needed a fire lit under him. Before the Wolves game, Niko was shooting 30% from 3 and making half his rim shots.

Spo has been praised for his brilliant play-calling on the game-winner. This was an unorthodox setup that paid off. Don't let the Jovic finish go under the radar, as Gerard Phelan's All-Time catch did. He had a grown 6-foot-5 man on his back and finished through him like it meant zilch.

Niko shot a chilling 58% at the rim before his off-the-bench clinic. He still needs to bulk up a bit more to fight through the NBA's physicality at the rim. He has work to do, but he put in some great reps in Minnesota. He's up to 71% at the rim on low volume, but he's progressing. This is probably the biggest swing skill in his player development.

These attacks that see him looking to score at the rim are crucial. Too often, the near 7-foot playmaker attacks with the intent to pass. Defenses won't acknowledge your drives until you're a threat to finish and kick out. Unfortunately, Jovic couldn't build on this breakout performance in Detroit, as he exited the game early with a reduced septum. He's returning with a facemask, MVP LeBron James style. Maybe he can set a career-high in the mask as King James did.

Three Heat starters trending in different directions

Bam Adebayo praised Herro, saying he should be an All-Star this year. It's fitting the Heat's last year All-Star made this claim because he's definitely not playing at that level. Adebayo has one of the worst eFG% amongst bigs at 48%, and his defense hasn't been sharp enough to offset his shooting woes. He showed life in the Pistons game by catching lobs and abusing them on the glass. His seven made shots in the paint/restricted area are the type of shots he'll get in this new offense.

In addition to the open 3-point looks he's been hesitant to fire, those shots are the looks he's getting. Bam's 3-point rate has noticeably increased, but hesitating and pulling the trigger ever so often isn't going to garner respect from defenses.

On the Herro front— he is playing like an All-Star. The Wisconsin marksmen is seventh in total made 3s with 46. His fourth-quarter explosion in Detroit fully exemplifies the igniter he is. Deep contested pressure shots are Herro's favorite. Buying into more 3s and fewer middies is paying dividends for Herro but not so much for his backcourt mate.

Terry Rozier was on a flamer from 3 to kick off the season. He's fallen back to earth, and the results have been brutal. 3-point shooting was the main thing Rozier had going as he's struggled to keep ball handlers in front of him and finish at the basket.

Rozier's rebounding has been positive. He's in the 72nd percentile among point guards in defensive rebounding. He gets plenty of uncontested rebounds, but Rozier does pogo stick up the glass to snag boards and push the pace. His pace-pushing and paint-spraying passes have aided Herro's early-season success.

Herro has the luxury of playing off-ball— Rozier has to act as the lead ball handler because if not him, then who else? He'd also be an adept catch and shooter, but that's not his role currently. I'm holding out hope that Rozier can turn this thing around. The middies have been cut from his shot diet, too, but he's a rhythm scorer, not a natural 3-point gunner like Herro. Does Spo allow Rozier to take middies like Adebayo is allowed to? Maybe that gets him going, but that'll look similar to the hideous Heat offenses of past years. We just have to hold out and hope Rozier gets out of one of the nastiest funks in his career.

Heat Takes on Social Media

The repeated stick-ups of Cade Cunningham defy locksmith basketball. Pistons fans' hearts sunk to their stomachs each time Haywood Highsmith extended his 7-foot wingspan to rip the ball from Cunningham. He got steal after steal, possession after possession. One could argue Cunningham is a turnover machine and usually lackadaisical with the ball, but Highsmith does this to everyone. He's the number one forward with a 3.3 steal percentage. Be lazy with the ball around Highsmith if you want to add a turnover to your statline.

Highsmith is an old-school junkyard dog. His minutes always jump off the screen due to his defensive tenacity. He's already the best perimeter defender on the roster, but that title is gulf-sized with Buter out. Highsmith should be a constant in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Kel'el Ware is off to the start I expected. I knew it'd take time for a rookie center to earn Spo's trust; we've seen this movie before. Ware checked in during the Denver game instead of Thomas Bryant, who'd been the backup center until last week. Jokic's aggression quickly escalated as he had the thin-framed rookie guarding him. Ware picked up two quick fouls and was limited the rest of the game.

Ware has shown 3-point rim-protecting flashes, but he's raw. Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers is off to a blistering start following his 34-point explosion against the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. I was a McCain guy during the draft process, as I admire his fearlessness and deep shotmaking. It stuck me like a knife when McCain was drafted one pick after Miami selected Ware.

Ware projects to be a better fit, as Miami doesn't need more undersized guards. However, with how McCain shoots the deep ball, I thought his upside was worth gambling on one pick outside the lottery. If McCain does become the sniper I know he can be and Ware flames out, the Heat's social media conversations will be irrational on all fronts.

Stats as of 11/14/24 via Cleaning The Glass, PivotFade, NBA.com, Basketball Reference, and PBP Stats