Instant Observations from the Heat’s thrilling road win against the Timberwolves
After a disappointing three-game losing skid, the Miami Heat found themselves back in the win column on Sunday night. They upset the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road in a gutsy 95-94 win, improving to 5-5 on the season and moving up to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
The game featured an undermanned Heat squad getting the job done without the services of Jimmy Butler, following his sprained ankle in the previous loss to the Denver Nuggets. With all things considered, it was the toughest test of the season so far. Before last night’s clutch time win, Miami dropped six straight games in the Wolves arena over the years.
A crucial part of the scouting report was handling the Minnesota duo of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. They both shot the ball inefficiently, going a combined 14/40 from the field and 5/20 from 3-point range.
Let’s go through the standout notes of the Heat’s improbable victory with their backs against the wall.
The Good: Nikola Jovic impactful in a different role
It has been a rocky start to the regular season for Nikola Jovic, who saw himself get demoted from the starting unit in place of veteran Kevin Love against the Timberwolves. However, Jovic thrived in a role off the bench and put together his best performance yet. The third year forward finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds on 6/11 shooting, 2/4 from 3-point range in just 23 minutes.
This rotation change helped him play more like himself. He looked motivated and impactful, hitting a corner triple and crafty driving layup at the rim in his first minute of action off the bench. Jovic was able to play more of a point forward in spurts without Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro alongside him as the main ball handlers.
The play of the game featured a brilliantly drawn up offensive set from coach Erik Spoelstra, finding a cutting Jovic break free for an and-one lay-in for the win during the final seconds.
The Bad: Season-high in turnovers
Miami suffered the most turnovers yet this season, giving the ball up 22 times compared to the Wolves’ 19. The biggest issue was the transition execution, as Minnesota made them pay for their mistakes as the Heat did not. There were several times that they were not able to take advantage and finish fastbreak layups.
More importantly, the Heat are going to need to work on controlling the basketball more. Their mistakes led to easy buckets for the Timberwolves and helped ignite runs for them. For the most part, Miami has done a great job at limiting turnovers during this season. They came into the night with the third least per game across the league.
Jimmy Butler’s absence played a part in this, as he has been a trusted ball handler in the team’s offense thus far.
The Beautiful: Tyler Herro continues to have career-year
With the struggles that Miami has encountered, where would they be without the play from Tyler Herro? The 24 year-old combo guard is putting together the best season of his career, totaling career highs in points, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and true shooting. He continued this success last night, going for a game-high 26 points and 6 rebounds on 9/15 shooting, 4/8 from deep.
Herro suffered 8 turnovers alone, but that is something that can surely be worked on. The fact is that he put the Heat offense on his back and it led to a win. His efficiency numbers have been the best case scenario for the team this year, and the work he has put in during the offseason is shown.
It looks like the game has slowed down for him, as he has gotten to all his spots effectively. Even with Jovic’s bench impact and game winner, the Heat were able to stay in the game throughout the night due to Herro’s consistent offense. He is now averaging 23.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists on impressive 51/46/82 shooting splits.
Without a doubt, Herro’s leap has been the brightest spot of Miami’s season as he works to make his case for his first NBA All-Star appearance.