Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 115-109 victory over the Utah Jazz:
– Giannis Antetokounmpo was questionable 90 minutes before tip-off. He played.
– Andrew Wiggins was reduced to a reserve role for the second time in as many games.
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– Myron Gardner and Simone Fontecchio played in the second quarter while Tim Hardaway Jr. remained planted on the bench.
– Desperate times call for . . .
– OK, perhaps not desperate measures, but also no time to fool around.
– Such is the reality of battling back from an 0-4 start to the season.
– With a daunting homestand to follow.
– Erik Spoelstra could not have sent more specific messages to end the five-game trip.
– Something had to change.
– So he changed.
– Egos aside.
– Play well, do the right things . . . or don’t play.
– Messages received
– Even with a somewhat shaky finish to this one.
– Winning three out of four against the Clippers, Kings and Jazz isn’t necessarily something.
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– But based on the way the Heat started the season, it also isn’t nothing.
– The theme from Spoelstra amid this climb back from the 0-4 start has been small, subtle steps.
– “I see some things trending in a better direction,” he said. “And these little mini victories that you have an opportunity for, you want to seize those opportunities.”
– For the second consecutive game, the Heat opened with a lineup of Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Klay Thompson, Davion Mitchell and Pelle Larsson.
– For the first time this season, Keshad Johnson was active for the Heat on his two-way contract.
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– Tre Donaldson and Vlad Goldin again were inactive on their two-way deals.
– The very-shorthanded Jazz opened with a lineup of Darryn Peterson , Josh Green , Josh Okogie, Ace Bailey and Jaxson Hayes.
– No, really.
– Among those sidelined for the Jazz were Keyonte George, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic.
– So basically four of their five starters and four of their six-best players.
– With Utah short on big bodies, Jazz coach Will Hardy spoke pregame of the challenge ahead.
– “For years with Giannis, the point of contact is always so important because you can keep the ball in front but drop too far back,” he said. “Bam also commands a lot of respect in terms of we need to show multiple bodies. So it’s going to be like every night. It’s a team defense night. Recognizing some of the size differential in different matchups, we’re going to need to show those secondary bodies a little bit earlier.”
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– It helped the Jazz that Antetokounmpo got into early foul trouble.
– Ryan Conwell again got early action off the Heat bench, entering along with Bobby Portis Jr. in the Heat’s first substitution, midway through the opening period.
– Wiggins followed third off the Heat bench shortly thereafter.
– And then the rotation got even more unconventional, with Gardner and Fontecchio entering at the start of the second period, as Hardaway remained planted on the bench.
– Wiggins’ second 3-pointer was the 1,300th of his career.
– Of the evolution of his team’s second unit, Spoelstra said, “It can be a chaos lineup, defensive swarm, and get some easy ones in transition. We’ll get that sorted through.”
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– Of Hardaway attempting to find his way back amid limited minutes, Spoelstra said, “I understand it, and it is tough. Some of these decisions are tough for me. It’s tough for some of the guys to find their rhythm.”
– Spoelstra added, “Be a positive on the scoreboard, change the energy of the game, and then we’ll sort through rhythm, touches, getting guys playing comfortable.”
– During the opening period, the Jazz lost a challenge and even more.
– The Jazz challenged a charging foul drawn by Mitchell. Upon review, referee Scott Foster said the ball was deflected before the block/charge contact.
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– So instead of the original charge call on the Jazz and Heat possession, the Heat were awarded two free throws on the loose-ball foul.
– Shades of Dick Bavetta. So Jazz challenge . . . gives Heat two free throws.
– Spoelstra said among the goals in getting the defense back on track is a team-wide commitment against the pick-and-roll.
– “The mentality and mindset is five guys attacking the pick-and-roll,” he said. “It has to be that. It can’t just be the two players involved in the pick-and-roll, because there’s going to be a lot of other weak side things that happen from that.”
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– On that theme, Adebayo said of the pick-and-roll defense, “For us, it’s getting our coverages right, making the right calls and believing that we can get deflections and steals.”
– Of opponents loading up on 3-pointers this season against the Heat, Adebayo said it’s a whole new world in that regard,
– “I mean guys, we’ve seen it from 30 feet,” he said of a distance nearly seven-feet beyond the arc. “So it’s a longer closeout game than it was four or five years ago. So for us, it’s understanding that there are longer closeouts and understanding that we’ve got to get out there.”
– Going in, the Heat’s numbers with Adebayo on the floor and Antetokounmpo off were actually better offensively than defensively, which assuredly would not have been expected.
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– “I know. It’s a little bit surprising,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t care. We’re going to figure out a way to make these units consistent and making an impact regardless of who’s in what unit right now.”
– Going in, Larsson addressed his decision-making when it comes to shoot or pass.
– “Usually if you get a kick out, you either got to shoot it or swing it,” he said. “You can’t really drive right back into everybody. And then, if you get a swing pass, you have more freedom to kind of drive.”
– He added, “I like to drive because that creates for others, as well. But if you have an open look, you got to shoot it.”
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– Two nights after playing against impressive Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr., the Heat faced impressive Jazz rookie Darryn Peterson.
– It again had Mitchell impressed with a member of the top of the 2026 draft class.
– “I mean how poised he is as a rookie, how confident he is in his abilities,” Mitchell said. “Just watching the summer league, I knew he was going to be really good. You can just tell he works on his game.”
