Breaking down Heat rookie Precious Achiuwa’s preseason debut, including Adebayo’s review
What was Miami Heat rookie big man Precious Achiuwa’s takeaway from his preseason debut? He has work to do.
“Just continuing to do the things that I’m doing good and also work on the things that I’m not doing good right now,” Achiuwa said of the lesson he learned from his first NBA game action Monday. “On the defensive side, going to get every single rebound, paying attention to details, knowing personnel and just strictly following the scouting report.”
Achiuwa, 21, did not enter Monday’s game until there was 8:07 remaining in the third quarter. He recorded a stat line of eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 20 minutes in the Heat’s 114-92 preseason opening loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at AmericanAirlines Arena.
After the contest, it was evident that Achiuwa (6-9, 225 pounds) was not exactly pleased with his performance. He referred to the two rebounds he grabbed in 20 minutes when asked about his first preseason game in the NBA.
“Paying attention to detail. Knowing personnel. Putting a body on guys,” Achiuwa said, with the Heat outrebounded 51-35 by the Pelicans. “I don’t think we did a good job rebounding the ball today. That’s something that I got to take pride in, go for every defensive rebound, putting a body on guys and paying attention to the scouting report.”
But Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo was impressed by Achiuwa on Monday, and not just because of what he did on the court. It’s Achiuwa’s willingness to take and accept feedback, positive or negative, and then apply it to his game that has caught Adebayo’s attention.
“He played well for the first game,” Adebayo said. “I feel like he has got a lot of learning to do. But what I like about Precious is he wants to soak in the knowledge, he wants to learn, he wants to be the best that he can be. First game for him, I’m proud of him. He played well. We’re going to watch film [Tuesday] and see what he can correct and do better.”
The Heat practiced Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, with its second and final preseason game on Friday against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa.
Achiuwa, who was selected with the 20th overall pick in last months’ draft, scored all of his points Monday from around the basket. Each of his four made baskets came from inside the restricted area, as he had success rolling to the basket after screening for teammates.
“His energy rolling to the rim was contagious,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think he sparked us for a couple minutes. Defensively, you see some of his ability to cover ground and do multiple things guarding multiple positions, protecting the basket. He just has to continue every day to learn NBA situations and learn our system, learn how to communicate these things and then do it consistently every time.
“But he has had a good camp. It’s not easy for any rookie right now league wide without summer league and the normal September ramp-up, but he is making the absolutely most of every minute he’s in the gym here.”
Consistent playing time will have to be earned by Achiuwa in his rookie season. The Heat has a crowded power rotation led by Adebayo, which also features established veterans like 6-11 center Kelly Olynyk and 7-footer Meyers Leonard.
Achiuwa admitted “everything was kind of moving fast at first” in his first NBA minutes Monday, and finding easy baskets as the roll man was his way of slowing things down for himself.
“Those were very important plays,” Achiuwa said. “It’s my first game out there and I was just trying to do whatever to get in the flow of the game. Everything was kind of moving fast at first. I understand certain screens are going to get the ball-handler open or get me open, just to get myself in the flow of the game. That’s what I kept doing the whole time, just to slow the game down for myself.”
Spoelstra complimented Achiuwa’s ability to put pressure on the basket, noting that he “feels a lot bigger” when he’s rolling to the rim.
“He has that way about him in a similar way as Bam,” Spoelstra said. “He plays huge, he plays big, he plays impactful. We will build on that. I don’t want to put a ceiling. I don’t know [how we’ll play him yet], we’re going to take it everywhere with his player development.”
Late in Monday’s preseason opener, Heat veteran Udonis Haslem and Adebayo pulled Achiuwa to the side during a timeout to review a teaching point they noticed. It was just a glimpse at what has been going on behind the scenes and in practices.
“They’re always in my ear constantly, both of them,” Achiuwa said. “Always talking to me, trying to get me acclimated to the game and the speed of the game and the terminology and everything going on. It’s pretty much the same thing that they’ve been echoing in practice since I’ve been out here. Just trying to reinforce the same things over and over and over again, and just try to help me understand the game a little better.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 10:21 AM.
