Victor Oladipo makes Heat debut in win over Warriors. Here are takeaways and details
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s third consecutive win, a 116-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors (23-25) on Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena to improve to 25-24:
Victor Oladipo played as a starter in his Heat debut, but he battled foul trouble for most of the night.
Oladipo was acquired by Miami on March 25 in a trade with the Houston Rockets, but he didn’t join the team on its recently completed three-game trip because of a head cold.
So a pregame walkthrough served as Oladipo’s only on-court preparation time with his new teammates before his Heat debut. Coach Erik Spoelstra still moved Oladipo into the starting lineup immediately.
Oladipo started Thursday alongside Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Trevor Ariza and Bam Adebayo — the group posted a plus/minus of plus-two in 12 minutes. It marked the 22nd different starting lineup that Miami has used this season and one that has the potential to stick for the rest of the season barring injury.
“We were able to go through some film sessions with him, some individual workouts and then a team walkthrough today,” Spoelstra said of Oladipo before Thursday’s game. “Then boom, let’s get out there and play.”
Oladipo, who was used as the Heat’s primary defender on Warriors star Stephen Curry, finished with six points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting on threes and 2-of-5 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds, five assists and two steals in 23 minutes.
With the limited prep time, Oladipo said he needed help from teammates with the Heat’s play calls in his debut.
“I only only got a chance to walk through and watch a few clips on film,” he said. “They did a great job helping me. They were definitely very helpful. My teammates were very welcoming. I’m glad to be a part of this organization with them. The sky is the limit for us. We just gotta continue to keep getting better.”
Oladipo recorded four points on 1-of-3 shooting, three assists and two steals in the first half. But he was limited to just 11 minutes in the first two quarters because he was called for his third foul with 9:43 remaining in the second period.
In the third quarter, Oladipo showed off his Eurostep to get by Warriors rookie center James Wiseman for a layup. He also drew his first charge as a member of the Heat, but he had to head to the bench with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul.
After sitting out the remainder of the third period, Oladipo was then called for his fifth foul just 54 seconds into the fourth quarter and again had to exit the game.
Oladipo re-entered with 5:16 left and played the rest of the way.
“It was tough,” he said. “I felt like a couple whistles could have gone either way. But it is what it is. It’s a part of the game. Unfortunately, it was kind of tough having to sit down and not being able to find a rhythm. But it’s just the first game. Things like that happen.”
Miami used a lineup of Oladipo, Tyler Herro, Butler, Andre Iguodala and Adebayo in the closing minutes.
“I think defensively, it’s extremely natural — the fit,” Spoelstra said of Oladipo. “And then offensively, he gives us that downhill attack. Another guy that can make plays, another guys that can put pressure on opponent defenses in the paint. I think just with more time, he’s going to get so much more comfortable and be able to really add to our offense.”
Even with Oladipo in the mix, the Heat’s balanced offensive attack was on full display.
Butler finished with a team-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds, eight assists and four steals. He was one of six Heat players to finish with double-digit points on Thursday.
Miami’s other double-digit scorers were Robinson (21 points), Herro (20), Adebayo (19), Ariza (10) and Iguodala (10).
The Heat finished with 116 points on 47.6 percent shooting from the field and 13-of-39 shooting on threes. Miami scored 27 points on 20 turnovers from Golden State.
“Well, when you’re trying to play for the big prize, you better have a lot of guys that can be threats and put some points on the board,” Spoelstra said. “But you also have to have guys that are willing to share the game, enjoy each other’s success and help each other generate shots. You saw that tonight.”
Butler, who entered averaging the fifth-most third quarter points in the NBA since the All-Star break at 8.9 per game, scored 12 of his 22 points in the third quarter against the Warriors.
Iguodala was the Heat’s fourth-quarter star with 10 points in the final period against his former team, including two threes in the final nine minutes.
“He does so many things that help you win,” Spoelstra said of Iguodala. “We’re the beneficiary of that. I think that’s a big part of why we were able to have success in the playoffs last year. He shows up in big moments, does all the little things. Things that don’t show up in the stat sheet, and I’m sure that he just found a lot of fun in that, competing against one of his brothers in Curry. He was lined up against him in the fourth quarter.”
Curry led the Warriors with a game-high 36 points, including 26 in the second half.
The Heat now stands in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, just percentage points behind the fourth-place Charlotte Hornets.
The Heat’s duo of Herro and Robinson continued their post-trade deadline tear.
Herro finished Thursday’s win with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the second quarter, which is Herro’s season-high for points scored in a single quarter.
Robinson finished with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-11 shooting on threes.
Herro has averaged 19.4 points while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 41.2 percent on threes, 3.8 rebounds and four assists in five games since the March 25 trade deadline.
Robinson has averaged 17.4 points while shooting an ultra-efficient 52.2 percent (24 of 46) on threes in four games since the deadline.
The addition of Oladipo wasn’t the only noticeable change to the Heat’s rotation.
Miami used a bench rotation of Herro, Nemanja Bjelica, Iguodala and Gabe Vincent.
Bjelica playing ahead of rookie center Precious Achiuwa is a new wrinkle that began in the second half of Wednesday’s win over the Pacers. Spoelstra opted to use Bjelica as the Heat’s back-up big in the second half Wednesday over Achiuwa, who did not play in the final two quarters.
It was a similar story on Thursday, with Bjelica playing all of the non-Adebayo minutes. Bjelica finished with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting on threes and two rebounds in 17 minutes.
Bjelica, who was acquired by Miami in a trade with the Sacramento Kings last week, has now played in three games with his new team. He scored his first points in a Heat uniform on Thursday.
Achiuwa has struggled recently, as he has totaled 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting, 13 rebounds and nine fouls in his past four games.
“He has been learning everything through a fire hose this year,” Spoelstra said of Achiuwa. “I think it’s important to keep that all in perspective. I think if you look at this league-wide, this is what the rookie class looks like without a training camp and without summer league and then the whole player development programs that they typically get. He is a contributing player right now for us in the rotation. Depending on matchups and how the game is going, it might be bigger some games than it is in other games.”
In addition, guard Kendrick Nunn did not play Thursday even though he was available after missing the previous two games with a sprained right ankle.
The Heat is taking a cautious approach with guard Goran Dragic.
After returning from a four-game absence stemming from lower back spasms to play in the last two games, Dragic did not play Thursday on the second night of a back-to-back set. This was a precautionary move after Dragic logged 24 minutes in Wednesday’s road win over the Pacers.
“He did not suffer a setback,” Spoelstra said. “This won’t necessarily be the definitive plan moving forward. But based on how he felt and trying to scale him back up, we think this is the best for tonight.”
Spoelstra added that Dragic, 34, will be available for Saturday’s home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers “if everything moves forward in the right direction.”
The Heat was also without forward KZ Okpala on Thursday, who missed his sixth consecutive game because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Udonis Haslem is out of protocols.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 10:40 PM.
