Podcast: How the Heat is exceeding expectations. And ‘Miami Mashup’ jerseys, explained
The Miami Heat is off to the hottest start in the NBA and, surprisingly, the offense is the driving force.
Kyle Lowry has transformed the Heat’s identity and Tyler Herro is giving Miami a different dimension off the bench, which brings the Heat Check podcast to a debate this week: Who is most responsible for Miami’s red-hot start?
David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, the Heat beat writer for the Miami Herald, break down what each of the point guards is bringing to the Heat this year and how each one is helping elevate Miami (6-1) after a frustrating season.
For Lowry, it’s all about the tempo and his “quarterback” play, as coach Erik Spoelstra put it. Even though he’s not scoring, Lowry has shaped the Heat in his image, even as star forwards Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo continue to put up big numbers.
For Herro, it’s all about the extra scoring punch he’s giving the Heat off the bench. The 21-year-old guard has scored more points off the bench than anyone else in NBA history through seven games and established himself as the prohibitive favorite for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.
Together, they’ve helped Miami surge to first place in the Eastern Conference with an entirely new-look offense.
In the second half of the episode, Chiang is joined by Jennifer Alvarez, the Heat’s vice president of creative and digital marketing, to discuss the new “Miami Mashup” jerseys and where the unusual concept came from. Alvarez addresses the criticism of the one-of-a-kind jerseys, why the Heat decided to do something different than a traditional throwback-inspired look and how fans can customize the jerseys to their liking.
As always, please continue to rate, review and subscribe. It looks like it’ll be a fun season in Miami and the Heat Check will be with you the whole way.
