Heat’s Gabe Vincent is ready for a ‘real offseason’ to continue growing his game
Gabe Vincent has spent the last two-plus years transforming his game from a gunslinging two-guard with a score-first mentality into a three-and-D weapon that can be used as a point guard.
But depending on the situation, the Heat sometimes needs Vincent to turn back into a high-volume scorer. He’s also relied on to run the offense at times when starting point guard Kyle Lowry is not on the court. And certain matchups call for him to put most of his energy into trying to lock down the opponent’s best perimeter scorer.
“It has been interesting,” said Vincent, who made an appearance Tuesday at Jr. Heat Basketball Camp at Cooper City High School. “I’ve worn a lot of hats this year, to say it that way. So determining which hat is my best hat to wear, that can depend on who you ask. But it’s been fun. I like to be valuable and be on the court as much as possible. So if that requires wearing different hats, then I’ll wear whatever hat it takes to be on the court.”
Vincent’s diverse and do-whatever-is-needed skill set at guard essentially forced Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to keep him in the rotation this past season.
Vincent, who turned 26 on Tuesday, averaged career-highs in points (8.7), rebounds (1.9), assists (3.1) and minutes (23.4) while shooting career-bests from the field (41.7 percent) and three-point range (36.8) in 68 regular-season games (27 starts). He then played in each of the Heat’s 18 postseason games and started eight of them while Lowry was out because of a strained left hamstring.
The Heat posted a 24-11 record in the games that Vincent started this past season, including the eight playoff starts. He had made just seven NBA starts before starting 35 games this past season.
“I think I’ve shown I can be a rotational player in this league,” Vincent said. “So obviously, yes, I would love to play every game. As much as I would like to play, that’s not necessarily always how the game goes. I’m looking forward to next season.”
When asked where he believes he grew most as a player this past season, Vincent pointed to his “playmaking and being more of a point guard and showing I can truly be a point guard in this league. That was a really fun challenge and experience for me.”
As for what Vincent wants to focus on improving this offseason, he’s working to add a more consistent midrange shot to his offensive repertoire.
While 61 percent of Vincent’s shot attempts this past season came from three-point range, just 21 percent were considered midrange looks (19th percentile among NBA guards), according to Cleaning the Glass. Even though he didn’t take many, Vincent was efficient from that area of the court with a shooting percentage of 44 percent on midrange attempts (68th percentile among NBA guards).
“I think we’ve seen a little bit this year that the midrange isn’t dead,” said Vincent, who has a $1.8 million team option in his contract for next season that the Heat is fully expected to exercise to bring him back. “I think playing in the pocket in that pick-and-roll, that shot is available for me a lot. So being consistent, being able to score that ball within that pocket. I think that will be helpful. Obviously, being more consistent as a shooter. A big reason why I got here is because of my shot. The more consistent I can be with that, obviously the greater impact I can have on that side of the ball.”
Vincent brought up Phoenix Suns All-Star guard Chris Paul as a player he will study to get better in the midrange.
“I think Chris Paul might be one of those guys that’s just a specialist in the pick-and-roll, a legend of this game,” Vincent said. “He uses it to his advantage to keep the defense honest. ... Obviously, the game has changed. We value the three more, get to the free-throw line more. But I think as a guard, you get in that pocket a lot. As you get toward the playoffs, you see they start to just play percentages and play numbers, and that needs to be a shot that you need to keep them honest with.”
Vincent is looking forward to his first full NBA offseason without any outside obligations. Last year, he spent a large chunk of the summer representing Nigeria in the Tokyo Olympics and then worked with the Heat’s summer league team.
“This might be a real offseason,” Vincent said with a smile. “I haven’t really stopped playing basketball in 12 months.”
Vincent plans to spend most of his offseason in Sacramento, which is not far from where he grew up in California. He will work out with his trainers and expects to connect with Lowry and other Heat teammates along the way.
But Vincent has dedicated the first part of the offseason to everything but basketball, with his focus on “unwinding” and “trying to get my life in order a little bit.” He wanted to take a break from the game after the Heat’s season came to an end in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals just two weeks ago and has not watched much of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
“I just think it was a long year for myself overall with basketball,” Vincent said. “It started before the season started. So I think I just needed a little bit of a break.”
UPDATE ON HEAT PREDRAFT WORKOUTS
With the No. 27 pick in the June 23 draft and a summer league roster to fill out with a bunch of undrafted players, the Heat began holding predraft workouts at FTX Arena at the start of June.
Texas A&M guard Quenton Jackson is included on the long list of draft prospects who have been brought in by the Heat for a workout in Miami.
Two different mock drafts compiled by NBADraft.net and The Ringer project the Heat to select guard Kennedy Chandler from the University of Tennessee. But a source told the Miami Herald that Chandler has yet to work out for the Heat at FTX Arena.
The Heat is also eligible to trade this year’s pick at No. 27 ahead of the draft.
