Another big night for Bam, Cain and Jovic impress, other Heat takeaways from preseason win
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 109-80 preseason win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night at Barclays Center to kick of a preseason back-to-back set that ends on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum (8 p.m., Bally Sports and NBA TV):
On the front end of a preseason back-to-back, the Heat (1-1) held out six players. But the good news is the injuries are considered minor.
The Heat was without Tyler Herro (knee contusion), Caleb Martin (right knee tendinitis), Omer Yurtseven (left ankle soreness), Gabe Vincent (injury rehabilitation), Victor Oladipo (injury rehabilitation) and Dewayne Dedmon (plantar fasciitis) on Thursday. All six players traveled and were with the team in Brooklyn.
Herro’s knee issue stems from a knee-to-knee collision with Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels in the third quarter of Tuesday’s loss to open the preseason. Herro downplayed the injury prior to Thursday’s game and said he hopes to return in Monday’s preseason matchup against the Houston Rockets at FTX Arena.
Vincent and Oladipo took part in Thursday’s morning shootaround, but were held out as the Heat continues to take a cautious approach with them. Vincent is expected to make his preseason debut on Friday against the Grizzlies in Memphis and the Heat is optimistic that Oladipo will see his first game action of the preseason in Monday’s contest against the Rockets in Miami.
As for Martin, Yurtseven and Dedmon, the Heat announced they would be unavailable just about 90 minutes before tipoff.
But none of the injuries are considered concerning. Coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday the six absences were simply a product of the Heat navigating its five-game preseason schedule, especially on a night that marked the start of a road back-to-back.
The emergence of forward Jamal Cain could create a bit of a roster conundrum for the Heat.
Cain, who went undrafted out of Oakland University, stood out Thursday with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 11 rebounds and five steals in 27 minutes.
Cain was so impressive that he entered with 3:04 left in the first quarter and played the rest of the first half. With Cain’s combination of length, athleticism and energy, he recorded 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field, five rebounds and one assist during that 15-minute stretch.
“He has the work ethic, he has the character,” Spoelstra said. “He was all about potential when we brought him into summer league. He’s raw. But you can see his athleticism. You can see his competitiveness, his activity, his multiple efforts and he’s really been honing that and trying to really fast track the schematics and how we play.”
Who is Cain?
The 23-year-old Cain played five college seasons, with the first four coming at Marquette before finishing his collegiate career at Oakland.
He averaged 19.9 points on 49.9 percent shooting from the field and 10.2 rebounds per game last season with Oakland and was named the 2021-22 Horizon League Co-Player of the Year.
The issue is that under Cain’s current contract, an Exhibit 10 deal, he’s eligible to be poached by another NBA team once he’s waived by the Heat at the end of the preseason.
In order to make sure Cain remains in the system, the Heat would need to sign him to a two-way contract or use its one open roster spot to sign him to a standard contract.
That’s not as easy as it sounds, though, because Darius Days and Marcus Garrett currently occupy Miami’s two two-way contract slots. And the Heat doesn’t have room under the luxury tax to sign Cain to a standard deal.
So in order to make sure Cain remains under the Heat umbrella, either Days or Garrett would need to be waived to create a two-way contract opportunity for him or Miami would need to be willing to enter the luxury tax to use the 15th and final roster spot on him.
Along with Cain, guard Dru Smith continues to impress while on an Exhibit 10 contract. Smith, who went undrafted out of Missouri last year, has been solid in preseason practices and finished Thursday’s win with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.
Heat rookie forward Nikola Jovic continues to flash his potential.
Jovic, who was drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft, finished Thursday’s win with 10 points while shooting 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting on threes, three rebounds, five assists and two steals in 16 minutes.
Playing with the ball in his hands for most of his minutes, Jovic’s playmaking ability was on display. He dished out four assists in the first half, including an alley-oop lob that Cain threw down.
“His ability to handle, to shoot, to put the ball on the floor. He’s a really good passer,” Spoelstra said when asked about Jovic. “That’s probably at this point his best skill and he’s developing all the rest of it.”
Jovic, 19, only played the final 5:47 of Tuesday’s preseason opener. But even in that limited time, he made his impact felt with five points and one assist.
It’s hard to imagine Jovic cracking the Heat’s rotation right away with so many established veterans ahead of him on the depth chart. But Jovic’s skill set is certainly intriguing enough to warrant an opportunity at some point this season.
Jimmy Butler made his preseason debut, but it was co-stars Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo that stole the show.
After sitting out the preseason opener, Butler finished Thursday’s game in Brooklyn with two points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field, four rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes. He was given the second half off.
“He’s had a great camp,” Spoelstra said of Butler. “Veteran players, it’s just about getting out there, getting a sweat, getting your rhythm. He’s in terrific shape.”
While it was a quiet night for Butler, Adebayo and Lowry made their presence felt and played extended minutes.
After scoring 22 points on 17 shots on Tuesday, Adebayo continued his strong start to the preseason with 17 points while shooting 6 of 11 from the field, 0 of 1 from three-point range and 5 of 10 from the foul line, three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes.
The Heat wants Adebayo to be more assertive with his own offense and take on a bigger scoring role this season. He has done that so far this preseason, averaging 14 shot attempts and 6.5 free-throw attempts per game despite not playing his full allotment of minutes.
Adebayo averaged 13 shot attempts and 6.1 free-throw attempts per game last regular season.
Lowry contributed 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range and 5-of-7 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes on Thursday.
Duncan Robinson also finished with double-digit points, totaling 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting from deep.
Kevin Durant finished with 22 points for the Nets.
With 14 Heat players available for Thursday’s preseason game in Brooklyn, 11 logged double-digit minutes.
The only available Heat players who did not play double-digit minutes in Thursday’s contest were Orlando Robinson, Udonis Haslem and Days.
Expect a few of those players to log big minutes in Friday’s game against the Grizzlies on the second night of a back-to-back.
“The young guys definitely want to play and I definitely want to play Days more minutes,” Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra noted earlier this week that he would not have players log heavy minutes on back-to-back nights in the preseason. Adebayo, Butler and Lowry have already been ruled out for Friday’s game in Memphis.
This story was originally published October 6, 2022 at 9:57 PM.
