Norman Powell flashes scoring touch Heat will need: ‘They know what I can do’
The Miami Heat is in desperate need of efficient scorers after finishing each of the last three regular seasons with one of the NBA’s 10 worst offensive ratings. So the Heat traded for one of the most efficient scorers in the league this past offseason, acquiring veteran guard Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers in July.
Powell flashed that scoring touch in just his second preseason game with the Heat, finishing Monday night’s 103-93 exhibition loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-3 shooting from the foul line in only 16 first-half minutes. Powell was then given the second half off.
“I remember a game two years ago where we were right with the Clippers, and then he had three threes,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra recalled following Powell’s impressive preseason showing on Monday. “He literally had three straight possessions, and then all of a sudden the game went to double digits and the game was basically over. You can see his ignitability.
“I like what he can do on the drive. He can really get hot from three. Guys were finding him, and I think we can definitely build on that.”
Powell’s 18-point performance on Monday comes after he scored just five points in 14 first-half minutes in Saturday’s Heat preseason opener in Puerto Rico.
“Just finding my spots, letting the offense work,” Powell, 32, said when asked what was working for him on Monday. “We’re emphasizing pace, space, and playing quicker. I’m not one to force looks or shots or anything like that. They know what I can do, they know what I bring to the table. But it’s just getting comfortable, finding the chemistry and flow with the guys on the floor. But I just looked to be a little more aggressive and looking for my shots and looking for openings that are in the flow of the offense.”
The Heat will rely on Powell to carry a heavier offensive burden while guard Tyler Herro is sidelined for at least the first month of the season after undergoing ankle surgery on Sept. 19. Herro averaged a team-high 23.9 points per game for the Heat last regular season.
Powell is not a bad scoring option to rely on while Herro is out, as Powell was among just six NBA players who averaged at least 21 points per game while shooting better than 48% from the field and better than 40% from three-point range last regular season. The others with Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and Kawhi Leonard.
Powell produced All-Star caliber numbers last regular season, averaging a career-high 21.8 points to go with 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 41.8% on 7.1 three-point attempts per game for the Clippers.
“I know people want me to score and want to see the good numbers and everything that I put up last year,” Powell said, with the Heat continuing its six-game preseason schedule on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun and NBA TV). “I know that will come when the regular season comes. But it’s all about getting into rhythm, getting into the flow, getting everybody involved and feeling comfortable and good about how we want to play offensively and defensively.”
OLADIPO SHINES
It was only the preseason, but guard Victor Oladipo’s first game back on an NBA court since suffering a torn patellar tendon in his left knee as a member of the Miami Heat in April 2023 was especially meaningful.
More than two years after that injury, Oladipo returned to an NBA court as a member of a Chinese professional team (the Guangzhou Loong-Lions). With the Lions taking on the San Antonio Spurs in an exhibition game on Monday at Frost Bank Center, Oladipo impressed with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and five steals.
“It’s been really inspiring,” Spoelstra said following Tuesday’s practice when asked about Oladipo’s journey. “I know the guys who have been working him out this summer, they actually worked out my nephew. So I spent a lot of time with his workout guys, and they were giving me updates all summer long. They’ve really been making a lot of progress. Not only is he healthy, it looks like he’s having fun. It looks like he has a joy for being healthy again. It looks like he’s moving very well. It’s really a beautiful thing to see.”
Oladipo, 33, spent parts of three seasons with the Heat before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2023 offseason. He worked out for NBA teams this summer in hopes of making a return to the league.
INJURY REPORT
After missing the Heat’s first two preseason games, guards Kasparas Jakucionis (sprained left wrist), Pelle Larsson (left quad contusion) and Davion Mitchell (calf soreness) returned to take part in some of practice on Tuesday. Their status for Wednesday’s exhibition matchup against the Spurs remains up in the air.
Heat guards Terry Rozier (strained left hamstring) and Herro (left ankle surgery), and forward Simone Fontecchio (left lower leg tightness) were held out of practice on Tuesday and aren’t expected to play in Wednesday’s preseason game.
“They say I might have tweaked it during the game on Saturday, which I didn’t even realize it or notice,” Fontecchio said Tuesday of his leg injury, which hasn’t yet required an MRI. “And then after a couple of days, it started to be symptomatic and it started to swell up a little bit. So, it’s just taking a day at a time and seeing how it goes. It shouldn’t be nothing crazy, hopefully. But just trying to be cautious and make sure that I’m perfectly healthy.”
