Oladipo assesses Heat debut. Butler, Bam bullish on the possibilities with revamped group
Seemingly every time Victor Oladipo turned his head on Thursday, he heard a whistle.
But this was a night of overcoming, shaking off foul trouble (five in 23 minutes), a tough shooting night (2 for 8 from the field), a cold and the pressure of his Heat debut to make an imprint on Miami’s 116-109 victory against Golden State, the team’s third win in a row.
That imprint included stout defense that featured two steals, plus five assists, including a beautiful pass to Tyler Herro for a layup with 52 seconds left to put the Heat up nine.
“Its been crazy but nothing I can’t handle,” Oladipo said of the whirlwind of the past week, speaking initially to Bally Sports Sun’s Jason Jackson and then to the general media. “I’m glad I could help the team win. It feels like I was waiting two months.
“My teammates were really helpful, encouraging, really positive. They didn’t have to be. I wanted to let them know I appreciate that, what kind of human beings they are, what kind of guys we have in this locker room. I’m glad to be a part of that.”
Oladipo was on the floor late in the game, part of what could be a suffocating defensive quartet that also included Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Andre Iguodala. Herro also was part of that unit.
“I think we can do very special things defensively,” Oladipo said. “This was my first game with them, but I think we have a lot of versatile guys who can guard multiple positions.
“I’m not worried about scoring or the offensive end. I know that will come. I’m just trying to have a positive defensive impact every night.”
Of the foul trouble, he said: “It was tough. I felt like a couple whistles could have gone either way. But… 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.”
Afterward, teammates spoke of bright days ahead as Oladipo continues to integrate himself into the Heat’s system.
“He’s going to find his groove,” Butler said. “We all got to get better getting him in the spots that he likes to get the ball at. That comes with time and talking to him.
“But he’s going to be a huge help. He’s going to put up some big numbers a lot of games. That’s what he’s here for. Obviously, the defensive factor, he did that well, as well. He’s going to fit in great.
“We’ll find out how to make him as efficient and as great in our type of play as he can be. That’s my job; that’s Bam’s job. We have the ball the majority of the time. We have to share the wealth.He’s going to help us win.”
Adebayo kidded with Oladipo during the game: “He was hacking everybody. I was like, ‘Hey, man, you got more fouls than points. What you doing? You got more fouls than points.’ “
But seriously… “It always makes it easier when you have an extra defender out there,” Adebayo said of Oladipo’s addition. “Being able to switch anything erases any opponent’s offensive flow because they can’t get triggers they want to get. I’m happy he’s here.”
It’s challenging enough to incorporate three new players halfway through a season. But the Heat is doing it and winning. Miami is now 1-0 with Oladipo in the lineup, 3-0 since Nemanja Bjelica made his Heat debut and 3-2 since Trevor Ariza became the starting power forward.
“You get adapted real quick [with the Heat],” Adebayo said, cracking that Heat players “curse” newcomers if they don’t take open shots.
“Being incorporated in this system, it’s really easy to figure out things when we want you to be aggressive. We want you to have fun, we want you to share the ball, we want you enjoy other people’s success, and we want you to lock up. That’s a pretty simple formula when you get incorporated with us.”
Bjelica on Thursday replaced Precious Achiuwa as the big man used while Adebayo was on the bench and he responded with eight points (including 2 for 5 on threes) and two rebounds in 17 minutes.
“I love playing with Beli,” Butler said. “I want him to hunt shots. He’s going to be a huge addition. I want him to understand his role is jack as many shots as he can.”
And with Ariza on the court, the Heat has outscored teams by 36 points during the past four games, with the veteran forward making a particular impact defensively in those games (four steals, four blocks).
“Trevor gives us another defender and three-point shooter,” Adebayo said. “The thing I like is [he has played] 17 years and is still willing to buy into a system and give to the team. He’s a selfless and a down-to-earth dude. He’s moving [up] my rankings of [all-time] teammates.”
THIS AND THAT
Goran Dragic, who was rested Thursday as a precautionary measure because of recent back spasms, is expected to play on Saturday against visiting Cleveland (8 p.m.)....
Warriors forward Draymond Green said after Thursday’s game: “I got a lot of respect for Bam. I don’t know how many people saw him becoming who he is today. … He’s really undersized for the center position, but he’s the mismatch.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2021 at 10:53 AM.
