Heat’s Yurtseven appreciates help from Zo. A meaningful message for Robinson
A six-pack of Miami Heat notes on the first day of training camp on Tuesday:
▪ Seven-foot center Omer Yuertseven, the Heat’s newest pet project of sorts, appreciates the on-court mentoring he’s receiving from former All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, the Heat’s vice president of player programs and development.
Zo doesn’t do a ton of on-court work with players in general but naturally takes a special interest in young bigs.
“He comes in and watches me play and gives me words of wisdom,” Yurtseven said. “It’s really helpful. He dominated his time. I hope to do the same.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra said the Heat will work with him on fouling less (a problem in Summer League) and Yurtseven said “I’m sure [Mourning] will be in my ear because he did a great job with that.”
Yurtseven has been studying “a lot of film” of All-NBA centers Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, “Jokic because of his passing ability, Embiid because of his dominance at both ends.
“The mid post area, I’m learning how to get to your spots and being able to knock it down, those turnarounds or face-ups or any kind of shots” to supplement his three-point shooting.
Asked if he was surprised by his big numbers in summer league, Yurtseven said he expected even more “because of the work I’ve put in [this summer].”
The Heat hopes it has found the latest gem in its development program.
“Omer is unique because of his skill set, his shooting touch around the basket but also with range, and he has a feel that you can’t necessarily teach,” Spoelstra said.
“He’s a very good rebounder, good instincts for rebounding and I think with another full year and a training camp and an offseason in our defensive program, he’s going to be even more disruptive at the rim and learn how to do that without fouling.
“But he’s got a really good work ethic, like all those guys do. They all come in with a chip on their shoulder, with an edge, felt like they were overlooked. But he has deep experience, as well, because of his time with the Turkish national team that I like. He’s played a lot of international pressure-stake basketball and then obviously including his two stops in college [North Carolina State, Georgetown]. But he’s had a very good summer and he’ll continue to get better.”
▪ The only concern with Kyle Lowry is age (35) and durability. He missed 26 games last season, 14 the previous season and 17 the year before that.
“I don’t plan on slowing down,” he said. “I think I’m much more cerebral now than 10 years ago. I’m a better player because of age and repetition. [But] I didn’t think I’d be 15 years [into a career] and still playing at this level.”
▪ P.J. Tucker — who attempted 4.7 three-pointers per game for Houston three years ago — attempted just 1.7 per game after his trade to Milwaukee last season.
He now comes to a team where skilled three-point shooters are told in no uncertain terms that they must take open shots.
He said he realizes he “definitely” must be more assertive if given open corner threes; Golden State’s Draymond Green has called him perhaps the best corner three-point shooter in NBA history.
“Playing for the Rockets for years, that was [Mike] D’Antoni’s philosophy as well” — to take open threes, Tucker said. “You get open shots; you let them fly. They move the ball so well [here]. The ball always finds open guys. That’s something you look forward to as a player.”
Tucker’s three-point shooting varied widely last season: 31.4 percent for Houston to start the season, 39.4 for Milwaukee in the regular season and 32.2 in the playoffs for the Bucks.
▪ Tucker and Markieff Morris already feel like quintessential Heat players.
“I wanted to be here,” Tucker said. “It’s a match made in heaven, the way they play, the culture they’ve created for years, it goes perfect with how I play.”
Morris said he has known Heat president Pat Riley and Spoelstra for a while and that he and his twin brother Marcus Morris (who plays for the Clippers) played summer pickup games with Heat players for years.
“Eventually, we knew it was going to happen,” Markieff Morris said of becoming a Heat player.
What will the Heat’s new power forward combination deliver?
“It’s going to bring toughness and will and dog [mentality], which they already have,” Markieff Morris said. “We’re just adding to it. Me and Tuck played together a couple years in Phoenix; he’s one of my good friends. We’re both [NBA] champions” — Morris with the Lakers and Tucker with the Bucks.
Morris said he had a specific role with the Lakers but expects to be able to do more with the Heat and show more “versatility.”
▪ Among those who reached out to Duncan Robinson to congratulate him about his five-year, $90 million contract: longtime NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick, who retired earlier this month.
“I really appreciated [that],” Robinson said. “He’s somebody that’s been a friend and mentor throughout my professional career, so that meant a lot..
“Bam [Adebayo] was one of the first people to FaceTime me. Talking about how I got to take him out to dinner now, which is crazy because he never took me out to dinner when he signed his [max deal]. But it’s fine.”
▪ Gabe Vincent appreciates the Heat entrusting him with backup point guard duties behind Lowry.
“It’s exciting,” Vincent said. “You always want more responsibility, especially in this line of work. I’m excited they believe in me the way I believe in myself.”
Vincent has become a defensive pest with the Heat, but his three-point accuracy has dropped from his performance at UC-Santa Barbara and the G League. He has shot 29.5 percent on threes in two seasons (52 for 176), including 30.9 last season.
“Most of my career I’ve shot what I’ve shot except the last couple seasons here,” he said. “The numbers always balance themselves out, average out. It’s not something I’m particularly worried about.”
Vincent said “I studied a lot of Avery Bradley last season.”
According to a source, Bradley would have been receptive to a Heat return this season — even after his trade to Houston last February — but Miami wasn’t interested. The Heat also passed on other available veteran guards such as Wes Matthews and Tyler Johnson.
Spoelstra said he believes Vincent has improved but stopped short of saying he will be in the rotation. With Lowry out of the game, the Heat’s primary ball-handling options are Vincent, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. Adebayo also can handle the ball, of course.
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 2:41 PM.
