Here’s who Strus, Vincent studied and how it has helped. And Butler, Heat fined
Long before Kyle Lowry joined the Heat last summer, Gabe Vincent could have authored a thorough breakdown on the nuances of his game, an insider’s guide to the six-time All Star’s tendencies.
That’s because the Heat’s developmental program doesn’t merely require hundreds of hours in the gym.
It also entails more time in front of a television screen than movie critics spend before a film festival.
Partly out of their own initiative - and partly because the Heat encourages it — Heat developmental success stories Gabe Vincent and Max Strus have gone to school during the past two years, studying tape of more experienced, accomplished players who play the same position or have similar roles.
For Strus, that has meant hours watching Klay Thompson, Joe Harris, JJ Redick and teammate Duncan Robinson.
For Omer Yurtseven, that has meant watching Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic ”intensely for the past year and a half.”
For Vincent, the primary focus has been Lowry and Chris Paul, but he also has studied clips of Jrue Holiday, Fred Van Vleet and Kemba Walker.
“I was studying Kyle when we were in the bubble [in 2020], when we were getting ready to play them in the playoffs,” Vincent said.
The goal with watching any of those five point guards is “trying to learn how they manage the game, read defenses,” Vincent said. “There are little tricks to the trade they do. It’s a little different when you watch it on film and try to figure it out. With Jrue Holiday, it was watching film on the defensive end.”
What has he taken from studying Lowry?
“The way he plays at such a pace,” Vincent said. “He seems like he plays ahead a lot of the time, crafty, finding spots to attack. He does a really good job controlling the game.
“Now I can just text Kyle and we can talk about the upcoming game. Kyle has been great about it. When Goran [Dragic] was here, I picked Goran’s brain as much as possible. I’ve tried to be a sponge.”
Vincent’s knowledge of Lowry’s game has helped them become an effective backcourt pairing. The Heat outscored teams by 44 points in their 490 minutes together this season.
“They just have a great synergy between the two of them,” Erik Spoelstra said. “You can play Kyle off the ball; he’s done that a lot previously in Toronto. Sometimes things click with guys. I can see the comparisons that probably will be made on the outside. Kyle mentoring a young point guard, Fred VanVleet and Gabe. I think those are probably pretty valid.”
Lowry appreciates everything about his understudy. “He’s come a long way from wearing that knee brace,” Lowry said, a reference to Vincent’s overall play - particularly his shooting — rising after he received permission from the Heat to shed that protection on his previously injured knee.
“Getting significant minutes is big. Gabe is going to be a [good] point guard in this league. He’s special for us because he can guard, can shoot the ball, has unlimited energy.”
Strus, meanwhile, said he has studied Harris and Thompson the most.
With Harris, Strus evaluated “defensively, being in the right spots. And moving without the ball, not staying in one spot. Always moving, being open and providing energy on offense and finding different ways to get shots.
“Just as much time as you put in on the court, you have to do it off the court, too. Visualizing yourself in the positions those guys are in is super helpful.”
Strus was one of 12 players to receive a top-three vote for the NBA’s most improved player award. He received one third-place vote in media balloting.
Vincent, Strus and Yurtseven will all be on minimum contracts in the second year of two-year deals next season, something they agreed to accept last summer, before any of them blossomed.
Besides hitting nine three-pointers and posting an excellent 21-to-7 assist to turnover ratio, Vincent was a menace defensively in the first round against Atlanta, limiting the player he was guarding to 33 percent shooting (12 for 36), which was second best (behind Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday) among all NBA players through midweek.
“He’s a smart player,” said Hawks guard Trae Young, who shot just 4 for 15 when defended by Vincent. “They had him sticking on me 94 feet. It’s more about his cerebral ability.”
Strus, meantime, averaged 14.0 points against the Hawks, with 16 three-pointers and a team-high seven steals.
It’s impossible to tangibly measure the value of studying others who excel at their craft. But Vincent and Strus believe it has helped.
“It has been a useful tool,” Vincent said. “The coaches suggest it, say, ‘Watching this guy could help you.’ And they help facilitate it by sending us the clips. You see how other people find success. You put your own twist on it and it’s just as valuable.”
BUTLER, HEAT FINED
The NBA fined Jimmy Butler $15,000 for making an obscene gesture late in the second quarter of Tuesday’s Game 5 win against Atlanta. Butler, who missed the game because of a knee injury, gyrated his hips in a sexual manner, eliciting laughs from Heat teammates.
The NBA also fined the Heat $15,000 for posting the incident on social media.
Meanwhile, the NBA fined forward Markieff Morris $25,000 for interfering with live game play while on the bench during the third quarter of Game 5.
Morris, who was not in the game at the time, “grabbed and held Atlanta Hawks guard De’Andre Hunter out of bounds, which prevented Hunter from completely reestablishing himself inbounds as he caught a pass from a teammate,” according to the NBA. Morris received an unsportsmanlike technical foul.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 1:59 PM.
