Kevin Love

Heat Notes: Hampton, Cain, Jovic, Love

December 29th, 2023 at 8:38pm CST by Rory Maher

Guard R.J. Hampton, who is on a two-way contract, made his first start with the Heat on Thursday, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel observes (via Twitter), Hampton became the 14th player to make at least one start for Miami through 31 games in 2023/24.

It was just the fourth NBA appearance this season for the former first-round pick, who finished with seven points, three assists and two rebounds in the victory over Golden State. Hampton finished with a positive plus/minus (+8) in his 25 minutes.

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Hampton, Jamal Cain and Nikola Jovic have spent most of the season in the G League, but they all made key contributions on Thursday with several players injured, Chiang writes for The Miami Herald. Cain, another two-way player, recorded seasons highs in points (18 on 7-of-14 shooting) and rebounds (six) while tying his season high with two steals. Jovic, the Heat’s 2022 first-round pick, had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 20 minutes. “The three young guys in particular, it’s not easy,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They go often times weeks without playing, but they have to stay ready, as UD [Udonis Haslem] always says, to be ready. And then they also have to improve. So they can’t just be the same players they are because they’re trying to prove themselves and really establish themselves in this league.”
Winderman takes a look at Jovic’s up-and-down second season, with the 20-year-old learning a new position (center) with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate.
Big man Kevin Love has primarily come off the bench in his first full season with Miami, which is a role he grew accustomed to with Cleveland, per Winderman (subscriber link). Love enjoys the freedom of being a reserve. “You’re playing free,” Love said of getting to enter without expectation of a specific niche. “I’m on the perimeter, I’m low, I’m catching the ball in different spots, I get to play pretty free within it. So, for me, it’s been finding myself shooting the ball. But as far as being effective and finishing, I feel like I can do that every night, even if I’m not scoring the ball.”

Southeast Notes: Carter, Fultz, Magic, Heat, Wizards

December 20th, 2023 at 9:07am CST by Luke Adams

Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., who underwent surgery to address a broken bone in his left hand in early November, appears set to return to action on Wednesday, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, who notes that Carter doesn’t show up on the injury report for the team’s game vs. Miami.

Carter has started 139 of 146 games for the Magic since joining the team in 2021, including the first five contests of the 2023/24 season. However, the team has been thriving in recent weeks with center Goga Bitadze in the starting five, posting a 13-7 record since Carter last played, so it’s unclear if the former lottery pick will immediately reclaim his starting job.

The Magic will soon face a similar dilemma with Markelle Fultz, who started five games early in the season but hasn’t played since November 9 due to a knee issue. As Beede writes, Fultz is nearing a return too, though he has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game and head coach Jamahl Mosley said this week that he’ll “probably a little bit longer” than Carter.

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The Magic‘s home arena has a new name, as Beede details in a separate Orlando Sentinel story. Known as the Amway Center for the past 13 years, the building will henceforth be known as the Kia Center. According to Beede, the Magic’s original deal with Amway Global in 2010 was worth $40MM over 10 years; this new agreement with Kia is likely more lucrative.
The Heat are getting Kyle Lowry back in their lineup on Wednesday after Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo returned on Monday, but the team isn’t quite fully healthy yet, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jimmy Butler (left calf strain) has been ruled out for the game in Orlando, as has Kevin Love (stomach illness).
Teo Armus of The Washington Post answers some frequently answered questions about the Wizards‘ tentative plan to move from D.C. to Alexandria, Virgina, noting that an unfavorable lease at Capital One Arena is the primary impetus for the move. The proposed “entertainment district” in Alexandria would cost taxpayers an estimated $1.35 billion, with Monumental Sports contributing $819MM, Armus notes.

Heat Notes: O. Robinson, Adebayo, Richardson, Jaquez

December 11th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Heat center Orlando Robinson didn’t expect to be an NBA starter so soon, but he’s taking advantage of the opportunity created by Bam Adebayo‘s injury, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo will miss his fourth straight game tonight in Charlotte with a left hip contusion, so Robinson will likely be in the starting lineup again.

The 23-year-old posted the best game of his brief NBA career last Wednesday with 15 points and 12 rebounds at Toronto, but that was followed by a rough outing against Cleveland on Friday in which he was a minus-18 in 20 minutes. Coach Erik Spoelstra said Robinson continues to improve as he deals with the increased responsibility.

“He makes you absolutely respect his fortitude and his grit,” Spoelstra said. “He is relentless with his work, with his approach, with his commitment to earn trust from everybody and he does it with a competitive spirit. He gets better each month. He goes to school on everything. If he makes a mistake in any kind of game, he gets to work with the film, with [Heat assistant coach] Malik [Allen] and then he wants to drill it 10,000 times, which is what we love.”

Robinson, who has $850K of his $1.8MM salary for this season already guaranteed, wasn’t in the team’s rotation when the season began. He played in just four of the first 18 games and spent time in the G League late last month. Robinson may fall out of the rotation again when Adebayo returns, with Kevin Love likely to be the primary backup center, but this latest stretch confirms his belief that he’s a legitimate NBA player.

“I knew,” Robinson said. “It was just waiting on the opportunity and making the most of it.”

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Josh Richardson expressed frustration after being called for his third flopping violation of the season in Friday’s game, Chiang adds in a separate story. The NBA has placed a renewed emphasis on getting rid of flopping, fining players $2K for each violation, but Richardson doesn’t believe officials are doing a good job of policing it. “I don’t know what it is,” he said. “Maybe I just need to start running people over and stop falling or do something. But I don’t know, I think it’s terrible.”
Jaime Jaquez isn’t bitter about falling to 18th in this year’s draft, but he tells Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel that he’s “definitely aware” of all the players who were selected ahead of him. Jaquez, who was chosen as the league’s Rookie of the Month for November, said the long wait paid off when he learned that he was headed to Miami. “So as long as I came here, I was good,” he said. “So it ended up working out for me. To the teams that passed, sorry, but this is where I wanted to go, anyway.”
The Lakers’ in-season tournament dominance could make the Heat think about adding more size to their roster, Winderman states in a mailbag column.

Central Notes: Portis, Connaughton, Love, Pistons

December 10th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following the Bucks’ loss to Indiana in the in-season tournament semifinals, forward Bobby Portis passionately challenged head coach Adrian Griffin and teammates to get better, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. Portis spoke about the need to improve their rebounding and also stressed to Griffin the importance of structuring the offense down the stretch of games.

Asked about it on Sunday, Portis didn’t deny he spoke up in the Bucks’ locker room, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. “Don’t know how it got reported; but at the same time, I’m just a competitor. I love to compete. I think I’m a leader. I lead by voice and I lead by example as well. … The guys know who I am. They know I wear my heart on my sleeve.”

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Griffin is optimistic Pat Connaughton can return this week, indicating on Sunday that he’s hopeful the Bucks wing will suit up in the next “four, five, six, seven days,” Nehm tweets. Connaughton, who is nursing an ankle injury, hasn’t played since Nov. 28.
Kevin Love reached a buyout agreement last season with the Cavaliers to join Miami, but he told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that he’s receptive to the idea of finishing out his career in Cleveland. “‘I’m never ruling that out,” he said. “I have so many great relationships there and people that I love. I’m not done with Cleveland. I am definitely open to coming back and retiring there.’”
The Pistons got blown out by the Magic on Friday for their 19th straight loss. Those two franchises seemed to be on parallel trajectories last season but now, while Orlando has taken off, Detroit is endlessly stuck in the rebuild, James Edwards III of The Athletic notes. “You can see right away that everyone (on the Magic) knows who they are — their roles, what they’re supposed to do when they come in, and they’re connected,” Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart said. “They’re connected. You hear them talking. You can just tell they’re connected.”

Southeast Notes: Adebayo, Heat, Magic, Wizards, McGowens, Smith

December 1st, 2023 at 2:14pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Heat center Bam Adebayo went to the locker room in the second quarter of Miami’s Thursday victory over the Pacers after re-aggravating a hip injury, then was later ruled out for the rest of the game.

“He came in those last four minutes of the second quarter and he was just getting some treatment at halftime with the intention to come back,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I basically talked to him in my office and just said, ‘Look, you’re laboring like the fourth quarter of the New York game and it’s November right now. I’m not putting you back in in the second half. I’m taking this decision out of your hands.’ I didn’t even talk to the trainers at that point.”

This lingering hip issue has caused Adebayo to miss three games this season already. While it hasn’t yet kept him out of action long-term, it’s still worth monitoring Miami’s leading scorer and rebounder.

“It’s not, thankfully, something serious,” Spoelstra said. “It’s just you play competitive NBA basketball, you get hit, you’re jumping and you’re twisting, all that stuff. He heals fast, so we’ll continue to treat him and see where we are.”

With Adebayo out of action, the Heat turned to Thomas Bryant, who had previously been out of the rotation, but he only logged six minutes to start the second half. Orlando Robinson also saw some action, but Kevin Love took on the brunt of the workload at the position.

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Spoelstra made headlines this offseason when he said he felt the Heat were deeper this year than last. At the time, the Heat had just missed out on trading for Damian Lillard and lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus to free agency. But Spoelstra appears to have been proven right, with Miami’s depth propelling the team in the early parts of the season, Chiang writes in a separate piece. Even with Tyler Herro unavailable, the Heat’s reserves outscored Indiana’s bench 66-23 on Thursday. Love, Josh Richardson, Caleb Martin and Jaime Jaquez are among the bench players currently flourishing. “That’s scary, man,” Martin said. “Shoot, Duncan is coming off a hand injury, you got Tyler who’s not even back in the mix. We got a lot of guys we can turn to and that’s the scary thing about it. … We just got a lot of talented dudes who are ready whenever their name is going to be called.“
The Magic, whose 13-5 record is the second-best in the NBA, are one of the league’s top teams. Josh Robbins of The Athletic analyzes how Orlando set the standard for what a rebuild should look like, and compares it to how the Wizards have started theirs. As Robbins observes, the Magic sold high on their core at the right time, primarily by turning Nikola Vucevic into Franz Wagner, a baton handoff for franchise cornerstone, by way of trade. Robbins opines that for the Wizards, the best time to trade Bradley Beal, their centerpiece at the time, was from 2019-21. Then, when former decision-makers gave Beal a no-trade clause, it forced newly hired president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins to sell low on the three-time All-Star, failing to kick-start a rebuild in the way the Magic did when they traded Vucevic.
Hornets guards Bryce McGowens and Nick Smith are both getting increased opportunities in Charlotte, with each scoring season highs in Thursday’s win over the Nets. “Bryce is just putting a lot of work in and it’s showing,” Charlotte guard Terry Rozier said, per The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone. “That’s all it is. We are all happy for him and hopefully he can keep it going.” Smith said he’s enjoying the chance to contribute as a young rookie.

Southeast Notes: Love, Washington, Gafford, Howard

November 21st, 2023 at 6:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love won’t return to Cleveland to face his former team on Wednesday. He’s listed as out for personal reasons, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. It would have been Love’s first game in Cleveland since he was bought out last season.

Prior to that announcement, Love told Chiang and other media members he was looking forward to the trip. The veteran Heat big man also indicated it took awhile to adjust to his new surroundings. “I think at first, it was a bumpy transition. I think it is with anybody trying to find their place in a new organization, especially after eight-and-a-half years there. But I definitely feel like this has been a great landing spot for me,” he said.

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With Miles Bridges back in the lineup on Monday, P.J. Washington came off the bench for the first time since the 2021/22 season. However, it didn’t come as a surprise. Hornets coach Steve Clifford and Washington had been discussing the possibility for awhile. Washington will continue to get a steady diet of minutes. “PJ and I have been talking about this ever since Miles came back. So, he’s still going to play,” Clifford told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “His minutes won’t change. PJ will play just as many minutes as he was before, but we have to get to playing groups like we were talking about before the game. And so they’re going to play together, too. PJ is all about the team. He’s extremely team-oriented. He grew up in a basketball family. He has no problems with it, and again, this has been something that’s been discussed since Miles came back.”
Wizards center Daniel Gafford has started a majority of the games he’s appeared in the past two seasons but this is the first season he’s the unquestioned starter. Gafford is enjoying that comfort zone while playing a career-high 24.1 minutes per game, he told Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network. “They’re putting all their trust in me,” he said. “For me to be trusted with this role, it’s something I’ve always wanted. It’s on my side and my part to keep up that trust and confidence in me. They threw me in the fire, so I’ve gotta put the fire out.” Gafford is in the first year of a three-year, $40.2MM contract.
Lottery pick Jett Howard will play for the NBA G League Osceola Magic this week, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said it will be great for Howard to get steady minutes with Osceola. The 11th overall pick has made just five brief appearances in Orlando’s games this season.

Southeast Notes: D. Smith, Heat, Poole, I. Thomas, Hornets

November 14th, 2023 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

Even after Dru Smith was promoted from a two-way contract to the Heat‘s standard roster at the end of the preseason, he wasn’t considered a great bet to have a consistent role — the modest guarantee ($425K) he received on his new deal suggested his roster spot wouldn’t even necessarily be secure for the entire season.

However, injuries to some rotation players, including guard Tyler Herro, have created a path to regular minutes for Smith as of late. In Miami’s past three games – all victories – he has averaged 7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 23.1 minutes per night, impressing head coach Erik Spoelstra in the process, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required).

“Dru was good throughout all the stuff that he does,” Spoelstra said after Sunday’s win. “Ninety percent of it doesn’t show up in the box score, but coaches and teammates understand what he does.”

For his part, the 25-year-old guard indicated that he’s happy to do the dirty work necessary to help the Heat win games. For instance, he’s averaging 6.7 deflections per 36 minutes, which ranks second in the NBA among players who have logged at least 50 total minutes.

“Just trying to continue to impact winning more than anything else,” Smith said. “Really, whenever I get out there that is all I’m trying to do, is trying to make plays that are helping inch us close to wins.”

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Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald shares 10 observations from the Heat‘s first 10 games of the season, including the fact that the team is 5-0 since Haywood Highsmith replaced Kevin Love in the starting lineup. As Chiang notes, one offseason goal for the team was to add a backup center who could help the team hold its own in the non-Bam Adebayo minutes, but Thomas Bryant hasn’t been the answer so far — Miami has a -10.6 net rating with Bryant on the court, prompting Spoelstra to start using Love as the backup five.
Many of the “league observers” that Marc Stein (Substack link) has spoken to about the subject believe the Wizards‘ acquisition of Jordan Poole this offseason was more about trying to rebuild his value for a future trade than making him a long-term franchise cornerstone. If that’s the goal, it will take some more time to come to fruition — Poole is off to a slow start in D.C., with his shooting percentages dipping to 41.2% from the floor and 30.3% threes in the early going this season.
Veteran guard Isaiah Thomas continues to seek an NBA roster spot and suggested on social media that he has contacted at least one of his former teams to gauge their interest. Replying to a fan who advised him to call up Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak about a possible deal, Thomas tweeted, “I did lol.”

Heat Notes: Jovic, Love, Jaquez, Swider

November 12th, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat still believe in Nikola Jovic, a first-round pick in 2022, but his playing time hasn’t increased so far in his second NBA season, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Even with a rash of early-season injuries, Jovic has barely gotten off Miami’s bench, logging 28 total minutes in two games.

“There’s always someone – I hope nobody gets injured – but some players rest and stuff,” Jovic said. “So there will be certain times where I’ll probably be able to play. But the fact is that in the normal rotation, I’m not in it. It’s just on me to continue to work. These guys do a great job of developing players, and I think I’ve developed a lot since last year and I think I’ll be even better this year. My chances will come and I hope I’m going to be play good when it comes.”

With Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin both injured and Jimmy Butler sitting out for personal reasons, Saturday’s game in Atlanta could have been an opportunity for coach Erik Spoelstra to turn to Jovic. Instead, his bench rotation consisted of Josh Richardson, Kevin Love, Dru Smith and Jamal Cain.

Spoelstra noted that Jovic was unavailable over the past week due to illness and indicated that he will eventually get a chance to play.

“He’s had a really productive five months this offseason and the preseason and training camp,” Spoelstra said. “You can see that he’s grown. He’s a much different player than last year and that’s a credit to the work that he’s put in. Starting last year during the playoff run when nobody was paying attention. He was really working on preparing his body and conditioning and everything for the summer ahead.”

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Love was back on the court Saturday, playing for the first time since being removed from the starting lineup three games ago, Chiang adds in a separate story. Love entered the game when Bam Adebayo came out, replacing Thomas Bryant as the primary backup center for at least one night. Chiang notes that Miami has been outscored by 14.6 points per 100 possessions with Bryant on the court, and Spoelstra suggested that rotations could change from game to game with Herro and Butler sidelined.
Rookie guard Jaime Jaquez made his second straight start and served as the team’s primary ball-handler for stretches of the game, Chiang adds. He finished with career highs of 20 points and 39 minutes played. “I keep saying he’s not a normal rookie,” Adebayo said. “At some point, somebody is going to believe me because he keeps on putting performances like this.”
In another piece for the Herald, Cole Swider tells Chiang that he was prepared for a call-up from the G League after hearing about Herro’s injury. The two-way small forward was assigned to Miami’s affiliate in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, but was back with the NBA team for Saturday’s game.

Heat Notes: Highsmith, Herro, Love, Vincent

November 4th, 2023 at 5:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Haywood Highsmith made his first start of the season Friday night as coach Erik Spoelstra continues to experiment with forwards to fit alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in the Heat’s frontcourt, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jackson notes that Highsmith is the fifth player to fill that role in Miami’s last 11 meaningful games, with Kevin Love, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez also getting opportunities as starters.

Highsmith scored 10 points and stood out defensively on Friday as the Heat outscored the Wizards by 10 points in his 22 minutes on the court. He told Jackson that he’s determined to become a rotation player in his third season with Miami.

“Now that I’m here, I’m here to stay and trying to be an NBA player for a long, long time,” Highsmith said. “Trying to get more minutes and create a role for myself in this league and putting everyone on notice that I’m here to stay.”

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Tyler Herro has shown improvement on defense this season, Jackson adds. In four games guarding Mikal Bridges, Cade Cunningham, Jordan Poole and Cam Thomas, Herro has held them to a combined 8-of-22 from the field. “I’m not a bad defender,” Herro said. “I’m trying to tell you guys that. If you watch the game, I’m decent. I am getting better. I was our best defender at Kentucky. … I have speed and quickness. I can read plays before they happen.”
Love didn’t play at all Friday, but his role on the team won’t diminish, Jackson states in a separate story. Spoelstra indicated to reporters that the lineup change may be temporary and emphasized that he wasn’t blaming Love for the team’s 1-4 start. “I hated having to make that move because Kevin brings so much from a connection and spirit and leadership standpoint,” Spoelstra said. “This is just a move for now. K-Love is going to have a role for us. It’s just for right now, just to stabilize, a move I felt was best for the time being. And we’ll see what happens. I will continue to evaluate until we get our game to whatever we need to get it to.”
Gabe Vincent expected to re-sign with the Heat after last season’s run to the NBA Finals, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. However, the three-year, $33MM offer he received from the Lakers was too good to turn down. “I had an opportunity to perform the way I did in the playoffs, and I think that changed drastically what my offseason looked like,” Vincent said.

Heat Notes: Slow Start, Injuries, Adebayo, Tournament

November 2nd, 2023 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

After reaching the NBA Finals last season, the Heat have stumbled out of the gate, dropping four of their first five games. The team let an opportunity slip away Wednesday night, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, squandering a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter in a home loss to the Nets, who were playing without three starters.

Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler combined for 71 points, but Miami only got 34 more from the other six players that coach Erik Spoelstra used. The Heat committed a season-high 18 turnovers, which led to 25 points for Brooklyn. At 1-4, the team is off to its worst start in 15 years, and the players are hoping to get control of the situation before it becomes urgent.

“We don’t want to dig this hole too deep,” Adebayo said. “So that’s the concern because the season starts going like this, then obviously you get to the (trade) deadline and you don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the concern because we got a great group of guys, we just got to figure it out.”

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Haywood Highsmith was able to play Wednesday after missing the first four games with a knee issue, but injuries continue to be a problem, Chiang adds. Caleb Martin sat out his fourth straight game with pain in his left knee and Kevin Love missed the contest with a left shoulder contusion as the Heat haven’t had a fully healthy rotation yet this season. “I’m not going to talk about anybody’s injuries anymore,” Spoelstra told reporters before Wednesday’s game. “If anybody is hurt, if they’re not available, all they have to do is focus on being available. That’s it. I’m not talking about any injuries or who’s in or who’s out. I know who’s playing tonight. That’s all I’m focused on.”
Udonis Haslem spent the past few seasons preparing Adebayo for the responsibilities of taking over as team captain before passing along that title when he retired, Chiang states in another story. “I think the only change is it’s official,” Adebayo said. “It was kind of like unwritten. Now it’s stamped. It comes with a whole bunch of responsibility, but also a great amount of opportunity. The biggest thing for me as a captain is being able to lead this team and get us over this hump and get us to a championship.”
Friday’s game against the Wizards will mark the start of the in-season tournament, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Nikola Jovic has played in similar events in Europe, and he hopes it eventually produces the same atmosphere in the NBA. “Those are really big,” Jovic said. “People really compete for that. It means a lot. But this is a little different. I hope it’s going to translate here. The only thing is, it’s going to feel like a regular season game, it’s just going to have a different court and it’s going to be called something different.”

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