Gabe Vincent. (John McCall, South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Q: Ira, I read that Mike Brown praised Gabe Vincent before the game, but that’s two nights in a row that he played as a finisher in big wins. He deserves some credit. – Samuel.
A: For those who missed it, in speaking about coaching Gabe Vincent with the Nigerian Olympic team, Kings coach Mike Brown said before Wednesday’s game at FTX Arena, “First of all, he’s a phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal person. I don’t know if you get any better than Gabe. But on top of that, his skillset is at a level that most people don’t give him credit for. He’s working his tail off to get where he is.” Then appreciate that Gabe played all 12 fourth-quarter minutes in Tuesday’s victory over the Warriors, the Heat outsourcing Golden State by 15 when he was on the court in the period. Then consider that Gabe also was on the court for all 12 minutes when the Heat put away Wednesday’s victory over the Kings. Complementary players also can be difference makers. Gabe showed that the past two nights.
Q: Is Tyler Herro’s ball-dominant style with minus defense a poor fit for the Heat? – Brian.
A: Not at all. The bad fit is trying to fit such a player into a starting lineup that also has the scoring stylings of Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and, to a smaller extent, Kyle Lowry. The issue is not with Tyler Herro’s freelancing, it is with his freelancing with a lineup that otherwise thrives on structure on both ends. The difference on Wednesday night was that Butler was out, so the shots were there. Do you truly believe that the last shot would have been called for Tyler had Jimmy been available?
Q: If you’re going to load manage, load manage. Jimmy Butler certainly looked fine when he hit those winning shots against the Warriors. – Michael.
A: But that is just where today’s NBA stands. The NBA prefers far more advance notice of a leading man being out than 90 minutes before tipoff, as was the case Thursday night against the Kings. So you come up with an ailment, since every player has some sort of ailment. The wheel of injuries landed on hip for Jimmy Butler. So be it. If you’re attempting to find a spot to rest a 30-something, the second night of a back-to-back set against a Sacramento team lacking De’Aaron Fox certainly is a decent place to start.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service