Bjelica adjusting to new team’s shoot-first directive

The constant with the Miami Heat is not only that shooters shoot, but that they have to continue to shoot, no matter the result.

It is a directive that has come to be heeded as mandate by Duncan Robinson, one eventually ingrained in since-traded Kelly Olynyk, and now required of newcomers Nemanja Bjelica and Trevor Ariza.

Now in his third week with the team, it is an approach that Ariza

appreciates can be somewhat challenging while also in the midst of attempting to develop chemistry.

“Knowing when to pull the trigger and shoot the ball, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Ariza said, with his challenge coming in the starting lineup. “I’m in between trying to run an offense and passing up open looks, which I would normally shoot if I understood or if I was comfortable in the mix of things.”

Ariza is getting there, a bit further along in the process than Bjelica, who did not make his Heat debut until Monday’s victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m missing my shots because sometimes I want to do so many things — I want to put the ball on the floor, I want to shoot it, also I want to pass,” Bjelica said ahead of Saturday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at AmericanAirlines

Arena. “I’m here to spread the floor and shoot because we have so many weapons offensively. Like when Goran [Dragic] and Jimmy [Butler] drive to the basket, everything is open.

“For example, last game I didn’t force any shots and I took like five easy shots . ... I just need more time to adjust to the team.”

For the 6-foot-10 Serb, it is part of his ongoing adjustment since arriving to the NBA in 2015 from Europe, where he was cast more as a playmaker.

“I been here long enough to know what I can do [and] what I can’t,” he said. “It just depends on the flow of the game. I like to be involved in the offense. Sometimes I like to create some shots for my teammates.

“But as long as I’m doing my job, of course, whenever I’m open, I’m going to shoot the ball. It’s very easy to play when you have Duncan and Jimmy and Bam [Adebayo].”

While the initial comparisons were to Olynyk, who was dealt to the Houston Rockets the same day Bjelica was acquired, Bjelica said he hasn’t necessarily studied NBA stretch fours as much as recast his European skills to a power role.

“I’ve become a stretch four because it was the only reason to play here, in this league,” he said. “Because in Europe, I was playing with the ball a lot, so I wanted something different. I think that’s helped me a lot to read offense and defense.”

As for defending NBA centers, Bjelica said the Heat’s switching system makes that easier.

“Basketball has changed during the years — a lot of teams play small ball,” he said. “This team is great. When you blitz, it’s like five-guys defense, so it’s much easier for me to adjust.”

Rookie walls

Just as Heat No. 20 pick Precious Achiuwa hit a rough patch recently, such has also been the case for Cavaliers rookie Isaac Okoro, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

“There was a point where we talked to him and he was tired,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said ahead of Saturday’s game. “When you go from playing 20-something games to we play that in about six weeks, that’s difficult.

“What we’ve done with him is given him a couple of things to just focus on. And, again, I take responsibility for the load we’ve put on his shoulders.”

NICK WASS/AP Nemanja Bjelica is settling in with the Heat.