Heat beats Timberwolves, moves into sixth in East
The inconsistent Heat appears to be surging at the right time.
With the start of the playoffs just two weeks away, the Heat (36-31) defeated the rebuilding Minnesota Timberwolves 121-112 on Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Miami is 8-3 in its past 11 games.
The victory also moved the Heat into sixth place in the Eastern Conference
standings, with the Boston Celtics losing to the Chicago Bulls on Friday to drop to seventh place.
The Heat got Jimmy Butler (flu-like symptoms) and Tyler Herro (right foot soreness) back and both played important roles against the Timberwolves (20-47).
Butler, who missed Tuesday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, finished
with 25 points with the help of 11-of-14 shooting from the foul line, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Herro, who missed the previous six games, scored a team-high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 shooting on threes in his return.
The Heat started slow, with the Timberwolves leading by as many as 11 points in the first quarter. But Miami entered halftime ahead by five and never trailed in the second half to earn the much-needed win.
The Heat, which led by as many as 14 points, shot 50.6 percent from the field and 13 of 32 (40.6 percent) on threes. The Timberwolves shot an inefficient 10 of 37 (27 percent) from three-point range.
Butler and Herro
weren’t alone. Heat veteran guard Goran Dragic was also impressive, with 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting on threes.
With Dragic and Herro leading the way, Miami’s bench outscored Minnesota’s reserves by a lopsided margin of 57-19
Center Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 27 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Next on the Heat’s schedule are two of the most important games of the season: Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night matchups against the Celtics at TD Garden. Both Miami and Boston are battling to avoid the play-in tournament.
ACHIUWA ADJUSTING
Precious Achiuwa is looking forward to his first full NBA offseason.
The Heat’s rookie center didn’t have one prior to his first NBA season because of the pandemicaltered schedule, and that has been tough to overcome. Achiuwa, 21, has been playing catch-up since he was drafted in November and has fallen out of the Heat’s rotation after beginning his first NBA season as a consistent part of the rotation.
“Year in and year out, you’ve got to go and handle your business and this is what it is,” Achiuwa said in advance of Friday night’s game against theTimberwolves. “Obviously try to get better, offseason, in-season whatever the case many. And I will have more time. You can really focus on one or two things, whatever the case may be. But I look at it like every other job, try to get better, try to maximize what I can do in the offseason, and just looking forward to next season, as well.”
Once Achiuwa was selected by the Heat with the 20th pick in the Nov. 18 draft, the abbreviated NBA offseason amid the COVID-19 pandemic did not include a summer league or allow for weeks of workouts in the team’s player development program.
Instead, the Heat opened training camp about two weeks later.
Achiuwa, who spent just one season at the University of Memphis before entering the draft, played in his first NBA game about a month after he was selected by the Heat.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs, obviously,” Achiuwa said of his rookie season. “Also, learning on the fly. That’s one of the biggest things so far.
“I’ve just been learning on the fly, just trying to piece things together. We didn’t really have an offseason unlike any other draft and it has just been difficult. Not just for myself, but you can look across the league at everybody who was drafted this year. Guys that played, they’ve either been stronger
in the beginning or they’re stronger right now.”
Achiuwa began his rookie season as a consistent part of the Heat’s rotation, serving as the backup to
starting center Bam Adebayo. Achiuwa logged double-digit minutes in each of the Heat’s first 22 games, but his playing time has fluctuated since.
“He has been learning everything through a fire hose this year,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Achiuwa in April. “I think it’s important to keep that all in perspective. I think if you look at this league-wide, this is what the rookie class looks like without a training camp and without summer league and then the whole player development programs that they typically get.”
Since the Heat signed veteran center Dewayne Dedmon last month, Achiuwa’s role has continued to shrink.
With Dedmon flourishing as Miami’s backup center, Achiuwa logged just a total of 11 minutes of playing time in the eight games leading up to Friday’s matchup against the Timberwolves and did not play in four of those games.
What does Achiuwa plan to focus on in his player development this upcoming offseason?
“I think my overall game,” he said. “My basketball IQ , understanding the game is one of the things I really, really want to focus on in the offseason. Being able to make reads and all that kind of stuff. Just my overall knowledge of the game.”
Achiuwa entered Friday averaging 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 11.9 minutes in 58 games (three starts) this season. He called his rookie year “an up-and-down roller coaster ride.”
“Just being ready, still continuing to work on my game,” Achiuwa said of his approach since falling out of the Heat’s rotation. “You never know what’s going to happen, when your name and your number is going to get called. So for me, it’s just being ready to play, staying in shape, keeping my game sharp as much as possible, and my body and conditioning right.”
UDONIS ON BAM
Heat team captain and veteran forward Udonis Haslem is one of Adebayo’s biggest fans. The two have developed a close off-court relationship, and the 40-year-old Haslem has enjoyed serving as one of Adebayo’s mentors.
“The sky is the limit for Bam,” Haslem said. “I think the thing that Bam does the best is that he listens. He actually listens and he tries to apply the things that we give him. For me at this stage of the game, I hate wasting my time.
“So when I sit down and I spend time with Bam, whether it’s on film or on the court or in the weight room, I know it’s not falling on deaf ears and I know it’s going to get applied. He’s a real student of the game.”
Can Adebayo, 23, become the face of the franchise?
“He’s not as handsome as me, but you can try to put his face somewhere around here and hopefully it’ll catch on,” Haslem said jokingly. “He can try to be the face.”