A six-pack of news and notes in the wake of the Miami Heat’s acquisitions of Victor Oladipo and Nemanja Bjelica:
▪ The early focus of some will be on Oladipo’s offense, but keep this in mind: His defense remains very good.
Players defended by Oladipo this season are shooting just 40.5 percent, compared with 46.0 percent that those players shoot overall.
That 40.5 is second best among all NBA shooting guards who have defended at least 200 shots, behind only Chicago’s Zach LaVine.
“The one thing he still does at a pretty elite level is defend,” a Western Conference scout who has watched him a lot told me after the trade. “People will be surprised how well he still defends. They have two guys who can guard in the backcourt with Jimmy and him who don’t need any help.”
By comparison, players defended by Tyler Herro are shooting 43.3 percent, 43.8 against Goran Dragic and 45.8 against Kendrick Nunn. (Players are shooting 40.7 percent against Butler.)
Oladipo led the NBA in steals per game at 2.4 in 2017-18; he’s averaging 1.2 this season.
▪ Oladipo remains a high volume scorer at 20.8 points per game.
The key is getting his efficiency back to where it was during the 2017-18 season, when he shot 47.7 percent from the field and 37.1 percent on threes.
His field goal percentage dipped to 42.3 and 39.4 the past two seasons and now stands at 41.1.
The three-point percentage those three seasons also dropped, to 34.3, 31.7 and now 33.3.
Oladipo hasn’t played in back to back games all season; the Heat has six sets of back-to-backs left after this week. He has played 52 games, including playoffs, since coming back from the injury.
“He’s still a good player,” the scout said, requesting anonymity because he isn’t authorized to speak publicly. “You still have to game plan for him. He’s not at the All Star level obviously. He’s still trying to make his way back from the injury; you aren’t going to be as efficient as you were in the past He wasn’t playing back to backs, so he wasn’t getting in a rhythm.
“Houston wasn’t the best situation for him. He had moments where he played very, very well, and I think with more veteran players around him, he will be fine. I’m not so sure how much he wanted to make it work in Houston. This is what Victor has talked about over a year, going to Miami. There will be a lot more buy-in, a lot more want-to. This is what he wanted.
“He had no three-point shooting around him in Houston. He’ll have that in Miami, at least guys who should be that. Opposing teams will say Oladipo is not the same until he scorches somebody.”
The scout said Oladipo has been getting points “on a lot of drives and kicks from John Wall, a lot of drives in transition. And he takes a lot of threes [222]. That’s how he was scoring. He’s never historically been a great three-point shooter anyway. But remember, the guy he’s guarding isn’t as efficient because of [Oladipo’s] defense. If he can mesh with Jimmy [Butler] and Erik [Spoelstra], it’s a positive for them.”
While Oladipo is shooting 63.6 on his 132 attempts at the rim this season, he’s shooting 35.4 percent from 3 to 9 feet, 33.3 percent from 10 to 15 feet, 32.7 percent from 16 feet to the three-point line and 33.3 percent on threes. He’s shooting 35 percent on all jump shots.
He’s 2 for 11 in the clutch, including 1 for 5 on threes.
All those numbers need to go up.
▪ The Heat lost out of LaMarcus Aldridge on Saturday when he opted to sign with the Brooklyn Nets. Miami had pursued him, and had the impression that it had a good chance to get him.
I asked Aldridge associate what changed his mind from original expectation that he would sign with Heat, which was expected by the Heat. He said was convinced to join Brooklyn because they are in good position to compete for a championship. Heat recent losing streak didn’t help.
▪ The scout said a rotation of Aldridge, Bjelica and Trevor Ariza in the power rotation spot next to Bam Adebayo would be at the very least adequate. (Achiuwa also is available but Spoelstra hasn’t been comfortable playing him alongside Adebayo.)
“Bjelica is all perimeter,” the scout said. “He’s a better shooter than Kelly Olynyk, a better passer than Kelly. He grew up in Europe as a point guard and still holds some of that skill. The one issue he might run into is he struggles to defend.”
Players defended by Bjelica are shooting 48 percent, compared with 46.6 overall. By comparison, players are shooting 48.7 against Olynyk, who was dealt to Houston in the Oladipo trade.
▪ One Rockets official said Oladipo comported himself well with the Rockets and there weren’t any issues with attitude or anything else.
▪ ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins, on where the Heat stands after the trade deadline: “I’m not sold on them just yet .. I don’t know which Victor they’re going to get. If it’s the Victor from three or four years ago who took LeBron James and the Cavaliers to seven games, then watch out for the Heat.
“But if it’s the Victor of late, I just don’t know. He hasn’t been consistent. He hasn’t been healthy. He’s been in and out of the lineups with the Rockets and Pacers. I want to see [the full Heat] live. It looks good on paper.”
ESPN’s Richard Jefferson “Miami has brought themselves back into the conversation. They’ve had guys underperform and [dealt with] injuries and COVID. My biggest thing about the Heat is are you going to be able to beat two [among Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Philadelphia]. I dont see them beating two of those teams back to back to get to the NBA Finals.”
BUTLER, BAM REACT
Speaking after Miami’s 110-105 loss at Charlotte on Friday night, Butler made clear he was pleased with the Heat’s pickups.
“Both of those guys help us in numerous amount of ways,” Butler said. “Putting the ball in the basket, spacing the floor. They’re able to get their own shot. We will be able to do a lot of switching with both of those guys. Can’t wait for them to get here to introduce them to the squad, the culture and get this thing back on track because we have a lot more basketball to play…. [Oladipo] is a hell of a player in this league.”
“I like Belly,” Butler said. “I’ve got to work on my Serbian speaking with him. Played with him in [Minnesota]. He spaces the floor, can create his own shot. Does a lot of things well.”
Adebayo said: “Vic is another playmaker. Belly is another spacer. Can put the ball on the floor. I feel like they are going to fit in. They have the mentality and attitude; they’re not going to skip a beat. They’re going to come right in and contribute.”
The Heat, which has lost six straight, is expected to practice in New York City on Sunday in advance of Monday’s game against the Knicks.
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