How Nikola Jovic and Duncan Robinson Fueled the Miami Heat’s Shorthanded Win | Miami Heat vs Bucks

How Nikola Jovic and Duncan Robinson Fueled the Miami Heat’s Shorthanded Win | Miami Heat vs Bucks

Miami took next man up to another level missing three key rotation players and taking on the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks and starting their 29th different lineup and the result well a blowout win over the Bucks led by Nica yic and Duncan Robinson just like we all scripted it an incredible gutsy performance that serves

As a powerful reminder of what this team is capable of and we’ll break it all down today’s episode of Locked on heat you are locked on heat your daily Miami Heat podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day all right welcome to locked on heat

Your daily podcast on the Miami Heat I’m West Goldberg editor at all can heat.com joining me as always it’s longtime NBA reporter David rill however you’re tuning in on YouTube Odyssey or your favorite podcast app thanks so much for making lock on heat your first listen every day recording this on Tuesday

Night after the Heat beat the Bucks 123 to 97 and David I can’t I can’t figure out how they always do this no Jimmy Butler no Terry roier no Josh Richardson no problem this team plays one of its best games of the entire season I realize the Bucks were on the second

Night of a back-to-back but that alone does not explain what I just watched how do they always do this you know I I think it’s kind of a joke uh and that has become rooted in reality when it to this team like the constant preaching the the visualization

Of the next man up and staying ready so that you don’t have to get ready or get ready so you don’t have to stay ready or something along those side whatever it is that you don’t say them stay ready so you don’t have to get ready right and

This team accepts it to an incredible level like Nia yic and we’ll talk about him throughout the show because he was phenomenal tonight yeah plays in one of the last what eight games started a bunch of games when Jimmy was out and they had a number of injury issues then

Jimmy and the team gets fairly healthy and Nico’s out basically he winds up playing in one game so what does he do he comes in tonight and has the best performance of his career and I it is inexplicable but I think there’s something to this team just having that

Mentality of you never know when your opportunity is going to present itself and you always have to be able to capitalize itself it’s heat culture and its most cliche and it’s most realistic in that there is a level of accountability that just permeates through every aspect of the organization

From the front office all the way to the last player on the bench understanding that you have a role to play and when that role is demanded of you to excel you better come through and you better show up and that’s exactly what Miami did tonight and I know that a lot of

Bucks fans will point to the second night of a back toback it was the second night of a backtack at home for the bucks first of all the heat were stranded on their Air at an airport and their flight was delayed by six hours so basically their their rest was negated

Because they were traveling for hours yesterday so it was they didn’t get have a shoot on this morning they didn’t even get to go through a walk through for this game and it wasn’t like they playing the Pistons this was the Milwaukee Bucks I know they’re dealing

With their own things but this is a good team with Giannis and with Damen Lillard yep yep uh and Giannis was phenomenal for about two and a half quarters no Chris Middleton we should point that out again look at what Miami was missing and how far that extends on their you want

To compare Battle Scars like that’s you know the Heat win that one going away I just they’ve got a paper cut and we’ve got a open you know sucking chest wound of a of a roster spot there it’s it’s it’s not quite the same thing and I it’s

Unbelievable how Miami just finds a way to turn it around you mentioned next man up that’s not even accurate it was next man up next man up next man up it wasn’t look the Heat have dealt with injuries all season long and so I shouldn’t be

Shocked that they know how to do it but it’s these specific injuries and they were without Jim Butler they still had their other two of their best three players with bam and Tyler but you they were down two starters and a key rotation guy in Josh Richardson and

Basically all of their ball handlers they started Tyler herro Duncan Robinson Caleb Martin Nikola yovic who you had already mentioned was basically on ice for the last two weeks and Bam atab bio I against a very very talented Milwaukee Bucks team it’s it’s it’s confounding

How this team keeps finding a way to do it and you mention I like how you phrased it it’s a cliche that’s almost turned true and and certain cliches are cliches because they are true right there’s at least a a a kernel of Truth in those cliches well I went back and I

Was like are are these loss or are these wins by a short-handed team just so loud that we sort of associate the heat with always doing this but in reality they actually do have a losing record when Jimmy Butler is not playing right because I could see that happening

Because you lose without Jimmy Butler and it’s expected and so it’s quiet you don’t make a big deal out of it but when you win without Jimmy Butler then it’s a big deal because it’s so surprising well I went back this year the you are 10 and seven without Jimmy Butler and that’s

Not even I’m not I only point that out to say that this team just keeps doing it this team is deep we’ve already established that but Jimmy Butler is their best player and you can only say accountability all these things to a certain accountability does not replace Talent accountability does not do that

And so what I why I keep asking is how do they keep doing this it’s a genuine question I used to come on to this show with answers people I don’t I don’t NE I I I think I have a theory on this specific game but I’ll go back 10 and

Seven without Jimmy Butler this season without their best player the 76ers in so that’s 16 games without Jimmy Butler the 76ers in 19 games in counting without jol embid they are six and 13 yeah I’m not even making fun of Philadelphia that’s how it’s supposed to work you’re supposed to lose more games

Without your best player on the court that’s how it’s supposed to work and the heat are doing the exact opposite of that but Jimmy Butler has he’s not your typical IAL star player like he is clearly Miami’s Best Player but by the same token his production isn’t the

Center of Miami’s Universe to that degree where they’re counting on that level of production yes even when he has his star Resurgence of late and he’s been playing at a high level before he took a leave of absence from the team like his production was was great but

It’s not like he was winning with 40 Point outbursts or anything like that it’s like a really good Jimmy Butler game is 28 points 12 trips to the line maybe you know eight of 15 from the floor or something like that those kind of numbers aren’t so astronomical that they they they you

Know tip the scale so far in One Direction and what I’ve said from with Miami for a long time I’ve said this again in the Jimmy Butler era they don’t have their number one talent that eclipses other teams but their number one through number 10 level of talent is

Better than anybody else’s in the league and in terms of that accountability their ability to step up with what it matters and you get these great performances from role players because there’s a level of expectation a level of preparedness and an understanding look you’re gonna be on call you better

Come up with something excuses and I think that matters I think Eric spoler said something pregame people reporter asked him hey you’re short you know what what do you do going to a game short-handed he goes short-handed would be an insult to those in the locker room

And I love how Eric SP just makes it so personal it’s like that is a very fair question from a reporter but he’s just like no don’t you dare I’m not conceding that you know it’s like that thing it’s um but that’s it you know that’s that’s

Sort of that’s that’s the messaging and I think that’s what makes the heat such a great organization just in terms of organizational Integrity is that they they have the same messaging from the top from Eric Pat Riley Eric SP to the nikolic’s who are riding the bench one

Game and then starting in the next in the very next game the point you made about Jimmy Butler not being a high usage star I think is such a good one and I didn’t I didn’t thought about it but you’re right like people have talked about this with LeBron forever it’s

LeBron is so singularly amazing and yet why is it that every team he’s on whether he’s on a team with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch or Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love or Anthony Davis with the Lakers every time he’s off the court his team has a minus Point differential well

Why is that it’s because when he’s on the court everything revolves around him and that’s a testament to how great and amazing that singular player is when it’s LeBron James or luuka donic or wussell Westbrook during his MVP years or James Harden kind of doing the same

Thing it it’s worth it at the end of the day but when those players do have games you are sort of left in the middle of the ocean Without a Paddle right and with the heat because they’re accustomed to playing with or without their star very much the same way right it’s not

That they don’t miss a beat because that would be unfair to Jimmy Butler but it doesn’t really seem like they missed that many beats and and so I just it I bet if you ask them in the locker room right now nobody’s surprised at the outcome like maybe they’re they they

Would be like no you know we didn’t see a 30-point beat down happening but they anticipated the opportunity to win like they never go into any matchup thinking oh you know we don’t have enough it’s just un close win they they LED wire to wire in this game David it wasn’t even

That they won it was that they never trailed it’s that they dominated a title Contender so thoroughly that I it’s it’s look it’s weird I do have one Theory as to how this happened uh so I will I will try to provide some answers plus we hand out

Credit cookies we’ll do that next here on locked on heat today’s episode is brought to you by hungry root the team at hungry root just sent me a new box of some really good stuff look there’s so much in there as far as the different ingredients that

You might be looking for when you’re tired of grocery shopping or meal planning or if you just have specific dietary needs well hungry root takes care of all that for you they save you time and save you money and it reduces food waste too hungry root can help save

Up to 30% on food waste each week and with this special discount code you get 40% off and free veggies for Life hungry root is your partner in Healthy Living it’s the easiest way to get fresh highquality groceries and simple healthy recipes delivered to your door you just

Take a fun quiz and hungry will get to know your personal health goals and what you like to eat and the kitchen appliances you use and so much more then they build you a personalized cart with all your grocery needs for the week and give you delicious recipe recommendations to put those groceries

To use hungry will recommend those recipes and grocer based on your personal taste but each order is fully customizable take your suggestions or choose anything you want they’ve got fresh produce high quality Meat and seafood Pantry Staples healthy snacks whatever you’re looking for Hungry root has you covered right now hungry root is

Offering locked on heat listeners 40% off their first delivery and free veggies for life just go to hungryroot.com inlock on and you get 40% off your first delivery and get your free veggies that’s hungryroot.com loock on and don’t forget to use our link so they know that we sent

You thanks for making locked on heat your first listen every day make sure you’re subscribed on YouTube and on your favorite podcast app every day or tune in tomorrow night Wednesday night for reactions to Miami’s final game before the allstar break in Philadelphia against the 76ers also a reminder lockon

Has launched the first ever National Sports 247 streaming Channel on YouTube YouTube locked on sports today is here for you 247 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local Experts of locked on plus our national shows covering every league go to locked on sports today on YouTube and subscribe

To the first ever National Sports 247 streaming Channel David before we hand out credit cookies and then ask the question of whether or not Nik yovic needs to be a fixture in the rotation for the rest of the season based on tonight’s game uh a theory as to what

Actually happened in this one I was sort of half joking like I don’t really know how they he doing this and big picture I think we’ve got some theories uh although it Still Remains amazing how they keep getting away with this but in this specific game against the Bucks I

Actually think look I think the heat with or without Jimmy Butler match up well against this team yeah Bam’s defense on Giannis and I’m sure we’re gonna talk about that in the credit cookies portion here his defense on Yan Giannis is a different tool than any

Other team in the league really gets to use I think it even Draymond Green at this stage of his career that would have been like the closest thing in draymond’s Prime to what it is that bam can do against Giannis he is under sized against Giannis but it doesn’t really

Matter much because he gives him such a hard time and I know giannis’s counting stats were good but Bam’s plus minus versus giannis’s plus minus that tells the story at least to me tonight I thought he made things very difficult on him so that’s one part of this Milwaukee’s perimeter defense this year

Has been awful and that was that played right into Tyler herro and Duncan Robin to how many open threes for Duncan Robinson it’s like I it’s like Milwaukee forgot who he was in this game and then they mostly left Nik yovic open because they actually had Giannis guarding yovic

To start the game and he was gonna play off of him and do all the Giannis you know off ball Rover things and he was like I don’t know who this person is so I’m just gonna leave him open and yic and that’s usually fine like that you

Would usually be a fine bet because yovic is a little streaky with his three-point shooting well he was hot tonight he was ignitable right he did the thing uh and he just he made shots early and he just kept making shots with that confidence and so I thought that’s

In terms of the X’s and O’s and what actually happened tonight I think that’s essentially your recap yeah I I think that’s a big part of it the BAM defense is a good point it allowed Miami to kind of drop a little bit as they were anticipating that that physical run to

The rim that yeah this is known for he was able to take a couple jumpers also but even then they were kind of Daring him to shoot a couple long ones that I think they they were willing to live with yeah absolutely yeah with bam kind of dropping back a little bit absorbing

The inevitable you know run to the rim from Giannis it allowed everybody else to kind of hedge towards the perimeter and close out there were a number of help uh Defenders there every time Dame or brook lopz or Pat conon or Bobby poris like I think poris for the most

Part had the most wide open looks maybe Malik Beasley had a couple ones too but for the most part when Dame had the ball Caleb and or Tyler were immediately on them trying to make things difficult for forcing him into bobbling the ball or not getting a comfortable look at The

Rim not until I think he had his first three-pointer early in the third quarter at some point like that was like he was basically shut down for the first half and then he kind of caught a little bit of fire but by then it was too little

Too late in Miami was at such a roll offensively and and and you bring up a good point about Giannis kind of playing off of yic and he just sparked everything else because then all of a sudden you’re seeing him shoot three after three wide open from the corner

Duncan like he he had some open looks but a lot of those were you know Duncan esque in terms of like coming off his screens shooting from the corner as he’s fading away ridiculous shots that really nobody else can make and he was nailing those so that I don’t know and Malik

Beasley and all these guys just dying on screens and it helps that fam is such an incredible screen Setter and that Milwaukee on the same side their perimeter guards since they’ve traded Drew holiday very bad at getting over even average screens let alone strong screens so that was part of it too you

Mentioned bam also being able to play off of Giannis I think a really underrated part of Bam’s game just overall is how strong he is yeah specifically in the lower body like you don’t see guys Barrel into him and make him move they don’t people don’t move

Bam off of his spot so even with somebody like Giannis who you hesitate to give him that like sort of driving lane that that that Runway to kind of pick up steam you can’t really play off of him because he’s just gonna roll over you not Bam Bam has that strength to

Kind of hold his own and and and kind of keep his spot there uh let’s go to credit cookies it’s the tastiest segment another Heat win the tastiest segment of lock on heat it is time to hand out some credit cookies who we giving cookies out

To today David it was a little difficult to be honest with you because there were all these incredible performances and even Bam’s understated performance a triple double incredible plus minus out on the floor like he was so impactful even if he didn’t have this monstrously productive night but I’ve got to start

Off with Nia yovic his performance early in the first quarter setting the tone looking aggressive he hit his first shot of the game and like almost immediately you could see the kind of spark that he was able to provide Brook Lopez playing off of him jannis playing off of him and

He was wide open for a number of three so he gets the bulk of these he gets four cookies on my end I gave Duncan Robinson three as well because I think again he was just such a Difference Maker in terms of his offense when his three-point shot wasn’t there he was

Able to create off ball uh put the ball down and be able to like find an open corner or somebody from the perimeter so he had a great game that I gave him three credit cookies Kevin love comes in with two because I thought he was incredible his five of seven shooting

Was monstrous he provided such a spark a big Challenge from Eric spola in favor of Kevin Love that went his way and I think he just he was emotionally fired up you could see him after he hit a three-pointer he was as jazzed up as a

Veteran can get at this point in a regular season it was fantastic to see and I can’t believe that I’m doing this for somebody who had a triple double only one credit cookie for bab on a bio so we could debate those numbers but it’s hard to take away from any of the

Players because there were so many impactful performances from those guys I’m a little surprised that we got nothing for Tyler herro yeah I mean game five assists 19 points haime coming off the bench a big stretch in that second quarter he had 12 points his best game

In in a while I think we could take one off of yic because he was very he was playing off of a lot of what other these guys I credit to him making shots but four I think he we could give him three just because he was really playing off

Of what like guys like hero and Duncan were doing and if we could give him three and move won to Tyler hero I think that would be fair that’s fine I you know what I’m in a good mood why not let’s let’s spread the love it’s the day before Valentine why

Not and a healthy shout out to haime haak Jr I love it with the credit cookies back on Nika yic you mentioned sort of that early role that he got on eight of Miami’s first 11 points right and that was just taking advantage of The Scouting Report it was very much hey

Kind of just taking what the defense gives you because they were keyed in on Tyler they were keyed in on Duncan they were keyed in on bam they didn’t know who nikovic was he just made shots and so credit to him like you got to make

Them and he came in and made him like this is not a warm body this was a body on ice and came in and just like like nothing ever happened like he had been on a roll like he’d been scoring 20 plus points in the last three games in a row

That’s how he just came out in this game with that confidence I love that confidence that he plays with he really does believe that he should be playing every single night doesn’t make a big fuss about it when he doesn’t but he’s got that level of confidence we

Mentioned the BAM defense um I thought can I just say I think defensively he wasn’t as problematic I I think so like he was able to hold his own he challenged Brook Lopez he was trying to be physical with uh you know either Dame or Giannis I think he had a

Couple possessions there where he really held his own forc to steal on a drive by Giannis too like the size the length matters like Miami is so typically undiz and yet with yic at this point like I I don’t know if we would have said this three months ago and certainly we

Wouldn’t have said this of him last year but he’s bulked up he’s a little bit more aware and he was moving his feet better defensively and I think it really helped Miami tonight because they just weren’t able to exploit him they weren’t able to Target him they tried they tried

Targeting him they tried targeting Tyler and Duncan to no avail and I think it was just again a symptomatic of Miami’s great help defense throughout the night having him as a long player be able to at least stand up in front of Brook Lopez allowed bam to guard Giannis right

And they also ran lineups with Kevin Love and Bam a bio and they did the same thing or whether it was Giannis and Bobby poris but like just having another big allows bam to guard Giannis it also allows bam to be a Rover when Giannis is

Out on the perimeter which he’s if I have a complaint about Giannis this season is that he kind of hangs out on the perimeter a little too much and it does muck up a lot of what Milwaukee does where he probably should just be in the dunker spot or in some sort of

Advantage advantageous cutting position but he doesn’t he just sort of hangs out there like he’s like he’s Damen Lillard almost and so when he did that bam could play of them and can get into these passing lanes and he did have a steal based on exactly that Giannis above the

Break just sort of right above the free above the free throw line beyond the three-point line and yic was just right in front of Brook Lopez he kind of mucked some things up there was a pass into the middle of the Court bam was able to steal with it steal it and and

Create a turnover in that way and Miami had a big turnover Edge in this game they only had 14 turnovers Milwaukee had 18 and a lot of that kind of stuff happened late in garbage time too and it was basically Bally you know a bigger difference than that for most of the

Game so awesome uh one one other note on this Tyler hero Duncan Robinson I thought they played as well as they have in a long time together there was a lot of them pointing to each other kind of signaling each other in different directions it it because of the way

Duncan Robinson has evolved as a ball handler they didn’t lose that much in not having Terry to Rosier in this game right uh and I wouldn’t say that Milwaukee’s defense gave the most efforts tonight in terms of blocking guys from getting to the basket but still with Tyler hero and Ducker

Robinson doing their thing and then bam atab bio dragging that defense wherever he wanted it on the roll and finding guys on that short roll it was a lot of tahiro bam at a bio pick and roll Duncan Robinson moving off the ball relocating the way he does beyond the three-point

Line I just thought it was tremendous uh by those three guys who really just fueled Miami’s offense and got those open looks for Nik yic and those other guys with with bam in the mid-range too and Nick Nik operating for for the perimeter like there was no real

Defender uh guarding the rim and and there were I think there were like three different layups where I think Caleb Tyler and I want to say Duncan they kind of just walked it in it was like as wide open as you’ll ever see the painted area there on a halfcourt possession too it

Wasn’t like it was a transition opportunity and they just kind of walked it in I remember Caleb scooping it in casually with his left hand and it was just like this a key possession too where Miami was building their lead and they do that look around they do the

Around after they’re like was that it and then and then haime I remember the possessions you’re talking about then haime had this like back door cut and I hesitate to even say back door because there was not even a house there was no house for the back door to exist like

You just like you just cut Baseline he was like nobody’s here okay very good thank you very much I’ll take my easy layup um no Milwaukee’s got some issues defensively I was starting to kind of believe in them under Doc Rivers I know they’ve been losing games but this was

Maybe this is more of the second night of the back-to-back thing where you could chalk it up but their defense just it wasn’t there for them it wasn’t there for them tonight you think it was like a not necessarily a trap game but they were kind of so emotionally invested

Again I’m trying to think of it from the Bucks fans perspective like you know they were invested in the Nuggets rematch or matchup the day before and they were kind of looking past Miami with the allstar break looming and everything else like that maybe that kind of let you watch you watched that

Game right because you were on the locked on NBA show so like we got to go to break let’s talk about this a little bit because I think this is interesting and then we’ll get to some of our listener questions we’ll do that after this today’s episode is brought to you by

EBay Motors passion drive and patience what brings home the winning trophy is also what keeps your ride or die alive and eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance from supercharges to roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and so much more whether you’re into

Speed or power or style eBay Motors has got you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay’s guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your right every time or you get your money

Back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber and not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to turn your car into the MVP and bring home that win so keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions do apply

An eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers thanks for making lock on heat your first listen every day make sure you subscribe subcribed on YouTube and on your favorite podcast app want to talk a little bit more about the Milwaukee Bucks cuz the whole situation there is fascinating we do have a

Question about nikol yovic that we’ll get to here in just a second um but you watched that game last night because you were on the NBA show I watched that game last night because I think every NBA fan had it circled it’s Denver and it’s Milwaukee it could be a finals preview I

Thought Milwaukee’s defense in that game was way better than it was in this game so maybe there is something to what you mentioned maybe sort of invested in that first game they had it circled on their calendar too second night of it back toback in this one even though it wasn’t

Home I think there’re something to it maybe I you know with Giannis he he was dominant in that win over Denver they blew him out and and I think Denver struggled a little bit too and talking about it with you know Matt Moore who covers the nuggets and does the host of

Lockedown nuggets you know he he said they were kind of tired and just looking past and kind of ready for the All-Star break and and then the flip side to that is you know bugs people will tell you that despite the losing when doc first took over the process has been immensely

Better like there’s an understanding yeah there’s an understanding of what to do that wasn’t there under Adrien Griffin because it was well so much so chaotic because he really wasn’t ready for that responsibility of being the head coach with Doc there’s preparedness there’s understanding and they had been

Thriving even without Chris Middleton so you got to tip your hat to them but I don’t know I don’t know if they kind of just took their foot off their gas maybe Giannis was exhausted because he had been so great the night before uh Brook Lopez wasn’t shooting well either and

You kind of need him to be out there and spacing the floor if he’s not hitting those shots then basically he’s not really capable of protecting the rim again we just talked about with bam in the mid-range and Nico’s shooting for the perimeter he’s basically a non-factor and Dame struggling as well

So I don’t know uh it’s no it’s I mean look it’s not we already established that that’s not the reason like there’s no excuse for losing by 30 points to Miami tonight based on on the context of everything I’m I’m just thinking like bigger picture I every other day I’m

Like I believe in the Bucks and then I don’t you know what I mean like they’re just they’re such a confounding team in the Eastern Conference and that’s why I just wanted to talk to you about it because you had done the NBA show so anyway let’s go back to the Miami Heat

Here let’s go to our listener questions as always thanks to everybody who sent in those questions after the game on Twitter using the hashtag askal heat email us locked onheat gmail.com follow us on Instagram locked on heat this question comes from emo Jimmy who writes in is there any chance at all that

Nikovic actually cracks the lineup when this team gets fully healthy heading into April David what do you think I don’t know I I I wish I had answers for you if I had to guess honestly I would say no I just think tonight was uh a perfect Maelstrom of everything working

In his favor like the size was a big factor I wish that Eric spoler felt more comfortable tweaking the lineup and recognizing like I think we talked about this in our show with ran nerney yesterday like that he should have started Kevin Love because the double big lineup would have helped again to

Mitigate what Brook Lopez was theoretically able to provide there and love would have been spacing the floor tonight it was Nico instead but he pushes the pace he was igniting the offense I just also don’t think that his style of play meshes well with Jimmy Butler and it’s unfortunate because you

See this really great style where they’re pushing the pace they’re bringing the ball up quickly they’re starting their transition offense and Milwaukee had no answer for it and then they were able to shoot nearly 50% from three-point range so maybe everything just worked out perfect ly where those

Shots were falling as a result of those fast break transition opportunities but I’m just not sure that when Jimmy’s out on the floor that Nico can have the same level of impact as he had tonight uh maybe there’s a way that he can that spoken shorn Nico in there when Jimmy is

Off the court when with that second unit that is a that Trends younger when it’s Tyler hero ter Roser Hae and Bam maybe there’s some room there but he usually likes to put Caleb Martin out there with that unit but maybe you can get Caleb

Martin a break and put Nico in there but even then we’re talking about extending a rotation to 10 that’s basically at a really clean nine right now when everybody is healthy and that’s the key Point like when everybody’s healthy I I don’t think that nikol yovic is in the

Rotation and some of it some of rotation building is obviously you want your best players to play but some of it also is like you were talking about just chemistry who plays well with each other what kind of style are we trying to execute On Any Given night and nikovic

Could be a very good player and one that Miami Heat remain high on without him necessarily playing like both things can be true just because he’s on the bench does not mean that heat don’t believe in him or that he’s not even a good player

Period right and so um I think that they remain high on him they they always remind everybody every time you talk to anybody within the Heat organization he’s only 20 he’s only 20 all these things and that they do they do believe in his future but maybe it’s a future

Sort of as Jimmy Butler ages and nikovic also ages because that’s how time works um and becomes be more of a factor in Miami’s plans on the court and so whatever I don’t I don’t know that there’s any I also don’t know that there’s any need to rush it I I kind of

Came to the real realization watching it tonight I love watching these kinds of performances from Nik yic because it’s just bonus it’s icing on the cake and when he was start when he was starting that 10 game stretch when Jimmy Butler was out it just felt like it was almost

Expected of him and it became Less Fun and so this is just sort of like a have a nice thing and just appreciate it kind of moment for fans it’s like wow that random night in February right before the All-Star break that was really cool and maybe that could just be

It maybe it could just be really cool and and so I I appreciate the question and I think it’s a good question to ask but I also just don’t I want to keep expectations low for Nico do you think he starts tomorrow in Philadelphia probably since we’re looking at the same

Lineup I would imagine it’s they’ll probably just do the same thing yeah assuming there’s no injury from tonight and I don’t think that they would be I I imagine he would probably stick with it because that’s just who SPO is but Philadelphia a smaller team with Paul Reed starting in embiid’s place Tobias

You know I don’t know if that’s necessarily as advantageous a matchup well I think the other part of Milwaukee and Philadelphia that’s similar is that they both want to push the pace and having Nico out there actually helps them like Miami was playing into Milwaukee’s Pace they basically played

Into Milwaukee’s game tonight and they they trounced them they never trailed in the game they dominated Milwaukee style of play um and if Philadelphia is going to try to push the pace with Tyrese Maxi and a little bit of a smaller group Kelly UB and all these guys um the Nico

Does fit sort of into that scheme buddy heel too no I mean he had a big game last night he did yeah so uh we’ll see what happens looking forward to another big game from Nik yovic potentially another Podium game for him on Wednesday night you’ll find out what happens by

Tuning in to locked on heat after the game but for now thanks for making lock on heat your first listen every day hit that subscribe button on YouTube and follow us on your favorite podcast app oh

Without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier or Josh Richardson, the Miami Heat dominated the Milwaukee Bucks in Tuesday night’s win. How do they always do this?!

Wes Goldberg and David Ramil break down the win, Nikola Jovic’s big night, Bam Adebayo’s defense on Giannis and hand out Credit Cookies.

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOHeat?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

📲 Follow Locked On Heat on Twitter
Locked On Heat https://twitter.com/LockedOnHeat
David Ramil https://twitter.com/dramil13
Wes Goldberg https://twitter.com/wcgoldberg

📸 Follow Locked On Heat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockedonheat/

📺 Follow Locked On NBA: https://linktr.ee/lockedonnba

📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: lockedonpodcasts.com/offers

Grammarly
When it comes to writing, Grammarly is there to support you from start to finish. With one click, you can easily and easily brainstorm, rewrite, and reply with suggestions based on your context and goals. Go to grammarly.com/PODCAST to download for FREE today.

Hungryroot
Hungryroot is the easiest way to get fresh, high-quality food delivered to your door. They’ve got healthy groceries and simple recipes, all in one place. Just go to Hungryroot.com/LOCKEDON, to get 40% off your first delivery and get your free veggies.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

eBay Motors
For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

PrizePicks
Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.

FanDuel
Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED when you place a FIVE DOLLAR BET. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#NBA #MiamiHeat #JimmyButler #DamianLillard