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Winderman’s view: Heat’s Gabe Vincent reminds of his possibilities in lighting up Bucks

Jan. 12, 2023
Winderman’s view: Heat’s Gabe Vincent reminds of his possibilities in lighting up Bucks

Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 108-102 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks:

– No sooner was Tuesday night’s game against the Thunder over than Gabe Vincent sat at his locker shaking his head.

– “Seven turnovers? I never had seven turnovers,” he said.

– But the Heat won, so Vincent moved on.

– Did he ever.

– Again filling in for sidelined Kyle Lowry, Vincent this time filled the scoring column.

– With Victor Oladipo off, it was needed.

– It also inspired greater confidence going forward.

– Which the Heat will need even when Lowry returns.

– Because at this point in Oladipo’s comeback, it can’t simply be Victor or bust.

– Never lacking for confidence, knee pain clearly had knocked Vincent down a notch.

– So he took time off to regain his footing.

– Then came several uneven performances.

– And then came Thursday night.

– This Gabe Vincent could be game-changing for the Heat.

– He was on Thursday night.

– Still without three starters, with Tyler Herro, Lowry and Caleb Martin out, the Heat rolled out their 19th starting lineup in their 43 games.

– For the second consecutive game, Max Strus started in place of Herro, Vincent in place of Lowry, and Highsmith in place of Martin.

– The game was the 150th regular-season appearance for Strus.

– Back was Bam Adebayo, who missed Tuesday’s victory over the Thunder due to a bruised right wrist.

– Jimmy Butler remained at small forward.

– With the start, Butler tied Bimbo Coles for 19th on the Heat all-time list.

– Butler’s fourth defensive rebound moved him ahead of Keith Askins for 23rd on the Heat all-time list.

– Vincent’s first shot was the 1,000th of his career.

– Highsmith’s second defensive rebound was the 100th of his career.

– In a procedural move, the Heat had to count suspended center Dewayne Dedmon in one of their 15 active-roster spots.

– By rule of his unpaid suspension, Dedmon was not allowed in the arena for the game.

– In addition, 42-year-old captain Udonis Haslem was cleared to return from the tendinosis in his right Achilles.

– Beyond the sidelined three starters, remaining out for the Heat were Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic and Omer Yurtseven.

– That left the Heat with 10 available players.

– One more than Tuesday night.

– When only eight played.

– While having teammates out is not optimal, it has helped Oladipo up his time in the rotation.

– “When you’ve missed as much basketball as I have, the key is to get your rhythm and just the feeling back of just playing,” Oladipo said. “So whatever opportunity I have to play, it’s beneficial for me.”

– As for playing shorthanded, Oladipo said nothing new there.

– “You got to adjust,” he said, “but the concepts and the mindset is the same, no matter who’s in there, no matter who’s wearing a uniform. We’re trying to make it tough and we’re trying to play at a high level on both ends of the floor.”

– The Heat’s two-way players were the first two off the bench, Orlando Robinson and Jamal Cain.

– With Oladipo making it eight deep.

– Leaving Haslem as the only other available player.

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