Conwell, Goldin have their moments as Heat sit rotation regulars in exhibition loss to Timberwolves
· Yahoo Sports
MIAMI — Davion Mitchell was out of view Saturday for the Miami Heat but not his nickname. It very much was an Off Night for Erik Spoelstra’s team.
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As in no Giannis Antetokounmpo, no Bam Adebayo, no Andrew Wiggins, no Klay Thompson and no Michell, who has earned the “Off Night’ nickname for his defensive doggedness. As in the quintet that had started the Heat’s first two preseason games before being held out of this third of five exhibitions.
Also, no Tim Hardaway Jr. and no Bobby Portis against a Minnesota Timberwolves team equally uninterested in putting forth their best.
So basically, it turned into somewhat of an open tryout for the balance of the Heat rotation, with Heat Lite falling 125-124 to Timberwolves Lite.
From the fill-in starters, the Heat got 15 points, six rebounds and three assists from Nikola Jovic, 14 points from Simone Fontecchio that included 4-of-7 3-point shooting, 10 rebounds from Nick Richards and14 points from Pelle Larsson, albeit on 4-of-15 shooting. Larsson left in the third period and did not return due to illness.
On a night when there was plenty of action for almost the entire remaining roster, the Heat also got 22 points from second-round pick Ryan Conwell, who also had nine assists and five rebounds. He ran the offense at the finish, off with a potential winning 3-point attempt with seventh-tenths of a second to play.
Also solid at the finish was Vlad Goldin, with the center on a two-way contract closing with 18 points and six rebounds, his two late free throws giving the Heat their final lead.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday’s exhibition:
1. For starters: With his options reduced, Spoelstra opened with a lineup of Tre Donaldson, Richards, Jovic, Fontecchio and Larsson.
Larsson was back after missing Tuesday’s intrasquad public scrimmage and Thursday night’s exhibition victory over the New Orleans Pelicans due to a cold.
In addition to those given the night off, the Heat remained without sidelined Dru Smith (calf) and Keshad Johnson (hamstring).
First off the bench for the Heat was Conwell, followed by Myron Gardner, Ian Schieffelin, Goldin and Bez Mbeng.
The Timberwolves also held out their rotation regulars, including Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga, Ayo Dosunmu and sidelined Donte DiVincenzo.
That had the Timberwolves opening with the eclectic lineup of Bones Hyland, Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, Trey Lyles and Joan Beringer.
“If he’s not playing anyone, we’re not playing anyone,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch joked of Spoelstra before the game.
2. Next for real: The approach was not unexpected, with the teams next to meet Oct. 21 at Kaseya Center in their regular-season opener.
Asked if it simply was prudent not to show much in the way of game planning in this one, Finch said, “Of course.”
But he said he also expects both teams to be further steeled by the opener.
“Neither of us are a finished product,” he said. “We’re a week or so into camp, so there’s no way we could have gotten everything in that we need to get in. We haven’t really started talking about what opening night looks like in terms of game prep or anything like this.”
Finch added, “I can’t speak for Spo. I’m sure he’s pacing his team appropriately and not really worried about us too much.
“In 10 days’ time, it’ll be different.”
3. Respects paid: Finch said what the Heat have put together this season appears imposing.
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“They’re playing fast,” he said. “They’re going to give people matchup problems. Everybody always wants more shooting, but they’ve got a lot of shooting around them. They’re hard playing and physical up front.
“I think the best thing is nobody’s really talking about it. We’ll see how it all shakes out for everybody, but this is a team that knows how to win at a super high level. They’ve got incredible organizational DNA, and now they’ve got a guy to be at the center of it all. That’s when they’ve always been most dangerous.”
4. Simone time: While the Heat’s other 30-somethings got the night off, Spoelstra said it hardly was punitive that Fontecchio, 30, was among those in action.
“He can get hot and change quarters in a hurry,” Spoelstra said. “But he’s really reliable to the other things. Defensively, he’s a really good system defender. He’s an effort player. He has size, so he can rebound his position. He can guard bigger guys.
“And then offensively, he can play without the ball. He can move the ball. He can play in our principles really well and help other guys just with his movement.”
Fontecchio scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half.
5. Up next: Up next for the Heat Wednesday night’s home exhibition against the Brooklyn Nets and Friday night’s preseason finale on the road against the Orlando Magic.
The day after that exhibition finale in Orlando, the Heat will have to cut to no more than 15 players under standard contract and three under two-way contract. The Heat currently are carrying the NBA offseason maximum of 21 players.