Gabe Vincent has a way of wearing on you, with Heat relishing the approach
MIAMI — Gabe Vincent has a way of wearing on you. So, yes, the fourth-year guard can be annoying.
For the Miami Heat, that is a good thing. To opponents? Not so much.
A constant of some of the best Heat playoff moments the past two seasons has been the unleashing of Vincent against opposing point guards as a full-court defender, 94 feet of dogged harassment. The payoff was ample in the first round a year ago against the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young. Over the past two weeks, the relentlessness has come against New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, with Game 6 of that Eastern Conference semifinal on Friday night at Kaseya Center.
“I mean this has kind of been a playoff thing going back to last year,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And he’s really good at that. He’s a ballhawk. And that’s really a credit to him, reinventing himself from who he was when we first got him in the G League.”
When Vincent arrived to the Heat in January 2020, it was because of his spot-up shooting brilliance with the Sacramento Kings’ G League affiliate. Then the reinvention began, with Spoelstra now viewing the undrafted 26-year-old as a “defensive irritant.”
Vincent said sometimes the full-court pressure is by design, other times a result of seizing a moment.
“He definitely has some trust in me to decide when I want to do it,” Vincent said of Spoelstra. “Some of it is requested by him, though, thinking it would just be a good tactical move.”
It is the type of pressure better served by the youth of Vincent than the Heat’s other option at point guard, 37-year-old Kyle Lowry.
So Vincent readily accepts the challenge.
“But I find enjoyment in it, as well,” Vincent said.
Vincent said at Friday morning’s shootaround that it also is about more than him wearing on opponents.
“I think fatigue is going to be an issue, regardless,” he said. “Guys are playing so hard in the playoffs, that whether it’s Game 1, Game 4, or Game 6 now, guys are going to feel tired.
“I think that’s the separator. Guys push through that pain or push through the fatigue, and that’s when we see great moments happen time and time again, year after year in the playoffs.”
At times this postseason, it has appeared that also has weighed on Vincent’s shooting.
That led to a humorous moment Friday morning, when Vincent was asked how the Heat can get their missed shots to instead go in.
“Man, what?” he said with a laugh. “It’s 50-50 when the ball leaves your hand, man, either it goes in or it doesn’t. If I had the answer, we would never miss.”
Singular focus
Center Bam Adebayo said after Friday’s shootaround that no matter the pace of games or the success of the Heat’s shot-making, it is a singular element that has allowed the team to persevere this postseason.
“We all take pride in defense,” he said. “It’s not just me, it’s our bloodline. A lot of these games we won because of defense. It’s not one particular person. We’re trying to stop everybody. And for us, when we do it on that end, I feel like we’re a hard team to beat.”
All while giving respect to opposing breakthrough performances, such as Brunson’s 38 points in the Knicks’ victory in Wednesday night’s Game 5.
“I mean, he’s a crafty guard,” Adebayo said. “I’ve always seen that in Jalen. He’s a crafty guard. He’s smart. He knows his angles. He knows how to get to his spots. And he knows how to get fouled. And you respect all of those.”
