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How Norman Powell’s love of basketball has led to easy transition with Heat
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- How Norman Powell’s love of basketball has led to easy transition with Heat
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MIAMI – As the Miami Heat got a huge win over the New York Knicks , 115-107, one of the many standout performances was from newcomer Norman Powell , putting together a nice start for his latest team. After Powell had an explosive debut for the Heat in the opening loss against the Orlando Magic and a solid outing over the Memphis Grizzlies , his comfort level seems higher than it should, being his third regular-season game on a brand-new squad.
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In the home opener win over the Knicks, Powell led Miami with 29 points on seven of 15 shooting from the field, three of six from deep, to go along with 12 made free throws. Not to mention, he had seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals, having an impact in the impressive victory for the team.
Despite the statsheet, Powell was in sync with his new teammates throughout the game, with him saying to ClutchPoints that he's felt "comfortable since day one" since he is "super low maintenance." He would also cite being a "student of the game."
"I work really hard on my game, and I feel like, honestly, what makes the transition so easy with any of my my traits and new teams and things like that, is just, I've been in every single role, so being prepared and knowing and I'm a student of the game, I watch, I study," Powell said.
"Watch opposing teams. I watched this team a lot when I wasn't even on the team, I love the game of basketball," Powell continued. "I work really hard, so the game becomes easy when you're anticipating what the opposing team is going to do and how they're going to guard you and where your spots are going to be.
Heat's Erik Spoelstra on how Norman Powell is "crafty"
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If there is one thing Powell has done well so far, it's fit with the Heat's new style on offense in playing up-tempo and taking pride in a fast pace. They would do that again on Sunday against New York, though the opponent stalled it originally in the first quarter, but Miami would regain pace as the game went on.
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Powell was one of the engines in making quick baskets, but was also key in slowing the game down when the Knicks were starting to gain momentum, as shown by the 12 free throws made. Head coach Erik Spoelstra pointed out how "crafty" Powell is, even mentioning his ability to draw fouls.
"He's a crafty, veteran, skilled offensive talent," Spoelstra said. "And that is a very good defensive team. So if you're just trying to run normal actions, they've got great wing defenders, they blow up screens, they prevent you from coming off screens. So he just finds a way to get in a bunch of random situations. And I just think that's, those are the hardest guys to scout and scheme for."
"He had some in transition, he had some on broken plays, he had some where he just would create something out of nothing," Powell continued. "And that's a credit to his skill level. I know that he really spent a lot of time working on his skill and being able to manage, you know, great defenders and great defenses. You know, his ability also to get to the free throw line or draw fouls on some of his threes, that can kind of get him going too as well."
Powell and Miami look to keep the winning ways flowing as the team next takes on the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
Related: Why Heat's Bam Adebayo is 'not satisfied' just yet with new fast offense
Related: What Erik Spoelstra loved from Heat after huge win over Knicks
