As the Miami Heat lost to the Orlando Magic in the regular season opener, it was one that showed a lot of promising signs despite the result giving the team its first defeat of the year. One of the bright spots in the loss was seeing the comfort level of Heat newcomer Norman Powell, as head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke more about his debut.
After being traded to Miami from the Los Angeles Clippers, Powell was sure to be an offensive gutpunch that the team needed, but after the news of Tyler Herro missing the start of the season, his assistance was drastically needed. He showed it and more in his team debut on Wednesday night, scoring 28 points on nine of 19 shooting from the field, four of eight from deep, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists.
Spoelstra would describe Powell's outing as “explosive” as the 31-year-old had nine of the team's first 15 points of the contest.
“Very good. He's explosive, you just really like the way he's on the move,” Spoelstra said, via Miami's YouTube page. “He's a moving target. It's tough to get a body on him. He can drive; he obviously can shoot from three. He just does it in a lot of different ways.”
“But. Norman [Powell] has probably been the most comfortable from after training camp, but other guys now are starting to get in a rhythm, and you know, hopefully that's going to be a snowball rolling down the hill,” Spoelstra continued.
Norman Powell on fitting well with the Heat
While Powell's comfort level with the Heat has been fast-tracked, showing no signs of needing to be developed on Wednesday, he no doubt showed his versatility as a player, making him an underrated star in the league. After the standout performance, Powell explained how he fits with Miami right from the jump.
“I think just the experience and playing in different roles,” Powell said. “I mean, with a group of guys whose mentality and focus is about winning and playing off one another, I think we've done a great job with that. And then just the style of the offense fits my game. I'm a plug-and-play guy. I can play on the ball, off the ball, whatever is needed. And, you know, and coach Spo did a great job, I think, first play the game, me coming off a pin down.”
“I'm really tough to guard coming out of those corners with pin downs and quicks and things like that,” Powell continued. “So taking advantage of those plays is key for my catch and shoot ability and being able to get downhill. But just playing in that open flow just fits my game perfectly.”
At any rate, Powell looks to keep it up against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, helping the Heat get its first win of the young season.
