MIAMI – With Nikola Jovic highlighting the Miami Heat's win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, 136-131, there was another player who has continued what has been an impressive season in newcomer Norman Powell. As the Heat is running a new offense this season, emphasizing a fast pace, Powell speaks on the difference between this system and that of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Through 10 games, Miami leads the entire NBA in pace with 106.95 possessions per 48 minutes, a stark contrast for Powell compared to the Clippers, who have ranked around the bottom-10 in the statistic the past four seasons. When Powell was initially brought up, the intention by the Heat to run an up-tempo offense, depending more on a free-flowing model and cutting down on pick-and-roll actions, the veteran was “excited.”
“I was excited. You know, it's a little different for me when I've experienced the last three and a half years when I was with the Clippers, you know, running a play every single time down, getting guys to their spots and attacking mismatches,” Powell said. “And this one's really just playing in the flow, playing off of one another, playing out of closeouts. I think it, for me, plays to my game and my strength. When the ball is swinging and defense is moving, I'm able to catch and go, catch and shoot, and make reads on the second side of the floor.”
Norman Powell said he was “excited” when first hearing that the Heat would run the fast, free flowing offense compared to the years with the Clippers, as he discusses the differences: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/cY9jkWxTK6
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) November 9, 2025
For Powell, he has excelled so far with Miami, averaging 23.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. He has been crucial in starting the team off strong in the first quarter, giving the team an explosiveness with their fast pace.
Heat's Norman Powell on how the new offense amplifies everyone
Though the Heat are missing Bam Adebayo in the new offense, missing the last two games with a toe injury, the team has won those contests, with everyone buying into the new offensive philosophy. Miami played like Los Angeles the past handful of seasons, ranking among the slowest in pace, with the coaching staff aching for a change.
So far, it has worked tremendously, with the team averaging 124.1 points per game (second in the NBA), though they are 13th in offensive rating. Still, it has led to huge seasons to start for Powell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and many others.
“And I think it has everybody locked in, because every single play, everybody's live. So like, you can deny me, you can take me out, but it just opens up the spacing on the floor for other guys to attack and get into the paint and collapse defenses,” Powell said. “I think it keeps opposing teams off balance, because we're not running a set play that you can game plan every single time down. It's ball movement, body movement, and it's a lot of fun. You know, it's empowering guys like Niko [Jovic], Jaime [Jaquez], to bring the ball up and be initiators and offense and guys to play off of them.”
The Heat look to keep the pace going on Monday when the team takes on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
