Miami Heat's Gabe Vincent Holding His Own Against Trae Young
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Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent had 11 points, one rebound and three assists in a 115-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
But his numbers did not tell the full story of his performance.
Vincent and Kyle Lowry were tasked with defending Hawks star Trae Young. Young has garnered a lot of attention from the NBA world as a rising player. However, it proved not to be too large of a task for Vincent, who said that he is confident in his responsibility of guarding Young.
“I’m just relishing in it,” Vincent said. “To be honest, I’ve just been so in the moment. Even now, I’m just thinking about the next one, the next matchup and help what they’re going to do and so forth. I’m just excited to be here.”
This impact is seen throughout the team as well. Here is what others said about Vincent’s defensive presence.
Kyle Lowry: “His defense on Trae. Trae is going to get his buckets — you are not going to stop him. His effort and energy was fantastic and he [hit] a couple big threes in the first half and a big one in the fourth quarter. His confidence is growing, and he understands he’s a valuable member of this team and he belongs.”
Jimmy Butler: “Gabe has been playing that way for us all year long. I think that he does more than just shoot threes. He’s getting into the paint and getting guys the ball. He’s pesky as hell on the defensive end, making it tough for whoever he is lined up against. He doesn’t back down. We all respect that. We all love him for that and he’s a huge key to us pulling off these two dubs.”
The Heat return to action against the Hawks on Friday at State Farm Arena.
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
