Nikola Jovic pops, plus an unsung hero and other Heat-Blazers takeaways

Another home back to back at the Kaseya Center went down tonight for the Miami Heat, as they faced off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.

After just beating the Charlotte Hornets a night ago, some injuries started to pop up, including a sprained ankle for Jaime Jaquez Jr in garbage time. He surprisingly was able to suit up just 24 hours later, as he was upgraded from questionable to available tonight.

Starters remained the same for the Heat, as tired legs played an early part on their way to a 1 for 15 shooting start to the game. A big second quarter flipped the scales back in their favor.

So let's get into some takeaways:

1. One Heat player's impact keeps sliding under the radar.

Nov 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra keeps an eye on his team during the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Whenever Dru Smith walks to the scorer's table to replace the two-way impact of Davion Mitchell, there's rarely a drop-off. Not because of Mitchell's early stint, but because Smith finds a way to match that two-way play pretty seamlessly. In the first half tonight, he put together a 10 point showing, along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. But the other two stats are why Erik Spoelstra believed in him when others didn't: 4 steals and 0 turnovers. The positional defense is real. He's always in the right spot, an exceptional off-ball defender which is more important in this system, and high defensive IQ. As for the turnovers, he's just somebody who doesn't make a ton of mistakes. He's quietly putting up this type of production nightly, and it's being taken for granted.

2. Nikola Jovic finding his rhythm due to one coaching adjustment.

Nov 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) drives to the basket as Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) defends in the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

We've been waiting for Nikola Jovic to find his breakout for some time now. He's a rhythm and confidence player, which means seeing the ball go in the basket elevates his game in an instant. Some of the troubles have been adjusting to these Jaime Jaquez led lineups with his on-ball success, but the Heat did something tonight that may have been all he needed. One of the toughest things in the sport for rhythm players are short stints where they can't catch their flow. Erik Spoelstra and the staff opened it up for him tonight, as he entered with four minutes left in the first quarter per usual, and didn't exit til halftime. That extended leash and floor time pushed him to a 9 point, 6 assist first half showing. It won't take much to get that offensive confidence back.

3. What once was Jaime Jaquez OR Pelle Larsson, has become Jaquez AND Larsson.

Nov 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) tries to dribble past Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) in the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Before the season, there were two guys that were projected to be battling it out for rotation minutes: Jaime Jaquez Jr and Pelle Larsson. A few weeks later, one continues to provide high level role player starter minutes, and the other is right up there in the sixth man of the year race. Not only are both key rotation players, but they're playing off one another better than anybody could've expected. Both their bully ball, downhill styles wear on defenses when they share the floor. With all eyes on Jaquez off the dribble in the middle of the floor, Larsson roams freely for back-cuts and offensive rebounds. It just works.