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Miami vice actors8/14/2023 Those four players and Robinson combined for 43 points in Game 1 and 50 in Game 2 against Denver. Martin, on assignment from Charlotte, shot 6 of 17 in the first game and made one of his nine 3-point attempts on the weekend.įast forward three years, and it’s a different world. They were non-factors in a 127-120 game where 11 players scored in double figures three years later, only two other players from that game were still in the NBA ( Shake Milton and Wenyen Gabriel).Īs for Strus, he scored 11 points in his team’s first game that weekend and tore his ACL in the second, leading to his release from a two-way with Chicago and the eventual offseason ride that landed him in Miami. Scattered in one-horse towns across America, each had gone undrafted, and only Martin had signed an NBA contract.įor instance, Highsmith’s team played Vincent’s in one of the first games of the weekend Vincent scored five points on 2-of-11 shooting, and Highsmith scored seven. ![]() Viewers that weekend in Vegas in 2019 would have had a tough time discerning that future Heat quartet destined for glory. To say these players weren’t obvious choices is the epitome of understatement. Instead, it’s a story of an organization set up to identify free talent early and quickly pounce when the opportunity becomes available. This is a veteran team that has been in win-now mode for several years some seasons that’s worked out better than others, but what it’s meant in all of them is that relatively few roster spots were available for player development gambles - particularly with tax considerations often forcing them to keep just 14 players. It’s not like Miami’s history with two-ways and minimum guys is littered with bombs and the Heat just got lucky on a few. Indeed, one of the huge (and somewhat ironic) success stories behind the Miami Minimums has been the front office’s willingness to go outside its own organization for player talent. You’ll note that not only were these guys not notable players at the time, but also they weren’t in Miami’s system. There, in a makeshift arena in a convention hall in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in front of no fans whatsoever but wall-to-wall NBA scouts, four of Miami’s future NBA finalists would do battle at the G League Showcase: Highsmith of the Delaware Blue Coats, Strus of the Windy City Bulls, Vincent of the Stockton Kings and Martin of the Greensboro Swarm. For instance, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t recognize the significance of the weekend of Dec. Suffice it to say that the successes of these players were not pre-ordained. Forget #HeatCulture this is more like #HeatVultures. The player development part can only happen because the front office keeps finding talent left by the side of the road, over and over and over again. ![]() 'It's not for everybody': The truth about 'Heat Culture', according to those who live it
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