In recent games, the blue has found the field with continuity and in the last victory against the Kings he scored 15 points, also taking 7 rebounds
The Miami Heat win in Sacramento and Simone Fontecchio makes his presence felt with the third consecutive game in double figures, having just returned to seeing the field with greater continuity. The blue, at the Golden 1 Center, scored 15 points with 5 triples and grabbed 7 rebounds in 19 minutes of use. In the defeat against Golden State he finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; before that 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the success against Oklahoma City. He’s averaged 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in his last three outings. “It was important to recover, we had the right attitude from the start: we fought together”, explains Fontecchio at the end of the match.
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Miami is in the middle of a series of five consecutive away games (three to go) without Ware and Herro, a very important player, but who has only played 11 games so far. Fontecchio, from just before Christmas to mid-January, had had few minutes available. Now it has found space again. Spoelstra’s rotations are fluid, but apart from that parenthesis, the blue has always been a solid point coming off the bench. In this first half of the season Fontecchio played 16 minutes on average, scoring 8.2 points and shooting almost 40% from the field. Spoelstra knows him well and knows how to exploit his versatility. The Italian showed up in Miami practically infallible from long range, with 37/74 in the first 14 games (50%). Then, even when the percentages dropped significantly, he never stopped shooting, always remaining positive in the ups and downs. When there is confidence, then the shot comes back: 9/20 in the last 3 games.
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His contribution has a different weight compared to that of last season and Detroit: he has fit well into the Heat system made up of spacing, penetrates, unloads, cuts and almost zero pick and rolls. He is the third player with the highest average attacking speed in the NBA (8.9 km/h): he is always on the move, ready for passes, involved. Just as the Heat’s attack requires, so much so that Jaquez and Larsson, his teammates, are second and fourth respectively in this ranking. He also makes himself felt in rebounding and the 9 offensive rebounds in the last 3 games show the impact on the game, regardless of the outside baskets. “At the beginning of my NBA career I was labeled as a 3-point shooter,” he explains after the game against Golden State. “But the staff here knows that I can do a lot more, from rebounding to defense. I’m trying to make an impact even when the shot doesn’t go in.” There is a lot of crowding in his role, or almost: between Jovic, Larrson, Jaquez, Ware, Spoelstra he has a wide choice. But in the meantime Simone has made the Heat’s culture his own: altruism, competitiveness, presence.
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