Winderman’s view: Adebayo from deep sets surprising tone in rout of Clippers

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Monday night’s 140-123 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers:

– Bam Adebayo helped set the tone.

– On a night the tone was all about the 3 for the Heat.

– An Adebayo 3-pointer opened the game’s scoring.

– An Adebayo 3-pointer opened the second-half scoring.

– In the end, a career high five 3-pointers for Adebayo.

– Closing with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

– But the 3-pointers were the thing.

– Because if Adebayo from the arc is a thing, spacing concerns are alleviated.

– And pick your poison against the threat of Tyler Herro and Norman Powell becomes even more challenging.

– This is among the reasons Erik Spoelstra doesn’t go with Kel’el Ware in the first unit.

– Because it allows everyone to space.

– For now, opponents are likely to leave Adebayo open at the arc.

– But a few more of these could change that thinking.

– This was a case of a player setting a goal of doing something better.

– Then doing something better.

– And, so, Adebayo for 3, and again, and again, and again, and again.

– For the third consecutive game, the Heat opened with the smaller-ball lineup of Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Powell, Herro and Davion Mitchell, leaving Ware in reserve.

– Despite being back from the G League, Heat two-way players Vlad Goldin and Jahmir Young were inactive, to save the NBA days against their two-way limits.

– The Clippers opened with a lineup of James Harden, Kris Dunn, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins and Ivica Zubac.

– Harden spent most of the night looking as if he couldn’t be bothered.

– Back from a one-game absence with a groin strain, Jaime Jaquez Jr. was back in his role as Heat sixth man.

– Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson then followed together.

– With Dru Smith making it nine deep.

– And Simone Fontecchio 10 deep.

– Leaving Nikola Jovic on the outside of the rotation looking in.

– Fontecchio had been out of the rotation Saturday against the Pistons.

– Larsson then missed the second half with a sprained right foot.

– Before the game, Spoelstra was asked how continuity and development are factoring into his lineup and rotation decisions.

– “It’s a little bit of both,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m prioritizing either. You have to prioritize whatever is best for the team to win. But, you know, also I’m treating it that the combinations and the players will let me know. And I don’t feel stressed out that I have to have all those answers right now. It’s a long season.”

– He added, “And we started out without one of our main players that was not in the rotation, so that definitely changes things.”

– In other words, a work in progress, even at the season’s quarter pole.

– “Like I said the first day of the media session, I want to be open to the unknown, but also open to the possibilities,” Spoelstra said. “And I was hopeful that there would be some surprises and that there will continue to be surprises this season, and there already have been.”

– He added, “I want it to be competitive and guys to continue to get better and show us they can help us win more than they could at the beginning of the year. So we’ll see where it lands, and it probably will be a few changes. That’s the nature of this business.”

– Spoelstra said Herro’s progress has been heartening, citing the work put in for the two months between the September ankle surgery and last week’s return.

– “I’m sure he wants to feel like he’s 100 percent, physically, mentally, emotionally and with his movement and everything,” Spoelstra said. “But I think he’s moving great. And it’s a testament to how hard he works. Everything he does is full speed. So behind the scenes he’s doing things full speed. And that allows you to come back and be ready.”

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– Spoelstra added, “It’s hard to replicate that kind of training if you’re not really scrimmaging and not playing in games. And then all of a sudden everybody else has been and you get thrown out there, I think he made that look a lot easier than what it actually is.”

– Herro was a finalist for NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week that on Monday went to Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.

– Herro then extended his career best streak to 14 consecutive games with 20 points dating to last season, the longest such Heat streak since a similar 14-game run by LeBron James in 2012-13.

– The Clippers entered having lost 13 of 14, while the Heat was trying to avoid a 2-2 homestand.

– “Now we’re facing a team that’s coming in here, first game of their road trip, and they want to start off their road trip on the right note for them,” Spoelstra said pregame. “And we’re coming off of a loss, where we want to create something here that’s tough for teams coming into our building. So you have two opposing forces. That’s competition and who’s going to get to who.”

– The game concluded the two-game season series against the Clippers, becoming the first series concluded this season. It marks the earliest the series concludes in the franchise’s histories.

– The Heat now have concluded the series against the Clippers before playing against Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Indiana, Toronto or Washington, Houston, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah.