It all comes down to nothing in the NBA, and Gabe Vincent experienced it last season. Propelled into the Heat rotation after the injury of Kyle Lowry, he saw his team fall to the doors of the NBA Finals after a Game 7 loss at home against the Celtics.
The end of summer is approaching, and Erik Spoelstra’s roster has barely budged, with the only notable change being PJ Tucker’s departure to the Sixers. It is therefore with a strong spirit of revenge that Gabe Vincent and his teammates intend to approach the upcoming training camp, the starting point of the 2022/23 season.
“I think we’re in a pretty unique position,” said Gabe Vincent. “We brought back a lot of guys from last season and I think our learning curve will be a lot less. Being comfortable already and having that cohesion allows us to continue to focus on the bigger goals, like the title. We know what we are capable of and having a bad taste in our mouths because of what happened last season is just extra motivation. For us, our mentality on this preseason, is “the title or the failure” and we know that we have what it takes to return to the NBA Finals”.
A little something extra that can make the difference
We always learn more from defeats than from victories and the setback conceded against Boston so close to the goal, two years after the Heat’s last appearance in the NBA Finals, still seems across the throat of Gabe Vincent and his troops, determined to put all the chances on their side to finally reach the end.
“The biggest lesson to be learned is that everything matters. It’s the only thing we care about. The groundwork we’ll do in training camp sets the stage for what things will be like in April, May and June in the playoffs. Whatever happens during the season, it’s with this big picture in mind that we can find long-term success.” he added.
With a more seasoned collective and hoping to touch wood this time in terms of injuries, Miami will have its place among the title contenders. For Gabe Vincent, the Heat can make the difference with that little extra something.
“For us, the goal is always the same and it’s to be the last team standing when it’s all over. We’re going to get back to work quickly so we can play late in June and there’s no one in this franchise who thinks that’s not possible. We know who we are and our mistakes over the years have taught us what we need to do to be the ultimate team.”
| Gabe Vincent | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 9 | 9 | 21.6 | 22.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 50 | 13 | 37.8 | 30.9 | 87.0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 68 | 23 | 41.7 | 36.8 | 81.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 8.7 |
| Total | 127 | 18 | 39.6 | 34.3 | 83.1 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 6.7 | |
