Trevor Keels of the Miami Heat
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Trevor Keels of the Miami Heat
The Miami Heat have three players under contract as their two-way options, and have 14 players on hand with limited financial space available, meaning that they’ll keep their roster as it. But maybe Trevor Keels will force them to rethink that.
Keels, the former Duke star freshman who entered the draft in 2022 (too early, in retrospect), was a second-round pick of the Knicks that year, and has played just three NBA games. He has been bouncing around on G League contracts since then, and is currently with the Heat affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
On Friday, he put on a shot, going 12-for-12 from the 3-point line (14-for-16 overall) and scoring 46 points. He set the record for most consecutive 3-point makes in a game without a miss.
For Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the Keels performance brought to mind another sterling showing on Friday night, from Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who had five touchdown passes and was 17-for-20 passing. “It’s kind of like Mendoza in terms of the completion rate,” Spoelstra said of Keels.
Miami Heat G-Leaguer Makes 12 3-Pointers
It is possible that Keels will find a contract elsewhere–he has been a pro since 2022 but he is only 22 years old and is shooting 40.4% from the 3-point line this season, by far his best year in the G League. It could be a longshot that Keels finds that contract with the Miami Heat, however.
But Skyforce coach Dan Bisacchio said Keels has been working to make himself the kind of 3-and-D player who tends to stick in the NBA once he gets a chance.
“Trev, I think give him a lot of credit, he has been embracing the defensive role a lot of times the last few weeks. he has been taking a lot of pride in his matchups,” Bisacchio said. “I think the fun part of him is the karma with that, he works behind the scenes …
“For him, it has been a culmination of the last few games, him buying into that. And the karma is, now all the sudden the first shot falls, guys love the fact that he is making shots but also his defensive impact, so they want to get him more shots, and it just kind of kept going from there. So we’re extremely happy for that. But I love that he is taking pride in the other end as well.”
Erik Spoelstra Confirms Tyler Herro Will Start
As for the Heat, they will get back to work on Saturday night after what was a very bizarre Thursday in Chicago. Miami was set to play its second game of a four-game road trip against the Bulls, but excessive condensation caused indoor rain and created a too-slippery playing surface. The Heat-Bulls game was postponed.
Now, the Heat are on to play the Pacers in Indiana on Saturday. Spoelstra did, as expected, confirm that the team will be going with Tyler Herro in the starting lineup for the first time since his return from a toe injury.