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Anthony Chiang: Simone Fontecchio (left ankle inflammation) has been upgraded from questionable to available for tonight vs. Pistons. Only Heat players out tonight are Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson, Vlad Goldin and Jahmir Young.
Anthony Chiang: Pelle Larsson (ankle) and Tyler Herro (toe) did not practice and won’t travel to Detroit for tomorrow’s game vs. Pistons. Simone Fontecchio (ankle inflammation) also did not practice. But Fontecchio will travel today.
Do you think NBA Europe would work? Simone Fontecchio: I hope so. I think it could be a very good thing for the sport, for basketball in Europe, and hopefully, they can get it done. I think it's very difficult, but if the NBA really wants to do something, at the end of the day, I think they can always make it happen, so hopefully...
What's the biggest difference in your opinion between the NBA and Europe? Simone Fontecchio: I probably touched on that a little bit earlier. I'd say, like, rhythm, athleticism, you know, the skill level of players is different. You know, I think the EuroLeague is getting better and better every year, but here the level of these guys' skills is crazy and everybody here is so talented and super athletic. So that's the biggest difference, I'd say.
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Was it weird getting traded, coming from Europe where you don't really get traded? Simone Fontecchio: It definitely got me the first time. We were in Utah, which we really liked, me and my wife, really enjoying it. My role, especially, I was playing a lot. I was starting, I was feeling comfortable over there. It was my second year in a row in the same place and that kind of caught me off guard a little bit, especially the fact my wife was pregnant, so I had to be without her for a couple of months. So it definitely was shocking at the beginning, but then you kind of realize this is the business we're in and you just have to deal with it. So this time it wasn't as shocking, and especially knowing that you're going to a franchise like this, a place like this, you definitely embrace the change more.
How do you continue to play with that style of wanting to guard the opposing team's best player? Simone Fontecchio: It's tough. It's something that I kind of lost, in a way, a little bit in Detroit, especially last year. I think that I wasn't given much responsibility, especially on defense, in a certain aspect. But here everybody's gotta have that type of responsibility on defense. You gotta guard your man, you gotta guard your yard, you gotta help everybody. So it's a type of mentality that I definitely feel is like myself. I feel the same way. And I mean, I'm not gonna say that I like to play defense, but it's something that I take pride in. And yeah, I don't like to be looked at as a casual European guy that doesn't play defense, just to shoot, you know? I never liked that. And I think I was never like that. So hopefully, I'll keep working on that, keep getting better and better, and people will start to realize that too.
Anthony Chiang: Heat says Davion Mitchell is available to play after missing the first three preseason games with calf soreness. Simone Fontecchio was limited. Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro did not practice.
Anthony Chiang: Heat again will be without five guards for tonight's exhibition vs. Bucks in Miami. Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson, Davion Mitchell, Kasparas Jakucionis and Terry Rozier all unavailable for second straight preseason game. Simone Fontecchio (lower leg tightness) also out for Heat.
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With many players on the Heat looking to take a step forward this upcoming season, Fontecchio can solidify a role within the team's rotation. If there is one person who has seen his positive traits, it's Spoelstra, who expressed to ClutchPoints that Fontecchio has a challenge for this season. “Carries himself like an accomplished veteran, but he's also humble. Where he wants to learn our system,” Spoelstra said Friday. “He wants to find where he can be effective. He's really been competing on the defensive side of the floor. That's the first thing I talked to him about is being able to use his size, and he has shown particularly in Eurobasket and one of his years in Utah, when they tasked him with defending a lot of the other teams' better wing players. He's shown an ability to be physical defensively.”
There were some strong rumbles last month that Miami was looking to offload Fontecchio. But that was before the Haywood Highsmith-to-Brooklyn trade that gave the Heat some financial wiggle room under the luxury tax ... and before Fontecchio delivered a reminder of his shooting prowess with those seven 3s Sunday.
Ira Winderman: Heat's Simone Fontecchio with a breakout performance for Italy in Sunday's 96-79 EuroBasket victory over Bosnia Herzegovina, closes with 39 points on 13 of 20, including 7 of 10 on 3s, and 8 rebounds. Heat's Larsson (Sweden), Jovic (Serbia) off today.
