![]() “He’s getting a huge opportunity right now. “He’s a big dude,” Heat forward Max Strus said. In the 10 games since: 104 points, 140 rebounds. ![]() He was almost exclusively on mop-up duty over the first 29 Heat games of the season, during which he had 62 points and 41 rebounds in 20 appearances. Yurtseven has started each of Miami’s last six games at center, the first starts of his career. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.” I’m not going to lie: I’m on Omer a lot because I think he can be really good. “He’s just scratching the surface,” Heat forward P.J. Quite a value, and teammates say he’s just getting started. Yurtseven is making $1.5 million with the Heat. They’re elite, proven, all-world players making a combined $66 million this season. Only Utah’s Rudy Gobert (16.3) and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver (15.6) have averaged more rebounds in their teams’ last 10 contests. He has responded, averaging 10.4 points and 14.0 rebounds in his last 10 games. But with Adebayo, Dewayne Dedmon and Markieff Morris all injured, and with Haslem currently sidelined for virus-related reasons, Miami’s big-man rotation was completely depleted and Yurtseven - whose claim to fame has long been a 91-point game he had while growing up in Turkey - was given a chance for big minutes. The only other NBA player with 12 rebounds in 10 consecutive games this season was Atlanta’s Clint Capela, who did it back in November.įor Yurtseven, this was an unforeseen opportunity. And Zo is someone that I look up to as well and a mentor within the Heat. Shaq is one of the greatest players of all-time, undebatedly. “It’s really flattering,” Yurtseven said of being the first player in Heat history to put together such a streak. ![]() State and Georgetown before finding his way to the G League - had 16 rebounds in Miami’s win at Portland on Wednesday night, his 10th straight game with at least 12 boards. ![]() Yurtseven - an undrafted 7-foot rookie from Turkey, who came to the U.S. None of them had ever grabbed 12 rebounds in 10 consecutive games for the Heat. I think that’s been my focus and that starts with those daily improvements.MIAMI (AP) - A few weeks ago, nobody would have seen this coming.Ĭonsider all the stellar big men who have worn a Miami Heat uniform over the years, a list that includes Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem and Bam Adebayo just to name a few. “I’ve been maintaining my focus on that no matter what because I’m working and it’s giving me the confidence and the belief and building it up every day more and more. Whether it be those three minutes that I play, I’m going to use it to help the team win and I’m going to use it to improve. Since then and even before then, it’s been about improving. But then when I figured out what it was, I just only had the option of embracing it. “And I didn’t see it as a big deal initially once the injury took place. “Yes, of course I wanted to start and maybe be a rotation player, but start ultimately,” Yurtseven said of his goals entering the season. A rough first-quarter stint was enough for Spoelstra to sit Yurtseven for the rest of the game on multiple occasions during the past few weeks. Those defensive lapses led Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to use 6-5 forward Haywood Highsmith in the Heat’s bench rotation over Yurtseven (6-11, 275 pounds) at times while Zeller was out with his injury. But that’s my job right now, so I’m embracing it.” “But in terms of the opportunity, it’s there and I think the toughest part has been not knowing and staying ready. “It’s not been, I guess, the best,” Yurtseven said regarding the uncertainty currently surrounding his role, with the Heat opening a road back-to-back set Tuesday night against the Raptors before facing the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Yurtseven, 24, entered Tuesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors with just 37 minutes logged through the first 10 games he has been available for this season despite usual Heat backup center Cody Zeller missing six of those games because of a broken nose. That much has proven to be true since Yurtseven returned in early March after missing the first 65 games of the season because of a preseason left ankle injury that forced him to undergo surgery in November. The bad news for Yurtseven is that doesn’t guarantee he will be in the Heat’s rotation. The good news for Miami Heat second-year center Omer Yurtseven is he feels “100 percent” healthy after recently returning from ankle surgery.
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