Miami Heat’s “head of the snake” continues to receive praise

There were a handful of Miami Heat players that played a big part in handing the Los Angeles Clippers their you-know-what on Monday night.

Davion Mitchell, who continues to play, by far, the best basketball of his NBA career, was at the helm of it all, finishing with 16 points, (sinking all six of his shot attempts), 12 assists, (on just two turnovers), and two steals. He ended up with the highest true shooting percentage of all-time in a double-double performance.

“It just makes it easy for him. You’re not doing a lot of play-calls, you’re not trying to figure out who needs the ball. This offense is built for him,” Bam Adebayo said. “We have the No. 1 pace. All of us run, but he’s the head of the snake.”

Last night was the first time Mitchell’s ever had 10+ assists in back-to-back games. Additionally, this was only the second time in the last 12 Heat seasons that a player finished with 10 or more assists with two or fewer turnovers, (Lowry in 2022, LeBron in 2013).

“When Davion gets the ball up and he gets up the court, it literally might be three dribbles. That puts defenses on their heel, because he can get downhill. He’ll shoot a quick layup and, you know, people got to respect that,” Adebayo remarked. “Then, when defenses collapse, it just makes it easier. Stop on two feet and hit the open person.”

“Every time there was an opportunity for us to extend the lead in the open court, he was just making all the right reads.,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The kick-ahead passes, the cross-court passes, pushing it, getting in the paint and kicking out. When they were scrambled and then a big was closing on him, he knocked down his threes.”

Mitchell, the ninth pick in the 2021 Draft, now on his third team, is having a career season with the Heat after already turning heads in a short time last season. In 2025-2026, Mitchell’s averaging 10 points, about 7.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals, while converting on 51 percent of his field goals and 40 percent of his threes.

“He really helps what we’re trying to do. He gets it, he understands it and then he can execute it. He’s fast. He’s fast as heck and he really wants to set guys up,” Spoelstra continued. “A perfect example of that is when he’s trying to get Norm those threes at the end of the second quarter. He feels the momentum of the game and he has that feel that all great point guards have of getting guys open shots to really extend the lead.”

“Just the energy and the effort and the multiple efforts that he gives every single night on the defensive end guarding their best player and taking the challenge, picking him up full-court, being physical, fighting through screens, sacrificing his body,” Norman Powell said. “He’s the head of the snake, and the energy, and the effort and we feed off him making those plays every single night. He’s taking that challenge and he’s doing a (bleep) of a job with that.”

Long renowned for his defensive prowess, Mitchell continues to show off elite-level point-of-attack defense despite shouldering more of an offensive load than he ever has. Against the Clippers, Mitchell was a big reason why James Harden struggled so mightily, finishing with just 11 points on 33.3 percent shooting, while finishing with five turnovers to just three assists.

“I think he has a chip on his shoulder. I’ve been playing against Davion for a long time. Even in the summer, he’s the same way. He takes the challenge, wants to guard the best player n pick-up and work on his game,” Powell continued. “He’s a student of the game, but yeah, he’s definitely [All-Defensive] First Team. If they don’t have him First Team, something’s wrong.”

For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket