Heat’s rotation still not set as regular season nears end
There’s only 11 games left in the Miami Heat’s regular season, but the rotation remains a work in progress. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has been transparent about that with his players.
“I mean, he tells us he’s not fully confident and it’s not fully set in stone,” Heat starting guard Tyler Herro said. “It’s evolving, it’s always moving and it just depends on the game.”
In Monday’s win against the Utah Jazz, Max Strus was the rotation regular who didn’t play in the second half after logging seven first-half minutes. In Wednesday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Victor Oladipo was the rotation regular who did not play at all to receive his first DNPCD (did not play, coach’s decision) of the season.
“I don’t have a definitive answer for you right now or for anybody or even the locker room right now,” Spoelstra said when asked about the Heat’s evolving rotation following Wednesday night’s 138-119 blowout win over the Grizzlies at Miami-Dade Arena. “I mentioned that at shootaround. How it played out tonight is not necessarily what I had on my card and the first guy I talked to was Vic, obviously.
“We have not been in this situation for three or four months, where we’ve had everybody available. I had every intention to play him in that first quarter. The last game it was Max who had to sacrifice in the second half and Vic played. Tonight it was Vic. I don’t have that answer right now, but I do have empathy for him.”
The Heat entered Thursday with the most missed games in the NBA (268 missed games) this season due to injury, according to Spotrac. But Miami’s roster is as healthy as it has been all season and that has forced tough rotation decisions.
The Heat’s starting lineup since games resumed after the All-Star break has included Gabe Vincent, Herro, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love and Bam Adebayo. The results have not been great, as this five-man unit has been outscored by 1.5 points per 100 possessions in 146 minutes together following the break, but it’s a combination Spoelstra has stuck with for the past three weeks since Love signed last month.
The Heat’s bench rotation is what has been in flux lately, though.
Wing Caleb Martin, center Cody Zeller, Oladipo and Strus have been the four regular reserves since the All-Star break. But
Zeller broke his nose and guard Kyle Lowry returned in Saturday’s loss to the Orlando Magic, making Spoelstra rethink his bench lineups.
“We’re all going to stay ready for whenever our number is called, but that’s above our pay grade,” Strus said, with the Heat (38-33) set to return to the practice court on Friday at MiamiDade Arena before traveling to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Saturday at United Center to open a quick two-game trip.
“We’re just here to play when we’re called upon and do as we’re told.”
Omer Yurtseven has played as the backup center in Zeller’s absence, but Yurtseven’s shaky firstquarter stint on Wednesday led Spoelstra to play 6-5 forward Haywood Highsmith as the backup center for much of the Heat’s win against the Grizzlies. Zeller is expected back soon once he undergoes a procedure on his broken nose in the coming days and he’ll likely slide back into the backup center role when he returns.
But Lowry’s return after missing 15 straight games because of left knee soreness is the leading factor behind Spoelstra’s recent rotation tweaks because he adds another lead guard to the bench mix.
Here’s how the Heat’s rotation has looked in the past three games following Lowry’s return:
In Saturday’s overtime loss to the Magic in Orlando: The lineup of Vincent, Herro, Butler, Love and Adebayo started the game. Oladipo, Lowry, Zeller and Strus were the four primary reserves used before Yurtseven entered midway through the contest after Zeller broke his nose. Martin did not play in the game because of an injury.
In Monday’s win over the Jazz in Miami: The lineup of Vincent, Herro, Butler, Love and Adebayo started the game. With Zeller out, Yurtseven, Strus, Oladipo, Lowry and Martin
Philadelphia 118, Cleveland 109 Sacramento 117, Chicago 114 Houston 114, L.A. Lakers 110 Boston 104, Minnesota 102
Dallas 137, San Antonio 128 (OT) L.A. Clippers 134, Golden State 126 were the five primary reserves used but Strus was not in the second-half rotation.
In Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies in Miami: The lineup of Vincent, Herro, Butler, Love and Adebayo again started the game. With Zeller out,
Strus, Martin, Yurtseven and Lowry were the four primary reserves used. Highsmith entered as the fifth player off the Heat’s bench but only after Yurtseven’s early struggles to fill some of the backup center minutes. Oladipo was the odd man out, receiving his first DNP-CD of the season.
The minutes will probably continue to fluctuate based on who’s playing well and the opponent, but it appears that Spoelstra wants to go with a nineman rotation. That means one of the five regulars in the bench rotation (Oladipo, Strus, Zeller, Lowry and Martin) will either have his playing time slashed or simply not play at all when they’re all available.
Those who have dropped out of the rotation lately include Duncan Robinson, Orlando Robinson and Highsmith. And Yurtseven, Nikola Jovic, Jamal Cain and Udonis Haslem have not been in the rotation for most of the season unless there have been injuries to push them into bigger roles.
“We have more than 10,” Spoelstra emphasized when asked about his 10 primary rotation options. “Yeah, I mean H gave us some good minutes [Wednesday], as well. And Duncan is preparing and he’s fully ready. We already have gone to [Yurtseven] because of Cody being out. So we have incredible depth and now we have our depth available.
“This is a luxury, especially at this time of the year. We want to be able to maximize that. But we’ll have to figure things out, what makes the most sense. Sometimes it might mean something different against a different opponent. We’ll manage through all of that. The most important thing right now is winning, contribute to winning, whatever you have to do to continue to win these games.”
Miami’s rotation might even continue to change during a potential playoff run just like it did last season. Heat coaches and players believe the team’s roster versatility allows the rotation to be modified to play different styles.
“We have everybody available and we have this depth and we have a lot of different weapons and the versatility,” Spoelstra said. “But there’s also the human side of it that you can’t play everybody and I fully understand that.”