South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Is 8 enough for Heat? It might have to be
There was a point last season, as the Miami Heat prepared for a two-game road series against the Philadelphia 76ers, when coach Erik Spoelstra did not know if he would have the NBA-mandated minimum of eight available players. Only when Tyler Herro was cleared from COVID protocols did the series move forward.
The two games left the Heat at a loss. Twice. Ultimately, that moment might have made the difference between the sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and first-round sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks or what ultimately, instead, could have been a No. 4 seed and more favorable playoff bracketing.
All of which brings the Heat full circle, and the reality of again potentially having to deal with an eight-is-enough reality.
No, nothing that dire at the moment, with the hope that pandemic protocols won’t recreate that Philadelphia emptiness this coming season.
But such a thin roster margin still could be at hand.
Hard up against the NBA luxury tax, the Heat likely will spend the bulk the coming season with a 14-player standard roster, one shy of the NBA maximum. Not only does staying under the tax slow the clock on the NBA’s onerous “repeater tax,” but it also allows the Heat to collect from the NBA’s overage pool, which ESPN’s
Bobby Marks has projected as a $13 million payout to each non-taxpaying team.
Then there is veteran forward Udonis Haslem, who appeared in only one game last season, and again appears destined for a mentorship roster spot. That would take the roster down to 13 nightly components.
Beyond that is guard Victor Oladipo, who is not expected to return until midseason, at the earliest, from his May quadriceps surgery. So that makes it 12 options at least for the first half of the schedule.
And as summer league has shown, KZ Okpala remains a work in progress, perhaps leaving Spoelstra’s comfort zone at 11.
From there, there are Omer Yurtseven, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent, who, while all playable, also are relative neophytes for a franchise with playoff expectations.
So that leaves eight otherwise: Herro, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, PJ Tucker, Markieff Morris and Dewayne Dedmon.
Five from that group are older than 30 (Butler, Lowry, Tucker, Morris and Dedmon). Two are 35 or older: Tucker (36), Lowry (35).
In other words, not a lot of margin for error when it comes to Spoelstra’s possible permutations.
Granted, Strus and Vincent got invaluable experience last season as two-way players, particularly with the restrictions removed on the number of appearances for such contracts.
And with this season’s class of two-way players allowed to appear in up to 50 of the season’s 82 games, the Heat’s summerleague roster already is offering hope of further two-way contribution.
But it also is what makes Haslem’s presence different than in recent seasons. And perhaps there still could be a contribution to dust off.
As for Okpala, there basically is no decision to be made there. The Heat’s position
against the cap does not allow them to swap in a player at the minimum in his place, at least until later in the season. Only if he is dealt (or another contract elsewhere on the roster is swapped out for a smaller contract) could room under the tax be created.
When it comes to the games that matter most, a proven eight-man rotation is ample in the postseason. And by then, modern medicine allowing, Oladipo again could be a factor.
Otherwise, as we begin to take stock of the Heat’s potential opening-night roster, the reality is there is not that much stock to take.
Eight might have to be enough.