IN THE LANE

COMMON VIEW: Former NBA center (and draft miscalculation) Darko Milicic has chimed in about the recent scuffle between fellow Serb and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Heat forward Markieff Morris, who still is dealing with whiplash from that incident.

“It is obvious that they [the Morris brothers] are building their careers on incidents and provocations, as ‘dangerous guys,’ “Milicic said of Markieff and Marcus Morris, the twin brother and Los Angeles Clippers forward. “They survive on that basis. But Nikola shouldn’t have allowed himself that. because they achieved what they wanted by provocation. Nikola was suspended [for his retaliatory blindside blow to Markieff].”

GIANNIS INTERUPTED: It was less than a year ago when Bam Adebayo signed an extension that all but eliminated the Heat as cap-space team for the 2021 offseason.

Weeks later, Giannis Antetokounmpo made such a quest moot, in signing his own extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. And, yet, Adebayo and Antetokounmpo still share the same agent, with Giannis recently taking the long view in an interview with GQ. “One challenge was to bring a championship here and we did,” Antetokounmpo said of Milwaukee. “It was very hard, but we did. Very, very hard. I just love challenges. What’s the next challenge? The next challenge might not be here.” In the piece, agent Alex Saratsis said of Giannis’ thought process, “I don’t think it’s, ‘I’m thinking about leaving the Bucks.’ But I think he’s genuinely like: ‘‘OK, I have reached the pinnacle. The next challenge is, let’s repeat.’ But what happens if you do repeat? What’s the next challenge? What is that next barrier? ”The earliest out in Antetokounmpo’s contract is a player option for 2025-26.

WAITING GAME: It continues to be a muddled experience north of the border for former Heat guard Dragic, who went from the rotation to the deep freeze as the Raptors turned to their younger players. The 35-year-old veteran stepped in for one game as a starter in place of sidelined Fred VanVleet, and then was moved back out of the mix, after scoring 16 points in 28 minutes in a loss to the Pistons. “It’s part of the business,” Dragic told the Toronto media. “I had to adjust and it is what it is. So just go with it and try to do my job and try to be professional.” Coach Nick Nurse has been candid about his approach. “I don’t see it right now,” Nurse said of Dragic re-emerging in the rotation, “I am searching for more time for Malachi Flynn when I can. ”An eventual buyout remains the most likely outcome, with Dragic in the final year of a contract that pays a seemingly untradeable $19.4 million this season.

A STAN FAN: In his photographic memoir, former Heat guard Dwyane Wade noted that

Stan Van Gundy was his first coach who yelled consistently throughout a game. But in reflecting on that passage in his coffee-table book, Wade said the memories largely are affectionate. “It’s not just the yelling during the game, it’s the constant yelling, ”Wade told the Sun Sentinel with a laugh. “Usually, like players talk about it. I know Shaq [ Shaquille

O’Neal] talked about it a lot. But Stan is very intense and sometimes that intensity rubs off on you in a not-so-good way in certain moments. And so, I used to always come by Stan and try to massage his shoulders like, ‘Relax a little bit, bro.’ But on the flip side of that, I always try to pick up Stan and give him a lot of credit. In my coaching life, a lot of Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley and [Marquette coach] Tom Crean get all the credit, but Stan really allowed me to grow on the court.”

GETTING PHYSICAL: Before his Utah Jazz faced the Heat for the second time in eight days a week ago, coach Quin Snyder questioned how overly physical interior play has returned to the NBA. “I don’t know at what point that, league-wide, we decided to allow more physicality,” he said.“My impression is there isn’t a point of emphasis that says that you’re able to divert handlers, knock people off their line, hit rollers. It’s kind of contrary to the freedom of movement that we talked about a few years ago.”