Learning to adapt ... again

MIAMI — The first time Erik Spoelstra summoned Dwyane Wade as a reserve amid this reunion tour the awkwardness of the moment was tangible.

Only once before as Miami Heat coach had Spoelstra played Wade off the bench.

“The first game was weird,” Spoelstra related before Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at AmericanAirlines Arena, “because I looked down there and I said, ‘Dwyane get in there,’ and both Wayne [Ellington] and Dwyane looked up and both were ready to get into the game.

“But, also, I’d only coached one game before, I think the San Antonio game [in 2013-14], when he was coming back from an injury, we brought him back off the bench one game. But that certainly was unique for me. I was always used to him being in the starting lineup.”

And yet, even with Ellington and Tyler Johnson sidelined, Spoelstra said he has not given thought to returning Wade to the role that helped produce three championships for the franchise.

“He’s getting so comfortable there and really that is going to be a great dynamic lineup for us that’s unique,” Spoelstra said of when Wade can play alongside Ellington, Bam Adebayo and James Johnson. “And I want him as comfortable and confident and impactful in that role as possible. He’s gobbling that up each game.”

Spoelstra said it is the best way to utilize a 36-year-old icon still capable of breakout moments.

“Particularly at that time of your career, you just want to be into the meat of it, of the game, and he gets that opportunity and I think he will only continue to get better,” Spoelstra said. “I’ve said that kiddingly before, but it really is similar to the role he had with the USA team. He came in and was a force of nature.”

That was during the 2008 Olympics, when Wade played off the bench, producing memorable moments on the way to gold.

“This is 2008 Olympic Dwyane Wade. I’ll take that guy. We’ve got to shave his head, too, probably,” Spoelstra said of Wade’s previous look.

To Spoelstra, moments such as those Olympics and this second chapter of Wade’s Heat career speak to a willingness to adapt, something Wade also did during the Heat’s Big Three era when it meant playing off the ball in deference to LeBron James.

“The most important thing is just his mind,” Spoelstra said. “The thing about Dwyane, and I’ve said this so many different times in his career, he has probably adapted and evolved and changed his role as much as any star player in this game. And that is part of his brilliance. He figures thing out. He observes. And then he makes the necessary adjustments to be successful to help the team.

“It took him a couple of games. He was able to observe the landscape, observe where he could make an impact, and he realizes it’s not going to be the role where he’s playing 38 minutes a game, 34 minutes a game. So it has to be go time right when he gets in.”