Taking a fall
High-flying Jones suffers bruised right shoulder after scary tumble in loss
CHARLOTTE — The sample size was 186 minutes together last season, the power pairing of Hassan Whiteside and Kelly Olynyk.
Tuesday night in his team’s 122-113 exhibition loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra opened with that alignment, the rare sight these NBA days of dual 7-footers sharing court time.
The early returns were favorable, as were the overall individual numbers, the Heat putting together a 34-point first quarter and taking an early 13-point lead, with Whiteside closing with 14 points and 15 rebounds in 26 minutes, Olynyk with 18 points.
With James Johnson and Bam Adebayo sidelined, the options were somewhat limited.
But it also is part of Spoelstra’s commitment that height still can be right, this time with Whiteside not straying for even a single 3-point attempt.
“If you have bigs that can punish teams in the paint and at the rim, there’s still a great value for that,” Spoelstra said. “And we have a couple of those kind of guys. Part of our culture and our player-development program is for guys to continue to expand their games, and I’m all for that — but our strengths are our strengths.”
The downside for the Heat during the portion of the
game when the regulars were in were the shooting struggles of the perimeter players, with Goran Dragic 4 of 12, Dwyane Wade 2 of 11 and Tyler Johnson 1 of 7.
The Heat next play Friday in Washington to close out the three-game preseason trip.
Five degrees of Heat from Tuesday’s exhibition:
1. Curious coincidences? Among those in attendance was Minnesota Timberwolves scout Pete Mickael, even though the Timberwolves don’t play either team until December.
Mickael is a pro-personnel scout for the Timberwolves, a team currently with a Jimmy Butler conundrum on their hands.
Among the reported Butler contenders are the Heat, who went Tuesday for the second straight exhibition without Josh Richardson.
Richardson, though, said injury is very real, the thigh contusion sustained during Saturday’s public scrimmage at Florida Atlantic University.
“If it was the playoffs, yeah, I might be in,” Richardson said. “But, yeah, at this point I’m really worried about being healthy, so I can repeat like last year. I have an explosive game. I went through walkthrough today and I wasn’t explosive as normal, so might as well let the other guys get some more run.
“When I put pressure on it, I don’t want to feel anything. It still feels like there’s a little tennis ball in there if I try to do stuff.”
2. Different gasps: Known for drawing gasps from crowds for his dunks, Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. this time silenced the Spectrum Center with a frightening tumble off a second-quarter rebound scramble.
Jones remained on the court for an extended period before being escorted by the training staff to the locker room. Unable to shoot the ensuing free throws, Jones officially was ruled out of the balance of the game when Marcus Lee was selected to take those shots.
X-rays on Jones’ right shoulder came back negative, with the Heat listing him with a bruised right shoulder.
Earning playing time was going to be a difficult enough challenge with the Heat’s crowded perimeter rotation. Now this.
3. McGruder matters: Rodney McGruder made an indelible impression for a second consecutive game, after sparking a fourth-quarter rally Sunday in San Antonio.
Creating minutes at this stage is easier for Spoelstra, with Richardson, Wayne Ellington, James Johnson and now Jones out. But eventually decisions are going to have to be made about the players expected to play, because McGruder has shown is that he deserves to play. 4. Days like this: After Sunday’s 3 of 10, Wade followed up with Tuesday’s 2 of 11. While Wade hardly is in peak shape, expecting every-game Dwyane Wade at 36 likely is a bit much at this stage.
So, yes, the Heat miss Dion Waiters. And, yes, the Heat need Waiters back in shape and up to speed sooner rather than later.
5. Odd man out? With Justise Winslow, Dragic, Wade and eventually James Johnson and Waiters, the Heat likely will have enough playmakers that they won’t have to force feed Tyler Johnson minutes at point guard.
That means he will have to make shots. And that has not been the case through the small sample size of two exhibitions, now 4 of 17 the preseason. Can a team sit a $19 million player?