HEAT’S BROTHERHOOD

Sibling rivalries or familial fortitude?

BOCA RATON — The theme at the start of Miami Heat training camp has been one of brotherhood. The flip side, forward Justise Winslow said, is sometimes brothers can act like, well, brothers.

“That’s going to kind of be one of our difficulties this year, is how are we going to stay fresh?” Winslow said of a roster that largely has returned intact. “You know, you get tired of sometimes seeing the same faces or your brother growing up, living with your brother. I don’t have the answer right now, but hopefully it’s something we can figure out.”

For now the fellowship is as expected, with the Heat in the initial days of training camp at Florida Atlantic University.

But the flip side is the competition within a roster of so many players on a similar talent plane.

For example, when asked how there can be enough minutes in the middle for himself, Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo, center Hassan Whiteside answered, “It’s just something that Coach got to figure out.”

Early on, any consternation figures to be minimized, first, because it’s only the preseason, but also because of the surgery recoveries that have James Johnson and Dion Waiters sidelined from contact work during camp.

“I think obviously how deep we are at positions is going to make us a better team,” guard Wayne Ellington said. “It brings out the best in guys, competition always does that. I think guys have to be prepared for whatever comes this season.

“It’s funny, we’re having this conversation now and in a month from now it could be, ‘You have so many guys down, you guys are thin.’ And we’ve been there before.”

That, indeed, was the case last season, with everyone from Okaro White to Luke Babbitt to Jordan Mickey needed to make starts. Now those three are gone, with higher-pedigree starting possibilities available, albeit with only point guard Goran Dragic reaching the level of All-Star.

“Everybody needs to step up, that’s a fact,” Dragic said. “With this group, the main thing is try to stay consistent.”

Except for the unease between Whiteside and coach Erik Spoelstra, there generally was an acceptance last season of roles, and, at times, role reversal. But that lack of continuity also resulted in 25 starting lineups.

This season, buy in could, for some, mean sitting out.

“I think it’s a good thing to have so many play,” Dragic said. “It’s not an easy job that Spo has, to try not to make everybody happy, to balance, to make the right system for everybody.”

The question ultimately could be whether a team built on heart and hustle will have minutes for heart and hustle, or whether others could follow Udonis Haslem into roles more emotional than physical.

“It’s not only Spo,” Dragic said of potentially harsh realities. “It goes both ways, coaches understand players, players understand coaches.”

Even with James Johnson and Waiters out of the current mix, there is a reality of what could follow for some.

“There’s going to be some times where guys are left out of the rotation,” guard Tyler Johnson said. “I thought it was kind of like that last year, too. It’s kind of been a staple of the Heat, you have 13, 14 guys who can be ready to play at any time.

“I think it’s going to come down to who’s playing well.”

To Ellington, the current evidence is circumstantial, in that it could come down to specific circumstances for who plays.

“We’re a team that has to play together. We’re a team that has to use every man,” he said. “We’ve got to use every piece to our advantage.”