Fan: McGruder should play more

MIAMI — It’s time for another Heat mailbag — playoff edition.

If you weren’t able to ask a question this time, send your questions for future mailbags via Twitter (@Anthony_ Chiang and @tomdangelo44). You can also email achiang@ pbpost.com.

@kris_cr0ss: Why isn’t Rodney McGruder getting Tyler Johnson’s minutes? The game started turning the other way in the third quarter when they would attack him and get him caught on screens. McGruder played really well in Game 2 and made a difference against their shooters.

Anthony: Tyler Johnson isn’t even playing many minutes in the playoffs. His 62 total minutes rank ninth on the team, so you can only put so much blame on him. But you have a point. The Heat have been outscored by 15 points with Johnson on the court in the series. Johnson has been used as the primary defender on Philadelphia shooters JJ Redick and, at times, Marco Belinelli. But Redick hasn’t necessarily gone off with Johnson guarding him. In the 87 possessions Johnson has defended him this series, Redick has scored 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field and 1-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Belinelli has had more success against Johnson, with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting on 3s in 28 possessions.

The offensive end has been the bigger struggle for Johnson, who has averaged just 6.0 points and 0.8 assists in the playoffs. That’s just not good enough from a starting shooting guard. Johnson’s jammed left thumb on his shooting hand seems to be bothering him, but his numbers were down even before he suffered the injury in Game 3.

To get back to your question, though, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rodney McGruder get more playing time in Game 5 tonight. McGruder has played just 10 minutes in the series. He can hit a 3 and defend the perimeter. Those are two things the Heat really need right now.

@anilsbtb: What, if any, adjustments do the Heat make heading into Game 5?

Anthony: I’m sure coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff will make tweaks to the game plan, but I don’t envision any big adjustments. This late in the series, it’s difficult to catch opponents by surprise. The Heat are going to try to play another physical game and bother the Sixers’ offensive flow. It hasn’t worked yet, as Miami has posted a poor defensive rating of 111.7 in the playoffs. That’s far off the 104.0 defensive rating the Heat recorded in the regular season.

Miami will need to find a way to get closer to that number in Game 5 to have any chance of extending this series. Also … the Heat need to make free throws and rebound the ball. That would help, too.