IN THE LANE

BENJAMIN BUTTON:

Although he was held out of Tuesday’s visit by the Atlanta Hawks, the mere presence of Vince Carter had the Heat paying homage. “How do you explain what he’s able to do at that age? He certainly is the Benjamin Button of NBA players,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the 41-year-old icon. “He seems to have such a youthfulness to him, it’s amazing.” Even Heat forward Justise Winslow, a Duke product, paid grudging respect to the North Carolina graduate. “He’s a legend,” Winslow said. “It’s hard to tell the story of basketball without mentioning [him] . . . I got a lot of respect for him, even though he’s a Tar Heel.” Spoelstra was asked to compare Carter to his older veterans, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. “For us,” Spoelstra said, “we don’t have guys in their 40s, but to have guys like Dwyane and UD who are so professional, they have experienced everything they’ve experienced, all the highs and lows and everything in between in this league. To be able to give authentic leadership, they’ve done it and they have the proper perspective at this time of their career that they want to give. And that’s important. Those guys are hard to find.”

ANGER MANAGEMENT:

The Heat weren’t able to land Kawhi Leonard when he was made available by the San Antonio Spurs in the offseason, but they at least were there last week when Leonard picked up his first career regular-season technical foul. So much for being totally soft-spoken. “It was just kind of getting out of hand with some of the calls out there,” Leonard said in the wake of the victory. “They are doing the best job they can, but some of the calls, I mean I thought I got fouled pretty hard.” Asked if he earned the technical, he replied simply: “Definitely.” He was asked a follow up about whether it was anger or sending the referees a message. “A little bit of both,” Leonard said. “You work so hard to try and win a game or score, and when you don’t get your calls it’s very difficult when someone blatantly fouls you.”

LOADED ROSTER:

While the United States will be the overwhelming favorite at this summer’s World Cup in China, NBA.com’s Canadian affiliate conducted a media poll of the best potential lineups for Canada in that competition, with the Heat’s Kelly Olynyk listed on all but one of the ballots. The exercise opened a window into the depth of Canada’s program. Among those listed on ballots as suggested starters were NBA players Andrew Wiggins, Cory Joseph, Jamal Murray, Tristan Thompson, Nik Stauskas, Dwight Powell and Olynyk, as well as Duke freshman phenom R.J. Barrett.

ROAD BACK:

For Lonnie Walker IV, the guard selected No. 18 out of Miami in June, the road back from a torn medial meniscus has begun with time with the San Antonio Spurs’ G League affiliate. “It feels like I am back to Lonnie Walker,” he told San Antonio’s Express News. “Just continue to find my rhythm and everything. But day by day, it is nothing but improvement. Every day, I can see significant difference on my leg and just how I play overall.” Walker was injured during an Oct. 5 preseason game against the Detroit Pistons, with surgery following three days later. He had a similar injury in July 2017 before his lone season with the Hurricanes. “It’s my second time doing this,” he said, “and I know how to work on it and keep that confidence level at an even keel.”