South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Heat should keep Plan B handy
COVID-19 might force team to be creative
Welcome to the Season of Spo-isms.
Because never before have “we have enough” and “whatever is necessary” and “all hands on deck” and “we’re a no-excuse team” become such necessary components of the NBA lexicon.
For Erik Spoelstra, COVID-19 stands like no other opponent. So he has prepared, as he often has said, “for anything and everything.”
For the Miami Heat, that means a Plan B for just about every eventuality is in place, with the league’s pandemic policy mandating absences of 12 days or longer for positive coronavirus tests.
“You have to go through those plans and responsibilities, and we did go through that during the bubble process and we’ve had to revisit that with everybody on the staff in preparing for this season,” Spoelstra said of how this season could reflect the approach the team took in the league’s quarantine bubble over the summer at Disney World. “And the same goes with your preparation as a coaching staff for your team.
“You put together as many different plans as possible, but there are going to be a lot of things unforeseen, that you can’t predict, and this might be COVID-related or not. In a typical season there are a lot of things that happen that you wouldn’t have been able to predict or guess going into it. You just try to prepare as much as you possibly can.”
So what would an alternate Heat universe look like? Perhaps something like this:
If no Erik Spoelstra . . . then Chris Quinn would slide over to the lead chair, similar to how former assistant coach Dan Craig took over when Spoelstra was absent for the births of his sons.
With Craig leaving to take a role on Tyronn Lue’s coaching staff with the Los Angeles Clippers, Quinn, who has been on the Heat staff since 2014, has clear seniority among Spoelstra’s bench assistants, with Malik Allen in his second year alongside Spoelstra and Caron Butler in his first as an NBA assistant.
If no Jimmy Butler . . . then the hope would be a dip in the fountain of youth for Goran Dragic. Of the Heat’s wings, Dragic comes closest to matching the drive-and-kick game of Butler, as well as the ability to get to the rim and initiate contact.
It will be interesting to see if Spoelstra paces Dragic to have him ready for the minutes Butler will miss.
If no Bam Adebayo . . . then punt?
About the only player on the roster with similarities to Adebayo’s game is first-round pick Precious Achiuwa, who has yet to play his first NBA minute. And even then, there is no way a rookie is going to serve as the fulcrum of Spoelstra’s offense.
Basically, a new playbook would be needed in the absence of Adebayo.
If no Goran Dragic . . . then even more of Tyler Herro in attack mode.
As it is, Herro appears a likely successor to Dragic, which is why there has been more emphasis on ball-handling.
With the playmaking of Butler and Adebayo, the Heat do not necessarily need a point guard who is a pure point guard.
If no Tyler Herro . . . then the door might crack back open for Kendrick Nunn.
With the Heat having added Avery Bradley in the offseason, Nunn could find himself shuffled out of the rotation, as was the case during the playoffs.
It is the absences of others, such as Herro, that Nunn will have to seize upon.
If no Duncan Robinson . . . then an alternate game plan could be needed.
When Robinson was off in the playoffs, the Heat were off. His style is unique, so there seemingly is not a plug-and-play Plan B for his game.
This would be where the Heat would have to instead explore the possibilities of Maurice Harkless and Andre Iguodala. Otherwise, the closest thing found on the roster to Robinson might be Gabe Vincent.
If no Avery Bradley . . . then the Heat again would have to decide how to defend fleet opposing point guards.
With Dragic getting on in years, with Herro stiff in his lateral movement and with Nunn uneven with such challenges, it could come down to calling upon the defensive guile of Butler and Iguodala in such situations.
If no Precious Achiuwa . . . then the door may yet crack open for KZ Okpala or Chris Silva
(but likely still not for Udonis Haslem).
If no Kelly Olynyk . . . then Meyers Leonard.
If no Meyers Leonard . . . then Kelly Olynyk.
If no Andre Iguodala . . . then Maurice Harkless.
If no Maurice Harkless . . . then more Andre Iguodala.
If no Kendrick Nunn . . . then the reality that the Heat are positioned with ample replacement depth, particularly with Bradley added.