Power rotation may include new pieces

Here he stands yet again, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra positioned to play matchmaker for Bam Adebayo.

Last season, the relationship planning was relatively limited, with Meyers Leonard, Kelly Olynyk and Jae Crowder the three to start at various points alongside Adebayo in the power rotation.

But this season, there is a far more diversified variety of options, making the decision not only for Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center but also as a referendum on the team’s approach going forward.

Among the options: Leonard. The Heat were 34-15 last season when the opening power rotation was Leonard-Adebayo.

Olynyk. The Heat went 1-5 when he started alongside Adebayo last season but were highly successful the previous season when Olynyk and Adebayo played in tandem off the bench.

Maurice Harkless. The newcomer was a starter in each of the Heat’s two exhibitions and is perhaps setting up as a placeholder in the first unit as younger options develop against opposing reserves.

Precious Achiuwa. The 2020 first-round pick is capable of producing an uber-athletic 1-2 punch in the power rotation heretofore unseen in the franchise’s 33 seasons.

KZ Okpala. The rangy second-year forward made a 24-point statement in Friday’s preseason finale.

For his part, Adebayo is intrigued no matter the direction taken by Spoelstra.

“I mean, it’s not really adjusting to one another,” he said. “It’s just learning each other’s tendencies. And I feel like this training camp we’re getting better in trying to figure out how we can adapt and be one of those great units, no matter who’s on the floor.

“So it’s all about practice and building the chemistry, just talking to each other. I When you talk to each other off the court, that makes [being] on the court even better. I always say that’s why I feel like we made it so far in the bubble: because we were all connected as one.”

While such chemistry has been built with Olynyk throughout Adebayo’s four seasons, and while it flourished with Leonard during the 2019-20 regular season, it would mean additional on-the-job acclimating with a starting choice of Harkless, Achiuwa or Okpala, who appeared in only five games, a total of 26 minutes, last season.

Among the priorities with the decision will be remaining competitive on the boards, especially if one of the undersized options is paired alongside Adebayo.

The Heat were outrebounded 51-35 in Monday’s 114-92 preseason loss to the New Orleans Pelicans before outrebounding the Toronto Raptors 51-38 in Friday’s 117-105 victory that closed out the Heat’s two-game preseason.

“That’s the bottom line,” Adebayo said. “We can’t get beat on the boards like that.

“So we made it an emphasis that we’re going to try to finish every defensive stop and get every rebound. And, for the most part, we did that.

“That’s one thing about our team: We learned how to adjust, how to move the needle in different ways to get us victories.”

The next decision is which of the different ways Spoelstra might turn with his opening power tandem, a choice that not only will have to include the starting pairing but the odd men out.

With three days of camp remaining before it gets real, those are decisions that yet could be decided on the practice court.

“I love it,” Achiuwa said of the robust competition among the power players. “I’m very, very competitive. And our practices are very competitive as well.

“I keep going against guys that are really good at basketball. I think pushes me to elevate my game to do what I have to do.

“And just playing with those guys every day, and the level of competition at practice, I think makes the game a lot easier in the games.”