IN THE LANE

CONTRASTING VIEW: Attempting to get Erik Spoelstra to discuss injury absences often turns into the most complex of verbal jousting, more often than not ending with some version of “we have enough” from the Heat coach. That is what made Wednesday’s postgame after the Heat’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers such a contrast. In the wake of the Heat winning in the absences of Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith, Lakers coach Darvin Ham lamented after the loss the absences of complementarity components to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, such as D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and former Heat guard Gabe Vincent.“When you’re dealing with different guys being in and out of the lineup that frequently, it’s damn-near impossible to find a rhythm,” Ham said. “That’s just being real. That’s no slight on anybody.” Then, after losing to the Butlerless Heat, Ham offered the argument that it is harder sometimes to be without role players, such as those the Lakers lacked. “If you lose one of your big dogs, you’re going to figure out how to try and manage without them,” Ham said. “And when you have your key role players, your key rotation players — this guy misses three or four, this guy misses three or four — and they’re happening one right after another, that’s what makes it difficult.”

VIVA! JAIME: Among the few NBA players of Mexican ancestry, Sacramento Kings guard Juan Toscano-Anderson is embracing the breakout of Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., whose father’s family is from Mexico. “He’s a hell of a player,” Toscano-Anderson said of Jaquez to ESPN’s Andscape. “Mature player. He was NBA-ready, and Miami was the perfect place for him to go, based on their culture. I think him playing so well and being in the (Rookie of the Year) chase, it enhances the magnitude/impact. He has more face time, more coverage, more support. So, it’s different. The previous Mexican players have all been role players. He has the chance to be more than that.” The lone the native Mexican NBA players to have played in the NBA remain Eduardo Najera, Horacio Llamas and Gustavo Ayon.

PRECIOUS MOMENT: While an ancillary piece of the trade that sent OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors to the New York Knicks for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, the deal also could provide a lifeline for Heat 2020 first-round pick Precious Achiuwa. Never able to fully gain his footing in Toronto, Achiuwa finds himself in a mix where the Knicks are without Mitchell Robinson. Achiuwa, who played his prep ball at Our Savior Lutheran in The Bronx and at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark was a frequent visitor to Madison Square Garden when his brother God’sgift Achiuwa played for St. John’s between 2011 and 2014. “Me being able to play in the Garden and not just in the Garden, but also in front of my family and friends, means a lot to me,”Achiuwa said, according to the New York Post.“The New York style of basketball and everything that comes with it, being familiar with the city, with the people in the city, definitely played a huge role in my basketball journey.”

TEXT CHAIN: Having coached together with Team USA at last summer’s World Cup and about to do it again this coming summer at the Paris Olympics, Spoelstra, Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr have found themselves on a text chain that carried over into the NBA season. So when Lue’s Clippers landed James Harden to go with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Lue said the other two helped provide commiseration about coaching Big Three teams.“I was not giving advice,” Spoelstra said.“He knows what he’s doing. It was more about like you get one of those trades and one of these kinds of teams, there’s just a whole heck of a lot of noise. And that’s what we were talking about on that text chain. It’s fun to go through that experience, because it’s so uncomfortable and then everybody has no idea really what it takes, unless you’ve been in a locker room like that. And I think he’s really embraced that. Ty, he’s built for this kind of team and I think you’re seeing his leadership come through.”