Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat head off to Texas
Most of rotation left behind for Friday’s San Antonio exhibition vs. Wembanyama
MIAMI — The long and short of Friday night’s exhibition in San Antonio is that the focus will be on 7-foot-4 Spurs firstround pick Victor Wembanyama, while the Miami Heat will arrive decidedly shorthanded.
Despite the game being nationally televised, the Heat departed Thursday with almost their entire anticipated regular-season rotation left behind.
Listed out for the Heat due to injury or ailment were Jimmy Butler (dental procedure), Caleb Martin (left knee tendinosis), Nikola Jovic (right knee contusion), Jaime Jaquez (left groin strain) and Josh Richardson (left foot discomfort).
In addition to those five, four other players remained behind for what the team said was the opportunity to play others on the 21-player roster. That added to the no-fly list for non-injury reasons Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry.
“I can’t play 21 guys,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after Thursday’s practice at Kaseya Center. “A couple of guys are dealing with some minor things, nothing to stress out about. But I think this is the best opportunity to play a lot of these guys.”
That leaves available for the Heat potential rotation players Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith and Thomas Bryant, as well as camp candidates Jamal Cain, Justin Champagnie, Cheick Diallo, R.J. Hampton, Drew Peterson, Orlando Robinson, Dru Smith, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams.
“I’m going to try to play all those guys,” Spoelstra said. “They’ve been working their tails off and I want to reward those guys for the work they’ve been putting in. They’ve earned these minutes, and we also want to evaluate.”
The focus of the national telecast on TNT (no local television) will be on the Spurs’ side of the ledger and the home debut of No. 1 pick Wembanyama, the rangy French big man with the skill set of a point guard who makes his NBA entrance under the coaching of Gregg Popovich.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the Spurs, giving a nod to Pop and everybody,” Spoelstra said. “Obviously there’s been a lot of attention there to (Wembanyama), just the excitement they have, the energy, kind of a mood, feel to everything.”
Martin works: After missing the end of training camp at Florida Atlantic University and then Tuesday night’s preseason-opening victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets, Martin returned to full practice Thursday.
“He went every minute today, including the scrimmage,” Spoelstra said. “I think we’ve taken the right steps.”
Martin said he developed the knee issue during his offseason workouts.
“Just working out, continuing to work out, heavy workouts during the summer,” he said. “So just making sure I got as much work as possible. It’s not anything, just something that flared up.
“Just staying cautious with it, making sure I’m ready for the next couple of days coming up.”
The third of the Heat’s five exhibitions will be Sunday against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
“I knew it wasn’t anything serious,” Martin said. “I knew it was a matter of time before I was coming back. Just being cautious.
“I’ve been making great progress the last couple of weeks, so today was very encouraging. I was glad I could be out there.”
Jovic cleared: Tests on Jovic came back with nothing beyond a knee bruise after he was forced out in Tuesday’s first half.
Jovic, selected at No. 27 in the 2022 NBA draft, missed most of his rookie season due to a back issue.
“I wanted to play,” Jovic said. “I wanted to finish the game, and they thought it was better to sit out. I wouldn’t say I’m mad. I’d say more tired of this. I don’t want to miss games.
“It was hurting a lot that night. I was really worried. But everything came back good.”
Jovic was injured in a collision with Hornets guard Terry Rozier while defending.
“Let’s not overreact to it,” Spoelstra said. “Each thing is separate. Last year he was dealing with a back. This year, something happened in a game. It does not appear to be something serious.”