Heat close to having entire roster healthy, available. And a Heat All-Star Weekend update.
The Heat could have close to a full roster available for its three-game trip this week.
Forward Justise Winslow, who has missed the past 15 games because of a lower back bone bruise, practiced Tuesday and traveled with the team to Indianapolis for the start of its three-game trip. Winslow is questionable to play Wednesday against the Pacers.
In addition, All-Star wing Jimmy Butler practiced Tuesday and is expected to play Wednesday after missing Sunday’s win against the Trail Blazers because of lower back soreness.
If Butler and Winslow can both play against the Pacers, coach Erik Spoelstra will have nearly the entire roster available for one of the first times this season. Barring an unexpected injury between Tuesday and tip-off Wednesday, the only Heat players who wouldn’t be available would be rookie forward KZ Okpala and two-way contract guard Daryl Macon, who are both currently playing in the G League for Miami’s developmental affiliate.
“This is what I’ve wanted all year,” Spoelstra said following Tuesday’s practice. “I want to be able to make some tough decisions.”
The nine-man rotation the Heat has stuck with recently has included Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Derrick Jones Jr., Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk. But in Sunday’s win over the Trail Blazers, forward James Johnson earned his first playing time since November and Olynyk received his first DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) of the season.
More changes to the Heat’s rotation are likely coming with Winslow soon returning from his one-month absence.
“We view it as a great opportunity for our team to be at full strength and have everybody,” Robinson said. “Have a chance to be at our best. It’s exciting and there might be a little bit of an adjustment period. But as players, we just have to focus on going out and making the most of the minutes we get.”
Meanwhile, the Pacers listed both Malcolm Brogdon (sore lower back) and Domantas Sabonis (sore left knee) as questionable for Wednesday’s matchup against the Heat. Victor Oladipo (right knee) and Naz Mitrou-Long (right ankle sprain) have both been ruled out for Indiana.
All-Star Weekend invites?
The Heat is expected to be well-represented at All-Star Weekend in Chicago next month. Adebayo and Butler are candidates to make the All-Star Game, but Miami also has other players hoping for a chance to compete on that weekend’s big stage.
Jones is considered one of the top candidates to be invited to the Slam Dunk Contest and Robinson is considered one of the top candidates to be invited to the Three-Point Contest. Both players said Tuesday they have not received invites yet, but they are hopeful an invite will come.
“The experience was great my first time. I would love going back,” said Jones, who finished as the runner-up in the 2017 Slam Dunk Contest. “If they invite me, I’ve told everybody that I would not say no. I still am going by my word. If my teammates make it out to All-Star Weekend, then I’m definitely going.”
As for Robinson and the Three-Point Contest, he said: “It would be cool. As a kid, you grew up watching All-Star Weekend stuff. So it would be fun to be a part of it. I’m definitely not trying to get caught up in that. I also realize I can only control what I can control, which is going out, making shots and trying to help this team win. If the committee says that’s enough to get an invite, so be it.”
No surprise
As expected, Robinson and Nunn each had their full $1.4 million salaries for this season guaranteed on Tuesday. With all standard NBA contracts becoming guaranteed on Friday, NBA teams had a 5 p.m. deadline Tuesday to waive players before their full salaries for this season became guaranteed.
Before Tuesday, Robinson was previously guaranteed $1 million and Nunn was previously guaranteed $450,000 for this season.
The Heat’s decision to keep Robinson and Nunn past the guarantee deadline comes as no surprise, with both playing big roles this season. Robinson has started in 31 of Miami’s 36 games and Nunn has started in every game.
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 4:25 PM.
