As Heat rotation stabilizes, Spoelstra sticks to what’s working: ‘These are tough decisions’
The Miami Heat’s depth could be its greatest strength, but coach Erik Spoelstra is working to stabilize the rotation with the playoffs approaching.
That’s why Caleb Martin received only his second DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) of the season in Saturday night’s 127-109 blowout win over the Chicago Bulls at United Center despite returning from injury to be available for the game.
During Martin’s two-game absence because of a calf contusion, Spoelstra made a few tweaks to the rotation that he stuck to even with Martin back in uniform on Saturday. Entering Sunday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena to complete the Heat’s three-game three trip, the new nine-man rotation has produced a three-game winning streak since the changes were made.
“We have great depth and these are tough decisions,” said Spoelstra, who did not coach in Sunday’s game in Toronto after entering the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols. “I truly believe that there’s probably four or five different rotations and lineups that we can go to that would work because of our depth. It’s not possible. But we’re going to need everybody.”
Who the Eastern Conference-leading Heat is going with consistently in the final days of the regular season, though, is telling as it looks to find the rotation it will open the playoffs with.
The Heat moved Max Strus into the starting lineup in place Duncan Robinson, with Strus starting alongside Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker and Bam Adebayo. Then the four-man bench rotation has included Tyler Herro, Robinson, Gabe Vincent and Dewayne Dedmon.
In addition to Martin, the changes have left forward Markieff Morris and guard Victor Oladipo out of the rotation after both initially played consistent roles off the bench upon their returns from extended absences last month.
But the mix will look a bit different on Sunday against the Raptors, as the Heat sits a chunk of its rotation on the second night of its final back-to-back of the season. Butler (left big toe irritation), Dedmon (right ankle sprain), Tucker (left knee irritation) and Vincent (right big toe contusion) will not play in Toronto.
“We got a bunch of guys that just come in and fill any role,” Herro said. “Any lineup really works for us. So just trying to get used to it before the playoffs. I think it was the right time to make a change and then we’ll see what happens and continue to get better.”
Getting used to the different lineup combinations that the new rotation creates is at the top of the Heat’s to-do list for the final week of the regular season.
The five-man look of Lowry, Strus, Butler, Tucker and Adebayo had played just 13 minutes together this season before becoming the Heat’s new starting unit. The lineup has been solid, outscoring opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions in 40 minutes over three games since then.
A popular three-man combination within the Heat’s new rotation is Butler surrounded by shooters Herro and Robinson. This three-man group averaged 17.3 minutes per game together over the three games leading up to Sunday’s contest in Toronto, which is way up from the 9.2 minutes they’ve averaged together over the entire season.
“The collective group, we’ve all bought in,” Adebayo said of finding success with new lineups and pairings. “We’re going to figure out how to make it work. We’ve been doing that this whole season. We’ve had spurts where we lost a couple trying to figure it out. But for the most part, when everybody comes to play, that group usually works.”
One of the most notable aspects of the Heat’s new rotation is Butler and Tucker alternating at the power forward spot when the starting group is not on the court. Spoelstra has been determined to create better offensive spacing for Adebayo and Butler, and playing them as part of smaller lineups with more shooters around them has helped accomplish that.
The Heat entered Sunday with a plus/minus of plus-16 in the 59 minutes that Butler has played as the power forward over the previous three games, with Adebayo or Dedmon as the only other big playing alongside him.
“Jimmy’s versatility is super unique because of his size, his skill level, his athleticism, and the fact that you can play him anywhere on the floor,” Spoelstra said. “What we’re trying to do is maximize that as much as we can without labeling him as a position.”
That’s the goal behind the Heat’s rotation changes. Not only to maximize Butler’ strengths, but also the strengths of its other top offensive players like Adebayo, Lowry and Herro.
But Heat players know lineups could change again at any time based on matchups or what’s working and not working within the rotation. That’s because Spoelstra is also looking to maximize the team’s quality depth.
“The biggest thing is helping other guys, I guess, with clarity of knowing and being able to have that mindset going into the game if you’re playing or not,” Tucker said. “But in this league, you still don’t know, man. Somebody goes down, anything can happen and you’re needed in a moment’s notice.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Saturday’s victory over the Bulls marked the Heat’s 50th win of the season. This is Miami’s first 50-win season since the final year of the Big 3 era in 2013-14.
“You just never want to take anything for granted,” Spoelstra said of reaching that mark. “Maybe two years ago with a full season, we would have had a shot at it. But it just shows you even when you feel like you have a culture and you do things right, it’s hard to win consistently in this league when you have to retool and rebuild new teams and rosters. It’s tough. The league is really competitive.”
▪ Butler entered Sunday shooting just 22.7 percent from three-point range this season, which ranks second-worst among the 268 NBA players who have attempted at least 100 threes. But lately Butler has been making his outside shots, shooting 8 of 18 (44.4 percent) on threes in his last six games.
“I just hoop. Shooters shoot. That’s what I do,” Butler joked following the Heat’s win in Chicago. “Kyle told me to wear an arm sleeve today since I’ve been making shots.”
When walking out of the postgame interview room on Saturday night with Lowry, Butler yelled: “Shooters, out!”
This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 12:08 PM.
