It is no secret that the Miami Heat have had injury issues this season, as the team has been without studs Bam Adebayo and, in particular, Tyler Herro for extended periods of time. When those two returned last Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, there was some hope that a full-fledged Heat team could be formed.
The day after the loss to Minnesota, the team revealed that Jimmy Butler will miss Wednesday’s game against the Magic, and now he will miss Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, it’s been a consistent theme since last season that the squad couldn’t get their chemistry together, but once they do, they become a deadly team, as Adebayo stated.
“We have ups and downs throughout the season and we had them last year,” Adebayo said in a statement. “So a lot of guys who have been through what we went through last year know that there are always brighter days and opportunities to win.” I believe we have a squad, and even though we are shorthanded, we can still win.”
The Heat, according to Erik Spoelstra, have continuity.
There is no denying that the squad has a lot of depth, which Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has praised since training camp. He emphasises the team’s “continuity” as a plus.
“We do feel like we have great depth,” Spoelstra said. “Because we have great continuity, I’m not as concerned when players miss games.” It’s more about developing the constancy of our known persona. We have consistency. We know what we need to try to do for whoever is out there. We simply need to be more consistent.”
The bench has been critical to the Heat’s success in keeping the ship afloat until the team is fully recovered. He said that Adebayo and Herro “anchored” the victory over the Magic, but the second unit was crucial.
“I thought that was just as important, and that’s what I did.”
With names like Jaime Jaquez Jr., Thomas Bryant, Haywood Highsmith, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson, and others, it’s difficult to find a better bench. After the game, Spoelstra stated that the bench is the reason Miami wins.
“Thomas had a plus-20 rating. Highsmith was obviously excellent defensively and then hit three-pointers. “That makes everyone else take notice out there,” Spoelstra explained. “However, he did a lot of other intangible things to help us win.” And J-Rich and Duncan were both rock solid throughout the game. We’re not going to win this game unless those players produce.”
Spoelstra is confidence in the depth of the Heat.
Spoelstra is so confident in his team’s bench and depth that he brags about it after the game.
“We have a great deal of continuity,” Spoelstra remarked. “We’ve talked about missed games and everything like that. I’m not even going to discuss it with you. But if you take out [Omer] Yurtseven and a little bit of [Victor Oladipo’s] last year, we’re not at the top of the missed game rankings. We probably have more continuity than a lot of teams. And I’m quite happy with it.”
The NBA requires depth and valuable role players.
According to The Miami Herald, having great depth and contributions from people other than the star players is critical for an NBA team.
“I feel very good about our depth, I feel very good that different players are able to step up and contribute to winning on different nights,” Spoelstra said in a statement. “In this league, you need that. It does not have to be what everyone expects it to be. The conventional anything. It doesn’t have to be that way. You need depth, and you need individuals who believe they can contribute to the team’s success.”
The Heat will have to persevere against the Hawks on Friday as they continue to cope with injury issues. They are 16-12 on the season, good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
