Getty Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reacts during a game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Following their loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of play-in action, the Miami Heat find themselves facing a win-or-go-home scenario against the Chicago Bulls on Friday. And, very clearly, head coach Erik Spoelstra is looking to pull out all the stops in order to secure a playoff spot for his squad.
On Thursday, the Heat play-caller hinted that we could see some changes to his starting lineup as well as his bench rotations as he searches for a winning mix against Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and the rest of the Windy City crew.
“This is going to have a different feel than Atlanta, for sure,” Spoelstra said, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I wouldn’t even just say the starters, but who we bring in off the bench might be a little bit different than what we used against Atlanta.”
What exactly that means remains to be seen; Coach Spo has never been one to tip his hand where his starting lineups are concerned and his in-game rotations have been fluid throughout the 2022-23 campaign. However, there are definitely a handful of real possibilities.
Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra Could Mix Things Up in the Frontcourt or at the Point Guard Position for Play-In Bout With Bulls
While there wasn’t a whole lot to write home about following Miami’s rough go against the Hawks, the play of veteran Kyle Lowry was a silver lining. The much-maligned former All-Star exploded to the tune of 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go along with five assists (with zero turnovers) and four rebounds in the contest.
It was his highest scoring output since joining the Heat almost two years ago.
Meanwhile, Gabe Vincent — who replaced Lowry as the starting point guard — didn’t exactly set the hoops world ablaze down the stretch of the regular season (or in the first play-in game).
Over his final 23 appearances, the career backup averaged 8.3 points and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 40.9% from the floor and 34.6% from three-point range. And after Max Strus, he was the most negative player on the team during that stretch — Miami was outscored by 81 points over his 576 minutes.
Vincent missed practice on Thursday with a hip injury, too. So, it wouldn’t be shocking to see a swap there.
Speaking of Strus, the Heat were punished on the boards versus Atlanta with the 6-foot-5 wing starting at the power forward spot, getting outrebounded 63-39. And the floor-spacing that Spoelstra was no doubt hoping Strus would provide was nowhere to be found (he finished with just three points on 1-of-5 shooting).
As such, Spo could also look to Caleb Martin or Kevin Love as potential frontcourt replacements for Strus in a last-chance scenario against Chicago.
Jimmy Butler Also Misses Practice Ahead of Pivotal Matchup
His 6-for-19 showing against the Hawks notwithstanding, perhaps no player on the Heat roster is as responsible for the team even sniffing the postseason amid a rollercoaster campaign as franchise cornerstone Jimmy Butler, who logged a 26-6-6 line and shot 61.6% overall and 48.1% from deep post-All-Star break.
So, when the Miami Herald’s Ira Winderman and others reported that Butler also missed practice (due to personal reasons) fans on social media were understandably concerned. However, the beat writers were careful to note that Butler is expected to play against the Bulls.