Sports

/

ArcaMax

Ira Winderman: Subtle or severe? Heat remix allows Erik Spoelstra many different options.

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on

Published in Basketball

MIAMI — In an NBA offseason of massive makeovers, from the Phoenix Suns deconstructing to the Los Angeles Clippers reconstructing, the Miami Heat’s summer has stood far more muted.

Norman Powell, Simone Fontecchio, Kasparas Jakucionis and Vlad Goldin in; Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson, Alec Burks, Josh Christopher and Isaiah Stevens out.

And yet even with that minor amount of movement, it does change how Erik Spoelstra can conduct business next season, even without further movement.

It is a reconstituted roster that affords alternatives from the expected to the novel.

For a coach who is “open to everything,” as he is wont to offer, there now are months to marinate on change, both subtle and severe.

Such as ...

— Expected starting lineup: Based on Kel’el Ware ending last season as a starter, and with Powell entering a contract year that would be boosted by a starting role, the initial expectation is a lineup of Ware at center, Bam Adebayo at power forward, Andrew Wiggins at small forward, Powell at shooting guard, Tyler Herro at point guard.

— Lineup alternative A: The issue with the aforementioned starting five is limited outside shooting and limited playmaking, with Herro not at his best at point guard (and having gotten very good with working off the ball).

However, insert Nikola Jovic at power forward, move Adebayo back to center, and play Ware off the bench, and Jovic’s shooting and playmaking enter the equation.

While Adebayo has stated a preference for starting alongside true center, he routinely has gone along with the greater good.

In addition, after an uneven summer league and admonishment from Spoelstra, it would make Ware earn his way back into the starting five. Plus, Ware off the bench would give the Heat the backup center they otherwise lack.

— Lineup alternative B: If the plan remains to stay with Ware and Adebayo up front, then there could be something to be said for utilizing Davion Mitchell as the fifth starter alongside Ware, Adebayo, Wiggins and Herro.

Such an approach would get Herro off the ball and would allow Powell to play in the sixth-man role that he mastered for multiple seasons with the Clippers. The injection of Powell’s scoring would bolster scoring in a second unit otherwise lacking.

— Expected bench boosts: If the Heat go with the “expected” lineup listed above, then two of the following four would play as leading men off the bench: Mitchell, Jovic, Powell, Ware.

 

For now, it would appear those seven would be at the top of the rotation, based on the moves the Heat have made with their roster and their salary structure, including the re-signing of Mitchell and trading for Powell.

— Alternative bench boost A: For all Mitchell showed with his sizzle upon his arrival last season, for all of Ware’s hoisting from deep during summer league, for as improved as Jovic has been from beyond the arc, there still was a blow to the overall spacing with the trade of Duncan Robinson to the Pistons.

Enter Fontecchio?

This is where it gets interesting for a team that had been expected to turn toward youth. Because as much as that might remain a goal, Spoelstra long has featured a shooting specialist in reserve. Fontecchio has been that during his best of times. So merely a player acquired as a salary match, or a potential eighth man in the rotation (sort of an Alec Burks 2.0)?

— Alternative bench boost B: If not Fontecchio as eighth man, then the matter could stand as Jaime Jaquez Jr. or Pelle Larsson.

It could be as simple as playing both ahead of Fontecchio, with Spoelstra typically going at least nine deep. But if only one, is it the pedigree of Jaquez or the sizzle of Larsson?

The hunch here is Jaquez gets every opportunity to remain in the rotation, particularly because he could be called up for duty with the starters if Wiggins is dealt.

— Expected backup center: If the lineup is the “expected” version listed above, then undrafted Goldin, the former Florida Atlantic and Michigan 7-footer, currently stands as the lone option, albeit on his two-way contract.

— Alternative backup center: Sorry, Niko, with Jovic still fancying himself as a wing and not exactly a fan of minutes in the middle.

For now, figure a three-way primary power rotation of Adebayo, Ware and Jovic, with every other power option on the standard roster undersized (Haywood Highsmith, Keshad Johnson, Fontecchio).

— Expected rotation outsiders: While Highsmith remains on the bubble when it comes to rotation minutes, simply because of his unquestioned reliability, seemingly on the outside looking in would be Johnson, Goldin, Terry Rozier, Jakucionis and perhaps Fontecchio.

— Alternative rotation options: Don’t forget about Dru Smith, who has a qualifying offer in place to return from last season’s Achilles tear. And if Jakucionis can get his game settled, it’s not as if Spoelstra hasn’t previously gone with rookies who are ready.

The wild card is Rozier, and whether he can get back to what he was before joining the Heat or whether last season exemplified the wrong player with the wrong team at the wrong time (amid the ongoing gambling investigation).


©2025 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus