How Will the Heat Maximize it's Bench? By Being Vocal.
The Miami Heat veterans will have to hold the younger players accountable in order to speed along their development and make the most of this season.
Late in the third quarter Monday night in Oklahoma City, the Heat had let slip a 14-point lead and the Thunder had it down to single digits. Kyle Lowry, playing without injured All-Star teammates Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, had both palms turned up as if he were pleading with young Max Strus after a costly mistake.
The Heat had just committed a turnover that resulted in the Thunder cutting the lead to eight with a minute left in the final night of a five-game trip. Attempting to jolt the offense, Lowry called on Strus to set a screen, a guard-guard set meant to scramble Oklahoma City’s young defense. Lowry turned the corner and passed to an empty spot where he expected Strus to be. Rather than roll into the opening, Strus took two steps back and was out of the play. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scooped up the loose ball and the Thunder scored in transition. Erik Spoelstra called a timeout and Lowry admonished Strus during the break for what ended up being a potential five-point swing late in the game.
Although Miami ended up winning the game, this sequence is an example of how the veterans will coach up a younger bench that will need to improve in order for the Heat to return to the Finals.
Lowry, 35, could have waited until film study to point out the missed opportunity to 25-year-old Strus. But the team was in the midst of a 1-3 road trip, Lowry was the solo veteran on the court and the Heat were falling into a pattern of letting a late lead evaporate. So Lowry didn’t hesitate to chastize Strus in front of the Heat bench.
“For me,” Lowry said, “it’s just about picking and choosing when the time is to be vocal.”
“He doesn’t back down from confrontation and telling you what’s on his mind,” Duncan Robinson added.
But Lowry wasn’t alone. When Strus went to the bench during the timeout, P.J. Tucker was screaming at his teammates to get it together.
“We’re not for everyone,” Spoelstra said this week. “There is high intensity. There are emotions. Sometimes that spills over.”
Strus ended up scoring 13 points that night. With Lowry and Adebayo unavailable in the following game against the Pelicans, he put up 15. Miami won both games.
The Heat (11-6) have been without one of Lowry, Butler or Adebayo for six of their first 17 games. That could be expected with a starting lineup that has an average age of 30.8 and a well-documented history of injuries. Meanwhile, of the five core reserves, four are age 26 or younger.
It takes a long time to learn how to win in the NBA. Mistakes such as the one Strus made in Oklahoma City can cost a game, a series and a chance at the Finals. Part of the starters’ jobs is to instill in their teammates that commitment to detail. Often, those exchanges can look like the one between Lowry and Strus.
“That’s how we do it here,” Butler said. “You say what you got to say. That’s the way we roll around here. We’re all in it to win, so we’ve all got the same goal in mind.”
“They’ve all been great,” Strus said of his veteran teammates.
Despite missing Victor Oladipo for the entire season and Markieff Morris for eight games and Miami keeping the 15th and final roster spot vacant, Spoelstra has doubled down publicly on his stance that depth is a strength.
Tyler Herro is certainly a bright spot. Averaging a career-high 21.6 points, he is the current front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year. But Herro hardly falls under the category of “depth.” His 33.6 minutes per game ranks third on the team, and he often closes games. Plus, with his Finals experience, he can’t be lumped in with Miami’s less experienced reserves.
Beyond Herro, there’s not much else in the way of consistent contribution or playoff experience coming off Miami’s bench. Even with Herro’s impressive scoring numbers, the Heat bench is outscoring opponents by a measly 1.8 points per game. A better indicator might be the team’s quarter-by-quarter differential. Despite being one of the best first and third-quarter teams in the league (when starters typically play), the Heat are being outscored in the second quarter and have been average in the fourth (when reserves see a larger chunk of minutes).
This plays a factor in the Heat giving up late leads, as they did against Oklahoma City and more recently in a loss to the Washington Wizards. Small mistakes, such as failing to close out, untimely turnovers and failed box-outs, have cost the Heat three games this season and nearly more.
“We’re all grown men here,” Butler said after Saturday’s loss in Washington in which Miami gave away a 16-point, third-quarter lead. “I just think everybody has to grow up a little bit and realize if we want to be a really good team we gotta win these games.”
Internally, the Heat truly believe depth will be a strength by the time the season is over. Oladipo’s eventual return will help stabilize the bench, but so will the continued development of Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin. The front office has also considered adding a player or two at the trade deadline. Pat Riley and Co. will monitor the buyout market closely.
Such is the way an organization acts in the midst of a championship window. Development must come quickly, or changes will be made.
“At the end of the day, we want to win,” Adebayo said. “So there is no, ‘How do people handle that?’ We all get it.
“There’s a sense of urgency for all of us.”
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