The Miami Heat have dealt with their share of injuries all season. One of the most notable has been the absence of Victor Oladipo, who has yet to play for the Heat this season.
Despite Oladipo’s injury, the Heat remain a top threat in the East and have received a plethora of assistance from a slew of role players. Players like Max Strus, Caleb Martin, and Gabe Vincent have all proven to be excellent rotation players in recent weeks due to a series of injuries.
With that being said, it has been reported that Oladipo is nearing a return. What does this mean for the Heat’s nightly rotation?
Coach Spo is in a wonderful dilemma, a great problem to have. With so many impactful players, how does he craft a rotation to give his team the best chance at winning from this point forward and hopefully, all the way to and through the NBA Finals?
Let’s take a look.
Miami Heat: The Easiest Approach To Rotation When Victor Oladipo Returns
While it is no small feat to concoct a successful lineup, let’s take a look at how the rotation could shake up once Oladipo is fully healthy.
The starters are likely to remain the same once Oladipo returns. Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker, and Bam Adebayo have been averaging 154 minutes per game in the starting lineup.
To save minutes on Lowry, Tucker, and Butler, this number could drop down to 144 minutes per game or so once Oladipo returns.
This leaves 96 minutes for the bench unit to round out a nightly rotation. Tyler Herro is a 30-plus minute per night player, at this point, while Dewayne Dedmon will supplement Adebayo as the lone backup center.
This means that there would be roughly 50 rotation minutes to disperse amongst Oladipo, Vincent, Strus, and Martin. This is where things get more difficult.
If you trust anybody to be able to figure things out though, it’s one of the best and simultaneously most underappreciated coaches in the game in Erik Spoelstra. Here’s the easiest approach though.
Miami Heat: Coach Spo Will Have Tough Choices On Rotation When Dipo’s Back
The easiest way to approach the rotation would be to remove Vincent and let Oladipo absorb the backup guard minutes alongside Herro. This would leave about 30 minutes for Strus and Martin to share on a nightly basis.
Considering the alternate route would be to remove Strus’ shooting or Martin’s defense, it is likely that Vincent will get the short end of the stick when it comes to consistent minutes.
While Oladipo’s return may still be a ways off, it is important to look ahead at how the rotation might shake out when he inevitably returns. Adebayo has already expressed his excitement in seeing Oladipo on the court again.
It would be hard to imagine a former All-NBA caliber player not being in the nightly rotation. For that to happen, however, someone has to be removed from Coach Spo’s rotation, while others will get reduced minutes.
Until Olapido returns, the Heat will continue chugging along with the best record in the Eastern Conference. When Oladipo returns though, stay on your toes.
The Miami Heat are going to be the most dangerous they’ve been all season and that is really saying something. Especially considering that they’ve been really dangerous thus far anyway.