The Miami Heat got a crucial Game 5 victory on Tuesday night and they did it the hard way. Well, not so hard.
They were playing the game in the friendly confines of their home building, the FTX Arena. However, outside of that, the chips were fairly stacked against Miami in this one particular game.
Though they were up in the series with a comfortable, 3-1, lead, that’s actually just it. They were the team that should have been the least fired up about this one.
That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have been extremely fired up to tip this one off, as this is the NBA Playoffs and they had a chance to move on to the next round of it with a win, but their opponents were the ones fighting for their lives.
The Miami Heat would also be without two of their top-four guys in Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler. Missing that much talent and leadership, almost always, spells doom for most other teams.
It didn’t for the Heat on Tuesday night.
The Miami Heat got a great Victor Oladipo showing in Tuesday night’s closeout Game 5. It has one wondering, does this see him stick in the playoff rotation?
Propelled by the stellar play of Bam Adebayo and Victor Oladipo, the Miami Heat were able to get things done at home, sending Trae Young and his Atlanta Hawks back to Georgia until next year, 97-94, at the end of Game 5.
Oladipo would have a really good line in the game, finishing with 23 points, a rebound, three assists, and three steals. He would be absolutely crucial to their fate in this one.
That leads to another question that was sure to come up though. Should Victor Oladipo remain in the Miami Heat playoff rotation beyond this point?
The answer is simple. He definitely should.
Listen, he probably won’t play the 36 minutes he was counted on to give on Tuesday, but he can definitely give you something. And hey, there may be a night where he sees a hefty dosage, depending on the matchups, which takes us to our next points on the topic.
The Miami Heat have thrived with their depth all season long and where it’s usually a strength to cut your rotation down in the postseason, the Miami Heat could use their depth as a strength this postseason.
It’s how they’ve won and been among the best all year long in other high-pressure situations. It’s already shown its head early in this postseason with Lowry’s injury and now with Jimmy needing a day.
So, why not? You have to believe they will, as their coach in the great Erik Spoelstra, Top-15 around these parts, is too diabolically smart not to use all of the tools at his disposal.
So, not only should he be in the rotation moving forward, it’s safe to assume he already is. Tuesday’s win was just another step in that direction.