Miami Heat big man rotation being stretched too thin without Cody Zeller

The Miami Heat had their doors blown off by the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. And while the same could be said of the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night when it comes to their affair against the Orlando Magic, losing that game by a score of 119 to 106, that doesn’t wipe away the terrible taste of what was the Nets’ defeat over the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Bringing them back to a virtual tie record-wise, though the Nets own the tiebreaker, the Miami Heat still have work to do in order to try and separate themselves from the Nets. And luckily, they have that bit of control over their fate, the Play-In situation, and keeping themselves out of a bad position.

But speaking of being out of position, that’s where some of the Miami Heat players have found themselves in recent games. With Cody Zeller’s absence from the lineup, the Miami Heat have been at a deficiency when it comes to the big man rotation.

The Miami Heat haven’t been whole recently and it’s showing up in a major way. With Cody Zeller’s absence, their big man rotation has taken a major hit.

With Omer Yurtseven thought to be able to hold down the backup big man spot, especially in light of a Zeller absence that seemed as though it might present an opportunity for him to highlight his game on the biggest of stages and moments, he has shown unable to be able to hold up there.

With Coach Spoelstra having to go to Kevin Love and even Haywood Highsmith for backup center minutes, it is really putting a strain on the Miami Heat’s rotation, as those players, among other guys, have been asked to step up and do more.

And with that, there is certainly at least one thing clear here. The Miami Heat need to do all they can to get Cody Zeller back in the lineup as soon as possible to help relieve some pressure off of their big man rotation—and the rest of the team as well.

The Miami Heat are off until Tuesday, when they’ll head to Toronto, before then facing the New York Knicks again on Wednesday in the second half of a back-to-back set. And in two games on consecutive nights, their depth and rotations will surely be challenged again.