Erik Spoelstra makes first significant change to Heat's starting lineup

Opening up the Miami Heat mailbag…

Should the Heat start Haywood to shake up this starting lineup? Will Kel’el Ware get more opportunities, or will he take the backseat again when Kevin Love is back?

In the preseason, coach Erik Spoelstra said Nikola Jovic didn’t do anything to not earn a shot as the fifth starter. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. In seven starts this season, Jovic is shooting 41.3% and canning just 30.8% of his 3s. He hasn’t been much of a factor on the boards or on defense.

As such, his minutes have declined to the point of getting the Luke Babbitt treatment (playing the first six minutes of each half) earlier this week against the Sacramento Kings. In Wednesday’s loss, Spoelstra pulled Jovic from the starting lineup for the second half. 

Haywood Highsmith, who started the second half, made a much bigger impact in that game, tallying 19 points, seven rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes.

“H had given us good minutes in that first half, and we were looking to do something just to change the energy of these third quarters,” Spoelstra said.

It worked. The Highsmith group out-scored the Suns by nine points in nine third-quarter minutes, before the second unit gave up the lead later in the period.

At 6-foot-10, Jovic provides more size than the 6-foot-5 Highsmith, but that size hasn’t made a difference. Against the Suns, Spoelstra started the game with Jovic on Jusuf Nurkic but called a quick audible when it was clear that Jovic couldn’t compete with Nurkic’s physicality. That meant Adebayo, who started on Kevin Durant, had to guard Nurkic. Highsmith came in to defend Durant.

“It had nothing to do with Niko,” Spoelstra said. “It was more about their lineup and how they can get you scrambling.”

But it did have something to do with Jovic. If Bam is forced to defend opposing centers, then Jovic doesn’t have much utility on that end. Highsmith makes more sense as someone who can defend four positions and make open jumpers.

My guess: Highsmith starts against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Adebayo will get the Nikola Jokic assignment. The Nuggets are without Aaron Gordon for a few weeks, so the Heat don’t have to worry about his physicality. Highsmith can slot on Michael Porter Jr., who presents a size-plus-shooting problem similar to Durant's. 

As for Ware, the Heat need to play him over Thomas Bryant. For one, he has more size and defensive upside. Bryant has been taken advantage of on defense, and the Heat can’t keep leaking points when Adebayo is on the bench. Ware is raw, but he needs to get NBA minutes to adjust to the speed of the game. His size should help compensate for some of the learning curve – he had two steals and a block on Wednesday.

When Kevin Love does return to playing condition, he’ll get a crack at minutes. And he should. His chemistry with Jimmy Butler in the second unit last season was undeniably valuable. He deserves a chance to earn his job back. But Ware should make the most of this opportunity.