There’s no doubt it’s been a pretty ugly year for the Miami Heat this year. The Giannis Antetokounmpo era is not off to a great start. Miami is just 3-6 this year, and it’s pretty clear that the supporting cast isn’t good enough. So, maybe it’s time for Erik Spoelstra to make a tough choice. Maybe it’s time for him to shorten the rotation even more.
So far this year, the Heat already have a pretty tight rotation. Only eight guys are earning 15 or more minutes per contest. But 13 different players have appeared in at least six games for the Heat. Perhaps it’s time for Spoelstra to cut down even more. Only play the guys who are truly contributing to winning on any given night.
It seems very early in the season to get to that point, but with how badly the Heat are struggling, Spoelstra has to do what he has to do.
Erik Spoelstra should consider shortening the rotation
Antetokounmpo is the head of the snake in Miami. As soon as the Heat traded for him, he became the eye of the storm. The center of everything the Heat are trying to accomplish.
Right alongside him is Bam Adebayo. Despite his three-point struggles this season, he’s still the second-best player on the Heat. He’s going to play a ton of minutes this year.
Outside of that, it’s a toss-up. Anything can happen. Spoelstra could decide to go in any direction he so chooses. And maybe that involves lowering minute totals more often.
Davion Mitchell is the lead point guard, so he’ll probably play a ton every night. He should. But what about Andrew Wiggins? Maybe it’s time to play even more Pelle Larsson and even less Wiggins, even though the latter’s minutes are already very low, compared to where people expected them to be.
What about even more Klay Thompson? Can his body handle that? His shooting is crucial to what the Heat are trying to do on the offensive end, and keeping him on the floor more could help.
It’s absolutely not a perfect solution. Nothing really is. The Heat are stuck in a tough place right now, as they haven’t been able to string together wins. They haven’t looked like they need to be.
And although it’s usually a late-season and postseason adjustment, it seems like it might already be time for Spoelstra to consider tightening things up. At least until the Heat can get back on track.
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