3 Heat players who are sure to be out of the playoff rotation

When it comes to playoff rotations and schemes, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is one of the best in the business. His game-to-game and even in-game adjustments over the last handful of playoff runs have been nothing short of elite. This is a coach who is a former two-time NBA champion and has reached the NBA Finals six times since taking over as head coach for the Heat in 2008. Last season, fans saw Spoelstra opting to go with a tight eight-man playoff rotation.

This season features one of the deeper teams in recent Heat history, and it will surely be difficult to predict what Spoelstra's postseason rotation will look like. A lot of that is because of health. Tyler Herro missed all but one game of the last postseason and has only appeared in 36 games this season, missing his last nine games with knee and foot injuries.

There also will be some players who may not be in the regular playoff rotation but could receive spot minutes. Such as Haywood Highsmith for defensive purposes or maybe even Thomas Bryant for size and energy. Against the Nuggets Wednesday, Bryant added nine points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. It also remains to be seen if Nikola Jovic will continue to start next to Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt, or if Spoelstra decides to go to the more proven options like Caleb Martin or Kevin Love.

It’s reasonable to assume a rotation, if all healthy, features Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kevin Love.

So many factors can go into what this rotation will look like and a lot can change from now until the start of the playoffs, but let’s look into the three guys who seem certain to be out of any playing time come mid-April.