3 Questions the Miami Heat must answer before the playoffs
By Max Marshall
1. What’s Miami closing lineup?
This much we know: Miami will have Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro on the court to close games. Everything else is matchup dependent.
Guys like Caleb Martin, Haywood Highsmith and Jamie Jaquez Jr. will all have a crack at closing, and it could be as simple as whoever is shooting the best from three-point range. If Martin can tap into last year's playoff run, he will see playing time in crunch time. The same goes for Highsmith, a great defender and an improving three-point shooter.
If the Heat are looking for size, Nikola Jovic and Kevin Love will be options. The way Jovic has been playing lately, he deserves a crack at getting into the closing lineup.
Things get interesting with Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson. Robinson provides spacing and a level of fear to the opposing team when he is on the floor. Rozier provides one-on-one creation and pressure at the rim. Both are average defenders as well. The good thing about Miami having depth this year is that Spoelstra can mix and match what lineup he is looking for.