It could be another next man up for Heat after Duncan Robinson uneven in place of Tyler Herro
The differences in depth could not have been more stark. With Giannis Antetokounmpo out for the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, coach Mike Budenholzer turned to his bench and inserted Bobby Portis into his starting lineup in what turned into a 138-122 blowout victory. With Tyler Herro out for the Miami Heat with the fractured right hand sustained in his...
The differences in depth could not have been more stark.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo out for the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, coach Mike Budenholzer turned to his bench and inserted Bobby Portis into his starting lineup in what turned into a 138-122 blowout victory. Such was the luxury of having available the final Eastern Conference Player of the Week for 2022-23.
With Tyler Herro out for the Miami Heat with the fractured right hand sustained in his team’s series-opening Sunday victory, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with a player who started just one game in 2022-23. No, it did not go well with Duncan Robinson in the loss that evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 1-1 going into Saturday night’s Game 3 at Kaseya Center.
Portis closed with 13 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in 27:57. Robinson finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25:36, not scoring until both teams had emptied their benches in the fourth quarter.
By Saturday, Antetokounmpo could be back from his lower-back contusion. For the Heat, there is no such hope with Herro.
So more Robinson again, after three scoreless quarters?
“We just have to see,” Spoelstra said. “We have a couple of days before the next game. I think it’s too early for me to even start to formulate a plan. We’ll get together, practice, and watch the film. It is different without Tyler. We just have to figure out what makes the most sense.”
The Heat had never started Robinson alongside Bam Adebayo, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler and Gabe Vincent this season, with that group having spent a total of 11 collective minutes on the court in 2022-23 prior to Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.
“Playing with those guys, just trying to get a rhythm as a group,” Robinson said of lacking the continuity of the previous starting lineup. “That group was together for a while, so they had some connectivity. So we’ll try to get it right.”
Among options for Spoelstra could be a move to Victor Oladipo, who had his playoff moments last year before an uneven 2022-23. Oladipo entered in Wednesday night’s first quarter and had his moments in a 15-point effort that included contributions while the game still was in the balance.
Big issues
A Heat adjustment that appears less likely is a move to a bigger lineup to offset the Bucks’ height.
Milwaukee 7-foot-1 center Brook Lopez seized upon being guarded by a 6-5 Strus at the outset for a second consecutive game, this time setting a tone with 14 first-quarter points on 7-of-9 shooting.
“Yeah,” Spoelstra said, “we’ve got to figure that out.”
Said Robinson, “It seemed like they definitely emphasized that.”
Adebayo said it was more about schematics than size.
“I feel like some of it was our details,” he said. “I feel like we didn’t communicate as much as we should have.”
The Heat had thrived against the Bucks with bigger lineups in the 2020 playoffs, when Adebayo often played alongside centers such as Meyers Leonard or Kelly Olynyk.
But Adebayo said there is no reason to sell the current roster short.
“Everybody’s doing everything they can, watching film, seeing how they can be better,” he said. “We’ll lock in, buy in, and get ready for Game 3.”
The Heat ultimately were led in rebounding Wednesday by veteran center Cody Zeller, who had eight in his 12 minutes of fourth-quarter mop-up duty, otherwise having not played previously in the series.
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