As the Miami Heat prepare to stay home for three contests after a grueling five-game road trip, the team could finally see the reemergence of forward Caleb Martin. Before the key NBA In-Season tournament game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints that he's been impressed of what he's seen from Martin recently as he's still recovering from an injury.

“I really liked where Caleb is trending. I'm not looking at the stats, I'm not looking necessarily at what probably everybody else is looking, that final line in the box score,” Spoelstra said. “I'm just looking at his movement, and I want to see the quick twitch and some of the activity that makes him and ultimately us more dynamic. He's the ultimate X Factor. And I see him moving a lot better. Which we were not seeing early on in training camp.”

Martin has been dealing with a knee injury since the off-season, but in Miami's game against the Nets last Saturday, it was his best game of the season. He scored a team-high 22 points, collected seven rebounds, and more importantly, played a season-high 31 minutes.

The 28-year old will especially be needed as Heat star Jimmy Butler missed the aforementioned Nets game and will miss Tuesday's game against the Bucks. With Miami preparing for a possible stint without Butler, Martin will be crucial down the stretch.

Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. also a potential fill in for Jimmy Butler

Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and star Jimmy Butler in front of the Kaseya Center.

The same goes for rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. who has also been shining bright as in the road trip mentioned before, he was an integral part of the team's cohesion. However, Spoelstra stressed that he's not asking Martin and Jaquez to be Butler, but he implied that they'll be important pieces to the puzzle.

“And then Jaime, I don't want to put too much out there right now because I like where he's progressing. He's playing winning basketball, he's able to complement a lot of different lineups. He's eating up everything right now. And he's a smart player,” Spoelstra said. “So he picks up things quickly. But the biggest thing is he's a competitor. He's a mature player and those type of characteristics can fit in with what we're trying to do.”

Spoelstra talks about point-differential in the NBA In-Season Tournament

When it comes to Tuesday, it could be the final game for the Heat in the NBA In-Season tournament. The clearest pathway to advancing in the tourney would be to beat the Bucks and hope the New York Knicks fall to the Charlotte Hornets who just lost Lamelo Ball for an extended period of time.

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It's been known how important point-differential has been for the inaugural tournament, even the Heat's Bam Adebayo and other players spoke about it. Spoelstra was asked before the game against the Bucks if that is in team's mindset for how they play. However, he said it shouldn't be and it's not a way to prepare for a game.

“We will be aware of it but we're not going to play to that. I told the players to focus on playing great basketball here at home and hopefully that leads to a win,” Spoelstra said. And if it gets to a point where we have to think about point differential, let us think about it and I don't want anyone else thinking that. That's no way to approach a game, particularly against a good team.”

The Heat are currently 10-7 which puts them fifth in the Eastern Conference. They're currently on a two-game losing streak as they try to bounce back against the Bucks and the Indiana Pacers twice after.