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Before the Miami Heat take on the Charlotte Hornets tonight on the road, there is a possibility the team could be without four starters. While Bam Adebayo, Haywood Highsmith, and Tyler Herro have missed time, add point guard Kyle Lowry to the fold as he's questionable for Monday's game with back spasms as he was on the NBA's official injury report.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke to the media at shoot-around Monday morning and said they can't make “excuses” about the countless injuries the team has faced. He also mentioned that even with the absent players, the team has played well and built up leads, but has to learn to sustain them according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“It's not about making excuses. It's not about who's not available. We've got enough to focus on for one game,” Spoelstra said. “In some of the missed games, we’ve had so many opportunities to win. That’s all it’s about right now. It’s not about making excuses. It’s not about who’s not available.”
Spoelstra talks about consistency
The main problem with the team per Spoelstra is being able to play consistently to their identity. He calls it their “biggest challenge” as the Heat head into Monday's game with a 12-10 record after losing their last contest to the Cleveland Cavaliers at The Kaseya Center.
“The biggest thing is everybody knows how we want to play and how we want to compete and how we want to approach games,” Spoelstra said. “We understand what our identity is. It’s a matter of doing it consistently. The bigger challenge for our group is sustainability, playing at a high level and sustaining that level throughout all the pockets and the skirmishes during a game.
“It’s not about missed games. That’s been way less of a factor in our wins and losses than sustaining a high level of play.”
There's no doubt that Miami has shown how good of a team they can be in these games, especially when they are missing the likes of stars such as Adebayo and Herro, but it's not in a complete outing. Spoelstra stressed that this flaw isn't just happening to the Heat, but that it is also present with the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
“We’ve proven that even with moving parts, that we can get double-digit leads and can play extremely well on both ends of the court. It’s the consistency that we have to continue to build on,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s not exclusive to us. There are teams that are at the top of the conference and basically everybody else is trying to figure out what we’re trying to figure out.”
The Heat without Kyle Lowry?
Lowry has been primarily the starting point guard for this team since the beginning of the season as he's been averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game. While one would think losing Lowry could deflate the rest of the team, Spoelstra refutes that by saying since the team has most of the same pieces since last season, it won't be a “dramatic” change.
“It’s not that dramatic at this point now with our group, because basically everybody is pretty familiar with each other, pretty familiar with the role definition and how it could potentially change slightly,” Spoelstra said to the media Monday. “We’re not incorporating a bunch of new guys, which would be a bit more of a challenge.”
Heat's front-court without Adebayo
The loss of Adebayo has hurt the team since they are losing the star's elite defense, soaring offense, and exceptional rebounding as he was averaging just over 23 points and 10 boards before the Nov. 30 Indiana Pacers game where he re-injured his hip. In his place, there has been more opportunity for the likes of Kevin Love and especially the 23-year old Orlando Robinson. Still, Thomas Bryant hasn't received that much playing time.
However, Spoelstra said before the second game against the Pacers that he's confident in his front-court depth, despite Adebayo arguably being the best-performing player on the Heat.
“It's not our first time, so we feel comfortable about our front-court depth. It'll look a little bit different which is what we like about our depth. Each guy brings something a little bit different, and they've all proven that they've been able to impact games already to help us win,” Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints. “The game that you know, bam, missed in Cleveland, we got some great front-court play you know, from our bigs and it may be a little bit different tonight. These guys played super small and in some of their lineups. So we just have to figure it out and just make an impact for whatever minutes they have in that spot.”
Asked Miami Heat HC Erik Spoelstra about what the message is to the big-men after losing Bam Adebayo for the next two games. #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/8JwJ1OcJoA
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 2, 2023
It remains to be seen if the Heat get Lowry back for Monday's game against the Hornets. However, if there is a bright side minus the injury woes, Miami's next four contests after tonight are at home.
