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The Miami Heat have a banged-up lineup that is putting Erik Spoelstra’s head coaching acumen to the test. That didn’t stop the Heat from making an upset road win over the Boston Celtics last Wednesday, however, and they will try to get another victory with a number of their key players out of commission Friday against the Dallas Mavericks at home.
Speaking with reporters prior to the showdown with the Mavericks, Spoelstra only managed to muster a very terse message about the Heat’s lineup composition for the night, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Spo pregame transcript. We had a lot to ask. pic.twitter.com/HYOueZYOSN
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 22, 2017
Spoelstra's message was almost as short as the Heat's rotation of late.
Just like against the Celtics, Miami will roll out with a lineup that will not feature Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson, Goran Dragic, and Justise Winslow due to varying injuries. That’s not to mention Heat role players Okaro White and Rodney McGruder, who are also out for the foreseeable future with both players undergoing surgeries to repair their respective lower-body injuries.
For the meantime, Spoelstra is looking for the likes of Jason Richardson, Dion Waiters, and Tyler Johnson to provide scoring from the backcourt, while Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk will handle most of the frontcourt duties along with Jordan Mickey.
Spoelstra doesn’t have the most ideal of lineups to work on, but he’ll have to play the hand he's been dealt.
