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MIAMI – As the Miami Heat takes on the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke before the game about the role of veteran Kevin Love. There is no doubt that Love steps up for his teammates like he did with Tyler Herro when he had a scuffle with Houston Rockets' Amen Thompson, but the minutes for the big man have been fluctuating.
Heat's Kevin Love described as a “shapeshifter”
Love spent the majority of last season and the start of this one as the primary backup center to star Bam Adebayo, but now has seen limited action as the team looks to see what they have in their first-round rookie Kel'el Ware. However, Love has taken it with grace as Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints before Wednesday's contest that the 36-year-old is like a “shapeshifter” in the way he adapts to any role.
“I just can't say enough about K-Love, his leadership, and the appreciation for him adapting and molding into different roles. He's like a shapeshifter for us,” Spoelstra said. “Starting the other night [against the Rockets], I thought that was really important for a team that offense rebounds so well, and K-Love really helped out on the glass right away, and set the tone for kind of the physicality for the game. You know, you can play him off the bench. He's been great in those minutes.”
“And then, you know, we have some really talented young guys that he understands that Kel'el [Ware] and Niko [Jovic],” Spoelstra said. “You know that not only we'd like to see them get minutes, but they've gotten better with their minutes. They're earning, you know, minutes and earning their opportunities. K-Love celebrates their success.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about Kevin Love, his fluctuating minutes recently, and how he embraces his role.
“I just can’t say enough about K-Love, his leadership, and the appreciation for him adapting, molding into different roles, he’s like a shapeshifter…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/RIICtfvgn3
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) January 1, 2025
Spoelstra has spoken about Love before where he's praised his ability to embrace any role and given and knows that at his age, he's vital as a mentor as well as his ability to produce on the floor. Looking at December, Love has averaged 10.1 minutes per game, though he earned the start last Sunday against Houston.
Heat's Kevin Love embracing to “stay ready”
The Miami head coach would speak about the need for veterans like Love in the league and how that is “hard to find.”
“There's been so much talk that the league is getting younger and trying to find, you know, veteran guys,” Spoelstra said. “And I know a lot of veteran guys that are on the outside want to get in, and it's just tough. It's tough to find the right veteran guys that can provide that kind of leadership, that can play and still make an impact, and then have the emotional stability that's called upon not to play and still bring a sense of stability. That's a hard thing to find right now, and we have one with K-Love.”
While the focus around the team has been on the trade rumors surrounding Jimmy Butler and the Heat, the rest of the group has to focus on the season ahead of them. For the veteran, he spoke via Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald about what the coaching staff has told him and understands the need to give looks to younger guys, like Ware who Love has praised in the past.
“Just to stay ready,” Love said. “I know that they want to give a look to Kel’el. He’s been so great in practice and just continuing to work. So I’m just taking the vet approach right now, staying ready and staying in shape. But then just trying to lift up my teammates where I can.”
At any rate, Miami is currently 16-14 before the start of a three-game home stand that begins Wednesday in the first contest of a back-to-back where they take on the Pelicans.
