As the Miami Heat look to bounce back after the loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, 121-117, the team still has a lot to figure out with their lineups and rotations, as there are 14 games left in the regular season. With the Heat preparing for a gauntlet of tough teams in the next few weeks, one major decision still has to be made regarding star Norman Powell.

There's no denying how much of a positive impact Powell has been this season in his first year with Miami, leading the team with 22.5 points per game, which resulted in his first All-Star nod. Having been a mainstay starter for the Heat, Saturday was a different story as he came off the bench after missing the prior seven games with a groin strain.

While fellow star guard Tyler Herro did the same coming off his latest ribs injury, there are a few reasons as to why both Powell and Herro came off the bench in their injury returns after missing significant time. The obvious one is that coming off a nagging and tricky injury, coming off the bench is a way to ease Powell back into playing, getting his legs under him.

The other is not wanting to mess with the flow of Miami, as there has been success with Herro starting, as he averaged 25,6 points per game in five of the seven games Powell was out. The other two were due to Herro missing time due to quadriceps soreness.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra would say to ClutchPoints after the loss to Orlando that, besides ‘managing' Powell's injury recovery, he spoke about the “level of sacrifice” that will come when it deals with lineup decisions.

“He'll be fine as long as we're responsible about it,” Spoelstra said. “Look, these are not easy decisions right now. He’s going to play a lot of minutes. Tyler is going to play a lot of minutes. Right now, we just need to focus on winning games and pouring into the team right now. We want to be healthy, we want our guys out there, we want our firepower, we want our options. With that comes some level of sacrifice, and what we'll do each game, I don't know at this point. We're doing whatever we feel is necessary to put ourselves in a position to win.”

Could the Heat bench Norman Powell in favor of Tyler Herro?

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) fouls Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) during the second half at Kaseya Center.
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

With the Heat seeing the return of Powell and Herro, Saturday only marked the 12th game where they were both active in a game together, and the results have been middling. There had been intriguing rotational patterns where Herro and Powell had played in different lineups, instead of on the court together at once. When they were on the floor at the same time, it felt like a work in progress.

However, Saturday saw the two get extended minutes with one another as they played 14 minutes, and while defensively it was not the best, Miami would score the Magic by three points in that time. There could be a discussion on one starting and the other coming off the bench, with Powell recently coming off the bench, scoring 20 points on Saturday.

“Just that they didn’t want to mess the flow up, with the way the team is playing,” Powell said when asked how the team explained to Powell the reasoning for his coming off the bench. “And just to be myself and be aggressive.”

One could easily see how weird a look it would be for Powell to have an All-Star season as a starter, then become a reserve down the stretch. However, there has been a lot of winning when one or the other of Powell or Herro has been out, leading to a potentially uncomfortable position for Spoelstra to make and for one of the players to accept.

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There is still time for the Tyler Herro-Norman Powell tandem to work

Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) and guard Tyler Herro (14) looks on in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.
Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

However, the hope is that in these last 14 games, the Heat can balance fortifying their spot in the Eastern Conference while making the Powell-Herro tandem work. There's no denying the offensive capabilities that both can have on the floor, but the concerns on defense are valid.

Still, time has not been on their side, with Bam Adebayo even mentioning how it will be “shaky” at first with the moving pieces.

“I mean, it’s going to get shaky because everybody is trying to play the right way,” Adebayo said. “Nobody wants to feel like they’re messing up the motion or the style of play or how we’re playing. So everybody’s trying to get the right amount of shots or the right rhythm without it affecting everybody else.”

At the end of the day, whether Miami starts both or one does and the other comes off the bench, the goal is a common thread everybody shares.

“It’s one common goal. We’re all trying to win, at the end of the day,” Herro said. “Whatever it takes to win.”

At any rate, both look to stay healthy and work off one another as Miami plays the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night, with the Heat 38-30, putting them seventh in the East.