Miami Heat: Who loses time when Tyler Herro returns? | Five on the Floor

Miami Heat: Who loses time when Tyler Herro returns? | Five on the Floor

Welcome to the latest episode of Five on the Florida, the Five Reason Sports Network. Thanks for joining us on your favorite podcast app on Apple, Apple Podcast. On Android, we recommend Spotify. Also, check out the Five Reasons YouTube channel for all your South Florida sports content. We always mention Off the Floor. That’s the place for the most heat anywhere. That’s where you also get access to all of our promotions. We got great deals for you with all of our partners. And you can check out 10 different channels. Get off of Twitter. Everything decent from Twitter we put here anyway. And you avoid all the political talk, everything else. Just go to off the floor. Again, link is right here in our description. Also, check out Prize Pick. Use the code five fiv. Put down your five bucks. You get $50 to play right away. Prize Pix is the official fantasy partner of the Five Reason Sports Network. Legal in the state of Florida. You can play NHL, NBA, NFL, MMA, and more. It’s all on there. Daily Fantasy Simplified. And yes, you get better plays than you will find in other places. The simplest to play. It’s prize picks. Use the code FIV ve. And now today’s episode. Uh oh. Yeah, it’s Mercy Music by Mercy again. Keep Nation the coach. Yo E, I need you to call time out radio blanket open for the shot. Still five on the floor. Still ride for my dog on the court. Still survive in the wall. Keep your eye on the ball or fear burn from the heat. This mic off the wall without turning the cheek from night to day. No sleeping powders. The love is sleeping us. Never catch live from Miami. We pour in the heat with five reason sports from the court to the streets. [Music] [Applause] Be patient. [Applause] Welcome to Five on the Floor, a daily insider show on the Miami Heat and the NBA featuring Ethan Skolnick, Greg Sander, Alex Toledo, Brady Hawk, and others from the Five Reason Sports Network. Also, make sure to subscribe to Off the Floor for the most heat anywhere. [Music] All right, welcome back to Five on the Floor. Here’s today’s floor plan. I’m Ethan Scholig. You can follow me, Ethan J. Skoling at five reasons in sports. I got Alex Leto. You can follow him at Tropical Blanket. The Miami Heat are 6 and4 entering tonight’s game. If you’re listening to this before the game, two games coming up against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs last time in Miami, not the playoffs, but before that, the playoffs are a different story. Struggled a little bit with that South Beach flu stuff. So, we’ll see what happens here over the course of three days. They did. Um, I lived in Cleveland for a while. I understand it. I understand why that particular strain affects them. It’s nothing to do up there. Anyway, East Fourth Street. What is that? Okay, it’s one street. Uh anyway, sorry. I don’t I don’t mean to offend anybody. If Max Duce is listening to us right now, then I apologize. Anyway, Max is not playing tonight. So, the Heat have two against Cleveland and they’re six and four. Tyler Herro not back yet. Bam Adabio not back yet, but everybody else other is is available to play at this point other than of course Terry Rosier. And so we’re going to dive into this topic that that Brady Hawk, follow him at Brady Hawk 305, uh, got into on the Sports Illustrated page that we run on SI where he talked about who’s going to lose time when Tyler Herro comes back. So let let me throw this at you, Alex, without us getting into the starters because that’s a separate conversation, okay? I want to focus on who’s going to be playing less. So, here are the eight players that I believe are going to play every night provided that they’re healthy. Spam Adabio, Andrew Wiggins, Norm Powell, Tyler Herro, DaVon Mitchell, Kel Wear, Nicole Yoic, and Jaime Hake Jr. Would you agree with those eight? Yeah. Okay. So, there are five other uh players on the active or standard contract. So, let’s take the two ways out of this. Those five players, again, not including Rosier or the empty slot. Okay? Each of which will be as impactful for the Heat this season on the court. The the other the other spots are, Simony Fonteio, Drew Smith, Pella Larson, thanks Drew for having an easy name to pronounce, Casperis Yakonis, and Kishad Johnson. We’re going to assume Kesha Johnson, I’m sorry. We’re going to assume that uh Kesha Johnson is not going to play, right? Uh barring emergency. Yeah, I think that’s a fair assumption. Okay. Uh is it also fair to say that Casperis will not be getting regular playing time in in with the big club at least at this point? Yep. As much as I hate to say it, I felt that way beforehand and feel even stronger in that sense now just because the guys ahead of him are just playing too well. Right. Okay. So, let’s talk about those three guys. Mhm. Eric Spolster has traditionally liked to play nine. Do you think with as well as Smith, Larson, and Fonteio have played consistently? Not like one night, not like every other night. The the three of them have played well pretty much every time they’ve played. Like, I Larson had one game that wasn’t quite as good. Fontki had one game that wasn’t quite as good. I don’t know that Drew’s had a bad game, honestly. Um, in terms of what you’re asking him to do and what he provides, do you see any scenario where Eric Sper just limits it to nine if if everybody I’m mentioning is healthy? Yeah, I can definitely see that scenario considering how often he’s opted to go with nine in the past. And and look, I feel like a broken record sometimes because I feel like every single season I come on here and say they should run a 10-man rotation, they have the guys to do it. And I don’t know, it feels like this season that’s an even there’s an even stronger case for that because everybody’s playing well. It’s like that. It’s funny because you mentioned like the eight guys that are set in stone most likely to be in that rotation every night. And you can make the case that these three guys we’re talking about here on the fringe have have played their role more consistently than say Yoic and Wear. And look, I’m not obviously I’m not advocating for those guys to be out of rotation. No way. I I would definitely not advocate advocate for that. But just to illustrate how well, you know, these guys have been playing in their roles. Like it’s been it’s been a a pleasant surprise just to see how consistent they’ve been because like the bench has been a huge part of this. It’s not like the starters are carrying them and whatever. They want to rely on the starters more. Like it’s absolutely not the case. Like the other night I think it would have been it would have been fine if he closed with Drew instead of Davon. Like I thought Drew was playing that well. Drew’s been really good all season. Um, Pella like the time whether he was on the bench, whether he was in the starting lineup, he showed you what he does. To me, the shot looks a little bit cleaner um this season as well. And Fontekio like has been a sniper. It just it’s really hard to not say 10-man rotation, especially when you’re playing a faster pace, right? Uh, and honestly, like a part of me like I know it’s definitely not going to happen. I would say like run an 11man rotation. He’s not doing that. the 10 and 11 are kind of like, you know, the 10 and 11 aren’t getting the same amount of minutes as maybe the guys ahead, but you know, like they’re getting these small spurts, but that it’s it’s definitely not going to happen as you say. But is there something to be said, and I want to get into who would be in and out, but is there something to be said though for rhythm? Also, one of the things that concerns me about playing 11 is that you’re cutting minutes from guys who do need to get into rhythm. Like Tyler is a guy who plays off of rhythm. I don’t think they’re going to once he’s once he’s ramped up. Nico is a guy who plays off of rhythm. I’m concerned about some guys being cut. Now Tyler’s not gonna be cut to 17 18 minutes, but I’m concerned about like Nico getting cut to 17 18 minutes. Like with where I can see it because there will be one one time in the game where he just decides he doesn’t want to play him because he’s not giving the effort and when Bam is back, he’ll have a little bit more luxury to do that. Not a lot. Okay, we’ve talked about the the issues with rotation in the front court, but I I do think rhythm matters. I I think 10 is the right number, and I kind of feel like it’s nine and a half. uh that that you know maybe a 10th guy gets in in the first half but doesn’t necessarily play in the second half. I can also see and we’re not really getting into the starters on this but I can see a quicker hook for a starter if say Yic was starting. Um although I don’t think Yoic is going to be starting. I think and I don’t I don’t want to diverge on this because we there’s whole other episodes we’ll do on this but I I think it’s going to be Wiggins at the four. Uh I that’s where this has been headed so to speak. Um, and where and Yovic have natural chemistry off the bench. So, I kind of feel like that may be the direction that he goes in. Starts small, probably closes with that group, too. Uh, on a lot of occasions. Tyler, Tyler Powell, DaVon Wiggins, and Bam. I think that’s the most likely consistent closing lineup, but I could see somebody else getting in there. Like a Larson sometimes, like some of the other guys you mentioned. But before we go to break on this, okay, so let’s say it’s 10. Okay. Somebody’s left out. So, I just want you to think about this as we go into the break and I’ll give you what some others have said. Greg thinks it’s going to be Drew or it should be Drew that’s left out. Brady in his articles seem to lean a little bit more towards Fonteio who’s who I lean to. And when I put this on Twitter, most people do agree that it would be one of those two because when I said if anybody’s going to be the ninth guy, which of these three? And they had Larson’s like winning at like 55%. I don’t know that we would have said that two weeks ago because it looked like Pella was trending out of the rotation, but honestly, he just played so damn well. So, I want you to think about that. We’ll talk about it more on the other side. Do want to talk about a great sponsor for the Five Reason Sports Network, our friends over at Real Estate Shop. You can find them at real estatefl.com. That’s real estate shopffl.com. Javier and Amanda, they had open houses going on this weekend. I think they’re in Pines Plantation. They’re all over the place. This is a tricky real estate market. Everything’s tricky these days. Make sure you work with experienced people who have your family in mind. They’re family folks themselves. They know Broward County as well as anybody and huge Miami Heat fans. Javier has been on here on the podcast. So, check them out. It’s real estatefl.com or go to the Fort Lauderdale Realtor on Instagram. Okay. So, can you make a case for Pella Larson being the odd man out? Yeah, I think you can make the case because honestly, it’s a tough question. You know that the question about whether like if you are going to run a 10-man rotation when Tyler’s back and Bam’s back. Um, you know, who do you cut out? I I think it it really is a tough question, but you can make the case for Pella because I think Pella is like that guy where you know um if he is the guy whose minutes get cut drastically when everybody’s healthy like we were kind of talking about maybe the I don’t know like is he a guy whose impact could maybe be felt less I think there’s a case for that. he wouldn’t be my pick personally, but I do think you you give thought to it because that’s like you said earlier like that’s kind of where that’s that’s where things stood um before the the injuries kind of started to pile up first to norm um and of course already with the Tyler injury. So I think like the case is there but really I also think about the other two a little bit more. I think Drew would be a candidate because you’re bringing back a guard, right? And I think like there part of me is like how many guards do you want in your rotation? But then the other part of me is like I want Drew in there somewhere which is it’s really crazy because like I feel like I respected Drew coming into the season and even um you know like going into the season before but man he surpassed my expectations even more. Like he went from just being solid to like okay no this is a you know this is a a he’s been a positive pretty much every time. I don’t know. I I really I really don’t know how either. I don’t know how a guy comes off a torn ACL and Achilles tear and is looking like he looks like he does not look like he lost I know lateral quickness was not his biggest thing. Um it’s more positioning that’s a big part of what he does on defense and he hasn’t lost it. He hasn’t lost it. I I it’s it’s remarkable. I mean if you’ve ever talked to Drew you kind of know where this comes from but it’s just I I not enough has been made of of what he’s done so far. I mean he there is there and and here’s the thing. He was making positive impact in his minutes last season before he got hurt. Every lineup was better with him. And so I I I’m with you in the idea that it’s going to be difficult for Spo to pull him out, especially when he’s got he has a point of attack defender on the court at all times. Now, and that was going to be my next point. I love I love the two-headed like monster that they have going on with their point of attack defense with DaVon and Drew. And it goes back to kind of what I was thinking before about keeping DaVon in that starting lineup. um when Tyler’s back like I know we’re not going to get into that but that would fit in to that you know but it does matter it does matter Alex in this context because I if the the starting lineup does matter because Drew is more likely to stay in the rotation if DaVon is starting right of course yeah makes more sense right I I like that um situation better so I think I I’d keep Drew in my rotation I think I’d keep Pella and I think my unfortunate cut would be Simone me too as as much as I hate to say it like, you know, he’s been good. He’s been very good and, you know, um obviously he wasn’t going to shoot 60% from three all season. Um but in the minutes that he’s played, like he he’s he’s shooting the ball well and the defense is not standing out in such a negative way. And that’s really all you wanted. Like you didn’t come here expecting him to be this awesome defender for you, but he’s a guy who like, you know, at whatever he Oh my god, I I even hesitate to say it now because I know where you’re going to go with this. at his 67 height. Um yeah. Uh you know, it’s just he brings attraction obligated to do that by somebody in my household. So there you go. Yeah. Um and and that’s why I hesitated. But this, you know, the frame that he brings as somebody who’s just like an okay defender, you know, like it’s a positive. Like he he adds a little bit of wing size to a team that is already not that big. So, I almost like I would hesitate to bring out somebody who’s been such a good shooter for them and and maybe have to rely a little bit more on guys who haven’t always been great shooters like Pella and Drew, but I I still think that’s where I would go with it, especially because you’re bringing back such a high level shooter in Tyler. And of course, like the more shooting the marrier, but it’s a really tough question and I think my my my answer would be FKO as well. Yeah, that’s where I’m at with it, too. And it reminds me a little bit of the way that Spo used to use James Jones. Your defense is just so important and it’s been so good. Well, but but that’s the thing though. Vanteio strikes me. Look, JJ was unique in that uh you know, you could shove him for three weeks, then he’d come off the bench and he’d start for Dwayne and that happened all the time and then he’d have three threes and then he’d go back to the bench for three months and be preparing to be, you know, an NBA executive basically. uh Fonteio doesn’t have that kind of cache with the organization or sort of that trust level with the organization that JJ had at that point. Obviously JJ had been with him uh prior to the big three even you know starting came back all that. I I just uh I think Fonte is the answer because they’re getting a shooter back. I I think it’s really that simple and I just don’t think you can take Larson’s intangibles out of the rotation. I don’t like that there are minutes or or Drews. That’s the thing. But I see but the thing with with Larson is that like there there’s like always a four or five minute stint where he completely changes the energy and and I felt that way about Drew too. He does. No, they both do. But I just with Larson and I saw this and obviously we talked about this a lot coming out of uh coming out of training camp uh or into training camp but also uh with what we talked about with um uh summer league where he was on the floor. They gave him all these different roles. He adapts to all of it. He’s not scared of anybody. And what’s impressed me and and Brad and I were talking about this at the game the other night like the way he’s looked with Hakez. I I was not expecting that. I thought they would clash a little bit and they’ve played really well together. Cutting off the ball, all of that stuff. Uh, I’ve been really impressed with that. You I’m I know people say I’m like a Pella like, you know, I I am. I I just think I think that guy is a highlevel role player on a good team. I really do. I don’t think he’s a star, but that dude’s going to win championships somewhere. I just I He’s He’s going to pl whether it’s in Miami or somewhere else. if he’s in the right system, he’s gonna be in the top eight somewhere and he’s going to be giving you consistent minutes and giving you that energy. I don’t think they can take him out of the rotation. And I feel the same way about Drew. And I also think with Drew, even though he’s the kind of personality that would accept it, obviously that’s who he is. I don’t think Spo wants to do that to him, honestly. Right. Like with what he’s come back from, making the 11th played it just it does it wouldn’t feel right. And then like the other thing with Fontekio like as as you were talking about it there like the haime factor that almost gave me a little bit of second thoughts because it’s like taking out another shooter from those lineups maybe could have an adverse effect. Now of course you know like there’s different lineups that Haime is going to be playing with. You know you figure out the lineups. I think Drew and Pella have been good enough shooters where they’re not just like these liabilities that are being left wide open and have no confidence shooting their shot. um which is kind of what Haimei was last season and he’s not shooting threes anymore so it’s not even a problem really like he’s all about getting to the basket and playmaking. So thinking about that part right like that would make me you know second guess myself a little bit with that decision but still I I I think I would still lean just keeping those guys Drew Drew Impella specifically in there. It’s crazy where we are that a guy that the Heat picked up in a trade for Duncan that there was consideration of waving and stretching and we’re all like, “Oh, they can’t possibly take him out of the rotation.” Uh, but he’s the only guy. And I I really do think he’s the only guy. I And I think as you look at where this is headed, um, you know, they’ve got two dead roster spots. Uh, we haven’t really seen the two ways get a chance to contribute, you know, at this point. Golden with the team but hasn’t played. uh you know, Jamir Young, Myron Gardner actually played pretty well in the G-League. Uh had some moments the other day. So, I think there may be opportunities for some of these guys, but again, they’re so guard heavy that I don’t know if Gardner and Jir Young are going to get opportunities uh anytime soon, but they have two dead roster spots and they’re still deep as hell. They really are like they’re very like they they’ve just got they’ve got a lot of guys they can go to, but I’m I’m on the Drew and Lson have to keep playing. He’s got to play 10 now. I can see some games again where the second half the guy he benches if he goes nine may not be the guy you think it might be Kell some nights it might be Yoic some nights I right and then these guys play cuz you hit on it wherein Yoic no question are higher upside players than these guys like there’s no I mean then even Larson then Larson then Fontio and then Drew but you know what you’re getting from these three guy particularly from Drew and Larson every single night we don’t know what you’re there’s just much more variability stint to stint, game to game, confidence in in Nico’s case, focus in Wear’s case, and I do think there going to be some second halfs where he just play if he’s got Lson and Drew Smith, you know, diving on the floor, getting steals, creating. You may not see Nico or again. I think that may be where this heads, right? They’re there. Those are like the exact type of players that you’re describing for sure. And we know that Spo loves those guys and they frankly have done it. Like it’s not just Spo saying stuff, right? Like it’s he is saying what is, you know, being reflected on the court. Those guys are out there making plays and their bench has been a like I can’t stress enough how big of a part of what like how what what’s gone well so far this season. Like their bench, it’s been a huge part of it. I think you want to make sure like you make the right decision here cuz I feel like normally a 10th man in the rotation versus, you know, who gets left out, it’s maybe not so impactful, but versus with a team that is, you know, relying on their bench in a way so much like to come in and make a difference, not just, you know, um, buy time until the starters come back. It’s it’s a more impactful decision than I feel like a casual fan might think. Like I don’t Drew Drew has been awesome. Pella has been really good and so has Feio to be fair. I just think the shooting it’s like at some point it was going to come down, you know, to be fair. Um, you know, he’s he’s played his role, but you’re basically just like you’re weighing a bunch of different skill sets and factors with lineups. And I think that’s where ultimately like considering everything it would be him, but I wouldn’t feel great about it. That’s why like part of me is like, hey, just, you know, try, you know, can you fit in in 11 somewhere? But I just I don’t know if would play well in that role like speaking to the rhythm stuff like as a shooter. I I think for him, but I think the other thing is this. Once Tyler is ramped up in terms of his minutes, you need to get him and Powell on the court as much as possible together. See how that looks. And so you you have all these different pockets of minutes that you’ve got to find places for. Here’s the take before we end the show. I think they’re going to start together and then from there like probably close together. But I think in between you’ll see the two-headed point guard monster that I was talking about before. Like I I I I think I think you will, but there there’s a I think you will, but there’s a bigger concern here. There is about winning night tonight, but there’s also figuring out how you’re going to pay the two of them. I think they need to they need to get a good look at that. So, I’m with you. The starting, the finishing, they’ll be on the court, but they’ll be a little bit more than that, too. just cuz they they need to figure out what kind of chunk of salary they can give to two guys and that back if that back court really meshes then we’re having a different conversation here about what they decide to do with their resources. If it doesn’t mesh and it’s a fight to kind of figure it out which by the way Drag and Wade were a fight to figure it out for a couple years too. Uh sometimes back courts don’t get don’t come together right away. I mean Tyler with pretty much everybody has been Tyler with Kyle was not a great fit. You know, there there’s been these these problems over the years. Makes me more optimistic about it. Me, too. But we got to see it. We haven’t seen it yet. All right. Thanks for our sponsors, real estate shopffl.com. Also, prize picks. Use the code FIV. Have a good one, everybody.

The Miami Heat have a good problem: a lot of their role players are playing well. That makes it difficult to decide who will sit when Tyler Herro is back. Ethan Skolnick and Alex Toledo go through the options. Could Erik Spoelstra play 11? And if not, who will need to wait for a turn?

Sponsors:
• RealEstateShoppeFL.com
• PrizePicks.com (FIVE)

Join us on our Off The Floor Discord server for the most Heat anywhere! Get exclusive insider information, along with updates/stats/insights from the 5OTF crew and hang out with other Heat fans. https://discord.gg/5otf (Scroll down after clicking)

Follow Ethan, Alex and Brady’s writing for Sports Illustrated here!
• https://www.si.com/nba/heat/author/alex-tol
• https://www.si.com/nba/heat/author/ethan-skolnick
• https://www.si.com/nba/heat/author/brady-hawk

5OTF Special Offer:
* Check out Mood and use my code FIVE for a great deal: https://mood.com

If you want more exclusive Miami Dolphins content, join OnlyFins on Discord: https://discord.gg/onlyfins

If you’re interested in sponsoring Five Reasons, contact us at fivereasonssports@gmail.com