{"id":550918,"date":"2026-01-21T12:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/550918\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:10:14","slug":"do-erik-spoelstra-miami-heat-need-to-lock-in-a-first-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/550918\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat need to lock in a first five?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: It\u2019s impossible to get any rhythm when at least two guys are out every single night. \u2013 Chris.<\/p>\n

A: Correct \u2013 unless you simply set a lineup and ride with it, regardless of whoever is in or out. At this stage it could be going with what the Heat have gone with the past two nights, opening with Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson, Norman Powell and Davion Mitchell, and then allowing the rest of the rotation to sort itself out. At this stage, Tyler Herro is not necessarily a given<\/a> when he returns. Continuity matters. When it comes to the starters, the Heat may have hit on something, albeit while undersized. But at some point, you have to find something, settle on something and make a stand.<\/p>\n

Q: Say it with me, Heat Nation: \u201cPat Riley fleeced the Warriors.\u201d \u2013 M.D.<\/p>\n

A: Yes Jimmy Butler is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL<\/a>, leaving the Warriors with half a season from Jimmy this season and likely the same next season. But do not also overstate the Heat\u2019s haul on that deal. Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell have been nice additions but hardly are moving any playoff-race needles, and Kasparas Jakucionis still is raw. The reality is that a motivated and ambulatory Jimmy Butler contributes more than any of those three. With the Heat the motivation lacked, and now the body is not whole.<\/p>\n

Q: Has Nikola Jovic\u2019s play this season regressed to the point where he is untradeable? Myron Gardner\u2019s play against OKC certainly contributed to that win. Is there a way that Erik Spoelstra could work him into the lineup to give him a closer look during the rest of the season? \u2013 Bob, Juno Beach.<\/p>\n

A: I\u2019m not sure Nikola Jovic has necessarily regressed, because to a degree he very much has been like the Heat over his career \u2013 up and down. At the moment, he is down. As for trade value, considering he already has been extended with a deal that kicks in next season, the poison-pill element would make a trade complex with Niko. As for Myron Gardner, he\u2019s a nice story, but if the Heat are going to go with development in the backcourt, they\u2019re going to prioritize\u00a0 Kasparas Jakucionis. That said, Myron again was active when getting minutes Tuesday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Q: It\u2019s impossible to get any rhythm when at least two guys are out every single night. \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3778],"tags":[7,144,165,295,189,3880,3881,6,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-550918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-heat","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-heat","10":"tag-latest-headlines","11":"tag-miami","12":"tag-miami-heat","13":"tag-miami-heat-blog","14":"tag-miamiheat","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115933021910414298","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}