ASK IRA: Are Heat asking too much of too few?

Q: Part of the Heat’s culture is the physical conditioning requirements, but with 82 games and Erik Spoelstra’s limits on how he uses his rotation, it plays a significant role in the continued injuries and the team’s shortcomings. – Stevan.

A: But the truth is the Heat have rarely practiced this season, with Erik Spoelstra more and more bypassing the option of game-day shootarounds, including Monday, ahead of the loss to the Nuggets. So the workload away from games has been dramatically reduced, nothing like at the start of the Pat Riley era. For the most part, Spoelstra has gone nine deep this season, which is typical of most teams (Monday was an exception, somewhat surprisingly not playing Jamal Cain). This neither is Heat culture nor Spoelstra wearing down the roster. This is Tyler Herro bumping knees on Saturday night in Orlando. This is the risk that comes with signing older players, such as Kyle Lowry. And this is the new NBA standard that has created a seeming approach of when in doubt, sit it out.

Q: The G League additions aren’t doing anything for this team. – Paolo.

A: No, they’re doing what G League players do – play in support. If you were expecting Orlando Robinson, Jamal Cain or Jamree Bouyea to be leading men, then your expectations are out of line with their pedigree. The problem in such moments is that when there is a shorthanded roster, the expectations are thrown out of whack. Every team needs supporting pieces. But you can’t expect them to morph into leading men upon demand. It does not work that way. Still, Bouyea had his moments Monday night.

Q: We need more undrafted players honestly. Skip the buyout market, –Banks.

A: Ah, the sarcasm. While the reality is the Heat had only two drafted players in their rotation Monday night against the Nuggets, it’s not as if buyout players immediately are going to move ahead of some of the Heat’s undrafted players. While there might be a reason those players when undrafted, there also is a reason players have fallen into the buyout market. So flotsam or jetsam?

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Source: Berkshire mont