Heat’s Spoelstra addresses emotions of Highsmith-Love switch; Herro says he doesn’t stink on defense
MIAMI — Considering the Miami Heat have started an NBA-high five lineups in six games, perhaps Erik Spoelstra should be taken at his word about Kevin Love being shuffled out of Friday night’s mix not necessarily meaning the veteran forward has been shuffled out of the Miami Heat’s consciousness.
But what Friday night’s victory over the Washington Wizards showed was that with Love out of the starting lineup there isn’t necessarily a role as a reserve, with Thomas Bryant playing as the reserve in the power rotation and small ball largely ruling the night in Spoelstra’s rotation.
“Look, nobody likes being 1-4, losing four straight. It sucked,” Spoelstra said of the record the Heat took into the Wizards game. “I hate having to make those kind of decisions, because from everybody outside, it looks like it’s an indictment on one particular player. It’s not. It’s really not.
“I hated having to make that move, because Kevin brings so much from a spirit and connection and leadership standpoint. But this is just a move for now.”
Among the reasons the Heat were able to acquire Love on the buyout market last February was his lack of playing time in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rotation.
“K-Love is going to have a role with us,” said Spoelstra, with the Heat idle until Monday night’s visit by the Los Angeles Lakers. “Everything that we wanted last year, I just feel like we’re going to need that kind of decorated veteran experience. It’s just for right now, just to stabilize.
“This was a move I felt was best for the time being. And then we’ll see what happens. I’ll just continue to evaluate until we can get our team where we need to get it.”
The decision could become even more complex once Caleb Martin returns from the knee soreness that has had him out since the preseason. Martin primarily played at power forward last season, when he started 49 games.
As it is, Spoelstra has yet to turn consistently to 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic, who has not played in the past two games.
For Haywood Highsmith, the move into a starting role was the latest in a climb from undrafted prospect out of Division II Wheeling University in 2018.
“The goal is to play. It doesn’t matter, start, come off the bench, just make an impact and play,” he said. “My journey here has been crazy. So now that I’m at this point where coach Spo trusts me enough to put me in the starting lineup, that says a lot, that means a lot.”
Stating his case
Second on the Heat in defensive win shares through six games and in the middle of the team’s pack in defensive rating, Tyler Herro stressed after the victory over the Wizards that the goal remains to become viewed more of a two-way player, even as he thrives with his early-season offense.
“Yeah, I mean I’m not a bad defender. I’m trying to tell you guys,” Herro said at his postgame media session. “You watch the game, I’m decent, I’m decent and I’m getting better, I’m telling you.
“At Kentucky, I was the best defender on our team at Kentucky. And in the league, you got to learn a bunch of different things. It just doesn’t come like this. And being a rookie, a younger guy in the league, you’re already set back a couple of years, because you have to learn everything.”
Among the initial doubts with Herro was his negative wingspan, two inches shorter than his height. The Heat over the years have emphasized collecting those with positive wingspans.
“And my wingspan, everything else, doesn’t help, that I had to learn all that on the fly,” Herro continued. “I’ve been playing (in the league) since I was 19, so just being able to pick up on things and learn things and taking them over to the next season and continuing to build off that, I think I’m just going to continue to be a solid defender.
“And I’ll just continue to get better. You know, I have speed and quickness. I feel like I can read plays before they happen, and I’m starting to get better at that.”
Just short
Herro closed Friday’s victory with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
“Yeah, I was aware of it,” he said. “My teammates were trying to help me get that last assist. Obviously, we play to win. And I think more important is closing out the game. If it happens, it happens. If not, we’ll take a win.”
Herro’s lone regular-season triple-double remains Nov. 27, 2022 against the Atlanta Hawks, when he closed with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Center Bam Adebayo joked that his rebound count Friday was limited to four to accommodate Herro.
“Yeah, he stole a couple of mine,” Adebayo said with a smile. “But I know he was going for a triple-double. So obviously I had that conversation with my teammate, ‘I’m going to let you go get these rebounds. Just don’t forget I’m letting you get these rebounds. But when you have games, not like this when you have seven in the first quarter, don’t try to come steal my rebounds, because I’m going to bow you in your head.’
“But I wish he could have got his last assist. It would have kind of capped off the night for us.”