MIAMI — While the extent of the injury report ultimately determines the bulk of the Miami Heat’s rotation, a subtle move by coach Erik Spoelstra at halftime of Monday night’s 108-89 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden could prove telling.
With the Celtics, like many recent Heat opponents, hunting favorable matchups, and with the Heat having moved to a starting lineup featuring Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, Spoelstra decided at the start of the third period that change was in order, making a case for the team’s defense.
So no Robinson to open the third period, with Dru Smith, a guard playing under a two-way contract, in his place.
“A lot of that was some of the defensive stuff that we saw in the first half and then Dru gave us that spark,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat now turning their attention to Wednesday night’s visit by the Los Angeles Lakers to Kaseya Center. “We were just trying to get some better matchups.”
Robinson did not enter in the second half until 3:59 remained in the third quarter, going 20:52 overall, the fewest minutes of any of the starters.
Robinson closed 2 of 9 from the field, including 0 for 6 on 3-pointers, for five points. Monday was his seventh consecutive start after making his first 11 appearances off the bench.
Smith, who had not appeared in the previous five games, missing two with a knee issue, played 20:39, closing with two points. The Heat were -20 in Robinson’s minutes, +1 in Smith’s time.
As it was, the lineup was reconfigured Monday to compensate for the absence of Jimmy Butler due to the knee injury sustained late in Sunday night’s in the 119-116 loss to the Toronto Raptors at the start of the two-game trip. Jaime Jaquez Jr. made his first start of the season in Butler’s place, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Like Butler on the best of Butler’s nights, Jaquez played in attack mode, his 9 of 12 from the line accounting for all but nine of the Heat’s free throws.
“When guys go down, it’s our job to step up and try to fill in those gaps,” Jaquez said, having made 20 starts last season as a first-team NBA All-Rookie selection. “So coming into this game, I knew I had to be aggressive. That was my mentality.”
Injury report
Butler is listed as questionable for Wednesday, as are Kevin Love (back) and Josh Richardson (illness). Remaining out is forward Nikola Jovic (ankle).
In perhaps the biggest surprise on the Heat injury report is that first-round pick Kel’el Ware had been sent to the G League, to work with the Heat’s affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
There had been hope that the 7-footer out of Indiana could have played in the Skyforce’s Tuesday game in Cleveland, but a foot injury precluded that appearance.
The Skyforce next play Thursday at home in South Dakota against the Chicago Bulls’ affiliate.
Lakers, Vincent struggle
Like the Heat, the Lakers enter amid their own offensive struggles, coming off Tuesday night’s 109-80 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers’ lowest-scoring game since former Heat forward LeBron James joined them in the 2018 offseason.
After that loss, Lakers center Anthony Davis told reporters, “Sometimes we look like a team that can compete with anyone and sometimes we look like a team that looks terrible and is not going to do anything this season.”
Said James, “Our offense is nasty right now.”
It will be the first game back at Kaseya Center for Gabe Vincent, who left the Heat in 2023 free agency and missed last season’s Lakers visit due to injury.
It has been an uneven ride with the Lakers for Vincent, who last played with the Heat as a starter in the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, averaging 3.2 points this season after averaging 9.4 in his final season with the Heat.
Vincent has mostly been played off the ball this season, after playing primarily as ballhandler for the Heat.
“Definitely an adjustment to not be on the ball at all,” he told Spectrum SportsNet. “Something that I kind of struggled early on getting used to. Adjusting still, but one day at a time.”