ASK IRA: Is this the season Heat’s Spoelstra again plays a rookie?
Q: Ira, Erik Spoelstra hasn’t played a rookie extensively since Tyler Herro in 2019, and even then started Kendrick Nunn instead. So what leads us to think he’s going to play Jaime Jaquez Jr. – Inez.
A: Need? With the free-agency losses of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, the depth has been compromised. Plus, if there is a trade for Damian Lillard (and Jaquez is not dealt), that depth could be further compromised. Plus, unlike when the Heat drafted Nikola Jovic in 2022 or even Precious Achiuwa in 2020, they were relative neophytes, hardly NBA-ready prospects. Jaime arrives as a 22-year-old with four seasons of high-level competitive experience at UCLA. In some ways, the choice seemingly was made because the Heat knew they would need an NBA-ready contributor.
Q: Did the Heat sandbag the regular season? Obviously Jimmy Butler takes it easy during the regular season to save up for the playoffs, but what I’m talking about goes beyond that. I think the poor regular season was by design to save the best for the postseason. – John, Ocala.
A: But that is a dangerous game to play annually. First, as the Heat showed in 2021-22, they still play to win during the regular season, when they secured the top seed in the East. And as a lower seed, it made this past postseason particularly grueling. An argument could be made that if there wasn’t a road Game 7 in Boston, or if the Heat didn’t have to start their first three series on the road, perhaps there would have been more left at the finish against the Nuggets in the NBA Finals. In fact, if I’m the Heat, I put a photo in the locker room showing the scoreboard with the Heat down 90-89 with 2:54 left against the Bulls in the second and final play-in game, as a reminder of how tenuous it can get when you try to make it through the play-in round. So, no, sandbagging had better not come to be viewed as an attractive playoff path.
Q: Has any Heat star done more with less than Jimmy Butler has done with the Miami Heat these last four years? Has any Heat star done more to empower their teammates than Jimmy Butler has? – Carlos, West Park.
A: First, that would be selling short Bam Adebayo, who has anchored the defense, and Tyler Herro, who has provided needed streak scoring. But what Jimmy Butler has done is evolve into what is needed when it is needed. To that degree, he is a lot like Dwyane Wade, when Dwyane first gave space to Shaquille O’Neal, and then when Dwyane stepped aside with his scoring by deferring to LeBron James. There are ample Butler-Wade comparisons.