Heat check another injury box with return of Caleb Martin
MIAMI – It’s as if the coaching staff, training staff and even Caleb Martin knew. The energetic Miami Heat forward is not one to ease his way back into action.
So they all waited until the sprained right ankle, the ankle he turned on Christmas night against the Philadelphia 76ers, was right. Seven games later, Martin very much looked like himself in Friday night’s 99-96 victory over the Orlando Magic, particularly in the fourth quarter, when he scored seven of his 11 points.
The waiting game proved necessary and prudent.
“Just kind of a feel thing, just talking to them, too, just getting to a point where it was smart to come back and not really have to worry about what I’m doing and how I’m playing, how I’m stepping and that sort of stuff,” Martin said, with the Heat next to attempt to close out a 3-1 homestand when they face Martin’s former team, the Charlotte Hornets, Sunday at Kaseya Center. “It was as long as I just got to a point mentally where I just could kind of be somewhat myself and comfortable.”
He appeared just that. And that made it more comfortable for coach Erik Spoelstra to field a closing defensive lineup that also featured Bam Adebayo, Haywood Highsmith and Josh Richardson.
“I’ve mentioned that a bunch of times, about his quick twitch,” Spoelstra said of Martin’s energizing. “But really, also it’s just his competitive spirit. He’s that same language as Bam and Jimmy (Butler). It’s that same deal. He’s a gnarly competitor. That transcends all the quick twitch, the X-factor stuff, all that stuff. He’s an elite competitor and that’s why we appreciate him so much.”
With Butler, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro out Friday, Adebayo said Martin’s voice also was embraced.
“Caleb is so dynamic,” Adebayo said. “He can score. He can defend. He can play point if you need him to. You can put him in so many different roles and he accepts that challenge.
“And he’s one of the vocal guys in the huddle now. That’s where I’ve seen him really grow, really being a voice. And I want him to keep being that. Because sometimes people get fatigued of hearing my voice. Caleb doesn’t really talk a lot, so it’s good for him to develop to be comfortable enough to actually speak in the huddle.”
And good for him to be healthy, after also missing 10 games at the start of the season with knee pain.
“You try to be as available as possible,” the fifth-year forward said. “But some stuff is out of your control and all you can do is get back as quick as possible.
“You just understand that’s part of it. So I can’t sit there and get discouraged because I rolled my ankle. It’s not going to be the first, it’s not going to be the last. Stuff happens like this every year and you just got to do your part with the medical staff and do your part off the court and get back as quick as possible, and also to be smart and aware while you’re out there, to try to avoid certain things. But I play hard and that’s what comes with playing hard. Sometimes it’s going to happen.”
How low
Friday was just the seventh game in the NBA this season when both teams scored fewer than 100 points, the first since Houston defeated San Antonio 93-82 on Dec. 11. It was the third time the Heat have held an opponent below 100 this season, also 96 by the Cavaliers on Nov. 22 in Cleveland and 96 by the Lakers on Jan, 3 in Los Angeles . . .
With Friday’s 15, Adebayo has now scored 15 or more in the second half of the past three games, also with 18 against the Rockets and 17 against the Thunder . . .
With his five two-point baskets against the Magic, Heat 3-point specialist Duncan Robinson now has 68 for the season, eclipsing his previous season high of 65 in the lockout-shortened 72-game season in 2020-21. Friday was the Heat’s 38th game and Robinson’s 36th appearance.