Heat starting unit still work in progress, as injuries and struggles continue to force changes

The Miami Heat’s starting lineup is still a work in progress. The date is evidence of that, as the Heat’s season-opening starting lineup of Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo has been outscored by 20.8 points per 100 possessions in 91 minutes together so far this season. Among the 18 lineups around the NBA that entered Thursday with at least 90 minutes logged this season, this five-man Heat combination holds the worst net rating. But after opening the first eight games of the season together for the Heat, this group has not started a game since a Nov. 8 road loss to the Denver Nuggets. Since then, injuries have forced changes to the starting group and Jovic has been moved to a bench role. With Terry Rozier missing his first game of the season during Monday’s home win over the Philadelphia 76ers because of right foot discomfort, the Heat went with a new starting lineup of Duncan Robinson, Herro, Butler, Haywood Highsmith and Adebayo that produced positive results (outscoring the 76ers by 12 points in 15 minutes together) and intrigued as a potential long-term option to begin games this season. “If you look at the core four and then you add H (Highsmith) — he’s been with us since the post-COVID year — those are our most experienced guys in our program,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the latest tweak to the starting unit. “So they understand exactly what we’re trying to get to. Even though we’ve made some adjustments, they know what our core tenets are. “They have the most experience playing with various combinations with each other. That matters. This is such a transient league right now, that core probably has as much experience as anybody in the league outside of Boston.” But while Herro, Robinson, Butler and Adebayo have been Heat teammates since 2019 and Highsmith has been with the Heat since December 2021, this lineup had played just limited minutes together prior to starting Monday’s win over the 76ers. The Herro-Robinson-Butler-Highsmith-Adebayo unit logged just two minutes together this season before Monday’s contest and didn’t play any minutes together last season. However, their extended time as Heat teammates helps negate their lack of experience of playing together as a five-man lineup. “I mean, there’s a lot of continuity there,” Robinson said, with the Heat (6-7) returning to practice at Kaseya Center on Thursday in the middle of its long five-day break before hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. “I guess you say we’ve only played together for [a few] minutes. But I’ve logged a lot of hours with JB, I’ve logged a lot of hours with Bam, H, Tyler. We’ve just been on the court a bunch together — practice, games, walkthroughs, everything. So there’s a lot of familiarity there, regardless of the fact that we’ve only played [a few minutes together]. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have that continuity and that connection.” The fact is that Adebayo, Butler and Highsmith have played plenty of minutes together alongside either Herro or Robinson. The difference is that Herro and Robinson are now playing together alongside that trio. While the subpar defense of Herro and Robinson sometimes made it hard to have them on the court together earlier in their careers, their defense has improved enough to make this combination one of Spoelstra’s go-to options in critical moments. The fact that Herro and Robinson are among the NBA’s top three-point shooters is the biggest advantage of playing them together, as they help create the space needed for the Heat’s leading duo of Adebayo and Butler to operate on the offensive end as inside-the-arc scorers. Herro, who has shot 38.9 percent from three-point range during his NBA career, is shooting 45.2 percent on 9.7 three-point attempts per game this season and Robinson, who has shot 39.7 percent from deep during his NBA career, is shooting 36.6 percent on 6.8 three-point attempts per game this season. The Heat has dominated opponents by 21.9 points per 100 possessions during the 101 minutes that Herro and Robinson have played together this season, also posting an elite offensive rating of 124.3 points per 100 possessions during those minutes that would rank as the best overall offensive rating among teams this season. “I think at this point, they both understand how they can confuse defenses and they’re finding a sense of joy in playing off each other,” Spoelstra said of playing Robinson and Herro together. “Two-man actions, three-man actions, the more things that are tough to guard when you have that level of shooting skill and ability to put the ball on the floor and make the right plays. I think they’ve really embraced that. They’ve both grown with their skill set, both grown with their ability to do it as a screener or as a ball-handler or just moving constantly. It’s having a clear mind to embrace that and have fun with that.” When Rozier returns, Robinson could move back to a reserve role. The Heat could try a starting lineup of Rozier, Herro, Butler, Highsmith and Adebayo, which has played 23 minutes together but has yet to open a game this season. Or the Heat could stick with a starting group of Robinson, Herro, Butler, Highsmith and Adebayo, with Rozier instead moving to a bench role. “I didn’t go into the season with a Plan B, C, D,” Spoelstra said earlier this month when asked about managing the Heat’s starting lineup options. “You put together the plan that you think is best for that time and then we’ll adjust accordingly.”