“We have enough” practically has become cliche with the Miami Heat.
Whether it’s going into games with the minimum-allowable eight players.
Or remaining stagnant during an offseason, as was the case last summer.
The problem with “we have enough” is that you don’t know if it is the case until it is too late to alter course.
Take where the Heat stood at this juncture two years ago, as they worked with purpose in 2021 from the trade deadline through the end of the regular season, adding pieces such as Trevor Ariza, Nemanja Bjelica, Victor Oladipo and Dewayne Dedmon, a process that ran from March 17 through April 8.
Amid an uneven season that would see the Heat close with the No. 6 seed in the East, it was all about setting up for the postseason, at the rare time when the Heat weren’t sure they actually had enough.
By May 29, that season was laid in ruins, swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.
It is against a similar backdrop where the Heat again stand at this All-Star break.
A roster good, but perhaps not good enough.
A roster with the flexibility for at least a pair of additions.
But this time with a roster with a significant amount of unknowns, which is not necessarily where you want to stand with 23 games to play in the regular season.
So “have enough” or need something more or something different?
Those are determinations the Heat will have to make in short order, perhaps even before regrouping for the resumption of the season Friday in Milwaukee.
Because in order to know what you need, you have to know what you have.
— Kyle Lowry: Dual forward-thinking factors are at play here.
Foremost, how debilitating is the left-knee soreness that kept the 36-year-old point guard out of the final six games before the All-Star break? And even with a return, will there be anything more than the middle play produced by Lowry prior to his absence?
Faith in Lowry likely means bypassing buyout options at point guard. Concern with Lowry could prioritize relief at point guard.
— Victor Oladipo: When the Heat added Oladipo ahead of that 2021 playoff race, they knew they were getting a player with a major rehab road ahead.
Then, in last season’s playoffs, Oladipo offered enough to create hope for postseasons going forward.
But even before the ankle sprain that had Oladipo out the seven games before this All-Star break, his play had dropped off precipitously, scoring 16 total points in his three previous appearances.
Oladipo had been the spark off the bench. Then the spark was gone.
— Duncan Robinson: Wednesday night’s uneven return from a 20-game absence for finger surgery at least created hope for the Heat’s anemic 3-point game.
While Robinson largely was played off the floor last postseason due to his defensive deficiencies, this season’s Heat might be stuck in a place where they’d have to consider trading off a level of defense for upgraded shooting.
— Omer Yurtseven: Another wild card when it comes to how the Heat approach post-deadline roster machinations.
While the selling off of Dewayne Dedmon’s contract mostly was a factor of the luxury tax, it also came with the Heat anticipating Yurtseven’s season debut from November ankle surgery.
The Heat had high hopes entering the season of Bam Adebayo and Yurtseven as their 1-2 punch in the middle, perhaps with the two even alongside.
Now it will have to be speed dating to see if Yurtseven is a match.
— Nikola Jovic: From the start, there hardly was expectation of the 2022 first-round pick as a playoff component. So Jovic missing the past 24 games with a back issue hardly has altered the thinking.
Now, if Yurtseven doesn’t make it back, it could be a playoff trial under fire for the 19-year-old.
— Orlando Robinson: With only four more NBA games left on Robinson’s two-way contract, the Heat soon, very soon, will have to decide whether to convert the undrafted rookie center to a standard contract.
Should Yurtseven prove to be a contributor, it is possible the Heat bypass Robinson in favor of a playoff-seasoned veteran.
— Jamaree Bouyea: The 10-day contract of the undrafted rookie will expire before the Heat return to action Friday. Among the options are a second and final 10-day deal (the NBA limit), conversion to a two-way deal (perhaps if Orlando Robinson is moved to a standard deal), a standard deal, or his release.
The Bouyea part of the equation likely will be determined by where Lowry and Oladipo stand with their injuries coming out of the break.
