MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 109-108 loss to the Atlanta Hawks:
– Well this certainly was curious.
– And somewhat buried on the night the Heat retired Udonis Haslem’s No. 40.
– But for the first time this season when available, Kyle Lowry was not in the starting lineup.
– After starting in all 35 of his previous appearances.
– Instead, Erik Spoelstra opened with a lineup of Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin.
– Last season, when Lowry played off the bench, it was after an extended injury absence.
– And when the Heat had a replacement point guard in Gabe Vincent.
– Still, do not read too much into it.
– It is the type of move that also can come after something as benign as a player being late for a shootaround.
– With Erik Spoelstra declining to comment beyond offering a strategic reason for the lineup move.
– So Sunday’s starting lineup in Orlando could be more telling.
– Then again, Lowry played some of his best ball last season in reserve.
– Including during the Heat’s playoff run to the NBA Finals.
– Of course, this latest switch came with Jaime Jaquez Jr. missing his third consecutive game with a groin strain.
– So it’s not as if Spoelstra has his full rotation to manipulate.
– Something Spoelstra mentioned postgame.
– Asked about what the team missed without the rookie, Spoelstra said, “Certainly some of in-between plays that he can make something out of nothing, the energy plays in transition,”
– Martin helped provide some of that.
– Kevin Love was back from the knee contusion that had him out the previous two games.
– Again playing as the backup center to Adebayo, instead of Jovic.
– Adebayo was introduced pregame as, “The Eastern Conference Player of the Week.”
– He was named recipient Monday, for the second time in his career.
– Love played as the Heat’s first reserve.
– Lowry then followed with 3:49 left in the opening period, along with Josh Richardson.
– Duncan Robinson, who had been questionable with an ankle sprain sustained at the morning shootaround, followed to make it nine deep.
– With Haywood Highsmith entering at the start of the second period for 10 deep.
– Once Adebayo went to the bench, the Hawks immediately went into attack mode against the Heat’s lack of rim deterrence.
– Spoelstra said he was not overly concerned by a pair of poor shooting nights on the just-completed two-game trip.
– “Outside shooting, that’ll have its ebbs and flows,” he said. “But for the most part, we are a fantastic shooting team. But we have to be able to weather storms.”
– Spoelstra downplayed the Hawks being without Trae Young, who remained behind due to illness.
– “They still have a great deal of offensive firepower.”
– Spoelstra added, “It doesn’t make it easier. You still have to do a lot of tough things.”
– Spoelstra cited Dejounte Murray as an example.
– “That’s a role he knows very well,” Spoelstra said.
– The Hawks started Bogdan Bogdanovic in place of Young, as they had done the previous two times Young sat this season.
– Spoelstra had no issue with the longer halftime for Udonis Haslem’s jersey retirement.
– “I want everybody to be present and celebrate this,” he said of his players being courtside at halftime.
– He added, “This is good for us, to be able to go through this, to have the mental toughness and get after it and finish it off in the second half.”
– Herro’s second 3-point attempt was the 1,750th of his career.