SAN ANTONIO – The minutes read 4, 8 and 5. To say Pelle Larsson was an ancillary component during the Miami Heat’s first three games might actually have been overstatement.
But because Erik Spoelstra is not one to mess the rotation when a starter is out, Larsson essentially found himself going from 0 for 60 in Tuesday night’s 114-117 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets.
With Heat leading scorer Norman Powell sidelined by a sore right groin, Larsson was injected into the starting lineup, went 30:44 — most of any Heat player — and closed with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.
From nowhere, Larsson was everywhere in the victory that lifted the Heat to 3-1 ahead of the four-game western swing that opens Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.
Following the victory over the Hornets, Spoelstra had Larsson bring the team together for the postgame huddle in the locker room at Kaseya Center.
“It really is a credit to his preparation, staying ready and being that plug-and-play guy, where you just earn that trust,” Spoelstra said.
A quadriceps injury while representing Sweden at EuroBasket left Larsson limited in training camp. But just as he pushed his way into a role last season from his draft spot in the second round in 2024, so, too, did he work toward Tuesday’s contribution.
“It was unfortunate that he missed a little bit of time, because he had such a great offseason,” Spoelstra said, of Larsson thriving with the Heat at summer league and then helping push Sweden to the country’s first-even berth in the knockout round of EuroBasket.
“I reminded him all the time, that all that work didn’t go away,” Spoelstra said. “It’s just a matter of getting healthy, getting back in rhythm, and it takes a little bit of time.
“The rotation already was set. But I even mentioned it in front of the team, Pelle will find a way. It doesn’t have to happen now or whenever, but he’ll find a way.”
Tuesday, he found that way, perhaps leading to greater patience with Powell’s groin soreness.
“He’s a winning player,” Spoelstra said. “And he did that (Tuesday). It’s not easy just to step in there and be that productive, but that’s the kind of pro that he is.”
For Larsson the adjustment required more than recovering from injury. In summer league and with Sweden, he played on the ball, allowing him to further explore his playmaking. But with Davion Mitchell seizing control of that aspect, it has been back to playing off the ball.
“It was an adjustment at first, going to EuroBasket and then adjusting back, I guess you could say,” Larsson said. “But I mean I’m still trying to do the same things when I get my opportunity when I get the ball. And in this offense that we have now, we trust everybody to make a play, and I love that. And so it means the opportunity when I get the ball to make a play.”
Whether as a starter or reserve, Larsson said ready when called.
“I mean just come with that energy that the second unit has been playing with the whole time and just give that to the starting lineup was my mindset going into it,” he said. “So just play hard.”
Powell caution
Spoelstra said prudence with Powell felt like the proper play on Tuesday night in sitting the team’s leading scorer.
“We’ll just have to see,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat afforded a two-day break after the game against the Spurs, before playing the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday and Powell’s former team, the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. “But it happened in shootaround. He says he feels OK. But because of where it is, we’ll exercise the appropriate amount of caution. We’ll see how he feels.”
Worth noting
The Heat’s 526 points through their first four games eclipse the previous high of the 472 in the first four games in 2019-20. The Heat last season scored 424 points in their first four (102 fewer) . . .
Mitchell’s 33 assists thru the season’s first four games tie for the fourth most over such an opening stretch in the franchise’s 38 seasons, trailing only Sherman Douglas (40 to begin 1990-91), Tim Hardaway (35 in 1997-98) , Bimbo Coles (35 in 1992-93) and tied with Hardaway (33 in 1996-97).