– In a meritocracy, what now with Nikola Jovic?
– Sunday was the 10th consecutive start.
– With diminishing returns.
...
– For some teams, the reasoning would be as simple as allowing for growing pains.
– But this is not a lottery team.
– Or a team in the midst of a long-term plan.
– This is a win-now team.
...
– Developmental program?
– Fine, develop in the G League.
...
– And if it’s about showcasing, the returns are diminishing in that regard, as well.
...
– The dilemma is that if Jovic doesn’t start, then there might not be minutes at all for the 2022 first-round pick. [So you START him 10 straight games? Ira read what you just wrote, that makes no sense. We start him because he's not good enough to come off the bench. Ira...]
– With Kevin Love also in the mix, that likely would be true.
– But in this moment, a veteran team needs a veteran approach.
– After considerable patience.
– So Spoelstra again went with a starting lineup of Bam Adebayo, Jovic, Jimmy Butler, Martin and Tyler Herro.
– Which had Lowry off the bench for the second consecutive game, his only two reserve appearances of the season.
– All of which was part of Spoelstra going in noting that slow starts remain a concern.
– “It’s there for us,” Spoelstra said. “It’s still within us. Again
we just have to be really more intentional [that's his buzz word] in getting off to a good
start.”