Caleb Martin provided 21 points in 28 minutes off the bench in the Heat‘s victory over Atlanta on Monday. Martin has been a solid contributor all season and his teammates appreciate his hard work, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
“Caleb has been probably the bright spot on our team,” center Bam Adebayo said. “Through the ups and downs, he’s always been consistent. And he’s one of those guys that you can always rely on. He’s going to play hard. He’s going to try to make the right plays.”
Martin is in the first year of a three-year, $20.4MM contract that includes a player option in 2024/25.
We have more on the Heat:
- Cody Zeller has played seven games since joining the Heat as the backup center last month. Zeller, who was out of the league until Miami picked him up, feels comfortable playing limited minutes, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “I’m still feeling a little rusty with some of my reads and stuff. But overall, I’ve been pretty pleased with where I’m at. I’m still only playing 15 minutes per game. It’s shorter minutes, so I should be able to play even harder. So yeah, it’s been good so far.”
- Kevin Love missed Monday’s game with a rib contusion but X-rays were negative, Chiang tweets. It’s not considered to be a long-term issue. Love is averaging 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in six starts since signing with the club.
- The team has planned a variety of tributes for forward Udonis Haslem, who is retiring after the season. Haslem told Chiang he hopes the Heat can make another playoff run but he won’t have any regrets, regardless of how the season plays out. “I’m done,” Haslem said. “I’m done no matter what happens. I gave my contribution. I think at this stage, there needs to be another voice for these guys. It’s time for somebody to step up and be the voice.”
Haslam has some interesting words there… Seems like he’s been tuned out and they need a new voice…
It’s not like he’s been playing regular minutes… He’s basically a coach who can take some fouls in a close game if needed…
Sounds like Miami is getting ready for a busy off-season, and Haslem doesn’t believe many of the current Heat players will be rostered next season. I can see that. Miami needs to do something to avoid being the Bulls this year, next year
Heat do need some substantial changes. I personally think they need to move to more of the younger players. I’d move Butler, Lowry (if possible), Oladipo among others. I’d stick with the younger guys. I think they need to let Bam and Herro develop a little bit more. If the Heat can clear out some roster and cap space, they should then look toward getting a true, younger foundational player that can lead the team going forward with Bam and Herro being part of his supporting cast…along with the other younger players.
The Heat aren’t likely to get to championship caliber with Butler as the centerpiece. He’s a star player, but there’s clearly a difference between a player like him and players like D-Wade, LeBron, KD, Giannis, Curry, Embiid, etc. Butler is more of a #2 to a star. Nice to have, but the Heat don’t have a franchise player. They have Bam and Herro who are also the types to be #2 or #3 types to a true Superstar. I’d move on from Butler and stick to the much younger Bam and Herro.