Heat forward Caleb Martin understands that his high-energy approach to the game can be most effective in a sixth-man role, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. After a breakout performance in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, Martin has returned to a reserve spot this year, coming off the bench in 19 of the 52 games he has played. Amid numerous lineup changes due to injuries, coach Erik Spoelstra has tried to keep Martin’s role constant.
“I really don’t care. I really don’t,” Martin said. “Like I said, the biggest thing for me is getting minutes and finishing games. So it ultimately doesn’t matter if you come off the bench. If I’m playing 25, 30 minutes and I’m finishing games, I’m going to be able to produce.”
With a $7.1MM player option for next season, Martin is likely to test free agency this summer, Winderman adds. He’s also dealing with the distraction of a sprained left thumb that will probably need surgery after the season is over. He keeps it taped during games and wears a leather brace when he’s not playing.
“It’s something minor. It’s nothing crazy or I wouldn’t be able to still be playing on it,” Martin said. “So it would be different if it was a different kind of injury. So it’s one of those things that’s a pretty quick fix.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Spoelstra will likely stagger the minutes between Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro whenever Herro returns from his right foot injury, Winderman states in a separate story. They have similar skills as shot creators, and Winderman notes that it could be valuable to have them on the court together late in close games.
- Bam Adebayo is looking forward to returning after sitting out Wednesday’s game with a lower back contusion, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo is listed as questionable for tonight’s contest with New Orleans, and he expressed hope that he’ll be ready to play. “I sat down and had a conversation with coach,” Adebayo said. “We got guys back, so he told me it was time to take (a night off).”
- A scan of Duncan Robinson‘s back didn’t reveal any significant issues, league sources tell Chiang. Robinson was diagnosed with left facet syndrome after returning home early from the road trip to see a back specialist, but he’s not believed to be facing a lengthy absence.
- Patty Mills has made a smooth transition since signing with Miami on March 6, Chiang observes in another piece. Injuries have opened up a rotation role, and the veteran guard has logged double-digit minutes in seven straight games. “The surprising part is how comfortable and quickly that I’ve been able to pick up on some stuff,” Mills said. “Then after that, what can you do to impact the team in a positive way. I think that’s been probably the most surprising part, if anything.”
Surprised if Martin is suited up for Miami next season.
I think before the Kyle trade, there was some holdout hope for it, but now I don’t see it, which is unfortunate. They wasted that money on a guard they don’t need in Rozier. I also think next year, they hopefully have all of Richardson, Dru Smith, Delon Wright, which covers for Caleb if everyone stays healthy. Had they held Champagnie, instead of letting him go, he would have also been an option, but Jamal Cain should also see a much more prominent role, especially depending what also happens with Highsmith
I’m sure he’d like to stay but other teams can pay more dough. Definitely outplayed the contract he’s been on. Might be able to make some moves to keep him, we’ll see.
That’s what I was saying. Before, they had Kyle’s bird rights, and the ability to keep him at a lesser amount for 2 more years, while also using their bird rights on Caleb to up him to that $18 million per range. Then they exchanged Kyle for Rozier’s longer deal, and there is more redundancies on the roster. I don’t see them being able to keep Caleb now, unless they’re able to move 1 of Rozier/Herro, and at this point, the time to move Herro has passed in my opinion
I wouldn’t be moving Tyler. Maybe move Duncan Robinson?
Only for extremely specific players, and the roster would have to be pretty different. I likely wouldn’t be a fan of that.
Herro, Caleb, Duncan, Jimmy, Bam
Kevin Love, Highsmith, Jaime, Delon Wright/Rozier
There are a few different iterations, depending on matchups, now that Richardson is out for the season, they wasted the spot on Patty Mills (unless I guess herro is totally out, though there were other fits in that case too), and they made the terrible Lowry trade that made no sense
I would love to see Delon Wright in a prominent role, but for some reason, he hasn’t had the opportunity, even though we lucked into him in the first place, especially after losing Lowry and then Richardson
Miami always a tough out in the playoffs but this has definitely been a tough season for them. Maybe Miami should have been all in on Dame. Would Miami consider trading Butler he’s not getting any younger
It hasn’t been a rough season. They made a poor trade, and then had unfortunate injuries and lost a bunch of close games recently, but things were going really well before that, and they still have matchups if they can keep healthy/also probably if 1 of Herro or Rozier is out
I was surprised by the timing of the trade on Rozier more than anything (3 weeks early)
The fit was, and is still odd to me as well
First Rders were not given out lightly last TD, I think they coulda leveraged a better deal the last day of the deadline than that what they got.
I had Rozier underwater to start the year, possibly playing his way to par by TD, I think Cha was somewhat happily surprised Pat pursued Roz so early and aggressively
The main 2 players knowingly available that I may have been interested in trading for had already been traded by then. Especially if I knew I could get Delon Wright for free, I would have just kept Kyle, even without knowing Richardson would get hurt