A look behind Heat’s decision to get Love back into starting unit: ‘I didn’t have the foresight’

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is known for being one step ahead of the opponent, especially in the playoffs. But in this case, he admits that he was behind the curve.

After removing the 6-foot-8 Kevin Love from the starting lineup and replacing him with the 6-foot-5 Caleb Martin late in the Eastern Conference finals to match up with the smaller Boston Celtics, the Heat kept Love on the bench in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday against a big Denver Nuggets front court.

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The result: The Nuggets’ size overwhelmed the Heat at the start of Game 1, outscoring the Heat 20-6 in the paint in the first quarter as Love received his third straight DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision). The Heat’s starting lineup with Martin was outscored by nine points in 17 minutes together in the loss.

But Spoelstra didn’t make the same mistake twice, moving Love back into the Heat’s starting lineup for Martin in Sunday’s 111-108 win over the Nuggets at Ball Arena in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The Heat’s starting lineup of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler, Love and Bam Adebayo outscored the Nuggets by 20 points in 22 minutes in the victory to even the best-of-7 championship series at 1-1.

“I didn’t have the foresight, I didn’t. That’s on me,” Spoelstra said following Game 2 when asked about the decision to get Love back into the starting unit. “We had to make an adjustment in that Boston series, and that really was necessary and it worked. Then we’re facing a new opponent that we don’t really know, and so we just went with what finished that previous series.”

Love, 34, scored just six points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting from three-point range, but he still made a big impact on the glass with 10 rebounds (three offensive and seven defensive), recorded two steals and stepped in for a charge in 22 minutes on Sunday. He also held his own while defending Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, who totaled just two points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field on the 29 possessions Love spent as his primary defender in Game 2.

“Clearly we needed that size and veteran experience and physicality that K-Love brings,” Spoelstra said.

Love, who has now logged minutes in four different NBA Finals series during his career, said he found out he was starting Game 2 that same morning.

“I think just matching size with size,” Love said of Spoelstra’s decision to move him back into the starting lineup. “It’s one of things where like, we’ve seen it too, Caleb is going to finish the games. I wanted to get us off to a great start. I went back in in the second quarter. I tried to get us back on a run, started the third quarter well. Came out of the game and then those guys ended up finishing it. I just wanted to make my presence felt and try to see if I can impact the game, and I felt like I did that.”

Love posted a plus/minus of plus-9 in 7:36 of playing time in the first quarter, plus-6 in 5:51 of playing time in the second quarter, plus-3 in 8:46 of playing time in the third quarter and then did not play in the fourth quarter. Instead, Martin played the entire the fourth as the Heat dominated the Nuggets 36-25 in the final quarter to rally for the three-point win.

“K-Love is impactful even when he’s not in the game,” Adebayo said. “You come to the bench, he’s always talking to you, telling you what he sees. K-Love has been here, what, four times? So he has seen everything but the wind at this point. The biggest thing for us is, I’m glad he’s on our team. He gives us that extra energy, that extra spark, whatever we need. He’s all hands on deck.”

With the positive results from Game 2, the expectation is that Love will remain part of the Heat’s starting unit for Game 3 on Wednesday in Miami. The Heat is 11-4 with Love in the starting lineup during this year’s playoffs.

That means Martin is expected to continue to play as a reserve, which he has already done in 16 of the Heat’s 20 games during the playoffs.

“I think that everyone that’s got a jersey on is willing to give in to whatever we need to try to help us get a win,” Vincent said. “I think that helps a lot, whether it’s Kevin and Caleb or Max or Duncan [Robinson] or myself or Kyle [Lowry]. You go down the roster, and guys are just willing to give in, and I think that’s huge.”

Love, who joined the Heat in February after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers, is one of the leaders behind that selfless mindset.

“I’m not tripping about it at all,” Love said. “If my number is called, great. If not, I’ll help these guys out.”