OPINION: Erik Spoelstra Playing with Fire Deploying Miami Heat Starters in Finale

Miami Heat stars Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro head into Sunday’s regular-season finale having played and started in 78 and 77 games, respectively. Ideally, those numbers should stay where they are.

Unfortunately, it’s likely that head coach Erik Spoelstra will employ the same starting five against the Washington Wizards that has started the past two games. 

The hope is that’s he’lll also be able to utilize that same first five in Wednesday’s Eastern Conference 9-10 play-in elimination game at the Chicago Bulls, because that would mean the gamble of throwing key players out there in a meaningless finale had no negative repurcussions. 

Despite having nothing to play for except the concept of sustaining a rhythm prior to the postseason, Adebayo, Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Alec Burks and rookie Kel’el Ware are expected to start against the Wizards. 

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan is also going to tempt fate and play most starters at least some minutes in his team’s finale at the Philadelphia 76ers as long as his medical staff approves, telling reporters in Chicago that he doesn’t want regulars sitting until Wednesday. However, standout guard Josh Giddey will sit due to a forearm issue in a move that's mostly precautionary. He torched the Heat for 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, all team-highs, in Wednesday's 119-111 victory. Chicago Reserve guards Ayo Dosunmu (shoulder), Lonzo Ball (wrist) and Tre Jones (foot) remain sidelined.

Miami has had Adebayo (back), Herro (thigh), Burks (back) and Wiggins (hamstring) all miss games in April, so throwing them out there to potentially reinjure themselves makes little sense. Reserves Duncan Robinson (SI joint) and Haywood Highsmith (achilles) have also missed games, as has Kevin Love (personal). 

Forward Nikola Jovic last played on Feb. 23 due to a broken hand, and it would make more sense to throw him out there to see what he can do than it does risking Adebayo or Burks having their backs tense up. 

While that may sound alarmist, consider that rookie wing Pelle Larsson missed Sunday’s game against the Bulls because he suffered what he called a “freak accident,” spraining his right ankle while lifting weights. Although x-rays were negative, he won’t play against Washington and his status for Wednesday’s play-in in Chicago is to be determined. 

Miami has seemingly operated under a black cloud for months, so hopefully Sunday’s contest at the Kaseya Center won’t yield any nasty surprises. If Spoelstra ultimately opts for maximum caution in Sunday’s second half, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier, Josh Christopher, Keshad Johnson and Isaiah Stevens should get the bulk of the Heat’s minutes down the stretch against the Wizards.

The Heat won their road finale on Friday in New Orleans, scoring a season-high 153 points in a 49-point win. Eleven players scored at least nine points, led by Adebayo’s 23. One final victory would avoid matching the 2014-15 record (37-45) that currently resides as the worst finish in the Spoelstra era. 

The Heat will finish 10th in the East for a fourth time under Spoelstra, but since the NBA has implemented a play-in since the last time they fared this poorly (2018-19), this season will continue past Game 82. Miami will only play another home game if it qualifies for a first-round series against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, and wouldn’t come for nearly two weeks in a Game 3.

It’s sounding like all healthy Heat players will play the regular-season finale, but if Spoelstra is smart, his key guys won’t be out there long.

Tony Mejia is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at tnyce1414@gmail.com