MIAMI — “We have enough to get the job done.”
Erik Spoelstra has said it before, will say it again, but at the moment it also might be a reach.
No sooner did his team suffer its second 20-point loss to the Celtics in the first three games of this best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series that now has Boston up 2-1, then the Miami Heat’s glass-half-full coach opted for optimism.
The reality is not only were the Heat without and will remain without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier, but lately have seen diminished returns from Duncan Robinson and Kevin Love. With Josh Richardson lost earlier to season-ending shoulder surgery, that has left the shorthanded Heat further undermanned.
Robinson, who for more than a month has been dealing with a back issue listed as left facet syndrome, played just a single 7:23 shift that bridged the first and second quarters of Saturday night’s 114-84 Game 3 loss at Kaseya Center, without taking a shot.
That came after he was limited to 15 minutes in the Heat’s Game 1 loss and 17 minutes in the Game 2 victory.
“I was looking for some kind of spark once we were down 20,” Spoelstra offered as his reasoning for Saturday’s limited Robinson minutes. “Duncan’s not going to make an excuse for it. I’m not going to make an excuse for him. We have our guys. We have enough to get the job done. And we understand that challenge.
“And that’s what our competitors love about this series. We know we have to play hard and we also have to play well. But at that point in the second half, we were down 20. I was just looking for a spark.”
Robinson said Sunday he is giving what he can in the minutes given.
“I am available,” he said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help us.”
Of playing shorter minutes with fewer attempts, Robinson said, “It’s definitely been a challenge, for sure. Just trying to wrap my mind around whatever the opportunity looks like, whatever I can do to help us, just doing that.”
Then there is Love, whose lack of mobility is not optimal against the athleticism of the Celtics, particularly with the Heat limited in their ability to play zone defense against Boston’s shooters.
Love played a single stint of 3:44 on Saturday night, with Spoelstra instead utilizing Thomas Bryant as his backup center in the second half.
“I was looking for a spark once we got down 20,” Spoelstra said of moving away from Love. “This is not an indictment on anybody. Things move fast in a playoff series. It was tough to get a read on anything when we were playing out of that hole for most of three quarters.”
Love’s limited stint came after he played 13 minutes in Game 1 but only four minutes in Game 2.
“I think it’s on me just to stay ready,” Love said Sunday, “whether it’s plug minutes or longer stint.”
As for Butler, Saturday was his fourth consecutive game missed with a sprained MCL in his right knee, an injury sustained in the April 17 play-in loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, expected to be sidelined for this series and beyond.
In a televised interview during Saturday night’s loss, Butler, who otherwise has not commented on the injury since it was sustained, said, “Don’t know about a timeline, but we’ve been working. I want to hoop. I want to get out here. I want some of this.”
Rozier has missed the past nine games, listed with a neck spasms, an ailment that first surfaced during the April 7 road loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Asked after Sunday’s team video session if Rozier might play in this series, Spoelstra said, “I don’t know. The outlook is still the same. It’s day to day. When it changes, I’ll let you know.”
Both Rozier and Butler have been ruled out for Monday.
The Heat also were without backup guard Delon Wright on Saturday night due to a personal family matter, with Wright expected back for Monday night’s 7:30 p.m. Game 4 at Kaseya Center, listed as probable.
Home struggles
Not only did the Heat drop Saturday’s home playoff opener after a 22-19 record at Kaseya Center during the regular season, but the Celtics have now won six of their past seven playoff games in Miami.
“I think our fans deserve to see us be better,” forward Nikola Jovic said. “And we just got to be better for the next game and we will.”
Said forward Caleb Martin. “We’ve got to be able to set a different tone, especially in our home building.”
For the Heat, the series continues the season-long trend of being better on the road.
“When you go on the road, you know what you’re walking into,” Martin said of the different mindset. “We’ve got to be able to do that at home, as well.”
