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In Wednesday night’s Miami Heat game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Erik Spoelstra sent Meyers Leonard back to the bench. Leonard missed Miami’s first game, then started the next two – although he only played the first two minutes of their 47-point shot at the Bucks on Tuesday night.
He didn’t get off the bench on Wednesday, reduced to a cheerleader during the Heat’s impressive comeback in the second half. Kendrick Nunn, who started alongside Meyers Leonard for most of last season, didn’t play the entire second half of this game. Although he had a great breakaway dunk, Nunn continued his struggles dating back to the NBA bubble.
Nunn and Leonard both lost their starting jobs and even lost rotation spots in the bubble. It was only after Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic were injured in Game 1 of the NBA Finals that Spoelstra returned to them out of necessity. When the Heat re-signed Leonard early in free agency, it emerged Miami was looking to re-establish Leonard as at least one regular-season rotational member.
It did not work. And while Tyler Herro struggled as a full-time starter in his sophomore year, Nunn didn’t make a strong case for returning to the job.
It’s not that Spoelstra went only to veterans like Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley to supplant Leonard and Nunn in the rotation. Spoelstra also looked to Precious Achiuwa, the Heat’s 2020 first-round pick, and Gabe Vincent, who is on a two-way contract with Miami this season, as substitutes. (Moe Harkless has also struggled fiercely so far, but that’s a discussion for another day.)
Achiuwa probably had his worst NBA game on Wednesday night, winning a 0-2 on the field and committing three turnovers in 12 minutes. But it has shown enough potential as a big engine that it deserves to keep its place in the rotation until proven guilty. And Vincent made two 3 points on the bench. He was a +10 in his 15 minutes, while Nunn was a -7 in nine minutes.
What do we do with it? It’s too easy to dismiss Leonard and Nunn’s poor production as early season issues because they’ve struggled the past five months. Maybe the games will be easier for them when Jimmy Butler comes back from his injury. Or maybe not.
Spoelstra will continue to mix rosters throughout the season. Nunn and Leonard will have other chances, just due to injuries or possible exposure to the coronavirus in the locker room. But if they don’t get back on their game soon, they could end up in the 11th and 12th men on the list.
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