Apparently there is a new Spo-ism.
"The goal is bigger than the role right now."
And, with that, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra moved past questions Wednesday about two former starters now being on the outside of his team's rotation.
"Everybody's all in on that, the purpose of what we're trying to get accomplished here," Spoelstra said in advance of Thursday's 1 p.m. Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. "We'll need everybody."
While Meyers Leonard, the team's starting center for the first three months of the season, fell out of the rotation once the regular season resumed in the NBA's Disney World quarantine setting, rookie guard Kendrick Nunn was benched for the first time in the Heat's 113-101 series-opening victory Tuesday over the Pacers at the Wide World of Sports complex. It also was the first time since the preseason that Nunn was active and not in the starting lineup.
"It's something that we talked about as a team. And it's Game 1," Spoelstra said after Wednesday's practice. "Obviously, Kendrick is a major part of our team. We will need to get into our depth at some point.
"So while I make these decisions what we feel is best at that particular time, you also want to do it with a great deal of empathy. And they're not easy decisions, and you just have to stay ready, which K-Nunn is mentally tough enough to understand that."
Spoelstra added, "You have to be ready for anything in the playoffs."
As for Leonard, Spoelstra reflected on the outside-shooting big man's time with the Portland Trail Blazers, "He's been through it before, so he gets the big picture."
