Apparently, coach Erik Spoelstra finds a bit of joy in keeping everyone in suspense regarding what he insists will be a nine-man playing rotation this season.
Of course, Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O'Neal and Mario Chalmers aren't sweating as starters. Udonis Haslem probably isn't either. And Michael Beasley is all but in at small forward, barring a last-minute adjustment due to an injury or some form of indecency.
The next two, according to the view from here, would be guard Daequan Cook and center Joel Anthony as offensive and defensive specialists, respectively. The last two would almost have to be Carlos Arroyo and James Jones. Arroyo would take those first-half and early third-quarter minutes that would become available if Chalmers is either ineffective or in foul trouble. In other words, those minutes Wade would prefer not to chase around smaller and quicker opposing guards until crunch time in the fourth quarter
Jones seems logical because, well, the Heat thought enough of him to sign him to a slightly-less-than-mid-level deal a year ago. He also has worked as hard or harder than anyone on the roster this summer, which isn't lost on the coaching staff despite his limited preseason role. The Heat has to make this Jones situation work. He's got a significant partial guarantee on the next couple of years on his contract even if the Heat decides he's not the answer.
That would leave Quentin Richardson (pictured below left), Yakhouba Diawara and Jamaal Magloire on the outside looking in, as well as plenty of evenings on the inactive list for Dorell Wright, Chris Quinn and Shavlik Randolph.
Spoelstra said there is at least one certainty in the who's-in-who's-out rotation predicament. "It won't be fair," he said. "Guys who probably deserve to play and have a role will have to be patient. At some point in the season, I know that depth is going to help us."
On Wednesday, we'll start to see how well the pieces fit after a preseason of disjointed lineups. Or, we'll start to find out if this will be a season-long collection of moving parts.
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