Winderman’s view: Jovic injury a rotation changer for Heat (if not a game changer)

MILWAUKEE — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 120-113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks:

– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke pregame about how nothing is necessarily set in his rotation since the team’s overhaul at the NBA trading deadline three weeks ago.

– It felt otherwise.

– Until a jolt was delivered at halftime.

– First, the Heat stayed with their preferred post-trade starting lineup of Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware, Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell, which entered 1-1.

– From there, Nikola Jovic and Duncan Robinson again entered together as the first two off the Heat bench.

– Terry Rozier followed for eight deep, but not until late in the first period.

– And that, for the second game in a row, basically was it for the first half.

– With Jaime Jaquez Jr. again an outsider.

– But then came this thunderbolt from the Heat: A halftime X-ray on his right hand of Jovic revealed a fractured second metacarpal.

– So, again, nothing a given with the rotation.

– Just when it seemed like it was.

– “We’ll see, we’ll see,” Spoelstra said when asked pregame if the rotation with Jovic was his definitive rotation. “I don’t want to jump into any massive conclusions right now. It’s all hands on deck. We have a lot of work to do. If I can provide some clarity for the rotation, I will.”

– He added, “But I’m not going to hesitate to go deeper into the rotation. The strength of our roster, depth is a massive strength that we have.”

– Now, no other choice.

– “Each player and each decision is not the same,” Spoelstra said. “So there’s some complexity to it. Just because Jaime didn’t play the other night, he’s had uneven health. He’s getting back into things. It doesn’t mean that he won’t play or it might just have to wait until the next opportunity.”

– Spoelstra added. “Guys are going to get their opportunities, there’s no doubt about that. That’s happened all season long.”

– As will now be the case.

– This time, with Kyle Anderson getting his first action of the game in the third period, at the stop when Jovic would otherwise have entered.

– It also will be interesting to see the approach on Monday night in Atlanta on the second night of this back-to-back set.

– Interestingly, until Sunday, among those who increasingly had emerged in the closing group had been Jovic.

– “Well, he also has to take responsibility for his minutes and the importance of his play,” Spoelstra said pregame. “It’s great to be a young player and have potential, and then to earn opportunities like Niko has. And then there becomes that next step, a responsibility to your better version of basketball and to impact.”

– Spoelstra then noted, “He’s a big swing player for us, in terms of when he plays well it really moves the needle for us. If he doesn’t, we lack in some things that he can provide. So it’s not guaranteed that he’ll play down the stretch. His versatility fits well with a lot of those closing lineups, but he does have to earn it.”

– The Bucks opened with Damian Lillard, Taurean Prince, Kyle Kuzma, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.

– With Antetokounmpo on a minutes restriction as he works back from the calf strain that kept him out of the All-Star Game.

– Having lacked defensive deterrence at the point of attack almost all season, the Heat seemingly have found some of that answer in trade-deadline acquisition Mitchell.

– Mitchell hawked Lillard from the outset, checking out for the first time only when Lillard went to the bench in the first quarter, after Lillard opened 1 of 4 from the field.

– Along the way, Mitchell drew an illegal-screen foul on Antetokounmpo in the first quarter in what is becoming a trademark move in his brief tenure with the Heat.

– Mitchell then returned in the second period shortly after Lillard returned, with Lillard finding his offense when finally able to shake free from Mitchell, and then kept going from there.

– With Bobby Portis under NBA suspension for violation of the league substance policy for a supplement he said he took in error, Spoelstra was asked pregame about trade-deadline acquisition Kuzma filling that void for the Bucks.

– “He’ll be able to fill in those gaps,” Spoelstra said of Kuzma. “He’s a downhill player. He’s another guy who can collapse your defense. So they have a second guy who can really do it.”