Winderman’s view: No bench burst and not enough for Heat against Nets

Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 116-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets:

– When Cam Thomas entered and produced 11 points in 10 first-half minutes for the Nets, it was a reminder of what the Heat lack.

– With Tyler Herro having moved into the Heat starting lineup, that instant burst off the bench has been lacking.

– With Victor Oladipo not back at that stage in his career.

– And why it is something that should be considered at the buyout deadline.

– Will Barton?

– Otherwise, the Heat’s bench scoring essentially is a wing and a 3-point prayer.

– Yes, rotations tighten in the playoffs.

– But until then, the occasional bench burst could make a significant difference in the standings.

– At the end of Wednesday’s third quarter, Thomas was outsourcing the Heat bench 17-11.

– With Herro and Kyle Lowry again out, the Heat for the second consecutive game started Bam Adebayo, Caleb Martin, Jimmy Butler, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent.

– That lineup’s only previous start was Monday night’s home loss to the Nuggets.

– Orlando Robinson played as the Heat’s first reserve, with coach Erik Spoelstra again staggering Butler and Adebayo in Herro’s absence.

– Duncan Robinson then followed, his first appearance in 21 games, following finger surgery.

– Then Jamaree Bouyea and Haywood Highsmith, making it nine deep.

– When the Nets then went small, the Heat played Highsmith at center instead of Orlando Robinson.

– Leading to the question of how essential Robinson is as he approaches the final NBA days of his two-way deal.

– Adebayo’s fourth defensive rebound was the 2,500th of his career.

– Martin’s second free-throw attempt was the 250th of his career.

– Vincent’s second 3-pointer was the 250th of his career.

– Spoelstra was asked pregame about the Nets’ massive makeover in the wake of the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

– More pointedly, he was asked about his team’s makeover in 2014-15 after the free-agency loss of LeBron James and the breakup of the Big Three.

– The Heat closed 37-45 that season, finishing one game out of the playoffs.

– “It’s a fruitful coaching experience of this league,” Spoelstra said of having to work with a new reality. “You get better in trying to find a solution to expectations that don’t change, but the reality does change a little bit.”

– Spoelstra added, “When we went through that, we got a lot better, the coaching staff.”

– Injuries to Dwyane Wade and the blot clots that sidelined Chris Bosh torpedoed that season.

– “It’s one of the biggest disappointments the year after the Big 3,” Spoelstra said. “We were in the playoff contention the next year. I thought we were going to have a real good chance to play Cleveland in the first round, and then we had crippling injuries. I think we still should have made the playoffs that year.”

– Spoelstra warned not to sleep on the reshuffled Nets.

– “They have hard-competing guys. They have two-way players. They have a lot of length at the wing positions,” he said. “They can do some unique things defensively. I think they’re set up to be a really good defensive team.”

– He added, “You cannot sleepwalk on this group, for sure, at all. We’ve been in that situation before, with real hard-competing teams.”

– Deontay Wilder was among those in the crowd.

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