Heat at Cavaliers
The Miami Heat are making some changes to the rotation in an effort to get back in the win column on a consistent basis and are still working out the kinks. The Heat will give their new starting lineup and shortened rotation another look when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
Miami dropped six of its last nine games to fall two games under .500 but is trying to pull itself out of the rut by tweaking the starting lineup - replacing Rodney McGruder with Tyler Johnson in the backcourt - and shortening the rotation to nine players. "The toughest part about it is I don't want anybody to view this as Rodney is any part of the reason for it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after debuting the new lineup in a 111-99 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. "Sometimes when I'm in this position, I just have to make decisions of what I think will be best for the team. Sometimes it's just a chemistry flow rhythm thing with a group. It's too early to tell whether this change will be good." The Cavaliers have gone through as many rotations as they can without changing the entire roster and still own the worst record in the NBA. Cleveland's latest slide reached five straight with a 123-103 loss at Boston on Wednesday and the five losses came by an average of 18.2 points.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), FS Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE HEAT (22-24): McGruder went from the starting lineup to out of the rotation completely on Wednesday while veterans Dwyane Wade and Dion Waiters served as the guards off the bench. "We need to see. We've only had one game of it, so I don't know what we're going to do," Wade told reporters of the rotation change. "Obviously, there are guys who work hard to be on the court that are not out there, so it's tough. It's tough at this time to see teammates not getting an opportunity to play, but also you understand you want to get to a shorter rotation and be able to get some kind of rhythm and kind of continuity with groups, so we'll see." Johnson scored 15 points while starting in the backcourt but could find himself back on the bench soon with point guard Goran Dragic (knee) inching closer to a return.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (9-40): Cleveland's rebuilding season is offering a few bright spots, and Cedi Osman's development as a scorer is among them. Osman scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range, in Wednesday's loss while adding eight rebounds and a pair of assists. "I was feeling good today about my shots. I was just stepping into the shots always. I was staying away from the three-point line. When the ball was coming to me, I was just stepping towards the ball. I was just being confident with my three-point shots. I just have to keep working on it, keep being confident every game."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Heat C Hassan Whiteside scored 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting Wednesday after totaling 20 points in the previous three games.
2. Cavaliers C Ante Zizic is averaging 17.2 points on 60.7 percent shooting over the last five contests.
3. Miami took the first two meetings this season, including a 117-92 triumph at Cleveland on Jan. 2.