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Erik Spoelstra Says There Is No Reason To Worry About Miami Heat’s Caleb Martin And Max Strus

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra thinks Caleb Martin and Max Strus can bounce back against the Denver Nuggets.

Caleb Martin and Max Strus’ Finals debuts were disappointing, to say the least. 

They were a combined 1 of 17 from the field for three points against the Denver Nuggets in Game 1, with many blaming them for the loss.

But if you ask Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, there’s no need for concern.

“No, they're fine,” Spoelstra said. “They’re not gonna get sick at sea. If they’re shooters, you're not always gonna be able to make all the shots you want. Then you have to find different ways to impact the game. Our game is not built just on the 3-point ball, we’ve proven that time and time again. We can win games, we can win the series, regardless of how the three is going. But we also have ignitable guys. You see a couple go through and that can become an avalanche.”

Spoelstra’s message to Strus and Martin was to prevent it from impacting Game 2. He is confident they return to producing Sunday night.

“We've been through this before,” Spoelstra said. “They’re ignitable, they’ve heard it from us and they will hear it from us. I love those looks that those guys get. I love it when they see a couple go down, that can turn into five or six. But I also love that toughness and grit; we don't have to depend on that. We can find different ways and different solutions to get a win.”

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.