Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Explains Decision To Start Kevin Love Ahead Of Caleb Martin

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra refused to call it a lineup change.

Instead, he just looked at it as returning to their "original lineup." Spoelstra decided to go back to Kevin Love as a starter ahead of Caleb Martin. The moved work because the Heat are back in the series at tying it at 1 with Sunday's victory against the Denver Nuggets in Game 2.

."We went with this lineup for 14 games," Spoelstra said. "I didn't have the foresight, I didn't. That's on me. We had to make an adjustment in that Boston series, and that really was necessary and it worked. Then we're facing a new opponent that we don't really know, and so we just went with what finished that previous series."

Love gives the Heat more size to help match up with Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Love finished with six points but more importantly had 10 rebounds. Martin had three points and five rebounds.

"Clearly we needed that size and veteran experience and physicality that K-Love brings," Spoelstra said. "I don't know how many minutes -- I don't have my glasses, so I don't know the stats -- but that veteran experience, the dedicated championship-level experience that K-Love and Kyle both brought tonight, there's not an analytic that can show you how valuable that was."

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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