A new Miami Heat injury leaves door open for this one player

The Miami Heat's long-term focus remains on scrapping their way out of the play-in and into a top 6 seed prior to the end of the regular season.

The short term plan? That's all about taking care of business tonight in their home building against a tanking Brooklyn Nets squad.

Miami ran away in this match-up on Tuesday night behind strong scoring from Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Things will most likely look similar 48 hours later, except for one rotation piece being out of the mix this time around.

Norman Powell and Nikola Jovic remain out for this team as they continue their recovery processes, but Simone Fontecchio was added to that out list after tweaking his groin late in that last game.

He knocked down 3 of his 6 threes in that game, as his three point gravity and shooting is needed without Powell, as well as Herro dominating inside the arc as he awaits to find his three ball again.

So with an empty slot in the rotation tonight, does that automatically mean they need to fill it with a pure shooter? Erik Spoelstra disagrees.

"Our game isn't solely built on the three point ball," Spoelstra noted before tonight's game during his time with the media. "We're a paint attacking team and our spacing is key. It gives an opportunity to other guys to step up."

With Simone Fontecchio out, Trevor Keels has returned to the Heat from the G League.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 5, 2026

The Heat elevated Trevor Keels from the G-League to be available for this game tonight, but while he may get some potential NBA minutes late in this one, that ninth guy would feel to be somebody named Myron Gardner.

While he's not known for his outside shot, as his defense, energy, and constant attack is his strongsuit, he's actually been one of the team's most underrated shooters.

He's knocked down 42% of his three point looks this season, while shooting 46% from deep in his last eight games. No, the volume and minutes haven't made this a gigantic sample size, but he's shown an ability to step into games with limitations and make an impact.

That honestly matters more when trying to impress the staff.

So expect some rotational Gardner minutes in this one, as Miami's offensive approach will lean heavily in the direction of trying to create easy ones in transition, which Gardner excels at.

Force turnovers, play into the up-tempo style, and defend the way you did on Tuesday night.

Spo is right, it's not all about the three point shooting. But if that isn't the storyline, the other parts of the game need to be even stronger.