The anticipation was that something new and something different would be something better.

So the returns of Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris were embraced, even with the Miami Heat already perched at the top of the Eastern Conference.

But in this case, there also have been equal and opposite reactions, including losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors.

So, no, not an easy process.

In fact, a tenuous one as both the April 10 end of the regular season and April 16 start of the NBA playoffs approach.

“The rotation is still kind of funky right now and we’re trying to figure it out,” point guard Kyle Lowry said, with the Heat on Friday night opening a home back-to-back set against the New York Knicks that concludes Saturday night against the Brooklyn Nets. “Vic is just getting himself back. Markieff is just getting himself back. We’re still just trying to figure out what we’re doing in sense of rotation-wise, and that’s going to take time.

“And not too much time, we don’t have too much time, but the playoff rotation will get a little bit shorter and tighter and those things will work themselves out. I think our coach does a good job of figuring things out and he always has, and he will.”

But even for Erik Spoelstra, it is a complex challenge, with Oladipo ruled out of Friday’s game to rest his surgically repaired knee.

The ripple effect with the returns of Oladipo and Morris has been unsettled minutes for players who had settled comfortably into the rotation amid the absences of the two.

“It’s so many variables, man,” power forward P.J. Tucker said. “You can’t say exactly what it is. It’s different. Every day is different. And whether somebody is in or out, look at Gabe [Vincent], he’s going from starting and getting 20 [points] a couple of games in a row to Kyle coming back and literally not subbing in the game, and the next game starting again.

“Like, you don’t know. But you have to be ready. It’s a part of your job. It’s a part of being a professional basketball player.”

Throughout the re-acclimation process with Oladipo and Morris, Spoelstra has stressed it all as being part of this season’s new normal, with players constantly being shuffled in and out of the mix due to injury, health-and-safety protocols and matchups.

“We had this conversation literally three months ago, two, two and half months ago, ‘All right, this is going to be happening,’ ” Spoelstra said of operating with a fully available roster. “And then it never did. So we didn’t have to deal with it. We kept on dealing with a lot of different assortment of guys in and out. And the team really rallied behind that and played great basketball.

“But everybody knew that these kind of decisions would happen as you get closer. That’s a part of it. I don’t think that’s the bigger part of it. But we will have to figure out some things.”

And yet even on Friday, the Heat went in with Vincent sidelined for a third consecutive game due to a toe bruise, and with five rotation players listed as questionable.

“I will have to make some tough decisions,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t have to make these right now. We still have nine games before the playoffs, but we’ll work through some things and then we’ll come and eventually have some clarity on the rotation.”

Whether it is a rotation that includes Oladipo and Morris is not necessarily a given. Just a week ago, there was optimism that their returns could provide a considerable boost. Then came the losses. Both have been uneven, perhaps not unexpected with Oladipo returning from May quadriceps surgery and Morris from a 58-game absence due to whiplash.

“We’ve had guys out and finally got everybody back,” Tucker said. “It’s tough, guys not knowing the minutes. We got guys trying to figure it out. It’s tough. I’m not gonna lie. I’m one of the guys. Like I got to try to figure it out daily to do my job, plus what do I got to do to help the team win? It’s tough, man.

“Every single guy on this team is tough. It’s nothing new. But it’s stuff that we deal with throughout an NBA season, trying to figure it out, nine games ‘til the playoffs. Figure it out. Get it done. Get ready to roll.”

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