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Winderman’s view: Victor No-ladipo, plus other Heat-Hornets thoughts

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Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 144-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets:

— First, appreciate that even with Chris Quinn coaching in place of Erik Spoelstra, who is in NBA health-and-safety protocols, this remains all choreographed by Spoelstra.

— Quinn acknowledged as much pregame, speaking of the constant communication between the two, as Spoelstra remains in NBA quarantine.

— So Victor Oladipo not playing as a rotation player a game after his breakout performance in Toronto was not done on a Quinn whim.

— Instead, even with Kyle Lowry sitting this one out, it was made clear that Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin rank ahead in the perimeter rotation.

— Which also short-circuits the debate of an Oladipo spot in the playoff rotation.

— With Robinson showing in this one that his 3-point shooting still matters.

— Even as his defense constantly is attacked.

— And no Markieff Morris this time as a rotation player, either.

— A game after he started in Toronto.

— And not even in uniform.

— After spending Monday night in New Orleans, rooting on his Kansas Jayhawks.

— Listed out with a strained hip flexor.

— And he could have been used, with P.J. Tucker lost for the night with a calf strain in the third period.

— With less than a week to go in the regular season, the Heat made clear who is in.

— And who is out.

— It was a night off, nothing more, for Lowry, after he pushed through both of the games in Chicago and Toronto during the weekend back-to-back set.

— That again had Vincent in the starting lineup.

— With the first five rounded out by Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker and Max Strus.

— Butler and Tucker had been given Sunday off in Toronto.

— As for the notion of instead starting Oladipo instead of Vincent, that likely would have resulted in somewhat taking the ball out of the hands of Butler and Adebayo.

— Vincent, by contrast, consistently have deferred this season.

— The Heat opened 0 for 5, with the Hornets jumping to a 9-0 lead.

— The Heat’s first points did not come until a pair of Adebayo free throws 2:03 into the game.

— Before the Hornets then moved to 3 of 3 on 3s for a 12-2 lead.

— The Heat’s first basket came on an Adebayo jumper with 9:23 left in the opening period.

— The Hornets opened 5 of 5 from the field.

— Eventually the Heat pulled even.

— Tyler Herro played as Heat sixth man.

— With Martin, Robinson and Omer Yurtseven entering together to round out the first nine.

— Yurtseven’s chance came with Dewayne Dedmon given the night off due to an ankle sprain.

— Herro’s first 3-pointer moved him past Kelly Olynyk for 12th on the Heat all-time list.

— Butler’s second steal tied Alonzo Mourning for 15th on the Heat all-time list.

— Quinn had said pregame he has not been surprised by Oladipo’s ability to step in and step up.

— “It’s what we expected based on what we see,” Quinn said, “and how much work he’s put in to build his strength back, his conditioning levels and all that stuff.”

— Because that’s what coaches say.

— Of the Heat’s week-to-week turnaround, Quinn said, “It was kind of one week to another week pretty drastic. But guys just stuck together. There was some slight rotational changes with our team, but the vibe around the team, everyone is really enjoying each other.”

— He added, “And you could see about our play, they’re helping each other on the court. The ball movement, the player movement on that road trip was definitely taken to a new level, and out of necessity, to beat some really good teams.”

— Quinn said if he had a vote for Defensive Player of the Year, it would go to Adebayo.

— “In my opinion, he is the Defensive Player of the Year,” Quinn said. “For us, he does everything defensively. We’re obviously asking him to switch so much. To really have the ability to guard one through five, and guard it the way he does, is very unique. And to be a part of a winning team and a winning defense, and pretty much we put it all on him.”

— Gordon Hayward was a late scratch for the Hornets, due to a sore left foot.

— “Just precautionary,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “A little bit of work here the last couple of days, a little soreness. So just out of precaution.”

— Hayward only had recently returned.

— “After being off 22-plus days, games off, that’s a significant amount of time,” Borrego said. “Especially the injury and where it is and some of his history. There’s some soreness there, so we just gotta manage it.”

— Borrego on the Heat, “Miami is a hell of a team. They are a physical, aggressive.”

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