Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra And Duncan Robinson Discuss Next-Man Up Mentality

The Miami Heat were without several key players in their blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Miami Heat's 26-point victory against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night came without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson.

Instead, it was players like Nikola Jovic and Kevin Love headlining the night. Jovic and Love combined for 43 points on 10 of 15 shooting from 3-point range.

Just like everyone expected.

When asked about the "next man mentality," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra expressed no doubt in his players, saying they've already earned their spots in the lineup.

"You talk about the guys we're plugging in to play, they've all played a bunch of quality minutes," Spoelstra said. "So it's not as if you're playing guys where you're not sure if they've been able to impact winning. These guys have done that, they've earned that, they've proven that, and we have a bunch of competitors in our locker room."

Also chiming in was guard Duncan Robinson, whose name went from Damian Lillard trade rumors to his impact on the Heat's winning formula. Robinson had 23 points on 6 of 8 shooting from 3-point range, improving to 9-0 when scoring at least 20 points. The Heat guard talked about seeing others rise to the occasion in the wake of teammates' injuries.

"Guys are just excited to embrace an opportunity," Robinson said. "I know what it's like to be in that situation where guys go down and your number gets called. I was in that situation tonight in a different way. I haven't been starting but I had an opportunity to go out and start, and obviously you wanna take advantage of that moment...it's an opportunity to showcase all the work you've been putting in."

The Heat need more of this Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers (32-21).

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.

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