Erik Spoelstra is confident in the Miami Heat's depth playing a b… — and more

Erik Spoelstra is confident in the Miami Heat's depth playing a big part in a rocky season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Miami Heat have been a puzzling team this season with some high highs and some low lows. They have a decent 30-27 record, which is good for the eighth seed at the moment. With head coach Erik Spoelstra in charge, he always gets the most out of his players.

This season, they have struggled with all types of injuries to their players. Tyler Herro is a major one, as he has faced constant issues that have taken him out. Considering he was just an All-Star last season, the Heat have struggled without him.

Spoelstra still has faith in the Heat's depth

Miami has a decent roster with Herro, Bam Adebayo, and newly minted All-Star Norman Powell. The trio is enough to be competitive in the East, but they have not strung games together consistently.

Aside from the stars, the Heat also have a good group of role players. This includes names like Jaime Jaquez Jr., Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson, and more. They have a good group, but they are not consistently getting the results they want. 

MORE: Miami Heat receive key Tyler Herro injury update ahead of matchup vs. Hawks

The Eastern Conference has been quite competitive, which has led to the Heat struggling a bit. Despite these struggles, Spoelstra has full faith in his team, especially with their depth. They have been doing it the entire season, which should lead to some good results.

"I have a lot of positive feelings about our team and our depth, we've used it all season long. We've used it when guys have been out, and last night was an example of when we had our full roster, you could feel the depth. You could feel the level of talent, you know, that we have on the roster," Spoelstra said to Clutchpoints' Zachary Weinberger ahead of the Heat's game against the Grizzlies.

Spoelstra wants good consistency from the Heat, and they could build that with better health. They have a talented roster, and they will only get better when they have a full rotation. Moving forward, it will be challenging, but they have to believe in the rotation to get the best results.

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Dillon Brooks' breakout season has been one of the most surprising stories of the NBA season. That story is now on hold.

The Phoenix Suns star sustained a broken left hand seven minutes into Saturday's game against the Orlando Magic, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. He reportedly does not yet have a timetable. Brooks scored 5 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in the Magic game before he went down.

Brooks, 30, has averaged 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals on 44.1% shooting this season. This was Brooks first year with the Suns, after he was acquired along with Jalen Green in a trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.

This article will be updated with more information.

An additional 10 minutes were needed to decide a winner between the No. 7 seeds in the East and West when the Magic met the Suns inside Mortgage Matchup Center on Saturday night.

Both Phoenix and Orlando took double-digit leads in regulation but found themselves tied at 96 following four quarters of action and then tied again at 103 after the first five-minute overtime period.

Ultimately, it was the Suns who finished on top in double overtime, 113-110, thanks to a Jalen Green buzzer-beating corner 3-pointer.

With 56 seconds left in regulation, Anthony Black stole the ball away from Grayson Allen and dunked it on the other end to tie the game at 96 and eventually force overtime. Paolo Banchero (26 points) tied the game at 103 with a driving dunk with just over a minute left in the first overtime period.

After Jevon Carter sunk a corner 3 to tie the game at 110 with 1.1 seconds left in the second overtime period, Green punched right back and delivered a thrilling victory for Phoenix.

The Suns did a solid job of taking advantage of extra opportunities, holding a 23-13 edge in second-chance scoring with 22 offensive rebounds. Phoenix also scored 22 points off 16 Orlando turnovers.

While the Suns (33-24) were without Devin Booker (right hip strain), the Magic were missing Jalen Suggs (back spasms) and Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain injury management).

The Magic (29-26) have a quick turnaround, traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers on Sunday night.

The Bane event

Desmond Bane came out firing, knocking down his first seven shots from the floor, including his first three 3-pointers.

After a 14-point first quarter, the Magic guard kept it up in the second and scored 22 of Orlando’s first 37 points. The 22-point first half was Bane’s eighth 20-point half of the season.

Bane scored in a number of ways, whether it was penetrating the paint, hitting from distance or getting to the free-throw line. He scored 30-plus points for the eighth time this season.

Bane, however, fouled out less than a minute into the first overtime.

Banchero boost

After a 1-for-5 start from the floor in the first quarter, Banchero scored seven points in the second quarter to have 11 by the half.

Banchero added 14 rebounds and eight assists to go with four blocks.

Carter’s contribution

Carter scored in double figures for a second game in a row while coming off the bench first for Orlando again.

Despite starting 1 for 6 from 3-point range, Carter scored 12 points in his first 14 minutes.

He added two rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Phoenix’s bench outscored Orlando’s 58-28.

Suggs update

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said before the game that Suggs’ back was “bothering him a little bit” during the practice before Thursday’s game at Sacramento.

Suggs still played 20 minutes against the Kings, registering nine points, three rebounds and three assists with three turnovers, but he only saw nine minutes of action in the second half.

“He went into the game and you could just see him kind of laboring a little bit as the game went on,” Mosley said. “And I think after halftime it tightened up on him. So, that’s what’s kind of giving him problems.”