As the Heat was mounting a fourth-quarter rally in an eventual loss to the Celtics on Monday, Kelly Olynyk stood and cheered with his teammates at the end of the Miami bench.
“You’re still part of the team,” Olynyk said afterward. “You want to win.”
He would also prefer to play toward that cause rather than watch.
But Olynyk was never given that chance and remained on the bench throughout, relegated to a bystander’s role as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra continued to search for his best combination on the court with plenty of willing bodies at his disposal and not enough minutes to spread around.