As the Miami Heat works to incorporate the three players it added in last week’s Jimmy Butler trade, the Heat is also looking to move past a stomach illness that is spreading through the locker room. First, Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. missed Sunday’s practice because of a stomach issue.

Then, Heat guard Tyler Herro woke up Monday feeling ill. Both Herro and Jaquez ended up missing Monday’s home loss to the Boston Celtics because of that stomach illness. On Wednesday, forward Duncan Robinson and guard Terry Rozier felt sick to their stomachs and missed the Heat’s morning shootaround in Oklahoma City.

“It’s that time of year right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup against the Thunder at Paycom Center. “We’re doing all the due diligence that we possibly can. But we can’t control everything.

What we can control is our mentality and connection going into this game.” Herro and Jaquez felt bad enough that they didn’t travel with the team to Oklahoma City on Tuesday. But the good news for the Heat is Herro and Jaquez improved in time to take a flight Wednesday, rejoining the team in Oklahoma City ahead of its game against the Thunder. “Tyler and Jaime will be here,” Spoelstra said.

“They want to get a workout in, get a sweat. Their intention is to hopefully play. But their bodies will let them know.” Herro, Jaquez, Robinson and Rozier are all listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Thunder. The Heat closes this back-to-back set on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center before entering the All-Star break. When asked if living through the COVID-19 pandemic has helped teams better prepare for illnesses spreading through the roster, Spoelstra didn’t shoot down that theory. “Potentially,” Spoelstra answered. “I mean, outside of the mask wearing. But in terms of sanitization, that level of awareness is significantly higher than it used to be pre-COVID.

But you can’t control something you can’t see. It is what it is. Every team has been going through it at some point. But hopefully we get our guys back.”

THE NEW GUYS

As Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins continue to adjust to the Heat way, the Heat’s coaching staff is doing what it can to get them as comfortable on the court as possible as quickly as possible. “We have to prioritize,” Spoelstra said. “We want to get Wiggins feeling as comfortable as possible. He’s a big part of what we want to try to do. So yeah, we have some packages for him specifically. How can we get the ball to him in his strength zones. In terms of D-Mitch, it’s just being an extension of me to help get the team organized. He’s been great about that the last few days. Kyle has been around a lot of systems. He knows how to fit in, plug in, fit in, add value. I’m not worried about that.”

OKC PRAISE

Not only does the Heat’s opponent on Wednesday enter with the NBA’s top record this season, but the Thunder also features the league’s best defensive rating and sixth-best offensive rating. “OKC has played at a great level all year long,” Spoelstra said “That’s probably what has been most impressive is how consistent they’ve been on both sides of the floor with injuries, guys out, so forth.

They have an identity and they get to it often.” Spoelstra then went on to praise the Thunder’s deep roster that’s led by MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “They have depth all over the place,” Spoelstra said. “It starts with SGA, no question. When you face dynamic teams and players like that, you really have to fall back on your habits. That’s what we’re trying to build right now is habits, consistency, doing what we’re capable of doing over and over and over even against great players.”