NBA: 8 trends to watch post-All-Star break

Some rotation battles throughout the league

• The Indiana Pacers‘ backup point guard

The return of Victor Oladipo has mostly pushed Aaron Holiday out of the rotation, with T.J. McConnell getting backup duty. McConnell has been fine, but it will be tough to play him big minutes in the postseason due to his inability to shoot from outside. I would like to see Nate McMillan get Holiday more experience so that he is ready for when he is eventually thrown into the fire.

Indiana also has an abundance of depth on the wing, so staggering Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon more often might not be the worst idea.

• The “fifth starter” for the Oklahoma City Thunder

Ah, the classic “fifth starter” problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder. While this team does not have the title aspirations of the KD/Westbrook years, this could still be a fatal flaw for them. I would like to see Terrance Ferguson earn the role back. Opponents have to at least respect him from beyond the arc.

Last season he shot a more than respectable 36.6 percent on 290 attempts. Current starter Luguentz Dort plays with a great deal of energy and physicality, but he does not get guarded against outside at all. I can already see Billy Donovan benching him once the Thunder gets down in their first-round playoff series.

• The closing lineups for the Miami Heat

Assuming Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are the mainstays, the Miami Heat have so many different options on who plays around them in the closing-five. They could go with shooting in Duncan Robinson/Tyler Herro, scoring with Goran Dragic/Kendrick Nunn, or defense and versatility in Jae Crowder/Andre Iguodala.

Derrick Jones Jr. has even played well as of late, so he could also figure into the mix should the Heat need athleticism on the floor. It will be fascinating to see Erik Spoelstra juggle all of these different pieces. This Miami Heat team will be a tough out for anyone that they face in the playoffs.