Exploring how Heat got taller at the All-Star break but also got worse at rebounding

In a season full of vexing mysteries, here’s another:

The Heat became taller during the All-Star break yet somehow became a worse rebounding team.

Before adding 6-8 power forward Kevin Love and 6-11 center Cody Zeller during the All-Star break, the Heat ranked fifth best in percentage of available defensive rebounds corralled at 73.6.

Since the All-Star break, Miami ranks 22nd in that category at 70.7 percent.

The problem has been particularly acute recently; during this ongoing three-game losing streak, Miami was outrebounded 45-32 by the Nets, 47-43 by Toronto and 47-35 by the Knicks.

So how could the Heat get physically bigger but the rebounding numbers smaller?

“Rebounding is about who wants the ball more,” guard Tyler Herro said Friday. “Height plays a factor, but height isn’t everything when it comes to rebounding. My rebounding numbers have gone down, and I’m one of the best rebounders in the league at my position.”

The solution collectively?

“Just being active and coming in with a mind-set that you’re going to get a ball,” Herro said.

At the All-Star break, Love, 6-8, took the place of 6-5 Caleb Martin in the starting lineup, and Zeller replaced Orlando Robinson, who’s an inch shorter, as the Heat’s backup center, but missed six games with a nasal fracture before returning this week.

Since the break, the Heat is third eorst in the league in percentage of defensive rebounds grabbed on missed free throws (81.6 percent).

They’re also third worst in percentage of rebounds secured after missed opponent three-pointers (72.7 percent).

“We’ve had a couple games where we expect other guys to get the rebound and we have to pursue it ourselves,” Bam Adebayo said Friday.

Here’s the good news: Miami has the ninth-best percentage of rebounds claimed off two-point misses by opponents since the All-Star break.

But overall, the Heat is grabbing a rebound on 49.6 percent of its chances this season, ranked 21st in the league.

Before the All-Star break, “we were the third-best defensive rebounding team,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We will get back to that. It’s not any one person or any scheme [to blame]. The opponent making a lot more shots against us does make an impact. We will rebound better these last five games.”

The drop in rebounds has impacted virtually the entire roster.

Adebayo averaged 10.0 rebounds before the All-Star break, 7.4 since.

Love has gone from 6.8 rebounds per game with Cleveland this season to 5.8 here.

Herro has dropped from 5.7 to 4.8, Victor Oladipo from 3.5 to 2.5, Max Strus from 3.6 to 2.3 and Martin from 5.2 to 4.2. Jimmy Butler has gone from 6.0 to 5.8.

INJURY UPDATE

Kyle Lowry (knee soreness) was listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Dallas (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun), but he has usually played with that designation, except during back to back sets.

Adebayo was listed as questionable with a left hip contusion but seemed to be walking without limitations after practice.

Nikola Jovic (back) remains out. Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson remain with the Heat’s G-League team in South Dakota, which is playing in the Western Conference semifinals.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Beyond retiring Udonis Haslem, the team’s only unrestricted free agents this summer will be Strus and Gabe Vincent, unless Oladipo opts out of his $9.5 million salary for next season.

“It wouldn’t be human to not think about it,” Strus said of free agency. “I wouldn’t say it’s added pressure or anything like that.”

Strus — at least for a night — lost his rotation spot to Duncan Robinson in the second half of Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks after picking up three fouls in three minutes in the first half.

Vincent said free agency “crosses my mind less than you think and more than I would like. It’s there. It’s something you can’t avoid. [But at the] forefront of my mind is helping this team win.”

▪ Omer Yurtseven will be a restricted free agent, and for Miami to retain his rights, the Heat must make him a qualifying offer of $1.78 million (the projected third-year minimum) plus $200,000.

Extending the qualifying offer gives the Heat the right to match any outside offers.

“I know I can get to a point where I can dominate this league,” Yurtseven said.