Miami Heat Index: Heat’s No Names End Season With Win

For the Miami Heat, Wednesday’s game at least brought one bright spot on an otherwise disappointing season.

The Heat’s win in Philadelphia, coupled with the Nets win against the Magic, gave Miami the tenth worst record in the NBA, which helps them improve their chances of keeping their first round pick in June’s draft. A small silver lining for a team that had bigger aspirations in mind when the season started, before one calamity after another struck down on the Heat. Any day an anvil didn’t fall on a player should have been considered a small victory. Miami finishes with a 37-45 record, and march forward to the unknown tomorrow.

The Sixers (18-64), the masters of tanking, had six players in double-figures, led by the immortal JaKarr Sampson’s 22 points and 6 assists. Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson each had 19 points, while Henry Sims and Thomas Robinson had dueling double-doubles – 10 points, 11 rebounds for Sims; 13 points, 10 rebounds for Robinson.

Sitting their starters, Coach Erik Spoelstra only played six players on the night, all of whom played more than 40 minutes. It was the shortest rotation in Heat history, as the Heat gave their bench guys all the work they could handle in a must lose game with not much meaning other than playing out the string.

Michael Beasley:  He nearly had a triple-double, with 34 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists, as he led all scorers. Starting at center for the short-handed, under-sized Heat, Beasley gave Spo a full 48 minutes in a great effort that showed flashes of the potential that Pat Riley can’t seem to ignore.

Chances of returning: Even odds. Depth behind both forward positions has caused the Heat problems this season, so having an athletic option off the bench would be ideal. Assuming Josh McRoberts isn’t traded in the offseason, Beasley would be in competition for minutes behind Luol Deng (assuming he returns) and should have an advantage on a minimum deal.

James Ennis: Another iron man, Ennis went the distance and dropped 17 points, while grabbing 12 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists. He didn’t shoot the ball that well – 7 of 20 from the field – but his athleticism helped him on the glass.

Chances of returning: Even odds. Ennis has another year on his contract and has been a pet project of the Heat staff, so you have to think he’ll be back. Another summer with the Heat will go a long way in Ennis’ development, as he’s got young legs off the bench that Miami can use.

Henry Walker: A game made for Walker, he certainly took advantage of the full workload and no pressure circumstances of Wednesday’s game by launching 6 of 10 from downtown, for 21 points. Walker had the game-clinching three with nine seconds remaining to help end the season with a win.

Chances of returning: 7 to 1. Walker is an interesting case, as he’s such a hard worker and the coaching staff seems to like him, but his “all or nothing” with the three-point shot can be annoying. He gives great effort on defense, so that gives him an advantage to stick around. It would be nice if he could develop a mid-range game.

Tyler Johnson: I had higher hopes for Johnson against the Sixers, as this was his chance to showcase himself. But he only shot 5 for 15 from the field in his 48 minutes (11 points), and took a backseat on offense. He did have 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals to help fill out the stat-sheet on both ends of the floors.

Chances of returning: 12 to 1. Another Heat project, Johnson would benefit greatly from another summer with the Heat. There’s room for him, as the Heat don’t have a lot to offer in backing up Dwyane Wade, as Mario Chalmers isn’t quite made for shooting guard. The Heat do have a chance to address the position in the draft (assuming they don’t lose the pick in the lottery), or in free agency, so Johnson should face some competition.

Zoran Dragic: Unleash the Baby Dragon! While Dragic was lazy and only played 41 minutes, he was absolutely fantastic in his only extended run with the Heat. Dragic scored 22 points on 9 of 17 of shooting, including 3 of 7 from three. Dragic showed some of his brother’s finishing ability, getting to the paint, converting on 6 of his 2 shots close to the basket. You can tell his Heat teammates were pulling for him in his biggest game with the team.

Chances of returning: Even odds. If Goran is coming back, you have to think Zoran isn’t far behind. He’ll probably be the recipient of a lot of “inactive” game statuses, but keeping his brother comfortable is the important thing.

Udonis Halsem picked up the seven minutes that Dragic didn’t play, but there’s no question is importance to the Heat. He’ll be back.

What we learned: That the Sixers are the Spurs of tanking. They’re like the final boss in a terrible video game. Losing to them was going to take great effort, but these Heat players had too much pride to just roll over. For the guys that played Wednesday, this was there chance to show what they could do in extended minutes.

What does the future hold for the Miami Heat? The chances of keeping their lottery pick greatly improved, so they’ll hopefully be able to add help to a roster that just didn’t have enough at times. And while this season might have been a “What If…?” with all the injuries and setbacks, the Miami Heat can take a step forward in trying to rebuild for a run in 2015-16.

See you guys next season.