Miami Heat Rotation Spotlight: Can Josh McRoberts be the Missing Link?
By Wes Goldberg
In the Miami Heat rotation spotlight, we will take a look at some key reserves, breaking down what their role will be and their impact on the team. Here, we take a look at Josh McRoberts.
It’s commonplace throughout the history of the game, that a big man suffers a lower body injury and loses a season to injury. For the Heat, losing Josh McRoberts after 17 games left a void on the team that ultimately resulted in one of the most important free agent signing in team history.
It forced Shawne Williams to take on a starting role and, eventually, led Erik Spoelstra to slide Chris Bosh back to his natural position at power forward and start Chris Andersen. That led the team to sign Hassan Whiteside out of the D-League, and Whiteside’s story went into the history books.
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Now McRoberts is healthy and ready to join the team. In an off-season of role player additions, feel free to throw McRoberts into the discussion as well. His role has changed since he was signed last summer, pre-LeBron-to-Cleveland. No longer slated to be a starter, McRoberts will be coming off the bench in a key reserve role that could bridge the gap between half-court basketball and pace-and-space.
The starting front line of Whiteside and Bosh offers two complementary pieces. Whiteside, the rim protector and ball stuffer, and Bosh, the floor spacer. It’s a natural duo for a starting unit. It’s McRoberts who can change the dynamic of the game when he comes off the bench. He’ll likely substitute Whiteside in the lineup sometime during the first quarter. Bosh, then, will slide back over to the 5. (Bosh having experience of playing both the 4 and 5 will be a tremendously valuable asset for the Heat this season.)
Think of how the San Antonio Spurs used Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw. Bosh, like Duncan, can play both front court positions. Splitter was the starter and, when Diaw came in, the Spurs would pick up the pace. Diaw was responsible for a lot of ball movement.
The Heat will look very similar. McRoberts, like Diaw, will be responsible for some ball movement from the elbow. Playing alongside the starters he can form a HORNS formation with Bosh. He has the passing skills to find Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng cutting off the ball and is a pick-and-pop outlet for Goran Dragic.
The difference in pace between McRoberts and Whiteside will be like an NFL team rotating between a power back and speed back. Whiteside will pound opposing bigs in the post and, when McRoberts enters, the Heat will play faster. The opponent will be slowed down from the beating, making getting open that much easier for the Heat players.
Dan Craig said Whiteside will play only about 20-25 minutes per game, so McRoberts will pick up a lot of playing time this season. Despite not being a starter, he will be a key piece in what Miami does with its big man rotation this season.