Ranking the Miami Heat’s Best Lineups from 2012-2013
By Wes Goldberg
4. No Point Guard – Ray Allen, Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier, LeBron James, Chris Bosh
Jun 16, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat center Chris Bosh (1) and small forward LeBron James (6) and shooting guard Ray Allen (34) and shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) react during the fourth quarter of game five in the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT
Ray Allen is subbed in for Chalmers/Cole and without a true point guard bringing the ball up, LeBron and Wade tend to share the responsibility while playing in team’s third most used lineup that we see mostly at the end of games (this was the lineup used at the end of Game 6 in the NBA Finals).
The no-point-guard lineup offers a lower offensive efficiency rating than the last lineup, most likely because it forces James to facilitate from the wing and not the post. The team also has the fewest amount of assists from this lineup, but also sports its best rebounding numbers with this five.
Though there are obvious disadvantages to not having a point guard on the floor, and this is not a lineup built to endure for long periods of time, it puts the five best players for the Heat on the floor at once and creates a clear matchup issue for opposing teams using a point guard and center.
Allen, Battier and Bosh provide excellent spacing for LeBron and Wade and when LeBron is shooting the three well, this lineup is absolutely terrifying.