Ranking the Miami Heat’s Best Lineups from 2012-2013
By Wes Goldberg
2. LeBron at the 4 – Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier, LeBron James, Chris Bosh
Jun 18, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Mike Miller (13), LeBron James, Chris Bosh (1), Mario Chalmers (15) and Dwyane Wade (3) react against the San Antonio Spurs during the second quarter of game six in the 2013 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
This was the lineup that changed everything two years ago against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Battier was used as a stretch four and Bosh was put at center. The Thunder didn’t know how to match up and insisted on playing a true center. The spacing made Serge Ibaka a non factor and the Heat won in five games.
Now, we see this lineup pretty often. It’s the second-most used lineup and it plays to the strengths of each player and is the team’s go-to version of small ball.
James can facilitate through the post and Bosh can use his gravity to drag defenders away from the paint while Battier and Chalmers provide additional spacing.
The advantages of this lineup is that the team can space out teams to death. We saw it against the Spurs and late in the series against the Pacers when the Heat decided to live or die by small ball. It is among the team’s highest scoring lineups, averaging 117.2 points per 100 possessions according to NBA.com. That’s an insane rate, as the Heat averaged 110.3 points per 100 possessions during the regular season as the league’s top team in the category.
The disadvantages are that if either Battier or Chalmers is cold, then spacing can become an issue and the lack of front-court size becomes a major weakness.
The team can sub out Battier or Chalmers for the hot hands, as we saw against the Spurs in the NBA Finals with Miller replacing an ice-cold Battier, and Norris Cole as become the anti-Chalmers for when Chalmers does Chalmers things. Even still, when you take out Chalmers or Battier and replace them with Cole, James Jones or Rashard Lewis, you take a significant step back on defense.