Miami Heat Shooting Guard Preview: Shannon Brown

Analyzing Last Year’s Performance

Shannon Brown played in a total of 29 games last year, 19 for the New York Knicks and 10 for the San Antonio Spurs. It wouldn’t be fair to use his stats and shot charts from last year; so, I’m going to use his stats and shot chart (Via NylonCalculus.com) from the 2012-13 season, where he saw 23.8 minutes per game for the Phoenix Suns.

Courtesy of NylonCalculus

As you can see above, Brown was a poor three-point shooter, although he is 33-percent for his career. He shot over 60% of his shots in the paint, which is very similar to Dwyane Wade (69%). In 2012-13, Brown averaged 10.5 points, 1.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game, while shooting a putrid 42-percent from the field.

Various reports have claimed that Brown has a vertical of 44.5 inches. He’s not much of an outside shooter, but has proven that he can hit mid-range jumpers from the left elbow, as seen above. He’s never been much of a high scorer, but has proven he can score when needed.

He’s not an elite defender, but he uses his athleticism and bulkiness to guard most shooting guards.

How LeBron’s Depature Impacts His Role

The Heat enter training camp with a solid backup for Dwyane Wade. Ray Allen hit arguably the greatest shot in Heat (NBA?) history, but he was always a defensive liability. With the addition of Brown, a two-way player who is still relatively young (28), Spoelstra can insert him into the starting lineup if Wade has to sit out.

He hasn’t played a full NBA season since the 2010-11 season with the Lakers, so staying healthy is still a question mark.

Projections for the Season

As soon as I saw reports that Brown was signing with the Heat, the first thing that popped into my head was his dunking skills. This man is downright nasty when it comes to slamming the ball.

Because his role with the team is still up in the air, it felt safer to keep his averages relatively low. With consistent minutes, Brown will average something like 6.5 points, one assist and two rebounds per game with the Heat. Brown will battle youthful guards in Norris Cole and Shabazz Napier for minutes, not to mention Spoelstra likes his two-point guard lineups with Chalmers and Cole.

However, if Cole and/or Napier struggles early on, don’t be surprised if Brown earns a bigger role with the team.

This is supposed to be a bounce-back year for Shannon Brown, who with ample minutes should be a key contributor off the bench.

“Why I’m Excited” – Wes Golderg

As Blaine explained already, Brown is an excellent dunker of the basketball and could dazzle us with a few highlights this season. His ball-handling will be welcome to a Heat team that features few off the bench, especially if he’s battling with Granger and Reggie Williams for minutes. However, his ability to play point guard in addition to shooting guard will give him an opportunity. Of everyone on a minimum deal, Brown may have the best opportunity because of his versatility on offense and potential to be a plus-defender.