With Miami’s preseason nearly over, final roster decisions loom. Friday’s final exhibition against the Memphis Grizzlies represents the best, last option to showcase what you have before moving on to the next phase, whatever that might be.
With a glut of options at the guard and wing positions, Miami’s frontcourt roster spot likely boils down to two players that represent different ends of the talent spectrum, Justin Hamilton and Khem Birch.
We’ve broken down what they have to offer in our season position preview but here’s a refresher course for the uninitiated.
Drafted in 2012, Hamilton goes about 7’ and 260 but, despite the big body, he’s endeared himself to fans because of his work along the perimeter. You can often spot him waiting outside the arc to receive a pass and knockdown a 3-pointer; 9 of his NBA total 20 field-goal attempts come from there.
But while the outside shot is a part of his repertoire, Hamilton can be used in the pick-and-roll offense effectively, flashing quickly off a defender before slashing to the basket for the finish. For a big man, he has really soft hands and catches passes well in traffic. You can see a lot of that evidenced in this highlight video of his best game with the Skyforce:
Hamilton’s defensive abilities are questionable, however. Neither strong enough to guard larger players or fast enough to guard quick forward/centers, he gets caught somewhere in between, usually with little impact.
Conversely, Birch fills the exact opposite role on the Heat. As he explained when he went undrafted out of the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, the 6’10 Birch is expected to be an “energy player and defensive player.” Heat fans saw flashes of this in a recent exhibition against the San Antonio when he pulled down an impressive 13 rebounds in 32 minutes, his longest stretch of the preseason.
However, he also shot 0-for-6 that night and has now shot 4-14 in five preseason games, just over 35 percent.
His pre-draft workout video shows that he’s working on using his athleticism and explosion to finish strongly at the rim, although he’s obviously very unpolished in that regard.
Which brings me to how Hamilton and Birch represent either a short- or long-term commitment, respectively.
In Hamilton, the Heat have a player more familiar with NBA-style offenses, after years of bouncing in and out of the NBA and D-League. This year’s Miami team will struggle to score at times, relying heavily on Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to handle the bulk of the scoring. Hamilton would help space the floor as Wade, Bosh or Luol Deng cut to the hoop, or he could trail a slashing teammate and catch-and-finish. He can provide a boost but there’s little to no upside and there’s a good chance that he’s plateaued as a NBA athlete.
Birch has promise but might limit what a unit can do on the floor; as we’ve seen during the preseason, he helps opposing teams defend Miami more easily because of his offensive limitations. He makes up for it on defense and effort (think of the anti-Michael Beasley) but defenders can afford to lay off of him and apply a double-team to a more skilled player (think back to the Joel Anthony era). But there’s a chance for improvement and his ceiling is definitely higher than Hamilton’s, although he’ll likely never be a floor-spacing type.
In gauging who is the better fit for Miami, it’s a question of what the team’s ultimate goals are, for this season and beyond. While the Heat claim that a championship is still their goal, that seems far-fetched and, while Hamilton would be a more immediate help, he’s not the missing piece to vault Miami into title-contending status. With Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem showing their age, he’ll get occasional minutes but his defensive struggles might make his offensive contributions a wash.
Birch would benefit from the experience of being with the Heat coaching staff and could eventually fill the role “Birdman” has throughout his career. He just needs the opportunity, patience and time to reach this potential.
Even with either player unlikely to see significant playing time this season, their inclusion on the team – or demotion to the D-League – symbolizes keeping the status quo or a change in culture that could ultimately yield a higher reward.