With its final preseason game in the book, the Miami Heat will have to decide no its final 15-man roster. NBA teams will have until 5 p.m. Monday, October 27 to trim the roster. After cutting Tyler Johnson, Shawn Jones and Larry Drew II earlier this week, Miami needs to decide on one other player.
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, that decision will come down to rookies Khem Birch and Andre Dawkins.
"A decision will likely be made between he and guard Andre Dawkins for the final spot in the coming days. […]With their jobs never in question, coach Erik Spoelstra expects to use the next several days to make final evaluations on those still competing for a place on the team. Birch impressed with his defensive skills while Dawkins made his mark on the perimeter. Spoelstra said how both performed Friday had no bearing on who survives the deadline for cuts. […]The deciding factor could be which player the Heat feel they can develop in other areas. The staff wants to see if Birch can produce on the offensive end. For Dawkins, the hurdle is proving he is more than just a shooter, mainly being a better defender."
The interesting thing is that last part “The deciding factor could be which player the Heat feel they can develop in other areas.” The second part of that is which player might have the best opportunity to develop in their weakness areas?
The Heat have much more depth at guard, which could limit Dawkins’ opportunity. However, Dawkins is probably a top-four-or-five three-point shooter on the roster. That could garner him some opportunities in specific lineups.
As for Birch, he’ll have a chance to play over Udonis Haslem right away. Haslem is in Juwan Howard/victory cigar territory now, and Birch is simply a better rebounder at this point. He has work to do on defense and is a non-factor on offense. If the Heat just need a big body and someone to crash the boards, Birch could see playing time as well.
Because the Heat already have Shabazz Napier and James Ennis competing for minutes on the wing, my money will go on Birch making the final cut. However, the Heat could cut both of them and offer them positions on the D-League. Don’t rule that out, either.