Monday night saw the Miami Heat end their three game losing streak in Brooklyn against the Nets. They played the game with both Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng out of the starting lineup with injuries. On the second night of a back-to-back, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was forced to throw a patch-work rotation on the floor to take on the Nets.
Enter rookies Shabazz Napier and James Ennis into the spotlight. Both rookies embraced the opportunity, combining for 21 points, on 8-15 shooting. Ennis also contributed on the boards, grabbing 8 rebounds, and the Heat won the battle on the glass against Brooklyn 41-35. This injection of youth is what the Heat will need going forward as Miami looks for new weapons to keep opposing teams on their toes. Just ask Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett, who are still looking for where Napier went.
Napier has gotten the lion’s share of the minutes backing up Norris Cole at point guard, while Mario Chalmers been used primarily as Wade’s backup at shooting guard. Napier’s averaging 5.2 points, 2.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game, in a little under 21 minutes a night. He’s shooting 44.7% from the field and 34.8% from downtown. Not All-Star numbers, of course, but he’s still trying catch up to the speed of the game. But he’s a misfit when it comes to getting the paint – aside from threes at the left elbow, he loves taking it to the rack. Small sample-size, but it’s encouraging to see that he’s fearless.
There might come a time this season when Napier finds himself as the starting point guard. But if it’s going to happen, it’s not anytime soon. When you swap Cole out for him, Napier has averaged a whopping 1.4 minutes over the course of three games playing alongside Wade, Deng, Chris Bosh, and Shawne Williams. That’s not a great sample-size to see how well he plays with them as a unit. Napier tends to lead the second units (with Chalmers’ permission, of course), playing the latter portions of the first and third quarters, while getting extended run in the second quarter.
Oct 21, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Shabazz Napier (13) dribbles past Houston Rockets guard Ish Smith (5) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Yet I’ve always been of the mind it’s not important whether you start the game, but whether you’re there at the end. Spoelstra unleashes Napier in the fourth quarter, as he’s averaging the third most minutes (minimum five games) in the final period of games. That’s quite a bit of confidence to have in a first year player. Granted, Napier has a pedigree of playing in the biggest games on the biggest stage while he was at Connecticut. As a freshman, he hit two big free throws to help beat Kentucky in the Final Four en route to a National Championship. In his senior season, he was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament, as he helped lead the Huskies to another title. He knows he can play in the big spots, so Spoelstra isn’t handling him with kid gloves.
Not exactly the same can be said for Ennis, as he’s been on the fringes of the rotation to start the season. The darling of the preseason – he averaged 10.9 points per game, on 50% shooting – the super athletic Ennis has been scraping minutes together whenever he can get them, averaging 3.8 points ppg in just 13 minutes of action. Some of that can be explained with the early success of Williams, whose been able to thrive as a starter and keep his spot even as the Heat try to incorporate Josh McRoberts into the rotation. Chalmers has also been playing well as the backup shooting guard, and Spoelstra has used lineups of Cole/Napier, alongside Chalmers and Deng/Wade at small forward, leaving Ennis as the odd man out at both wing spots. The return of Danny Granger also muddies the waters, since he can backup at shooting guard and both forward positions.
• WATCH: Shabazz Napier Hits James Ennis On The Outlet Pass For The Dunk
But one can’t help think of the last super athletic youngster had last season that Spoelstra was hesitant on giving rotation minutes to – Michael Beasley. As we saw, Beasley couldn’t exactly grasp the concept of defense. Okay, that might be wrong. He couldn’t grasp the actual concept of paying attention on defense. Beasley had a defensive rating of 107.9 per 100 possessions last season and was often out of position, or just got lost on rotations. No matter how much talent he has, Spoelstra wasn’t going to sacrifice that side of the floor. Ennis? Defensive rating of 97.6 in 100 possessions, third best on the team, so he’s contributed on that side of the floor. Of course, small sample size.
Ennis got his opportunity to start last Friday against the Hawks in the place of Wade, but he was relegated to just six minutes and saw Shannon Brown start the third quarter in his place. He’s shooting well enough – 48.5% from the field, 36.4% from three. But much like Napier, getting to the basket isn’t a concern for him (almost half his shots come near the basket – Rasual Butler found out the hard way), so mixing in more of his jumpers should really help the Heat with spacing – another aspect that Spoelstra covets. His minutes should climb, but it’ll depend on how Spoelstra juggles the rotation. The game in Brooklyn was a welcome one for Ennis, as he looks to join Napier as a key member of the roster. The returns of Wade and Deng, as well as McRoberts getting comfortable with the offense, will be something that Spoelstra will have to work hard in figuring out.
But if you’re Coach Spoelstra, trying to expand the rotation to accommodate both Napier and Ennis looks like it could be a fun problem to have.