Gerald Green Light
Oct 21, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Gerald Green (14) reacts after a three point basket as Washington Wizards forward Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) runs up court in the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 110-105. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Green was the star tonight, furiously scoring his 28 points and grabbing nine rebounds to boot. He’s been Miami’s leading scorer all preseason, and is proving to be one of the most important bench guys in the NBA.
Gerald Green is 14 of 34 from three-point range this preseason (41.2 percent). Rest of the #Heat? 26 of 132 (19.7%) #Heat
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) October 22, 2015
Which leads me to my next point.
There has been a lot of talk on Twitter about starting Green over Luol Deng. That won’t work for a few reasons:
(1) Deng is much better defensively, and a perimeter of Dragic, Wade and Green would create a lot of work for Hassan Whiteside at the rim. (2) It would also leave the Heat without a go-to perimeter defender to start games, making it easy for opposing stars to get in a rhythm early. (3 and most importantly) Starting Green would take shots away from either Green or the other starters. Coming off the bench, Green can shoot as much as he likes. He has the okay to shoot whenever he wants, but that may not fly in a starting unit when Wade, Dragic, Bosh and Whiteside need their shots.
Starting Deng and bringing Green off the bench plays to their individual strengths. Don’t get greedy, Heat fans.
Still, expect Green and other bench guys like Mario Chalmers and Josh McRoberts to get plenty of minutes along with four starters.
Next: Roster Set?