Miami Heat’s Luol Deng: ‘I think I’m best at the 4’

Reluctant to play power forward in the past, Luol Deng seems poised to embrace the position for the Miami Heat.

After playing much of the fourth quarter in the Miami Heat’s win over the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday at power forward, Luol Deng, a natural small forward, seems to be ready to embrace playing the 4.

Reports Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald:

"“Oh definitely,” Deng said. “I just think that obviously I played the “3” most of my career. But the way the NBA is going now, I think I’m best at the “4,” because of the playmaking and because of the guys shooting. Setting screens and getting teams to mess up the coverage is where we are getting our advantage. And also with the passing and everything, it really screws a lot of things up [for the opponent].”"

Some key stats:

• Miami’s second most used lineup (Wade, Dragic, Winslow, Deng and Whiteside) has Deng at power forward.
• Deng is playing 49 percent of all his possessions at power forward, compared to 47 percent at small forward, according to basketball-reference.com.
• Four of Miami’s best 10 lineups this season have Deng at the 4, according to NBA.com.
• Five of Miami’s best 10 lineups include just one big man, according to NBA.com.

This could mark a turning point in the Heat’s season, who needed Deng to play the 4 in order to unlock certain small ball lineups. With the NBA largely headed in the direction that Erik Spoelstra’s pace-and-space era Heat helped bring on, Deng playing power forward resembles what Shane Battier was able to do for those teams.

With Deng at the 4, Justise Winslow can play small forward and defend the opponent’s top perimeter scorer. Chris Bosh or Hassan Whiteside–both plus defenders–can protect the rim. Lineups with Bosh at center will be more akin to those Big Three-era Heat teams that were so great at blitzing pick and rolls and switching on defense.

It also allows for more space for Goran Dragic, who will be one of the most important players for the Heat in the near future. Dragic can use Deng at power forward to develop some nice pick-and-pop opportunities. When Deng gets the ball from Dragic, he’ll usually have the opportunity to take advantage of bigger defenders by putting the ball on the ground and darting around them to get to the rim.

The Heat have won their past three games with Deng, who is recovered after missing six games with a hamstring injury. He isn’t the biggest name in the Heat’s starting five, but he plays a very important role in how this team will play going forward.