Erik Spoelstra will rely on youngsters to set the Miami Heat’s tone on defense
By Wes Goldberg
The Miami Heat will also need them to come along on offense.
A few days after Miami Heat owner Micky Arison wrote an optimistic letter to fans, Erik Spoelstra offered some specifics on how he views this young Heat roster.
Through a video posted on the Heat’s Twitter account, Spoelstra focused on defense, where he expects guys like Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson to continue to thrive. After some ra-ra Spoisms–including the use of the word “change” five times in the video’s first 18 seconds–Spoelstra got into the nut of the message.
"“There’s some things that will never change with this organization. Our expectation to win. Our expectation to compete for an NBA championship regardless of who we have in this uniform. And to do those things, you have to commit to a championship level defense.“Now, you also have to have the right kind of players. We feel we have defensive minded players. It starts with a Defensive Player of Year candidate in Hassan Whiteside, somebody that can defend the rim as well as anybody in this league and as well as anybody has done it in a long time in this league.“But we also have defensive minded young players, which is unique. Josh Richardson is a defensive minded, versatile, long guard. Justise Winslow came in as a defender, Tyler Johnson is a competitive defender.“And now as we build around those guys, we’re looking for two-way basketball players that want to compete on both ends.”"
Ever since Pat Riley came to Miami and acquired Alonzo Mourning, the Heat have been a defensive-minded team. With Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal, Miami was elite defensively. The Big 3 era was spectacular on offense, but those fast break opportunities were created by a stifling defense.
Even this last season, with the Heat advancing to the second round, it was done so mostly on defense, and battling through low-scoring affairs.
Of everything that has changed, this hasn’t changed. Whitside, as Spoelstra said, finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting after just one-and-a-half seasons since re-entering the NBA. Winslow is already an elite defender, and Richardson is well on his way. Johnson, also, offers promising 3-and-D potential.
Next: The Pressure is on Tyler Johnson
That last part, though, about developing into two-way basketball players, is important. For Winslow, it’s shooting. For Richardson, it’s decision making and ball handling. For Whiteside, it’s getting others involved. They’ll have to continue to thrive on defense, while developing faster than perhaps originally planned on offense.