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Do the Heat need a backup point guard?

By Lucas Gama

CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 06: Goran Dragic
CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 06: Goran Dragic /
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The Miami Heat head into the season with their core back intact. Their roster consists of only one true point guard, Goran Dragic. Is it important that they find another point guard to backup Dragic?

The Miami Heat currently have only one true point guard on the roster, and five shooting guards. This was the case last season as well, and this allowed us to see many different lineups with many of those guards becoming combo guards when Goran Dragic rested. Usually if this was the case, the Heat found themselves looking for a backup point guard.

Up until this past season, Miami has always had a true backup point guard that could play valuable minutes when the starter was resting. Beno Udrih came in when Dragic was resting.

Also, the Heat had the Chalmers and Norris Cole tandem during their back to back title run in the Big Three era.

The Heat did not have that luxury at point guard during the 2016-2017 season. This saw them turn to unconventional lineups with several shooting guards playing minutes together and even turning to some of their forwards (James Johnson and Justise Winslow, when healthy) to handle the ball.

Position-less Basketball

Although the Heat have had a conventional point guard and backup point guard since he began coaching, head coach Erik Spoelstra still preached position-less basketball. During the Big Three era, this consisted of playing small ball with Chris Bosh eventually starting at center. Also, LeBron James would play several minutes as the primary ball-handler surrounded by shooters.

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This past season was no exception, and Spoelstra seems prepared to take it even further. When speaking about the possibilities that Bam Adebayo brings to the team, he had this to say, Per the Sun-Sentinel: 

"We don’t care about conventional boxes, where players fit in. We may play — who knows? — five guys over 6-9 next year in certain segments of a game without a point guard, and make teams adjust to us."

Versatility

The reason that the Heat can get away with going big is because of their versatility. The roster is full of talent that is capable of playing multiple positions.

The versatility on the roster applies to both ends of the court. The Heat have several players that can guard multiple positions. Justise Winslow and Rodney McGruder have been called upon to guard both high level forwards and guards in this league.

The main concerns for not having a backup point guard on the roster is not being able to find open shooters or defend speedy opposing point guards when the starter is resting. However, when healthy, this roster is capable of addressing both of those concerns without a backup point guard.

Before he was injured, Winslow was given some ball-handling duties when Dragic was resting, and was able to find open shooters through penetration. Also, James Johnson is another underrated passer and ball-handler for his size. Winslow and Johnson averaged 3.7 and 3.6 assists respectively this past season.

Not having a backup point guard and relying on versatility can be an advantage for the Heat. In a interview towards the end of the season, Spoelstra had this to say about the team’s versatility. Per the Sun-Sentinel:

"I like the versatility that our roster has, That is how we play anyway. Different guys handle. Different guys initiate and get us into offense. Different guys generating attacks and looks for us offensively…”“The more unconventional we are, i think it helps us."

Next: Projecting the Heat's 3-point shooting next season

I agree with Spoelstra that having a more unconventional roster could play to their advantage. Do I think that a high quality backup point guard would improve the team? Yes. However, with who is currently available on the market, the Heat are better off implementing more unconventional lineups.

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