Miami Heat: Is positionless basketball working against the team?

Is positionless basketball ultimately helping or hurting the Miami Heat?

Everything has pros and cons.

It’s about figuring out whether the good outweighs the bad.

Which is exactly what the Miami Heat need to decide, when it comes to positionless basketball.

In a vacuum, the concept is a great one.

In such a system, you can capitalize on a center like Kelly Olynyk who shoots 3’s with ease, while being able to teach yet another big man in Bam Adebayo, to move the ball up the court. Simultaneously, a defensive machine like Justise Winslow can switch to a ball-handler when needed, while a sharp-shooter like Tyler Johnson morphs into a monster on defense like it’s nothing.

At its most basic level, positionless basketball aids in developing player versatility, which results in creating a more well-rounded team.

Thus, instead of having something like three centers on a roster, you merely have three 7-footers. All which comfortably slide into playing the five spot, but serve a different purpose through having drastically different skill-sets.

No one would ever expect the same type of production from Adebayo, Olynyk and Hassan Whiteside, despite the fact that they’re all technically big men.

Sounds great, right?

Well sure. And in most cases, it is. A team can customize their approach on any given night depending on their opponent. And have a bit of added security in case the injury bug bites.

But it’s not without pitfalls.

The most obvious being that when you have too many options, making a choice can become harder. Something that no one seems to know more about than head coach Erik Spoelstra.

Now everyone should be able to agree on the fact that Spoelstra is a world class talent.

Sure, it may have been harder to really appreciate his genius during The Big Three era, with LeBron James doing what does best in running the show. But since then, it should be obvious that no one makes the sweetest, most delicious lemonade out of even the hardest to squeeze lemons, than Spoelstra.

(At one point during the 2016-17 season, the Heat only had eight players available. Then, they ended the year by going on a 30-11 run. Enough said.)

Yet, it’s not a secret that he struggled with his rotations last season.

And while some of that can be attributed to having to work guys like Adebayo and Olynyk into the mix, alongside dealing with a sidelined Whiteside, Rodney McGruder and Dion Waiters, his love for positionless basketball definitely played a role in his troubles too.

Because while being able to utilize Josh Richardson as either a primary playmaker a or shooter off the wing certainly proved useful, it gave him that much more to think about when brainstorming a game plan. And kept his mind busier during matchups, knowing he could mix things up on the floor at a moment’s notice.

There’s also the effect positionless basketball has on players.

For example, while playing point guard on several occasions may have been eye opening for Winslow, there’s no doubt the learning curve during those games took a toll on team efficiency. Nevermind that a player used to a certain role, can feel lost when things are constantly changing around him (say like Johnson).

Still, it seems like what Miami gains from relying on the positionless model, is far greater than the obstacles it can sometimes throw in the way.

Spoelstra will just have to decide upon a handful of anchored lineups going into 2018-19 play, centered around more traditional players like Whiteside, Goran Dragic and James Johnson, to give his rotations a bit more stability (something that should be easier now that guys like McGruder and Waiters are back).

And get someone like Johnson involved with as many variations as possible, to get used to remaining centered amidst the chaos.

At the end of the day, for the Miami Heat, positionless basketball should be able to work just fine.