Miami Heat: The ideal starting lineup for the 2018-19 season
By Jack Leniart
The average NBA fan would probably be confused looking at the current Miami Heat roster. And with the team in the midst of trade talks, things could look very different by the end of the season.
The Miami Heat are at an interesting point in their franchise’s history.
They have a solid young core of promising players, some role players with All-Star potential, a few veterans on unfavorable contracts, and a pair of “Heat Lifers” who are embarking on a farewell tour.
Miami is comfortably in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
Because of that, president Pat Riley and the rest of the Heat front office have actively explored the trade market this offseason, looking for pieces that could help them contend for another championship.
Their main target? Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler.
Whether or not Miami is able to reach an agreement with the Timberwolves that nets them Butler, they still have a stable of other players on their roster that will be vying for playing time.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra has a difficult task ahead, as he tries to figure out his rotations and how to divide up minutes overall.
So what will the Miami Heat’s starting lineup look like this season?
Surely, we will see many iterations from start to end. Like any other season, the coaching staff will have to make adjustments due to injuries, scheduled rest, matchups, and performance.
However, I think the ideal starting lineup for this current roster (without the addition of Butler) would be:
These five players are not head and shoulders above the rest of the roster.
They probably won’t be the top five players on the team in terms of minutes played at the end of the season, either; something that is not meant as a slight to them, but rather a testament to the depth on this Heat roster.
The starting five listed above is the best standard lineup I could construct from Miami’s current roster though.
It could be changed if you wanted to go with a “small ball” lineup, or if you were looking for a group with more athleticism and length, but this should be the Heat’s bread and butter.
Dragic and Richardson give you strong guard play in the backcourt.
Both of them can distribute the ball, take defenders off the dribble, and shoot effectively. Richardson gives the team more on the defensive end, true, but Dragic is still serviceable.
James Johnson is an efficient shooter and he can score in the low post. He is also an excellent defender that can switch on screens without creating many mismatches.
Kelly Olynyk and Hassan Whiteside are two big men that do not really get in each other’s way on the offensive side of the court.
Olynyk is a solid 3-point shooter that can stretch the defense. He can run the pick-and-pop or sport up. Whiteside, on the other hand, does most of his work in the post. He can run the pick-and-roll and clean up any missed shots.
The group of Dragic, Richardson, Johnson, Olynyk, and Whiteside had the top five win shares on the Heat last season. In addition to that, they all posted true shooting percentages above 54 percent.
Miami Heat 1-on-1: Counting down to another season. dark. Next
There will be plenty of contributors on this Miami Heat team, but this group gives them the best chance to get off to good starts in regular season games.