The Miami Heat have a plethora of wings, but none of them have the hustle attitude that Rodney McGruder possesses on each and every play, no matter the game.
The scavenger is the epitome of a 3-and-D wing, allowing Spo to play McGruder a lot like P.J. Tucker for the Houston Rockets. And while McGruder was playing a lot hotter at the beginning of the season, he has still been a defensive workhorse and a pick-and-roll maestro for Miami.
The wing is averaging 9.8 PPG, 4.0 TRB, 2.0 AST, with shooting splits of 42.2/39.0/75.5.
If McGruder can continue to play lockdown defense and hit his open 3’s, you can expect more clutch minutes for the wing moving forward. However, with Dion Waiters finally returning, and the whispers of giving Wayne Ellington more minutes keep arising, you could see a drop in minutes for Rodney.
While that might not be the best idea, the Heat have depth and McGruder gets that more than anyone, as he is one of the best “team players” that Miami Has. In conclusion, if McGruder gets back to basics in the second half of the season, the Heat should be fine. He needs to throw some lobs to Bam and Hassan, hit open shots, and keep the team’s morale up with his grit and grind.
The next player we have is one that may be the reason Miami passes on re-signing Rodney McGruder in the near future, mostly because of false hope that can poison a teams cap moving forward.