The Miami Heat have been struggling all season long, however, with the bright spots in Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow, and Bam Adebayo, you can see the blueprint Pat Riley believes in.
The Miami Heat and their Head Coach Erik Spoelstra believe in their mini “Big 3” in Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow, and Bam Adebayo. Even though Heat nation intends on arguing via NBA Twitter on who will be better of the trio, it really doesn’t matter, as all three players have the potential to be All-Stars.
Josh Richardson, the 25-year-old who is close to becoming one of the best assets around the league on a very affordable deal. The 3-and-D wing believes he can play positions 1-3, and can also defend every player on the court, making his hustle define his crafty game on both ends of the court.
Justise Winslow, the 22-year-old who has already become one of the better point-forwards in the league, albeit, all of his minutes were in the absence of Goran Dragic. If Winslow wants to keep his spot, he’s going to have to either beat out the All-Star or hope that Spo will play Dragic elsewhere, either off the ball or off the bench.
Bam Adebayo, the 21-year-old who could possibly be the most intriguing 3 of the mini “Big 3” could make his case to turn himself into one of the cheaper assets in the league in terms of still getting good talent. Adebayo will most likely not making the $10 + million that J-Rich and Winslow make, mostly because centers in this new era of basketball can’t get “paid” paid unless you can shoot 3’s. Unless, of course, Adebayo can be the next Rudy Gobert or Clint Capela, which is definitely a possibility.
Per Jason Jackson of Fox Sports, Pat Riley explains the potential of these three players and the rest of the Heat team below:
"“We have eight players on this team that are 28 to 20, OK, so we got a good young core,” Riley said. “And we know the guys we really value, our young guys in Justise [Winslow] and Josh [Richardson], and Bam [Adebayo]. But you know, Derrick Jones Jr., he’s a hell of a player from that standpoint. … We have a lot of young players, a lot of young assets, who have experience.“We are chasing a playoff spot and we’re young, and then we’re going to be chasing some players that can come in. If we could get one or two players to come in with this group, this young group, then I think the sky is the limit for this team in the next couple years.”"
If Riley believes in these 3 players to help Miami get to another championship (traded or not), I believe in Riley, as he hasn’t let us down thus far.
Tune in to watch the mini “Big 3” tonight against the Houston Rockets at 8 PM Eastern.