Miami Heat: The ripple effect of choosing this team’s point guard

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) splits the defence as Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow (20) and Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) collapse. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) splits the defence as Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow (20) and Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) collapse. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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The Miami Heat enter this season knowing that they should have a pretty good one, but there are still unknowns to sort out before making this a reality.

With September in full bloom, ’tis the time to start thinking about and preparing for NBA training camps. The Miami Heat enter this year’s camp season with not only a few new faces, but with what should be a new, fresh, and re-invigorated mentality. After trimming some loose ends as well as making the additions they have made, this team should feel as though this is the opportunity to start fresh.

One thing that certainly has to be figured out during the beginning steps of this rejuvenation process though is who will be the teams starting point guard or main ball handler. While the roster and depth chart would lead one to believe that the answer is automatically Goran Dragic, that isn’t necessarily the case. This is mostly due to the fact that Justise Winslow not only filled in admirably there last season, but he excelled in almost every area of playing the position.

The importance of nailing down who the guy will be is not as on the surface of an issue as it seems either. At its simplest, you of course want to know who will be the guy charged with leading the team, the offense, and getting everyone to their correct positions before orchestrating the play. At it’s most complex, whoever is chosen to man those duties would cause a ripple effect as far as how the team operates.

If Dragic is called upon to be the main ball handler for this Heat team, that means that Winslow obviously won’t be it. Being that Winslow does his best work as either the pseudo-one-man or the small ball four-man, not being named the starting point guard would automatically mean that he should be given a hard look as the starting four-man.

He excels in those positions for a variety of reasons but mostly due to his unique combination of skills that cause mismatches in either of those positions. At the one, he overpowers smaller guys with his combination of size, strength, and athletic ability, while at the four he is a mismatch because of his ball skill, quickness and improved jump shooting ability.

This is a similar notion to follow when thinking about Dragic if Winslow were called on to be the main ball handler. Would you slot Dragic in as the starting two-guard between Winslow and Butler, or would you have him off the bench as the sixth man microwave for this Miami Heat team?

From the most educated perspective that one can come from, Winslow should be the starting ball handler. That is where he seems to be the most suited to excel at the highest degree, while it would give the Miami Heat a chance to weaponize Goran Dragic’s talent. Frankly, Dragic would be more useful, lethal, and effective as the sixth man, although there shouldn’t be any opposition to him possibly seeing just as many minutes as a starter.

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These are all questions worth asking that definitely need to be answered more sooner than later. That is why no matter who’s chosen to be the guy as the main ball-handler, it will send a ripple effect through the rest of the team.