Kenneth Wilson (@ksaidwhat)
The Miami Heat are a really good team and for that matter, they are also pretty deep, but not in all areas. When it comes to “guards” or “wings” they are full of those options, mostly due to the fact that they have a plethora of guys who can slide up and down positional scales to fill any of those roles.
When it comes to the big positions, some of the more physical roles, and defensive stopper assignments, they don’t have so much there. While traditionally depth is viewed in terms of positions or men to fill said positions, 2020’s NBA has dictated that you take it from a more “role oriented” perspective in my opinion, as described above with guys being able to slide or shift into other roles or positions on the court if need be.
When it comes to Dion Waiters and James Johnson, they both should get a few more minutes although even with that, Jonshon should get more. Frankly, Dion Waiters hasn’t earned minutes, but the Miami Heat may just need him to burn some time and get other guys a rest. So, to give him minutes wouldn’t be to do him a favor so much as it would be for the total bettering of the team.
In the case of James Johnson, and as mentioned earlier by my colleagues, he could stand to serve a major role for this team. When thinking about Jimmy Butler, he looked so spry in the game recently against the Indiana Pacers.
I would say this was due to the fact that he had to take the prior game off with a back issue. Jimmy has been doing a ton for this Miami Heat team this season, although not always scoring a ton, and it started to show as of recent. You can’t be mad at the guy though, because if you watch the games, then you see him trying to do every single thing on the court and all of the time.
James Johnson could really help to get Jimmy Butler a break, as well as contribute in other areas across the board. James Johnson is a really versatile player, so whether it be to spell Jimmy or alongside Jimmy, there are ways he can help this team. It’s good to know that he understands the way that the team operates and goes about divvying up the minutes though.
While there could be many reasons “why” or “why not”, these have been ours. While we want to see at least some of these thoughts come to fruition, we won’t mind what happens as long as we keep on winning. At some point though, you’re going to need to get some fresh guys in there though and there would be no better place to start than at the two of them already on your bench.