Miami Heat: Meyers Leonard should get an opportunity in upcoming series

The Miami Heat are waiting on their opponents in the second round of the playoffs. Whether Orlando or Milwaukee, Meyers Leonard should see some run.

The Miami Heat are taking it easy in the bubble, relaxing, getting some shots up, and every other basketball cliche out there as they wait for their next postseason opponent.

Having been off since Monday night, after they handled the Indiana Pacers in sweeping fashion across the first round of the playoffs, they were already waiting on Milwaukee or Orlando to handle their business.

Then, the NBA strike happened. A righteous and noble cause in itself, surrounding the unequal treatment of black and brown people everywhere but directly in response to the latest incident in Jacob Blake’s shooting, games haven’t been played since Tuesday in the NBA for all the right reasons.

They voted to continue the season on Thursday though and the games will pick back up starting Saturday at 3:30 PM as the Bucks take on Orlando. Being up 3-1 in their series, the Bucks have a chance to end it on Saturday but crazier things have happened, so you hate to declare a winner this early.

For the reasons that we are here today and right now though, it doesn’t matter who comes out of that first-round matchup to face the Miami Heat in the next round. The reason it doesn’t matter for our purposes is that no matter who it is, Meyers Leonard should see plenty of run or at least a bit more than the “none” he received in the round one.

The Miami Heat are resting up as they wait for their next opponent. No matter who it is, Meyers Leonard should see an opportunity to make an impact.

Here’s why.

When you look at Milwaukee, for starters, they have a ton of size. Whether you are talking about the Lopez Twins, D.J. Wilson, Ersan Ilyasova, or the Greek Freak himself in Giannis Antetokounmpo, you are talking about a team who can throw a wave or two of seven-footers or near seven-footers at you.

When you look at the Orlando Magic, they can’t throw as much size at you, but what they can throw at you in Nikola Vucevic is more than a ton to handle. What does this all mean for the Miami Heat though?

Well, it means that they need to maximize their size in the most efficient way possible. This basically means getting the most out of the size that they do have, while doing everything you can to minimize the damage that it may cause the rest of your team’s functionality.

It’s the literal definition of risk versus reward. It’s also the sole reason why Meyers Leonard, the Miami Heat’s biggest player, should see plenty of run.

“Plenty” here is relative, relative to how much time he received in the Miami Heat’s first-round series, which was none at all. He should hear his number called in the next series though.

Even if it’s just to match up a big body for a big body or size for size, Meyers can be of use to Coach Spo and his gameplan in the series coming up, no matter who the opponent is. That is why I believe that Meyers Leonard should get an opportunity in the upcoming series.