A number of Miami Heat players have undergone a role change since the start of the season. Has it better or worsened the team and their chances at a title?
Head coach Erik Spoelstra and this Miami Heat team have exceeded all odds this year, now sitting just two wins away from an NBA Finals appearance, after not making the playoffs last season.
Jimmy Butler has been everything some liked to say he wasn’t with Chicago, Minnesota, or most recently Philadelphia. Bam Adebayo has completed his transition from role player to All-Star, and truly found another motor for Miami since they’re entering the playoffs.
Then there’s the three-point shooting, which there has been a surplus of between marksman Duncan Robinson, veteran Jae Croder, and rookie guard Tyler Herro. It’s been a statement year for the Miami Heat on a number of levels, mostly though, in their willingness to change.
It’s exactly what has brought them this far. Coach Spoelstra has taken a number of key contributors and reworked their minutes’ allotment and roles within the team since the start of the regular season, making for a completely different team in comparison to the season opener.
But to have a contending roster, and to be willing to experiment with rotations and starting lineups as late in the season as just before playoffs, well it’s somewhat of a dice roll. A look at the five players who’ve undergone role changes in recent weeks, and how it’s fared for the Heat.
Meyers Leoard has gone from starter to absentee in these playoffs.
It’s possible no player on the Miami Heat has seen as dramatic a change in the rotation than Meyers Leonard. He came to South Beach as a replacement for Hassan Whiteside and served as starting center in 49 games before suffering an ankle sprain back in February.
Leonard went on to miss 16 games ahead of the league’s suspension due to COVID-19. He ended the 2019-2020 regular season averaging 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
When the season started back up, it was clear that he was going to have to earn his place in the starting lineup all over again, except, the opportunity never came. Leonard played just two of the final eight seeding games, and that was only due to rest days for Butler and others.
It’s largely paid off for Miami who, after their Game 3 loss to the Boston Celtics, have won ten of twelve games int he playoffs thus far. Of those, Leonard has played just one. But he’s still found a way to make an impact on the floor without ever suiting up for the Heat.
Leonard has brought a certain energy in every game, serving as an encouraging presence and vocal advocate for the team in the entirety of 48 minutes. That combined with the success of this new starting lineup has made this gamble a worthy one for coach Spoelstra and the Miami Heat.
Jae Croder’s new role in the starting five is paying off for the Miami Heat.
Pat Riley and the Miami Heat front office made a trade for Andre Iguodala that included Jae Crowder in the return, and now he’s looking like the prize of the trade. All it cost them was an injury ailed Justise Winslow, and the salaries of Dion Waiter and James Johnson to match.
When the season restarted and coach Spoelstra had to come up with a replacement for Meyers Leonard in the starting five, he turned to Crowder; the veteran enforcer who’d shined in his minutes off the bench since arriving back in February from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Bam Adebayo was shifted to starting five, and Crowder took place next to him in the power forward slot. Since, Miami’s defense and offense have improved, and he’s played a larger than life role in their recent and dominant successes in these playoffs.
Over the team’s 12 playoff games Crowder is averaging 13.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and a steal per game while knocking down 41 percent of his field goals and 39 percent of his threes.
Leonard was a capable floor spacer, but having Adebayo man the five slot has improved their post defense, in matchups where they needed to maximize that, against guys like Myles Turner, Brook Lopez, and most recently Daniel Theis of the Boston Celtics.
The Miami Heat are Jae Crowder’s fourth team in two seasons. Head coach Erik Spoelstra still trusted that this team was bringing the best out of the forward, and gave him a spot in the starting five. And it’s looking like the best decision he’s made all season.
A Rookie of the Year finalist, Kendrick Nunn is now fighting for playing time.
Look, Kendrick Nunn‘s rookie season has been tough. But it was never guaranteed.
Nunn joined the Miami Heat after going undrafted in 2018, and a stint with the Golden State Warriors’ G-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. He didn’t let that deter his drive, however, and he was rewarded with the starting point guard job in South Beach ahead of Goran Dragic.
But a positive COVID-19 test halted Nunn’s successes, forcing him to arrive late inside the bubble, joining the team for their third “preseason” game ahead of the restart. By then, his starting job was already in jeopardy, based on conditioning and health alone.
Nunn played in, and started, five of the eight seeding games. But he struggled largely with his shot, seemingly incapable of finding the bottom of the net on a consistent basis. The rookie guard finished the regular season averaging 15.3 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game.
It’s resulted in a less-than confident bench contributor version of Nunn. When head coach Erik Spoelstra called on him in Game 3, he wasn’t ready to serve as an answer to their scoring woes.
Thus, we find an example of a risk that was worth taking but has produced negative side effects. But in the same sense, Kendrick Nunn’s absence has provided the Miami Heat a boost…
Goran Dragic is starting once again for the Miami Heat and thriving in the role.
If anything, the Miami Heat certainly weren’t counting on Goran Dragic finding his All-Star form here in the playoffs. The Dragon has turned it on every which way in the postseason, serving as a defensive stopper and guaranteed bucket no matter the matchup or the circumstances.
When head coach Erik Spoelstra trusted Kendrick Nunn with the starting job at point guard, it meant demoting Dragic to the sixth man role. He started just three of 59 games in the regular season, and finished it averaging 16.2 points and 5.1 assists per game.
But the uncertainty of Nunn’s health after his positive COVID-19 test paved the way for Dragic to once again man the starting point guard role and take the reigns of this offense. It’s been the biggest development for Miami in the playoffs, aside from Jimmy Butler’s clear-cut superstardom.
Throughout 12 games this postseason Dragic is averaging 21.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds while knocking down 46 percent of his field goals and 38 percent of his threes.
It’ll make things more difficult when it comes to retaining him in free agency, sure, but for now, the Miami Heat can rest assured that the stars are aligning on their run at a championship.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra and this Miami Heat team have made it this far in the playoffs because of their willingness to change and the unselfishness in their locker room. It’s a dice roll to change up the roles of key players, but it’s a gamble that’s more than often paid off in South Beach.