Miami Heat: Meyers Leonard… it’s may just be your other time to shine
The Miami Heat were manhandled inside and on the glass in Wednesday’s Game 1. Is it time for Meyers Leonard to make an appearance?
The Miami Heat were manhandled as a whole in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday. This probably has everything to do with the fact that they were manhandled in the paint and on the glass as well.
While Bam Adebayo going out with an injury certainly didn’t help there, it wasn’t pretty to watch before he went out. The question is this though… what can the Miami Heat do about it?
Well, the answers aren’t plentiful, but there is one card to be played. Erik Spoelstra has to find it in himself to trust Meyers Leonard.
Yes. You read that right.
So, Meyers Leonard isn’t Ben or Rasheed Wallace on the boards, that isn’t the thing that intrigues us here. What you can’t do though, no matter how skilled or athletic someone is, is teach them to be 7-foot tall.
With Leonard’s literal and pure physical size alone, it should give the Heat a bit more fortitude there. You also throw in the fact that even though he isn’t a rebounder build per se, he would be the biggest guy on the court.
The Miami Heat were outmuscled on Wednesday night. Is it time to bring in your biggest guy?
That’s not the only benefit though. By having him in the game and floating around the perimeter some, it will cause his defender and most often the rim and paint protector, to float out with him.
That should leave a few lanes for the Miami Heat to attack for easy buckets. They need their jump shots to start working too, so while those easy layups are points we need as well, it could help to open up the outside jumpers.
While we are on shooting, Leonard did lead the league in three-point shooting for a while. No, not for a big man, in totality. He led the entire league in shooting percentage.
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His physical size, his shooting, what his shooting along the perimeter means for his defender and, thus, what it could mean for his team are my reasons here. That’s why I believe that at the very least, we have to give Meyers a go at it here.
We really need to find some answers. Fast.