Miami Heat: Is this why KZ Okpala can’t fully break into the rotation?

The Miami Heat seem to have a player in KZ Okpala but is he still too raw on one side of the ball?

The Miami Heat landed one heck of a pick when they nabbed KZ Okpala during last season’s NBA Draft. Well, they landed him via trade from the Phoenix Suns, who nabbed him with the 32nd overall pick.

Grinding it out in the developmental league last season, for the most part, this was supposed to be the year of KZ Okpala. Well, it was at least supposed to be the year where he began to make a name for himself with the big club.

Things started out wonderfully, to be honest and although across a short preseason. He came out and lit it up.

Once the season started for real though, Okpala could barely see the floor, if at all in some games. Again, it has still been only a short season thus far, but Okpala isn’t really a steady member of the regular rotation.

Things looked like they were changing again recently though, as the team was hit with the same Covid related health and safety protocol absences that many teams across the league have been hit with. This saw opportunity arise for Okpala.

KZ Okpala can’t fully crack the Miami Heat rotation, but is there good reason for that?

He took advantage of that in the Miami Heat’s contest against the Detroit Pistons this past Saturday. Though in a massive losing effort by Miami, he dropped 16 points, grabbed a rebound, dropped an assist, and hit four of his five three point attempts.

All was well heading into the Miami Heat’s game on Monday against the Pistons. Okpala got the start, as he did on Saturday and then he picked up two quick fouls.

That was basically the end of Okpala’s night. Maurice Harkless saw his first real dose of minutes in a while and wound up stealing the majority of the minutes in that spot for the rest of the evening.

While Okpala’s quick fouls didn’t help him, Moe Harkless was awesome on Monday night. It wasn’t his scoring that made him awesome though, but rather his defense, his effort, and his intensity.

So, while it was just as much as Moe Harkless being more active, engaged, and adamant on defense, it was also just as much about KZ Okpala not being those things. Perhaps that also has something to do with the two early fouls, which could have been something picked up on by the coaching staff as well.

It all has me thinking about this though. Follow me here.

What if that’s the reason why he hasn’t seemed to be able to crack the regular rotation yet? What if he still just doesn’t have it defensively?

You can score all the points in the world, at will, but if you allow a score for every score you make, you’re a moot point. While you don’t have to be the defensive stopper that everyone thought that you would, could, and still may be if you’re Okpala, you can’t be a liability either.

With Harkless out there, it made KZ definitely seem like a liability. Or, is Harkless just that good of a defender and deserves more time?

We don’t know right now, but we are keeping a close eye on it. Perhaps though, just perhaps, this is the reason why KZ Okpala has failed to crack the Miami Heat’s regular rotation.