Miami Heat: Defining roles for the projected starting five

Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat celebrates with Bam Adebayo #13 against the Dallas Mavericks (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat celebrates with Bam Adebayo #13 against the Dallas Mavericks (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
2 of 3
Miami Heat
Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat reacts after being called for a foul against the Milwaukee Bucks(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

Roles for the Miami Heat starters

Duncan Robinson – Sharpshooter

This role should come as a surprise to no one. Duncan Robinson has been one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA for the past few seasons.

His shooting has been a huge part of Miami’s offense, to the point where he accounted for over a quarter of their three-point makes last year. Without his shooting, they would have had one of the worst offenses in the NBA.

This year, Miami will have more shooters to help take the load off of Robinson a bit. However, all that is going to do is create more quality looks for him.

Robinson’s role will be exactly the same as it has been ever since he entered the league. Now that he’s earning the big bucks, he just has to take it to another level somehow.

Kyle Lowry – Primary ball-handler and floor spacer

Kyle Lowry will be the starting point guard for the Miami Heat, so technically, that will be his role. However, the role listed above is a more in-depth breakdown of his duties.

The veteran point guard has been one of the best passers in the league for a long time. Jimmy Butler will take on some ball-handling duties, too, but when the team signed a point guard of Lowry’s quality, they definitely expected him to take on that role.

The other, very important role he will play is that of a floor spacer. Last year, Robinson was the only real shooter, but this year, Lowry will act as another threat from the outside.

Having another All-Star quality player on the roster will be a blessing for the Miami Heat. He was built to play these roles in the NBA.