The Miami Heat enter this season with very high hopes. As they should though, as they have one of their best total rosters since the Big 3 Era.
With Kyle Lowry now manning the point guard role, they have a three-level scorer who is also a two-way guy and can more than get it done from a playmaker’s perspective. He’s just the icing though.
They still have their solid starting core.
That’s the dynamic trio that have been at the heart of everthing the Miami Heat have been able to do in the last few seasons.
You have the leader, Jimmy Butler. He’s the do-everything type of guy.
Becoming the best version of himself, as a playmaker, since arriving in South Florida, if this was the Justice League, he’d be Batman. The unquestioned leader, gothic in his approach, daunting, mysterious, unwilling to say too much unless provoked in a certain number of ways (we have seen all of those, so yea, we know he will talk but stoic is his nature), that’s Jimmy.
He also has the utility belt-type game to match though. If you need him to be your best scorer, playmaker, or defender on any given night, he’s capable, comfortable, and willing to be that.
Miami Heat: Reserve Versatility To Be A Real Weapon – The 3 & The Bam
When you move further down the starting lineup and deeper into that trio, you have the specialist. That’s the marksman of the core trio, Duncan Robinson.
A habitual 40-plus percent shooter from range, people actually had the audacity to say he had a down year on last season. While true, he was in the process of coming down from the outrageous and historic 44.6 percent shooting year he had in the Bubble Year… to a measly 40.8 percent.
Oh dear Basketball Gods, how will they ever survive? How is he still on this team, he’s washed… but seriously though, there were complaints.
Yes, he should continue to be that guy. When you’re shooting 40 percent on over eight attempts per though, then 40 is 40.
Yes, the more the better and all of that, but come on. That’s still greatness.
The last member of that core trio is the big guy, none other than the man himself, Bam Adebayo. Coming back with a renewed aggression and a re-bulked body, Adebayo appears to finally be figuring out the right balance on offense.
Miami Heat: Reserve Versatility To Be A Real Weapon – Holding Them Down
He needs no introduction, as the man has no ceilings. There is literally nothing he can’t do on the basketball court and on both sides of the ball.
He is strong, quick, nimble, agile, athletic, smart, intuitive, a hard worker, and greatest of all… humble. Bam Adebayo will be one of the absolute best players in the league in a short while, count on it.
The last man is the other anchor in the starting lineup. Though not certain but based on starting lineups during the preseason, P.J. Tucker will be the fifth man.
He needs no introduction either. He’ll lock your best man up, at any position, and then proceed to knock down the corner three like a madman.
He’s a star in his role, the epitome of a Heat Guy. They are only half of it with the Miami Heat though, as the real weapon with them might be their reserve unit and the versatility it provides.
Miami Heat: Reserve Versatility To Be A Real Weapon – From Guy 6-15
The Miami Heat will, not only, have the ability to beat teams with their starters or main stuff, but their reserves offer a potential boost that not many teams can match. Flat-out, they’ll probably have on of the best reserve units in the league.
In no particular order, think about some of the things you’ve seen in the preseason. Again, though just the preseason, all of that and especially Tyler Herro‘s multiple outburst leave nothing but great potential out front and from the last guy to the Sixth Man.
Caleb Martin can do it all. He did it all in preseason game number one.
Not only was he all over the floor during his minutes, but he was everywhere in the game plan or at least, his version of it. In example and at one point, he even initiated some stuff for the Heat reserve unit on the floor.
When you look at Dewayne Dedmon and Markieff Morris, both are multiple and versatile on both sides. Both can play inside and along perimeter offensively, though in slightly different ways.
Miami Heat: Reserve Versatility To Be A Real Weapon – Depth Everywhere
The Miami Heat actually have depth entering the year. Would you look at that?
In thinking about that, that extends across all fronts, from the little guys, to the wing guys, and then to the big guys. Not only can Morris and Dedmon be utilized, but they can throw some other stuff your way.
When you throw The Big Yurt, Omer Yurtseven into the mix for spot minutes every 5 or so games on average, that mix becomes even more potent. Though his defense needs to be “not terrible” for that to be a constant reality, there have been signs across the short preseason, thus far, that this might be able to be a reality.
The three guard types or perimeter players in Herro, Max Strus, and Gabe Vincent can all initiate, are very multiple, and interchangeable in certain aspects. You really don’t care which one creates in isolation out top in most circumstances.
Any of them can be the wing man or spot-up shooter type, while all three of them have a, somewhat, capable off-bounce game to get it done going to the cup. Though Vincent is smaller, he has shown an ability to get a good floater off if he doesn’t make a pass to get one of his teammates a good look.
While that is mostly about offensive output, as most reserve units are, they can even attack you on the other side with their reserves. When talking KZ Okpala and Marcus Garrett, they can both matchup across multiple positions, harass ball-handlers and wing guys, and even knock down an open three on the other end… based on what we’ve seen in the preseason.
Say what you will about any of them (the KZ Okpala takes are already echoing throughout the Heat-O-Sphere), but they all have value and versatility. That’s what helps go into the Miami Heat’s versatility within their reserve unit.
And overall, that’s why the versatility amongst their reserve guys should be a real weapon for them.