This season, the Miami Heat are off to an amazing start. Their newest additions have proven to be a perfect fit to the Heat Culture.
As a result, the chemistry that existed off the court has also translated onto the court. The Heat have demonstrated a perfect example of team basketball on both ends on the floor.
This has allowed them to win a lot of games and be one of the top teams in the NBA. If the Heat continue to play the way they have to open up the season, they will, almost certainly, be in contention for the NBA championship.
However, their team is not fully complete yet. Victor Oladipo has not played a single game this season.
Although he doesn’t have a definitive timetable for a return, the signs are pointing to him returning soon. With the way the Heat are playing right now, would adding another player into the mix jeopardize the chemistry they have quickly built?
Would they be better off without Victor Oladipo as an active player? Let’s break down some of the pros and cons of adding Dipo into the mix before we reach a final verdict.
Miami Heat: Will The Addition Of Victor Oladipo Help Or Hurt Them?
One possible issue that could surface once Oladipo is healthy has already been stated. What if he ruins the powerful on-court chemistry that the Heat have already built up?
Cons
There are a few ways this could happen. First, Oladipo has never been a terrific three point shooter.
He is a career 35 percent shooter from beyond the arc. The Miami Heat have built their roster around Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
Neither are terrific three point shooters, but they contribute in nearly every other area. Miami brought in several shooters to space the floor around them.
Some of their top shooters are Tyler Herro and Max Strus. Their recent addition, Kyle Lowry, is another player who can space the floor.
In addition to all these players, the Heat have Duncan Robinson, who is one of the best shooters in the league but has been struggling this season. Nevertheless, opposing defenses still recognize him as a lethal three point threat, so he remains a priority for the opposition.
If the Heat add another guard who can’t shoot well, it can cause the paint to become more crowded. Even with an excellent playmaker like Lowry, that would make it more difficult to effectively run their offense.
The second issue is that Victor Oladipo is coming off of a surgery for an injury he never truly recovered from. He has had knee problems since 2019.
He hasn’t looked the same on the court since that first injury. His efficiency has been steadily declining year after year.
Oladipo underwent surgery last year to, hopefully, resolve the knee issue once and for all. However, we have no idea what he is going to look like on the court.
He could be helpful, but he could also be an inefficient liability. If so, it could hurt the Heat to play Dipo more than it helps them.
Miami Heat: Outside Of Obvious, What Are Some Positives To Getting Dipo Back?
Before jumping to any drastic measures, let’s not forget the circumstances surrounding the signing of Victor Oladipo this offseason. At his peak, Oladipo was a legitimate All-Star, who led the Indiana Pacers to a seven-game playoff series against LeBron James and his Cavaliers in 2018.
Pros
After playing only a few games with Miami during the 2020-21 season, Oladipo sat out for the remainder of the season due to injury.
He worked hard this offseason to recover from this injury, but there is still some doubt that he could ever return to his peak form. The Miami Heat clearly have a talented roster.
They are a top-three team in the East without Oladipo. They don’t necessarily need him to be the elite player he was a few years ago.
However, if he were to return to that form, the benefits would be tremendous for the Heat.
It would give them another star to go along with Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, and Bam Adebayo (you can also count Tyler Herro, who is a rising star).
The Miami Heat signed Oladipo on a one-year deal for the minimum. They aren’t risking anything, financially, by taking a gamble on him.
In fact, the overall risk is negligible. The reward could be something incredible, even if he fails to play at a level close to his peak.
In addition to adding another effective scorer off the bench to go along with Tyler Herro, the Heat get an excellent perimeter defender. The Heat have been one of the very top teams defensively, but if there was one area they could improve, it would be their perimeter defense.
Sometimes, they give up too many three pointers to good shooters. Oladipo can help with that.
Another key use for Oladipo on that side of the ball would be to play in the defensive lineup. This is the lineup the Heat would go to when they need a stop, which will typically happen in late game situations when the score is close.
The Heat could conceivably play Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Victor Oladipo, P.J. Tucker, and Bam Adebayo and all at the same time. All are excellent defenders.
All are able to guard multiple positions. The Heat could switch on screens and still feel comfortable with any potential matchup.
This gives them a huge advantage in late games. There is no one player in that lineup that the opposing offense can attack to score.
They will have to truly earn their basket.
Miami Heat: The Final Verdict Should Be, Neither, Shocking Or Unexpected.
The Miami Heat are already great. Adding Oladipo to the backcourt and off the bench, no less, will only make them a better scoring team.
Final Verdict
It will also make them better defensively. For that reason, the Heat should have no reason to worry about adding Victor Oladipo once he has fully recovered from his injury.
They shouldn’t have to worry about the chemistry issues either. The Heat are excellent at sharing the ball and favor winning over stats.
This makes it easy for anyone who puts in the effort to come in and play well for Miami. That is exactly what happened with Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker.
The same should happen for Dipo. If there are some issues, the Heat will have a few months to work out the kinks before the playoffs.
Soon, the Miami Heat will have a chance to display their roster at full strength with Victor Oladipo in the mix. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and play at a form that resembles his Indiana Pacers level of play.
If he does that, the Heat will be even more dangerous. That’s lethally dangerous.