Miami Heat: Most Important Aspect Of The Omer Yurtseven Experience

The Miami Heat upgraded their depth at the center position this year by adding several players. First, they kept Dewayne Dedmon, who has been an important backup to their star center in Bam Adebayo.

They added some players like P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris, who don’t naturally play the five, but could easily switch there as needed due to the defensive versatility that their strength allows.

The Heat also added an experiment in Omer Yurtseven. The Miami Heat rookie showed promising signs in the summer league.

Yurtseven wasn’t a huge part of the Heat rotation— until everyone got hurt. Between injuries and COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the Miami Heat’s rotation at center has been about as tight as it could be.

Even Udonis Haslem has been unavailable!

Due to the shortage at center, the Heat needed to trust and rely on their rookie to step up and handle the duties. So far, he has done an incredible job.

With Bam Adebayo’s absence, the Miami Heat have had to look for other options at the center spot. Luckily, Omer Yurtseven has been playing great for them.

Yurtseven’s biggest contribution has been on the boards. He has already proven that he can be an excellent rebounder in the NBA, snatching 156 rebounds in his past 11 games.

That’s an average of about 14 boards per game! Not only has he rebounded well for the Heat, but few in the entire NBA have been able to match his rebounding numbers.

Yurtseven has a special proclivity for grabbing offensive rebounds. Of those 156 rebounds, almost a third of them came on the offensive end.

Those second chance opportunities are essential for a team trying to compete for a championship this year and in the future. When Bam Adebayo and the rest of the crew return, his role will be significantly reduced.

But he earned at least one thing in this stretch, the most important thing right now for a young player like himself— trust. If someone gets hurt again or gets in foul trouble, Coach Spoelstra can look to his bench and know that Yurtseven can give him valuable minutes.

As the season moves into the playoffs, roster minutes usually tighten and are confined to about eight or nine players a night. At this point, Yurtseven probably won’t be one of those eight or nine.

But if he keeps up his effort, there may be an opportunity available for him in the future, especially considering the valuable assets that come with his game.