The Miami Heat’s Depth Has Certainly Turned Heads This Season

Miami Heat: Their Depth Has Certainly Turned Heads This Season

The exploits of the starting lineup have been largely documented and given plenty of recognition (although there was a bit of a wonky start there). However, the shine here is going to the support unit of the Miami Heat.

Before diving into the statistical multiverse of madness, let’s clarify something. If you haven’t noticed, the word “bench” has yet to be mentioned and they have been referred to as the “supporting unit”.

The explanation for this word choice lies in the fact that the Miami Heat have seemingly been missing a key man every single night. Whether it’s Jimmy Butler (19 games missed), Bam Adebayo (25 games missed), or Kyle Lowry (12 games missed) the Heat have had a hard time fielding a healthy squad throughout the majority of the regular season.

Hence, the large roles played by the guys that would typically come off the bench this season. Without further ado, let’s do a bit of a statistical deep dive.

First up is a relatively simple stat: bench scoring. It was stated above that many of the bench guys have had larger roles due to injuries.

But keep in mind that even with all the games missed by the star players, whoever is coming off the bench plays a very important role in the Miami Heat’s crusade to vanquish their opponent every single night.

The Miami Heat currently rank third in the NBA in bench scoring per game, averaging 38.7 points.

That’s a particularly impressive stat given that this team has been forced to play a large cast of characters, from undrafted rookie Omer Yurtseven (who had some solid moments filling in for Bam Adebayo and later Dewayne Dedmon in the starting lineup) to a diminutive point guard by the name of Kyle Guy (also had some very solid moments).

This is without a doubt a most impressive job by the coaching staff, front office, and players in finding ways to succeed even when the deck seems stacked against them.