After the embarrassing Miami Heat first-round loss against the Milwaukee Bucks at the end of the season before this one, one of the biggest questions would be, who is going to play next to Bam Adebayo in the front court?
They lost Jae Crowder in the off-season, traded Kelly Olynyk mid-season for a guard, and tried to revive the career of Trevor Ariza. That wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either.
With no young bigs on the roster to be developed, it was looking a little shaky heading into last year’s offseason, as nobody knew who Miami was going to get to lock up the power forward spot.
Then, on one random night when it seemed like all the good free agents were gone, the Miami Heat signed P.J. Tucker.
This came as a big shock to Miami Heat fans, as Tucker had just won a ring with the Bucks. Coming into the season, nobody knew what they were going to get from the then 36 and now 37-year-old forward, but the consensus was that he’d give a team great defense and everything he has in the tank. And Boy—was that an understatement.
Miami Heat: Grading P.J. Tucker’s 2021-22 Season
P.J. Tucker’s defensive grade for the season is a high one, hands down. He played a huge role in the Heat’s defensive scheme that allowed them to switch everything and for him being 37, he did not get abused very often.
Defensive Grade: A
To see a 6’5″ guy like Tucker go from locking up guards and forwards to occasionally guarding centers as well, you would think the guy is 25 and in his athletic prime. He had a personal defensive rating of 107.5, which helped lead the Heat to the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating with a rating of 108. 4.
It’s one thing to be a great isolation defender and another, altogether, to be a great team defensive player.
The beauty of having Tucker is that he filled both roles, locking up some of the league’s best players by being a pest] and also helped to make the correct rotations, also helping out the weaker defenders on the court.
He may not get every steal or block, but he will make his presence felt by getting into players. There would be moments where the opposing team is begging for a foul, but the referees wouldn’t call it.
He plays hard-nosed defense while staying disciplined and that is why he’s so crucial. He may be guilty of an unnecessary foul or getting a little too physical but you could never fault a guy who takes pride in defense.
Heading forward for Tucker on defense, he just has to stay healthy. He may not be as fast or agile as he used to be, but when you know what you’re doing and take pride on that side of the ball, you’ll always be a valuable defender.
This is why he receives an A for this year on defense.
Miami Heat: Hopefully, They Can Keep P.J. Tucker In The Fold Beyond This Year
On the offensive side of the ball, Tucker gets a high grade too. It’s just not as high as his defensive grade.
Offensive Grade: B+
When he was brought to Miami, it was to provide perimeter defense to help out the weaker ones, to be a general spark on defense, and to just hit those corner threes. Tucker did exactly that.
Casual fans will see the average of 7 points per game, but what he brought for spacing was huge. Trevor Ariza did not have a good year with Miami when it came to shooting the ball and in all honesty, just not a good year in general.
His poor shooting destroyed the spacing for Miami, which was one of many factors in why they were swept. This year, P.J. came in shooting the three-ball better than he ever has.
He shot 41 percent from three on nearly three attempts per game, which may not seem like big numbers, but he was an absolute threat from that corner.
Teams did not want to leave that man by himself, which resulted in more spacing for Jimmy Butler to attack, Tyler Herro to get going, and even for Bam Adebayo to move around more freely when he felt like going to the basket.
He even led the league in three-point percentage for almost half the season. You knew what you were getting and even with the offensive drop-off in the playoffs from three, he was still finding ways to be engaged by taking the floaters that were given to him.
He was also a surprisingly good playmaker. Again, his shooting did fall off a little bit as the playoffs went on, but when he’s playing both sides as he does, it’s expected.
His three-point percentage in the playoff run started off around 53 percent against Atlanta, before it dropped to 43 against Philly, and ultimately reached 40 against Boston. These are still good numbers though, it just seemed rough due to how open these attempts actually were.
He’s the perfect role player, but at the end of the day, he’s still just that. He couldn’t and shouldn’t be expected to save the Heat on offense.
Spacing the floor and taking the shots that are given, that’s all you can ask from a guy like P.J. Going into this offseason, P.J. has a player option and could opt out if he wanted to but after the season Miami had and seeing his chemistry with everyone, it sure feels like he’s a Heat Lifer.
Hopefully, he’ll take that $7 million and come back because Miami needs him badly. Really, P.J. Tucker had an amazing season with all the injuries he fought through.
With the highs and lows Miami faced and some of the offensive load that he was given, he handled it like the true champion he is. This offseason though, Miami has to find another power forward so P.J. can get that extra rest.
They’re going to need him if they want to make another deep run next year. He’s 37 and is only going to get older, so you want to preserve everything that he gives you.
Father Time is always around the corner but one thing is for certain, if he wants to get P.J., then he’s going to have to try a lot harder.