Miami Heat: Semi Ojeleye Is A Good Athlete That Can Hit An Outside Shot
As mentioned earlier, Ojeleye’s offensive repertoire won’t keep opposing defenses up all night but under this circumstance, his fit could have helped the Heat remain a top offensive team.
His role in Boston consisted of him finishing under the basket, cutting off the ball, and finishing second-chance opportunities. There were times when he was able to take advantage of his matchups in the post, but there just weren’t enough opportunities for him to create off the dribble.
But an area that he was able to develop was his perimeter shooting.
At around 35 percent overall, Ojeleye has been a respectable three-point shooter for his career and while teams have tended to leave him open, he sets his feet well and doesn’t lose confidence.
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Ojeleye only took a combined nine three-pointers during his freshman and sophomore years at Duke before transferring to Southern Methodist University. In a standout year for the eventual second-round selection, he would lead the 2016-17 Mustangs in scoring (19.0 points), but also shot over 42 percent from beyond the arc.
With Ojeleye being able to space the floor to some degree, it’s all teams like Miami can ask for if he’s making an impact on the other end. As the Miami Heat currently sit just over the luxury tax at $844,000, it isn’t likely that they’ll sign any standard contracts outside of Exhibit 10 deals unless they choose to, either, waive a player or create room (under the tax) via trade.
If they were to do so, Ojeleye could be a minimum-level option if he ever chooses to return from overseas. Surely, if he were to come to Miami, he would’ve had to compete with several players including Haywood Highsmith, Caleb Martin, and rookie, Nikola Jovic, for minutes.
However, you can never have too much defensive help and even for a player who wouldn’t play an entire game, just 10-15 minutes of Ojeleye’s energy could be of help to a contending Miami Heat franchise.