The Miami Heat showed signs of life on Monday evening, taking out the Indiana Pacers in an, otherwise, ugly game. Winning the game on the defensive end, they would an oft-explosive Indiana bunch to just 82 points on the night, well below their 114.6-point average on the season.
Though that is a corner that they have before them to turn, one they, possibly, showed capable of turning on Monday, there are still strides to be made. And while no one is saying that the subject of this particular chat is the piece that puts them over the top, there is a bit of confusion surrounding it.
The Miami Heat had recently signed NBA veteran, Stanley Johnson, to their G-League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. But on Tuesday, the wing/forward guy, a player that could help the Miami Heat and especially in light of their remaining reported Jae Crowder interest, was signed by one of the teams that just beat the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs.
The Miami Heat don’t have the most resources to work with, but are searching for something. On Tuesday, a potentially and relatively ‘cheap’ piece got away.
The San Antonio Spurs are signing veteran forward Stanley Johnson to a one-year deal, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 13, 2022
While, again, it must be noted that Johnson shouldn’t have been expected to jump to the Miami Heat’s regular roster and immediately begin to fix their problems by his lonesome, a guy of his ilk could have been exactly the type of player that they needed to bolster their depth and fill in for some of the crucial minutes and areas.
There would always be challenges to even get Johnson to the big roster with the Heat’s combined financial and roster scenario, but that speaks toward making a move of any stature or level, right? At the very least, they could have given themselves a look with him on the big squad, somehow, as he could have imaginable helped.
Looking at the defensive side of things, as they won with Monday, he could have definitely helped there with his ability to guard most any position, possibly even taking on some of Jimmy Butler’s load defensively to allow him to do other things, while he can finish in transition with his strength and athleticism.
The depth of it all was another factor, especially considering the circumstances that the Miami Heat have found themselves in this season with their roster and injuries.
For several other reasons as well though, while none are as relevant as the above referenced, this was just all a confusing set of happenings for a Miami Heat squad searching for something themselves—and could stand to locate whatever that may be for as, relatively, cheap as possible.