It's time for Pelle Larsson to become a full-time starter for the Miami Heat.
Rotations have been Erik Spoelstra's worst nightmare this season, as the Heat have had to navigate injuries, mainly to Tyler Herro. Of course, Spoelstra has done a good job of switching things up in accordance with who and what he has available to him. Still, his current situation — Miami's run of underperforming basketball this season — can't be easy on him.
With Herro consistently out more than in and Bam Adebayo's overall offensive shortcomings (though he has picked it up lately), the Heat have had to rely on "the others," as former Heat champion Shaquille O'Neal would call them, to pick up the slack and help carry the team collectively.
Norman Powell has stood out the most and loudest this season, and he leads the Heat in several statistical categories, mainly scoring. Jaimie Jaquez Jr. and Andrew Wiggins have also stepped up — Wiggins is in his first full season in Miami, and has played well. However, there is one other who is pulling his weight, and it should be high time he earned a more permanent starting role.
Pelle Larsson has done enough to earn a core starters role with the Heat this season
With Herro missing the majority of the games this season, and currently dealing with an injury to his ribs that has kept him out of Miami's lineup while they're on the road, second-year shooting guard Pelle Larsson has made the most of the opportunity recently awarded him in the starting lineup.
Larsson has been starting for the Heat for a string of several games now, and it's because Herro has been out. While Larsson isn't the scorer or shooter Herro is, his production and contributions have helped the Heat more than bring harm.
Compared to his rookie season last year, Larsson has seen significant jumps in his production. Every single stat is up from last year, save for his three-point percentage, which has dipped, but he's also shooting more shots from that distance, so the difference isn't too surprising. His points per game, assists, rebounds, and minutes have all risen, especially within the last two weeks, since playing more.
Now that Spoelstra has slid Larsson into the starting lineup, his offensive production has started to increase. Since the start of January, Larsson has had four games with 16 points, and his shooting percentage in those games was impressive. When he scores less than double digits, his percentage dips considerably.
Even though he's been promoted, Larsson still needs to improve his consistency. Still, he plays hard, and Spoelstra has clearly trusted Larsson to the point where it may benefit Spoelstra and the Heat to keep him as a starter. On top of that, Miami needs to settle on a foundation when it comes to its starters.
Herro being in and out obviously makes things tricky, and once Herro does return, he belongs back in the starting lineup. That said, Larsson has earned his spot, and he's provided the Heat with something different to build on.