Bringing back Precious Achiuwa on a one-year non-guaranteed deal might end up being a footnote in the Miami Heat’s transaction log. It may also prove once and for all that they have no intention of adding traditional size to the rotation.
Yes, Achiuwa is considered a big man. And he could help offset what is, right now, an extremely heavy burden being placed upon Bam Adebayo at the center position. But he’s not big in the conventional sense.
Listed between 6’8” and 6’9”, Achiuwa gives up plenty of size to opposing 5s. And yet, he doesn’t have the dependable jumper required to log a bunch of minutes at the 4 without torpedoing the offense. Using him at center can even be a dice roll. His teams have fared better with him in the game on offense only once.
Still, as both a familiar face and someone who promises defensive dynamism, Achiuwa fits the apparent vision head coach Erik Spoelstra and the front office are attempting to actualize.
Get ready to see lots of undersized units in Miami
The Heat are already favoring these smaller looks relative to the roster in place. At 6’9”, Adeabyo is not what you’d call a traditionally sized big-man himself. Nikola Jovic (6’10”) and Kel’el Ware are the lone players on the depth chart who stand taller than him.
Miami can get to some more orthodox combinations with this personnel. Using Jovic or Ware next to Adebayo deviates from the norm when looking at the potential stretch. On balance, though, it’s closer to more conventionally sized lineups.
This still leaves plenty of time for secondary units that will have guys like Andrew Wiggins (6’7”, Jaime Jaquez Jr. (6’6”), and Simone Fontecchio (6’8”) sponging up reps at the 4 spot, alongside only one of the Heat’s bigs.
At this rate, we may even see plenty of Keshad Johnson (6’6”), Pelle Larsson (6’5”), and even Kasparas Jakucionis (6’6”) take on power forward duties if and when one or both of Wiggins and Fontecchio are off the floor.
This is a significant philosophical commitment for the Heat
Dynamically sized lineups technically aren’t anything new for the Heat. They have leaned on them before. But their one-big combinations last season never steered this hard into themc.
Out of the 5,292 non-garbage-time possessions Adebayo played, just 202 came without anyone else standing taller than 6’6”—less than 4 percent of his court time. Of the 2,785 total possessions for which Ware was on the floor, only 116 came without anyone taller than 6’6”—just over 4 percent.
The court time for these smaller arrangements should soar if Achiuwa makes the roster. Miami isn’t going to play him a bunch at the 4, and might not even turn to him frequently at all. If the Heat wind up waiving him, forget about it. Downsizing will be an even larger part of their identity.
Whether that’s a good thing is up for debate. In the 1,365 total minutes Adebayo or Ware logged without a true forward or co-big alongside him, the Heat outscored opponents by a total of two points. They can’t be sure those looks will fare better across a larger sample size.
But they sure seem committed to finding out.