The Miami Heat are perfectly comfortable with Davion Mitchell being the starting point guard heading into the first full season of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era.
However, it's their depth behind Mitchell that is the real concern for the Heat. I can't imagine the Heat are all that in love with the idea of Dru Smith being the primary backup behind Mitchell, but it's almost certainly what the team is going to have to enter the season with. Unless something changes significantly in the next two weeks before the start of training camp.
And it's that lack of depth that could end up being one of the bigger reasons why the Heat are not going to be viewed as a legit contender in the Eastern Conference. That doesn't mean circumstances can't change over the course of the season, but at least on paper, the Heat have some winning to do.
What will the Heat's plan be in the backcourt?
Especially if things do start off poorly, or perhaps just not as they planned, you can't help but wonder what may end up being the plan for the Heat in the backcourt.
Is it to just hope that Tre Donaldson or Ryan Conwell make a strong enough developmental leap that they're contributing sooner rather than later? Is it just betting on the idea that a veteran guard is going to emerge via the buyout market? Is there a trade that could emerge mid-season?
Or maybe it's just hoping that Mitchell could be that good for the Heat. If the work that Mitchell has put into the offseason is any indication, that could very well end up being the case. But one injury, and the entire Heat's season could be in jeopardy because of that lack of depth behind Mitchell.
But as much as Heat fans want to carry a chip on their shoulder about a team that is being counted out, the concerns surrounding their lack of depth in the backcourt are fair. It's one of the few areas of the team that Heat fans should be concerned about.
It's only fair to continue to take a wait-and-see approach with this year's Heat, but Ira Winderman couldn't be more right when highlighting the idea that the Heat are more concerned about their lack of depth behind Mitchell than the idea of him being the full-time starter heading into the start of the season.
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