“Who should the Miami Heat start at point guard to begin the regular season?” is officially no longer a question head coach Erik Spoelstra needs to ask. The answer is very clearly Davion Mitchell.
Rolling him out at the 1 was not the Heat’s Plan A. The starting backcourt is supposed to be populated by Tyler Herro, and Norman Powell. Injuries and murky preseason returns are forcing Miami to pivot.
Herro will be on the sidelines until at least November while recovering from left ankle surgery. The Heat’s alternatives beyond him are thin at full strength, but they are even thinner now that rookie Kaspars Jakucionis is dealing with a hip injury.
Coach Spo favorite Dru Smith looms as a possibility, but his brightest preseason moments have come as a member of the second unit. He did not look great during the limited run he received as a starter.
Unless you’re smitten by Terry Rozier, who is also injured (hamstring), the process of elimination leaves the Heat with Davion Mitchell.
Davion Mitchell can help give Miami an identity
Even before injuries ripped through Miami’s roster, Mitchell had a case to start. Herro and Powell should be offensive dynamite together, but they will be equally implosive on the defensive end. Staggering them would lighten the lift upon the shoulders of Andrew Wiggins, and Bam Adebayo—especially if Nikola Jovic remains a starter upon his return from a back issue.
The ins and outs of this dynamic can be revisited later, once Herro is actually suiting up. For now, the Heat should be leaning into Mitchell as the starting point guard. He not only covers up for Powell’s defense in the backcourt, but he gives Miami a puncher’s chance of carving out any identity at all.
Think about it. Like, really think about it. What is the Heat’s defining offensive trait at the moment? That they want to play faster without a superstar ball-handler on the roster? That’s not an identity. And truth be told, it will be hard for Miami to sketch one out even at full strength. Herro has improved a great deal, and Bam is as versatile as anyone. But there is no one on the roster capable of headlining or shaping an entire system.
The Heat have a better chance of entrenching themselves as defensive pests. Mitchell is an on-ball eclipse, Bam is the ultimate defensive skeleton key, and guys like Smith, Wiggins, Pelle Larsson, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. can all scrap and claw.
The Heat will learn a lot about Mitchell
Starting Mitchell also comes with the side benefit of learning more about last season’s shooting tear. He drilled 44.7 percent of his three-pointers to close the regular season after being traded to the Heat. Then, through four playoff appearances, he proceeded to knock down 55.6 percent of his catch-and-shoot triples, and more critically, 40 percent of his pull-up threebies.
If the improved outside shot is real, it opens up the entire offense, including Mitchell’s ability to attack on drives. Considering how useful he was playmaking when he got downhill, this would be a monumental development.
This doesn’t equate to a guarantee that starting Mitchell until Herro returns will end well. It might not. Or maybe it does. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. Circumstances have made it so the Heat have no other choice.