Before you get on me about how “it’s only preseason”, let’s be clear here: the Miami Heat might actually need Ryan Conwell to be in the opening-night rotation. With Dru Smith’s opening-night availability in question, Conwell should be in contention to be a rotational guard alongside Tre Donaldson, whom the Heat may want to save due to two-way game maximums.
His performance in this preseason game showed exactly why he’s worthy of a spot. Plain and simple: he can pass, and he can create his own buckets. That’s the type of guy the Heat should be craving off the bench.
Ryan Conwell had a promising showing during the preseason
During the Heat's preseason finale, outside of filling up the stat sheet, he was very good. The stats still backed up how good he was: Conwell scored 21 points and added seven assists in 30 minutes of action, and shot an efficient 53% from the field while going 3-for-7 from 3-point range.
What impressed me the most had literally nothing to do with his stats, regardless of how good they were. He showed that he can clearly get to his spots, and he has a great feel for his short midrange pull-up/floater shot, which he displayed a few times. The shots won’t always go in, but if you can get to clean looks, you’ll be successful more often than not.
Most importantly, he very clearly plays at his own pace. That’s something that’s incredibly rare in rookies, never mind most young NBA players. Sometimes it’s better to be a 22-year-old rookie in an era of 19-year-olds filling up the lottery.
Plus, his 3-point shooting can be a genuine asset for this Heat offense. I can already see a bench lineup of 4 shooters (including Conwell) and Giannis, allowing the Heat to take advantage of weak bench units on offense.
I won’t pretend that he doesn't come with some weaknesses. His four turnovers in the Heat's final preseason game would not be high on a nightly basis. We don’t know how he’ll fare on defense. But Conwell also won’t be needed to play 30 minutes a night, which should limit his weaknesses in the short term.
At the end of the day, Conwell is almost guaranteed an opportunity at some point, with injuries being a factor no matter how much you want to ignore them. Why not give him minutes from opening night and let him grow?
The Heat’s young core is already incredibly limited to begin with. The Heat only have three players on the active roster 23 and younger: Nikola Jovic, Tre Donaldson, and the aforementioned Conwell. At the very least, he’s a good offensive threat that can play alongside the defensively focused Dru Smith.
If Conwell looks ready to play, let’s see him on the court. He’s shown why he should be in the rotation.
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