Why LeBron and Miami Heat Must Use Pick-and-Roll More Next Season

LeBron James is one of the few players in the NBA who can play either position in pick-and-roll situations.

He should be playing plenty of both this season.

It's not an easy play for most teams to guard, especially when it utilizes big pick-setters like James and Chris Bosh. Opposing defenders have to move their feet and make good decisions, and there just aren't many big men who can do so.

It's not just that James and Bosh are quick, strong and excellent finishers in the painted area. It's also that they have great hands, making the pick-and-roll a more efficient option that won't translate into too many turnovers.

And, both are more than capable of popping instead of rolling, getting off a mid-range jumper over helplessly outstretched hands.

Miami's versatility makes it a perfect candidate to deploy the play regularly.

The ability to have different players running it forces defenders to change roles and constantly adapt, making it even harder to stop three of the league's best scorers.

As good as LeBron may be playing the 4, he's even more dangerous when he's the one making the passes.

His timing and accuracy rival the league's best point guards, and he's so big that defenders can't crowd him and bother his passes. James' length allows him to make passes that your typical floor general might struggle to make.

Additionally, James can do so many different things with the ball that defenders are constantly left guessing after he gets his screen.

He can pull up and shoot, drive and score, drive and pass to a perimeter shooter, pass to the pick-setter rolling to the basket, drive and then make that pass, and so on.

The Heat will be in even better position to run the play with so many perimeter shooters spreading the floor.

Shane Battier, Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers were a good start in this regard, but Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis will ensure that Miami almost always has at least two or three very good (and well-rested) three-point shooters on the floor.

That will make the defense think twice before sending help to stop the pick-and-roll, and it will force opposing head coaches to choose between high-percentage looks at the basket and wide-open treys.

Good luck with that decision.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra relied more heavily on the pick-and-roll after Chris Bosh went down against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and the shift paid obvious dividends. They key was spacing the floor with James at the 4 and Shane Battier at the 3.

You can see why this summer's addition of Allen and Lewis will further that cause.

The pick-and-roll can also translate into defensive switches that guys James and Dwyane Wade can exploit. When LeBron finds himself one-on-one with someone like Joakim Noah, he all of a sudden has a pretty favorable matchup against an otherwise airtight defensive team.

Miami may not need plays like the pick-and-roll as much as some teams do. 

Just don't be surprised if it makes more use of it after it found so much success in the postseason. Thanks to their personnel, the Heat can do some interesting things with the play, and they'll need to keep innovating as the rest of the league struggles to catch up.