Miami Heat's Depth Must Sustain Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade for the Long Haul

The Miami Heat have enjoyed a fine start to the post-LeBron James era, capitalizing on a slate of Eastern Conference opponents and storming out to a quick 3-0 record. They've looked the part of a contender, scoring with plenty of efficiency and locking down on the defensive end of the court. 

But how long is it going to last? 

Already, this team is battered and bruised, with Chris Andersen, Udonis Haslem and Danny Granger all fighting through various injuries. None of them (bruised ribs, sore hamstring and sore quadriceps, respectively) should be subject to long-term maladies, but it highlights just how thin this team in South Beach already is, especially with Josh McRoberts working his way back into a prominent role. 

Plus, it's an old one. 

When I estimated the real age of every team heading into the 2014-15 campaign, using players' ages on Feb. 1, 2015, and an approximation of how many minutes they'd play during the average contest, the Heat came in at 28.81 years old. It was a mark that left them younger than only the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies. 

Now we have actual indications of how much time each player will spend on the court, so we can run things again. Thus far, through just three games, the Heat's real age is an even higher number: 29.75 years old. And it's likely to grow higher still once Granger and Haslem make their debuts.

Having a veteran squad isn't necessarily problematic. The Spurs, for example, will do perfectly well with an older team. But they're an aberration, a squad that has both depth and players who are used to their spots in the rotation, and that's saying nothing of the vaunted Gregg Popovich system that makes even washed-up role players look like valuable contributors.  

Depth is absolutely vital, and the same can be said about having durable, battle-tested players who are comfortable in the roles that they're being thrust into.

Does Miami have either?

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Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are certainly battle-tested veterans, standouts who have advanced to the NBA Finals during each of the past four seasons and emerged with a pair of championships. But they're each being counted on in larger roles this season, due to the absence of a certain four-time MVP with a royal nickname (James).

All of a sudden, Bosh is the No. 1 contributor on the team, a role he hasn't filled since before he came to Miami, when he was carrying the Toronto Raptors with his two-way exploits.

"I haven't had to be that guy," the big man said during the offseason, per ESPN Insider Tom Haberstroh (subscription required). "I played with the best player in the world, I didn't have to be the alpha. But now I get to see if I have it in me and not many people are going to believe I have what's necessary. But that's what makes it exciting." 

So far, he's had it in him. 

Through the Heat's undefeated three-game run, Bosh has been utterly fantastic. Averaging 25.7 points (on 47.9 percent shooting from the field), 11.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest, he's asserted himself as a way-too-early MVP candidate, not just an All-Star alpha dog. Basketball-Reference.com even shows that he has a team-high player efficiency rating of 29.4. 

Bosh is both doing the right things and saying the right things, even explicitly telling ESPN.com's Michael Wallace that sustaining this production was an ultimate goal:

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Bosh pointed out some specific areas where he felt his game has grown this season. 

It starts with conditioning and consistency. 

'For me, that's what this year is all about,' Bosh said. 'Before, I've had good starts or whatever, but I couldn't keep it up. I ran out of gas. I'm just focusing now on playing it one game at a time and making sure I can sustain what I’m putting out there.'

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That's easier said than done, though.

Increasing usage tends to go hand in hand with players running out of steam during the stretch run of the season, and it's incredibly hard for a more featured player to maintain his production on both ends of the court. 

If it seems like Bosh is being used quite a bit more, that's only because, well, he is: 

That's where the concern comes in. 

Even though Bosh was a star last season, he's involved so much more in 2014-15 than he ever was with James on the roster. His time of possession per game (small sample size warning) has doubled, he's touching the ball far more than before (per NBA.com's SportVU data), and his usage rate and assist percentage have both skyrocketed. 

"The best part about it is it hasn't been strenuous," Bosh told Wallace. "It feels natural."

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Let's see if that sentiment remains true when the Heat are deeper into their schedule than just three games. Miami has played twice at home, and its back-to-back portion of the opening salvo featured a road contest against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. It's not as though the difficulty has gotten particularly brutal yet. 

Of course, there's also the issue of keeping Wade healthy for the stretch run.

With his balky knees, we know that he's going to need some maintenance days thrown his way by Erik Spoelstra. I'd wager that not even Wade himself expects to play all 82 games or to come even close to that number. Last season, he suited up 54 times, and he hasn't broken into the 70s since the 2010-11 season, when he was still a spry 29-year-old. 

Through the first three games, Miami's legendary 2-guard has struggled with his shot, but he's still been a positive contributor because of his exemplary versatility. He's likely to get even better as he remembers how to play in this bigger role, but it's not as though he's going to be on the court night in and night out. 

The same is true—albeit to a lesser extent—for Luol Deng, who has played 32 minutes per contest during his first trio of outings in a Miami uniform. Much like Bosh, he's excelled during the season's early stage, but keeping him fresh is going to be key, especially after the heavy minutes he played under Tom Thibodeau during his tenure with the Bulls. 

And that's why the depth is so important. 

Following the wins over the Washington Wizards, Sixers and Toronto Raptors, Miami's minutes had been distributed like this: 

And let's make one further separation for even more clarity: 

Not only has Spoelstra been hesitant to use his bench much thus far, but the two most used backups are Mario Chalmers and Shabazz Napier, neither of whom makes things easier on Bosh, Wade and Deng. The head coach will have more weapons at his disposal when a healthy McRoberts takes over in the starting lineup, relegating Shawne Williams back to the bench, as well as when Haslem, Andersen and Granger are all available, but this is still problematic. 

To put this in perspective, per Hoopsstats.com, Miami has used its second-string players for 16.3 minutes per game during the early portion of the 2014-15 campaign, and that's the No. 23 mark in the Association. 

The Heat's key reserves are largely veteran players, ones who may or may not be washed up at this stage of their careers. Then there are the guys like Napier and James Ennis, unproven commodities who have to prove themselves.

The season will depend quite heavily on players like Granger—an older contributor who can turn back the clocks and keep the starters fresh for the biggest games of the year—and Ennis. Joseph Goodman tackled that subject during a question-and-answer session for the South Florida Sun Sentinel: 

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But those are just the complementary pieces. It's worked well to this point because, for the most part, it has worked well with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. And, beyond that, it has worked well with Luol Deng's cuts off the ball, and even Shawne Williams' ability to make plays as McRoberts works his way back. The concern at the outset was that the Heat had quantity depth, not necessarily quality depth. Now different players are stepping up at different times, which is exactly what this roster needs. And still, there are two other components who have yet to show how they might fit, Danny Granger and Udonis Haslem. I still think the Heat will need Granger, especially on those days (and it will happen) when Dwyane Wade can't go. The Heat need to get Granger going before that happens, so Granger can regain the needed confidence. So far, though, it has been a communal effort.

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Miami's current strategy, fantastic early results and all, is simply not sustainable. But it can be, assuming the team's success becomes even more of a communal effort, one that features bench breakouts from many of the second-string players. 

"We're three games into this, so it could quickly go the other way if guys start to feel comfortable," Spoelstra told Wallace after the five-point victory against Toronto. "That's not a referendum on our personnel. Guys see how we have to play to be successful."

The personnel is the key to the season, though.

With a stretched-thin rotation that features so many guys with questionable health and roles they're only just starting to fill, the depth has to sustain the truly key players. If it doesn't, Miami will create the ultimate mirage—a sparkling record during the first third of the season (approximately), followed by an Icarian fall from grace as the playoffs draw ever nearer.