Miami Heat: Playing Coach Spoelstra and Charting Minutes, Roles for Each Player
When it comes to a team like the Miami Heat, there needs to be time to adjust. You could bring any team an exuberant amount of talent, but in no way does it mean that the team is expected to become immediately brilliant and that they are ready for a championship. Even with three talented players in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh sacrificing millions of dollars to join in Miami, the Heat still need time for every player to adjust.
Perhaps the NBA world was a little overzealous when the big three joined together. We all knew that they had the talent and potential to win 72 plus games, or create a winning streak that would eclipse the 33 set by the Los Angeles Lakers nearly 40 years old ago, but we should have known that a team with talent doesn't always equate to a team with an immediate championship.
Despite the fact that the big three each signed deals for the next five years, critics are already labeling the Heat as busts only ten games into their first season together. They've made their fair share of mistakes over the first few weeks of the regular season, but they've also shown great strides as a compatible team with LeBron taking the role as passer and leaving the scoring to Dwyane.
While Bosh has struggled for the latter part of the season thus far, it would be extremely hard to believe that he's going to maintain a 14 point and six rebound average for the next 72 games. He's a third option now after taking the role as first option for seven years on a Toronto Raptors team that gave him little to no help when it came to rebounding and scoring.
So the pressure is now on coach Erik Spoelstra to being to lead and gel this team. He's the one who is being looked upon to begin forming the right chemistry and cohesion so as to get this team on the right track rather than the sloppy one they're on now. He should begin allocating minutes and the correct roles to the correct players.
In by no means am I a coach in anyway, but if I were Spoelstra's right hand man, I'd let him know that these would be the correct moves to make during game time.
The Big Three (a). LeBron James
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LeBron was the first player on the team to get frustrated by the teams slow start by pointing out the fact that he had played 44 minutes in their recent loss to the Boston Celtics. He claimed that it was "too much" and he put most of the blame of the loss on the fact that he and Wade, who played 40 minutes, were too fatigued by the end of the game to stage a come back.
Personally, I think it's bogus for LeBron to criticize any amount of minutes when he receives. NBA players should be conditioned to play for 48 minutes and the 25 year old James should be the last one complaining about being fatigued against a Celtics team that runs a half-court offensive set. In a game that goes down to the wire, James is expected to play as much time as the team needs him to play to try and possibly steal a victory.
If he were to receive a set amount of minutes though, it should be in the 35-40 minutes range depending on the type of team he is facing. LeBron needs to recognize and acknowledge the fact that he is the most athletic player in league history and needs to use it to his advantage when it comes down to playing time. Against a lower tier team, he should be limited to possibly 30 minutes or less, but against an elite team such as the Celtics or Lakers, he should be expected to play upwards of 40 minutes depending on how much of his talents are needed.
As for his role on this Heat team, he should be moved to the point guard spot as soon as possible. Pat Riley envisioned LeBron becoming the next Magic Johnson and he will never see that as long as James is listed as the teams small forward. Considering the Heat have next to zero options as far as a decent point guard goes, LeBron's court vision and ability to create mis-matches should be used to the teams advantage.
The Big Three (b). Dwyane Wade
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There is no one on this team who can eclipse the amount of heart and soul that is put into every game than Dwyane Wade. Entering his eighth year with the team, Wade has been through a roller coaster ride of a career as he entered the league as a role player before becoming the leader by the end of his rookie season, winning a championship two years later, winning 15 games two seasons after, and finally topping off with as the center point of the core of the big three.
More importantly has been the past two years of basketball Wade has played. Dwyane has proved every one wrong following injuries that limited his play in the 2006-'07 campaign as well as the 2007-'08 season, by breaking out in the 2008-'09 season and winning his first scoring title and finishing third in the voting for MVP. He led that team to 43 wins and a fifth seed and followed that up with an even more impressive 47 win season.
Now he has the team he has been asking for over the past two seasons and has yet to truly take advantage of the situation in front of him. Wade knows better than anyone that the talent is there and is just waiting for the chemistry to form between himself, James, Bosh, and the rest of the team so that they can see their championship dreams turn into a reality.
Over the past two seasons, Wade took on the role as every man. He was the scorer, leader, and passer as just about every one of his teammates thrived on him for offensive and defensive purposes. Dwyane is also used to playing an absurd amount of minutes per game, thus the reason for his injuries, and has averaged over 38 minutes per game four times in his career.
Thus the reason why he should also play less time than LeBron James. Dwyane has proven his worth with this Miami team and has proved that even though he is resilient, he is not as durable as the powerful James. Wade has had multiple injuries over his career and in fact is just coming off of one that kept him out for the entire preseason. He should play in the 30 to 35 minute range of minutes until he feels he has completely recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out prior to the start of the regular season.
His role on this team is that of a scorer. He is not too multi-dimensional of a scoring threat considering he is a 29% career three-point shooter and is still not completely comfortable with his jump shot, but he is quite possibly the best in the league at driving and drawing fouls and once the paint becomes less clogged, then he will be able to put his craft to work.
The Big Three (c). Chris Bosh
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Does anyone else besides me think it might be the most absurd rumor in NBA history for Chris Bosh to already be at center of trade speculations?
Just because one of your core players is struggling to adjust to their role as a third option doesn't mean you get rid of him and look for what you think is a more suitable option, you help that player begin to adjust to their role and you help them find a way to become better involved on the offensive side of the court. If this was April then maybe there'd be a valid point, but luckily for the Heat it's only November and there's months to go before the postseason is even a thought.
Chris has struggled mightily in just about every game he has played in thus far as he is trying to find a role next to the likes of Wade and James. Bosh is coming from a team where he was the primary bread winner, as he represented the teams leading scoring threat and rebounder. When you're playing on a team like Toronto where there's no pressure to perform, a stat line like 24 and 11 could come easier than on a team like Miami where all eyes are now focused on you.
Bosh has the talent to become a 20-10 type of player for the Heat, but appears to being pushed around under the rim too much to drive or to grab a decent amount of rebounds. If you compare the teams leading rebounder in Udonis Haslem and Bosh, you can easily notice that Haslem has the toughness and ambition under the rim to grab every rebound that Chris does not have yet.
As far as minutes goes, Chris should be on the floor usually the same time as Wade in the 30-35 minute range. The duel threat gives the Heat a quality inside-outside presence as Dwyane provides the threat of a slasher and Bosh provides the threat as a mid-range shooter as well as a lethal scorer in the paint. His role on the team as a mid-range shooter is a stable start, but the Heat should begin to force the issue as Bosh being used in the paint.
The Rest Of The Starting Lineup.
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Hopefully for the Heat, that picture will become a reality by late December. For now, the Heat will have to look towards James Jones as their main three-point threat in the starting lineup.
James Jones
He's not in the starting lineup, but if coach Spoelstra wants to keep a job, he might have no choice but to put the lethal shooter on the same floor as Wade, James, and Bosh at the beginning of games. With Carlos Arroyo in the starting lineup, the Heat face many issues as they have been lit up by elite point guards while Arroyo provides little of an impact on the offensive end. In fact, most opposing point guards would rather double team a member of the big three before they think to defend Arroyo from 20 feet.
Enter James Jones. The Heat's current starting lineup contains not one significant three-point threat. Because of that, the Heat aren't able to stretch out the floor as much as they want to, so the opposition focuses mainly anywhere within 25 feet while letting sub-35% three-point shooters in Wade or James shoot as much as their hearts desire.
At 50% from beyond the arc, Jones is the team's lone consistent three-point shooter and should be used in the 30-35 minute range. Until Mike Miller returns from his thumb injury either late December or early January, Jones should be utilized to his full potential as a deadly three-point shooter. In fact, Jones has hit a three-pointer in every game and has had multiple hits from beyond the arc in nine of the first ten games.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Coach Spoelstra finally began to tweak the lineup after nine games by replacing Joel Anthony with the jump shooting expert in Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Big Z responded by netting 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting while contributing three rebounds and a block in the process. He also limited his counterpart in Andrea Bargnani to an ugly 8 of 23 shooting while allowing him to only 2 of 6 from beyond the arc.
The rebounding still might come as an issue, but Z's scoring and presence as a jump shooter is significantly beneficial to a team that could use all the spacing it can get. Zydrunas is converting 63% from the field with most of his points coming from 15-20 feet from the basket and eventually forcing his defender to either risk giving up an easy two points to Ilgauskas or to leave the paint open for an open player cutting to the basket.
With Ilgauskas in the lineup, it allows slashers like Wade and James to thrive in the paint as they can either drive at will or set Big Z up for open jumpers. The fact that the Heat have four centers also greatly helps Ilgauskas who would be limited to only 20-25 minutes per game. His role on the team would be that of a 7'3" distraction as he empties the paint for Wade and James to abuse.
The 6-7-8.
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Udonis Haslem
Only the sixth man until Mike Miller returns, Udonis is possibly the most underrated player in the league despite being a core player of this team over the past seven seasons. At nine points and nine rebounds per game, Haslem is the most significant player off the bench as well as the teams leading rebounder and defender.
Udonis has always been recognized as Wade's right-hand-man and has adjusted to the role of sixth man very well over the past two seasons. Even when the Heat elected to start Michael Beasley last season over Haslem, Udonis never once became frustrated or irked that the fact he was benched for a second year player and he responded by averaging 10 points and eight rebounds.
This year is no different as Haslem is still the teams leading contributor off the bench and should play upwards of 25-30 minutes per game as either a power forward along Bosh as center when the team runs a small lineup or just as the power forward when Bosh needs a rest. Udonis's role on the team is to remain as a hard-nosed defender, a terrific rebounder, and to stay on the baseline and be ready to shoot open jumpers.
Eddie House
The only other true current three-point threat on this team aside from Jones is the king of the quick trigger in Eddie House. At 38% from beyond the arc, House is second on the team in three-point percentage and is one of only three players on the team to be hitting at least one three-pointer per game. Eddie is not too much of a true point guard as he has a shoot-first mentality rather than that of the traditional pass-first mentality.
The Heat have no problem with Eddie having that mentality as the Heat could use all the three-point shooting they can get when Jones is not on the floor. When LeBron isn't on the floor, Eddie mixes up the point guard spot by taking the reins from a player who has mis-matches over opposing point guards in James and substituting it with sure fire three-point shooting off the bench.
Since there are a total of four point guards, House would not be expected to play that many minutes and should be seen in the 20-25 minute range as he adjusts to the role as the sole three-point threat off the bench until Miller returns.
Joel Anthony
In no way is Joel Anthony a starter in any right. He should not have been at the regular season and he shouldn't have been for the past nine games prior to the Heat's win over Toronto. Aside from that of a shot-blocking threat, Anthony possesses little to nothing else as a player in this league. Despite averaging 16 minutes per game, Joel only averages a little under two points, three rebounds, and one block per game.
Off the bench he would hold a more significant role as a defensive presence in the paint when opposing teams rest their starters. We're not saying that Ilgauskas is just as good a replacement as a center when it comes to defense, but at only 6'9" Joel's presence is less felt. Anthony could hold the role as a Ben Wallace or Serge Ibaka type of player as he is utilized mostly as a shot blocker.
Anthony should play upwards of 15-20 minutes per game as he shares time with the other centers on this team.
The 9-10-11.
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Mario Chalmers
It has become quite confusing as to just why Mario Chalmers has completely fallen out of the rotation. Chalmers had a rough second year, but it's not an excuse to drop a player out of the rotation because he's just an inferior player to some of the other point guards on this team. In fact, Chalmers isn't as inferior at all as he possesses plenty more range than Arroyo and has much more quality defense to offer than Arroyo or House.
Mario has only been played in six games and received significant minutes in only two games with his most impressive performance coming in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves when he dropped eight points and dished out eight assists. Chalmers on the ball defense might be that of a sixth grader, but his off the ball defense tells a completely different story as he is known for interfering with passing lanes and even has a nine steal game to his credit.
Chalmers would be utilized mostly as a three-point threat, as well as a possible quality defender when he interrupts passing lanes with his ability to read offenses. He should play 10-15 minutes per game when sharing time with the teams other point guards.
Jamaal Magloire
The bottom of the rotation features mostly aging veterans who are wasting away their final years on the Heat's bench. Players like Magloire and Juwan Howard have received little to no time in the first ten games of the season as they usually get paid to watch the show that the big three and the rest of the team are putting out on a nightly basis.
While Howard's impact wouldn't be too large, Magloire could still serve as a banger in the paint along with the physical teams of the league. Against a team like the Celtics where physical play is accepted, the Heat had no answer in the first two games of the season as the C's outplayed them with their ability to play physical against a Heat team that doesn't posess a player like that in the top tier of the rotation.
Magloire would have been huge against a team like Boston. He is a tough rebounder, a quality defender, and isn't afraid to fight in the paint along with the best of them. It's a known fact amongst the Heat community that Magloire has yet to allow an and-one opportunity to any player that drives in the lane against him mostly because of the fact that Jamaal knocks them down. He should play in the 5-10 minute range when the Heat need physical play from someone on the roster.
Dexter Pittman
The Heat took former Texas center Dexter Pittman with their first pick in the second round of this past draft for a reason and I'm sure it wasn't mainly to sit on the bench in street clothes. Even though the Heat could use a large presence in the middle, Pittman has yet to be seen in a regular season game despite having a decent preseason.
Dexter would be an asset on a team like this and it's come as a disappointment that he has yet to even come close to cracking the rotation. Pittman would be similar to Jamaal Magloire as a banger in the paint as he has the size to clog lanes and even has the post game to actually show up as a decent offensive threat.
Pittman has dropped a significant amount of weight in time for the regular season and he should be utilized at least during garbage time. Even in games where the Heat go against a center that could pose as a threat as an offensive and rebounding threat, Pittman should be used for 5-10 minutes and should be used to clog the paint for opposing teams.
The Bottom Three.
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Sometimes there's just no playing time for some players. The likes of Juwan Howard and Jerry Stackhouse would regularly be garbage time favorites as they see the ends of their careers used mainly as mentors or to finish out games that have already been well decided. A player like Carlos Arroyo is a much more interesting case as you could see him slide down from starter to completely out of the rotation.
On a team with James as the starting point guard and House and Chalmers set to receive minutes as three-point shooters and defenders, a player like Arroyo wouldn't be needed as much. As a starter, Carlos hasn't served any impact aside from being another player on the floor next to the big three. His mid-range shot has been off this season thus far and his assist to turnover ratio hasn't been as impressive as it was last season.
Carlos might have been the right choice for point guard on a team like last year where the offense was set to a slow, concentrated pace, but on a team as high-octaned and as high-powered as this, there just isn't a nitche for a player like Arroyo.
He could possibly share time with Chalmers as the third-string point guard if coach Spo still doesn't see Mario as fit to be the teams point guard, but for now it might be time to scrap Arroyo being a significant part of the starting lineup and the rotation all together.
