For a team that brought back nearly all its key players over the offseason, the Heat head into training camp with a lot of unanswered questions. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald examines position battles and several other topics in his latest column:
- The starting small forward position will be wide open when camp begins Tuesday, with Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Rodney McGruder all having a shot at it. The Heat exercised their fourth-year option on Winslow this week as the former first-rounder tries to battle back from a shoulder injury that limited him to 18 games last season. Miami was only 3-12 when he started last year and he wasn’t part of the team’s surge after the All-Star break. Richardson, who received a four-year extension this week, came into the league as a guard, but played 80% of his minutes last season at forward.
- James Johnson is the favorite to start at power forward, but free agent addition Kelly Olynyk will be an intriguing addition because of his outside shooting. Olynyk shoots .368 from 3-point range for his career, compared to .296 for Johnson, although he raised that number to 34% last season. Olynyk, who was used mainly in a reserve role in Boston, will see plenty of minutes in Miami whether he starts or not.
- Johnson, Olynyk and Hassan Whiteside will take up most of the center/power forward opportunities, leaving little for first-round pick Bam Adebayo, whom the Heat believe has a bright future. Winslow may also be utilized as a stretch four in small-ball lineups, so Adebayo will need a strong showing in camp to earn playing time.
- Okaro White and Jordan Mickey are likely to make the roster, with A.J. Hammons holding a slight edge for the 15th spot. However, the Heat have concerns about Hammons’ work ethic and he will be challenged by shooting guard Matt Williams. Former Michigan point guard Derrick Walton has been impressive over the summer, but he has a two-way contract and can’t spend more than 45 days in the NBA.
- The front office isn’t unanimous in wanting Dwyane Wade back if he agrees to a buyout with the Bulls. There are concerns about his defense at age 35, and the Heat already have five guards who can make a case for playing time.
Off the top of my head, before we see how things go, the rotation probably looks like this:
Dragic, Waiters, McGruder, James Johnson, Whiteside
Tyler Johnson, Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow, Olynyk, Ellington, Okaro, UD/Bam
Winslow at the backup 4 to start the season. I feel like this rotation balances the floor for the Heat on both sides of the ball. Argument could be made for Winslow and JJ switching, but that probably depends on how they shoot the ball. They have similar skillsets otherwise. JJ could also see minutes at small ball 5.
Spo leaked me the rotation.
Pg: Dragic 28 Johnson 12 Richardson 8
Sg: Waiters 20 Johnson 12 Ellington 12 Mcgruder 4
Sf: Winslow 14 Richardson 16 Mcgruder 8 Waiters 8
Pf: Johnson 24 Winslow 14 Olynyk 10
C: Whiteside 30 Olynyk 14 Johnson 4
That’s only 46 minutes at the 3 and 44 at the 4….
Not far off from the rotation I mentioned. Did you do this breakdown off of anything specific?
Lol my bad on what I said about the 4…i just be more tired than I realize
Wow….just ignore what I said about the minutes….ive had a lot going on lately. My mind is all over the place
Other words for “unanswed questions” are depth and options. And, two people who can figure things out are Spoelstra and Riley.
One player who will not be what fans hope for is Winslow, but he’s the opposite of a dead spot, and everyone else has the numbers. Everyone returns from a group that got it together at a high level of effort. Some local markets would love this stuff but Miami is star-spoiled.