Miami Heat: Who Makes The Final Roster?
With 19 players on the books, the Miami Heat are just one player shy of the maximum allowed during training camp. However, come tipoff that number will need to be trimmed down to just 15, meaning four of the current players on the roster won’t be earning their pay in a Heat uniform in 2014-15.
But who will be the unlucky few?
Well common sense would suggest that the “Big Three” Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng, along with Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Shabazz Napier, Josh McRoberts, Udonis Haslem, Shawne Williams, in addition to Chris Andersen, Justin Hamilton, Danny Granger and James Ennis likely won’t be going anywhere.
So that leaves us with Shannon Brown, Reggie Williams, Tyler Johnson, Andre Dawkins, Shawn Jones plus Khem Birch on our dreaded list. All six players will be determined to earn a roster spot, but there’s only two remaining. And thanks to the process of elimination, we’ll predict who makes the cut and who goes searching for a new home.
First to hit the road will most likely be Khem Birch. It’s not that he can’t play. Far from it. At 6’9”, with a 7-foot wingspan as well as his athleticism, he can be a nightmare on defense as illustrated by his 3.8 blocks for UNLV last season.
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However, Miami is already loaded at power forward and center; therefore, he will have to do something truly spectacular to crack the team.
Next up will probably be Shawn Jones. Just like, Birch he will be fighting to fill a position Miami is already stacked in: Power forward. McRoberts, Haslem and Williams are all ahead of the Middle Tennessee State product and his chances right now are probably slim to none – barring a major incident or if he makes a huge impression in camp.
He could dabble as a small forward, but even then, he has Deng, Granger and the highly anticipated Ennis to contend with.
After Birch and Jones, things do start to get a little more interesting. As of right now, Wade is the only player Miami have at the 2 spot, which is why there are currently four players duking it out to be the back-up shooting guard with Brown, Dawkins, Johnson and Reggie Williams all vying for the gig.
However, you should probably take Dawkins off the list.
Simply put, the former Duke Blue Devil can shoot. Like, he’ll make you pay if you give him a slither of an opening. But that’s about it. He doesn’t dribble, drive or play defense all that well. In the past his shooting ability would have been enough for him to make near-enough any team, but in the NBA, you’ve got to have a little something extra.
You’ve got to possess a certain je ne sais quoi that gives you an edge over the competition. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have it.
That means we are left with Shannon Brown, Reggie Williams and Tyler Johnson. The smart money would be on Brown to make the cut due to his electric style of play. In other words, he is a highlight waiting to happen thanks to his athleticism and he’ll take advantage of that in the open court.
Plus, he is also a respectable defensive player who could thrive in Erik Spoelstra’s high octane defense that will allow him to fly around the hardwood.
Perhaps the only knock to his game would be that he isn’t a particularly outstanding shooter from 3-point range. Nonetheless, his experience and athleticism should put him over the hump. As for Williams-Johnson battle, the odds are probably in the former’s favor due to the experience factor.
Although having said that, don’t be too shocked if Johnson gets the nod.
The 22-year-old showed great improvement during his four years at Fresno State, having increased his scoring output year upon year, in addition to significantly improving his 3-point shooting from 14.3 percent in his freshman year, to 43 percent during his last.
He also impressed during the Orlando Summer League as he averaged over 12.8 points, while shooting 60 percent from the field in only 20 minutes of action.
Ultimately, whoever shows the greatest defensive ability and effort during training camp will win a roster spot. Sure, we all tend to be more concerned about scoring, but as past examples (a.k.a. Michael Beasley) have shown, that’s not the best way to get into Spoelstra’s team.