Miami Heat: Analyzing Khem Birch

By Sipho Mangoye | Sep 17, 2014

Mar 5, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UNLV Runnin /

It’s only been a few months but it feels like a lifetime ago since we last saw the San Antonio Spurs hoist the NBA title, after they marched over the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals. For the Spurs, not a lot of things have changed within the organization, though the same can’t be said for the Heat having lost LeBron James and crashed back down to earth again.

Nonetheless, team president Pat Riley remains adamant the team will continue to be competitive this coming season (and beyond) following the addition of Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts plus a few others. However, the rebuilding process isn’t over yet. There is still plenty of talent in the free agent market and the forthcoming training camp period will provide a great opportunity for both teams and players.

For the teams, it’s a chance to find a diamond in the rough. For those lucky enough to get an invite to camp, it’s a chance to shine and impress the coaches. One of the individuals looking to do exactly that is former UNLV standout, Khem Birch.

The 21-year-old has signed a non-guaranteed contract with Miami and he will be out to impress coach Erik Spoelstra with some outstanding shot blocking ability that led to him recording 3.8 blocks per game last year, and being named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons.

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Then again, maybe it shouldn’t really be a surprise. After all, Birch possesses a 7’1” wingspan to make up for his lack of height as he is only 6’9”. Plus, he is also an extremely athletic big man as illustrated by the 35.5-inch vertical jump he recorded during the draft combine.

So with those kind of measurements, it’s really not all that shocking he’s a shot blocking machine – and he’s disciplined too, amassing just 2.3 personal fouls per game.

Furthermore, Birch is also an extremely hard worker and that is why he was able to haul in 10.2 rebounds last year, four of which came on the offensive end. In essence, he’s like a Chris Andersen but in a smaller frame (and with a LOT less ink).

Heck, even their offensive game is similar.

Just like Birdman, Birch is a great finisher around the rim as he converted better than 60 percent of his non-post-up attempts around the hoop. Granted it will be a lot harder to keep up such a high percentage in the pros since the competition is a tougher, but the drop shouldn’t be too significant.

Unfortunately, that’s about all he offers.

Due to his slight frame, he isn’t able to bully anyone around the post and he doesn’t have a jumper to make defenders respect him from the outside the lane. In other words; it’s either layups and put backs or nothing offensively.

Perhaps his lack of size (listed at 210 pounds during draft combine) could also have a huge impact on his defense since they will likely be a huge gulf in strength against nearly every big he comes across. As such, it will be a huge task for him to convice Coach Spo and the rest of the front office staff to keep him on board since he mostly has an impact on one end of the court and he could be a liability at the other.

In addition to this, Birch is also at a disadvantage due to the crowd of players in each of Miami’s big men spots. The likes of McRoberts, Andersen, Udonis Haslem, Chris Bosh and Justin Hamilton are already in place – good luck bumping them off the chart. Hamilton is the weakest link within the group but he has a guaranteed contract and teams execs are iffy about cutting such players.

Having said that, there is still plenty of hope for Khem Birch. Andersen and Haslem are old (in NBA terms) and do have sketchy past when it comes to injuries, therefore an extra body to help out wouldn’t be such a bad idea – especially if it’s someone who can defend and rebound at a high level.

As for his lack of his of size and offensive skill, we’ve seen plenty of undersized bigs go on to flourish without much of either, a la Ben Wallace.

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