Miami Heat: Gerald Green Makes Most Of Spot Start For Dwyane Wade
The Miami Heat were in a bit of a pinch with Dwyane Wade sitting out against the Sacramento Kings, but Gerald Green came up huge as he was inserted into the starting lineup.
The Miami Heat suffered a bad loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night that set them back a little bit in the Eastern Conference. With Dwyane Wade sitting out Friday night against the Sacramento Kings to rest, the Heat were set up for another letdown and bad loss.
But Erik Spoelstra once again hit the right buttons when it came to setting his rotation, inserting Gerald Green in place of Wade and getting spectacular results once again.
Since Joe Johnson was brought aboard, Green has seen his minutes and role in the rotation become nonexistent. That signing, coupled with the play of rookies Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow, has pushed Green down the pecking order from minutes, causing him to watch from the sidelines more often than not. Since Johnson was signed, Green has picked up six DNP-Coach’s Decision and played 10 or less minutes another six times, making it 12 of 17 games Green had virtually no role in a game.
It was for good reason too, as Green was doing very little to warrant the minutes he was receiving. He went scoreless in his last three games in the rotation in late February, missing all 11 of his shots against the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics. When given a chance to play in March because of injuries or garbage time, Green did very little to take advantage of those chances.
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With so little of the season left, Green was running out of chances to redeem himself and try getting back into the rotation. Wade sitting out was the only thing that would get Green significant minutes on the court, and that happened against the Kings on Friday. After failing in his previous chances, Green finally seized the moment against the Kings and took full advantage of the opportunity that Spoelstra gave him.
Green was inserted into the starting lineup in Wade’s spot and responded with a huge game. He poured in a season-high 30 points, which the Heat needed every one of as they narrowly defeated the Kings 112-106. Green was extremely efficient from everywhere on the court, making 11-of-19 overall, 5-of-9 from deep and a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line.
Green would also help out a little bit in other areas, as he pulled down three rebounds, handed out one assist and recorded three steals without any turnovers. This is the kind of game the Heat have been waiting to see from Green as he is a very explosive scorer, it just does not come consistently enough.
This should be a very good confidence booster for Green as he has earned himself another look on the court before the season ends. The Heat will be back on the court Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers as they finish up their back-to-back set.
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We should once again see Green on the court whether Wade plays or not. He has earned at least one more opportunity to play, and if he responds well once again he could find himself back in the rotation to end the season heading into the playoffs. For a team that struggles to score at times as much as the Heat does, adding the explosiveness of Green to the second unit could be a boon to their production.