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Miami Heat: The Udonis Haslem We Forgot

By Christopher Cruz

Mar 24, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem (40) reacts after being called for a foul during the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 89-88. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem (40) reacts after being called for a foul during the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 89-88. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Wednesday night’s victory against the Boston Celtics was huge for the Miami Heat. It wasn’t huge just because they won, but because of the way that the team played even though they had suffered a game filled with injuries. Dwyane Wade sat Wednesday night after sustaining a left knee contusion. He fell on his left knee and the next morning it became swollen.

Hassan Whiteside also sat out, which is something that Heat fans are not used to seeing because of his durability this season.

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But Whiteside, if you’ll remember, took a blow to his right hand that opened a wound which took 10 stitches to close. He will probably miss some extended time because of it. In keeping with the injury motif, Chris Andersen sat out with an injury as well. He had a bruised left calf that was listed as doubtful even before the game began.

So who played in their place?

It seemed as though every good player with the exception of Goran Dragic and Luol Deng sat out for the Heat. But do you remember when Udonis Haslem was a pretty decent player for the Heat? He has never been what one might call, a dominator. He isn’t an all-star player, mainly because he doesn’t have a great offensive game. But what he does have his heart and a bit of a mean streak.

He has been called upon in the past to provide defense and to be an enforcer for the team. That role has worked out well for him.

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    • But if you’re watching the new Heat, you may have forgotten how good he can be. There were a few years from 2006-09 when he averaged nearly a double-double. That is a pretty good role player. Wednesday night, against the Celtics, Haslem started at the center position in place of Whiteside, and gathered 12 rebounds while getting 12 points.

    He played 38 minutes, which is something that he had to do out of necessity. Of course, you wouldn’t normally play him that often.

    But with a game like that, in the end of the season, where Miami is fighting to get the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, I think you have to reward a player like that. Miami is smart about putting guys in positions to be successful. They have the ability to provide different tactics towards different teams.

    So I wouldn’t argue that Haslem needs to start or anything, because it all depends really on matchups. But what I would argue is that they need to look at maybe giving him some extended minutes. His range has grown now, giving him 20 foot shot capabilities, and he has a toughness that nobody else on the team has.

    If you’re going to begin to reward people, you have to reward that. He also had three steals in the game against Boston, mostly covering Tyler Zeller, who is 7 feet tall. That is a tall order. He also covered Kelly Olynyk, another big player. Harlem is listed at 6-foot-8, which is probably two or three inches too much for him. But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in heart.

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