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Miami Heat: Looking For More Depth

By Christopher Cruz

Apr 9, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra (left) talks with guard Mario Chalmers (right) during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra (left) talks with guard Mario Chalmers (right) during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Miami Heat have developed a terrible habit of getting injured when they shouldn’t be. That habit has to be broken. But in the meantime, they have relied on a list of players who shouldn’t really be relied upon. This list begins with Mario Chalmers.

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Chalmers was the starting point guard for the Heat for the duration of their NBA Finals berths. He got yelled at a lot, sure, especially by LeBron James, but he was still their “little brother” as James put it. This season, he was relegated to the bench, and played in a sixth man role. That is a predominantly a role for someone who is a specialist.

What I mean by that is that a player like J.R. Smith or Jamal Crawford, or a Tony Allen character, who can score a lot or play incredible defense should be a team’s sixth man. Generally, this player enters with the second unit, and can provide bursts of offense until the starters can get their rest and come back in.

Chalmers has struggled to do that. He fails to be aggressive when he is in the game, virtually never going to the basket, settling for a three-pointer or a long-distance two-point shot. Thirty-seven percent of the shots he took were from three-point range, while 30 percent of the shots he took were from less than five feet out.

If the Heat want a more productive player off the bench, they should look to another player in the draft who can potentially provide points close to the basket. There is a chance that if Arizona small forward Stanley Johnson falls in the draft, then he might be able to provide that. There is also Devin Booker from Kentucky, a shooter if there is one in this draft.

The Heat should also look at replacing Chris Andersen in the near future. While his production has still been pretty good, adding five points, five rebounds and one blocked shot per game, he is 36 years old. There were times last season when “Birdman” looked great, but there were times, especially towards the end of the season, when he looked old.

He was having trouble on high pick and rolls, when he had to hedge hard on a guard, or chase a more agile offensive big man like Paul Millsap. The issue for the Heat is that they need to replace Andersen for less than what they are currently giving him. Right now, a contract situation is in the works for the Heat, and they are trying to jumble a bunch of moving pieces in the air.

It is likely that Dwyane Wade opts out of his contract to make room for the signing of Goran Dragic, but that means that cap space will be limited.

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    • Josh McRoberts can be a great backup, if he can get back to form in time for the season. There is really nothing that Miami can do about his contract, because it doesn’t expire until his player option comes up at the end of the 2016-17 season. He can still be a really good backup for the price at which he is currently signed.

    As Hassan Whiteside, Bosh, Luol Deng, Wade and Dragic make their comeback, there is really no room in the starting lineup for a player like McRoberts. He was never a great player even in his role with the former Charlotte Bobcats. But he did average five rebounds and four assists that year, and shot 36 percent from three-point range, which is good at his size.

    McRoberts is a player that I think can help the Heat next year.

    Some of the other players who had parts off the bench, like Michael Beasley, Henry Walker and Udonis Haslem were also pretty effective, which is surprising considering that the first two players have bounced around the league a few laps or so. They are players that are fighting for their spots, so they will continue to play with intensity.

    It is time, though, that the Heat consider moving pieces to replace Andersen and Chalmers, arguably two bench players that have the highest expectations. The issue is that those expectations go unmet a lot of times, something that won’t work for a team that is trying to get back to championship form.

    Next: 50 Greatest NBA Players Without a Championship

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