Miami Heat: Amar’e Stoudemire Finally Getting His Shot
The Miami Heat have some questions off the bench in their frontcourt, but could Amar’e Stoudemire provide some answers?
The Miami Heat have been hit with a parade of injuries thus far this season. Already struggling to field much depth, the Heat are being forced to use their starters for heavy minutes. Their roster needs are pretty evident going forward and it could be argued that atop that list is the need for a big man.
Could they have that answer already on their roster? They very well could in veteran Amar’e Stoudemire. Stoudemire signed a one-year deal with the Heat in the offseason and finally looks like he will become a part of the Heat’s rotation.
With Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem watching more often than not from the sidelines, and Josh McRoberts dealing with an injury, the Heat have a gaping hole behind Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside. Stoudemire is in the twilight of his career, so we won’t be seeing the high flying act he had with the Phoenix Suns early in his tenure, but he can at least give the Heat some much needed size off their bench.
The production, or even appearances from Stoudemire, have been few and far between this season, as he got into only three games before Christmas, playing 27 minutes total. There was not much to take away from those games, but Stoudemire still showed he had something left in the tank offensively when he scored 10 points in eight minutes against the Sacramento Kings.
Stoudemire is turning the corner health wise though, as he surpassed those numbers this week. Stoudemire has appeared in three consecutive games for the Heat, the first time he has done so this season. He played nine minutes against the Orlando Magic and saw that increase to 14 and 13 against the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies thereafter.
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The Heat are beginning to gain confidence that he is healthy enough to contribute and have deployed him on the court. Head coach Erik Spoelstra hinted prior to Tuesday’s loss to the Grizzlies that he could see Stoudemire working his way into the Heat’s regular rotation, and it looks like that process is under way.
“I think right now, Amar’e, particularly when he gets his game legs, gives us something with that second unit of an offensive threat. He knows how to play pick-and-roll basketball, particularly with your guards. Right now we have a lot of movement there, but I think once he gets his legs, I feel comfortable with that,” Spoelstra said to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Stoudemire is ready for the expanding role, but knows that it will take a little bit of time to get to where he wants, telling the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “The body felt great. It felt strong. A little bit rusty, but I felt pretty good. I’m just going to need minutes, just game minutes. It’ll all come. You’ll see the difference between game one, game two, game three, no question.”
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We are already beginning to see that, as Spoelstra has not only used him in three straight games, but played him in both games of a back-to-back set. It may have taken longer than Stoudemire or the Heat had hoped, but it looks like Stoudemire is finally set to become a part of the Heat’s rotation.