Miami Heat: Biggest strengths and weaknesses for 2017-18

Strength No. 3: Versatility

Spoelstra’s main goal with this current roster is to space the floor around the Whiteside-Dragic pick-and-rolls, while supporting the shooters with proper offensive rebounding. He has many ways to do it with Miami’s assortment of 6’4 combo guards and versatile forwards.

The Heat didn’t have much roster change this offseason, choosing instead to re-sign key members of last year’s squad. The one big addition was Kelly Olynyk. Spoelstra hasn’t yet decided if he is going to start James Johnson or Olynyk next to Whiteside, but each provides a very different set of matchup issues for the opposition.

Whiteside is one of the best defenders and offensive rebounders in the league. Playing Olynyk at the 4 makes pick-and-pops even harder to guard with Whiteside grabbing 4.2 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes. Johnson is the ace defender of the bunch, and he hit a career-high 34 percent from the 3-point line last season. His ability to guard all over the floor is key to the Heat’s ability to lock down opponents.

Through the preseason he has looked more effective off the bench. Spoelstra decided to give the Whiteside-Olynyk frontcourt duo a look last Monday against Charlotte. The results were encouraging, with the two combining for 24 points and 23 rebounds. Having two seven-footers in your starting lineup makes you tough — especially when one can shoot it like Olynyk — and I fully expect Spoelstra to use this lineup a lot.

Miami is one of the few teams that can look completely different depending on what night you catch them on. Spoelstra has his top nine, but after that you could see the any combination of 3-5 players get spot minutes. Miami’s depth is something that will allow them to secure a playoff berth this season, and expect to see a bit of experimentation at the start of this season.