Miami Heat: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season
By Simon Smith
4. Small-ball is the way forward
It’s no accident that over the course of the regular season, the most productive Heat lineups contained a collection of players most conducive to small-ball, with no traditional center.
- 4 man lineup (minimum 300 minutes): Wayne Ellington–Kelly Olynyk-Josh Richardson-Justise Winslow (+7.7 net rating)
- 3 man lineup (minimum 600 minutes): Wayne Ellington-Kelly Olynyk -Josh Richardson (+9.2 net rating)
- 2 man lineup (minimum 1100 minutes): Wayne Ellington-Kelly Olynyk (+6.2 net rating)
As can be seen, the common denominator in this equation is newcomer Kelly Olynyk. Granted, Olynyk didn’t commence the season in a grand fashion, as evidenced by averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in just 18.5 minutes per game over the first 17 games of the year.
However, as the season progressed and Olynyk became more acclimated with the Heat system, their use of smaller limners became more and more prevalent.
Spoelstra, at end of press conference, pauses to acknowledge good work done by Kelly Olynyk. "Really fun to see his growth and progress. He has that kind of upside at 26 that he can make another big jump this summer."
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) April 27, 2018
One feature of these small lineups was the use of Justise Winslow at the 4-spot. With the combination of his elite versatility at the defensive end of the floor and his increasing confidence as a ball-handler and playmaker, the Olynyk-Winslow frontcourt proved a terrific combination.