Miami Heat starting lineup: Ranking all five starters

5. Meyers Leonard, center

NBA head coaches cannot only focus on fielding the best possible starting lineup when they consider which five players to place on the court at tipoff. If that was the case, Meyers Leonard would probably not get the nod to start at center for the Miami Heat. Yet Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is also balancing bench lineups, player health and developing chemistry.

That’s the path Leonard takes to becoming a starter, pairing with All-Star big man Bam Adebayo in the Miami frontcourt. Adebayo is just 6’9″ and thus slightly undersized for a center; while the Heat are maximized on both ends of the court with Adebayo at center, the Heat elected last season to save Adebayo’s body the wear-and-tear of the center position and start Leonard in his stead.

The former Illinois big man started 49 of the 51 games he played in last season, even while playing just 20.3 minutes per game, 10th on the team. He was by no means a poor player in that role, spacing the floor with 2.5 3-point attempts per game, hitting them at a 41.4 percent clip. His true shooting percentage of .627 ranked fourth on the team.

As a seven-footer Leonard provides a level of rim deterrence just by taking up space, and even with his limited lateral agility can serve adequately in that role, especially when playing alongside Adebayo to come in from the weak side. When the games matter the most he will likely move to the bench or out of the rotation entirely, but he has a role to play for the 72-game marathon of the regular season.