Miami Heat ain’ too big with a good centre and a point guard – NBA Feature - Part 2
Miami Heat have centres, who are too old and past their prime, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Joel Anthony and others who are just not don’t have the size for the job.
Mike Bibby couldn’t chase down a speedy point guard if his life depended on it and the rest of the cast simply didn’t even warrant much time on the floor.
Some of that has to do with the fact that the Big Three are just at such a higher level that whatever the other players do, they make them look below average in comparison. However when the comparisons are drawn with players on
opposing teams, it becomes excruciatingly clear that the previous thesis does not hold water.
The Heat really do need to improve, especially in the two positions that the Big Three don’t cover; Centre and Point Guard. The question now is; which one needs a more urgent solution.
Point Guard is a quintessential position in the modern game. The likes of Magic Johnson and John Stockton, not to mention present legends Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, have firmly established the fact that for a team to function as
a cohesive unit, the point guard is the most important player. Kidd proved it again in the NBA Finals, at the cost of the Miami Heat.
Worn down by age and no longer able to take the ball to the rim, the wily playmaker just laid back and picked Miami apart one pass at a time. He was so effective, yet so quiet; at times it was like watching a great actor in an
art film or a great painter creating a vibrant picture with silky smooth strokes of his brush.
Mike Bibby on the other hand was hapless. He couldn’t defend any one, let alone a ping ball like Jose Barea who just roamed the court at his will. He couldn’t close down the deadly Jason Terry. And he just didn’t see much of the
ball.
The importance of the point guard position, in the league as it is, became even more evident in the playoffs not because of Miami’s shortcomings, but also because of Chicago Bulls strengths. An effervescent Derrick Rose carried
that team to the best record in the NBA and he basically did it all by itself. Even Phil Jackson failed to work his magic this time around as Derek Fisher was time and again left for dead by younger, better point guards who tore apart the Los Angeles Lakers.
Still, one cannot have it all, and the Heat already have too much. So do they really need to spend precious, scarce resources on getting a new point guard?
A careful examination of the side would reveal that they could do without reinforcing in this position for the moment.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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