Miami Heat ain’ too big with a good centre and a point guard – NBA Feature - Part 3
Unlike other teams, Miami don’t, and won’t, put the balls in the hands of a point guard. LeBron James has firmly established himself as the main distributor on the team. He directs traffic for the Heat and he is one of the best
in the league at doing so.
LeBron’s unbelievable skill and athletic ability means that every time he steps on the court, he is playing multiple positions. Apart from small forward, he is also a de facto point guard, and with him in the side, Miami don’t
really need to go and spend on a quality player who will eventually end up as a spectator more often than not. You see, there is a certain mister Dwyane Wade who is going to get the ball whenever it is not in LeBron’s hand.
The Heat’s makeup is such that they do not need, and perhaps cannot accommodate, a quality playmaking point guard in the team. So what they need for the position is someone athletic, someone who can defend his opposite number.
Because as it is now, James spends too much time hounding and harassing opposing point guards and too little time focusing on his own game, the offense.
It won’t hurt if the said point guard can shoot the ball. A spot up shooter at the point position for Miami can open up the floor for them and the player can be a serious scoring threat, because Wade and James are going to set
him up way too many times.
Enter Mario Chalmers.
The youngster proved his mettle in the NBA Finals, so much so that Erik Spoelstra promoted him to starter, benching the hapless Mike Bibby. Chalmers is young and full of energy. He can do the running and chasing that Miami require.
He also showed great mental strength and a great shooters tough in the Finals. If he can knock down cold blooded shots as he showed last post season, Miami could have a very decent option at the point position next season.
That leaves the centre position. Centres have traditionally been one of, if not the, most important players in championship winning sides over the NBA’s history. The likes of Bill Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA World
Champions is still an unparalleled legend and a living proof of how important a centre can be to a team’s championship designs.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and then Shaquille O’Neal formed the basis of the Los Angeles Lakers’ title winning sides spanning decades of dominance between them. We have also seen how the magnificent Hakeem Olajuwon won two back to back
titles with the Houston Rockets.
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