Miami Heat ain’ too big with a good centre and a point guard – NBA Feature - Part 4
In the modern game, especially since Michael Jordan came to the NBA, the onus has often been on the fast, smaller players. However a study of the last decade or so will show any astute reader that in the majority of championship
winning sides, centres often proved the difference between defeat and victory.
Shaquille O’Neal is the prime example with both the Lakers and the Heat. Ben Wallace with the Detroit Pistons and Tyson Chandler with the Dallas Mavericks just recently have shown that a solid defensive centre is pivotal to the
success of teams stacked with offensive talent.
Miami are such a team, stacked with offensive talent, but devoid of any strength at the centre position. No disrespect to Joel Anthony and his shot blocking exploits in the NBA playoffs last season, but at 6-foot-9, he is simply
not up to the mark required. Anthony’s lake of size often forced Chris Bosh into awkward situations defending players he shouldn’t have been. When that wasn’t the case, Udonis Haslem was preferred in place of the so called big men of Miami.
In the absence of a true centre and a strong presence inside the paint, LeBron James was required to shoulder yet more burdens in this Miami Heat side. He was continuously found battling with an opposition big guy and King James
often did a good job at it, as his strong rebounding returns would suggest. However, LeBron already carried more than enough responsibility and the lack of freedom afforded to him as a result, was a major reason for Miami’s downfall.
Until there is solidity in that lane, the Heat will always be vulnerable. Even if there are quality players in other positions, a team without a strong centre just loses an aura of authority. It is no secret that the Boston Celtics
suffered from the loss of Kendrick Perkins this year. That is a prime example.
Miami will be left chasing shadows, desperately fumbling to stop penetrations by quick guards around the league until they get a good centre. With someone to fill up the lane, grab some boards and just hang with the big boys, the
team will get much more assured and their play will invariably get to a new level.
In the free agency, that has got be the Heat’s priority. The centre they require doesn’t have to be flashy; he doesn’t have to be a scoring outlet or a dominator inside. He just needs to be someone to shore up the lane, who can
give the Big Three the base, they need to launch forward and grab that elusive NBA World Championship.
If Pat Riley succeeds in getting such a man, the rest of the league would be mightily concerned.
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