A check of the roster on the official Miami Heat website reveals positions are still listed. Perhaps that’s a good thing.
After their championship season, president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra both proclaimed the Heat are a “position-less’’ team. But that was before the Los Angeles Lakers swung a deal to get center Dwight Howard from Orlando and assure they easily have the best post combination in the NBA. The other member is, of course, power forward Pau Gasol.
Don’t expect Riley and Spoelstra to quickly change their thinking. But it will be interesting to see down the road how they feel if the retooled Lakers look like legitimate candidates to face Miami in the 2013 NBA Finals. Such a matchup could pose problems for an undersized “position-less’’ Heat outfit.
When Riley and Spoelstra discussed the importance of their players being able to man multiple positions, it had a lot to do with Chris Bosh starting at center, rather than power forward, down the stretch last season, and LeBron James, once known as simply a small forward, also playing plenty at power forward. Miami also started Shane Battier, a natural small forward, at power forward while beating Oklahoma City 4-1 for the NBA crown.
Small ball worked out quite well for the Heat. In the Eastern Conference finals, they beat a depleted Boston team that started Kevin Garnett, normally a power forward, at center. In the Finals, their agility in the post took lumbering Thunder center Kendrick Perkins out of the game.
The Heat can get away with being undersized against just about every team in the NBA, including perhaps every team in the East. But it will be interesting to see if what the Lakers have done eventually will make them pause about their long-term thinking.
In talking after the season about the Heat being “position-less,’’ Riley joked that “when the word power forward comes out, I want to eat some oatmeal.’’ He was referring to that position designation as being old-fashioned.
Well, Riley’s former team just might be chowing down on some Quaker products.
The Lakers will roll out a traditional front line that includes the best center in the game and one of the best power forwards. And Howard and Gasol sure will be helped by small forward Ron Artest, shooting guard Kobe Bryant and point guard Steve Nash. It might turn out to be the best starting lineup in the game.
Miami had trouble with Howard when he was with the Magic and surrounded by a so-so cast. It will be interesting to see how he looks against the Heat with his new gang.
Miami officials now have to be thinking harder about their center situation. The only true centers on the roster are Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman (forget about second-round pick Justin Hamilton, who might play overseas).
Before Howard went to the Lakers, free-agent center Ronny Turiaf elected to go to the Los Angeles Clippers for a minimum salary rather than re-sign with Miami for the same deal. Turiaf, who barely played in the Finals, obviously saw the Heat, with all their “position-less’’ talk, were hardly making overtures about giving lots of minutes to more traditional big men.
The Heat in free agency were concerned with signing shooters to complement stars James, Dwyane Wade and Bosh and spread the floor. It’s hard to complain about bringing in Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis even if the slight 6-foot-10 Lewis might not be able to help a great deal in guarding powerful opposing big men.
It would look better now for the Heat if Turiaf were still around. He’d at least be another experienced big body to throw at Howard if Miami and the Lakers end up meeting in the Finals.
The prospect of a raw Pittman having to play key minutes against Howard in June could be a scary prospect for Heat fans. So you've got to figure Miami is going to try to round up at least one more big man.
Obviously, it’s still early. It remains to be seen how healthy Howard will be next season after having undergone back surgery. It remains to be seen how the Lakers will mesh and whether Mike Brown really is the coach who can get another banner hoisted at the Staples Center.
But the Lakers are obviously more a concern now for the Heat. While sports betting site www.pre-game.com still lists Miami as the favorite to win the NBA title at plus-200 (2-1), the Lakers’ chances have been increased from plus-700 (7-1) to plus-300 (3-1) since the deal was made for Howard.
You better believe Riley, who is usually several steps ahead of everybody else, is thinking about what Howard with the Lakers might mean for this season and for down the road. That is, if Howard re-signs with the Lakers next summer after becoming a free agent.
Riley certainly played big when he coached the Lakers to four titles in the 1980s with a traditional center in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and then added another crown with the Heat in 2006 with center Shaquille O’Neal.
Might Riley want to consider at least sometimes eating oatmeal for the Heat to avoid being unseated by the Lakers as the best team in the NBA?
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com
or on Twitter @christomasson
