Vancouver Basketball’s Lomax – Breaking Down the New Look Miami Heat…Part 1
By Clint Lomax
The Miami Heat roster seems to be filled out….for now. Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem are the only remaining members of the 2006 NBA Championship team. In the next few articles I will write on the new look Miami Heat, I will attempt to make chicken salad out of Chicken….feed. Below are the rosters from the 2006 Champion Miami Heat and the 2010-2011 Miami “Trice” Heat!
2005-2006 2010-2011
————- —————
Dwyane Wade Dwyane Wade
Shaq Lebron James
Antoine Walker Chris Bosh
Jason Williams Udonis Haslem
Udonis Haslem Zydrunas Ilgauskas
James Posey Mike Miller
Gary Payton Mario Chalmers
Alonzo Mourning Joel Anthony
Derek Anderson Carlos Arroyo
Michael Doleac Eddie House
Shandon Anderson Juwan Howard
Wayne Simien James Jones
Jason Kapono Jamaal Magloire
Shavlik Randolph
Dexter Pittman
Jarvis Varnado
Da’Sean Butler
Patrick Beverely
Kenny Hasbrouck
Udonis Haslem at is a proven low post player on both ends of the floor. He will always contribute in one way or another. Mike Miller is a pure shooter plain and simple! He may not be a lockdown defender, but all he has to be is a decent team defender to make a difference. With Wade, James, and Chalmers on the floor, Miller will get more open shots than he has in his entire career.
Zydrunas “Big Z” Ilgauskas at 7’3” is a 13 year vet that can hit the open jumper, get offensive rebounds, and block an occasional shot. Joel Anthony at 6’9” 245 is reported to have a 40 inch vertical! If that can translate into 1.5 block shots in 12-15 minutes per game, that would be fantastic! Don’t expect him to be an Alonzo Mourning clone though! Carlos Arroyo will be an insurance blanket for Wade and Chalmers. With a 4.17 assist to turnover ratio, he is a diamond in the rough.
Eddie House is a pretty big addition if not for anything else but his “Instant Offense”! Hopefully seven year veteran James Jones will follow his lead and find his 3 point shot this season. Juwan Howard and Jamaal Magloire are more vital than people think they will be this season. Low post defense is what the Heat will need to win a championship in the next few years. Howard can still score around the basket, and both he and Magloire lend an extra 12 fouls to work with when playing vs Centers like Dwight Howard!
Shavlik Randolph will probably be relegated to the practice squad, but will see about a dozen games this season if injuries and fatigue it the Miami front line. U of Texas star Dexter “A.K.A. Dex-A-Trim” Pittman at 6’10” 290 lbs will find a place on the 12 man roster. He is way too big not to! Short of cursing him with the name “Baby Shaq”, he is nimble on his feet and has soft hands around the basket. My surprise pick to get about 8-10 minutes a game this season is 6’9” 230 lb Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State! Not only is he a lefty, but he led the NCAA in block shots last season. The more impressive factor in that is that he played in the SEC! That league is chalked full of big man talent every year. So I had to give him props for that. If you can play defense, you will get some minutes in the NBA!
In my semi professional opinion, Butler, Beverely, and Hasbrouck will not make the team. The only hope those three have is playing way beyond their ages. Butler is coming off a knee injury vs Duke in the Final Four.
I will be back to do a comparison breakdown of the two teams in part 2 of this article. Put your TWO CENTS in now! So i can incorporate it into the conversation.
The Richmond Olympic Oval will host the West Coast Basketball Classic on September 11 and 12. Register to play and learn more at http://www.westcoastclassic.ca