The team’s biggest move was a sign-and-trade for veteran point guard Kyle Lowry (which has apparently drawn the ire of the tampering gods). Miami had to give up long-time guard Goran Dragic and prospect Precious Achiuwa to try and capitalize on a small championship window.
Next up was P.J. Tucker, fresh off winning a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. The 36-year-old signed with the Heat, joining Duncan Robinson and Victor Oladipo, who each re-signed with the team.
Arguably the biggest move by the team was locking up Jimmy Butler to a long-term extension. His four-year, $184 million extension will keep Butler in Miami through the 2025-26 season when he’ll be in his mid-30s.
With all of their moves, Miami will almost certainly have one of the oldest starting fives in the NBA next season. Odds are that it will also be one of the best.
Miami has three players that are essentially locked to starting spots: Lowry at point guard, Butler at small forward, and Bam Adebayo at center. The other two spots are more open to interpretation. A lack of major power forward options will likely result in Tucker getting the nod there. There could be a battle at shooting guard, but Robinson’s new extension makes him the favorite for the spot.
With that five in mind, here’s how the starters stack up against one another for the Heat.
ire of the tampering gods</a>). Miami had to give up long-time guard Goran Dragic and prospect Precious Achiuwa to try and capitalize on a small championship window.</p>
<p>Next up was P.J. Tucker, fresh off winning a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. The 36-year-old signed with the Heat, joining Duncan Robinson and Victor Oladipo, who each re-signed with the team.</p>
<h2>The Miami Heat have a veteran-laden squad with several new additions. How do their starters rank entering the 2021-22 season?</h2>
<p>Arguably the biggest move by the team was locking up Jimmy Butler to a long-term extension. His four-year, $184 million extension will keep Butler in Miami through the 2025-26 season when he’ll be in his mid-30s.</p>
<p>With all of their moves, Miami will almost certainly have one of the oldest starting fives in the NBA next season. Odds are that it will also be one of the best.</p>
<p>Miami has three players that are essentially locked to starting spots: Lowry at point guard, Butler at small forward, and Bam Adebayo at center. The other two spots are more open to interpretation. A lack of major power forward options will likely result in Tucker getting the nod there. There could be a battle at shooting guard, but Robinson’s new extension makes him the favorite for the spot.</p>
<p>With that five in mind, here’s how the starters stack up against one another for the Heat.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/19/miami-heat-ranking-starters/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 5 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-430646" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/19/miami-heat-ranking-starters/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1322444089.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1322444089.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1322444089-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Miami Heat Photo by Steven Ryan /Getty Images</p>
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<h2>Ranking Miami Heat starters: 5. PF P.J. Tucker</h2>
<p>P.J. Tucker becomes a fan favorite almost everywhere he goes. He plays a hard-nosed style of basketball and has no issues shooting straight from the catch. Tucker is a player who knows his role and fills it well.</p>
<p>That being said, Tucker doesn’t contribute a whole lot to a box score. He averaged more rebounds than points last season between the Bucks and Houston Rockets, and he only averaged 3.9 rebounds per game (he averaged 3.7 points per game). His 33.6 percent efficiency from three was also his worst since 2015-16.</p>
<p>The forward’s most important contributions to the Heat will come on defense. Butler and Adebayo are already great defenders, but the Heat have no problem playing to their strength by adding even more grit on that side of the ball.</p>
<p>Tucker will get the opportunity to defend Khris Middleton when he faces his former Bucks team, or pester Kevin Durant when the Heat face the Nets as he did during the playoffs. That will give Butler more opportunity to take necessary breaks on defense from time to time.</p>
<p>Offensively, if Tucker doesn’t knock down more threes he could become a liability. But the Heat want him for his attitude and his defense, both of which he should provide in fits.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/19/miami-heat-ranking-starters/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 4 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-433927" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/19/miami-heat-ranking-starters/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312180797.jpeg" alt="NBA Draft" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312180797.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312180797-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Miami Heat Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>Ranking Miami Heat starters: 4. SG Duncan Robinson</h2>
<p>The Miami Heat locked in Duncan Robinson with a five-year, $90 million contract this summer. Now the team hopes he can lock himself in behind the three-point arc for the next half-decade.</p>
<p>It didn’t take long for Robinson to develop the reputation as one of the most lethal sharpshooters in the league. During his second season in 2019-20, the guard hit 44.6 percent of his threes on 8.3 attempts per game, emerging as an important member of an NBA Finals team.</p>
<p>Robinson was still an elite shooter last season, but he didn’t quite live up to the lofty precedent he set for himself. The guard played slightly more minutes and averaged a tick more three-point attempts, but hit just 40.8 percent of them. After finishing fourth in three-point percentage in 2019-20, Robinson didn’t crack the NBA’s top 20 last year.</p>
<p>An underrated aspect of Robinson’s game is his reliability to take the court every night. He played the maximum amount of regular-season games possible last season and finished second in games the previous year. He has also finished in the top 20 in minutes played in each of those two seasons. Each night, the Heat can count on Robinson to be there.</p>
<p>Robinson still has work to do to become a more complete player, though his defensive rating did outpace his offensive rating last year. He’s sneaky old for a player getting his first big contract at 27 years old, but being a good three-point shooter is a skill that can carry a player well beyond the typical prime of an NBA baller.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/19/miami-heat-ranking-starters/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 3 </a>
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