Sure, a Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat team will struggle to score, defend and win on a nightly basis, but this current lineup has a deeper flaw that’s too big for even “Flash” to handle. Ranked dead last in rebounding (37.4 per game) this season, it’s been Chris Bosh or bust on the boards as the Heat have looked small and inefficient in the frontcourt early on. A large part of that problem rests on injuries and ineptitude at the power forward position, while the remaining chunk of blame goes towards a collection of small forwards and undersized power forwards that are being bullied by bigger studs in the paint. At 6-5 on the year, the Heat either need a 6’10” and up, or a talent that plays like it.
Teams that control the boards usually win in the NBA. As evidenced in the Heat’s mediocre start to the season, that control in the paint isn’t seen on a consistent basis. Perhaps having Josh McRoberts (out with a foot injury) healthy and competitive for this lineup makes this team bigger, but that doesn’t mean the team will be formidable against frontcourt tandems like Joakim Noah/Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls, Marcin Gortat/Nene of the Washington Wizards and Al Horford/Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks. The aforementioned teams will be in the hunt for the Eastern Conference crown, and so will the Heat if they can give Bosh some help on the interior. It can’t be done from within this smallish roster, so all eyes of Heat Nation should be paying attention to these potential big men throughout the league that could be on the move:
1. Kenneth Faried (PF) – Denver Nuggets
Rumblings are aplenty in the Mile High City, and none of them are in favor of the undersized, yet ultra-competitive Faried remaining a Denver Nugget. The “Manimal” has reportedly lost love in the locker room and with Nuggets Head Coach Brian Shaw due to attitude issues, despite the franchise reaching a four-year, $50 million extension with the fourth-year forward.
Denver’s no sinking ship, but it’s no moving ship, either. It has reportedly expressed desire to move Faried, so why not to South Beach? Faried’s combined athleticism and toughness in the paint (70 career double-doubles) compliments Bosh’s All-Star prowess to near perfection. Sure, there would be critical assets to be moved from Miami to make this deal possible (draft picks, possibly Luol Deng), but it’d be well worth it. Faried has the ability to push the Heat not only to the middle of the pack in rebounding, but definitely among the top four slots in the East.
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