Khem Birch
Birch was a late addition to the Heat’s training camp roster, as he became the 18th member on September 14.
The lanky 6’9″ center will be expected to contribute much in the vain of how Joel Anthony made his mark in Miami—defend, block shots and hustle. The UNLV product went undrafted in 2014, but he won Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons in 2013 and 2014. During Summer League play, Birch played with the Washington Wizards, impressing with his rebounding effort and defensive presence. Although he was expected to sign with Washington for training camp, a number of big men signed with the Wizards, making Birch expendable.
There have been a couple of guys in the past decade in the mold of Birch who made their marks in Miami. Those two guys would be the aforementioned Anthony and 11-year veteran Udonis Haslem. All three players were undrafted and undersized big men with limited offensive games. Considering the Heat’s lack of quality big men, the UNLV product could establish himself as the next Haslem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ks_MhAJKT8
Conclusion
Heading into the season, all eyes will be on Deng, Granger and McRoberts. Deng will start at the three, McRoberts will start at the four, and Granger is the favorite to be Miami’s sixth man. However, two of those three guys are starters and Granger is a huge question mark considering his recent injury history. The Heat will need a lot of depth and perhaps a nine-man rotation if they hope to repeat as Eastern Conference Champions. The only way the team comes close to its success of recent seasons are if guys like Williams, Ennis and Birch exceed expectations.
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