Let’s take a look at the Heat’s point guard position as we get closer and closer to training camp.
Here’s the start of our look at the Miami Heat roster in our position-by-position preview. We will take a look at each position and see what we can expect as the season gets closer.
Let’s start at the bottom with the Point Guard position.
The Starter: Kyle Lowry
Status: Confirmed
Lowry, 36 years old, is entering his second of a three-year contract with the Miami Heat. With his presence last season, the Heat changed their identity and approach on both ends of the court. Everyone loved playing with Kyle.
Although he missed significant time with some personal issues (playing 63 games), he’s the QB1 for this season no doubt, and will be the starting point guard for Miami moving forward. Lowry should benefit from an offseason of expectations from the Heat organization when it comes to conditioning. Lowry posted a social media picture earlier this summer, and he looked much better from a physical standpoint.
A year of gelling is good for this unit and should improve with Lowry running point. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that he is 36. He shouldn’t be expected to play heavy minutes throughout the regular season. The Heat should keep Lowry fresh by allowing Gabe Vincent to continue to grow and expand his role.
The Reserve: Gabe Vincent
Gabe has solidified his place in this rotation. He’s getting better and better. Last year he averaged over 23 MPG and shot nearly 37% from three. And he had some games and moments, too. Gabe is 26 and his confidence is sky-high right now.
The Heat should be looking to expand Gabe’s role because he is valuable as both a building piece for the future and also as a really valuable trade piece if they look to make a big move.
The Help: Marcus Garrett
He’s back in the two-way spot to start the season. The Heat love his defensive presence, but can he become more than that? Can he mold into a Patrick Beverly-type player? I’m not sure we will see him much unless it is dire circumstances because the Heat have several ball-handling guards even at shooting guard (Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo) that will take additional minutes before Marcus does.
But best of luck to the young man who fits the Heat Culture.
Strengths of The Position
#1 — Defense.
Lowry and Vincent are both capable point-of-attack defenders and they are both above-average help side rotation defenders, meaning they will slide over in rotation for pickups or even to take a charge. The Heat do not lack a defensive presence on opposing point guards. Lowry especially, who is somehow comfortable and capable of switching onto much larger opponents allows the Heat to be very flexible.
#2 — Unity.
The pecking order is clear. Lowry is the guy and Gabe will help as his number is called. There isn’t any jostling or fighting for minutes or status. They can and even have played alongside each other at times. This is great for team unity as well.
Weaknesses of the position
The biggest weakness of the position is going to their quickness and size. Gabe is average quickness, but Kyle…well he’s 36 years old. It’s going to be tough to stay with the shifty, quick guys — and no one exposed that more than Tyrese Maxey in the Playoffs.
When it comes to size, but of these guys are strong, but there’s a lot of taller point guards running the show in the NBA right now. When the Heat play those teams, there can be weaknesses exposed.
GRADE