The All-Star is over, and the league's teams will take a three-day break. The regular season showdowns of the new season have been mostly played, and the next game is the most fierce competition between teams before entering the playoffs this season. Those teams that have basically locked up their playoff tickets will surely start to count those teams that are still on the edge of the playoffs, such as the Lakers and nets at this stage. And those teams that are not satisfied with the status quo will also make another effort to try to meet the ideal expectations.
According to the league's newly released team strength list, the Suns are still in the lead, followed by the Grizzlies and Heat. To be sure, the strength of the Suns and the Grizzlies this season is beyond doubt, and it is understandable to be in the top two positions of the combat power list, but the Heat do not seem to be as strong as we think. In terms of the Heat's roster, they only introduced the Raptors' Lowry in the offseason, and signed defensive player PJ Tucker, and their overall strength does not seem to have been greatly improved. But in fact, at this stage, the Heat can also maintain a record of 38 wins and 21 losses, ranking first in the East.
In terms of statistics, the new signing Lowry is not very helpful to the team as a whole, but he can deliver the team's most assists 7.9 times; tucker's data performance is not very bright, but he can also make a huge contribution on the defensive end, effectively limiting the play of defenders. Coupled with the team's core Butler and starting center Adebayor, the Heat can come to the third place in the league, and there is no big problem. Of course, in the process of affirming these starters, we must not ignore Taylor Hiro, who plays the best sixth-man role in the team. This season, Hiro has played 46 games for the team, most of the time playing the role of a substitute.
In the 10 games in which he made his debut, Hiro was forced to open for business because of the absence of butler, the team's star. So, Hiro, who used to play a scoring streak on the playoff stage, really doesn't deserve to play the role of starting guard? This is not the case! This season, Hiro can also hand over a comprehensive number of nearly 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the process of playing off the bench, which is no less than the vast majority of starting guards in the league. Moreover, with an average of 32.7 minutes per game and a whopping 28% possession, Hiro is basically not much different from the starter.
It's not that Hiro doesn't deserve to play the starter, the Heat are in a violent situation, can't make the best use of their talents, but the Heat have deeper plans. In the process of chasing Harden, the Heat once rejected Hiro as a trading chip, treating it as a non-selling product. In fact, Hiro has always used practical actions to prove that the Heat's original persistence was a very correct decision. Now that the playoffs are about to enter the playoffs, the three-point scorer Hero is still on the bench, and the Heat can achieve the third in the league's combat strength value, which is really hiding strength.
Last season, after experiencing the embarrassment of a playoff round trip, it may also be time for the Heat's management to understand that what Miami lacks is not talent and strength, but only accumulated strategic means. With absolute strength, standing at the top of the pyramid is good, but it is also easy to be imitated and surpassed. Because you never know how your opponent will study methods beyond you behind your back. Until the final decisive moment, the final hole card is not revealed, and the Miami Heat play a big game a little bigger.