What the Miami Heat need from 5 key bench players

The Miami Heat have elevated themselves into Eastern Conference contention with the trade of Giannis Antetokounmpo. They now have one of the best players in the league that makes you feel like you have a chance to win each and every year.

With having a player like that comes expectations and those expectations trickle down to the whole roster. Though the bench is not expected to be superstars, they are expected to do their role at an elite level. Teams need contributions on the margins to go from a good team to a great team.

The Heat have numerous players that are capable contributors, but each one will have specific things they need to do to contribute.

Pelle Larsson

Pelle Larsson could very well end up starting more games than he comes off the bench, but for this exercise I am going to act like Klay Thompson is the starter.

For Larsson the Heat will need him to be a tenacious defender and bring the edge he plays with to the court every night. The Heat team has several good defenders, but Larsson brings an edge that few players have in this league. Ultimately, his competitiveness will give them a Swiss army knife off the bench to help fill any role.

Tim Hardaway Jr.

Tim Hardaway Jr. joins the Heat after spending time on the Denver Nuggets for one season. He was brought in to do one thing, give the team more three-point shooting. That is all they truly need from him, everything else would be a cherry on top.

Hardaway Jr. showed he knows how to play off superstars, having one of the best seasons of his career playing with Nikola Jokic. Though Antetokounmpo and Jokic are not the same players, the attention they receive from the defense is similar. Hardaway Jr. just needs to be ready to let it fly.

Bobby Portis

Next up we have Bobby Portis who was also acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks along with Antetokounmpo. Portis is a career 39% three-point shooter and the Heat will definitely welcome another good shooting season, but I want to highlight one other thing.

If Portis is able to get back to playing good, tough defense then that could be a big difference maker for Miami. The front court is headlines by two of the best defensive players in the NBA. If Portis could pair alongside one of them for stretches with good defense, it could give the Heat nonstop suffocating defense.

Nikola Jovic

Nikola Jovic has had an up and down career so far and the Heat will rely on him more this year after losing some of their depth. The best thing Jovic can supply is consistency. The Heat needs to be able to rely on Jovic nightly to produce.

If he is able to be a productive player nightly it would give the Heat someone of positional size that can be a mismatch against most teams. This might seem like an obvious answer, but when considering last season’s Jovic truly was one of the worst players in the league. In a team that is lacking size they need every player with size to be playable.

Simone Fontecchio

Similarly to Tim Hardaway Jr., Simone Fontecchio is here to do one thing and one thing only. That is knock down threes. Though Fontecchio surprised many with contributions to other areas last season, his most important role is still to be a sniper.

Fontecchio is never afraid to get his shot off and playing off the gravity of Antetokounmpo should allow him to get even better looks than last season. In a team that many are skeptical of their shooting, even after adding Thompson, Fontecchio is one of the players that could elevate their game to make them more feared from behind the arc.

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