Shane Battier will start at power forward, meaning LeBron will technically still be a small forward next year. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...-miami-heat-nba-china-s101412,0,5185357.story
No need to wear out LeBron over the regular season. He'll probably play PF in some line-ups, and a lot more during playoffs.
PF is now the position where Battier is most effective. Strong enough to defend opposing PFs and his decline in agility doesn't play in as big as if he played as SF. Heat can only play Bron as PF full time if they find a SF that's capable of defending at an elite level imo.
LBJ has a dead-eye accurate jumper. Honestly he should always be a SF IMHO. Miami should have invested in a decent C so Bosh can slide to the PF slot. Playing in the post really shortens people's careers. You have to bump and grind with guys to score in the post or defend, and then you always have to jump really high and absorb a ton of impact getting rebs. The less time Bosh and LBJ spend on C and PF, the better IMHO. LBJ should be playing PF only when its really needed (ie Playoffs). Its the same tactic coach Pops used on TD, and right now TD still has some juice despite playing 10+ years.
I don't see how it really makes a difference what you call him. The starting lineup and his role in the offense are going to be the same regardless.
Their starting lineup should be: Lebron Wade Battier Haslem Bosh Think of the mismatches with Lebron playing the point.
Positions are strictly superficial. You can dictate LeBron start at PG and still have him guarding other team's SFs. Meanwhile you can also have LeBron bring the ball up as a point, yet have the other team's SF guarding him.
Exactly. LeBron was the point power center during the finals, doing everything for his team. He's the primary ball handler and the #1 post up option.
Shane will be a failure against Dirk etc when they post him up. His rebounding isn't anything special either.
This won't last long and rebounding will be the reason. Bosh is a below average rebounder, and as a PF battier is a terrible rebounder. Would work if they had a C that gobbles up rebounds. Maybe if Wade and Lebron were both gobbling up rebounds, but then who is running down the court on fast breaks? It's true it doesn't matter which position you play, but it does matter that all the team's needs are covered somewhere i.e. you can play people anywhere, but if none of them are going to get you rebounds then it won't work out. What did Bosh average last season? 8-9 rebounds in big minutes? Terrible considering he's an average defender, average shotblocker and his main strength (scoring) is reduced because there are two better scorers on the team. Heat should trade Bosh for two good pieces.
Their true starting lineup: PG: Lebron SG: James Lebron Small Forward: The Chosen One Power Forward: King James Center: Eddy Curry
Battier at PF? Anybody remember how he got abused by Boozer in the playoffs against Utah a few yrs ago?
If you haven't noticed, the Miami heat don't run their team by traditional 1,2,3,4,5. They just players and they play whatever is necessary at that time.
LeBron has the body of a small forward, plays at the power forward sometimes, but is really a point guard
Ok...... whatever. On offense Lebron needs to be in the paint. Battier needs to be spreading the floor in the corners. They are pretty interchangeable on defense. So who cares? A big reason why the Heat won the title last year is because of their "positionless" lineup where every player for the most part could rotate on any other player at any given time. 7 footers who can walk and chew at the same time aren't just growing on trees somewhere out there in the world, but there is a ton of guys coming into the NBA every year between 6'7" and 6'9". 7 footers can guard 1 or 2 positions. those 6'7" to 6'9" guys might be able to guard 4 out of 5 and every year they possess more and more skills on offense. Why are people around the NBA community so concerned with position??? I just dont get it. Positionless NBA teams should be considered the wave of the future.
