NBA Miami Heat

Chris Andersen Should Return To Bench For Miami Heat

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By @outofboundsjay

December 27th, 2014; Steve Mitchell; Chris Andersen

Steve Mitchell- USA Today Sports

With so many injuries to the Miami Heat’s frontcourt, the team has been forced to insert reserve center Chris Andersen into the starting lineup. Chris Bosh’s absence as starting center has forced Andersen into averaging over 23 minutes a game, which is a huge uptick from his career average of 17.8 minutes. This, in turn, has led to a slight uptick in his production, averaging 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over the span of six games as a starter.

Although the productivity is welcome by the Heat, due to his age, it cannot be sustained. The Heat are already pushing their luck by asking the 12-year veteran to play more than 23 minutes a night while battling against some of the bigger centers in the league. Ironically enough, Andersen’s best game over the last six was against the small frontcourt of the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds and a block.

Keeping Andersen as the starting center even with the return of Bosh would also be a terrible idea. Andersen thrives off the bench, and gives the second unit a much-needed boost defensively. Keeping Andersen as the starting center would deprive the bench of that energetic player, while also hampering the offense of the starting lineup. Bosh as the starting center forces the opposing center to guard him a lot further away from the paint, making way for players like Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng to score a lot easier around the rim.

If the Heat organization was smart, they would have Andersen return to his role off the bench, not only to preserve his body, but to also allow the starting lineup’s offense to flow easier.

Jared Doyle is a Miami Heat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @outofboundsjay, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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