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The Miami Heat have been on a surge lately, winning four of their last six games. What makes this streak even more impressive is the fact that the Heat have done this without starting small forward Luol Deng, who is still by and large the team’s best wing defender (no offense to Justise Winslow). In Deng’s absence, Gerald Green has been filling in as the starting small forward, and he has done an admirable job with the added responsibility.
Through all six games of Deng’s absence, Green has averaged 13.4 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block per game. Those are not bad numbers for a certified career role player. Green attributes much of this success to just getting back on the court and the Heat giving him the opportunity with extended minutes. This has to be great news for the Heat organization considering how much Green struggled through the first 10 games of the season (six of which he didn’t even play).
Although Green has been an excellent fill-in for Deng, this absolutely does not mean he should be the permanent starting small forward going forward. There are still some questionable areas of Green’s overall wing defense, especially against elite forwards. Deng might not be as streaky of a shooter as Green, but as an overall small forward package, you cannot get much better than Deng as a starter. Deng has earned the right to be the starter on this team, and one prolonged injury shouldn’t strip him of that title.
The Heat’s second unit could still use an additional scoring punch off the bench outside of Tyler Johnson. Both Josh McRoberts and Winslow typically defer handling the ball, so having another elite scorer to put points on the board is not necessarily a bad thing. You also have to consider how many scorers the Heat have in their starting lineup already. Potentially making a Green a starter might already muddy up an offense that is still trying to figure out its identity.
Green’s skill set would be best suited off the bench. Once Deng returns from his hamstring injury, Green will have acclimated to the Heat’s structure and will continue to be one of the best scorers on the roster.
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.
