Shaking out the roster

A few thoughts about the roster and the potential rotation...

 

Before his 1 for 11 and five turnover night against the Hornets, Kenny Hasbrouck looked like he recovered and possibly had outplayed Patrick Beverley for that last spot on the roster that appeared to be going to one of them. Now, who knows. The Heat don't only use the actual preseason games to make these types of decisions, but that couldn't have helped.

 

Some are of the opinion that Juwan Howard might not be a lock to make the roster because he has only played in two games and doesn't exactly match the style this team wants to play. But just look at the depth chart. There are no power forwards behind Udonis and Bosh, unless you're considering Shavlik Randolph. Howard will be on this final roster. He's just a vet who doesn't need or probably even want the preseason minutes.

 

Love what Ilgauskas does for this team (last night's game wasn't exactly the best example), particularly with the second unit. Not only is he a very good shooter, but he still knows how to use that big body and just enough athleticism to get those easy putbacks. He used to kill the Heat with offensive rebounds, and now he'll be doing it for this team. I'm still not ready to say Joel shouldn't start for this team, but I certainly wouldn't have a problem if Big Z ended up taking that spot.

 

James Jones has played well, and as long as the team defense is good enough, he should be able to get some minutes that he couldn't last year. The problem is, though, will there really be many minutes available, if any, at the small forward? After Wade and LeBron are back, it'll be those two and Mike Miller taking up pretty much all the minutes at the shooting guard and small forward spots. And there's a chance Eddie House can be a contributor at the two spot. So it might be slim picking for Jones once everyone's healthy. Chances are, though, he'll get his chances throughout the season when guys get hurt, because that's inevitable. It's good to see he's prepared to contribute regardless of when his minutes come.