Heat Bench Continues to Thrive

The Miami Heat have a solid 10-5 record this season and a big reason for that has been the team's strong depth.

When opposing teams see Miami on their schedule, they likely formulate plans to stop Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade for the most part. While that trio has played well, the Heat have been receiving key contributions from the bench as well. A deep roster has allowed Miami to rest its starters a little more while posting wins.

Gerald Green got his season started in a big way before sitting out six games due to off-the-court issues. Since returning, Green has tried to regain that form and appears to have done just that. In Friday's win over the New York Knicks, Green had 25 points in 27 minutes while making a spot start.

Green on the season has averaged more than ten points a game and has 41 over his last two games combined. As long as Green can avoid any further issues in his personal life, he should remain a critical part of Miami's roster. One more slip-up could cost Green his job after already being suspended for two games earlier in the year for conduct detrimental to the team.

Besides Green, the Heat have seen nice production from first-rounder Justise Winslow. The 19-year old has given Miami a lot of hope for the future with his seven points and five rebounds per game average. Winslow is averaging over 28 minutes per game and is a big part of Miami's rotation in his first season in the NBA.

Tyler Johnson, Udonis Haslem and others have contributed at times and had their moments as well both offensively and defensively. When a starter falls victim to illness or injury, head coach Erik Spoelstra is able to turn to his bench with confidence due to those productive minutes from his bench.

The bench having a bigger role has allowed Spoelstra to manage the minutes of his stars better as well which could pay dividends later in the season. Wade has averaged only 29 minutes per game which is two minutes less than the 2014-15 season. Bosh is playing three less minutes per game than he did last season as well.