Insider Special: Camp Battles ~ Heat

[Weez]

Wade the front-runner at point

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Tuesday, October 21

Updated: October 22

4:23 PM ET

Who would have ever thought that a Pat Riley-coached team would start a rookie at point guard a year after starting a rookie at small forward while the starting power forward who is naturally a small forward is actually taller than the starting center.

Next thing you're going to tell me is that a Pat Riley-coached team hasn't been to the playoffs in two seasons.

Miami Heat

Point guard Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Dwyane Wade R 6-4 -- Last year, no one on this team averaged more than 4.1 assists per game -- they shot a collective 41 percent and scored only 85 points a contest. Why shouldn't a strong-willed rookie get a chance?

Rafer Alston 4 6-2 7.8 ppg,

4.1 apg Last year, no one on this team averaged more than 4.1 assists per game -- they shot a collective 41 percent and scored only 85 points a contest. Why shouldn't a strong-willed streetballer get a chance?

Bimbo Coles 13 6-2 4.4 ppg,

2.1 apg Veteran NBAer just in the case the strong-willed rookie and strong-willed streetballer turn out to be little more than strong-willed.

Shooting guard Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Eddie Jones 9 6-6 18.5 ppg,

4.8 rpg An all-star when an All-NBAer was needed now coming off an injury that limited him to a career-low 47 games last year. But it's almost as hard to blame him for scoring only 18.5 per game last year as it will be for him to make amends for a season in which he did score a team-high 18.5 a game.

Rasual Butler 1 6-7 7.5 ppg,

2.6 rpg Good rookie campaign could all be for naught if he concentrates more on his preseason 4-for-8 shooting from long range rather than 15-for-38 mark from the field.

Small forward Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Caron Butler 1 6-7 15.4 ppg,

5.1 rpg Remember all that supposedly good, young talent they had stockpiled up in the Clipper locker room. Well, Riley just grabbed the one with the most potential and Butler forced that same one to move to power forward. This kid's that good even coming off an injury.

Lamar Odom 4 6-10 14.6 ppg,

6.7 rpg Small forward, power forward, point forward. At $10 million a pop, you find ways to get your money's worth (see below).

John Wallace 6 6-9 5 ppg,

1.8 rpg Points, rebounds and minutes have declined for four straight seasons. Do I hear five?

Sean Lampley 1 6-6 4.8 ppg

2.4 rpg If only every day was January 6 and Sean was playing against the Golden State Warriors.

Power forward Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Lamar Odom 4 6-10 14.6 ppg,

6.7 rpg Riley is betting his highly-versatile enigma of a basketball player can cause greater match-up problems between baselines for opponents than his opponent's bulky power forward can cause Lamar Odom. And he's basically got the house riding on this one.

Samaki Walker 7 6-9 4.4 ppg,

5.5 rpg This guy has played for the Lakers and Spurs for the last four years, the only two teams to win an NBA title in the last five years, and has a playoff scoring average of 2.6. More of a trivial pursuit answer than power forward.

Malik Allen 2 6-10 9.6 ppg,

5.3 rpg Not a great player, but good will do at this point, especially after seeing him nearly double his numbers from rookie season.

Jerome Beasley R 6-9 -- North Dakota's finest.

Center Exp Ht '02-03 Stats Notes

Brian Grant 9 6-9 10.3 ppg,

10.2 rpg Cannot possibly hope to earn the $11 million Miami is paying him to be its starting center. But, then again, a stocky 6-foot-9 guy could not possibly be asked to play starting center in this league. I guess we'll agree to disagree so long as he stays at double-digit rebounds per game.

Cherokee Parks 8 6-11 6.3 ppg,

4.4 rpg Suddenly realized he might be able to carve out some kind of niche in this league last year with the Clippers (almost quadrupling his output in points and rebounds over the previous season) and earn all those tattoos on his arms.

Loren Woods 2 7-2 2.1 ppg,

2.2 apg He's 86 inches tall on a team with only one other player taller than 82 thereby fulfilling, I guess, some kind of requirement only a handful of very powerful people in the league know about.