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Miami Heat: How Much Trust Can Be Placed In Tyler Johnson?

By Michael Saenz

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After trading away Mario Chalmers, the Miami Heat are banking on Tyler Johnson being for real. How much can they trust him, though? 

It was pretty evident, since that summer, that the Miami Heat would trade Mario Chalmers at some point this season. Even if it came a little bit earlier than most expected, no one should be surprised with the move that the Heat pulled Tuesday.

Officially, the Miami Heat traded Chalmers and James Ennis to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jarnell Stokes and Beno Udrih, two players who are unlikely to see much, if any, time on the court.

Ultimately, was it the right move for the Heat? That’s the question that will be asked the rest of this season. If the Heat’s second unit struggles, we can circle back to this deal. If the Heat’s new backup point guard, Tyler Johnson, struggles, we’re going to come back to this deal. For any small regression that comes from this moment on, we will likely, in one shape or form, look back at the day Rio left the AAA.

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The end all argument on this front, however, will fall on the shoulders of one man – as the kids call him, Bumpy.

Tyler Johnson found his way to the Miami Heat’s main roster thanks to injury, and lack of true talent, last season. If the Heat hadn’t have had that lost season, we may not even be talking about Johnson. This article may have been how Udrih helps this team going forward. Instead, here we are.

Johnson played 32 games for the Heat last season, starting in two. He averaged 5.9 points in 18.8 minutes per game. He shot 38 percent from three-point land, however, which was good enough for third best on the team (of the players that played in at least 30 games). Perhaps they had found something.

Fast forward to this season, after not playing in the team’s season opener, Johnson has played in each of the seven games since. He’s averaging 7.3 points on 50 percent shooting from three-point range and has been a part of huge fourth quarter lineups that have helped the Miami Heat run their opponents out of the gym.

How good have these lineups been?

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In just the last two games, the lineup of Chris Bosh, Johnson, Justise Winslow, Josh McRoberts and Chalmers (who is now not on the team) had an offensive rating of 119.2 and defensive rating of 75.4. That lineup played together 16 minutes through those two games. Small sample size, but Johnson’s ability to push the tempo, defend and make plays when needed has helped give the Heat a dimension that they didn’t have last season, or haven’t had for quite a while.

When was the last time that Dwyane Wade has sit out back-to-back fourth quarters, without being injured, in a winning effort? I don’t have the actual stat, but my best guess would be at some point in the LeBron James era. Perhaps even long before that.

Going forward, the question will be how Johnson handles the extended role. There’s no question that he excelled in his previous one, which was of being the fourth or fifth guard on the team. He’s now the first guard off the bench (although, could change when Gerald Green returns) and the true backup point guard.

He had a good start to his new role Tuesday against the Lakers, in which he finished with nine points in 29 minutes.

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But unlike his nickname, the Miami Heat can’t afford Bumpy performances from Tyler Johnson. They’re going to need him to be as reliable and consistent as he’s proven to be in the past. Just at a much higher volume.

Can the Heat rely on Johnson to fill the Chalmers role this season? It’s still not known. And, whether they like it or not, especially with Goran Dragic playing the way he is, the Miami Heat can’t really afford to be wrong on Johnson.

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