Veteran NBA scout, assistant coach assess Heat newcomers and Spoelstra’s lineup decisions

For feedback on the Miami Heat’s additions in the past week — and looming lineup decisions — I solicited input from a veteran NBA scout and a longtime assistant coach.

Their feedback, offered on condition of anonymity because neither is authorized by their franchises to speak:

ON NEW GUARD AVERY BRADLEY

▪ Scout: “I like him as a backup. He’s truly one of the better perimeter defenders in the league. In a league where it’s hard to guard point guards, he gives you a chance against them.

“The defensive component with him is big. Not a great playmaker, and there has always been a question of whether he’s a one or two [point guard or shooting guard]. He’s a combo. He has gotten better as a shooter. My concern is he’s been injury prone.” [Bradley has missed time with two shoulder injuries and calf, ankle, hamstring, hip and groin injuries and was sidelined from the 2018 All-Star break through the end of the season after surgery to repair adductor and rectus abdominis muscles.]

▪ Assistant coach: “We know he’s a great on-the-ball defender. It’s important to add another defender in the backcourt that will give [Goran] Dragic the ability to save his legs. The Heat killed people with their drive-and-kick game. He can drive and has toughness to get in there and finish or kick the ball out to your shooters.”

ON NEW FORWARD MO HARKLESS

▪ Scout: “I’ve never been a big fan. What they got out of [Jae] Crowder was an unusual streak of three-point shooting well above his career history. Could they get the same out of Harkless? I doubt it. [Harkless is a career 32.5 percent three-point shooter but was at 34.7 last season].

“Good athlete but inconsistent. Will whet your appetite one night and then disappear. He doesn’t rebound well historically. He doesn’t score consistently. Unless you think he’s a lockdown defender —which I don’t think he is — I’m not sure he’s in your rotation. He’s now been on six teams and is not real productive. If he’s in your rotation, you’re behind the eight ball. I would rather have Derrick Jones” who signed with Portland.

▪ Assistant coach: “What I like is he is a multiposition guy and can play some three [small forward] and four [power forward] and has great athleticism. If you switch a smaller defender on him, he can take advantage on the inside. He’s got driving ability but he’s not good at driving and kicking out; I’m sure the Heat staff will drive that into his game.

“At some point, he will need to be able to drive and create for others because that’s a lot of what they do. He will roll in pick and roll situations and he can switch and defend bigger guys, so that’s an asset.”

ON ROOKIE FORWARD PRECIOUS ACHIUWA

▪ Scout: “Big-time athlete. Four [power forward] is his real position, but he can play some five [center]. He does have some handle; he can dribble and go all the way in transition. But his decision making is questionable and his shooting is suspect. He can run, rebound and defend. He blocks shots. Athletically he’s very gifted. You can’t teach athleticism and he’s got some skills too. He’s not just an athlete. That was a good pick at 20.”

▪ Assistant coach: “I studied him. If I had to liken him to somebody in the NBA, it would be Taj Gibson. Really good defender, great offensive rebounder, can switch to defend threes through fives. He can’t shoot threes right now, but if you spend time with [Heat shooting coach] Rob Fodor, that will help him. I think he will get some minutes this season. I like the pick.”

ON ERIK SPOELSTRA’s LINEUP DECISION

Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo obviously will be two starters. But what about the others?

Should the Heat start games with the big lineup that opened last season — with Meyers Leonard and Adebayo — or use Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk to open games? Or should Miami go smaller with either 6-9 and lean Harkless starting at power forward or asking Butler to play power forward and then using three guards to open games among Duncan Robinson, Dragic, Tyler Herro, Bradley and Kendrick Nunn?

▪ Scout: “To me, Leonard needs to start because you’re going to face some big starting groups in the East. Leonard fits that first group more than Harkless. I don’t think Harkless should get minutes at all. Harkless is a better defender than Leonard, but at least Leonard can shoot and has size.”

At guard, “Do you start with what was successful for you in the regular season or in the playoffs?” Meaning starting Robinson and Nunn or Dragic and Herro?

“It’s a tough call, but to me, you start Dragic and Herro and bring Robinson off the bench,” the scout said. “You like your more talented players starting, and Herro is more talented than Robinson. Robinson is one dimensional, though he does that one skill [exceptionally] well.

“If you start Herro and Robinson but not Dragic, you’re force-feeding Herro to be your point guard. Can you get away with that? Maybe. Starting Robinson and Herro solves one problem — because you can bring Dragic off the bench — but it creates another.”

What about Bradley starting?

“I don’t see Bradley in that configuration because he’s not much of a point guard,” the scout said. “Dragic and even Nunn are more point guards to me.”

▪ Assistant coach: “I think they’ll start Leonard, but they could change that against smaller teams. Even when they start big, Spo eventually will get to that lineup with Bam, Jimmy, Herro, Duncan Robinson, Bradley [or] Dragic, with Jimmy defending the four [power forward].

“With Crowder gone, Leonard and Kelly Olynyk will be more minutes. Let’s say you’re playing the Bucks. I know they had success with Crowder starting but I think you need to go with Bam and Leonard against the size of Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Brook Lopez, at least to start.”

As for the backcourt, “I would start Dragic and Robinson or maybe Herro. I don’t think you have the pick and roll play as much with Butler and Bradley together.” He prefers Butler being paired more with one of those two shooters instead of Bradley, though Bradley is a career 36.4 percent three-point shooter.

He likes Bradley coming off the bench, at last initially.

He sees Andre Iguodala as a backup power forward in small lineups at this point in his career. “I don’t see Iggy as a three any more. He’s like a break glass in case of emergency guy.”

IS THE HEAT BETTER THAN A YEAR AGO?

▪ Scout: “It depends on Precious’ development. Bradley is an upgrade and Precious could be. Harkless is not. My sense is they’re modestly improved.”

▪ Assistant coach: “They are just as good or better. They’ve got a better wing corps than they had last year. Crowder was a big loss but they’ve done a good job shoring that up with the additions they’ve made and Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson are going to be [even better] with the experience of a run to the Finals. They will be better overall because of their ability to play together for a second year” with modest roster changes.