As we’re in the midst of reviewing our 2021-22 campaign, welcome to our second-annual Miami Heat player review series over at HHH. This will be our third player review — done in alphabetical order — with the two-headed monster Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler done first!
Enjoy!
Brief Overview
2021-22 stats (67 games, 15 starts):
- 6.3 PPG
- 5.8 RPG (1.6 ORPG)
- 56.6 FG%
- 63.2 TS%
- 15.9 Player Efficiency Rating
In his first full season with Miami, the glitz and glamour from the backup 5 spot from Dedmon — that we saw throughout 16 games in 2020-21 — slowly, but surely, faded away. A midseason knee injury plus a substantially longer workload didn’t help matters at all. However, Dedmon did have one of the most efficient seasons of his career, posting his third-best field goal pecentage, 2-point percentage and true-shooting percentage. He also rejected more shots per 100 possessions (2.0) than he did in 2020-21 (1.4) and still provided value on the offensive glass when he was on the court.
Numbers to note:
2.8 – Last year, the Heat were 16.2 points better with Dedmon on the floor in the regular season. That figure ranked in the 99th percentile. Dedmon was the perfect stop-gap and energy boost to Adebayo and helped bridge those minutes when he wasn’t on the floor. Logging north of 1,000 minutes for the first time since 2018-19 combined with suffering a midseason injury — limiting his mobility — Miami was 2.8 points per 100 possessions worse (37th percentile) with Dedmon on the hardwood. Miami was also marginally-less efficient offensively, but was more active on the offensive glass with Dedmon, too.
67 – Dedmon appeared in 67 games! He hasn’t played that many since 2016-17! Though varying circumstances (COVID shutting down season, signed too late, etc.) has prevented him from reaching that threshold in recent seasons, adding maybe a (slight) layer of context to why Dedmon had what could be considered a down season.
40.4 – Even though Dedmon’s 3-point rate was under 17 percent for the second consecutive season, the 7-foot big man knocked down a career-high 40.7 percent of his 3-pointers. Disregarding the smaller sample, he was one of Miami’s best above-the-break 3-point shooters — knocking down 16 of his 35 non-garbage time ATB triples, per Cleaning The Glass. In turn, that led to one of Dedmon’s most efficient shooting seasons of his career.
Best game?
Dec. 11 vs. Chicago Bulls
Dedmon perhaps posted his best game in a Heat uniform in the midst of a prolonged stretch with Adebayo sidelined due to injury. He tallied his second of three double-doubles on the season, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting (2-2 3PT), in addition to two assists, one steal and one block.
What’s next?
Dedmon enters a very similar situation this offseason than he did last offseason. He’s an unrestricted free agent and will, for the third consecutive season, will be earning a $2.9 million check from the Detroit Pistons via the waive-and-stretch clause next season. Should he return, Dedmon will likely be in-line for another minimum contract and Miami and hold down the fort behind Adebayo. Though I expect Miami to first explore external options — such as JaVale McGee (if he’s willing to accept a min. contract) or Gordui Dieng — first. They could also draft a center at No. 27 or opt to have Omer Yurtseven as the back-up 5, too. All options should — and presumably will — be on the table for both Miami and Dedmon.