Pelle Larsson has proven a lot this offseason, but there may not be a bigger message that he’s sent the Miami Heat than the fact that he deserves a much larger role with the team heading into his sophomore season. But, as is often the case, that may not be a simple as it seems.
Larsson has had an exceptional offseason that began with a strong showing in the NBA’s Summer League. Somehow, Larsson managed to raise the bar for himself with an even more impressive performance over five games in the EuroBasket Tournament with Team Sweden. Larsson would go on to lead them into the knockout round, which is rare for Sweden, while averaging 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists on 46 percent shooting from the field overall.
He’s answered almost every question the Heat challenged him with heading into this offseason, and it should lead to a shot at breaking the everyday rotation for the team.
Pelle Larsson still has work to do to win over Erik Spoelstra
But, ultimately, despite his strong summer, that will likely be decided by what he’s able to continue showing during training camp.
It’s one thing for Larsson to look impressive during the summer, against, with all due respect, “lesser competition.” It’s an entirely different thing for Larsson to prove his worth in training camp in pre-season. You’d have to imagine that’s going to be the next goal for Larsson.
Should he excel in training camp and in pre-season, that’s when we can start seriously placing him ahead of a few other veterans in the Heat’s rotation.
Here’s the bottom line: Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware, Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell, and Nikola Jovic are clearly ahead of Larsson in the rotation. That leaves Larsson in the mix with four or five other players fighting for two or three rotation spots.
No matter how impressive Larsson looked in the summer, Larsson will certainly have his work cut out for him to prove to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra that he deserves a consistent spot in the rotation.
I don’t think there is any question that Larsson deserves a bigger role for the Heat and more responsibility this season. However, Spo will certainly have his hands full in solving the team’s rotation. Larsson should factor into it one way or another, but predicting exactly what his role with be right now is fool’s gold.
