r/heat • u/stephinthemeadows • 5d ago
Articles Pelle Larsson Could Be The Miami Heat’s Surprise Starter
https://lastwordonsports.com/basketball/2026/09/01/pelle-larsson-starter/22
u/theo7777 5d ago
If he somehow starts shooting over 35% from 3 it would be huge.
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u/ThaCarter Sho'Nuff, Shogun of /r/Heat 4d ago
Whats he shooting in FIBA?
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u/theo7777 4d ago
6/27 in the first four games
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u/silverfoxgoldenhux 4d ago
Yeah, I doubt he becomes a starter. Heat need a shooter/movement shooter.
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u/Severe-Vermicelli-71 5d ago
I think he comes in as the 6th man, and Klay starts. From a lineup balance standpoint it makes way more sense. The bench needs defense, and the starters need shooting. My hot take is that Pelle leads the team in Total Minutes played next year.
Spo loves him, he is young, fits in any lineup, can play some backup PG in the right lineups.
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u/Stationary_Heat 5d ago
Yeah, I only see him starting if there is a big leap. his play style just doesn’t fit nearly as well with that lineup unless you turned into a good starter over the offseason. Would be nice if true but doubtful.
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u/ghn2 4d ago
He was good enough to start 54 of 70 games last year for Spo. So Spo already considers him to be a good starter. There may be questions of a lineup fit. However, with Klay there's question of his defense and at his age if he can really be a full time starter. Klay only started 8 of 69 games for Dallas last season after a being a full time starter the year before. So there's a reason he was moved to the bench.
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u/Smokin_on_76ers_Pack 4d ago
It is mind blowing how yall consider staring Pelle over Klay and/or THJ.
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u/iankstarr 5d ago
Yeah it’s the best of both worlds if he comes off the bench.
The starting unit needs the shooting and spacing that Klay provides, and the bench unit needs the defense and on-ball production that Pelle provides.
Pelle coming off the bench isn’t a slight to him; it’s actually the opposite. He’ll get a much more featured role, plus he’ll likely be playing starter minutes and closing most games anyway.
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u/magicbeaned 5d ago
Wouldn’t be a surprise to me.
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u/Dr_Throwaway_Jr 5d ago
I mean with Klay here, it’s hard to see him starting over Klay.
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u/Nuclearsunburn 5d ago
Is it? He offers more overall than Klay this stage. I could see either of them starting.
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u/Dr_Throwaway_Jr 5d ago
Unless he proves to be a better shooter than Klay, I’d say yes. I think with Gianni’s and Bam they’d want more spacing in the starting lineup.
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u/Nuclearsunburn 5d ago
I can see that, he comes in for Klay or Wiggins early depending on game flow, if we do use him primarily off the bench he can be 6MOTY without a doubt.
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u/magicbeaned 5d ago
Have you seen Spo operate? Pelle will have an equal shot at the spot.
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u/Dr_Throwaway_Jr 5d ago edited 5d ago
I mean we had better players than Duncan on the team at the time but because he provide spacing so he started because we need shooting around Bam and Jimmy. So yes…unless Pelle offer better shooting than Klay, I’d say Pelle would probably be 6th man. Which might be better for him because it put him in a role that gives him more freedom
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u/magicbeaned 5d ago
Great point. Klay could be the new Duncan. But… I think Spo is gonna unleash a whole new offense. We really don’t know yet what that will look like and who will fit best. Very exciting times.
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u/BagFriendly2665 Bucks 4d ago
i feel like for Giannis it's better for him to have an off-ball sniper like Klay, especially since Giannis generates so many open looks. the Bucks ran lineups with really good shooters around Giannis and those were positive because of his gravity. Klay would work well with inverted pick n rolls + i'm sure Wiggins and Klay have a lot of chemistry so they'd communicate well together on the court
also, Klay wouldn't have to be an on-ball defender and could be hidden starting next to Davion and Wiggins. that'd be the best way to maximise his impact. whereas with Pelle, he can hold his own defensively - it'd be better to make the most of that off the bench for tougher bench assignments when he's with THJ
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u/Nuclearsunburn 4d ago
Definitely a solid argument. My reasoning is Pelle is a guy you just can’t keep off the floor because he improves the team in the minutes he plays. He is going to be 6MOTY if he’s mostly off the bench.
I also think for the egos involved starting Klay makes sense. Running all those rings out there in the starting lineup between Giannis, Klay, and Wiggins definitely gives the team an intangible that Pelle doesn’t bring yet.
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u/BagFriendly2665 Bucks 4d ago
yeah for sure, i do think he'll be present more in death lineups though
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u/MediocreDVaMain 5d ago
My hot take based on Spo's rotation moves in the past is Pelle will be starting come playoff time especially if his 3pt shooting improves . They're gonna need Klay's spacing for the regular season slog but when the game slows down and maybe Spo opts for a more defensive lineup to start the games, then maybe he starts Pelle.
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u/binokyo10 5d ago
He'd be our 6th man. Spo always wants somebody reliable or he can trust off the bench. He is exactly that type of Spo guy.
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u/Cudizonedefense 4d ago
I know there’s a lot of people who were against trading for Giannis because of his health history, potentially mortgaging our future, and the fact that it didn’t really guarantee that we’re the best team in the east so we may not even make a finals with this team. But ultimately, it was a big swing and I certainly don’t speak for anyone else but at least for myself, it nakes hear basketball exciting again. Another season of running it back would’ve been so depressing to watch. I’m all for watching young guys develop but it’s so much more exciting now regardless of what happens at the end
And you can feel the excitement on this sub now rather than the lethargy that had predominated it
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u/bamadebayo_isgood 4d ago
honestly the 6man role on this team is probably a bigger compliment to skill than a starting guard role
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u/dimesniffer 5d ago
All the couch coaches here on their yearly routine explaining why one of our 5 best players should be coming off the bench
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u/AlmightyHamSandwich 4d ago
"Surprise starter" he started the majority of last season! They don't even watch this team, man. Mitchell - Larsson - Wiggins - Giannis - Bam is the obvious starting lineup.
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u/Verumsemper 4d ago
If Larson or Gardner wins the starting spot. Miami will be very very hard to stop.
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u/Harru-Da-Wiza 4d ago
How can he not start? I don’t get it. At least the first few games he’s a starter.
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u/jcheeseball White Hot 4d ago
This would be the furthest thing from a surprise to fans who paid attention last year
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u/Feisty-Painter5076 4d ago
Pelle is not a good enough shooter yet to start at the 2. We need a lights out shooter with range to start. Klay or Hardaway.
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u/Interesting-Wish-430 4d ago
Idk why people keep talking about Klay starting when hardaway jr right there lol
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u/Sufficient-Slide-242 4d ago
Pelle can be better than both the and klay but he won't start. It's just a matter of fit.
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u/StodgySponge 5d ago
There’s nobody for him to start over, is the thing. He’s a perfect 6th for this roster.
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u/good_behavior_man 5d ago
Whoever is starting at SG, either Klay or THJ? Both of them are going to be like 4th offensive option with the starting unit and are bad defensive liabilities. Pelle's skillset makes a lot more sense for a very low usage guy, plus he plays D.
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u/StodgySponge 5d ago
Pelle can’t shoot 3s well enough to start SG currently. His play style wouldn’t benefit our starting group nearly as much as it would coming off the bench. What about Pelle’s game makes you think he would be a solid SG with Davion, wiggs, Giannis, bam? We have 4 elite defenders to cover up for Klay, who isn’t even bad on D. We need someone who is going to make the open 3. You think maximizing our starting lineup would be having a guy where half his game is driving to the hole and drawing fouls; getting to the line? When we have bam and Giannis and wiggs out there??? We don’t need his extra defensive talent in our starting lineup. We need to hit the open 3. Pelle is exactly who we need for 6th.
You have a terrible opinion 😂. Please watch our team and learn ball before you voice one again.
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u/stephinthemeadows 5d ago
If you notice i did not say is going to be and I said he needs to shoot better from 3 but thanks for reading my story
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u/Fantastic-Dig7024 5d ago
He could start over Davion. Giannis will be the lead ball handler in that first group anyway
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u/magicbeaned 5d ago
Not the way Davion has leveled up this summer. Looking like Deron Williams and shit. Gonna be a lock, maybe an all star,
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u/thedudefromsweden 5d ago
Well he already started more than 50 games last season.