How Heat’s power forward output compares to Jae Crowder’s work for Miami and now Phoenix

The marriage between Jae Crowder and the Miami Heat was the perfect union for a glorious three-month stretch in the NBA’s Disney bubble.

In Crowder, the Heat had the quintessential stretch four, a player with the defensive acumen to guard power forwards possessing different skill sets and physiques. He also gave Miami a skilled perimeter shooter who rode one of the best three-point stretches of his career to help the Heat advance to the NBA Finals.

But when the Phoenix Suns gave Crowder a three-year, $30 million contract in November, Miami declined to match, unwilling to give him a second guaranteed season — let alone a third — because of the organization’s desire to maintain salary cap flexibility in 2021. According to a source, the Heat offered Crowder one guaranteed season at $14 million, with a second-year team option, but Crowder declined.

Two months later, the Heat hasn’t found the ideal successor at power forward, despite an abundance of them on the roster. Miami has at least nine players capable of playing power forward but hasn’t found someone to play the role as effectively as Crowder when he was at his best.

During the first 16 games of the season, the Heat has tried four players as the power rotation starter alongside Bam Adebayo: Maurice Harkless, Meyers Leonard, Andre Iguodala and since Jan. 4, Kelly Olynyk.

Olynyk played very well in his first three games as a starter but has shot just 9 for 46 (19.5 percent) on three-pointers in eight games since. Olynyk has just nine points on 4-for-21 shooting during his past three games.

KZ Okpala, another stretch four option, has started three games, all at small forward.

There are three other power forwards on the roster who haven’t had a chance to fill Crowder’s starting slot and likely won’t: rookie Precious Achiuwa, Chris Silva and Udonis Haslem.

Achiuwa is contributing off the bench but isn’t yet viewed as a starting option because coach Erik Spoelstra remains reluctant to pair Adebayo and Achiuwa together in part because of offensive challenges of playing two bigs who each lack a three-point game.

Miami also has the option of playing small with Jimmy Butler at power forward — and a three-guard lineup of three among Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Avery Bradley and Kendrick Nunn — but large doses of that group would put too much wear and tear on Butler defensively.

So how does Miami’s output from the power rotation player paired with Adebayo compare with what the Heat got from Crowder? Here’s a look:

▪ The Heat player who either started alongside Adebayo in the power rotation or started at power forward in the games that Adebayo missed has averaged just 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 41 percent from the field and 30.9 percent on threes — numbers well below Crowder’s regular-season Heat numbers.

▪ Olynyk has averaged 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his 11 starts, while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 30 percent on threes.

▪ Here’s how those numbers compared with Crowder’s:

Heat regular-season Crowder: In 20 games (including eight starts) with Miami after the trade from Memphis, Crowder averaged 11.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals and shot 48.2 percent overall and 44.5 percent on threes, which is well above his career average (34.0).

Heat playoff Crowder: In 21 postseason games (all starts) with Miami in the bubble, Crowder averaged 12.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.7 steals while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 34.2 percent on threes.

Phoenix Suns’ Crowder: In 15 games this season (including 12 starts), Crowder has averaged 10.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists, while shooting 38.2 percent from the field (well below his Heat regular-season shooting) and 34.6 percent on threes.

▪ But those numbers don’t take into account Crowder’s defensive skills.

The player defended by Crowder shot 48.7 percent during his Heat regular-season tenure, 46.3 percent during his Heat playoff tenure and just 38.8 percent during his Suns tenure so far — which is fourth-best among forwards who have defended at least 100 shots.

By contrast, the player defended by Olynyk is shooting 51.8 percent this season, which is third-worst on the team (behind Leonard and Max Strus) and 10th worst among all NBA forwards who have defended at least 100 shots.

And as a 6-6 former small forward, Crowder was better equipped to defend perimeter-oriented power forwards than the 7-foot Olynyk.

What about Achiuwa in that role? Spoelstra wouldn’t rule it out this week, but Adebayo and Achiuwa have played just one minute together all season, and Miami was outscored by five points in that minute.

A trade also remains a possibility, with Houston’s P.J. Tucker among those said to be available.