One of the nuances in basketball that has brought both consternation and confusion to many of us in the basketball community is the issue of positional definitions. Basketball makes this hard because there are so few points in a game where it truly comes into focus (jump balls, etc) coupled with all players moving around on both offense and defense.

Luckily, a clarifying mechanism exists, although used too rarely at the present. While some discussions of the position of players focuses on the offensive end, the defensive end provides the only fair and accurate measure of their actual position. The primary reason for this necessity is a part of a pattern that has persisted for decades, yet is even more pervasive now: offensive roles are far too flexible to be used to draw the lines. From the surge in stretch 4?s like Dirk Nowitzki to guards who defend SG?s but are the primary ballhandler like Dwyane Wade and Brandon Roy, the league has become one where athletes of various sizes fill remarkably different roles on the offensive end.

On the other hand, a player?s defensive niche is typically much more limited. Physical measurables play a substantial role here, whether it be a big man without the lateral quickness to guard perimeter guys (or some 4?s) or a small guard that does not have the girth or power to handle the bigger SG?s and SF?s the Association has to offer.  Of course, there are players like Ron Artest that can effectively guard multiple positions, yet that does not pose a problem as many players are capable of guarding multiple spots without incident.

Furthermore, it also does a better job explaining the true problems of ?tweeners? (particularly SF/PF ones) since there are players who thrive with offensive skill-sets that belie their size, including Mehmet Okur?s shooting, Greg Monroe?s passing, and  LeBron James? primary ballhandling. The real limitations, however, come from players who are pigeonholed defensively based on their offensive games. It is also fair to note that positions should be defined by what positions a player should and can defend rather than what he has in cases of necessity. The ultimate exemplar here recently is David Lee, who has played out of position as a center for the Knicks for a few seasons before moving to the West Coast and his natural defensive spot at power forward this summer.

A way this distinction becomes fascinating is to compare perceptions with reality when it comes to who a given player actually guards. A few weeks ago, I made a comment to the incomparable Larry Coon that the addition of Matt Barnes served to convert Lamar Odom into a full-time power forward, which did not feel right to me. After his correction, I looked into his positional stats on 82games and found that Odom has played less than 5% of the Lakers? minutes at small forward each of the last three seasons ? he was a PF already.

Another case is Tim Duncan. Since the departure of Rasho Nestrovic and Nazr Mohammed in 2006, The Big Fundamental has spent nearly all of his time handling opposing centers. This makes intuitive sense considering the bigs getting minutes alongside him have included Antonio McDyess, Matt Bonner, and DeJuan Blair, all of whom naturally defend PF?s. However, this often slips under the radar, especially since Duncan appears to prefer being defined as a power forward. It?s hard to blame him for that since he is the best PF of all time.

The new-look Miami Heat provide an excellent prism for discussing the positional paradigm since they have a few atypical examples when it comes to positional definitions. Both Wade and LeBron have been the primary ballhandler on their teams in recent years, mostly to great success, as each led their respective positions in assists per game each of the last three seasons. In fact, other than Jason Kidd (who is listed at 6?4?, but is clearly a PG on offense and defense), all ten of the best assist per game seasons by a player 6?4? or taller since the 2003 Draft have been by Wade and James. However, neither spends much time guarding the point guard position, which is obviously the traditional lead position offensively.

This should work out well for Miami (as it did in Cleveland on the aggregate) because of the myriad of PG?s in today?s NBA that should be playing off-the-ball, from historical examples like Steve Francis to current players like Monta Ellis and Rodney Stuckey. Keeping that in mind, the standard lineup for the Heat looks to be King James at SF, D-Wade at SG, and whoever they want at PG, regardless of who is running the offense. This could prove particularly pertinent if Miami experiments with using James as a primary ballhandler and super-uptempo power forward, which would be matchup hell for many elite teams, especially in the Eastern Conference.

The facts of the last few years support Wade guarding SG?s and LBJ guarding SF?s primarily (the last two seasons, each of them has sported better opponent PER figures at their natural positions than any of the other slots they played) and the overall offensive games will mesh much better, especially if Miami uses the unselfish Mike Miller to great effect. Those using the offensive-centric positional schemes would assume that using a swingman and two big men would be the optimal complement to the two biggest stars, yet using a PG who can play off the ball like Mario Chalmers and Eddie House or sliding King James to PF and slotting Miller in at SF should yield greater returns.

In the end, the positional issue is one of perspective more than anything. However, looking at it the right way makes looking both at unique teams like Miami and unique individuals like Tyreke Evans, LeBron James, and Dirk Nowitzki a much easier, practical, and effective exercise.