Despite the strides that Pelle Larsson has made in his offensive game since breaking into the league, he continues to struggle with foul trouble. In 37 total preseason minutes thus far, he's tallied seven personal fouls. If he can't solve this recurring issue, it's going to be difficult for him to carve out any consistent role for the Miami Heat this season.
Even though Larsson won't be asked to play big minutes, one of the most annoying headaches for head coaches is bad fouls. With the level of aggressiveness that Larsson plays with, the "bad foul" has been, at times, difficult for him to avoid.
In his rookie season, Larsson only averaged 1.7 fouls per game. Not too bad. But when you factor in that he only averaged 14 minutes per contest, that's when it becomes a clear issue. Per 36 minutes, Larsson averaged more than four fouls per game.
At this point, the lack of control that Larsson has at times could end up being debilitating for the development of his career. Perhaps most importantly, it will make it only more difficult for Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to trust him in key moments.
Can Erik Spoelstra trust Pelle Larsson?
That's the true question when we think about it. Can Spo trust Larsson enough that he's going to demand big minutes in the rotation? At least for now, I can't imagine that the answer to that question is yes. Even though Larsson started to gain a bigger role in Spo's rotation toward the end of last season, he still has much to prove.
Through two games in the preseason, he's yet to accomplish that. Don't get me wrong; he's had some bright spots on the offensive end of the floor, but the personal fouls (and turnovers) have been an issue as well.
At least for now, Larsson isn't at the level where he's good enough on the offensive end of the floor that you take the bad fouls and turnovers. Perhaps there's a chance he can get there if he can prove to be an excellent 3-point shooter, especially after the loss of Duncan Robinson this past offseason, but he's not there yet.
It's pretty obvious that if Larsson is going to carve out a consistent role for the Heat this season, he's going to have to work on this one issue that could end up being a huge stumbling block for him and his future development.