The Miami Heat are now sitting in 7th place in the Eastern Conference with a 19-24 record. The pressure is on Miami to play better. By playing better, what I mean is that they cannot settle for .500 basketball. Injuries have killed them, with a recent injuries to Hassan Whiteside and Luol Deng being the latest news until the Indiana Pacers game.
But Miami’s inability to score in the second half of games has been a real issue. In the last five games, Miami has averaged 40.4 points per game in the second half. During this process, Miami has gone 2-3, losing some hard games.
But it should be 3-2 based on how they lost to the Charlotte Hornets. One would think, when watching Miami games, that if games only lasted one half that they would be a top-rate team.
Top-rate teams play entire games though, and are committed to doing it over the long haul. Here are some of the grades for the ways that the Heat have played in the first half of the season.
The point guards of the Miami Heat haven’t been able to produce the way that they should. In an article that I wrote recently, I graded the point guards of the team according to how they’ve played. The verdict wasn’t exactly great. Mario Chalmers hasn’t played terribly, but hasn’t played well either.
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In the beginning of the season, he had played well and the Heat were looking better than what was predicted. But he fell on hard times, and in the last month has averaged 7.6 points per game on 35.9 percent shooting from the field.
Point Guards: D+
Dwyane Wade has outplayed expectations, averaging 21.8 points per game, 5.5 assists per game and 4 rebounds per game. His PER (Player Efficiency Rating) is 23.45 which is 10th in the NBA. That is great stats for a man who is getting nearer to retirement soon. His defense has not been that good, opting not to waste the energy that he has into defense but rather to use it on offense, where Miami needs it.
It isn’t his lack of defense that Miami has hurt from, so it doesn’t take away as much from his stellar offense.
Luol Deng has played great defense, but has lacked in offense. He is averaging 14.1 points per game this season, but it is misleading because he has been inconsistent. When Deng scores 20 or more, the Heat are undefeated. The only issue is that he has only done that seven times this season. Doing it for seven games is not exactly what the Heat need.
They need more from Deng, because Wade cannot fulfill the total needs that the team has. Deng had been called upon to replace LeBron James, a hole that is really hard to fill.
Scoring Guards: B-
It hasn’t been as bad a season for the Miami bigs as I thought it would be. The addition of Hassan Whiteside has been a surprise, giving Miami some much needed interior scoring and defense. Chris Bosh got a huge paycheck this past offseason, and has done relatively well this season. But a huge issue for him, is his conversion into a jump shooter.
He is not shooting poorly, but he is also not putting pressure on other big men to guard him on the drive or in the post.
Chris Andersen was started this season because of Miami’s lack of big men. He is of the older breed, and he it doesn’t suit him to play so much. He gives Miami some pick and roll action, while also giving them some defense. But he is also slow, and can get caught trying to make the big play for Miami.
Shawne Williams and Danny Granger, who play the three, four and five at separate times during the season have played well to be frank. They’re ability to shoot from long distance and play good defense has helped Miami play small ball. So I give them the credit for that.
But Miami has had problems playing the small ball, and has struggled to score efficiently because of their jump shooting.
It is pretty simple, shoot closer, score more efficiently. When you have five players that are on the court and shooting the ball from three-point range, your percentages go down, naturally.
Big Men: C+