The Miami Heat need to figure out their identity offensively, as things have not gone according to plan yet.
The Miami Heat have a winning record at 13-9, but that does not tell the whole story. They are a team that is still trying to figure things out on the court as there are a lot of new faces in the building. Their defense is still as strong as ever, but the same cannot be said about their offense.
“We need more time. We aren’t there yet,” Dwyane Wade said to Michael Wallace of ESPN. Despite having some players capable of scoring in bunches, such as Wade, Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic, things have not come together yet on the offensive side of the court. They are 22 games into the season, so there is a lot of basketball still to be played, but they have to start figuring things out fast.
Players not being on the court has been a part of it, as Luol Deng has missed six games this season because of injuries as well as Gerald Green getting suspended. Amar’e Stoudemire has had no impact at all, appearing in only three games and playing 27 minutes. It has caused the Heat to lose out on some continuity having to mix and match their rotations.
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While the injuries cause some problems, it does not explain why Bosh and Deng, two players the Heat are relying on, to be having career-low seasons in some facets of their game. Bosh is having the worst shooting season of his career, while Deng is on pace for career-lows in points, rebounds and assists. Chemistry seems to be an issue, as the starting five of Dragic, Wade, Deng, Bosh and Hassan Whiteside haven’t had very much playing time together; Bosh had blood clots last season right after Dragic was traded for, and that group has started only 14 of 22 games this season.
While they are strong defensively, they need to find an identity offensively. Dragic and Whiteside are good fits in an up-tempo system, as Dragic showed what he could do in a fast-paced offense with the Phoenix Suns, and Whiteside is one of the more athletic big men in the NBA. But, the other members of the starting unit are better fits for the half-court as they are all 30 years of age or older.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra has to figure out a way to mesh them together. There has been whispers from players wanting to become more involved in the offense. After a loss to the Charlotte Hornets last week, Wade hinted that there wasn’t enough structure offensively and too much freelancing going on. Too often Spoelstra is trying to cater to the needs of players that are upset at their role in the offense or are struggling.
The latest example of that came against the Hornets with Whiteside. Whiteside has been vocal about wanting to be a bigger part of the offense, saying there are no plays ran for him. While his offensive game is improving, he is at best fourth on the pecking order for shots in the starting lineup. They tried to appease him against the Hornets, getting him more involved but it backfired as the Hornets blew the Heat out and it was another lackluster performance.
Whifeside says Heat do not have any plays in the playbook for him.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) December 1, 2015
The Heat have the talent to score, so it is up to Spoelstra to get this team going in some way. They are shooting efficiently at 45.9 percent on the season, but they play at such a slow pace they are averaging only 95.6 points per game. That mark is third worst in the NBA and ahead of only the Milwaukee Bucks and the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.
Spoelstra needs to figure out an identity of this team and maybe shake things up a bit. With how efficient they are offensively, it would make sense to speed things up a little bit to get themselves more scoring opportunities. When the second unit comes in the game with Green, Josh McRoberts, Tyler Johnson and Justise Winslow they speed things up and use their athleticism to their advantage.
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That is something Spoelstra may have to think about doing with the starting lineup. There is too much talent in that starting five for them to be performing the way that they are. While there are still some growing pains for them to go through, as key pieces have missed time, it is up to Spoelstra to speed that process up and get the team on track.