Miami Heat: The importance of Wayne Ellington hard to ignore

In the midst of a purple patch, shooting guard Wayne Ellington’s importance to the Miami Heat has clearly come to the forefront.

The Miami Heat are now riding a season-high three-game winning streak following their 100-93 win over the Chicago Bulls, bringing their record (10-9) above .500 in the process. A big component of this turnaround has been the play of backup shooting guard Wayne Ellington.

At just the right time, Ellington has managed to raise his game significantly to assist with the Heat turning their season around. Following their worst loss for the season, a 120-95 home thumping at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, the Heat players and coaching staff were determined to right the ship. As head coach Erik Spoelstra stated succinctly following the loss:

"“We will find a solution one way or another to get this team playing Miami Heat basketball.”"

As is the Heat trademark, defense was the clear priority. After posting an abysmal defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 128.3 during the Pacers’ loss, the Heat have responded by recording a defensive rating of 97.2 over the past three games.

So while their defensive effort has again stabilized, that doesn’t completely neglect their output at the offensive end of the floor. With regular rotation players in Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson having had wildly inconsistent shooting seasons this far, the Heat required someone to step in fill the void in recent games. Enter Wayne Ellington.

Starting with the Pacers game, Ellington has nailed 20 of his last 35 attempts from 3-point range on his way to averaging 17.5 points in 26.1 minutes per game. Despite being a reserve, Ellington has notably averaged 10.3 minutes per fourth quarter during this four-game stretch. One of the best pure shooters in the league, Ellington has capitalized on the playing time and confidence afforded to him by the coaching staff.

Following his 20-point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which featured him hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range, coach Spoelstra made note of Ellington’s performance:

"“He’s ignitable and he always has been. He has two, then he’s going for three and the whole team is looking for him. He has that kind of feel but he exudes that energy. It’s hard to explain. Guys know and feel when somebody’s ignitable and you look for him.”"

With his ability to spread the flooring garnering the attention of the opposing defense, Ellington’s presence has been immense over the past four games. During this stretch, the Heat have been 27.9 points per 100 possessions better off on the offensive end when Ellington has been on the floor.

Furthermore, over the course of the season, Ellington is now averaging 19.0 minutes while playing in all 19 games. When he has appeared in 20 or more minutes, the Heat have posted an 8-2 record. In tying with this, such is Ellington’s overall importance to the team, the Heat are 0-4 when Ellington has failed to nail a 3-pointer.

Moving forward, the Heat will be eagerly looking to finish their four-game road trip on a high with games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks. The Cavaliers are the reigning Eastern Conference champions and the Knicks have improved noticeably thus far, so this promises to be a good test of where the Heat currently stand.

Next: 2017-18 Week 6 NBA Power Rankings

With this is mind, the Heat will certainly be looking to capitalize on the hot shooting of Ellington as they attempt to rise further up the standings.