3. Shooting woes continued
When facing an elimination game on the road, hitting at a 38.6 percent clip from the field and a 59.1 percent clip from the free throw line is clearly not a recipe for success. However, the fact that the Heat were able to stay competitive until the final minutes of the game, despite such a shooting display, speaks volumes about the character of the team.
Over the five-game series, the Heat shot at a 44.2 percent clip from the field, which ranked 12th out of the 16 playoff teams during this span. Furthermore, they shot a horrible 67.8 percent from the charity stripe, which ranked dead last. While there were numerous contributing factors leading to their 4-1 series defeat, their struggles from the field were certainly high on the list.
In Game 5, the Heat shot just 2-of-9 between 5-9 feet from the rim, and 3-of-11 in the mid-range of 15-19 feet from the rim. Furthermore, their shooting from long distance was ugly, hitting just 10-of-35, with Kelly Olynyk being the biggest culprit in converting just one of his seven attempts.
Despite an impressive series off the bench, Dwyane Wade converted just 4-of-15 from the field, and although he played just 10 minutes, center Hassan Whiteside‘s performance was brutal in shooting 0-of-4 from the field.
Despite playing two more games, Hassan Whiteside logged fewer minutes than @JoelEmbiid in this series, and Whiteside had more fouls (16) than made shots (9). Embiid averaged 18.7 PPG in his 3 games. pic.twitter.com/NTaAOCFj9o
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 25, 2018
Granted, the Sixers have exceptional length at every position, with their players capable of closing out on the space of the shooter at nearly all times. However with a long offseason ahead, upgrading their shooting across all positions on the floor will certainly be a priority for the Heat.