Miami Heat: 2017-18 player grades for Wayne Ellington
By Simon Smith
Weaknesses
Aside from 3-point shooting, Ellington provides very little other statistical contributions to the Heat.
Overall, the former North Carolina standout averaged just 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists during his 26.5 minutes per game. In fact, over the course of the season, Ellington had 31 games in which he grabbed just two rebounds or less, and 28 games where didn’t register a single assist.
However, it’s when his shot isn’t falling that Ellington’s lack of performance can significantly hurt the team. On the 23 occasions in which Ellington hit just one triple or less, the Heat posted a 7-16 record. During this stretch of games, Ellington shot just 13-of-98 from long range, for a miserable 13.3 percent return. Considering this made up 30 percent of his total appearances for the season, it does seriously reflect the one-dimensional nature of his overall game.
When breaking this down even further, Ellington was a -53 while on the floor during the 10 games in which he failed to convert a triple. When you take into account that the averaged 17.3 minutes per game and the Heat were just 1-9 during this span, it’s hard to dispute the correlation between Ellington’s 3-point success and the overall performance of the Heat.