Although Miami Heat fans want KZ Okpala to get playing time, he should not be in the rotation because of how head coach Erik Spoelstra would use him.
Miami Heat fans have been clamoring for head coach Erik Spoelstra to put KZ Okpala in the rotation. A Heat fan named Rob asked Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on December 27th why Okpala was not playing as he could help the team in multiple ways.
Rob thinks that Okpala could help the team by guarding the best small forwards, bringing the ball up the floor, and providing some scoring. But should Okpala be in the Heat rotation in the future? No, as Miami’s offense would accentuate his biggest weakness.
The Miami Heat offense
Head coach Spoelstra is currently running an offense centered around dribble handoffs and pick and rolls. They have been in the top ten in dribble handoff possessions since the 2019-20 season averaging 8.8 per game.
Unfortunately, Miami has given more than 50 percent of those possessions to three players in Duncan Robinson, Goran Dragic, and Tyler Herro as they combined to average 6.7 per game last season.
Conversely, Miami has been in the top half of the league in pick and roll possessions since the 2019-20 season averaging 21.2 per game. Two players have controlled 63.2 of the Heat’s pick and roll possessions as Butler and Goran Dragic are averaging 13.4 per game.
KZ Okpala’s potential role in the Miami Heat offense
Consequently, Okpala would be in a similar position to Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder, having to play the role of floor spacer. Iguodala and Crowder took more than 53 percent of their field goals from behind the arc last season, averaging 2.2 and 6.4 per game, respectively.
Okpala would not perform well as a floor spacer because he has been a below-average shooter in multiple stages of his basketball career. Okpala took 21.5 percent of his field-goal attempts from behind the arc in two seasons at Stanford University. He only made 33.1 percent of his threes on 2.3 attempts per game.
Okpala’s shooting regressed upon arriving in the G League last season as he shot 26.3 percent outside of the restricted area on 21.7 attempts per game. The subpar shooting beyond the restricted area contributed to him shooting 28.2 percent from behind the arc on two attempts per game last season.
The easiest way for Okpala to succeed with the Heat is as a roll man. He converted 55.4 percent of his shots inside the restricted area on 74 total field goal attempts last season. The field goal percentage helped him generate a total of 82 points for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League.
More deserving rotation candidates for the Miami Heat
Unfortunately, Bam Adebayo was the only player who averaged more than one possession per game as a roll man last season. Consequently, if Miami were to elevate a player into the rotation, it should be Kelly Olynyk as he is better suited to thrive in the role.
Olynyk has a career shooting percentage of 37.3 percent from behind the arc on three attempts per game. More importantly, Olynyk took 50 percent of his field-goal attempts from behind the arc last season, averaging 3.5 per game. He converted 40.6 percent of those attempts last season.
If Miami doesn’t like the Olynyk option, they should give Meyers Leonard more minutes. Leonard has only appeared in 1 game for 20 minutes this season despite having a career shooting percentage of 39.1 percent from behind the arc on 1.9 attempts.
Furthermore, he took 54.7 percent of his shots from behind the arc last season, making 41.4 percent of those field goals on 2.5 attempts per game. Although Okpala is an intriguing player within Heat nation, he should not be in the rotation based on how the team would use him.