Miami Heat: Depleted roster aside, what else is hindering this team?

If you ask most Miami Heat fans what’s to blame for the team’s 6-10 start, they’ll say having previously competed against the Washington Wizards.

Having earned a 128-124 victory over the Wizards on January 9, the Heat’s third win of the year, came at a very steep cost – the team lost Avery Bradley and Jimmy Butler to COVID-19 protocols, as well as Meyers Leonard to a shoulder injury.

Then shortly thereafter, down went Tyler Herro with a neck injury, with Moe Harkless following suit after suffering a thigh bruise.

So with that said, it’s pretty easy to see why Heat Nation is pinpointing their woes on that trip to D.C.

(And at this point, I think everyone can agree that it was completely irresponsible to let that matchup take place at all, after the Wizards came in contact with a COVID-positive Philadelphia 76ers’ player, just days prior.)

However, while a depleted roster has certainly hindered Miami so far this season, it’s not the sole reason why this squad is struggling.

Missing bodies isn’t the only problem with the Miami Heat

Let’s get this out of the way: Butler’s absence has a lot to do with the Heat’s problems.

Having led his team to the 2020 NBA Finals, after averaging 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 33.8 minutes, Butler is a bonafide problem on the court. What’s more, he oozes Culture, something that absolutely bleeds onto his teammates, the coaching staff and beyond. Therefore, Miami is missing more than just buckets and stops from him; the star forward not being around the team is costly in many other ways.

But while the Heat are down two of their best players in him and Herro, it’s perhaps the lack of playing true Miami Heat Basketball without them, that’s more worrisome.

Take Kelly Olynyk, for example.

The veteran has shot 4-for-21 over the last three games (19.0 percent) while averaging 20.3 minutes of play. And as if that isn’t bad enough, he’s made just 1 of 15 3-pointers.

Now shots don’t always fall and shooting slumps sometimes happen, but Olynyk didn’t do much to help the situation; between taking forced, rush shots and only even dishing out a single assist during two of those three games, he became nothing more than a liability out there on the floor.

And that is most certainly not the Miami Heat way.

Which in turn, brings up the topic of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s recent rotations.

It’s true that Spoelstra doesn’t currently have a lot to work with. But nevertheless, questions surrounding guys like KZ Okpala have started to come up and for good reason.

The sophomore out of Stanford has seen time in just nine games this year, a surprise considering how highly the organization has continuously spoken of him, as well as considering that both Olynyk and Duncan Robinson have underperformed recently.

There’s also the fact that Okpala houses a 7’2″ wingspan, which could do wonders for the team, defensively.

Additionally, the California-native is just 21-years-old, which one would think Spoelstra would take advantage of, given how worn out some of his older guys (Goran Dragic, anyone?) have visibly become.

While COVID-19 and other health issues have certainly played a major role in slowing down the 2020 Eastern Conference Champions so far this season, there are still other concerns the Miami Heat must address moving forward, if they have a chance at turning things around.

The good news being, Jimmy Butler is due to return very soon.