Heat getting lesson from playoff teams on the need to push the pace
For all of the high-powered offensive stars the Miami Heat have had on their roster over the past few seasons, this is a team that plays at a very slow clip. The Heat were a bottom ten team in pace over the past three seasons, per Basketball-Reference; in 2011-12, Miami played at a league-average pace.
But as they sit on the couch and watch the first round of the 2014-15 playoffs, one lesson has become clear for the Heat: The team must push the tempo next season. The Sun-Sentinel reports that Erik Spoelstra is preaching a "new big three": "Pace, speed and quickness."
And Pat Riley said he agrees: "I agree with [Spoelstra] wholeheartedly, because I started my career as a fastbreak coach."
Dwyane Wade cautioned that it's not as simple as just getting out and running, however: "You look at teams like Golden State, best team in the NBA, they played fast, but they're also one of the best defensive teams in the league. You have to get stops to play fast. This season, we weren't a good defensive team. It's hard to play fast taking the ball out of the net too often. I welcome it. As long as we get stops, let's go."
(h/t Sun-Sentinel)
Photo Credit: Robert Mayer/USA Today Sports
