National Basketball Association

Offense a problem for the Miami Heat

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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A look at the Miami Heat and their early season shooting problems.

Although it’s just five games into the 2016-17 regular season, there are already some worrying signs for the Miami Heat on the offensive end of the court. The Heat currently average 98.6 points per game, which ranks them 23rd in the league. Accompanying this is a team shooting percentage of 42.8 percent. And despite professing to play at an increased pace this season, the team ranks 22nd in the league in PACE, which is the amount of possessions the teams averages per 48 minutes. The Heat currently average 97.74 possessions per game, per NBA.com. By way of comparison, the Golden State Warriors lead the league with 104.99 possessions per game.

Firstly, there have been some great early season performers. Point guard Goran Dragic has started the season in a manner that would very heartening for the Heat. Through five games he is averaging 19.4 points per game, 6.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Most importantly, he is shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 52.8 percent from behind the three-point line. Hassan Whiteside has also started in terrific fashion, posting 20 points per game, 14.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Like Dragic, his shooting has been terrific, converting at a 58.9 percent from the field.

Backup guard Tyler Johnson should also mentioned, contributing 15.4 points per game on 52.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from downtown.

However, there are a number of problem areas that need to rectified if the Heat are to make this a successful season.

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Struggling starters

Justise Winslow and the Heat were both equally eager in their anticipation for the current season. One major reason for this was the work Winslow had put in during the off season to work on his outside shooting. Although it’s only a small sample size, the start to the season certainly hasn’t panned out as hoped. Winslow is currently shooting 33.8 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from behind three on his way to averaging 13 points per game. Considering he is averaging the most shot attempts per game for the Heat at 15.4 per game, this is clearly a cause for concern. To put this in perspective, he is currently averaging more field goals attempts per game than prolific scorers such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins.

A couple of aspects of his shooting woes particularly stand out. His jump shot in particular stands out. Per NBA,com, Winslow is hitting shot attempts classified as a jump shot at a 26 percent clip. Making up 60 percent of his total field goal attempts, this number is quite alarming. A stat that is surprising for Winslow is his return on shots attempted inside the restricted area. Through five games he is hitting just 40 percent of these attempts. However considering he converted on 57.1 percent of these as a rookie, this should certainly start to improve.

Luke Babbitt has started in his first five games as member of the Miami Heat. To this point his role has been as a three-point marksman. Babbitt is currently averaging 6.6 points per game, hitting at 31.4 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three. With the Heat ranking 23rd in the league in points per game, Babbitt is certainly not helping to improve in this area. Playing 22.9 minutes per game, Babbitt has done little on the offensive end other than catch and shoot, and indirectly, spread the floor.

To illustrate this, over five games Babbitt has touched the ball in the post just twice, once in the paint and zero times on the elbows, per NBA.com. It’s all well and good to have a player such as Babbitt who can play off the ball and spread the floor. However, with his current production returning just 10.4 points per game per-36 minutes, the Heat clearly need more out of this position.

Despite showing glimpses of his talent, Dion Waiters is another player who hasn’t assisted the Heat’s offensive game. Waiters is presently shooting 35 percent from the floor on his way to averaging 11 points per game. One very noticeable area of struggle has been finishing around the rim. 45 percent of Waiters’ field goal attempts have been attempted within five feet of the rim. To this point, he has converted at just 29.6 percent. Considering the Heat currently rank 29th in the league at field goals percentage for shots attempted within five feet of the rim, Waiters is definitely not helping in this regard.

And if you were to break it down more specifically, Waiters has hit on just 25 percent of shots classified as a lay-up, per NBA.com. His one bright spot, surprisingly has been from behind the three-point line. Waiters is currently shooting at 37.5 percent on 3.2 attempts per game.

Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Looking ahead

Despite some of the glaring weaknesses on display, some areas of their offence would be heartening for the Heat. Three-point shooting has been an increased focus of their offence, and the overall returns so far have been promising. The Heat is currently ranked 9th in the league in three-point percentage at 37 percent. The team also ranks 10th in the league for three-pointers as a percent of points. This means in the Heat’s case, 28.6 percent of their total points are from downtown.

These numbers certainly shouldn’t be hindered moving forward. Second-year guard Josh Richardson made his return to the court in the Heat’s loss in Toronto. Further, off-season acquisition Wayne Ellington will be returning imminently from his current injury. These two have demonstrated their ability to knock down the three-ball proficiently when provided the opportunity. On top of the aforementioned Dragic and Johnson, it gives the Heat some tremendous firepower from downtown.

Overall, the Heat certainly have their troubles on offence, as evidenced by these stats provided. However, it is just five games into a regular season with plenty of new faces in the mix. Only time will tell how the team will fare this season.