The Miami Heat concluded their five-game road trip on a poor note Monday evening, losing 98-86 to the struggling Atlanta Hawks.
The Heat have lost six of their last seven games in fairly ugly fashion. They dropped to four games below .500 and reality continues to set in that they will be a play-in team for the third straight season. And Monday was another episode of arguably the team’s biggest flaw: The offense, or lack thereof.
The Miami Heat cannot score:
Monday night was the cherry on top for the Heat’s recent offensive struggles.
They shot just 32.1 percent for the game–including 7-of-40 (17.5 percent) from 3-point range, the third-worst 3-point shooting night in franchise history (min. 30 3PA)–equating to a season-worst 88.7 offensive rating.
It was also the first game all season that the Atlanta Hawks, who entered the night 16th in defense, held a team to fewer than 94 points. It wasn’t like the Heat were generating poor shots–they shot just 5-of-35 on long-range attempts considered to be “open” or “wide open,” classified as the closest defender being at least four feet away upon the shot, according to NBA.com’s shot tracking data.
Miami couldn’t hit the ocean if it were surrounded by water, and it’s been one of the least efficient offenses over the last month.
Since the start of February, the Heat have owned the NBA’s second-worst offensive rating- only ahead of the Charlotte Hornets, scoring a remarkable 4.2 points per 100 possessions worse than any other team. If you zoom out since the start of the New Year, the Heat is the 5th-worst offense, better than only Charlotte, Washington, Orlando and Brooklyn, respectively.
Being disruptive defensively and pushing the pace is the easiest solution. Spacing has been an issue in the halfcourt all season, which has complicated where the Heat can generate open shots.
According to Cleaning The Glass, the Heat is No. 15 in offensive rating on all transition possessions. However, their 13.3 percent transition frequency is the fourth-worst and only turns teams over at a 13.8 percent clip (10th-worst), which is an issue despite having a top-10 defense.
Creating advantageous opportunities in transition is a way to overcome that sickness, but it’s far easier said than done. In a make-or-miss league, the Heat miss … a lot. It doesn’t help they also lack a true point guard, which has been an issue at different points all season. Though may not help as much if there’s less space to operate with.
Each game that passes is less time for head coach Erik Spoelstra to find an answer … assuming there actually is an answer. There may not be; this team is painfully mediocre and has been a below-average offense for three seasons … and now Spoelstra is integrating three new players into a sinking ship.
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There is only so much a head coach can do.
True, but it’s inexcusable for spo leaving burks in for that 4th quarter, he was bad all night, ware should of been in he had like 15 rebounds.
As a dedicated Miami Heat fan since ’95, I’ve seen the team through thick and thin. While I respect Spoelstra’s accomplishments, I believe his coaching has had significant shortcomings, notably the 2011 Finals against Dallas. A consistent issue, in my opinion, has been the lack of a dominant center for the past two decades, which has hindered the Heat’s potential.
Damn Spo, play Stevens (and Johnson). WTF have you got to lose?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxPOklShNS8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuJ_Vvo21gc