Even though the team underperformed, one of the Miami Heat’s biggest bright spots was how well Pelle Larsson progressed in his second season.
As a rookie, Larsson’s play came in flashes. Everyone saw the potential of someone who could be a critical rotation player with his grittiness, hustle, improving shot, sturdy point-of-attack defense and exceptional downhill decision-making.
This year, Larsson became one of the Heat’s most consistent — and malleable — rotation players. But he doesn’t want to stop there. At his exit interview on Thursday, the 6-foot-6 guard discussed what he wants to improve most heading into his third NBA season.
“I want my shot to feel more comfortable and get better,” he said. “I want to shoot more threes as well going into next season. Taking those closeouts and maybe starting with initiating offense a little bit more.”
Pelle Larsson broke out in his second season:
Larsson saw a big rise in his scoring (11.4), rebounding (3.5) and assists (3.4) on a per game basis this season. He didn’t quite shoot the ball as well from 3-point range. But his finishing around the rim improved ten-fold, converting on 70 percent of his attempts (75th percentile) and 44 percent of his short 2s (60th percentile), according to Cleaning The Glass.
“I’m happy with how I performed and played this year compared to last,” he said. “Definitely a step up in my development. And I think getting more minutes and being on the court and having familiarity with everyone here just made me comfortable to play the way I did.
“I think, offensively, I got trusted more with our new offense and that was great. I think it resulted in a lot of good things for me.”
Perhaps Larsson’s most underrated skill is his playmaking; he’s arguably the Heat’s best lob passer and came into the NBA with exceptional feel (on- and off-ball), which he wants to leverage into more ballhandling responsibility next season.
“I saw [Jaime Jaquez Jr.] do it all year with that second unit really well and getting to the paint and working on his playmaking,” he said. “So starting with the ball off the dribble is something I’m going to be working on as well as my shot.”
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He has really improved. His 2 million rookie contract is the best value we have.
He and Jaime are due extensions after next season. I hope Riley doesn’t lowball them to save money trying to harpoon a whale and end up losing them both.