“The Miami Heat don’t have enough shooters.”
That has been the most commonly discussed roster flaw of this Heat team after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The concern makes sense, considering the top-two players in Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo are not known as elite floor spreading options.
However, the concern isn’t as notable as NBA fans have made it seem, especially after adding veteran sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. into coach Erik Spoelstra’s depth chart. It’s unclear if— as presently constructed— Miami will opt to start Hardaway in the backcourt alongside Davion Mitchell, or have Pelle Larsson fill that role.
It’s worth noting that Hardaway was a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year last season and the Heat did look like a better team when Larsson was receiving starting nods.
Those two rotation players will play crucial minutes for Miami regardless of who starts or comes off the bench. But let’s take a look at the Heat’s top shooters based off their 2025-26 efficiency numbers at the moment:
- Bobby Portis — 46% 3P
- Tim Hardaway Jr. — 41% 3P
- Andrew Wiggins — 41% 3P
- Davion Mitchell — 40% 3P
- Simone Fontecchio — 38% 3P
That is a lot more shooting than what outsiders are giving Miami credit for.
Not to mention, Adebayo has shown improvement in his outside shooting ability over the years. In the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns, the Heat big man displayed rapid development in that department— going roughly 36% each of those years. His 3-point shooting took a dip last season when taken more volume, but he’s still shown that he’s capable, nonetheless.
Ryan Conwell, the team’s second-round selection from this year’s draft, averaged nearly 38% from deep across his college career, additionally.
Sure, they still can absolutely benefit from one more shooting addition to sure up the rotation. Klay Thompson is a name that Miami is reportedly aggressive targeting, which would be another proven 40% 3-point specialist into the mix. But it’s not like the Heat have non-existent shooting here.
If Thompson doesn’t shake free, Miami could either settle for another vet minimum shooter on the open market (Bradley Beal?) or look to see if anything comes up midseason at the trade deadline.
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3PT volume on this team is an issue, Heat were already only an average 3PT volume team last year before losing top two shooters in Powell and Herro. On this year’s team only THJ is a high volume shooter >5 3PA per game. Wiggins is around 5, Simone had 6 at 42.6% two years ago in Detroit. Will Conwell’s game translate to NBA is a big x factor. 99th percentile in NCAA in 3PT volume last year, took almost 10 per game
It’s not just three point shooters. We need to replace what Powell gave us when healthy, the three level scoring. There are a couple of players out there to fill that role and there is definitely a need for more of that on the Heat roster. Klay would help by splashing from outside, but he wouldn’t completely fill out the roster. And nor would Westbrook, as he would also be helpful, but he’s a little more towards the end of his career. Our best two additions, after LeBron, would be DeRozan and Beal, in that order.
Beal is the only one of real options that is historically a 3 level scorer. The problem is he can no longer stay healthy, so he is the biggest risk. It was reported the Heat haven’t had any meaningful discussions with him.
We’ll see. Should know more by next week.