The five main flaws of the Miami Heat as the 2024 NBA Playoffs draw near
After losing to the Denver Nuggets in the previous season, the Miami Heat are keen to play in the NBA Finals once more. The club hopes to gain momentum and challenge for an NBA championship after three straight trips to the Conference Finals. Naturally, the team is tied for seventh place with the Indiana Pacers at the time of posting the pacers.
Thus, they will continue to strive for a postseason spot and aim to stay out of the play-in competition. But if the team is to make a deep postseason run, they will need to make some big changes in a few key areas in order to ompete with the best of the best.
Even while players like Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Jimmy Butler have kept getting better overall, some aspects of their play still stick out. Advanced team statistics make it easy to see where there is room for improvement. Let us get straight to the point without any delay.
The Miami Heat’s top five weaknesses going into the playoffs are as follows:
#5: Rebounding offensively
They will therefore keep trying to qualify for the postseason and avoid the play-in competition. However, the squad will need to make some significant adjustments in a few crucial areas in order to compete with the best of the best if they hope to make a deep postseason run.
The Heat are in some dubious company as they are tied with the Washington Wizards with just 9.3 offensive rebounds per game
#4: Rebounding defensively
The Heat’s problems on the glass continue as they are having trouble grabbing rebounds on the attacking end of the court. In terms of defensive rebounding, the squad is ranked in the lower half of the league.
The Heat’s problems on the glass are evident in their defensive bonding numbers, as they are positioned between the New York Knicks in the 17th and the Chicago Bulls in the 19th. Rebounding is unquestionably one of the team’s worst flaws because of issues with the glass on both sides of the court.
#3: Each game, three-pointers
Over the past ten to fifteen years, there has been a transformation in basketball play. Even though more and more teams are emphasising three-point shooting these days, the Heat still find it difficult to shoot as many three points as the other teams in the league.
The Heat are in 18th place with only a few games remaining in the season, averaging 12.4 three-pointers per game. They might struggle if they don’t match the league’s three-point volume if they want to go deep into the postseason.
#2: Percentage of field goals made
The Heat’s field goal percentage is one of their main disadvantages. As of right now, the team’s field goal percentage is 23rd. Only the New York Knicks, out of the other ten clubs in the bottom ten, have a chance to get to the playoffs without having to play a play-in game.
While the best clubs in the league average over 48%, the top half of the league averages over 47% from the pitch. In contrast, the Heat only average 46.4% from the pitch.
#1: Rating for offensive efficacy
The Heat’s offensive efficiency rating is one of their main weaknesses. A club will always suffer if their offence is ineffective, especially in late-game situations.
The Heat are ranked 21st in the league, just ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and below the Houston Rockets in terms of offensive efficiency ratings. The Heat’s offensive efficiency rating is only 112.9, while clubs like the Boston Celtics, who lead the league in efficiency, have an offensive rating of 122.6.
GET RELATED CONTENT ON;
