Why the Miami Heat Need Perimeter Shooters
The Miami Heat need 3-point shooters. Badly.
The Heats’ most concerning flaw going into next season is clearly their lack of outside scoring. The four out of the top five teams in three-point attempt this season were the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s no coincidence that the last four remaining teams in the playoffs were all high-volume three point shooters.
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In Today’s NBA, teams must be able to run the floor, protect the rim and shoot from beyond the arc. Unfortunately for the Miami Heat, they do not have many shooters. The Heat were tied for 20th in the NBA among all teams in three point attempts.
Luckily for the Heat, shooters are not impossible to find. The Cavaliers rank second in three pointers made per game this postseason, and some of their best shooters are J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Matthew Dellavedova. None of these players have been, or ever will be All-Stars. The Heat don’t have to find great players, they just need more capable shooters.
The big three for this team consists of Hassan Whiteside, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, and neither one of these players are known as a great shooter. Bosh has developed a solid three-point game over the past few years, but he’s not considered a lights-out shooter.
There’s still a chance the Heat bring back Goran Dragic, but he’s also not a particularly great outside scorer. Last year, in 26 games with the Heat, Dragic shot 32.9 percent from beyond the arc, which is decent, but not good enough.
If you look at the Miami Heat’s 2014-15 shot chart, courtesy of vorped.com, it’s clear that they need to improve their outside game.
If this team wants to compete for another title, they will need shooters. Even the Heat teams led by LeBron James had Shane Battier, Ray Allen, James Jones, Mike Miller and other well-known outside scorers.
There’s several ways the Heat can fix their perimeter woes. Many writers have suggested they draft Devin Booker from Kentucky, who is widely considered the best spot-up shooter in this year’s draft. Due to Booker’s shooting capabilities and his size (6’6” 206lbs), many scouts have compared him to the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson.
Their other option would be to sign a shooter in free agency. The San Antonio Spurs’ Danny Green becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, and due to his poor performances in this year’s playoffs, he may come at an affordable price. Green is a career 42 percent three-point shooter.
Along with Green, the Heat could pursue Corey Brewer (player option) and/or Iman Shumpert (restricted free agent). Both of these players are athletic, good defenders and capable tree point shooters.
No matter where the Heat decide to look, they need to find shooters. Last season, the Heat looked stagnant on offense, ranking 27 among all teams in points per game. But what can the Heat expect when Michael Beasley is one of your biggest offensive weapons?
Once again, the Miami Heat will be entering the offseason hoping Pat Riley can bring in some much-needed talent. Except this time, they won’t have LeBron James to lean back on.