3 Miami Heat lineups to look forward to next season

Three-point barrage lineup

Goran Dragic – Wayne Ellington – Dion Waiters – Josh Richardson – James Johnson

Like the small lineup, such a group would be best served in small doses.

But when rolling, it could simply blow opponents off the court.

The five players listed averaged the most three-point attempts per game last season for the Heat, with Richardson’s return of a 33.0 percent clip representing the lowest efficiency of the quintet. Having said that, each player last season has exhibited the ability to simply get red-hot when rolling.

Ellington led the Heat with 6.4 three-point attempts per game, and converted at least five three-pointers on eight occasions. Considering Ellington was assisted on 87.0 percent of his made field goals last season, surrounded but three play makers such as Dragic, Waiters and Johnson would present a frightening prospect for opposing teams.

Richardson had a frustrating season last season, primarily due to injury interruptions before and during the season. But considering over 90 percent of his made three-pointers last season were assisted by a teammate, surrounded by such firepower would certainly enhance Richardson’s abilities from long-range.

But while this group would be exceptional on the offensive end, like the aforementioned small-ball lineup, it presents a significant problem at the other end of the floor.

Next: Projecting the Heat's 3-point shooting

Although these lineups detailed are far from traditional, each can prove to be highly effective when used in the right situation. Combining the Heat’s significantly improved depth with Spoelstra’s coaching prowess, the Heat should certainly be able to capitalise on their spirited second half of last season, and hence move towards the contending teams in the now weakened Eastern Conference.