There’s a new AllUCanHeat column in town. Welcome to Makes and Misses, a weekly look at the Miami Heat’s progress.
The Miami Heat are once again a team learning how to play together, and more importantly, learning how to win.
In the midst of a six-game road trip out west, the Heat went on a four-game rollercoaster starting with a nail-biter in Los Angeles, beating the Clippers after blowing a 24-point lead. An underwhelming effort against the Golden State Warriors, led to more Hassan Whiteside drama, with the week wrapping up with an impressive handling of the struggling Phoenix Suns and a gutsy victory versus the Utah Jazz.
The last of which was possibly the least eventful, as both the Heat and Jazz engaged in a sloppy affair that was decided by some clutch baskets from Dion Waiters and Josh Richardson down the stretch.
The Heat then had a chance to wrap up their road trip with a win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, but unfortunately instead fell short 112-103.
Over the course of the week, Waiters missed time due to the birth of his daughter, Tyler Johnson didn’t play in Phoenix and once again head coach Erik Spoelstra was tasked with filling out an inconsistent rotation.
The four games this week showed a team that is still trying to find its identity and one that is getting close to that discovery. Let’s take a look at some of the positives (makes) and negatives (misses) from the week that was.
Make: Justise Winslow’s Expanded Role
Winslow is still finding his role on this team after an injury-filled sophomore season, and this week we saw what he can do when given the keys to the offense.
Winslow will always be the centerpiece of some of the Heat’s best defensive lineups (along with Richardson and James Johnson) but its his offense that had yet to find its footing. But after two uneven games in Los Angeles and Golden State, Winslow finally showed flashes of his potential in a consistent fashion against Phoenix.
Granted, the struggling Suns have managed to make even Lonzo Ball look competent this year, but the game was important for Winslow because he was put in positions to succeed and did just that. A lot of talk has been made about his infrequency in the pick-and-roll game, often being stashed in the corner as a late cutter or corner shooter; however, this time it was different.
Winslow had the ball in his hands at the top of the key and was allowed to make a play in space, something Heat fans have been waiting for through the first ten games. Here’s a good example of his incredible control and patience in the pick-and-roll.
After running off a double screen from James Johnson and Hassan Whiteside, Winslow gets Devin Booker on his hip with a couple of hard dribbles which also freezes Alex Len and allows Whiteside to spring free for the lob. This is certainly not a play made by someone with barely two years of NBA basketball under his belt.
Getting Winslow into the flow of the offense is so important for the rest of his game. Against Phoenix, he also went 2-of-4 from 3 on his way to a 14-point, 6-rebound and 5-assist night. His outside shooting has been one of the biggest questions on his game, but allowing him some freedom offensively leads to in-rhythm, open looks.
It also allows Winslow to flash some of that “young Kawhi Leonard” potential. Here, again, Winslow disposes of Booker quickly and puts a deadly Euro step on Marquese Chriss to get to the rim easily.
Going forward, look for much more involvement from Winslow with the ball in his hands as the main initiator. It’ll put him on the fast track to fully realizing the potential of his place in this league.
Miss: Offense vs. Golden State
It’s always a worthy test to go up against the defending champions, and one of the most dominant teams this league has ever seen. Not only are the Warriors an offensive locomotive, but when they decide to, can also morph into an elite defensive unit.
Heading into Golden State on a back-to-back already stacked the deck against the Heat, but there is no doubt that they failed themselves in a game that proved to be winnable. The Warriors came out flat and remained that way for most of the first half. Both Steph Curry and Kevin Durant struggled from the field and the Heat held the lead for most of the half.
But they couldn’t find any offensive rhythm and instead struggled immensely, playing in the 30’s well into the second quarter, until the Warriors eventually woke up and put the game out of reach.
The Heat’s biggest issue was a lack of movement, which makes the game so much easier for an elite defensive unit like the Warriors.
James Johnson gets the ball in the post and everyone essentially stops moving. The Warriors can pack the paint (which they were doing all night to neutralize Whiteside) and there is no move left for James Johnson. Winslow makes a late cut, but the possession was already over. Without multiple cutters and a more dynamic attack, the Heat cannot take the next step as a threatening offensive unit.
The Heat made things way too difficult on themselves in the most basic of actions, like a dribble hand-off where Tyler Johnson forced a tough pass to James Johnson, for one of the Heat’s 20 turnovers on the night.
It’s a disappointing result and was disheartening to see the Heat revert to some of their worst habits (stagnant offense, turnovers, etc.) in a game where they should have brought their very best. Thankfully, the Heat got back to many of those positive trends in a bounce back win in Phoenix.
(But more on that later.)
Make: Whiteside’s Benching
The Hassan Whiteside Experience continued this week, after an abysmal effort at Golden State leading to a second half benching. Against the Warriors, Whiteside played just 16 minutes and went 1-for-9 for 3, and was a -15. He struggled to establish any sort of inside presence, as the defending champions packed the paint with their best defenders.
The performance was Whiteside’s worst in some time, as he regularly challenged one of the league’s best defenders, Draymond Green, in a one-on-one situation. Green won easily, forcing difficult shots like turnaround jumpers.
After 24 hours of doubters creeping in about Whiteside’s future on the team, the franchise center met with team captains Dragic, James Johnson and Udonis Haslem, as well as the coaching staff to regroup and refocus. As it turns out, the benching may have been the best thing that happened to him.
Whiteside came out like the dominant big man everyone knows he can be against the Suns, playing an efficient 28 minutes. He scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and registered four crushing blocks.
His effort and activity was consistent throughout, particularly late in the game where he notched two blocks on one possession, even coming from out of bounds to finish the play.
When Whiteside is imposing his will like this, even in a 28-minute effort, the Heat are incredibly dangerous defensively. The core of their defensive gameplan is to funnel the ball handlers to their rim protector. And when he is making plays like the one below, that defense tightens up and puts immense pressure on the opposing offense.
Ideally, it’d be great if these interventions weren’t necessary with Whiteside, who showed the type of immaturity that has hindered his development over the years. Hopefully in the future though, Whiteside is able to overcome a tough start and put aside a personal vendetta (i.e. going one-on-one against Draymond Green) to play within the system and be the consistent dominant center the Heat need.
Make: Simplified Offense
After a tough night in Golden State where the Heat shot just 36 percent from the field, and turned the ball over 20 times en route to a blowout loss, Spoelstra vowed to simplify the offense for their next game in Phoenix. The result was a surge in scoring efficiency, as the Heat put 126 points on a bad Suns defense, and shot 53 percent including 12 3’s.
The Heat’s offensive principles are rooted in simple basketball philosophies. Movement and spacing are essential, but what the Heat have that many teams don’t is a willingless to allow all five positions to handle the ball and initiate the offense.
That dynamic approach arises in the pick and roll game, where they can space the floor and put defenses in tough matchup situations. One of those wrinkles was a James Johnson/ Dragic pick and roll where Dragic wisely slipped the screen, and was quick enough to evade any help defender.
A lineup with Wayne Ellington in it, as well as Kelly Olynyk, allow the Heat to space the floor. Defenders have to respect their shooting, opening up even more room for Dragic (a great finisher at the rim) to operate. This is a simple concept, but its effective when you have players who are connected and can anticipate a move like Dragic slipping the screen.
Again, spacing was the name of the game on the way to their best offensive output of the season, as a simple misdirection dribble handoff led to a wide open three for Wayne Ellington.
Spoelstra routinely employs simple actions he used to use with Ray Allen to get Ellington an open look, which for most other less-capable shooters would be classified as a contested look. All this play hinges on is a pair of solid screens from Johnson and Olynyk, and the ability for Ellington to get his shot off quicker than most.
Simple offense won’t carry the Heat through 82 games, but these principles should always be at the heart of their offensive attack. The turnovers will decrease (just 15 against Phoenix) and the points scored will rise.
Miss: Josh Richardson
After a promising start, Josh Richardson regressed offensively this week and did not produce to his ability with a number of troubling patterns developing in his game.
Still, Richardson is a key part of the Heat’s attack because he is without a doubt one of their most reliable defenders and has to be on the floor in crunch time. But offensively, Richardson was just 12-of-29 over the last four games including 4-of-14 from 3. Even more troubling, Richardson totaled 12 turnovers over four games, further contributing to the Heat’s turnover problems.
Many of the plays, particularly the turnovers, are especially confusing and out of character.
Here, it’s not entirely certain what Richardson expected Bam Adebayo to do when rotating away from him. First of all, Richardson doesn’t drive with any purpose, instead inviting an easy double team from the Warriors ,as he traps himself on the baseline with nowhere to go.
Not only that, but Richardson then throws a bad pass to Adebayo who, as a rookie, shouldn’t be put in that situation. Richardson should’ve recognized the situation and instead opted to stop and assess the pass, or simply dribble back out to get the ball to James Johnson.
Many expected Richardson to take the next step as one of the Heat’s centerpieces and while he’s certainly done that defensively, the offensive development has been slow, particularly this week. The hope remains that the end of the road trip brings about some promising performances for Richardson as the month progresses.
Next: Second half shooting drowns the Miami Heat against Detroit Pistons
Until next week…