What’s missing on the Miami Heat’s 2018-19 roster?

What’s still missing for the Miami Heat?

The Miami Heat’s roster for the upcoming season is nearly set.

The team will actually bring back the vast majority of their 2017-18 roster.

On one hand, consistency can be a good thing; however, there are a couple of noticeable deficiencies that may end up capping this team’s potential.

3-point shooting is one area where the Heat have room for improvement.

This element of the game has been a point of emphasis in the NBA in recent years. Teams have been taking more 3-point attempts than ever before, and there are no signs of that trend slowing down anytime soon.

Last season, the Heat collectively shot 36 percent from downtown – giving them the 15th-best average in the league. That, my friends, is the definition of average. I think it goes without saying that the coaching staff and players would like to see those numbers go from average to good.

The Heat clearly understand that 3-point shooting is a mainstay of any successful team in the modern NBA. They averaged the ninth-most 3-point attempts per game last season.

The issue they face has to do with their current personnel.

Miami had eight different players that attempted over 100 3-pointers last season.

Of those eight players, just five finished the season with a 3-point shooting average over 36 percent. Wayne Ellington, who was recently signed to a one-year deal, led the team with an average just under 40 percent.

The Heat could use another shooter in their rotation to help bolster their offense and spread the floor. Ideally, that player would be a “3 and D” guy, that could contribute on both ends of the court, while also having the size to play as a forward in some lineups.

That player could also shoot at a relatively high volume, while maintaining a 3-point shooting percentage around 40 percent.

Miami doesn’t have to go searching for a free agent or draft up a trade to add this player to their team. There are some candidates on their current roster that could potentially improve this season and fill this need.

Guys like Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson both attempted over 300 3’s last season.

They shot 37.8 and 36.7 percent, respectively. It’s feasible that those guys could improve their shooting percentages, while taking a similar amount of shots.

Justise Winslow and Rodney McGruder took much less 3’s, but they finished the year with 3-point percentages of 38.0 and 42.9, respectively.

Could they maintain those percentages with a higher volume of shots? Maybe.

The Heat also signed Duncan Robinson, a 6-foot-8 forward, to a two-way contract this summer.

Robinson shot 53.6 percent from 3 in Summer League play. Yes, it was against lesser competition and he only took 28 3-point shots, but the guy has the potential to be a great shooter in the NBA.

He also has the size to play power forward in a smaller lineup.

The Heat have plenty of solid talent at their disposition. Now, it’s just about molding it properly.