Miami Heat 1-on-1: What’s contributing to the team’s current struggles?

Lastly, should this team have more better defined roles?

Morganfield: Yes. Positionless basketball can be a great thing or a horrid thing, and this Miami Heat team is pushing closer towards the latter. It’s fun to see different players play different positions, but only when it works. It’s always entertaining when a big man like Olynyk or Whiteside shoots and makes a 3. It’s great to see guards like Tyler Johnson or McGruder make a huge impact on defense. But when there’s so many players than can do so many different things, it starts to get lost as to who should be doing what. Everybody knows that the team has a selection of good players, but no real breakout star. Roles are played, but they’re not defined. As fun as it is to watch, it’s becoming apparent that positionless basketball should be a go-to move, and not a permanent solution for this Miami Heat group.

Rahming: Absolutely, yes. While I do applaud the organization for having both offensive and defensive philosophies installed into the roster, the team looks ultra stale on offense. Currently, the team is ranked 26th in the league, scoring 106.3 points per 100 possessions. With a turnover rate of 15.8 percent (also 26th in the league), this is the purest definition of boring. I have no issues with the defensive philosophy that’s currently in place, but without being able to put points on the board, teams will run past them. The Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and last years’ Boston Celtics put on a clinic on the offensive side of the ball, but that’s not by accident. These teams have specific plays and sets that get the players they want in position to score. In Oakland, the Warriors have it built into their offense that if Curry is cutting baseline, no matter what you’re doing, you need to set a screen to ensure he’s open. In Miami, it looks like none of that is built into the offense. Outside of swinging the ball around the perimeter and cutting off ball if your defender falls asleep, the Heat don’t have anything complex built in and this is a problem. Positionless basketball only works if you have exceptionally talented players on the roster. If you don’t have players on the team that can dribble pass and shoot, you won’t see a quarter of the results the other teams do. The blame should be equally split between president Pat Riley for creating the current roster and Spoelstra for not installing anything remotely complex. Every year, players and coaching staffs improve from the previous season. Have the Heat staff been passed by?

Maybe better is coming?