Miami Heat 1-on-1: Can the team turn things around still?

Another edition of AllUCanHeat’s Miami Heat 1-on-1 is here.

First thing’s first: what’s it going to take for this Miami Heat team to turn things around?

Allana Tachauer (@allanatachauer): First and foremost, guys have to be and stay healthy. Although the majority of this Miami Heat roster is now active, even having Goran Dragic alone still sidelined, is enough to derail the team pretty significantly (nevermind that Dion Waiters also continues to be out, a guy whose offense the squad could very much use right now). Otherwise, head coach Erik Spoelstra could stand to figure out his rotations a little bit better. Sure, if Hassan Whiteside is racking up fouls, it makes sense to have Bam Adebayo take on more of a role, especially late in the game. But otherwise, there’s no reason why a so-called headliner should be benched for the entirety of a fourth quarter. Similarly, it seems as though Wayne Ellington is being underutilized. I don’t know if it’s Spoelstra’s reliance on positionless basketball or what, but so far this season, a lot of his lineup choices seem odd to me.

Brandon Johnson (@bjohnsonNBA): A commitment to a certain play style. Is Whiteside your center or is it Adebayo? Are we okay with Dwyane Wade taking the final shots or should we push Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, or anyone else to step up? Miami is in a strange in-between period. The team is celebrating its most storied player, while simultaneously trying to set in motion a rebuild to be a competitive team post-Wade. Like last year, Miami has a host of young talent that needs development. Not just in terms of skill, but in terms of inclusion as well. Where does Tyler Johnson fit in? Which players will still be with this team in 2020? Miami might not be fond of trading any of these guys, but postponing roster movement could be a sign of more mediocrity to come.