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Miami Heat: The Heat have a huge issue moving forward, and it isn’t cap

By Kenneth Wilson

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 30: Miami Heat players line up for the singing of the National Anthem before the game against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Arena on January 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 30: Miami Heat players line up for the singing of the National Anthem before the game against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Arena on January 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /
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Frankly, watching the Miami Heat play this season has been a real drag. Set aside the fact that they are barely hovering around .500, but it’s really much deeper than that.

Orlando Alzugaray, a radio broadcaster based out of Miami, or “Big O ,”if you know his work, put it best when he said that, “watching this team is like the cure for insomnia”.

How is this the case though?

Some might point to the way they are coached, some will point to the system, which inevitably falls back on the coach as well, and some will point to an endless roster of mediocre and overpaid players, depending on which side of the coin you fall. However, the problem is still much deeper than that.

If you dig just a bit more and begin to think about this team in terms of the NBA in 2019, you should quickly come to the conclusion that this team just doesn’t have a bucket getter.  If you are wondering what that is, the answer should be fairly simple, but here’s a hint, almost every other team has one and Miami doesn’t.

When thinking about the roster of talent that has been assembled in South Beach, there is not a single guy on the roster that you can count on to “get you 20” on every single night. Sounds a bit far-fetched, but think about it. Not only does almost every team around the league have at least one guy they can roll the ball on the court and say, “get me buckets,” but most have two guys that can do that.

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Using the most simplistic examples possible, let’s look at the absolute worst teams in each conference. At the moment, those titles belong to the New York Knicks and the Phoenix Suns. Of course, we know the Knickerbockers bolstered their roster today, but even without the trade and with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined prior to the trade, Tim Hardaway Jr. was that kind of guy for New York. Alonzo Trier has been that kind of guy when given the usage, Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Burke, and even a few others that only makes you depressed to name.

The Sun’s should go without saying, as they are led by two of the brightest young stars in the game in Devin Booker and recent no. 1 overall pick, Deandre Ayton, throw in a little Josh Jackson, T.J. Warren, along with the most recent addition of Kelly Oubre Jr., and all those guys given the usage, could potentially give you 20 points on any given night.

It would be nice to say that some guys on this Heat roster can go for 20 some time, however that is so far and few between that it doesn’t really hold water. Justise Winslow is a very good all-around-player, and can become great, but he isn’t there yet. Josh Richardson is probably the best overall player on the roster, but whether it be increased attention or a simple lack of aggression on his behalf, he struggles to show that superiority.

Hassan Whiteside is a pretty good big, when he is engaged, but at $100 million, you can not really afford for him to take as many nights off as he does. And even with a healthy “Dragon,” Goran Dragic, he is just a pretty solid transition guard. Unfortunately, not a guy you can count on any longer to give you 20 a game, if he ever truly was, however, he did get his All-Star bid in 2018.

Regardless of how you may feel about this particular Heat squad, the facts remain the same.

Yes, they will play hard on most nights, excusing the debacle that was the 16 point loss to the Chicago Bulls. Yes, they are going to give maximum effort on both ends. However, in a league that is trending more and more towards higher scoring outputs, when you don’t have at least one guy who can just flat-out get you a bucket when you need it, your stuck. That’s the major issue here and until it is addressed, either via trade or more aggression from a current player, the Heat will continue to just be mediocre.

Next. Preview vs. Thunder, Westbrook and George coming to Miami. dark

Alas, the Heat will play the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at home, where we will see two of the best bucket-getters in the league with Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

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