The Miami Heat are a team that is built on defense, effort, and hustle. For 2020 and beyond though, the best defense is a potent offensive attack.
The Miami Heat are a good team. They proved that last season as they made a run all the way to the NBA Finals.
Unfortunately, they were not able to win those Finals though. They were eventually beaten by the Los Angeles Lakers.
There are many reasons that one could point to when thinking about why they lost, such as the absence of Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic for a lot of the series or simply the fact that the team on the other side consisted of some of the greatest players that the game has ever seen.
Of course, you have Anthony Davis and LeBron James at the top. However, if you don’t think that Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo will also be in the Hall Of Fame one day, you’re just kidding yourself.
Forget all of that though as the Miami Heat had chances to win any of the games they played, all except the first one, a drubbing by the Lakers. Here’s the thing.
They simply went cold and stale at the wrong times. For stretches, either when tied, down a bit, or even up on LA, the Miami Heat were unable to generate offense.
The Miami Heat have always been a really good defensive team, for the most part. That isn’t enough to win at the highest level anymore though and they know it.
That’s what cost them the game and that’s something we saw all season. Heck, that’s something we’ve dealt with for some time now.
Of course, you’ll all play ignorant now, but where do you think the term turd quarter comes from? The Miami Heat have an uncanny and illogical knack for going absolutely brick on offense at the most inopportune times.
Ok, so, what does this all mean? It’s simple.
No matter how well you defend or guard in today’s NBA or at most levels of organized basketball today, the rules are so malleable and the skill is so great with players, that you still won’t be able to win solely on making stops.
The best defense in today’s game of basketball, for 2020 and beyond is a potent offensive attack. It’s really that simple.
Over the last decade, if you look at all of the teams that have won the NBA title, they were a top half and in most cases, a top 10 scoring team in the league. LOOK IT UP! (I’ve actually provided the link for you.)
So, this notion all came about because of a recent piece suggesting that Miami should take a look a Lou Williams, as the Clippers are reportedly looking to move him. While that is a separate issue that everyone is entitled to their opinion about, it does highlight that we need to realize what’s happened over the last few years with this Miami Heat team, organization, and the league in general.
We’ve already discussed the league as a whole and as mentioned, the notion of “offense winning out” permeates the entirety of organized basketball at any level today. The thing with the Miami Heat entities though is this.
While defense and effort is, has been, and will continue to be their calling card, they realize that the ability to be explosive on offense is now just as important as anything else. A sizeable deal for Goran Dragic, Duncan Robinson’s large role with the team, and Tyler Herro‘s ascension are solid proof of that.
Stopping the other team is cool and needed. Being able to blow the doors off them on the scoreboard is the only sure thing though in today’s NBA and believe me, Pat and Spo know that too.