The Miami Heat will need everyone to step up, as most of them haven’t been up to par in the clutch this season.
Four of the Miami Heat players that played well in the clutch last season were Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn and Goran Dragic. Herro averaged 2.1 points then, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three.
Filling In The Gaps
Dragic averaged 1.4 points and Robinson averaged 1.0. Nunn added another point, while shooting 41 percent from the field and 77 percent from the charity stripe.
All of those guys were players that could be relied on to grab a bucket late in a tight game. The thing that has gone without saying is that this list, obviously includes Jimmy Butler, sitting at the top of the clutch category for last year and this season.
Outside of Butler though and unceremoniously for that other group, that has taken a drastic turn this year. Of the group, Herro is the only one averaging over a point, while each is shooting under 35 percent from the field, and Nunn is the only player hitting above 30 percent from downtown in those moments (he is averaging 40 percent, overall, but also shooting the fewest number of 3’s).
You could beat the injury drum or the fact that there are fewer close games and more blowouts this year. But the fact remains, the late game studs from last year are fading in the current season.