The Miami Heat were left with a major void to fill after losing swingman, Jae Crowder, in free agency to the Phoenix Suns last fall. A season-long question, whether the Heat could consistently feature a small-ball lineup over a power-rotation, was finally answered by acquiring veteran swingman, Trevor Ariza, from the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 17th in exchange for just Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round pick.
Matching up against some of the league’s premier talents wasn’t anything new to Ariza. At this point of his career, all the Heat could ask for were the things that he does best: space the floor, hustle, and be a defensive disrupter.
In 30 games and 27 starts for the Miami Heat, Ariza averaged 9.4 points on just 41 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent from three. Even after a 12-month hiatus from playing in an NBA game, this was a huge drop-off from last season, where he averaged 11.8 points on 49/40/87 shooting splits with the Portland Trail-Blazers.
What does that mean for the entire tale of his offense though?