Miami Heat: 3 players who could have a breakout season
By Jack Simone
The Miami Heat ended up losing in Round 1 after a slightly disappointing regular season last year. After their Finals run in 2020, many expected more.
Though injuries and COVID protocols certainly got in the way, the team still underperformed. Defensively, the Miami Heat looked solid, but they struggled on the offensive end of the floor.
Miami finished with a top 10 defense in the league. They were top five in opponent points per game (108) and tenth in defensive rating (110.7).
On the other hand, the Heat were a bottom 10 offense. They ended 25th in points per game (108.1) and 18th in offensive rating (110.6).
Hot. Exploring a Damian Lillard to Miami trade. light
Clearly, scoring the ball was not Miami’s strong suit. Goran Dragic’s scoring took a slight dip, Jae Crowder left in free agency, and various injuries left the team short-handed.
In addition, the Heat have a number of free agents to deal with this summer. Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, and Kendrick Nunn are both restricted free agents, while both Dragic and Andre Iguodala have player options.
If the offense had issues scoring last season, losing that many pieces would seriously hurt. Though the Heat could potentially have some cap space, they will likely use the majority of it to re-sign players.
The bottom line is that the Heat need to score the ball more next season. As simple as it may sound, it’s the honest truth.
With most of their money this summer going towards re-signing players, that scoring will likely have to come from within the organization.
This begs the question – which current Miami Heat player could see the biggest leap in production next year?