Miami Heat: Will The Free Throw Attempts Be At An All-Time High?
By Isiah Curry
In the last two seasons, the Miami Heat have established an identity of manipulating interior defenses. With driving and finishing capabilities, they can wear opponents down to free-up perimeter shot attempts — an offense that culminated in a 2020 NBA Finals run.
While the Heat were unable to replicate that same offensive proficiency in 2021, some rough shooting stretches played a factor through much of last season and further into the playoffs.
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As a result, opposing teams were given the luxury of sagging-off to take away Miami’s strongest capability: getting inside and drawing fouls.
The Heat ranked just 22nd in free-throws attempted last season (1520; tied with Golden State), but they were still 12th overall in attempts-made. Nonetheless, a revamped roster should set them up for a greater trend in ramping up more attempts from the line than usual.
Whenever you have players such as Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on your roster, rim-pressure will always come at a premium. Being two of the NBA’s top-20 leaders in attempted foul shots, they’ve gotten there in different, yet dynamic ways of their own.