Heading into the upcoming NBA season, the Miami Heat will certainly be looking to make some real noise during playoff time. They have to conquer the regular season first though, setting themselves up for success in the postseason, and that’ll take production.
Speaking of production though, the Miami Heat have found themselves getting a ton of it from the outside lately. Over the past two seasons, especially, it has been a hallmark of the team.
While they didn’t quite have the same success last season that they did in the Bubble Year, they still have the tools to be dangerous and should be again this season. While they have a few guys that can shoot it, that all starts with their best shooter, Duncan Robinson.
About those other guys though, who, specifically, is their second-best shooter on the squad? The answer may not be that shocking.
The Miami Heat have relied a ton on the three-point shot in recent years and will, likely, continue to do so. Duncan Robinson is their best there, but who’s second?
That would be Kyle Lowry, from this perspective. A career 36.8 percent range shooter, pretty much 37 percent, on 5.2 attempts per game, Lowry will continue his marksmanship in South Beach this season.
Deeper than his career averages and indicative of where the league has gone in recent years, he shot 39.6 percent, darn near 40 percent and Duncan Robinson-territory, last season and on over seven attempts for Toronto.
Among guys who had a quality number of attempts and that actually played the entirety of the year with Miami (excluding Chris Silva, Moe Harkless, Meyers Leonard, and Avery Bradley because they don’t satisfy those parameters), his numbers would have put him, squarely, in second on the team from a range shooting perspective last season.
Number’s three, four, five, and seven are gone in Kendrick Nunn, Goran Dragic (sadly), Nemanja Bjelica, and Trevor Ariza, with Tyler Herro sandwiched in betwixt somewhere at sixth last season. Tyler has to prove that he can hit his shots consistently to hang with Robinson and Lowry, but could climb up there, if so.
It has to be proven though. Max Strus has the ability to surpass both Duncan and Lowry, to be honest, but he won’t get the opportunity that they will, in theory. No one else has a shot though.
There are guys capable but they, likely, won’t. That’s why, without a shadow of a doubt, he’ll be a top-two range shooter for the Miami Heat next season.