3 players the Miami Heat desperately need to bounce back to win Game 5

3 players the Miami Heat need to break out to extend their season in Game 5

2. Max Strus

Will the real Max Strus please stand up?

Admittedly, the Heat have been reliant on wildcards to get a lot of things done in this playoffs. One of those wildcards is Strus, the team’s resident gunner whose recent play has been a tale of icy cold and burning hot.

Aside from a laudable outing in Game 2 where he drained four of his 10 3-point tries, Strus has canned just one out of 16 triples in the three other contests. Basically, the common element in Miami’s losses in the Finals has been the shooting guard’s putrid and uninspiring play.

Duncan Robinson’s positive showings notwithstanding, the Heat’s offensive design is not so conducive nor forgiving to designated shooters (plurality intended) having off nights. Bad shooting severely compresses the team’s leeway on offense while giving Denver’s solid team defense more incentive to be disruptive and take gambles.

Heat fans are accustomed to Strus’ rather inconsistent stroke this season, but with Miami on the verge of elimination, it is imperative that he plays loose and be a deciding factor from the perimeter.