3 Heat stats it's too early in the season to freak out about

It’s been three games. The games matter, but it’s also an extremely small sample size. Stats can change with one performance. Teams at the bottom of the league standings in 3-point shooting can soar to the top with a single hot shooting night. 

So. when looking at these league-wide stats, it’s important to keep all of that in perspective. Although it’s too early to sound any alarms, there are a few things that the Miami Heat should be monitoring and working on improving. 

Pace

After ranking near the top of the league in pace during the preseason, the Heat have plummeted to 29th through the first week of the season. They are averaging 97.1 possessions per 48 minutes, down from 104.2 in the preseason.

Some of that has to do with their opponents. The Magic, Hornets and Pistons all rank in the bottom half of the league in pace. The Heat either played at their tempo or dragged them all into the mud. We’ll see what’s what in time.

For what it’s worth, pace is an overrated statistic. You know who led the league in pace last season? The Washington Wizards. Who stink. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics were 19th in pace.

When coaches say they want to play with pace, that doesn’t always mean cramming as many possessions into a game as possible. They are talking about playing with tempo, pushing in transition and working intentionally to get good shots early in the clock. The Heat have done most of that.

Three-point shooting

The Heat are 20th in the league, making 34.8% of their 3s this season. Expect that to perk up. Miami made 37% of its 3s last season. The roster is decorated with too many good shooters to remain in the bottom 10. 

Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson and Alec Burks are all accomplished 3-point shooters. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic and Haywood Highsmith aren’t as proven but are improving.

A more promising indicator is that the Heat are getting up 38.3 3-point attempts per game, five more than last season. Shoot them, and they’ll start going in.

Bam’s scoring

Here are Bam’s stats through three games: 11 points on 38.7% shooting, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists. All would be career lows since Adebayo assumed the starting job.

It also won’t hold.

Bam is simply too good. Even with changes to the offense, he’ll find his spots and go on a run at some point soon. As a team-first guy, it makes sense that 13 is deferring to others and patiently waiting for his touches.

After Miami’s disastrous season-opener, it was clear Jimmy Butler needed to touch the ball more. He was seventh on the team in touches in that loss. Since then, no Heat player has touched the ball more.

But do you know who was sixth in touches in the opener? Bam. There’s been less urgency on the Heat’s part to get him involved and he’s still fourth on the team in total touches, averaging about 10 fewer touches per game than last season an four fewer shot attempts.

The Heat veering away from mid-range jumpers impacts Bam the most. That was his bread and butter last season, and now he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to get fed. He hasn’t made a 3 yet this season, but he’s attempting two per game. He’s also taking more of his shots in the paint. When he starts making them at an expected clip, he’ll start taking more shots, and his scoring averages will bump up.