NBA front offices tend to step back at the 20-game mark and re-evaluate the roster, so the All U Can Heat staff got together to ask and answer some of the biggest questions facing the Miami Heat a quarter of the way into the season.
Q: If Tyler Herro has been the Heat’s best player through 20 games, who has been the second-best player?
Wes Goldberg: Despite the shooting struggles, it’s been Bam Adebayo. He’s played every game this season and defense at an all-pro level (11th in D-EPM, per DunksandThrees.com). The Heat are being out-scored by 2.1 points every 100 possessions when Adebayo is off the court, mostly because their defense slips to the equivalent of a bottom-10 unit without him. Whatever Bam’s struggles, he’s still the anchor of the team.
Max Marshall: I would say Jimmy Butler. He has had moments this year that show he can still provide scoring and get into passing lanes. He hasn’t been consistent this year, but once a week will look like “Playoff Jimmy.”
Daniel Riccio: I am going to go with Jimmy Butler. The Heat tend to look like a much better team when his usage and engagement with the offense is high. Even at his age of 35, that notion still hasn’t changed. Butler has the IQ and two-way skills to age like fine wine, and his impact is crucial to the team’s success.
Q: What is the most troubling team-wide stat or trend so far this season?
Goldberg: The Heat aren’t special at anything. They are neither a top-10 offense or defense. They aren’t an elite rebounding team, they don’t push the pace, they don’t overwhelm opponents with a blizzard of 3s. They want to protect the defensive glass, get steals and play in transition, but they don’t do it reliably on a game-to-game basis. Night to night, I just don’t know what this Heat team is going to be.
Marshall: The most troubling trend this season is that Miami will beat up on the bad teams but lose against the better teams. I understand it’s good to beat up on bad teams to add wins, but Miami needs to show it can hang with the best teams in the league.
Riccio: I think the most troubling stat is the Heat’s pedestrian 5-4 record at home. They have essentially struggled to perform well inside the Kaseya Center ever since they went up 3-0 in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. I don’t feel a legit “home court advantage” with this team as of the last year.
Q: Which experiment has been the bigger disappointment, Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro playing together in the backcourt or Nikola Jovic as the starting power forward?
Goldberg: Considering the cost, Terry Rozier not being the player the Heat had hoped when they traded a first-round pick for him in January stings. Coach Erik Spoelstra tried to speak Rozier being a good defender into existence, but it hasn’t worked. Maybe Rozier thrives off the bench, but a first-round pick for a sixth man is a lot to give up.
Marshall: Nikola Jovic at power forward has been disappointing. When he was in the starting lineup, his skill set didn’t seem to fit, but I thought he played better off the bench. Now, Jovic is in the doghouse. Miami needs to allow him to play through his mistakes; there is still potential for him to contribute.
Riccio: I think Nikola Jovic has been more disappointing. The Terry Rozier investment still has a chance to pan out well in a sixth man role, and he has found himself in most closing lineups alongside Tyler Herro anyway. Jovic has looked disappointing with his development this season, especially as a floor spacer and rebounder. Unfortunately, he won’t ever get a real role unless he proves he can knock down open shots. There is a lot of potential there, but he hasn’t been able to put it together on either end of the floor.
Q: Choose an Eastern Conference tier to place the Heat in: Top contenders (Cleveland, Boston); fringe contenders (Orlando, New York, Milwaukee); possible sixth seed (Atlanta, Indiana); play-in at best (Brooklyn, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia).
Goldberg: Possible sixth seed.
Marshall: Possible sixth seed. At best, the Heat are a team that’s in the middle of the conference.
Riccio: Fringe contenders. The Heat have all the components to still make a run, they just need one real breakthrough in their schedule. It seems like it’s been so long, but this was an NBA Finals team only a year and a half ago.
Q: What’s the no. 1 thing you want to see improved, fixed or happen over the next 20 games?
Goldberg: For the Heat to settle into an identity and then go on a sustained winning stretch. If the Heat can get a consistently active Jimmy Butler, better shooting from Adebayo and lock in on defense, maybe they can rattle off 10 wins in 13 games.
Marshall: Bam Adebayo needs to be more consistent on offense. Miami doesn't require Adebayo to score thirty points a night, but if he can average what he did last season (19.3 points per game), the team should be in a better position moving forward. Additionally, something I would like to see the team address is developing a clear identity. Miami currently lacks an identity on both ends of the court. The team needs to determine what kind of identity they want to establish—whether it’s scoring at a high level or focusing on being a more defensive team.
Riccio: I want to see Bam Adebayo’s offensive efficiency improve. He is uncharacteristically shooting a career-low in field goal percentage this season. Even with his shot diet changing with more 3-point attempts, he needs to be better around the rim. Additionally, I really would like to see Kel’el Ware get real minutes. The Heat’s final form could come with him involved in the rotation and provide a much needed size element to the lineups.