Continuing our series about what every player on the Miami Heat roster needs to improve on going into next season.
We covered the young players yesterday and now we’re moving onto the veteran role players: Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love.
Later this week, we’ll cover the expensive players in a separate post. Let’s go!
Duncan Robinson
Finishing. After springing a new off-the-dribble game on the league two seasons ago, Robinson regressed a bit when it came to scoring within the arc. Last season, Robinson finished at a 64.2% clip within 3 feet of the basket, his lowest mark of his career.
Robinson is an elite 3-point shooter who takes three-fourths of his shots from deep (as he should), but that means that he needs to make the 2-pointers count. He has the ability to attack closeouts off the dribble, he just needs to finish at a better percentage. He should bounce back. The worry level here is low.
Haywood Highsmith
Dribbling. Highsmith averaged 0.98 dribbles per touch last season, the fewest of any Heat rotation player last season. It isn’t a killer, especially when he shoots nearly 40% on 3s, but it would help the offense if he had a little more juice off the dribble.
Opponents mostly leave Highsmith open because they aren’t worried about him doing anything with the ball, and he seems to have an aversion to dribbling more than twice on a single possession.
Highsmith is a solid two-way wing, but he could be even more impactful if he could move the ball a bit more.
Kyle Anderson
Three-point shooting. Anderson is a career 34% 3-point shooter on just above one attempt per game, but shot just 33.3% on 0.7 attempts in 25 games with the Heat last season. Already a low-usage outside shooter, he can’t really afford to do less.
Anderson is a stout defender and smart playmaker who could thrive as a power forward next to Bam Adebayo if he could up his volume and accuracy from 3-point range.
Then again, this is the same thing every fanbase has asked of Anderson throughout his 11-year career, and one look at his hitchy jumper tells you everything you need to know about why he isn’t a better 3-point shooter.
Kevin Love
Availability. Love spent a big chunk of last season away from the team attending to a personal matter – out of his control. But now that it’s behind him, the Heat could benefit from his presence around the team.
His teammates wished him well last season but also openly missed his presence in the locker room. Love isn’t Udonis Haslem. He’s not going to challenge his teammates in the same way from the end of the bench. That responsibility falls on Adebayo, who leads from the front. Rather, Love provides sage advice and tactical input from his spot in the locker room. That’s all valuable stuff, and the Heat can use it next season.