3. Land on a playoff rotation
This rolls into the lineups which are the last issue, and while it is a big proponent in winning basketball, this issue tends to sort itself out come playoff time. As we saw all season, guys were in and out all year. Head coach Erik Spoelstra tried to cook with the ingredients he was given, and at times, a lot of the lineups weren't good. Regular season games are trial and error for Spoelstra, and as we get closer to restricted lineups and higher player usage, a lot of these prior issues can be fixed.
One game Jimmy Butler is playing with Tyler Herro and Kevin Love, and in the next, it's with Patty Mills and Thomas Bryant. There's just been no consistency and when you don't have that, you tend to go through the motions. Let's get this one over with. It's hard to play clean basketball when you don't know who you're sharing the floor with, which is why these lineups need to be figured out.
Putting the right guys around "Playoff Jimmy" leads to successful minutes and offensive production. If your best player is playing free and getting to where he wants, the floor opens up. You start seeing cleaner attempts and quicker ball movement, and when the offense is flowing, it leads to their gritty defense. When the gritty defense comes out, you get more attempts and easier baskets.
The Heat are one big puzzle, and if one piece isn't working or is missing, you can't see the final product. They can't control health, but if everyone is on the same page and can play meaningful basketball on the offensive end by generating open looks, this team is good enough to win the 2024 NBA championship.