3 Surprising lessons the Heat can take from its summer league title run

3. The pick-and-roll can be the foundation of the offense

To do that, the Heat might want to lean further into the pick-and-roll as a staple in the offense. 

Miami routinely ranks near the bottom of the league in how often the roll man finishes a pick-and-roll possession. That isn’t a problem in and of itself, but it is a symptom of the Heat’s inability to consistently generate efficient offense.

The Heat last season were too heavily indexed on mid-range shots. Swapping out some long 2s for 3s can always help, but getting the easy ones at the basket is even better. 

The Heat have lacked an elite rim-runner for years. Bam Adebayo thrives more when facilitating on the perimeter, and bigger centers like Dewayne Dedmon, Cody Zeller and Thomas Bryant haven’t panned out. Ware is a bet on talent and upside. He’s an elite athlete in the way Miami’s other backup centers haven’t been. Using him as a rim-runner and lob threat should help nudge the Heat’s offense in a more efficient direction.

The question is, who becomes Ware’s pick-and-roll partner? In Las Vegas, it was mostly undrafted point guard Isaiah Stevens. Even if Stevens secures a two-way contract, he won’t be playing nightly rotation minutes. So Ware needs to develop chemistry with another player. 

The easy answer is Terry Rozier, who is already the Heat’s best pick-and-roll ball-handler and lob thrower. Tethering Ware’s minutes to Rozier’s could be the foundation for Miami’s second-unit offense.