The Miami Heat had a great start to this season, but recently, the team's limitations have become more visibly apparent. Their offense, led by veteran offseason acquisition Norman Powell, has looked energized and fast-paced, which is a clear departure from Erik Spoelstra’s past offensive game plans. The team has looked comfortable playing at a fast pace and pushing the ball in transition. However, the month of December has not been kind to Miami, as they underwent a five-game losing streak before winning in Brooklyn on Thursday.
Bleacher Report released an article highlighting every NBA team’s biggest problem as the league approaches the new year. The Heat’s biggest problem: “The Unknown.”
“The Miami Heat's revamped offense is one of the freshest and most exciting stories of the season,” the article wrote. “In eliminating screens, mandating a breakneck pace and prioritizing a drive-and-cut attack rife with off-ball shifting, it feels like the Heat are entering unexplored territory—or at least checking it out more thoroughly than the Grizzlies did a year ago. Tactical shifts like this don't come around often. The NBA was defined by the pick-and-roll for almost 20 years, and this departure could mark the beginning of a new era.”
The Heat are one of those teams that look capable of beating anyone on a good night but are still vulnerable when things start to unravel. Since the team entered the season with a notable amount of question marks, the year has still been successful thus far. Miami’s struggles haven’t stemmed from a lack of effort or star power, but rather from uncertainty about whether their new approach can consistently hold up. The team has been largely unpredictable, and that may create issues if Miami reaches the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“Or—and this is where the problem comes in—Miami's offense might fall completely flat in the playoffs and wind up a footnote in a chapter of NBA history devoted to wild ideas that look ridiculous in hindsight,” the article added. “Probably somewhere between ‘Cooper Flagg: Point Guard’ and ‘Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan never won in Chicago, but Sacramento will be different.’”
The Heat need to show more consistency if they want to be taken seriously as a potential playoff team in the East. The change in offense has been exciting, but that excitement could come crashing down as the season progresses if the team can’t sustain its new style of play.