With only a 7-9 record to show, it’s safe to say that the Miami Heat have been struggling to start the season, and have a number of opportunities that needs to be addressed. One of them is their screen-setting issues, as they’ve been called for offensive fouls often, and have failed to run set plays during games as well, which has contributed to them having a losing record.
Their starting center, Hassan Whiteside, recently gave his thoughts on the Heat's problem, via Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post. He cited how he and former teammate Dwyane Wade did not have problems with it in the past, but also understands that it will take a lot of patience before they can master it as a group and become more comfortable on offense.
“I mean, it’s just, it’s just, man, the guys aren’t being patient,” Whiteside said when asked about the issue after Tuesday’s practice. “Me and D-Wade showed that all year long. We ain’t had no problems. It’s just being patient, man, just be patient, wait for the screen and let guys set you up and make decisions.”
“There’s so many lobs and those lobs just don’t make themselves. It has to be something.”
The 7-foot center then called for his teammates to allow him to establish his position first, and set his feet, before making their moves, for him not to be called for illegal screens.
“I’ve had a lot of offensive fouls [on screens],” Whiteside said. “Yeah, when you set the screen, you know as a big, you’re going to get open. So, if anything you’re going to want to set the screen and get yourself open, too, so it all comes down to it. So it’s just guys got to be patient, just be patient, wait for it, and let guys set their feet.”
Although it can be argued that setting screens is not the biggest issue for the Heat, it’s also a growing concern that would be best addressed as early as possible. Their fans are hoping they can resolve it soon, and then move on to improving their defense, which has allowed their opponents to score on a lot of easy baskets against them.
The South Beach team only missed out on the playoffs last season due to a tie-breaker, and if they want to prevent that from happening again, it will be very crucial for them to get their act together, and as simple as it may sound, practicing how they set screens could be the key to turning their fortunes around.
With the Heat returning to action on Wednesday versus the Boston Celtics, it will be interesting to see if they’ve improved on that facet of their game, and if Hassan Whiteside’s words served as a wake up call to his teammates.
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