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After finishing the regular season at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 53-29 record, the Miami Heat could not capitalize in the playoffs. The team was just one shot away from reaching the NBA Finals, but Jimmy Butler's 3-point shot was just short against the Boston Celtics in game seven of the conference finals.
So far in the 2022-23 season, things have been far from perfect. The Heat is just 4-7, which is 12th in the East. They are behind organizations such as the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. Right now, Miami would be out of the Play-In Tournament.
While there is still a lot of basketball until the playoffs, the Heat must start its turnaround quickly before it is too late. There is one specific area that is getting attention for the wrong reasons. If the front office addresses this issue, the Heat could go back to the top of the conference.
Biggest early problem Heat must fix in 2022-23
The Heat has many stars that could give many points every night. Jimmy Butler is averaging 20.9 points and hitting 37.5% of his 3-pointers, the latter being his best mark in Miami. In his first year as a full-time starter, Tyler Herro is the second-leading scorer on the team with 19.6 points. Bam Adebayo completes the podium with 17.7 points as he shoots 53.8% from the field.
The problem is that, even with the trio having a solid season so far, Miami as a team is underperforming on offense. The Heat ranks No. 27 out of 30 teams in points per game with 108.0. For comparison, the team is behind the struggling Los Angeles Lakers and rebuilding franchises such as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. Miami already has two games where it failed to reach the 100-point mark.
Miami is making 45% of its shots, ranking it in the bottom 10 in the NBA this season. Regarding 3-point shots, the team is just No. 20 with 34.4%. Even with Adebayo, Miami is just averaging only 8.7 offensive rebounds per game, good for No. 26 in the league.
The team has three rotational players who are shooting below 40%. Gabe Vincent is making 39.5% of his shots. Duncan Robinson has the worst shooting percentage on the team with just 33.8%, while he takes almost six shots a night.
Most notably, the starting point guard, Kyle Lowry is hitting only 39.6% of his field goals as he takes close to 10 shot attempts per game. Even though he is showing some flashes, the veteran is not the same point guard he was during his time with the Toronto Raptors. At age 36, the tendency is that he will only regress from now on.
Currently, only Max Strus is averaging double-digit points (14.4) off the bench. Last season, they had Strus and Herro coming off the bench to provide scoring. With the move of Herro to the starting lineup and Robinson's regression, the Heat lacks scorers when the stars are resting. It is worth noting Victor Oladipo has yet to play this season due to a knee injury.
There are some things the front office could do. It could explore the market for some scorers for the veteran minimum. Kemba Walker and Isaiah Thomas are not at their previous All-Star levels, but they could be solid sixth men. Another option is Lou Williams, who was one of the best sixth men in the league for almost a decade.
All things considered, Miami needs more scoring, especially off the bench. Should it improve the secondary, the Heat could return to contention for the East.
