Miami Heat: LeBron Is Not the Reason for the Heat's Late Game Struggles

I wouldn't call myself a basketball genius, but I am smart enough to recognize the reason the Miami Heat tend to struggle at the end of games.

And it has nothing to do with LeBron not being clutch.

Maybe the ball should be in Dwyane Wade's hands a little bit more at the end of games, but that's not the issue at hand, either.

Most recently the Miami Heat almost blew their lead against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. Although the Bulls did not lead the whole game, they had plenty of chances at the end of the game to steal a win in Miami without Luol Deng.

There were many things one could take away from that game.

One, in Deng's absence it is clear that Rose is going to be more aggressive and is getting back in the groove of things after missing a few games due to injury. Two, it seems as though it is inevitable that the Bulls and Heat will meet up in this year's Eastern Conference Finals once again.

However, both teams have their sights set on an NBA championship this year.

The difference between these two teams is that the Bulls offense basically consists of Derrick Rose breaking down his defender and creating opportunities at the rim for himself and open shots for his teammates.

But when it comes to the Heat, their situation is much different.

In my opinion, this is what makes them a better team—three players at the end of games with the ability to create their own shot.

Despite this luxury, the Heat still manage to struggle down the stretch. Against the Bulls it became very clear to me why this has become a recurring problem. When it gets down to about the last five minutes of a close game, the Heat stop running their offense. They stop pushing the ball up the court to create easy fast break opportunities.

Instead, Spoelstra puts the ball in LeBron's hands at the top of the key or on the wing for 20 out of 24 seconds on the shot clock. Then he is left with limited time and is asked to make a play. And often times he simply settles for a jump shot.

There is no reason the Heat should stop running their offense, no matter how much time is on the clock. Utilize all your threats including all three superstars and the shooters Riley has equipped the roster with.

All you do by having LeBron dribble at the top of key for a majority of the possession is give the defense time to set up, which in turn results in a jump shot from LeBron James.

I'm not sure who is calling the shots at the end of the games as far as offensive play calling goes, but I am assuming it's Spoelstra.

If the Heat are to succeed later on down the road, there aren't too many adjustments they have to make. Simply continue to run the offense for 48 minutes instead of 40 and don't go into panic mode and put the whole thing on LeBron's back.

He came to Miami so he wouldn't have to carry such a burden.

If nothing else, put LeBron James in the post, the ball in Dwyane Wade's hands and give him the option of going pick and roll with Bosh or feeding LeBron.

Like I said, I'm no basketball genius, but I do believe that Spoelstra and company are making things too complicated on their end.