Miami Heat: Why the Team Must Have Balance on Offense

If the NBA has proven to us over the past year, besides proving how much money plays a factor, it's that a balanced team will nearly always triumph over the team that relies too heavily on certain players.

Dallas had a complete effort from every single player that stepped out on the court. From Dirk Nowitzki to Ian Mahinmi, each player in the starting lineup and in the bench played a key role in leading the team to their first ever championship. There wasn't one or two players dominating the ball, it was a complete all-around effort from each player.

The Miami Heat did have the capabilities of winning a championship with their three-man core strictly because of the talent level of those three players. It's extremely rare to see a team with so little balance that relies heavily on three players to make it as far as the NBA Finals. The only reason they did was because of how talented they were and how efficient they were in previous series in late game situations.

What we saw in the NBA Finals was the exact problem of having to rely on three main players. When LeBron James started his disappearing act, the Heat were looking for answers from elsewhere. There weren't any. Wade and Bosh did their job and Mario Chalmers contributed a solid 11 points per, but it couldn't make up for the loss of that third man.

The Mavericks were without arguably their second-best player in Caron Butler and still won. Why? Because they had a number of players who could step up in his place. The team was not only stacked off the bench, but was reliant on all of its players throughout the season, so that each player was ready to do their job come playoff time.

The Heat didn't have that. Bad enough that Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem were hurt, it was only exemplified when the Heat were relying on guys like Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony for support on both ends of the floor. Not even Eddie House and Mike Bibby's 15 percent shooting could save them from the disappointing loss.

A team like the Heat doesn't require balance like the Dallas Mavericks or the San Antonio Spurs for the past decade, because they do have three players that could be relied on to lead them nearly the entire way. There has never been a three-man core of this caliber assembled since the Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers of the 1980's.

Those teams couldn't survive without Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, Michael Cooper and Kurt Rambis. The Celtics and Lakers had the three-man core to lead them to the heights they wanted to get to, but it basically came down to which team got the most help when they met up in the NBA Finals.

Even those cores that the Lakers and Celtics had could keep up with the scoring that the big three of the Heat can put up on certain nights. We've seen these three combine for more than 100 points and each score 30 points or better in a single game. They're three players capable of scoring 25 points on any given night as a first option anywhere else on another team.

However, last year proved that you cannot rely too heavily on certain players. You need to at least have two or three others players that can be looked at to rely on because opponents will begin to crack down and attempt to limit the big three in any way possible.

The zone defense has been a favorite of opponents when it comes to facing the Heat. The defense is specifically designed to limit the driving and slashing abilities of certain players, such as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The main reason as to why you don't see it being utilized in the NBA is due to it being too lenient on perimeter shooting.

With so much attention being focused on the drive, defenses can't defend both that and the shooters. That's where balance begins to play a key part for the Heat. Last year, the team didn't have the type of player who could break it and also play well on the other end, which explains why you don't see much of James Jones these days.

That's where players like Chalmers and Miller come in. As soon as those two begin to hit their jump shots and force defenses to pay attention to them, the zone defense becomes a bust, and it's back to regular man-on-man defense—a system that the Heat have had no problem playing against.

As much as we sometimes believe that this big three is capable of performing feats you thought you'd never see before, they also happen to have glaring weaknesses. Aside from Bosh and his consistent shot from within the mid-range, none of these players have much of a solid jump shot from beyond the arc.

Thus the reason for the zone defense and why the Heat need a steady balance between everyone that steps on the court. It's not always about just getting shooters in there to break a zone either, however, because you also need these teammates to play in rhythm. You can't just hand them the ball once or twice, expect them to make a shot and be done with it. It's a lot more complicated than that because you need players who can give a solid, consistent effort over 48 minutes.

It's not fair to players like Miller, Chalmers or anyone else to only be looked at as a last chance to score. Shooters aren't just microwaves that can be turned on whenever, unless you're Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson, and be expected to perform. They need to be allowed to get into a rhythm so that they can create a consistent jumper throughout the course of the game.

You may have noticed that I'm only speaking of the shooters, and that's solely because it's going to be the shooters who will aid the Heat the most come playoff time. Also because there aren't any players on this team who can post up aside from Wade, James and occasionally Bosh, it comes down to whether or not the Heat have the shooters that they can get into a flow and make their shots whenever they're called upon.

LeBron, Dwyane and Chris can't do it all. They'll give you the majority of the team's offense, but it's going to take far more than that if they expect to topple the likes of the Chicago Bulls or Oklahoma City Thunder. Those teams all rely on a solid balance amongst four or five players to aid them in victories.

The Heat had the misfortune of forcing reliance on their three top players last year. They lost their two best players off the bench for the entire season and had to rely on players who were better off as garbage time fillers on any other contending team. Be honest, could you see Joel Anthony playing 30 minutes or James Jones getting 25 minutes on a team like the Bulls or Los Angeles Lakers?

Absolutely not. Miami didn't have a choice last year. It didn't help that Miller and Haslem were hurt, Mike Bibby forgot how to shoot and Mario Chalmers suddenly had to become the fourth best player. It was a miracle that they even made it to the NBA Finals. They beat out far more balanced teams than them to even get to that point.

This year, they have no excuses. Mike Miller is back and shooting well, Udonis Haslem is back to rebounding and hustling (although having his jump shot would be nice) and Mario Chalmers is playing the best basketball of his career. The Heat also happen to have Shane Battier and Norris Cole to rely on, which makes this team even further improved than the squad from last year.

With all of those players, the importance of balance becomes even more significant. All of those players that were previously mentioned are impact players. Miller and Chalmers are solid three-point threats, Cole can drive and play aggressive, and Battier and Haslem can play great defense. These are players that need to be heavily involved in putting up points for the Heat.

At least one of those players, specifically Miller, should be taking near or at least 10 shots per game. You can't have three separate players each taking at least 15 shots per game and then have the fourth scoring option taking six or seven attempts. Those aren't enough shots to establish a rhythm or flow to the offense, and it only causes more shots to be missed when you seldom rely on a member of the supporting cast.

Each and every NBA defense is locked solely on the big three that the Heat possess. They have no other focus to their defensive goal that night besides making those three players work as hard as they can for each and every shot. Usually, it doesn't work because they're too talented, but they will struggle at times when they face off against a stingy defense.

That's where you need players like Miller and Chalmers to begin making their presence felt. If the Heat fed them consistently over the course of the game, they're going to be ready to take any type of shot at any point because that's what happens when you have a balance to the offense. Those guys are too good of shooters to be taking three or four shots per game.

If the Heat run into another repeat of the NBA Finals from last year, they would be able to rely on their balance. They could make up for the loss of one of their key players because they'd have at least two players right there to step up in his place. If the Mavericks can get the most out of DeShawn Stevenson and Ian Mahinmi, there's no reason the Heat can't do the same with two of their cast members.

These are NBA players, and they're in the league for a reason. The Miami Heat shouldn't treat them like D-League castoff's because they're inferior to the three best players on the team. They have to find ways to get multiple players involved and have a solid balance where there are two other players outside of the big three scoring in double digits.

There's no reason why Mike Miller should not be averaging 10 points per game by the end of the season. With the amount of focus and attention that the big three draw, there's no explanation as to why Miller should not be getting open looks throughout the game and converting. It would be inexcusable if he's taking five shots per game and being looked at as a last second option.

Take a look at any team that has won a title before and you'll see plenty of balance. The Lakers had Lamar Odom and Ron Artest, the Celtics had Rajon Rondo and Glen Davis and the Spurs just had too many players to even name. Every team that has ever won a championship has relied heavily on their balance.

The Miami Heat are no exception. We realized what three players are capable of, and we saw just how detrimental to the cause it can be when one of those players don't perform up to par. If the Heat have a balanced effort that they could have relied on last year, I may not be here pondering reasons as to why the team doesn't have a 2011 NBA Championship banner hanging from the rafters at the Triple A.

We get that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are good. However, they shouldn't be working as hard as they do when they have plenty of players surrounding them that can easily step up for them. If the Heat go through a slump on offense, it's a direct result of the team not relying on all of its options.

That ball should be getting passed around all the time. Ball movement means that defense's are going to have to be on their toes. When defenses are on their toes, it's more likely for them to make a mistake. When mistakes happen, that's where the Miami Heat are at their best.

This team relies heavily on forcing their opponent to make mistakes, and they can have that every time as long as they move the ball around and get the supporting cast involved.

Considering how congested this season is, it only gives more reason to give players like Miller or Chalmers more opportunities to score. Every team is going to be tired come postseason time, and that's where the Heat need to take advantage. If they allow the supporting cast to handle some more of the heavy lifting, there will be less of a need to rely on the big three for the entire game.

Give the big three a breather and let the bench handle the load. This isn't the Heat from last year. It's a completely different team. Not only do you have less wires getting crossed between the big three, but you also have a completely new bench with two key players returning from injury, a star defender and a high energy spark.

Talent wins games. Teamwork wins championships. This is the year of no excuses. If the Heat want to begin winning titles this year, they're going to need more than the big three to rely on.

Either that or an extremely long summer. The ball is in your court, Miami.