Miami Heat: 10 Ways LeBron & Co. Can Improve Without Having Erik Spoelstra Fired
This was far than what we expected.
An 8-7 record was certainly not the plateau we expected the Miami Heat to be at 15 games into the 2010-11 season. This was a team that was expected to possibly earn single-digit losses in the regular season before reaching an expected NBA Finals.
They were already deemed favorites to even win the title in their first season together despite never playing together.
Now that we have seen them play together, it's obvious that the team has a lot of work to be done.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have all failed to establish a stable chemistry with each other. Injuries to Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem have greatly depleted the bench, and the team as a whole has yet to truly jell with each other.
Because of this, the head of Erik Spolestra is wanted by the Miami community.
Spoelstra is a third-year coach who led the past two Heat teams to the postseason with a 43 and a 47-win season. This year's team, however, is much different from the past, as he has never had to coach another superstar aside from Dwyane Wade, let alone three.
With the team not performing up to standards, it has been easy to point out that the coach may be the main concern and problem of the Heat's sluggish start.
Despite each player in the Big Three averaging over 17 points per game, the team still has many concerns that have greatly limited them in their first 15 games of the season. Because they have yet to jell and form a chemistry, they suffer from poor rotations on defense and even worse possessions on offense, where they have yielded a number of turnovers due to 24-second clock violations.
For a team with three superstars who all can score at will, the offense is surprisingly stagnant and unexpectedly boring.
Over the past few games, the Heat have looked like a completely different team. They lost to Memphis on the road by two before experiencing their worst loss of the season at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, where they fell by 16 at home.
The chorus of boos during and after the game was the first time probably any player had heard displeasure from their home crowd. It was greatly deserved, though, as the team played uninspired and lackluster.
Their efforts in losses against the Orlando Magic, New Orleans Hornets and Boston Celtics were no better. They struggled and made minor mistakes that resulted in swings for the opposition.
With the team bordering at .500 and mediocrity, a few changes need to be made. One of those changes won't even have to be firing Spoelstra to get back on the right track.
It only takes 10 easy steps for this team to become the dominant force we expected them be.
LeBron James Runs the Point
1 of 10
It's baffling to think that the Miami Heat organization honestly and truly thinks that Carlos Arroyo is the answer to the Heat's point guard issues.
At seven points, two assists and two rebounds per game, Arroyo hardly puts up statistics that are worthy of a starting role. Let alone the starting point guard position on one of the greatest juggernauts to ever step onto an NBA court.
He is continually beaten on defense by superior point guards, which allows them to penetrate the lane and orchestra their offense. He isn't impressive as offense, either, as he has been iffy with his jump shot and isn't as stellar a passer as the Heat hoped for.
It could all be changed with one minor adjustment to the starting lineup. Arroyo isn't the type of player that should be leading this team as the floor general, and it should be given to the player who was brought in to orchestrate offenses as the point guard.
LeBron James has the ball-handling skills, passing ability and a high enough offensive IQ to become an elite point guard.
Not to mention, he's 6'8" and 250 pounds, which would make him by far the largest point guard in NBA history. With elite point guards such as Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul under 6'3", James would hold a significant advantage on offense and defense over other point guards with his size alone.
He has the speed to keep up with point guards on defense and has the court awareness and height to see plays that shorter, regular point guards cannot see.
He has the opportunity to become a modern day Magic Johnson. But LeBron has yet to be given a legitimate chance, as he takes the ball up only on numerous occasions.
If he were to start, it would open room for a shooter in the starting lineup and give the Heat one of the largest advantages in the NBA with LeBron running the floor.
It would allow more room for a chemistry to grow between the team, as James can find more ways to involve his teammates.
Start Erick Dampier
2 of 10
He might be 35 years old, but this is the best answer the Heat have to their issues under the basket.
The Heat have had their fair share of trouble this season under the basket, as rebounding and post issues have become one of the team's recurring problems. This is due to the fact that Miami has no strong inside presence that can take up a significant amount of space in the paint or a player who can push opposing power forwards or centers around.
Chris Bosh has obviously been bullied in the paint by larger power forwards, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is hardly the answer to any rebounding or defensive issue.
At 6'11" and 265 pounds, the Heat may found their answer in former Dallas Mavericks center Erick Dampier.
Miami had the chance to sign him at the beginning of the season to address the situation earlier. But after 15 games and having the same problem recur in nearly every game, the Heat made the right decision this time by signing Dampier to the veteran's minimum.
Erick has averaged eight points and seven rebounds over his 14-year career, with his latest tenure being a staple of the Dallas Mavericks' starting lineup as the center. His large presence always came as a threat, as he was able to defend some of the larger centers of the league, while being able to intimidate smaller opponents enough to keep them out of the paint.
In the Heat's latest game against the Orlando Magic, it was obvious when Jameer Nelson ran into the paint without any pressure that he was hardly fearful of Zydrunas or Bosh.
Dampier is a Jamaal Magloire type of player with a more stable offensive game, as he can help the team on both sides of the court. He can force opposing centers to focus more on him rather than on double-teaming any of the Big Three—Bosh, in particular.
Chris hasn't been able to find more scoring opportunities near the basket because the Heat's starting centers haven't exactly commanded too much attention from the opposition.
While Dampier is hardly a threat compared to any other center, he still provides size and a post presence to a team that desperately needs it.
More Plays for Eddie House and James Jones
3 of 10
Until Mike Miller returns, the Heat need to recognize that is the best they have when it comes to three-point shooting.
Miller was assumed to be the consistent three-point threat coming in to the season following last year's campaign, when he averaged 48 percent from beyond the arc. With a freak injury in training camp, it was then up to James Jones to assume the role as the Heat's largest three-point threat.
It appeared that the Heat wouldn't even need Miller after Jones had hit at least one three-pointer in each of the teams first 12 games. But it all quickly disappeared, as he has now gone 0-for-12 in the past three games.
Eddie House is a spark off the bench. But he has been highly inconsistent, with one of the greatest examples being going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc in a game against Memphis and then shooting 0-of-5 against Indiana only two nights later.
With Miller sidelined, the Heat need to heavily rely on their inconsistent three-point threats in Jones and House on a nightly basis. The Heat have no other pure shooters with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as minimal three-point threats.
What the Heat need to do now is to find more ways to get Jones and House open and their confidence higher. These two are the only ones that can shoot from beyond the arc better than anyone else, and the Heat need to begin to design plays for them to get easily open.
Like Ray Allen does with Boston, the Heat can find Eddie House or James Jones wide-open for three-pointers as well. Passing the ball hardly gets either of them open, as they usually find open opportunities from Wade or James driving and then kicking it out.
Kicking it out off a drive can only take you so far, however. Set plays and stronger pick-and-rolls would get House and Jones more open looks.
They each have the capability to become strong three-point threats. But we have yet to see the both of them shoot at a high percentage in the same game.
Neither player has had the hot hand at the same time. It's a streaky problem that only appears at random.
With designed plays for them to get open, they might lose that streaky namesake and become more consistent.
Isolate Chris Bosh.
4 of 10
His rebounding might be in question, but Chris Bosh is beginning to prove himself as a quality third role on this team.
Bosh now has five straight games with over 20 points and three of the past five games with over 10 rebounds.
He is still being pushed around by the bigger power forwards of the league. But it appears that he is stepping into his role on the team and has become one of the largest scoring threats, as he has been hitting from just about everywhere.
The problem is that the Heat don't look to him too often. For example, in the Heat's loss to the Magic, the team completely abandoned the idea of getting Bosh looks in the paint despite having Rashard Lewis defending him.
The team has appeared to be too dependent on James and Wade down the stretch even though Bosh is just as good scorer, if not better at times. His mid-range jumper has been on point over the past few games, and his driving has improved as well.
Another point of recognition for this team needs to be to find more ways for Chris Bosh to be involved in the team's offense. They have usually been persistent in getting him the ball since his 35-point outburst against Phoenix, but he can still be recognized as a No. 1 scoring option at times, depending on the opponent.
The key advantage the Heat have is that they'll usually have at least one member of the Big Three holding an offensive advantage over their defender.
Chris works best out of the isolation when he is played by one defender and is left alone on the side. It gives him more room to work, as he can draw a number of offensive plays out of his repertoire.
He can either shoot the mid-range, drive or draw a foul. Bosh's versatility gives him advantages over other defenders, as he can do many plays that other power forwards might not be able to defend.
His versatility also keeps defenders second guessing into what he'll do next.
Bosh is a key member of this team and needs to be seen as one. It has been a good idea by the coaching staff to involve him more.
But they need him to remain consistent with his scoring so that he finds himself involved in the offense alongside Dwyane and LeBron.
More Mario Chalmers
5 of 10
Coach Erik Spoelstra recently came out and said that Mario Chalmers is the teams tenth man at the moment. This is a far fall from grace as he is not even a year removed from being the Heat's starting point guard.
Mario was the Heat's starting point guard for all his rookie season as he impressed with 10 points and five assists per game. It appeared that the team might have found their point guard of the future until he came into his sophomore season and greatly struggled at all aspects of the game from his shooting to his defense. He was benched early and played back-up to Carlos Arroyo the rest of the way on his way to averaging seven points and three assists.
This year, there have been little Chalmers sightings on the court as he has been seen in only nine games with only three games of him being featured for more than ten minutes. In the one game he received significant minutes, he responded by netting eight points and dishing out eight assists in 18 minutes of game time in a win against Minnesota. It was clear then that Chalmers still has what it takes to be recognized as a quality role player that could be used on the Heat.
The fact that the Heat have little three-point threats is an easy reason of why Chalmers should be utilized more often as he has proven that he can hit from deep. He hit 37% from deep in his rookie season before seeing it drop to 31% in his sophomore season. He is only two for nine this season, but he could prove to be reliable if given enough of a chance.
While his on the ball defense is nothing worth noting, his off the ball defense is one of his better accolades as he finished in the top five in his rookie year in steals at two per game. The steals come from his ability to cut off passing lanes and learning how to anticipate passes. He might not be able to stick to defenders as easy as you could hope for, but he can still intercept passes with ease. The fact that a stiff like Carlos Arroyo gets playing time, while Chalmers rides the bench is beyond me.
Play Dexter Pittman, Send Joel Anthony To The Inactive.
6 of 10
Call it an $18 million mistake. The fact that Joel Anthony is making over $3 million a year to average two points and three rebounds is straight up robbery. The most we knew of him coming into the season was that he was a quality shot blocker and nothing more. Any Miami Heat fan knew that Joel had hands made out of rocks and might be the most inept offensive player in the league.
He proved us right as he quickly established himself as quite possibly the worst offensive player in the league. His defense wasn't too helpful either as his 6'9" frame was not enough to contain the likes of Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, or Brook Lopez. The plan to start Joel Anthony was quickly scrapped as the Heat elected to start Zydrunas Ilgauskas nine games into the season. His role has become nearly diminished as he has only played ten minutes worth of basketball in three of the past eight games and not playing in two.
The Heat are a team looking for size in the middle and with Erick Dampier and Jamaal Magloire nearly over the hill, they need to look for help in their newly acquired big man in Dexter Pittman. In his time at the University of Texas, Pittman established himself as an intimidating force in the paint as he used his big body to limit drives and to force players into difficult shots when players to attempt to drive on him.
Miami had recently sent Pittman to the D-League to work on his game and it's a step in the right direction. The Heat know more than we know about Pittman and it's clear that they don't believe he has what it takes quite yet to get on the floor. By sending him to the D-League, the Heat are attempting to turn Pittman into a volatile big man. He'll play against semi-pros where he will gain experience before re-joining the team and hopefully stepping out onto the court.
When he does return, the Heat need to give Pittman a shot. Considering Magloire, Ilgauskas, and Dampier are all a few years or a freak injury from retirement, they need to make it an issue to get him into games so that he may become the Heat's center of the future. Dexter could be considered a second round steal if the Heat can convert him into the center that they hope him to be.
The size is there, but the potential is waiting.
Player Movement
7 of 10
No team has ever won a championship by standing around. Just ask LeBron James.
No one knows how to run a stagnant offense better than James as he spent eight years with a team that spent most of their time watching and waiting for LeBron to make his move so that they may join in on the offense. Even though LeBron is on a Miami team with one of the best slashers in the league in Dwyane Wade, most of the time the Heat find themselves standing in one place and waiting for the player who is taking the ball up to make their move.
If you watch any successful team, you will notice that player movement is a key issue. Elite teams aren't the type of teams that rely on one player to faciliate the offense, while the other four stand in one place to wait and see what that player does. Championships are won by balanced efforts and teamwork, not individuals who control every aspect of the game. Players need to involve themselves on offense even when the ball isn't in their hands.
Moving without the ball greatly helps any team as players are more likely to find themselves open for easier scoring opportunities. Shooters like Eddie House and James Jones would benefit off of moving around without the ball, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James will find better driving opportunities, and the rest of the team will learn how to play without the ball in their hands as they develop a chemistry that doesn't involve watching LeBron James or Dwyane Wade single-handedly control the offense.
Player movement helps establish a chemistry as players begin to know and anticipate where their teammates will end up. It greatly benefits a new team as well as they begin to get to know each others games as they eventually develop the right chemistry so that they may all benefit off of each other instead of everyone benefiting off of one player.
The big three was brought here for a reason and it wasn't to watch each other take turns in facilitating an offense.
New Offensive Scheme
8 of 10
The Heat may average over 100 points per game, but their offense is run solely off of talent alone.
Coming into the season, nobody expected the Miami Heat to run into problems on the offensive end. How was it possible at all to run into problems when you had three players that averaged at least 24 points per game in the same starting lineup? How could there be problems when you had two of the most athletic slashers in the league, while also having one of the better mid-range jump shooters at the power forward position?
77 points against the Indiana Pacers probably puts that in a nutshell. The Heat have proven to be lackluster and sloppy in a number of games with the team falling in and out of lulls at key moments of the game. Due to the team unable to build a lack of chemistry, LeBron, Dwyane, and Chris have struggled to play with each other as they have to run completely successful fastbreaks or being able to run a stable, consistent offense.
Despite the team having their outbursts, 126 points against Phoenix and 129 against Minnesota, they've had plenty of games where they couldn't score for awhile. Most of the time, it comes at the beginning of games where they fall behind and are forced to play catch-up for the rest of the way. The problem arose in New Orleans and Memphis as they fell behind by double-digits in the first quarter and needed to make a frantic comeback to even the game before eventually falling.
The problem arises from the offensive system that coach Spoelstra works the team out of. The half-court is not the type of offense that this should be run in. There is way too much athleticism and talent, and not enough jump shooters, to make this team play in the half-court. Many times, we have seen this team fall into lulls where they are forced into jump shots rather than driving due to the offensive system that restricts their driving ability.
It also restricts their ability to develop a chemistry as the five players usually spend their time along the perimeter passing the ball to each other before taking an ill-advised jump shot that was a direct result of wasting too much time and nearly falling at the hands of the shot clock. No offense this talented should be forced into jump shots, this team has too much talent to be a jump shooting team.
For the fans sake that are paying upwards of $100 to watch the game from the rafters at least.
More Cuts.
9 of 10
Building off of the topics of the teams offensive scheme and player movement is the issue of how little cutters have been seen throughout the season thus far.
Like I stated before, offense was not supposed to be an issue coming into the season. Three players that average over 24 points per game should not be struggling to find shots, struggling to find their identity, and being forced into 20 foot jump shots for most of the game. It's not fair to the players that thrive on driving to be forced into jumpers that they are not consistent enough to make. It is only seldom seen when you're able to see LeBron and Dwyane drive.
We have seen the two drive before, key example being the Heat's 101-89 win over New Jersey, but most of the time we have only witnessed the theatrics of watching LeBron and Dwyane miss difficult shots that usually doesn't involve them driving. Each player has developed their careers off of using their athleticism to drive and draw fouls and not by shooting jumpers from beyond 20 feet.
Thus the reason for more cuts. By cutting to the basket, you have an easier chance of scoring near the basket for a higher percentage score. Unfortunatetly for the Heat, they are in an offense where the half-court reigns and cuts are only minimally seen. Dwyane and LeBron usually find themselves beyond the perimeter where even when they do receive the ball, they are usually met with a number of defenders that restricts their ability to drive.
If the Heat were to open up the floor more by keeping every player off the perimeter, they would see more cuts from LeBron and Dwyane that would lead to a developing chemistry and a developing consistent offensive game that the team could rely on more often. Not only that, but it's a call for higher percentage shots rather than the jump shots players are taking that they can't. LeBron and Dwyane need to get back to the game that made them famous and turned them into the stellar players they are today.
Motivation and Inspiration
10 of 10
When this Miami Heat team came into the season, they clearly expected to run the table with their only competition being that in the NBA Finals, where they expected to meet the Los Angeles Lakers.
At 8-7, a championship is now an afterthought. These players are only looking to find their identity, while the coaching staff is mixing and matching to see which lineups work out.
Over the past few games, we have witnessed a team that we have never seen before.
Miami fans are shocked when they watch Dwyane Wade as he appears to be lazy and out of it on both sides of the ball. He becomes more of a liability than the primary component of the Big Three that we expected him to be.
Dwyane is recently coming off a wrist injury, but even then we haven't seen the sense of resilience that Wade has always brought to every game.
Instead of ambition, intensity and desire, we see laziness, sloppiness, and a mentality that is seen by teams that have no desire to win or that has lost hope. This Miami Heat team has been lacking the ambition and intensity that was supposed to surround this team for the next decade.
It's not what we expected, and Heat fans have only been disappointed by the way their team has performed. Considering the high hopes everybody had, an 8-7 start is as bad as it gets.
This team is in search of a leader. They need a leader to step up and motivate this team because they are playing like a team that has lost all hope all too early into the season.
Despite having three former No. 1 scoring options on the team in Wade, James and Bosh, they are still in heavy search of a physical and mental leader. They need someone that can lead and inspire them and give them the mentality they had coming into the season.
These players left millions of dollars and stat padding to play for a team that only had one goal in their mind: a championship. They all have a desire to win, but it has not shown up yet in the season thus far.
We all know what this team is capable of. We know they have the talent to break the Chicago Bulls' 72 wins or the Los Angeles Lakers' 33 game win streak.
But for now, this team has to get on the right track before they have any thoughts of a championship or breaking a record.
The talent and the potential is there. The talent and the potential just need to come together.
