The Miami Heat’s offense has one obvious question mark, but it may not be the one most people are pointing to.
Around this roster, the loudest conversation has centered on shooting, and that makes sense when you’re talking about building an attack around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Miami has already added Tim Hardaway Jr., brought back Simone Fontecchio, and there’s still the possibility of Klay Thompson landing in Miami. With those pieces in place, spot-up shooting doesn’t look like the biggest problem.
The bigger issue is shot creation.
That’s where the Heat’s guard group starts to look a little thinner. Davion Mitchell, Hardaway Jr., and Pelle Larsson all bring value as complementary players, but none of them has been leaned on heavily to manufacture a basket late in the clock or dig out a tough one-on-one score when the offense stalls.
With Antetokounmpo on the floor, the drive-and-kick game should hold up just fine. The real test comes when he’s off the court, or when he isn’t the focal point of a possession.
Erik Spoelstra and his staff can build around movement, dribble hand-off action, pick-and-rolls, and even inverted sets to keep things flowing. But there will still be stretches when somebody has to take on more usage and create offense by themselves.
That’s where Tim Hardaway Jr. comes in first. He should be the lead option in the Heat’s dribble hand-off game, but Miami is also going to need more of the microwave scoring he showed off the dribble than he was asked for a year ago in Denver. The Heat will want the extra dribbles, the midrange pull-ups, the floaters in the middle of the lane, and the ability to hit difficult shots when the possession breaks down.
Andrew Wiggins is the next name in that mix. There’s going to be a strong push from Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo to get him more aggressive this season, which should mean more shot attempts and more on-ball chances.
He’s a strong secondary attacker, but being the first option is a different job entirely. How well his handle holds up will go a long way toward determining how far he can stretch into that role, though he does have the shot-making and downhill athleticism to get to his spots.
Then there’s Ryan Conwell, the unknown factor because he hasn’t appeared in a real NBA game yet. His Summer League run included these performances: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 43 3P%; 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal; 26 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 57 FG%; and 19 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 44 FG%. The Heat only needed four games in Vegas to feel confident bringing him back.
Conwell’s spot-up shooting is what stands out right now, but there’s more in there. His on-ball wiggle and the way he can make shots while moving give him some upside as a creator. That may not show up right away in his rookie season, but it’s something worth watching in preseason, especially if Miami wants another player who can grow into those reps.
The bottom line is that Miami should be able to work around the issue. The group looks better than a lot of people seem to think. But even good teams have a weakness that needs attention, and training camp will be about finding out how the Heat handle this one.
If the shot creation boost doesn’t arrive from a DeMar DeRozan type before the season starts, Miami will have to get it from inside the room.
Now it’s a matter of which player steps into that role.
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