Heat knows it needs Adebayo, Butler to be bigger part of offense: ‘We got to find our guys’
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has pushed back on the notion that the team is running a “new” offense this season. Instead, Spoelstra just wants the Heat to run a better offense after finishing with a bottom-10 offensive rating in each of the last two seasons.
But the Heat’s offense has again been underwhelming through the first week of games this season.
It’s still very early, but the Heat entered Thursday with the NBA’s 20th-ranked offensive rating (scoring 109.8 points per 100 possessions) over its first four games of the season after making teaks to its offense during training camp and in the preseason by emphasizing the need for a faster pace and a more efficient shot profile.
“This is not about a new offense,” Spoelstra again emphasized following the Heat’s disappointing 116-107 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Kaseya Center to fall to 2-2 this season. “This is about having all of our guys healthy. We have the most weapons that we’ve had and we score 107 points. That’s not what we’re aiming for right now. Everybody has got to be able to feel aggressive, they got to be able to feel like themselves and we’ll get there.”
Specifically, the Heat needs its leading duo of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler to be aggressive and feel like themselves following a few quiet outings to begin the season.
While Heat guard Tyler Herro was excellent against the Knicks with 34 points on 12 of 20 from the field and 8-of-13 shooting from three-point range, Adebayo and Butler combined for just 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 shooting on threes.
Adebayo and Butler have combined to average 27.8 points on 20.3 field-goal attempts per game so far this season after averaging 40.1 points per game on 27.5 field-goal attempts per game last regular season. Butler (21 percent) and Adebayo (17.9 percent) respectively rank fourth and seventh on the Heat in usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the court) this season behind a top-three of Herro (26.1 percent), Terry Rozier (23.7 percent) and Duncan Robinson (21.1 percent).
“We just got to know where the ball got to go. We got to find our guys, put them in a spot to be successful,” Butler said, with the Heat traveling to Mexico City on Thursday to take on the Washington Wizards on Saturday at Arena CDMX. “I think we got to be better at that. Seeing the mismatches, knowing when somebody ain’t have the ball for a minute and give it to them and let them attack.”
Adebayo has been especially quiet, scoring just 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field in Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks. He has averaged 11 points on 9.5 field-goal attempts and 5.3 free-throw attempts per appearance during the Heat’s first four games this season.
Adebayo, a three-time NBA All-Star, averaged 19.3 points on 14.3 field-goal attempts and 5.5 free-throw attempts per game last regular season.
“Obviously, we need to get the ball to Bam, too,” Spoelstra said minutes following the Heat’s loss to the Knicks. “That’s on me. I have to find a way. ... That’s on me to get Bam in his spots where he can feel more comfortable, whether it’s pick-and-roll, whether it’s flashes, elbow, whether it’s in the post.”
Adebayo declined to speak to the media after Wednesday’s defeat. But Adebayo didn’t need to speak, as his coach and teammates spoke for him by making it clear that he must be a bigger part of the offense moving forward.
“We all know that we got to get Bam more shots and we got to get him in his rhythm,” Rozier said. “So that’s something that we got to talk about and, starting with me, got to do a better job of. But sometimes you’re out there just playing and you got guys trying to connect with others out there sometimes. The best shot, it may not be Bam. But I got to demand and make sure he’s feeling himself from now on.”
The challenge is finding the right shot distribution within a Heat starting lineup that includes four players (Adebayo, Butler, Herro and Rozier) who are effective shot creators.
When the Heat’s starting lineup has been on the court through the first four games of the season, Herro (28 field-goal attempts), Rozier (22) and Nikola Jovic (19) have taken the most shots. Adebayo (16) and Butler (15) are behind those three.
That has not been a positive formula for the Heat, considering its starting group has been outscored by 25.6 points per 100 possessions in 58 minutes together this season. Miami’s starting lineup has also scored just 96.6 points per 100 possessions during that time for an offensive rating that would rank last in the NBA among teams for the season.
“Winning basketball is winning basketball. If it’s getting Jimmy and Bam the ball, then that’s what it is,” Herro said.
Last season, getting the ball to Adebayo and Butler did result in wins. The Heat posted a 19-9 record last season when Adebayo posted a usage rate above 27 percent and a 13-5 record when Butler finished with a usage rate above 25 percent.
So far this season, the Heat is 2-0 when Butler crosses the 20 percent mark in usage rate and 0-2 when he doesn’t. The Heat is also 1-0 when Adebayo’s usage rate hits 20 percent or more this season and 1-2 when he’s under that number.
“I think a lot of people are getting caught up in the offensive rating number and this, that, when as long as we win, that’s all that matters,” Herro said. “If it’s 98-97, as long as we win, that’s it.”
It’s clear that the Heat made some changes to its offense this season in hopes of lifting the unit’s efficiency. Miami has not finished with a top-10 offensive rating since the 2019-20 season.
It’s also clear that the Heat’s offense remains a work in progress.
“I think the offense has been what it’s been for five, six years now, right? And we’ve won games,” Herro continued. “We’re just continuing to work through it. I think there are times that there are flashes of where it can be good and other times it’s a little slower than we would like. But just got to continue to work through it. It’s early in the season and it ain’t going to get better if we’re not working at it.”
WHO’S TRAVELING?
Kevin Love (personal reasons), Duncan Robinson (personal reasons), Josh Christopher (G League) and Keshad Johnson (G League) did not travel with the Heat on Thursday to Mexico City for Saturday’s matchup against the Wizards.
Love and Robinson are expected to miss Saturday’s game, with the Heat set to release its injury report for the contest on Friday. Love has already missed the first four games of the regular season because of personal reasons and this would mark the first game that Robinson has missed this regular season.
This story was originally published October 31, 2024 at 11:33 AM.
