Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday’s to all those who celebrate. As frustrating as some of it has been, the Miami Heat are still 14-13 through 27 games. But with nearly 70 percent of the 2024-25 season left, what are a few new toys that should be on the Heat’s Christmas wishlist? Let’s examine five of them!
Better Clutch Time Free Throw Shooting:
The Miami Heat are 5-10 in clutch games, defined as games where the point differential is at least five points or less in the final five minutes. They have been a below-average defense in those situations, but they’ve also been a bottom-six offense after being the third-worst clutch offense a season ago. The Heat also own the 8th-worst effective field goal percentage and the fourth-worst true-shooting in those situations.
Sometimes, it’s a byproduct of simply missing shots; it’s a make-or-miss league, and sometimes teams fall in the latter despite good process. The Heat’s process in the clutch, however, hasn’t been particularly positive. Though another big reason is poor clutch free-throw shooting. They are shooting just 66.7 percent on free throws in clutch-time situations, the fourth-worst mark leaguewide. Miami is 23rd in free-throw attempts on a per-possession basis in those spots, but missing one out of every three free throws when it’s a 1-2 possession game is the number one recipe to beating yourself. Every free throw counts–they’re free for a reason.
More Positional Size:
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was two steps ahead of the pack when it came to modern-day small-ball. Spoelstra hasn’t adapted, nor has he had the personnel to adapt with. Bam Adebayo still operates best as the team’s primary “big,” but the Heat don’t have the proper functional, positional size to fit cohesively alongside Adebayo. Behind him, Kevin Love, who’s dealt with personal matters from the onset, hasn’t played well; Kel’el Ware has shown encouraging flashes each of the last two games, but is still very raw on both ends of the floor. If the Heat can continue surrounding their best players with better complementary positional size, then this team’s ceiling will rise.
Better Play Against Good Teams:
Dating back to the start of last season, the Heat are 7-26 against teams who are top-10 in point differential, according to Cleaning The Glass. In eight games against such teams this season, they are 2-6 with the ninth-worst NET Rating and seventh-worst defensive rating. They might be one of the five teams with a top-10 offense and defense, but Miami is wholly mediocre against the NBA’s best. If they want to make noise, that must change.
Additional Roster Clarity:
Miami has players with too many over-lapping skillsets. There’s too much redundancy without much clarity, and each player’s role on a night-to-night basis isn’t clear. Tyler Herro and Dru Smith–who suffered a season-ending injury Monday–are the only two players who have made legitimate positive strides from 2023-24 to 2024-25. Consistency matters, and the Heat are consistently inconsistent. Perhaps additional roster clarity clears that up?!
A Healthy Jimmy Butler:
We’ve seen that if Jimmy Butler’s healthy and engaged, he can still be one of the most impactful players in the sport. But that’s still a huge if; the last week–missing all but seven minutes across three games with a stomach illness after rolling his ankle–will indutiably raise eyebrows. He’s still having the most efficient season of his career, but Butler’s inconsistent availibility and play on the court isn’t going to help his cause come next June when it’s time to talk extension. Butler is still on-track to play 61 games, but the Heat need to him to consistently be at his best if the team wants any chance at a run in April and May–as slim as those odds may already be.
