While teams like Oklahoma City and Indiana are taking commanding leads in their series, the Miami Heat are stuck watching. But could these playoff powerhouses be laying down a blueprint for Miami’s defense to follow?

Yes, the Heat were ninth in defensive rating during the regular season, but they also gave up 136.2 points per 100 possessions to the Cavaliers in the first round. The playoffs reveal the truth.

The Heat need to rebuild their championship-level defense.

Back to the blueprint. Let’s start with the Thunder, who are running a defensive masterclass. Their perimeter defenders swarm like bees in a bonfire, creating chaos before the offense even sets its feet.

This “defensive shell” strategy has them throwing full-court pressure, forcing teams to initiate plays late in the shot clock and second-guess every pass.

They go on runs unlike any other team in the league. It’s not about hitting a high volume of 3s, it’s about suffocating opponents and forcing easy points off turnovers.

The Pacers aren’t as relentless as Oklahoma City in deploying their defensive pressure but they pick their spots. Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell are like a gang waiting for you to turn the corner so they can take your lunch money in the fourth quarter.

Here’s where things get introspective for Miami: do the Heat have the personnel to build that kind of pressure?

Once upon a time, they had Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo – plus the likes of Caleb Martin, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent – terrorizing offenses with a defense that could flip games.

That’s no longer the case. Butler is gone. Martin, Strus and Vincent were replaced by Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic and Duncan Robinson who are offensively gifted but not as disruptive on defense.

Kel’el Ware had flashes of rim-protecting brilliance as a rookie, but he’s not quite a reliable playoff defender.

The Heat do have building blocks. Bam remains one of the league’s elite defenders, and Davion Mitchell landed in Miami as a pesky perimeter force. Haywood Highsmith is sturdy.

But the Heat lack the game-changing defenders the like of the ones dotting these conference finals rosters. There’s no Lu Dort or Nesmith, no OG Anunoby or Jaden McDaniels. Long, quick, and relentless. The Heat don’t have that guy right now.

Miami also faces a deeper dilemma: how do you balance defense with offense? Many of their potential defensive standouts (Highsmith, for example) are non-factors offensively.

So what’s next? The Heat need to find their no. 1 option on offense, but they also need to fortify the team with multiple high-end defenders. Easier said than done, but these conference finals have shown that Miami is more than just a single piece away. The Heat need to be better on both ends.