Continuing our series about what every player on the Miami Heat roster needs to improve on going into next season.
We covered the young players and role guys over the past couple of days, and we’re wrapping up with the most expensive end of the roster. Let’s do it.
Bam Adebayo
Getting to the basket. Adebayo expanded his game to the 3-point line last season, taking more 3s than he had in his entire career combined. He developed a reliable mid-range jumper a couple of seasons ago. Now it’s time to get closer to the basket.
As opponents grow to respect his jumper, that should create more openings for driving lanes. Adebayo doesn’t have the smoothest handle, so the work begins there. Adding a repeatable drop step or spin move would also go a long way. Somehow, Adebayo needs to figure out how to drive past defenders and use his athleticism to finish at the basket.
Tyler Herro
Pull-up 3-point shooting. I know, this might sound crazy. I can already hear Heat fans screaming about defense. Here’s my case: Herro will never be a great defender, but he could be the league’s best non-Steph 3-point shooter. I’d rather invest my time in becoming the best at something than merely average at something.
Herro was one of the league’s top 3-point shooters last season, but his percentage slipped toward the end of the year. That’s mostly due to his shot diet changing after the Butler change. Suddenly, Herro was being asked to be the no. 1 option and create shots for himself and others. He went from a heavy dose of off-the-catch 3s to pull-up jumpers. Herro shot 35.3% on 4.3 pull-up 3s per game. Fine, but not elite.
If Herro can develop a killer pull-up jumper, he’d be nearly unguardable from beyond the arc.
Andrew Wiggins
Playmaking. Wiggins wasn’t asked to do a ton of it in Golden State, but his role in Miami needs to strike a balance between what he was as a no. 1 option in Minnesota and his supporting role on the Warriors.
In some ways, he did do that. Wiggins averaged 3.3 assists in his 17 games in a Heat uniform, more than any full season in Golden State. He also averaged 5.1 pick-and-roll possessions per game and scored 0.91 points per possession, close to what Malik Monk posted in Sacramento.
Those numbers were honestly surprising because it didn’t feel like Wiggins was making that kind of impact. Maybe that’s because of his lack of availability. Maybe it’s because he was replacing Jimmy Butler in the lineup. Either way, it wasn’t enough to lift the Heat out of the bottom 10 on offense. Wiggins was effective in his moments on the ball. He probably needs to do it more.
Terry Rozier
All of it. Rozier’s decline is among the most mysterious things that happened in the NBA last season. He forgot how to shoot, couldn’t finish layups and developed a terrible case of the butter fingers. Nobody really knows what happened, but it seems impossible that he’s just… this… for the rest of his career.
Could a summer break be the reset he needs? Can it get any worse? Somehow, Rozier just needs to be better. If he’s still on the roster next season, the Heat have to get something from him.