Why the Miami Heat Offense is so Dysfunctional

The Miami Heat are now 5-2, which isn’t bad, but their offence still looks downright awkward. Juxtapose it with the machinations of LA and say it with me...Threepeat. The reason why Miami’s offence looks as fluid as a septic tank isn’t because The Big Three are over armed, it’s because they’re straining too hard to fill specific, almost rigid roles. LeBron James is excessively and self-consciously forcing himself to be a playmaker, Wade is hell bent on slashing to the rim and Bosh just stands around looking diplomatic.

Miami’s biggest asset is versatility. Wade and James can score from pretty much any position, and Bosh is a lithe big man who can hit open jump shots. Combined, they’re a recipe for opportunism and spontaneity. Yet instead of embracing versatility the Miami Heat tend to shun it, individually pigeonholing themselves in overly defined roles.

The intense media criticism has clearly gotten to James; whether he admits it or not, he’s first and foremost playing to prove people wrong. The only problem with that is that he’s focused more on proving that he can unselfishly fit in with the Heat than on the Heat actually winning games. He’s passing too much and it’s hurting his team. Last year, 47.5% of James’ drives to the rim were assisted, this year it’s down to 35%. That’s a career low for him and if the Heat are going to win, it must go up. Dwyane Wade on the other hand is only averaging a trivial 3.7 assists a game, that’s less than half of his career low, despite being on the most offensive team he’s ever played for.

Chris Bosh is easy to diagnose: he needs to be more aggressive. While he’s been effectively knocking down mid-range jumpers, he’s not asking for the ball, only waiting for it. He needs to cut to the rim more and not be afraid to put himself in positions to receive passes when Wade and James get doubled. Right now, it looks like he’s more worried about stepping on superstar toes then playing effective basketball. Bosh’s low post game is decent, but he doesn’t have the skills or the moves of a Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol. Bosh is at his best when he’s cutting, slashing and feeding off penetrations. So far, Bosh just crashes the boards when he’s not watching the LeBron-Dwyane show and only shoots when he’s so open it’s inexcusable not to.