Role players need to step up for the Miami Heat – NBA Feature
The game 2 loss to the Indiana Pacers has left the Miami Heat exposed. The powerhouse that was tipped to reach the NBA Finals without breaking a sweat ever since Chicago Bulls were knocked out of the playoffs,
have suddenly come to face reality.
And the reality is that without Chris Bosh, Miami’s game is too predictable for them to be the offensive force they usually are.
The reason for that is the Miami role players are not doing their job, leaving everything on the shoulders of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. It’s basically them against the rest and this is not the way championships
are won.
If we exclude Bosh, Wade and James, the Heat roster has shot 16 of 55 in the series against Indiana so far, scoring only 44 points. In the game 2 loss, they were 9 of 34 and no player had more than 5 points in
the game.
Shane Battier and Mike Miller are ranked third and fourth worst in field goal percentages of all the players of the 8 remaining teams in the playoffs. Battier is shooting 32.35% from the field while Miller is
averaging 33.3%. Mario Chalmers is at 36.7% and has also been a worry for the Heat all through the series. He is 6 of 24 in his past three games and went only 2 of 13 against Indiana. He also played only 22 minutes in game 2 as he was in foul trouble.
“I can't get consistent minutes because I'm always in and out with foul trouble. Once I get consistent minutes, my shot will be consistent” said Chalmers
Wade also reached out to Mario;
“We need Rio to learn from his mistakes and learn now. He made a lot of mistakes. We need him to stay on the court” said Wade referring to Chalmers.
The supporting cast worries for the Heat are problem in their own right, but even Wade seems to be caught up in a slump. Wade is 16 of 35 in the series against Indiana and missed his last four attempts in the
final minutes of game 2 that could have given Miami the lead.
The Heat are playing predictable basketball at the moment which allows the Pacers to defend the perimeter well and concentrate on James and Wade, knowing nobody else is a serious threat.
They need other players to play well so they can open the defence up and allow penetration as well as open looks. Bosh’s absence already has them weak at centre and Indiana are taking full advantage of it, out-rebounding
the Heat 50-40 in game 2.
It is going to be an uphill struggle for Miami till Bosh returns and they will have to change their game up if they want to progress. Because the way it is now, Indiana is too good a team on defense for the
Heat to outscore them with their current strategy.
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