Chris Bosh…Bosh is a common scapegoat for the Heat anytime things start going sideways, but there’s a reason for that. While he seems much more comfortable in his role this year than last, he still doesn’t really fit what this team needs. In Miami’s offense, he’s most effective when used as a pick-and-pop “spread 4,” but the Heat often seem too insistent on trying to establish Bosh on the low block. I don’t know what the “advanced metrics” are on this, but in situations where Miami dumps the ball to him down low it seems like Bosh prefers to turn and shoot a face-up jumper the majority of the time. This is fine when the ball is going through the net, but when it’s not (as was the case yesterday when Bosh shot a miserable 2 for 11) it usually results in the other 4 guys on the court standing and watching with little chance for an offensive rebound. Also, maybe it’s because of age and injuries, or maybe my memory just isn’t as good as I thought, or maybe it just seemed that way because he was so much bigger and better than his competition, but I always thought Bosh could jump out of the gym during his 1 year at Georgia Tech. I never got to watch him much in Toronto, but over the last 2 years he seems like 1 of the least fleet of foot power forwards in the whole league. Aside from all that, Bosh is not a great rebounder for his size or protector of the rim. I think everyone knows by now that Bosh, James, and Wade came to some kind of “superfriends” agreement prior to coming to Miami, but wouldn’t the Heat have been better served with (if they were hypothetically available) a true spread 4 that can actually hit 3’s like Ryan Anderson, someone who can block a lot of shots like Serge Ibaka, or even a tweener-forward scrapper like Gerald Wallace? If Miami falls short this year, my money is on Bosh being shipped out this offseason.
Another face-up, fade-away 18-footer? Not what the Heat had in mind.
The bigs…Remember how I said that protecting the paint isn’t a strength of Bosh’s? Well, it’s not really a strength for any of their other big guys either. For all they Bosh-bashing I just did, the Heat really struggled inside a few weeks ago when he was out of the lineup for a couple of games. Joel Anthony tries to fill that role, but that’s a tough sell for a clumsy 6’9” guy. Udonis Haslem is a good defensive player, but he’s also undersized. Wade and James are probably the best shotblockers in the league at their respective positions, but I don’t think 2 perimeter players instill fear in opponents when they think about venturing into the paint. This is important because against teams with weaker guard play, Miami’s D can look swarming at times, but team’s with strong backcourts can beat their pressure, and there’s really no one in the back of their defense to clean up the mistakes.
The whole Wade/James thing…When they get rolling, they look like an unstoppable duo, but they are both good enough that they should be pretty unstoppable on off days as well. Unfortunately for them, when things aren’t going well, they still don’t seem to completely understand how to play off each other to get their offense going. To most people, the idea seems so simple: you have the 2 best players on the court, so you should win. Anyone who has ever played pick-up basketball knows this not to necessarily be the case though. Sometimes, a situation will come up where 2 or 3 of the best players on the court wind up on the same team, and you will immediately start hearing the “this should be quick” comments, but basketball is a funny sport in this way. The 2 stud teammates are very aware that they are on the same team, and instead of just playing their game they will sometimes alter how they play to try to accommodate the other guy. Sometimes the 2 guys will in fact mesh, and there will be no problems at all. Sometimes talent simply will win out no matter what. And other times, those guys will just try a little too hard to not get in each other’s way. Wade and James seem much better at that than last year, but they still haven’t completely figured it out.
They've made progress, but James and Wade still seem too concerned with stepping on each other's toes.
The scrubs, I mean “subs”…The ramifications of basically signing 3 max guys meant that those 3 guys better be good enough to pretty much win by themselves, because you’re not going to be able to pick up anyone else who’s any good. Mike Miller (when healthy), Shane Battier (although he has declined), and Haslem are professional basketball players at least. Aside from that, who else has even 1 skill set that puts fear in opponents? Anthony’s shotblocking? No. Chalmers’ shooting from 3 point range? No. Norris Cole’s penetration? No. Anthony, Juwan Howard, and Dexter Pittman would be hardpressed to make any other NBA roster. Chalmers is a starter, but he is a backup anywhere else. You’re telling me he’s better than someone like, I don’t know, Chris Duhon? I don’t think so. Maybe 1 of the most indicting stats from yesterday’s game for Miami’s role players was LeBron’s assist total: 0. Maybe it wasn’t his finest passing game, but LeBron’s 1 of the top 3 passers in the league, which meant there were a lot of bricks being thrown up there too.
A lack of lineup creativity…I might care about this more than most others because I’ve always wondered if a team could succeed playing a lineup where everyone is between 6’5” and 6’8”. You would need the right mix of players, but you could switch all screens on D and create tons of mismatches on offense. It probably wouldn’t work, but if a team has versatile players who can play multiple positions, I’m all for lineup creativity. LeBron is basically the ultimate Swiss army knife on the court, so why wouldn’t you use that to your disposal. Every once in awhile (mostly out of necessity due to foul problems or injury) the Heat go small with James playing the 4, but for the most part Eric Spoelstra seems content playing traditional lineups. If you use James’ versatility to play a funky lineup, you force the other team into making a decision on whether to match personnel or not. Also, these are Miami’s 6 best players when healthy in some order: James, Wade, Bosh, Battier, Haslem, and Miller. The biggest problem I see with lineups using some combination of these guys is a lack of interior defense, but Miami doesn’t have that anyway even when they play Anthony or some other moppish center, so what’s the difference? Or at least start Battier over Chalmers. Wade and James direct the offense when Chalmers or Cole is on the court the majority of the time anyway. If the Bulls could start Jordan, Pippen, and Ron Harper on the perimeter back in the day, why couldn’t the Heat play that kind of lineup?
A reversion back to old habits…Back when things were still going good for the Heat, I made a comment in 1 of the power rankings that LeBron and Wade were shooting less 3’s and shooting at a better clip overall from the field than any other seasons in their respective careers. They also both seemed to be making a concerted effort to venture down into the low post more often, which people had clamored for both to do individually for years. Coincidence? Probably not…yesterday, Wade for some reason decided to jack up 3 shots from beyond the arc, making none. LeBron didn’t attempt a 3, but I don’t recall either trying to post up at all. Instead, both tried to attack only from the perimeter off of the dribble, something that would have looked very familiar to watchers of the Heat last season. Naturally, given that this post is coming to an end, I am much too lazy to look up Wade’s shooting splits, but since LeBron is on my fantasy team I can say for a fact that his shooting has dipped the past few weeks. If recent history (as well as last season) is any indication, a similar style of play to that of last year will produce similar results, and this “taking my talents to South Beach” experiment could be all but over.
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