MIAMI — Through the ups and downs, including the four-game losing streak carried into Monday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, the plan has not wavered in terms of pace for the Miami Heat.
But with the standings tightly bunched and additional close games likely on the horizon for Erik Spoelstra’s team, the question is whether pace can be a 48-minute objective.
Like much of the Heat’s recent play, that part has been uneven.
“We’ve been doing that when the game naturally slows down in the last six minutes,” Spoelstra said of turning back the clock to something less frenetic. “But some of these games, maybe we don’t have to slow down. Maybe we can continue to put pressure on teams. But we’ll have to see how the games unfold.”
The Heat entered the week 7-5 in clutch games, those within five points in the final five minutes, 17th in the 30-team league in offensive rating at such junctures, 15th in end-game pace, as opposed to a league-leading pace overall.
“As we are now, fully healthy, we’ll adjust to those close games accordingly, whatever we feel is necessary,” Spoelstra said, with only Pelle Larsson (ankle sprain) missing from the Heat rotation. “Might do that; might not do that. It just depends on the game, depends on the context of the game. So we’ll see how that develops.”
The randomness of the Heat’s new offensive approach has considerably juiced just about all of the offensive numbers from recent seasons. But that also means less context to build off of in late-clock situations, as the Heat next move on to a three-game trip that opens Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
“Sometimes,” Spoelstra said, “you’re not going to have an absolute flow in the last eight seconds. That’s not necessarily realistic. But your spacing better be dialed in. And your decisions on the catch have to be precise.
“You can’t miss moments. We’re making some progress with that. I’m seeing progress and I think that will get better.”
New look
With Monday night the first of four Raptors games this season against the Heat, it had Toronto coach Darko Rajaković standing as the latest to praise Spoelstra for the dramatic Heat shift to a completely new-look offense.
“What I do really like and respect about coach Spo is he’s not afraid to try new things,” Rajaković said. “He’s always trying to maximize the roster that he has.
“If you look at Miami, they were playing one style when they had Goran Dragic. They were playing different styles with different players. He’s always adapting. He’s always changing. He’s always trying to stay up to the moment. That style is very unique.”
Like other coaches, the near disappearance of Heat pick-and-roll offense has proven eye-opening to the Raptors’ Serbian coach.
“I believe they average 20 or 21 pick-and-rolls per game. At the other side, you look at Luka Doncic, who is averaging 40 pick-and-rolls himself,” he said of the Denver Nuggets center. “I do like where the NBA is going that this league is not copy and paste. Everyone is trying to find a niche. Everyone is trying to find what is working for them.”
New creativity
To Rajaković, it’s almost as if the league has entered a new era of creativity.
“At some point in the NBA everyone was trying to replicate what the actual championships look like. I think there are much more different styles offensively and defensively now,” he said. “I know when we’re preparing for our opponents, it’s like, ‘Tonight we’re going to be dealing with this. Next night we’re going to be dealing with this.’
“I think the coaching level in this league is amazingly high and the talent of the players is making the job hard for the opponents. Spo is doing a great job there. It is a unique style of play.”