“It’s a catch-22 though for the Heat; do you hang around and try to grab an offensive rebound and risk an uncontested dunk/lay-up at the other end or do you start running back on defense as soon as your teammate launches a jump shot so you can cover your man?”

Good point. We definitely have to pick our poison. We often have the hustle (especially with Haslem, Wright, and D-Wade) for rebounds, but not the positioning – which can probably be addressed somewhat – and definitely not the size.

That said, our transition defense is really bad already, and I honestly wonder whether it’s worth the time and energy fixing it at the expense of fixing problems that affect us every possession. If we continue to keep our turnovers low, then sacrificing work on transition D might be worth it. But there would definitely have to be improvements elsewhere.

I guess what I’d like to see is the Heat only take quick shots when in transition. If we are going to stick to a half-court offense, we need to get a lot smarter about it – and probably more intricate, considering how often we set a good screen only to waste it, sometimes on more difficult shots.

We only have a talent deficit if we continue to actively seek uphill battles.

Anyway, in reply to what Jake said:

“Spoelstra at times can be seen telling the team to push the ball as he yells, “pace! pace!” but it doesn’t happen. ”

Really? Damn, shows how much I pay attention to what the coach is trying to tell the team. But I feel like a lot of times he’s been seen motioning for them to slow it down. If the team is doing what he says and is still struggling, then I say it’s on him to make changes. If the team has actually been ignoring him, then maybe the captains need to step it up in the locker room if they’re serious about winning.

Maybe it’s insufficient conditioning or something like that. I know Beasley was reported to have fatigue issues late in games, and if that’s really the case considering how slow we play then that might explain why we don’t push the ball more often. But it just seems to me like D-Wade wants to get out on the break more than we do but forces himself to settle down.

If we’re not going to up the tempo, then we definitely need more aggressive rebounding and/or some 3-point shooters – or both, which is why I’ve long been in favor of the Heat picking up someone like Troy Murphy. There’s a reason the midrange jumper is sadly dying… it’s just not an efficient way to play.

No question that this offense needs to be shaken up. I always read about how Spoelstra is constantly imploring his team to push the pace but either he’s not telling the truth or the team is ignoring him. I don’t want to see Chalmers or Alston walk the ball up and hand it off to Wade at the 3 point line anymore. I already saw that a couple of years ago during the 15 win season with Chris Quinn at the point.

Great point about our offensive rebounding. Opposing teams that are athletic and run the ball find it very easy to snag rebounds (especially long rebounds off of our many missed 3 pointers) and outrun the Heat en route to easy baskets. This is how the Cavs and Thunder opened up leads that the Heat could not overcome. It’s a catch-22 though for the Heat; do you hang around and try to grab an offensive rebound and risk an uncontested dunk/lay-up at the other end or do you start running back on defense as soon as your teammate launches a jump shot so you can cover your man?

The Heat settle for alot of long jumpers and just bad shots. Alot of times WAY to early in the shot clock – or they get a O-bound and don’t set a new play up.

Spoelstra at times can be seen telling the team to push the ball as he yells, “pace! pace!” but it doesn’t happen. One thing I notice, Chalmers used to cross half court with like 18 seconds left on the shot clock. Arroyo 20. Rafer races it up with 22ish.

I agree that this team should try some new things on the offensive end. If anything, to see if it can get a spark lit.

But the Heat do have a great scorer in Beasley that would have no problem potentially scoring 20 a game if he wasn’t averaging barely more than 30 minutes a game. I think the even bigger problem is the lack of help from the bench and at point guard. Chalmers, Cook, Jones and Rafer have not put together a good string of shooting games all season and that means the Heat will always have to struggle to keep up with other teams no matter how many points Wade can score on his own.

It doesn’t help that we’re miserable on the offensive glass. When we miss a shot, the opposition gets out on the fastbreak and our pathetic transition defense is caught helpless. Our half-court defense is stellar, Top 5 in the league on a good night… but that’s only on the initial 24, as after all the hard work we put in pays off, we simply give up the defensive rebound for easy points.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think we DO have a lot of talent on this team, but I wonder whether it’s being wasted on an overly conservative offense. With young, energetic, athletic guys like Joel Anthony, Michael Beasley, and Dorell Wright (and of course one of the best open court players in the league in D-Wade) we should start experimenting with a more up-tempo offense, pushing the ball in transition rather than just powerwalking across the court.

If lack of size, rebounding, and perimeter sniping are our biggest shortcomings, we should seek to play around them by using our speed and energy. It’s not like the status quo has been very reliable. I’m not saying we should totally abandon our half-court game, just that Spoelstra should try thinking outside his philosophy and let the players play more often. Creativity is a must not only if we’re to stay alive in the hunt for a playoff spot, but if we want to get past the first round.

The more success we have on offense, the more we can showcase our half-court defense. Every shot that goes in for us forces the opposition to inbound the ball while we set up our defense, while every miss of ours means more fastbreaks to defend against. I just don’t get why Spoelstra thinks our offensive pace has to match our defensive pace. This oversight is why we can smother an NBA finalist one night and get blown out by a really young, inexperienced team the next.

If we want to remain a slow-paced team, we definitely need to pick up a legit big this offseason. We have virtually no post presence, as J.O. is more of a finesse player nowadays, Haslem is more hustle than power (enough reason to keep him, though), and Beasley is still learning how to throw himself around with getting into foul trouble. If we don’t address that, then we definitely need to be running more often.

Sorry if I wandered there, I had a more concise post that was eaten by the Internet. But those are my thoughts as I watch the Heat wander aimlessly through what’s in danger of becoming a lost season.

We’re just ridiculously inefficient on offense. A lot of that has to do with our lack of 3-point threat, which allows defenses to stack the paint. No wonder we’re so damn pathetic on the offensive glass. That bad offense leads to fastbreaks for the other team, and we all know how our transition defense is.

And even as great as our half-court defense can be (I’d say it’s Top 5 in the league on a good night), it’s let down by our embarrassing defensive rebounding. What good is strong initial defense when you just give up second chance points like that?

Anyway, our half-court offense has already proven itself to be way too unreliable, so why not start experimenting with alternatives? Contrary to popular belief (and Spoelstra’s philosophy) I think we CAN pick up the tempo to some success – I’m thinking a lineup of Anthony, Beasley, Wright, Wade, and Chalmers could really cause some damage… if Coach would just let them play and push the ball upcourt in a hurry.

Whatever it takes to get our offense going – and shots falling consistently – will only play to our strength as a half-court defensive team.

We DO have talent. How will we know how good it can be unless we get creative? We sure as hell aren’t going very far in the playoffs if we don’t change what we’re doing, at least on the offensive side of the ball.