Report: Erik Spoelstra mulls changing Heat offense

The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reported Monday that coach Erik Spoelstra is considering making changes to the Miami Heat’s offense. And he said that Spoelstra spent five-and-a-half hours with renowned offensive mind and Nova Southeastern University coach Jim Crutchfield.

If you haven’t heard of that name or that university, it’s because Nova Southeastern is in Division II. But Crutchfield has built up an impressive 405-75 career coaching record. And his teams play up-tempo.

The decision to seek insight is a good one from Spoelstra, who has always been a better defensive coach than offensive one. Miami’s offense has struggled mightily since LeBron James left five years ago. Some of that is due to personnel — Goran Dragic in 2018 (injury replacement) and Dwyane Wade in 2019 (special roster addition) have been the Heat’s only All-Stars since 2014 — but part of that stems from the Heat’s philosophy.

Miami finished 26th in offensive efficiency and 23rd in pace this past year. And the Heat have never been a run-and-gun team. In the 2012-13 season that featured the 27-game win streak, Miami finished 23rd in pace.