Miami Heat Must Do Everything Faster to Survive and Advance in NBA Playoffs

MIAMI — For the first time all season, during the 84th and 85th games of his 13th NBA campaign, Dwyane Wade cleared the 30-point threshold in consecutive contests.

His 38-point performance gave Miami a puncher’s chance in Game 3, but his teammates disappeared and the Heat suffered a 95-91 decision to the Toronto Raptors. Wade came back with 30 points two nights later and got just enough help to help the Heat claw out a 94-87 overtime win.

The 34-year-old said he’s “as confident as I’ve been all season,” and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra warned the future Hall of Famer is “getting stronger.” It’s hard to argue with either assessment given the evidence compiled over the past two contests: 34.0 points on 53.1 percent shooting (50.0 from deep), 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per outing.

But this is hardly a viable strategy for surviving and advancing, let alone competing against a blistering Cleveland Cavaliers team boasting a perfect 8-0 playoff record.

Wade clearly needs more help for a postseason push that won’t include Chris Bosh (blood clots) and may not feature a full-strength Hassan Whiteside again (MCL sprain).

Miami’s options are limited, but they do exist.

Expanding the Attack

After slogging through 48 minutes of regulation in Game 4, Miami’s offense finally showed signs of life during the extra session.

It’s not just that the Heat tallied 11 points over the final 3:36. It’s that all four other players got on the board before Wade.

“Down the stretch, that was probably the best that we’ve trusted, moved the ball, had secondary drives from different guys where we’ve had better patience and poise in the last 10 seconds of the clock,” Spoelstra said.

Yes, Wade willed his club to overtime with a game-tying layup in the closing seconds of regulation. But Goran Dragic delivered the ultimate knockout blow, after Joe Johnson had his chance to create.

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This may seem obvious, but Miami’s key to properly supporting Wade is getting more players involved.

The Heat’s prolific post-All-Star offense continued its egalitarian approach—six different players averaged double-figures. Wade paced that group, but he only averaged 4.5 points more than Miami’s No. 4 scorer (19.7 to Luol Deng’s 15.2).

In this round, the amount of double-digit scorers has been sliced in half. And the gap between Wade and the fourth-best scorer has exploded to 18.0 (27.3 to Whiteside’s 9.3).

“He’s been putting us on his back,” Johnson said …

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