Steve Nash Discusses the Biggest Difference Between Miami This Season and Last

The Miami Heat are not the team they used to be. Just a few seasons ago, they were in the NBA Finals, facing off against the Denver Nuggets. This season, they are fighting to stay out of the Play-In Tournament. 

As of Tuesday, the Heat are the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 32-29. For a team with a fairly strong roster in a very weak conference, this isn’t going to cut it. 

The biggest difference between the Heat now and when they were championship contenders is they no longer have a closer. Steve Nash recently discussed this difference on NBA on Prime. 

“I think for Miami, they had a focal point in Jimmy Butler. You can run the game through him at the end of games. Now they have a bunch of guys who can take turns in a sense. I think what Spo has done with this offense has been brilliant. Where this offense is great to me is using the full court, spacing out so guys can attack from beyond half court... When the game slows down, its difficult to play a full court game where your spreading the floor just going 1 on 1. Teams are going to load up. The idea of being this equal opportunity offense where you have multiple players who can get it done sounds great but at the end of the game its gotta be simplicity and clarity.” 

Nash knows that while taking turns and sharing responsibility works, when push comes to shove, there is nothing better than having an alpha who a team can look to to close tight games. Until the Heat find one, they may be stuck in mediocrity.