NBA Power Rankings week 15: OKC Thunder and teams hit trade deadline

Miami Heat:

Offense: (111.5) tied 9th
Defense: (108.0)13th
Net: (plus +3.5) 9th

 
Results Week 15: (2-1) Won vs. Magic: 113-92, (at) Magic: 102-89 Lost vs. Celtics: 101-109
Games Week 16: (4 games) Mon vs. 76ers | Weds at Clippers | Fri at Kings | Sun at Blazers

The Achilles heel of the Miami Heat is playing on the road. They got back to even with a road victory in Orlando  But the big test begins in week 16. First up is the other Eastern elite team who struggles on the road (76ers) at Miami. Then the Heat embarks on a six-game road trip.

There are bigger issues at the crux of the matter however as the club who ranked 7th defensively at the quarter pole (and as high as 3rd) has fallen to 13th. With the road tending to spotlight weaknesses, this could prove highly problematic.

Additionally, youngsters Nunn and Herro could be hitting the rookie wall.

Similarly to how management tends to look at their teams in segments of 10 the same can be said of how clubs react to opponents in segments of 20. If you look at the first 20-25 games versus the second 20-25 games the Heat aren’t anywhere near the same defensively.

That’s partly because there isn’t enough versatility in their defense and they overused the 2-3 zone to the point opponents figured out how to abate it.

Ultimately, the biggest test the Heat has faced this season begins this week. The question is whether Pat Riley does something at the deadline to affect the immediate schedule or if the GM elects to ride the storm and let the youngsters learn and grow.