As expected, the Miami Heat's focus during Tuesday's practice was on its struggling defense.
After allowing the Nets and Knicks to score a total of 132 paint points during a two-loss weekend in New York, the Heat's defense has been put under a microscope. Miami entered Tuesday allowing 107.5 points per 100 possessions this season, which is the league's 14th-best defensive rating.
That mediocre number is not what the Heat envisioned when it began the season hoping to field a top-five defense.
The numbers have been even worse recently, with the Heat posting the NBA's 22nd-best defensive rating (allowing 111.3 points per 100 possessions) over a 21-game span since the start of December.
"We just have to get better," coach Erik Spoelstra said after Tuesday's practice, with the Heat set to face the Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday. "Everybody is trying to get better. We're trying to get more consistent. Our defense isn't where we want it to be yet. That's the operative word, yet. Today was just about solutions, working on some things, watching some film, and pushing our group to get to a different level."
What's behind the Heat's recent issues on defense _ personnel, execution, scheme, or injuries? And what has been the biggest problem _ interior defense or ball containment on the perimeter?
For Spoelstra, it's not just one thing that's to blame.
"Everybody has to do their job just a little bit better," Spoelstra said. "We've proven we can do it. We have the personnel that can do it. We just have to be more consistent with it, and that's what we worked on today. It's about solutions. Less talk, just get to work and prove it."
Here are three areas to focus on when it comes to the Heat's defense and what it could improve on moving forward:
_ Miami has struggled to protect the rim this season. Heat opponents entered Tuesday shooting a league-high 66.6% from inside the restricted area.
But the Heat has been able to limit rim opportunities for most of the season, with opponents taking 26.8 shots per game from inside the restricted area. That's the ninth-fewest allowed in the NBA.
During Miami's two-loss weekend in New York, though, the Nets and Knicks combined to average 38 shots per game at the rim. The two teams combined to shoot 55 of 76 (72.4%) at the rim against the Heat.
To put this into perspective, teams shot just 58.7% from inside the restricted area against the Heat last season.
Whether this season's struggles are somewhat connected to the loss of center Hassan Whiteside, who is currently averaging a league-leading 2.9 blocks, or poor perimeter defense, it's clearly an issue that the Heat needs to address.
Without a traditional rim protector like Whiteside on the roster, the Heat relies on funneling shots away from the paint to prevent opponents from taking advantage of its interior defense.
_ The shot profile of the Heat's defense could be better. While Miami isn't allowing a lot of shots around the rim this season, it also isn't forcing that many mid-range shots.
The goal of most NBA defenses is to force as many mid-range shots as possible, while limiting chances inside the paint.
Heat opponents entered Tuesday averaging 37 three-point shot attempts per game this season, which is third-most in the NBA. The good news for Miami is that it's holding teams to 32.7% shooting from three-point range. That's the second-lowest opponent three-point shooting percentage in the NBA.
As for mid-range opportunities _ which are considered inefficient because they are long two-pointers _ the Heat doesn't get teams to shoot many of them. Opponents are averaging 10.3 mid-range shots against the Heat this season, which is the fourth-fewest in the league.
The only teams forcing opponents into fewer mid-range shots than the Heat are the Bulls (8.7 per game), Hornets (9.5), and Warriors (9.8). Those three teams are ranked in the bottom half of the NBA in defensive rating.
The Heat probably would like to force teams into more mid-range shots and fewer paint shots moving forward.
_ When Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler are both off the court, there is a big drop-off in the Heat's defense. Miami is allowing 105.9 points per 100 possessions with Adebayo and Butler both on the court, compared to 112.9 points per 100 possessions when both are off the court.
The Heat's defensive rating with Adebayo and Butler would rank eighth-best in the NBA for a team as a whole this season, while its defensive rating without them would rank fourth-worst.
This is to be expected to some degree, especially since Adebayo and Butler are widely regarded as Miami's top defenders. But the drop-off is significant.
This is where having a quality perimeter defender such as Justise Winslow available would help the Heat, providing defensive depth to the roster.
Winslow, who has played in just 11 games this season because of injuries, would give Miami another solid defender to use on the perimeter when Butler is on the bench.
