The Miami Heat have transformed their offense this season by abandoning the pick-and-roll, leading to a top-three scoring average in the NBA. After a humiliating playoff sweep by the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, coach Erik Spoelstra shifted to a faster, movement-based style. The team is now 9-6, averaging 123.6 points per game.
Following a four-game playoff sweep by the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, where the Heat were outscored by a total margin of 122 points—the most lopsided postseason loss in NBA history—head coach Erik Spoelstra sought a new team identity. "It was a very painful and embarrassing first-round loss," Spoelstra said before a recent matchup with the Cavaliers. In the series' final two games, Miami scored under 90 points each time, prompting Spoelstra to rethink their approach. "So that sparked a lot of thought that we needed to do some things better and differently," he added.
This season, the Heat are averaging just 15.5 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions, the lowest in the league, far below the Utah Jazz's 44.7. They derive the least offense from picks of any team in the last 15 seasons, according to Sportradar. Instead, Miami leads the NBA in pace, emphasizing off-ball movement and drives to the basket. They rank second in drives per game, second in miles run per game, and first in average offensive speed.
The changes have boosted their scoring to 123.6 points per game, highlighted by a 110-96 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Over the last three seasons, the Heat ranked in the bottom third for offensive rating; now, at 16th with 115.3, it's their best mark of the decade. From 2020 to 2025, they were consistently in the bottom four for pace, but this year they average over 106 possessions per game—the fastest since 1992.
Heat captain Bam Adebayo noted the shift in October: "We knew after last year that [Spoelstra] was going to switch up the whole philosophy of his offense. He told me that. He said he wanted us to play faster and we are." Adebayo added, "Playing with a pace like this, you love to see everybody collectively having fun, everybody getting to touch the ball. You can’t really scout plays for us. There are no plays."
The Heat have yet to play with guard Tyler Herro, their leading scorer from last season who frequently used pick-and-rolls. Questions remain about sustaining this style through the playoffs, where pace often slows.