2025 marks the first time that the Miami Heat did not start a season with Jimmy Butler. Doubt crept in. Who would be the man on this team? How would Tyler Herro and new addition Norman Powell work together? A team that seemed, by its own work, to be stuck in basketball purgatory. Too good to be in the lottery but too bad to truly contend, it appeared Pat Riley and his Heat Culture might have finally met its demise. 

However, so far in this young season, the Heat have managed to flip the script. From 2020 to 2024 (all years with Jimmy Butler), Miami’s pace (measured by how fast a team plays) averaged 96.674 possessions per 48 minutes, which ranked 29th out of 30 teams in the NBA. In 2025, it’s 105.79 per 48. With the subtraction of Jimmy Butler, we have seen not only a team that pushes the ball up and down the court, but they are also scoring at an incredible rate. One of the team’s main issues throughout the first half of the decade was that the offense would consistently stall in the playoffs, having to rely on player heroics and elite team defense. This year, however, they are averaging 125.4 points per game, 15 more points than last season.  

This all begs the question: What is the difference this year in the offense? The answer: No more pick and rolls. The pick and roll (Where a player sets a screen on the defender on the ball and rolls off to the basket) has been a staple for NBA offenses since the days of Jerry West and Bill Russell; however, over the years, especially for the Heat, the team became so reliant on either

the pick and roll or a Jimmy Butler isolation play, that teams were able to easily gameplan for the Heat. However, with new players, you must adapt, so head coach Erik Spoelstra adapted to his roster and stopped calling set plays every time down the court. The current roster lacks a true Point Guard who can handle the ball and create for others, so Spoelstra has emphasized that if any player secures a rebound, they should bring it up themselves, shoot as quickly as possible, and continue attacking the paint.

This roster is built for this; forwards Andrew Wiggins and Jamie Jaquez Jr have been able to slash their way into the paint and create easy looks for themselves and others. In Jaquez’s case, this has led to a career resurgence where he has almost doubled his points per game since last year. Star Bam Adebyo has made the full shift to the forward position, which has allowed him to fully open up his offensive arsenal, going from having years of hitting no threes to now hitting around 2.6 threes per game this year. Second-year center Ke’wel Ware has shown massive improvement on the court with his motor, allowing himself to have more minutes to showcase his skills and talent. Finally, new guards, Norman Powell and Simone Fontecchio, have been lighting it up from three, with both shooting over 50% from beyond the arc so far this season. For Fontecchio, it looks as if Miami found a diamond in the rough to replace former player Duncan Robinson. 

This raises the question: Can this fast-paced tempo be sustained for a full 82-game regular season, along with any playoff games? Moreover, when star guard Tyler Herro comes back from injury, can he fit into this offense? Those questions will be answered over time, but for now, this new look Heat brings exciting basketball back to the 305.