The Miami Heat have implemented a radical offensive system that virtually eliminates pick-and-rolls and screens, putting the team on pace to shatter NBA records for fewest such actions per 100 possessions. Erik Spoelstra hired consultant Noah LaRoche to install a Constraints-Led Approach emphasizing constant cutting and transition over traditional set plays.
Miami is running only 15 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions this season, according to Second Spectrum. The previous record low was 39.3 by the 2018-19 Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat are also on pace to break records for fewest dribble handoffs and rank 26th in off-ball screens. Miami also leads the NBA in pace.
The transformation followed an embarrassing first-round playoff sweep by Cleveland last season. Spoelstra and All-Star center Bam Adebayo convened throughout the offseason to develop the new strategy.
“It wasn’t like head coach-star player,” Spoelstra said. “It was colleagues saying, ‘Hey, we need to figure this out. We need to make some changes.’ None of us like being embarrassed like that. We have to evolve.”
Spoelstra introduced the system during training camp by banning screens entirely for the first three days. Setting any screen would count as a turnover. Players also had to advance from 3-point line to 3-point line within four seconds or lose possession.
Norman Powell initially believed the restrictions were temporary conditioning exercises. On Day 3, when Spoelstra stopped a scrimmage after players attempted a dribble handoff, the team learned the changes were permanent.
“We’re not running pick-and-rolls for a reason,” Spoelstra told the team.
The Heat sit at 14-10 despite injuries to Tyler Herro and Adebayo. Miami’s offensive efficiency has jumped from 21st last season to 13th entering Sunday. The team converts 18 percent of possessions into transition opportunities, the NBA’s second-highest rate per Second Spectrum.
LaRoche previously consulted with the Memphis Grizzlies, who experimented with similar principles before reverting to traditional approaches. Kenny Atkinson has incorporated movement concepts while maintaining ball screens during his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“It allows someone to anticipate, and that’s the hallmark of any expert,” LaRoche said. “It makes someone who’s slow fast, and it makes someone who is fast even faster.”