Heat’s Riley says his best players ‘have to be better.’ Exploring how that can happen

Heat president Pat Riley said he wants his best players to be, well, better this season.

“I truly believe in these guys,” Riley said last week. But…

“Bam [Adebayo], Jimmy [Butler] and Tyler [Herro], to some extent maybe Terry [Rozier] have to be better. It’s always about can you produce more, can you be more. We have a core of really, really great players who need to find another level of greatness. This is their time. So take the challenge.”

So where could each improve, beginning with Wednesday’s opener against visiting Orlando (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Florida)? Here’s a start:

▪ Butler: Beyond the obvious availability issues, there’s nothing more important than regaining his previously supreme efficiency on drives to the basket and shots in the basket area, as well as midrange shots.

Per Second Spectrum, Butler shot 44 percent on drives last season, which was seventh worst in the NBA among players with at least 250 field-goal attempts. That was a drop from 52 percent the previous season.

Per Probasketballreference, he shot 67.7 percent at the rim last season, compared to 70.2 last season and 70.5 two seasons ago.

And he shot 38.7 percent last season from 10 to 15 feet, compared to 47.2 last season and 46.7 two seasons ago.

And here’s another area where Butler must either improve or be more selective: clutch threes.

Butler was just 2 for 14 last season on three-pointers during what the NBA defines as clutch time — the final five minutes of games with a margin of five points or fewer.

▪ Adebayo: The expectation is the three-point game will take another jump, mostly in volume (Adebayo and Spoelstra said he could take anywhere from two to seven a game) and perhaps a small boost from his 35.7 percent accuracy last season (15 for 42) to something that would generate even more respect from opponents.

He’s at 22.1 percent (23 for 104) on threes in his career, but has improved markedly since his first five seasons.

“It will help us with our spacing,” Adebayo said.

The hope would be a free-throw percentage more in line with the 80.6 percent he shot in 2022-23, compared with his 75.5 last season.

▪ Herro: His priority is greater availability, after injuries limited him to 54, 55, 67 and 42 games the past four seasons.

“Being healthy is my main goal for the season, being available, being on the court, for my teammates, coaches, whole organization, the city,” he said Tuesday. “I owe it to them to be on the court as much as possible. Unless I can’t walk or do something, I’m going to be on the court this year. Hopefully I can be more durable.”

There’s also another progression to be taken in efficiency.

“Eventually I want to be 50, 40, 90,” he said last year of his overall shooting percentage, three-point accuracy and free-throw percentage. “That’s my goal.” That threshold has been achieved just nine times in NBA history, twice by Kevin Durant.

Last season, he was a 44.1 from the field (on par with his 44.0 career average), 39.6 on threes (up from his 38.5 career) and 85.6 on free throws (down from his league high 93.4 last season).

He also needs to be better finishing in the basket area. His shooting percentage at the rim tumbled from 69.5 percent two seasons ago to 58.8 last season.

▪ Rozier: Improvement is needed on both ends.

Among point guards who started at least 40 games, Rozier allowed the fifth-worst (or highest) shooting percentage against. The player he defended shot 50 percent; those same players shot 46.7 percent overall.

Offensively, his shooting percentage dropped from 45.9 with Charlotte last season to 42.3 in 31 games with the Heat not because he shot threes worse (he actually shot them better in Miami) but because he shot eight percentage points worse on twos.

His 56.2 percentage at the rim (90 for 160) isn’t good enough for a player who’s talented enough to often maneuver past the initial defender.

Rozier, too, could improve in the clutch; he shot 8 for 24 in the clutch last season. Herro also shot 33 percent in the clutch (13 for 39) but has had prior history of excellence late in close games.

THIS AND THAT

Recently cleared to play after March shoulder surgery, Heat wing Josh Richardson will begin the season sidelined by left heel inflammation.

“After not running for six months, getting back into it is going to be tough, lower body as well,” Richardson said. “I came back and it’s up and down. It’s down for the last few days, but hopefully get back up soon. They said it’s just comfort level” of being able to play through it.

Moving past the shoulder injury is “amazing. It’s pretty much close to normal.”

▪ Guard Josh Christopher, on a two-way contract, is the only other Heat player who begins the season injured. He’s dealing with a toe contusion but practiced to an extent on Tuesday.

▪ Coach Erik Spoelstra suggested that guard Dru Smith, on a two-way contract, would be active on Wednesday.

▪ With the Heat’s emphasis on shooting more layups and threes, Herro mused Tuesday that “Honestly, I don’t remember the last person who shot a midrange shot in a practice or scrimmage or anything. We haven’t shot those all preseason or training camp. There’s been a lot of focus on getting to the rim, putting pressure on the paint, getting open threes, finding ways to create advantages for our attackers, our spaces, guys who can score.”