What's Wrong With Miami Basketball And How Does It Get Fixed?
Looking just at Miami's 7-2 record, you'd probably think that the Hurricanes have been just fine this season with some tough losses along the way. However, if you've watched these games and dove into the stats, this team is coming off a Final Four appearance and might be in trouble.
In their two losses this season, Miami has lost by a combined 49 points with those being to Kentucky and Colorado. Both those teams were able to expose Miami's weaknesses and run away with dominant victories.
While many are starting to call out the legitimacy of this team after losing their two best players to the NBA this past offseason, head coach Jim Larrañaga has shown the past two seasons that he thrives when facing adversity.
With that being said, where has Miami been struggling so far this season and how can they keep these issues from hurting them more as they start ACC play next month?
Turnovers
In their two losses, Miami was sloppy with the ball by turning it over 15 times against Kentucky and 20 times against Colorado. To go along with it, Miami had more turnovers than assists in both those games, making it even more prominent.
What made Miami so great last season was the amount of ball-handlers they had on the roster, as Jordan Miller and Isaiah Wong rarely cost Miami games last year with their turnovers. Through nine games, Wooga Poplar and Norchad Omier have already had two games of five or more turnovers.
Therefore, how does Miami fix this problem and stop making avoidable mistakes?
First and foremost, it starts with putting the ball in the hands of Bensley Joseph and Nijel Pace. While neither has been an excellent playmaker this season, they are this team's best two ball-handlers and be used that way.
The reality is that despite the points they've been able to put up, Poplar and Omier are at their best in off-ball situations. During earlier games, Poplar played best as a spot-up three-point shooter or taking limited dribbles. While his ability to attack the rim is needed, it can be done in ways that don't require him to break down his defender off the dribble.
With Omier, he was dominant last season running the pick and roll with Pack. That play should be a primary focus moving forward.
While nothing will change overnight, Miami needs to allow more of this offense to run through Pack and Joseph and keep Omier, Poplar, and Matthew Cleveland running constant off-ball movement.
Rebounding
It's obvious that if Miami doesn't have Omier on the court it struggles on the glass. Here's the problem. Omier has had four or more fouls in five games this season. The Hurricanes need to find a way to win on the backboards even when Omier does pick up a third foul early in the game, etc.
It starts with the bench, as Miami's reserve bigs AJ Casey and Michael Nwoko haven't been cutting it with the rebounding department. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as telling Casey and Nwoko to get better at rebounding, but rather putting them in situations where you can mitigate the issue.
Here's a solution. Miami should crash the defensive glass during the non-Omier minutes. While Miami excels running in transition, they need to keep their opponents off the offensive glass.
While it may never be entirely fixed, it must be a whole team effort to turn it around. If Casey and Nwoko can work on their positioning while the wings stay back to help rebound, they can make their rebounding problem smaller.
You can't teach size, but there's always a way around playing to your strengths.
Final Thoughts
Miami remains one of the top teams in the ACC. They've been one of the top-scoring offenses in the country and efficient from behind the arc.
However, Miami is not playing to its best abilities. Look at Pack, who was playing like one of the best guards in the country from February through the NCAA Tournament last season. The 2023-24 season is different. He has yet to hit his stride and has only one 20-plus-point performance.
Additionally, Miami's bench is getting better game by game and will improve this team. Still, the Hurricanes play in one of the toughest conferences in the country and have three games left to work out some of their issues. Only time will tell, but this team has proved during the last two seasons that they show up when it matters most.
2023-24 Miami Hurricanes Basketball Schedule
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You can find Liam on Twitter @theleftyliam where he shares news on University of Miami basketball and football as well as opinions