On this week’s Heat Check: Breaking down the Miami Heat’s surprising start to the season and the latest developments in the Terry Rozier situation. By Pierre Taylor
The Miami Heat’s offense needed something new. For years, the Heat’s offense was among the slowest and most inefficient units in the NBA.
Not only has the Heat been one of the five slowest-paced teams in the NBA in each of the past six regular seasons, but Miami has also never finished the regular season as a top-15 team in pace through Erik Spoelstra’s first 17 seasons as the Heat’s head coach. The Heat has also finished with one of the NBA’s 10 worst offensive ratings in each of the last three seasons.
Enter Noah LaRoche, who the Heat brought on this season as a consultant after he spent last season as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies before being fired in March when the organization parted ways with then-Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and a few assistants. During his short stint with the Grizzlies, LaRoche was credited with helping to install a more free-flowing, motion-based offense that didn’t involve as many screens or handoffs as other offensive schemes.
What makes LaRoche’s involvement with the Heat so interesting is that Miami is running a similar offense early this season to the one he helped bring to Memphis last season. The results have been eye-opening so far, as the Heat entered Sunday with a top-10 offensive rating and averaging the second-most points per game (125.4) in the NBA while playing at the league’s fastest pace (107.3 possessions per 48 minutes) this season after operating as one of the lowest-scoring and slowest offenses for the last few seasons.
“He’s been a good addition, a fun addition to the staff,” Spoelstra said of LaRoche before the Heat began its two-game set in Los Angeles that includes a matchup against the Lakers on Sunday night and a matchup against the Clippers on Monday (10:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “He’s really an innovative coaching mind. I love to talk hoops. And I’ve really enjoyed, and our staff has really enjoyed our discussions with him. He’s just been a fun addition to the staff.”
But Spoelstra also made sure to point out that longtime Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn has played an important role in the Heat’s recent scoring surge.
“Quinny has been very instrumental in our offensive plans this year and previous years,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not just about the rankings of where we were years before. It’s about whether the offensive system makes sense for that iteration, that team, and does it bring out the best in guys. And I think you could say for sure it has. And Quinny has been a major part of that the last few years, and he’s been a big part of what we’re doing this year. But the collaboration and the ideas, all that stuff has been a lot of fun.”
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches his team play against the Charlotte Hornets in the first half of their NBA game at Kaseya Center on Oct. 28, 2025, in Miami. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
LaRoche isn’t on the Heat’s directory because he’s not yet in a full-time role, but he’s a regular face around the team. LaRoche was even at the Heat’s practice on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Spoelstra said he got to know LaRoche through former Heat forward Duncan Robinson, who is now with the Detroit Pistons. Robinson and LaRoche both grew up in the same area in New Hampshire.
LaRoche is the Founder, CEO, and Lead Coach of Integrity Hoops, which is a basketball training and consulting company.
“I just think he’s a very creative offensive mind, somebody I really enjoy talking shop with and coming up with different ways of doing things,” Spoelstra continued on LaRoche.
The shift in the Heat’s offense toward LaRoche’s philosophy so far this season has been staggering.
Along with the high-scoring performances and fast-paced style, the Heat is using significantly fewer screens and handoffs this season.
After using 68.9 screens per 100 possessions (ninth-most in the NBA) and 22.3 handoffs per 100 possessions (16th-most in the NBA last season), the Heat has used just 19.2 screens per 100 possessions (fewest in the NBA) and 5.5 handoffs per 100 possessions (fewest in the NBA) through its first five games this season, according to Genius Sports.
The Heat’s new-look offense relies on players getting by their defender and into the paint without the help of a screen. Proper spacing then allows that driving player to either finish at the basket or kick out to the perimeter until there’s a clean look, with all five players constantly in motion during the possession.
“That just shows the growth,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said of Spoelstra’s willingness to bring in new ideas and change things. “That just shows he’s willing to have some success in a different type of way. Like I said, the game is evolving. Every year, we see somebody else win it and they play a different style of ball. So for us, it’s just forming our own style and our own system. That’s how we can compete.”
The Heat’s revamped offense remains a work in progress. Ups and downs are expected throughout the season, especially with something new that was just installed.
But the goal is to find an offensive plan that maximizes the skill sets of players on this season’s Heat roster. Spoelstra hopes and believes he found the scheme to do that.
“It’s really just trying to come up with a plan that you think makes the most sense for the team you have,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s all we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re not trying to do anything else other than maximize the players, the personnel we have. Give them something they can rally around. Hopefully give our fans something they can rally around, get excited about as well.”