After being 11-30 in the first half of the season, Miami Heat bounced back in a big way as they turned into one of the best teams in the NBA. Just two months ago, the Heat were second-worst team in the league, and everyone assumed they were tanking. Today, they are just half a game behind the eighth seed in the East and have won 20 of their last 24 games.
One of the biggest reasons for their success is improved three-point shooting, as they were on fire from the long range in the second half of the season. In their first 41 games, the Heat were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA, converting only 33.7 percent of their long-range shots.
Ever since, their success rate on these shots has been 41 percent, which is one of the best marks in the entire league. Thanks to this, the Heat are very close to breaking their single-season Record in three-point shots made.
Miami Heat roster has plenty of three-point shooters
Miami Heat has a lot of three-point shooters on the team, and they have all been scorching hot in the last two months. Luke Babbitt has the best three-point percentage on the team with 42.7 percent and is closely followed by Goran Dragic, who shoots just 0.4 percent worse. Heat rookies Okaro White and Rodney McGruder have also been very efficient from three-point territory, making 41.7 and 35.3 percent of their long-range shots respectively.
Heat got lucky in free agency last summer with signing Dion Waiters, Wayne Ellington, James Johnson and bringing back Tyler Johnson. All of them have been exceptional this season, and when it comes to shooting, no one shot worse than 34 percent from beyond the arc. Besides all these great shooters, Miami Heat also has Josh Richardson on the team, who is struggling to make shots and is shooting under 30 percent from three.
However, there is no doubt that Richardson, who shot 46.1 percent from three-point range last season, will improve his shooting percentage when he completely recovers from injury,
Heat are 70 three-pointers away from breaking the record
Miami Heat franchise record in three-pointers made is 717 which was set in 2012/13 season.
The current team has made 637 three-pointers, and with 17 games left in the season, it is very likely that they will break the record. The Heat are averaging 9.8 three-pointers made this season, and that number has increased to 11.8 in the last two months. Considering that they need to average just under five three-pointers for rest of the season, it should be very easy for the Heat to set a new franchise record in this category.
What makes this achievement even more impressive is that the Heat are going to break the record set by the team that had legendary shooters, such as Ray Allen, Shane Battier and Mike Miller. While this is a good proof of how important three-point shooting is in today's NBA, it is also a testament to how incredible this year's Miami Heat team is.
