The now-not-so-secret influence behind the new Miami Heat offense

The Miami Heat have been stuck in sand -- and sometimes quicksand -- on offense for the past several seasons.

Some of it has been personnel. Even with Jimmy Butler around, Miami hasn't had an abundance of creators, those who could isolate and get a good shot at any time, for themselves or others. That has shown in the rankings, as the Heat have consistently finished in the bottom half or third in the NBA in offensive rating.

The offense has been more dynamic to start the 2025-26 season, and not because the Heat have added a superstar; their best scorer from last season, Tyler Herro, hasn't played yet as he's recovered from ankle surgery, and the top addition, Norman Powell, has missed two of the Heat's five games with a groin strain. The offense looks different, over the past few days we've gotten a clearer idea of why.

Erik Spoelstra has expanded his influences, while shrinking some of his own control. While Noah LaRoche isn't on a full-time assistant, he is with the Heat in Los Angeles and has been consulting with Spoelstra for the past few weeks, as Spoelstra acknowledged when the topic was raised by reporters this weekend.

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has spent a career collecting people, or at least picking their brains. That again is the case with offensive guru Noah LaRoche. https://t.co/oHX15QtmET pic.twitter.com/af0FvdQBA8
— Sun Sentinel Sports (@Sentinel_Sports) November 2, 2025

Spoelstra referred to LaRoche as "a very creative offensive mind, somebody I really enjoy talking shop with and coming up with different ways of doing things," according to The Miami Herald. This is reminiscent of the 2011 offseason, when Spoelstra visited with prominent football coaches around the nation, including Chip Kelly and Butch Jones, to get some different ideas for unleashing the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

The Heat coach doesn't have that kind of talent on hand this time, but LaRoche's approach -- fewer pick-and-rolls and more read-and-react empowering the players -- seems to fit with the current roster. We covered some of his principles on a recent episode of Five on the Floor.

LaRoche was with Memphis last season, which makes the Ja Morant situation in Memphis even more interesting. Morant was reportedly not happy with the Grizzlies' more egalitarian style last season. But he's not happy now either (his "go ask the coaches" comment after a recent loss led to a one-game Grizzlies suspension). That led some fans to speculate the Heat could target Morant in a trade.

But the Heat are now running a lot of the same LaRoche-style offense Morant didn't want last season.

I had previously posted this on YouTube but keeping it here as a reference

30 minutes of film I put together on the Noah LaRoche / Rob Sanicola offence w/ D3 Saint Joseph's of Maine

Both Noah (Memphis Grizzlies) and Rob (Memphis Hustle) are with the organization now pic.twitter.com/JoruOadXdf
— Adam Pike (@GrizzliesFilm) October 2, 2024

For now, this is about the current Heat players. Some Heat fans have expressed concern on social media about how Herro will fit, but Spoelstra doesn't seem worried. And there's some question about whether a center like Kel'el Ware would benefit from more pick-and-rolls that lead to lobs.

Even so, it's hard to see the Heat going back to how they were, when so little of that worked.

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