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At 11-12, the Miami Heat are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference. Head coach Erik Spoelstra wants more out of Dion Waiters, who signed a four-year, $52 million extension with the Heat this offseason. Spoelstra wants Waiters to be more efficient, he tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald:
“He has to be more efficient,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday. “He knows that. He has the ball in his hands quite a bit. There has to be more commitment to get him open and get him into the paint and he has to be more committed to making the right plays and not just settling for low percentage pull ups, particularly when they’re contested and particularly when there’s more time on the clock to explore more options of our offense.”
Waiters has indeed struggled this season, from an efficiency standpoint. He’s shooting a career-low 39 percent from the field and a meager 31.1 percent from 3-point range. He’s also averaging a career-high 2.7 turnovers per game despite averaging 0.6 fewer assists per game than he did last season.
Last season, Waiters opted not to undergo ankle surgery that would have kept him out eight to 10 months. It’s possible that his nagging ankle injury is contributing to his struggles this season.
