I’ve gone through the different problems with this Heat team since the beginning of the season, including turnovers, lack of shot attempts, and rebounding. But the reason for a good portion of their issues seem to be unselfishness.

One thing I saw last night was that lineups that include their three best players, Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo, did not seem to be as effective as when they played with only two of them.

But why is that exactly?

Well, all three of those guys are pretty unselfish players, which means there is a lack of clarity on who the main aggressor will be on any given possession.

The main reason Miami put themselves in a hole last night was due to one word: Over-Passing.

And that doesn’t just pertain to the lineup with Jimmy, Goran, and Bam, since Tyler Herro and others are guilty of doing it a ton.

There are moments in the game where Tyler just needs to be Tyler and get shots up on the basket. Instead, he gives an extra pass or throws it out to the corner on the drive, when his original shot would’ve been the best shot.

When players on a team are selfish, it impacts the quality of the locker room. When players on a team are unselfish, it impacts their play on the floor.

The turnovers and lack of shot attempts have a lot to do with the over-passing, since if they just focus on getting the ball up on their first opportunity, that fixes some things. As Coach Erik Spoelstra has said, the main thing is getting “shots on goal,” and when the shot attempts are 99-81 in a game, it’s hard to come out with a win.

And if there was any team where you’d feel better about the quantity of shots, instead of the quality, it would be this Heat team. They have plenty of offensive firepower to get them going, and that rhythm will ultimately carry over to their energy on the defensive end and the boards.

It just seems as if the unselfishness is the common factor between all of Miami’s issues. When Jimmy Butler began to be selfish offensively yesterday, it caused a huge Miami run to end the second quarter.

Jimmy Butler knows when it is time for him to be selfish, and that’s the trait that I believe is necessary for Bam Adebayo to pick up as well. There’s no reason for Daniel Theis to have more field goal attempts than Bam in a game like this. And once Miami’s young guys begin to realize being selfish is needed, things will begin to turnaround.