One of the primary reasons the Miami Heat struggled at times on offense in 2024-25, particularly after the Jimmy Butler trade, was their overall inability to get to the rim. On top of going to the free throw line at one of the lowest rates in the NBA, the Heat had the 5th fewest field goal attempts per game from inside five feet.![]()
Add in the fact the Heat were a middle of the road three point shooting team, and there is a reason why Miami finished 24th in points per game last year.
The main player they got back for Butler, Andrew Wiggins, used to be someone who would attack the rim. And for Miami to take a step forward in 2025-26, they need him to return to some of his roots.
Andrew Wiggins needs to attack the rim more in 2025-26
When Wiggins first came into the NBA, he was a player who tried to attack the rim. As recently as 2017-18, 62% of his points came from two-point shots.
But since then, Wiggins has morphed more and more into a three-point shooter. He's a career 35% shooter from three, which is decent, but he has also seen his free-throw attempts take a dip.
During his sophomore campaign with Minnesota in 2015-16, Wiggins attempted seven free throws a game. He has seen this metric dip as low as 1.9 attempts per game with Golden State, but even this past season, it was 4.3 free throw attempts per game.
When Wiggins got traded to Miami, the percentage of points he scored from two-point shots went up by four percentage points compared to his usage at Golden State.
Still, during his 17 regular-season games with the Heat, he only scored 48.9% of his points from two and finished at 45.6% for the season. Prior to 2024-25, Wiggins had never scored less than 50% of his points from two.
Heat have shooters in 2025-26
The translation of all of this is that Miami has shooters from deep.
Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, and Davion Mitchell can all provide firepower from downtown.
Sure, if Wiggins is left wide open, he is competent enough to get the green light to shoot. But Miami doesn't need to try and all stand around the arc launching threes; they still need someone willing to attack the rim.
That's where the hope is that Wiggins doesn't continue to morph into a guy who just settles for threes. They need him to be willing to attack, draw contact, and get points the hard way if the Heat are going to be improved on the offensive side in 2025-26.
Dodgers Predicted to Sign Top MLB Free Agent After 2025 Season
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Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have notoriously been one of the top spenders in MLB for several years now. They showed that at the beginning of 2025, they signed many top free agents to improve their roster.
However, that has not led them to become the juggernaut team many analysts and executives thought they would be. Los Angeles is 79-64 and will likely not reach the 90-win mark with just 20 games left this regular season.
Whatever the Dodgers do in the postseason, one MLB Insider believes they will sign the top free agent after 2025.
Dodgers Predicted to Sign Kyle Tucker
The Chicago Cubs’ slugger is having a rough last two months of the season, but is still considered the top free agent.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale believes it will be to the Los Angeles Dodgers:
“Rival executives still believe he’ll be the highest-paid player in free agency,” Bob Nightengale reported Monday. “Their prediction where he’ll land? The Dodgers, who badly could use outfield help.”
The Dodgers could use outfield help, but signing Tucker to say, $400 million would put them far over the luxury tax. But it would address a much-needed positional issue. Los Angeles signed Michael Conforto to a one-year, $17 million deal before the season, and he has looked like a massive bust the entire season.
Conforto still isn’t above the .200 average mark, despite playing in 124 games. His OPS is 77, well below league average. The Dodgers also traded for left fielder Alex Call back in July, and he hasn’t had much production either. Signing Kyle Tucker in free agency is right up the Dodgers’ wheelhouse.
Although Tucker has struggled for the past few months, he’s still had a solid season. Kyle Tucker still has 22 home runs and an OPS+ of 140.
Kyle Tucker Has So Many Accolades As a Player
Bleacher Report recently came out with a prediction piece about Kyle Tucker’s free agency, and it showed how tenured he is as a player:
“After all, Tucker’s resume includes a World Series title, four All-Star selections, a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. He led the league in RBI in 2023 when he was with the Houston Astros and has hit more than 20 home runs in each of the last five seasons. While he hasn’t been himself since the All-Star break with a .242 batting average, five home runs and 17 RBI, some of that can be explained by injury concerns. And he still has solid overall numbers this season with a .270/.381/.472 slash line, 22 home runs and 73 RBI. Tucker is also just 28 years old, which is another reason he will surely command a significant deal this offseason.”
The next question is how much the Dodgers would pay him, and that will be up to Tucker’s agent.
Fans of other MLB teams would not be happy with the Dodgers making a big-money signing like this, but it would put a lot of pressure on the Cubs to attempt to dish out a higher AAV contract. Tucker’s free agency will be one of the highest-anticipated events this offseason.
