Norris Cole has hit the rookie wall and he has hit it hard. So hard, in fact, that if Mike Miller returns from injury on Sunday against the Pistons, then Cole might see his dwindling minutes reduced to zero.
What is the rookie wall, exactly? It's an amorphous obstacle most first-year players run into around this time of the season. Fatigue, folks. The condensed season has taken a bite out of Cole's legs and his confidence is falling fast.
Cole went 0 of 5 from the field against the Grizzlies on Friday and hasn't made a field goal in three games. He's 2 of 21 from the field since the Heat's embarrassing loss to the Celtics. Cole is averaging 3.3 points per game since the All-Star break and shooting 27.2 percent.
Put another way, Cole was ranked 33rd among rookies in scoring for the month of March. In January, he was ranked eighth.
While fatigue is the most obvious reason for Cole's decline, there are other factors. The Heat's offense has changed since the beginning of the season.
In the beginning, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's fast-paced offense played to Cole's strengths, his speed and quickness. He had no idea what he was doing but it was OK because he didn't have to think. He could just run around in transition and beat opponents to the basket. But the Heat's offense is much slower these days and Cole has found it difficult to adjust to the change of pace.
The Heat averaged 103.9 points per game in January. Those numbers have nosedived. In March, the Heat averaged 96.0 ppg. In the first four games this month, the Heat has averaged 87.8 ppg. Those statistics don't suit Cole at all.
The NBA's old adage -- the game slows down even more in the playoffs -- doesn't bode well for Cole's role this postseason. Of course, with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade needing the ball in their hands all the time, it's not like Cole was going to be a major factor anyway. Spoelstra will continue to hand over Cole's minutes to rookie Terrel Harris, who plays better defense.
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