By Alex Raskin, Hoopsworld.com

A defensive stop, an outlet pass and an easy bucket in transition.

The Miami Heat’s recipe for success in 2011-12 was anything but complicated. Erik Spoelstra’s crew yielded just 97.1 points per 100 possessions (fourth in the NBA) and held opponents to a 43.3% shooting mark from the field, which meant there were plenty of opportunities for the Heat to turn a bad shot into two easy points.

But for all the times we saw a Miami fastbreak punctuated by a one-handed dunk by LeBron James, it still wasn’t enough for Spoelstra. The Heat ranked just 14th in fastbreak points in 2011-12 and were tied for 14th in pace (possessions per game). It may have seemed like the Heat were on an endless fastbreak, but the numbers show that pedal is still far from the metal in that regard.

“I hope to play faster,” Spoelstra told the Jorge Sedano Show on Miami’s WQAM, as quoted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We turned it up a gear last year and I think we have the personnel to hopefully go even faster. And I think with a normal training camp and a full season, we can build that habit a little bit more.”

But beyond quantity, there’s something else that the Miami Heat fastbreak was missing: efficiency.

According to teamrankings.com, Miami was 19th in fastbreak efficiency (they averaged 1.578 points per fastbreak), which means there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Now here’s the really scary thought for other NBA teams: the Heat, who ranked sixth in offensive efficiency last season, may have found a way to shake more change out of the fastbreak piggy bank.

By signing former Celtics guard Ray Allen— arguably the greatest three-point shooter ever — as well as his former SuperSonics teammate Rashard Lewis, the Heat have given themselves trailers on the fastbreak that are every bit as deadly as James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are at the rim.

“He’s a Hall of Fame-type catch-and-shoot player,” Spoelstra said of Allen. “We haven’t had that element before in our offense. So it’s been a lot … [For more on Ray Allen can fix Heat's one offensive issue, click here.]