You and I both. I've said 1000x even if healthy you don't get back into the flow of playing such a team oriented sport plus all of your coordination back in only a few months. He has been healthy so we need to give him a shot.
I think the odds are decent that Oden could be a consistent 15 minute a night contributor all season this year.
On the subject Section...do you know that the Heat have reached out to Lance? Say what you guys want about swapping Lebron for Lance but its a HELL of a lot better than just losing Lebron and adding nothing. Everything can't be "We lost Lebron and added this guy" from now on. Lebron is gone....it's about adding other players now.
Fair enough, it just hasn't been my experience with what I have seen. I would argue that those guys are wrong though. It's not like Bennett was some can't miss prospect. That whole draft was pretty bad honestly and his struggles don't indicate a guy that can turn it around. Almost any player could have a better PER just by stepping on the floor.
Lance Stephenson can be a great player and can ruin a team. More than anything I sincerely don't like him.
I gave up arguing with those people. They wanted to bench Tristan for Bennett despite Bennett being just dismal most nights.
I don't like him either. If he was here I would seriously hope that he could cut back on his stupid antics.
Instead of the preordained 2 ECF teams, Heat/Pacers, you now have five teams with legitimate chances of making the ECF; Heat, Cavs, Pacers, Raptors, Bulls. There is now more balance in the east. It's less predictable.
I can't say I like him either, but he might thrive in Miami's high structure environment. What I want for the Heat is for them to add a young guy with future superstar potential. Stephenson and Bledsoe are the only two I know that are available and have that kind of potential. They have Ennis who has looked like a lottery pick in the summer league. They also have Napier, whom I like, but is realistically several years away. I'd like to add at least one more young guy with a high ceiling.
I think it's funny because if Lance goes back....it's possible the Pacers have gotten more benefit out of Lebron leaving than the Cavs have.
Yes. Dan LeBatard says that they made a call to Lance Stephenson early in free agency to make their interest known.
Maybe but not better at all. if anything the west has a much easier road Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
Agreed. I'd definitely take Stephenson over Deng. I think even with -only- Lance, we have a legitimate shot at the East because it not only helps us be severely limits our greatest threat in Indiana.
Lance Stephenson is a HELLUVA basketball player. But he is most likely certifiably insane. I don;t give a crap. Give me players. We will figure out the personality stuff later.
I don't really think that is entirely fair. You can never guess who will get hot/cold or what injuries there may be etc. Though I would say they will be the favorite.
Not really...crap happens during the season that impacts that. Some guys disappear on the big stage, some guys will have games they could never replicate in their lives, etc. It's entirely fair to say they will be the favorites but you can't hand out the trophy.
Sure, but you're acting like I'm saying they aren't "likely" to win. Huge difference in that and saying it isn't a foregone conclusion.
What I see is a team that doesn't have a single Center under contract as of now. I see a team that, by its actions, still doesn't value a true Center on this roster and still thinks they can play just like last year, but without LeBron. And if that's true, if all we go into the season with is Birdman, as much as I like him—and Oden, whom we don't know can contribute big—and maybe Justin Hamilton...then it's gonna be a long ****ing season.
BTW guys...the night before the Decision 2.0 was insane..I will post what I was told that night. There was some interesting stuff and one source of mine nailed the story. ALL of the Miami based people were completely fooled.
probably after the World Cup Final. I will post some interesting stuff in here. THERE WERE SOME SIGNS.
Would you consciously, willingly choose to go into the playoffs with those three guys as your Centers? All I'm saying is that if Spo—who is stubborn as ****—wants to play the same scheme as before without LeBron, subjugating Bosh to the 5, and especially with Chalmers dribbling—it's gonna be ugly. Fugly.
I ****ing love that guy. LOVE. I wish he could give more minutes without breaking down, but such is age.
It has to be a different philosophy this year. Bosh can't be used as a chess piece to space for slashing anymore.
If Spriley pulls Deng and Stephenson, the Heat are back to single-digit odds again. 40/1 is ridiculous, anyway.
Losing the best player in the game is never good; but in the abstract, you lose LeBron and add Deng and Stephenson; you almost have to call that a net gain, because the one thing James couldn't do was be TWO prolific scorers at once. That also assumes you play Bosh at the 4, not banging with 5s and sacrificing his own scoring...and if you don't re-sign Mario Chalmers, who brings down the team on balance with his mistakes and cold streaks.
100%. Whenever he sits, give him those spatial puzzles they give ADD kids. Keep him occupied when he's not draining 3s.
No, I do think there is. A good example is that an aging Spurs beat a team with LeBron in his prime because they had more bodies actually producing. That's what I'm talking about when I say "net gain." No, neither Deng nor Lance is better than Bron. But playing together, and with Bosh playing to his max level and a PG who doesn't give the ball away 8 times a game—net gain.
