Of course FA and trades are very important. I'm not debating that. But if you hit in the lottery, it can make a huge difference for your franchise. You don't have to look further than the Heat, and the player you are currently debating is the greatest pro athlete in Miami history, to see that.
Whiteside just doesn't look right out there. That ankle has to be bothering him. And Norris Cole, please go away. I'm asking nicely
Eh... Things are starting to look very bad... Maybe we should explore what we can get from Bird and a few others... Wade is just one guy, the lack of talent on our bench and point guards is more glaring than ever. Cole and Hamilton both being expirings im almost sure theyre traded.. Bird and Deng, possibly traded.
I think it probably just took awhile for the ankle to get loose. He looks like himself now, moving well
After all the knick games you have seen this year, you still sell yourself on the possibility of winning a game?
Who cares? Just lose baby! Win this lottery. I want Okafor or Deangelo Russell. Get ready for Melo to play in this all star game, use it to recruit a few players, and then play a few more games before sitting out the rest of the year with his knee injury. Been saying it for months. You saw him limping all over the court tonight, particularly late 4th. The good news is: 1. Langston Galloway and a lot of the young players feel Melo is "Unselfish" and "spends time teaching and working with the younger players and new players" 2. We're going to have a solid bench soon. Theyre 4/5ths of our starting lineup now but next year and 2016 when we get some starter calibers in there, Lance Thomas, Cole Aldrich, Amundson, THJr etc will be a good group.
I wouldnt complain about getting Conley but I think Dragic is more likely since hes a FA in 15 not 16 and 15 is when we have more cap available. Plus I doubt Phil invests heavily in a PG....
Cole having a good game is a good and bad thing these days. Good because it helps us win, bad because Spoelstra goes by sample size and will force minutes on him now over Tyler and you know Cole is going to suck next gAme..
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/t...eakdown-of-old-school-bulk-and-new-era-skill/ A 1,000 word article on the re-birth of centers and the name Hassan Whiteside does not appear once, but we do get space for Gorgui Dieng. Come on Zach, you don't have to hate the Heat anymore EDIT Apparently he explained in a footnote that the article was supposed to be about lesser known players who haven't been discussed, unlike cousins, Whiteside, etc. Carry on Zach!
Conley is a perfect fit for Spo/Riley's system. An AWFUL fit for the Triangle. Dragic is PERFECT for the triangle.
BTW..on Whiteside last night...The Refs hurt his game. Amare decided to be physical, and Wiltside just gave it back....there was nothing that was excessive. Just physical play. Those fouls derailed what would have been another double/double.
Beyond that, he just didn't look right in the first half. The ankle may have just needed some time to loosen up. Still, he ignited the team in the 3rd quarter, and I'm sure he would've played in the 4th had it been necessary, but there was almost a "time out" or punishment vibe that I got from him sitting, that he was being punished for the tech.
Also have to think about that within a context. One of the last times he played, he was being brutalized on the floor by Andre Drummond and I think Greg Monroe got in on it too, and Whiteside was getting visibly pissed off at the way the refs were just allowing it to continue. So I think he's a little sensitive right now to physical play by the other team and pissed off enough to dish it back and go too far.
Hassan Whiteside is the gift that keeps on giving because in my opinion he's bringing Birdman back to life with his success. Anderson is showing so much energy on the floor now, and he's just flat out playing well. I don't think I'm out of line to believe that might not have happened if Whiteside hadn't come in and started playing like an All Star. Birdman has to feel a bit pissed at all the "finally, a real center!" sentiment we're seeing from fans, media and even his teammates. But not only that I think he likes Whiteside and at times you get the feeling Birdman's trying to assert himself a little more just to show the kid how it's supposed to be done.
I agree. I just don't believe that Phil will spend big money at the PG position. He would have to get a deal on Dragic IMO, which is possible since there's an excess of PGs. He never asked for a bigtime PG in La or Chicago so I can't see more then 7-8m being spent there and that's a bigger number then I think he will actually go to.
Bird was quoted after the game that whiteside is like hi but "10 times better" and that he is just trying to teach him the little things he's learned over the years. Bird is a good dude.
If only there hadn't been so many injury issues and the rest of the team didn't suck so much ***. The Heat should be a good team with guys like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside, Luol Deng, Chris Anderson and Mario Chalmers. But as Section126 said, Mario is a combo guard so they don't have a true point guard. Maybe that works when you've got LeBron but it doesn't work when you've got more orthodox pieces.
If Riley made a mistake post-LeBron it was over-valuing Chalmers and Cole and thinking they were better than they actually are.
Does PER even account for blocks? I didn't think it does. Crazy that Whiteside would be 3rd in the NBA in PER and 1st among centers if it doesn't even account for his insane blocks per minute figure.
Its been a rough season with injuries. But ****...lets make the playoffs because if healthy we could make some noise still.
Didn't Section126 say that Wade, Bosh, Whiteside and Deng constitute the most efficient 4-man rotation in the NBA, albeit a small sample? That's the upside for the playoffs, I suppose. If you can actually get everyone there healthy. That's a pretty easy media narrative to run with if the Heat do get into the playoffs and you're either trying to hype up the playoff matchup and explain why the Heat should be taken seriously, or you're trying to explain why/how the Heat just surprised everyone and won in the first round.
I'm not sure that's the case. There were not many options at PG post-LeBron. I think he stuck with Cole to give him a last chance, but even after a great start to the season they didn't pick his option up. Not a big vote of confidence there. With Chalmers, I think it was just a case of best option available. They were able to pay him what they did because of his Bird rights, so why not? Chalmers was atrocious in the playoffs last year, but he's had his moments in previous years. I don't think it was unreasonable to hope he could be better with an expanded role. What really sucks is, had LeBron not dragged things out, Lowry could very well be running the point for the Heat this season and going forward. Think of the difference that would have made.
He did swing one haymaker at Amare that was a legitimate call. Main thing is this....Teams BETTER foul him, or he just destroys them on the boards.
Yep. Here ya go...some fun with small sample sizes: The Lineup of COLE, Wade, Deng, Bosh and Whiteside outscores their opp. by an average of 84.6 Points per 100 Poss. In other words, the average score in an NBA game would be around 172 to 87. Problem of course is that lineup has only played 12 minutes together. As for Deng, Bosh, Whiteside, Wade....they are at 44 Minutes together, and a +30.7 pts. per 100. That would be good enough for #1 4 man combo in the NBA. Better yet, that lineup has a 84 Def. Rtg which is also #1 and a 54% Reb. Rate which would also be #1. But it really is very simple why that lineup is so good. It has 3 all-stars on it with one of them being a high volume rebounding big and the 4th guy is highly efficient.
How things change.... A Year ago...the 2016 plan was to add a Big Man..... Now? it's to add a PG and role playing shooters.
So PG is the main target, not a wing? I guess that's probably the right move as complimentary wings are easier to find, and PG is probably the more important position.
