OFFICIAL 2014-2015 @miamiHEAT SEASON THREAD (31-36) : RILEY GOT DRAGIC....DISCOUNTED!!!!!

I agree @soychulo and imlive365 imlive365 this team will be like those Celtics teams. Be mediocre in the regular season and get it together just in time for the playoffs. As for Napier, I hope Coach Spo gives him as much time on the floor as possible so he'll be ready when we need an extra play maker . At this point we have no play makers. Wade can be that guy at times during the game, but we need someone else to take the load off. Chalmers is obviously not that guy and Cole has never been someone to create offensively.

And I really like Ennis, but he defiantly has a lot of work to do until he can deliver consistent buckets. And also like Shannon Brown's hustle, he always seems to make 2 or 3 heads up plays a game. Granger finally woke up and hit some shots... thank god, but now Deng was useless. :lol:

I really hope McBob can contribute on the boards once he gets healthy.
 
Didn't finish watching the game cause I had something I had to take care of, but wade was a serious hiccup on offense, Idk where he really fits on offense next to deng, I know he needs to do what he needs to do to get out of funks but his style of play was very disruptive... If that's the way he has to play to be effective, then he needs a new one soon. 

Bosh is all business right now and I know that's probably still gonna be him during the season, wade and deng have to figure it out, and work however possible. let's see if these problems can fix themselves through the course of the season

hope to see some changes against gs on friday
 
soychulo said:
As painful as it is to say this but late last season I came to the conclusion that Wade is pretty much done. His style of play depends heavily on athleticism and getting past others with quickness. I can attest that once your body starts the decline it is not something you can reverse. You watch rebounds that at one point you would have grabbed end up in someone else's hands. Players you previously would have shut down defensively and torched offensively start to appear to be an even match. There will be spurts of brilliance, but it is no longer sustainable for an entire game.

With that said we have some young bright spots. We are by no means a contender though. Providing he doesn't suffer any serious injuries I'd love for Bosh to make a run at the league MVP.
Click to expand...

I have a strong inclination to believe that's something he's making of a personal goal this year. If you think about it, the success (and failures) of this team rest's on his shoulders so if he bears the brunt of the reason why we do succeed on a seemingly "mediocre" team, those votes will favor him. Plus, he's already on the nations good side based on his actions post LeBron's decision. Time will tell but as I've stated prior the position I am watching very very closely is our PG spot. You all know me and all these years know how much I value Norris lol, but this is a make or break year for him otherwise he'll dissipate into the depths of an NBA bench.
 
Looking at things objectively as a basketball junkie, taking out fandom for the Heat and how much I enjoy watching prime Wade, there are simple facts to consider.

First, Wade will never be able to sustain his unique style of slashing play for an entire game. His body will not cooperate with that. It is very easy to see that his body is deteriorating from age and his injuries have accelerated it as well. At best he can have a few spurts of greatness. I'm not even sure he can consistently have those moments game by game. It may be more along the lines of every couple weeks we see him string a few nice plays together.

Secondly, up til now Wade has only been effective offensively in two scenarios. He must either have the ball in his hands far out on the floor so he can get a head of steam up as he barrels into the lane or on the break. Outside of those two scenarios he is a paperweight on offense. Can he turn himself into a spot up shooter? Would love to see it, but let's be "cereal" here.

Thirdly, will Wade's ego allow him to have the ball in his hands less throughout the game? As fans we will be very frustrated watching old Wade try to do the things young Wade did. For example, outside of jumpshooting one of Wade's biggest weaknesses has been his ballhandling. At the top of the key when he begins to set up the defender his handle has always been loose, by loose, I mean sloppy. He is most effective when he is going north/south and only has to use one move on his way to the basket. One juke, one fake, one in-out dribble, one step back, one crossover. When he tries to string more than one of those together particularly outside the paint it has resulted in him trying to get control of the ball ALOT. Wade's genius has always been angles. He sees angles of attack that are open, opening or that he can create once he is on the move toward the goal. Angles also come into play in the variety of shots he takes. Wade gets geometry on the court. That is what has made him special.

Finally, this will be what makes things difficult to watch. Defense. We started to see it last year. Wade will be a turnstile on defense. We don't have true rim protectors on this team that we can funnel the opposing teams best players into. Bosh is too important offensively to be in foul trouble trying to stop all the quick guards that will be in the lane.

I'd love to see Wade take a role much like Ginobili has for San Antonio. Limited minutes. Get a few shots up and get your teammates some looks.

With that being said we have lots of unknowns on the team. There could be some really great surprises this year.
 
^I really hope Wade isn't egotistical but you know what, you make a great point with that argument smh ..... something I guess we've never really had to question as loyal fans and as loyal of a player he's been to this organization! I'm with you on that fam
 
As far as wade goes, he just needs to adjust his play style.



This right here is what I'm looking to see from wade. He made the game look easy. Seemed like he was going half speed the entire game. Hitting the open man, taking high-percentage shots, playing below the rim. This play style is going to help him save energy for the 4th IMO.

As far as the point guard position goes, we need guys who are looking to distribute the ball. The days of standing in the corner and waiting for the open 3 are over. Didn't see yesterday's game, so my opinion on the starting PG hasn't changed. I'm thinking it should be rio.

I think mcroberts will really help this team in that regard.
 
Yea, I think Roberts ability to assist and defend will be a factor to the starting/backup lineup

Wade is adjusting, main reason I think he is building on his three point shot, to adjust better, I think this season is more about him than bosh, his future with basketball. I think alot of this is rust from the maintenance pro. but we are fans and can be subjective, so we'll see, truth is gonna come out one way or another

Other than that we have GS on fri, then SA the next day, then Hou on TNT on tues... so this team will get a fair testing before the season lol
 
OPPS! HOMEBOY SET A PICK FOR NORRIS! FORGOT HE NO LONGER PLAYS FOR THE HEATLES! LMMFAO!


/VIDEO]


-Side note : Mark my words, Norris will play for the Cavs when his contract with us is done
 
-Side note : Mark my words, Norris will play for the Cavs when his contract with us is done





Also, 4 ppl still haven't rejoined the HeatLyfer NT yahoo BB league. These are your team names on there:

GET MONEY BOYS
Tune Squad
Murkn3m
llc

If you do not rejoin soon, I have no choice but to replace you
 
i was watching these highlights from the cavs heat scrimmage. and i saw a travel so bad i cringed. did anyone catch the travel at 2:53??? dude ran from the THREE point line to the rim without dribbling

 
The easy answer to the Heat's point guard question: Shabazz Napier
By Jay Ramos @NextCoachJ on Oct 17 2014, 11:03a

View media item 1222244Rookie point guard Shabazz Napier has talent the Miami Heat haven't seen at the position since Tim Hardaway ran in the offense in the late 1990's. Part of it is his apparent skills, and part of it is the smaller details. The question of who is the best point guard on the roster isn't a difficult one to answer. It's Napier.


The Shabazz Napier opinion cycle with the Miami Heat has been a very strange one.

For one, he was a very popular, national title winning player at the University of Connecticut. He was very productive and it was looked at as good value when the Miami Heat were able to land him late in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft.

And then came an overreaction to his summer league, where he shot a horrific percentage and struggled. The residue from this performance has been enough to question whether he's even ready for a rotation spot on a team with two veteran point guards ahead of him on the depth chart.

The really weird thing about that was people we're awfully quick to get down on Napier after two weeks against mostly college players and players on roster bubbles, yet his last two seasons playing high level college basketball at a high level were somehow dismissed upon this new information.

But the reality is the same one when the Heat drafted him in July: Napier is a brilliant talent.

Let's take a moment to look at one of his better performances in summer league play.

SUMMER LEAGUE WAS....PROMISING




Obviously, Shabazz missed a bunch of shots this summer, and looked uncomfortable most of the time. I'm more interested in evaluating a young players tools than I am stressing over his box score in this instance, especially because of his college track record.

Let's go through a few plays from this Nets game:

0:22: Shabazz throws a perfect lob pass to Justin Hamilton on a high pick-and-roll. Hamilton finishes the alley-oop.

0:28: Shabazz runs a side pick-and-roll, again with Hamilton, and this time delivers a perfect backhanded bounce pass between Mason Plumlee's legs for another easy Hamilton finish. Notice he sets this up with a nice pump fake to freeze Plumlee.

0:50: Napier drills a spot up 3-pointer on the right wing.

1:06: Napier throws an overhead bounce pass to James Ennis, who is nicely filling his lane in transition, for a dunk. Napier leads him perfectly into the play.

I'm going to leave it at those four plays because they highlight four very real NBA skills that will translate, just as they are beginning to in preseason play. A high pick-and-roll, a side pick-and-roll, a spot up 3-pointer and good outlet passing are four things an NBA point guard should be strong at.

MORE PRESEASON FLASHES
Like summer league, I'm not overly concerned with his stat lines, and although they do reflect the progress we should have projected, he continues to display an NBA-ready skill set with special, rare tools.

I don't have the video (thanks a lot Synergy!), but in this preseason I've seen Shabazz drop accurate bounce passes out of the pick-and-roll, as well as lobs, including more of those crafty pump fakes and hesitations to make sure the pass is on time against a recovering defender. On another level, I've seen Shabazz show enough awareness to make a skip pass in a pick-and-roll situation (two passes away). I've seen his body not tell the defender where his passes are going.

I've seen Shabazz show an ability to get his shot off at any time. We also see more good, decisive and accurate lead passes in transition.

Napier has a real point guard tool: He see's things two and three passes away.

He's an instinctual playmaker. A player who can break opponents off the dribble and create not only for himself but others. Armed with an impressive handle, it's his instincts and vision that separate him. He's also gifted at changing speeds and being elusive. It's a tough skill to teach. Norris Cole, for instance, is fast, but isn't deceptive with this. His drives to the basket are usually straight line dives to the bucket that yield poor results.

I'm not saying Napier is a franchise changing player, but I'm absolutely asserting he's easily a better option than Mario Chalmers and Cole as the point guard of the Miami Heat.

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
Napier will never shoot a high field goal percentage, because finishing at the rim consistently in the NBA will always be a challenge. But Napier did several things at Connecticut that kept his true shooting percentage very high. He shot over 40 percent from distance in his last two seasons and had a healthy free throw rate. You can see his big bump as an upperclassmen at Connecticut here.

View media item 1222245
We have to see how it translates, but like his other skills, it looks good this preseason.

Cole got to the line at a healthy rate at Cleveland State, but his inability to get there in the NBA is a big reason why he's one of the most ineffective rotation players in this league. Spoelstra has been auditioning Cole as his starter the past few games, but his lack of 3-point shooting ability would be a big wart in an offense that already has questionable spacing.

Napier may not be the one-on-one defender Cole is, but he is a willing defender with quick hands and instincts that shouldn't be a liability.

Chalmers, on the other hand, remains a solid option to start ahead of Napier, with his shooting being coveted and the experience and trust edge with the coaching staff. He can make some plays in the passing game as well.

But when comparing Napier to Chalmers, there's just another level of upside.

If I'm Spoelstra?

I go with Napier. He played four years in college and you just drafted him in the first round because you thought he represented an upgrade and he does. Chalmers is a valuable role player who can contribute at both backcourt positions, and Cole shouldn't be anything more than a specialist who plays sparingly.

It's Shabazz time.


http://www.hothothoops.com/2014/10/...guard-decision-easy-one-shabazz-napier-rookie
 
h3at23 said:
Also, 4 ppl still haven't rejoined the HeatLyfer NT yahoo BB league. These are your team names on there:

GET MONEY BOYS
Tune Squad
Murkn3m
llc

If you do not rejoin soon, I have no choice but to replace you
Click to expand...


I have 4 spots to fill......If you want in PM me your email and Ill send you an invite
 
I believe Cole will start, Napier will back him up. Rio will slide to the 2 position and back up Wade. We saw last season that Spo experimented with the two on the court together (Norris and Rio) and they played well. Napier is forcing the issue. You can't have him way down on the bench. His instincts and play are too good. Not saying he's the best PG, but he deserves minutes. It seems logical because we have no one to back up Wade anyway. So here's what the depth chart would look like:

Cole | Napier
Wade | Rio | Brown
Deng | Granger | Ennis
McRoberts | UD | Williams
Bosh | Birdman | Hamilton

:smokin

What do yall think about that?
 
Yea I would have liked to see Ennis play, but I didn't mind the starters getting as much time as they could to get familiar with the others out there, would have liked to see UD, seems like he might be a reserve again, IDK possible, Wade looked great, not gunna overthink it but he looked much better than before, took better shots and made better passes

ready to see this squad when the reg season rotation rolls in, who gets what minutes, going to be interesting.

 Just a week away from openin' 
pimp.gif
 
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