Heat dissapointed by the Pita-Man

[twix2500]

Im really rooting for the guy to figure it out. He has the playing style and size that fits exactly what the Heat need. He just needs improve the quality of play. We have enough players standing at the three point line with the additions of Lewis and Allen. Harrellson is just a roster space filler. People talking about Pittman not being inshape, Harrellson has conditioning issues as well.

[RJM]

Holy crap.

[Pimpwerx]

Im really rooting for the guy to figure it out. He has the playing style and size that fits exactly what the Heat need. He just needs improve the quality of play. We have enough players standing at the three point line with the additions of Lewis and Allen. Harrellson is just a roster space filler. People talking about Pittman not being inshape, Harrellson has conditioning issues as well.

True, but Jorts has had fewer seasons under his belt, and hasn't worked with the Heat conditioning staff. It's still nice to see Dexy getting into shape, and hopefully he's learned that he has to control his fouling to stay in the NBA. PEACE.

[RexBoyWonder]

Dex is looking good considering training camp didnt even start yet. i believe in the kid, he'll work hard in this camp and get in even better shape..lose a little more weight, get quicker, he has the talent to be solid for us.

[SmushedPennies]

Where'd this pic come from?

[-MK-]

Where'd this pic come from?

"W!" ?

http://wordintown.com/?s=pittman

[RatherUnique]

The issue with him is that he's just not good.

He's simply not an NBA caliber starting center.

There is a talent issue here.

[DWadeno3]

The issue with him is that he's just not good.

He's simply not an NBA caliber starting center.

There is a talent issue here.

I disagree. His good footwork and great touch around the basket and his big hands are qualities you can only teach to a certain degree or not at all in case of his hands. Pittman's issue is his unwillingness to learn how to play in the NBA. His rotations aren't good, which often times results in fouls because he's late. He struggles to post up properly on a consistent basis, which shouldn't be an issue with his size and weight, and his overall decision making is poor. He's been on the bench long enough, but hasn't picked up much. Add his weight/shape issues to it and you see the problem being his work ethic. For all the weight he has lost over the years, he hasn't developed anything else since. This year is the time for him to make it as a backup center of fall off the map.

[Hallstar]

The issue with him is that he's just not good.

He's simply not an NBA caliber starting center.

There is a talent issue here.

I disagree. His good footwork and great touch around the basket and his big hands are qualities you can only teach to a certain degree or not at all in case of his hands. Pittman's issue is his unwillingness to learn how to play in the NBA. His rotations aren't good, which often times results in fouls because he's late. He struggles to post up properly on a consistent basis, which shouldn't be an issue with his size and weight, and his overall decision making is poor. He's been on the bench long enough, but hasn't picked up much. Add his weight/shape issues to it and you see the problem being his work ethic. For all the weight he has lost over the years, he hasn't developed anything else since. This year is the time for him to make it as a backup center of fall off the map.

Which is why I said the lockout was his biggest enemy.....you don't lose all that weight without work ethic, but the off season is when these guys get a chance to actually improve with the training staff. He was denied that last year. Pittman can't afford $100,000 training over the Summer like established players on less than the vet min.



I have complete belief that how he looks now is how he would have looked last October if not for the lockout.

Player development doesn't happen during the year, and certainly not during a lockout season where they couldn't even get practices in.

[SmushedPennies]

Looks like they put him on that Q-Rich "Get Ripped In a Summer" plan. I wouldn't have recognized him. That's amazing. He was always very nimble/mobile/quick off the ground for his size, so it'll be interesting to see how much he improves athletically. Perhaps his hands-y play and slow reaction time could at least partially be attributed to extra body weight and reduced mobility.

[RexBoyWonder]

He said center Dexter Pittman is coming off a strong month. "This will be definitely the best condition he's brought into training camp," Spoelstra said of the third-year veteran.

[DWadeno3]

Looks like they put him on that Q-Rich "Get Ripped In a Summer" plan. I wouldn't have recognized him. That's amazing. He was always very nimble/mobile/quick off the ground for his size, so it'll be interesting to see how much he improves athletically. Perhaps his hands-y play and slow reaction time could at least partially be attributed to extra body weight and reduced mobility.

Let's hope he'll be able to improve other areas of his game now that he seems to be in Heat shape. I'd like for him to improve his general court awareness, just so that he'll avoid the constant foultrouble and will actually be able to become a consistent contributor. Producing numbers will never be a problem for him, since he's too big, quick and strong at the same time. But him scoring on one end doesn't help when he misses rotations and constantly puts people on the line because he's late or too hectic.

I agree with Hallstar about the lockout schedule hurting him more than his work ethic being an issue. This year, with a full training camp under his belt and his body being in better shape already, he'll probably be able to pick up on the things I mentioned before. Him knowing that this season will be a make-it-or-break-it year for him can't hurt his development. I really hope he'll take the next step.

[Heat_team02]

[MartyConlonJr]

I think the thing about Dexter Pittman, when we drafted him, was that he was heralded as a lotto prospect if he was not so far overweight.

He had great hands, rebounding, played a 'real big mans' game, back to the basket, threw everything down. I was thinking, we have an absolute steal if he gets in shape, but I didn't figure he'd ever get there, like Big Baby, Oliver Miller, Tractor Traylor, Mike Sweetney, and all those other guys.

But I found even last year when he'd lost a fair bit of weight, that I didn't find his play to be anywhere near that skill he was heralded with.

I'm kinda down on his skills. Hoping this extra bit of fitness and athleticism helps him become what he was hyped as skill wise in the draft.

[SmushedPennies]

It was overhyped because he literally never even averaged 20 minutes in college. All of the upside talk was entirely mythical and speculatory. A lot of it had to do with the measurables: 7-6 wingspan, legit 6-11, huuuge hands. Couple that with his physical play and clear natural post up ability, and you can see why scouts felt that way.

[Hallstar]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miam ... 0190.story

"I'm in better shape than I've ever been in my life," Pittman said. "I'm moving around better than I've ever moved. … Pretty soon, [weight] is not going to be an issue. Those questions are probably going to stop."

Yet there was Pittman once again answering those questions following Wednesday's scrimmage. He appeared as the player with the same struggles, but the Heat thus far have been content with his progress.

Pittman was able to run the court with the quicker Chris Bosh, but how long will it last? Pittman appeared in just 35 games last season (six starts) because of his conditioning issues.

The staff felt last year's lockout slowed his growth, meaning this is his first year to benefit from a full offseason of training.

"I like that he's putting that kind of pressure on himself," Heat assistant coach David Fizdale. "I think last year, obviously, the lockout hurt him a little bit. Not having that summer with him and the practice time, we just couldn't do as much with him as we would've liked. It set him back some from where he ended the season the year before. Now that we [had] him for a whole summer, we can really, really dig into his development and get him prepared for next year."