2025-26 Miami Heat Regular Season Thread 3.0

[SA37]

Spoiler:

When you feel attacked but what was said is 100% true

This is basically the Miami Heat organization is just a group of preppers.

lol... you guys are so negative but the reality is 1 out of 30 teams wins every year. Most teams are wasting time trying to build a contender. We're at absolute worst a top 5 franchise of the 2000's, probably top 3 really, and people are comparing us to actual treadmill organizations like say the 76ers or Suns or Bulls.

A lot here would point to the Warriors and say why can't we be more like them, but the Warriors effectively rode Steph Curry's career and now their window appears to be slamming shut exactly with Curry himself. The Spurs? They were worse than us until they drafted Wemby. The Celtics? We're still ahead on championships and finals appearances this century, and even in recent years other than Boston winning one before us, we're just about matching their pace.

I get its frustrating when you feel like we're close but so many of the moves people suggest are either out of our reach because we're always trying to compete, or panic moves that keep the big ones out of our reach. If we go all in on Ja because he's obtainable and it doesn't pan out, people will criticize that we wasted our pieces when we could have had Giannis. If we save the pieces for Giannis and the Bucks decide not to move him, they will criticize we didn't take the obtainable guy in Morant.

The only criticism I'm on board with is we don't tank sometimes when we probably should, and we sometimes overpay our own guys, but I think the Heat have been pretty smart in their pursuit of stars.

The only franchises that can compete with Miami as an organization are the Lakers, the Spurs, OKC, and maaaaybe Boston and Indiana. 3 titles and 7 Finals appearances is an incredible achievement for a team that has only existed for 28 years. Just look at how other teams that were born into existence around the same time as Miami have fared (Charlotte, Toronto, Orlando, Minnesota, Vancouver/Memphis).

Personally, I am a bit indifferent to a Giannis trade because I don't think he solves all of Miami's problems even if he is an incredible player. We've seen so many superstars change teams and it still hasn't guaranteed any franchise a title or even a trip to the Finals. So, I do think there is too high a price to pay for him, in particular in terms of draft picks, but I trust the FO to not wildly overpay,

If Miami misses out on Giannis, the team will move on and continue to develop the guys we have and weigh dealing Herro, Wiggins, Powell...etc v giving them an extension. I do think there are potentially other minor moves Miami can make to improve the roster, either at the deadline or over the summer.

[Heat_Down_Under]

No Lauri for the jazz….

[SA37]

No Lauri for the jazz….

Dodging a head-to-head matchup with Jovic.

[NightWatch]

I am not really excited about Giannis because I am not sure how bam and Giannis can co exist. Both of their skills overlap somewhat at the outset except Giannis being a better player. When was the last time two similarly skillfully bigs co existed that had won a championship?

I am trying to think on the top of my head and first I thought Detroit with the likes of Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? But these bigs had two different roles. Spurs with Robinson and Duncan? This is the closet but that was almost 30 years ago thus why I am not as excited as everyone else about the possibility of Ginnas being here.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

I am not really excited about Giannis because I am not sure how bam and Giannis can co exist. Both of their skills overlap somewhat at the outset except Giannis being a better player. When was the last time two similarly skillfully bigs co existed that had won a championship?

I am trying to think on the top of my head and first I thought Detroit with the likes of Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? But these bigs had two different roles. Spurs with Robinson and Duncan? This is the closet but that was almost 30 years ago thus why I am not as excited as everyone else about the possibility of Ginnas being here.

Probably Chet/Hartenstein, Jokic/Gordon, Giannis/Lopez

[al bondiga]

If we get lucky and somehow Win the ja sweepstakes, keep bam and herro...We are gonna lose our entire bench And some starters because Memphis will not deal ja for cheap!!

[Vertical Limit]

I am not really excited about Giannis because I am not sure how bam and Giannis can co exist. Both of their skills overlap somewhat at the outset except Giannis being a better player. When was the last time two similarly skillfully bigs co existed that had won a championship?

I am trying to think on the top of my head and first I thought Detroit with the likes of Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? But these bigs had two different roles. Spurs with Robinson and Duncan? This is the closet but that was almost 30 years ago thus why I am not as excited as everyone else about the possibility of Ginnas being here.

Our defense instantly upgrades.. giannis offense stays the same highly effective and explosive, bam will be more open and free in the midrange.. i think theyll do just fine together… i dont know who it would compare to because giannis is on another level of athleticism but it can work

[3ammy3uck3ts]

I am not really excited about Giannis because I am not sure how bam and Giannis can co exist. Both of their skills overlap somewhat at the outset except Giannis being a better player. When was the last time two similarly skillfully bigs co existed that had won a championship?

I am trying to think on the top of my head and first I thought Detroit with the likes of Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? But these bigs had two different roles. Spurs with Robinson and Duncan? This is the closet but that was almost 30 years ago thus why I am not as excited as everyone else about the possibility of Ginnas being here.

Our defense instantly upgrades.. giannis offense stays the same highly effective and explosive, bam will be more open and free in the midrange.. i think theyll do just fine together… i dont know who it would compare to because giannis is on another level of athleticism but it can work

I mean if bam and jimmy worked before Bam became a reliable 3 point shooter…..

[greg4012]

I am not really excited about Giannis because I am not sure how bam and Giannis can co exist. Both of their skills overlap somewhat at the outset except Giannis being a better player. When was the last time two similarly skillfully bigs co existed that had won a championship?

I am trying to think on the top of my head and first I thought Detroit with the likes of Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? But these bigs had two different roles. Spurs with Robinson and Duncan? This is the closet but that was almost 30 years ago thus why I am not as excited as everyone else about the possibility of Ginnas being here.

How does Bam co exist with Jaime? I'd expect the dynamic to be very similar in fit.

[marson]

The fit with Bam and Giannis can work, but elite playoff teams would likely exploit it. We saw it last postseason when Mobley completely ignored Bam on the perimeter and dared him to shoot.

Giannis isn’t a consistent 3pt shooter either, and I trust Bam’s jumper way more this season, Giannis will still attack the paint relentlessly. That probably leaves Bam as the one taking most of the threes.

[marson]

Lopez shot around 31% from 3s that year they won that title in 3 attempts, if Bam can maintain around 35% ish, definitely can work.

[Hoops3355]

Can we all just agree that with his added 3 point shooting Bam is better than Bosh at literally everything except maybe free throw shooting and guzzling champagne on live tv in the most suspect way possible?

Bosh > Bam but it’s close enough I can understand the sentiment. I love me some Bam but he’s a second fiddle peak. Bosh is more 1A/B and we were robbed of seeing him in that role because of his injury.

We’re seriously unlucky with career ending injuries. Zo, Bosh, Brian Grant, Dru Smith….

Lol, you added Dru Smith there?
Tbf, most teams have had it worse than us. You are only looking at your favorite team n not being objective, but that's the typical fan experience, so I understand.

You know how jokes work?

Also what are you even on about here. I don’t need to be objective here as I’m not comparing us vs others. Just pointing out we’ve had bad luck in that capacity. Has nothing to do with fandom.

[Shewasfly]

I am not really excited about Giannis because I am not sure how bam and Giannis can co exist. Both of their skills overlap somewhat at the outset except Giannis being a better player. When was the last time two similarly skillfully bigs co existed that had won a championship?

I am trying to think on the top of my head and first I thought Detroit with the likes of Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? But these bigs had two different roles. Spurs with Robinson and Duncan? This is the closet but that was almost 30 years ago thus why I am not as excited as everyone else about the possibility of Ginnas being here.

I agree with this. Bam and Giannis do not fit at all because neither can shoot. But I also think this year we have finally seen Bam start to become competent offensively. It's been very up and down, but if these are the growing pains of him becoming someone who can consistently play the 4 on offense, Spo can find a way to make him work with a generational talent like Giannis.

The Heat would have to go all the way in to upgrade elsewhere too imo, to make the price we'll have to pay for Giannis make sense. Bam is still someone you want no higher than a 3rd option on a championship team, rather than a 2nd. So now you are talking about executing another trade to give you another perennial all star. That might be where trying to fix Ja comes in.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Is Bam the first center in NBA history to be the franchise leader in made 3s in a game for his position while also shooting 37% on 3/4 attempts a night over the course of 2 years spanning across 3 different seasons that “can’t shoot”?????

[SA37]

I am not really excited about Giannis because I am not sure how bam and Giannis can co exist. Both of their skills overlap somewhat at the outset except Giannis being a better player. When was the last time two similarly skillfully bigs co existed that had won a championship?

I am trying to think on the top of my head and first I thought Detroit with the likes of Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? But these bigs had two different roles. Spurs with Robinson and Duncan? This is the closet but that was almost 30 years ago thus why I am not as excited as everyone else about the possibility of Ginnas being here.

Our defense instantly upgrades.. giannis offense stays the same highly effective and explosive, bam will be more open and free in the midrange.. i think theyll do just fine together… i dont know who it would compare to because giannis is on another level of athleticism but it can work

I mean if bam and jimmy worked before Bam became a reliable 3 point shooter…..

That's not a good comp, imo. Jimmy is not a ball-dominant player, but he was still able to give Miami 20-25 points on a relatively few number of shots. Bam isn't a ball-dominant player and he's comfortable playing as a 2nd, 3rd option, or 4th option on offense, but he can't replicate Butler's scoring output or Butler's ability to get to the line. Giannis has become very ball-dominant, playing a sort of point-forward even though he's not a very good creator.

The guy who might struggle if he weren't traded is Jaquez since he isn't a great outside shooter and catch-and-shoot isn't really his game. And the guy who might stand to gain the most from Giannis joining the team is actually Herro.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

“Can’t shoot”

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Sounds like Bam and Spo got into it pretty good yesterday about something lol

[VaDe255]

Read on Twitter

“Can’t shoot”

Look how is ignoring context now and only looking at a number

Shooting 35% when you're left open by the defense half the time is completely different than hitting 35% on off the dribble pull-ups or contested looks.

That percentage on the quality of shots Bam is getting is below league average. Defenses will happily let the 6'9 freak athlete take practice jumpers all day if it means he isn't rolling to the rim

Yes, he "can shoot" them, but no defense really cares if he does, because it's a good defensive possession for them if he does

[marson]

Read on Twitter

“Can’t shoot”

Look how is ignoring context now and only looking at a number

Shooting 35% when you're left open by the defense half the time is completely different than hitting 35% on off the dribble pull-ups or contested looks.

That percentage on the quality of shots Bam is getting is below league average. Defenses will happily let the 6'9 freak athlete take practice jumpers all day if it means he isn't rolling to the rim

Yes, he "can shoot" them, but no defense really cares if he does, because it's a good defensive possession for them if he does

The jury’s still out until Bam proves he can be a reliable shooter once the playoffs start and teams actually game-plan for it. I think he can get to around 35% on solid volume this year, but it’s hard to forget how Mobley and Allen completely ignored and disrespected him defensively in that series.

This was just game 1, I'm sure he can shoot better this year with these wide open looks.

43 second mark
2:29
3:45
5:03
5:47

Watch on YouTube

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

“Can’t shoot”

Look how is ignoring context now and only looking at a number

Shooting 35% when you're left open by the defense half the time is completely different than hitting 35% on off the dribble pull-ups or contested looks.

That percentage on the quality of shots Bam is getting is below league average. Defenses will happily let the 6'9 freak athlete take practice jumpers all day if it means he isn't rolling to the rim

Yes, he "can shoot" them, but no defense really cares if he does, because it's a good defensive possession for them if he does

Haha you all have been bitching for years for Bam to start shooting 3s, now that he is it’s just not good enough for Mr. Spreadsheet. He’s shooting almost 38% from 3 on wide open looks, what’s the acceptable percentage for someone of your stature? He’s shooting the same percentage as towns on wide open looks and Towns is only taking open/Wide open looks.

Roll to the rim and receive the ball from who lol? Not a damn soul on this roster can throw a Simone lob/dump off outside of occasionally Pelle and Davion (hopefully Kas can help here). Bams been doing a good job of mixing it up here recently and the elite performances are piling up. He’s getting to the rim mainly off self creation and taking open 3s and knocking them down. Hes also doing a good job recently of attacking the hard close outs on his 3s. Teams are adjusting and stepping out, they’re not just leaving him at the 3 point line and ignoring them like you all are trying to make it seem.

Also are we sure he’s still a freak athlete? He clearly doesn’t get up like he used to but maybe it just seems that way from the lack of playmaking and the fact that everyone is too worried about their own PPG to throw a simple lob pass