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Chalm Downs wrote:his nickname is boywonder ffs
420 wrote:The only thing I'd like to see Haslem work on is his jumper.
I think Haslem's decline comes from the fact that there's a lot of capable guys on our team.
For example, look at Team USA. A team with star players, but did all those star players decline because their production went down significantly compared to their NBA production? Or is it because they're surrounded by capable players that there is no heavy lifting required?
More food for thought: if every one of our players played up to their potential as individuals, how unrealistic would our team's stats be? Like 140ppg, 40apg, 60rpg, 15bpg, 15spg, 25 3pters.
The point being: no matter how much talent you throw together, at the end of the day, there is only so many stats that can be produced in a 48 minute game of basketball.
If Haslem, for ex., was a number 2-4 option like he used to be in the rebuilding years, he'd be a lot more productive and the talk about his decline wouldn't be overblown. Then again, who wants to watch a team that went 15-67?
At the end of the day, I think Spoelstra understands what he brings to the team and will continue to play UD.
...Entering the season, Haslem would probably say he could nail that shot in his sleep, but that's not the case this time around. Haslem has never had a silky shot and Erik Spoelstra would be the first to admit that it's an unorthodox delivery. He seems to hold onto the ball just a moment too long, almost to the point that he releases the ball on his descent to the floor. But it's always worked. Until now, that is.
What's the issue? Our own coach and scout David Thorpe might know.
Thorpe has actually worked with Haslem on his shot before. Thorpe runs the Pro Training Center in nearby Clearwater where NBA players come and go for training in the summer months, but Thorpe hasn't had any workouts with Haslem in recent years because the Heat forward has been nursing offseason injuries.
After watching some tape on Haslem, something caught Thorpe's eye right away: there's no follow-through on his shot anymore.
"Holding his follow-through and shooting with great balance are the two biggest keys we worked on when he first came to me years ago," Thorpe said. "But his follow-through is non-existent now. His balance is just OK, not great on every shot."
Udonis Haslem's follow-through seems to have vanished this season.
This glitch might be a product of two things: an offseason spent recovering from multiple foot ailments and a shortened season due to the lockout. Haslem wasn't allowed to work with the coaching staff until training camp opened due to the lockout restrictions and by then, it appears the damage was done. Back in early December, we shot video of Haslem taking jumpers at the Heat's practice facility before coaches were allowed to supervise workouts and you can see why Thorpe made his diagnosis: the follow-through is not crisp.
But the truth is that before the season started, Haslem didn't pick up a basketball for 11 of the previous 12 months due to injuries. For a 31-year-old, each day away from the court might feel like two. The Heat desperately needed him to play in the playoffs, but Spoelstra knows that the month on the court probably set him back from a habit standpoint and a physical one, too. He wore a boot for much of the offseason after he required another surgery on his foot and was reduced to a coaching role in the South Florida All-Star Classic pick-up game in early October as the Heat's Big Three were running around putting on a show for fans...
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The Bunk wrote:God I hate this fraudulent clown.
I've never wanted to punch someone in the face so badly. Really hoping to run into him at a game one day. I won't hesitate.
RexBoyWonder wrote:UD still have some good seasons left in him, at least a couple. he obviously had a hard time bouncing back after the foot injuery, but i turely believe we'll see the good old UD this year.
The reasons he looked bad last year were :
1.His jumper was broken, mostly due to not fully having his leg under him. this was huge for his confidence and production since UD always did most of his damage with those mid-range jumpers.
2.He played mostly at Center, whice is not a good way to use him at this stage in his carrer. he should only play PF (even next to Bosh). he's not long enough to finish in the paint against Centers and is not a great shot blocker. and he cant make up for it with his quickness like when he was younger.
With that in mind, he's still a hard nosed, good shooter, good rebounder, smart warior that could help our power rotation.
This year, after having more time to strengthen his legs and fix his shot, i expect UD to be much closer to his old self, even if he's probably a bit past his prime.
Dont forget - he's only 32 years old, he's a hard worker, and he has the heart of a warrior. no BS.
420 wrote:The only thing I'd like to see Haslem work on is his jumper.
I think Haslem's decline comes from the fact that there's a lot of capable guys on our team.
For example, look at Team USA. A team with star players, but did all those star players decline because their production went down significantly compared to their NBA production? Or is it because they're surrounded by capable players that there is no heavy lifting required?
More food for thought: if every one of our players played up to their potential as individuals, how unrealistic would our team's stats be? Like 140ppg, 40apg, 60rpg, 15bpg, 15spg, 25 3pters.
The point being: no matter how much talent you throw together, at the end of the day, there is only so many stats that can be produced in a 48 minute game of basketball.
If Haslem, for ex., was a number 2-4 option like he used to be in the rebuilding years, he'd be a lot more productive and the talk about his decline wouldn't be overblown. Then again, who wants to watch a team that went 15-67?
At the end of the day, I think Spoelstra understands what he brings to the team and will continue to play UD.
Chalm Down Bro wrote:It really depends if he can get his jumper back or not. Undersized PF/C's do not tend to age well, so I'd say he's on the decline, but he definitely can still play a fairly significant role for this team. He didn't seem to be working on his game last offseason, which is somewhat explainable due to the lockout, and especially coming off his injury, it hurt him. He had that one game against the Bulls in he ECF, Game 2, I think where he really took off for some dunks, but looked pretty bad thereafter. He played good D in the 2011 Finals but his offense was not there at all.
That form continued into last season and outside of a few games, he looked really poor. He had a few games in the Celtics series where he was eating up boards but I think I'd attribute that more to Boston's lack of rebounding than UD back to his old form. I think the days of UD finishing through traffic at the rim are over but if he can still hit the midrange jumper, he'll still have value on offense. He showed that in Game 4 of the Pacers series where hit a bunch of clutch jumpers. His rebounding will probably decrease as his athleticism declines but if he still shows good effort and works with a high motor, he can still be a good rebounder. I don't really expect much decline in his man D, but switching might become more of a problem for him as he ages.
I'd be pretty surprised if UD didn't have a better season than last year, but I think his production is definitely on the decline, which is natural for a player his age. I think the foot injury was probably still bothering him in the offseason last year and probably even into the season. A full offseason to get healthy and practice should let him give us a productive season.
