Game 46: Miami vs Blazers, January 19th, 730 PM EST

[DayofMourning]

Stay on track.

[heatwillbeback]

Going to have to put up a crap load of points in this one. It’s what the Blazers do.

I’d say we need at least 110-115 to win this.

[KingDavid]

Iiiiiiinnnnnnnn

[insfo]

Do we see Yurt this game? Might need him against Nurkic.

Let's go Heat!

[somerandomdude]

Do we see Yurt this game? Might need him against Nurkic.

Let's go Heat!

Worst case scenario: Yurtz doesn't play

Best case scenario: Yurtz plays and gets pulled immediately for the rest of the game.

[MettaWorldPanda]

This OP rocks

[insfo]

Do we see Yurt this game? Might need him against Nurkic.

Let's go Heat!

Worst case scenario: Yurtz doesn't play

Best case scenario: Yurtz plays and gets pulled immediately for the rest of the game.

Somebody has to sit. I'm fine nor trying to force feed minutes in an up-and-down game like the the Raps one. But hopefully Yurt gets some minutes against similar big centers.

Glad that we have this problem/conversation though, as it's a good problem to have. Let's keep this OP streak rolling!

[somerandomdude]

Do we see Yurt this game? Might need him against Nurkic.

Let's go Heat!

Worst case scenario: Yurtz doesn't play

Best case scenario: Yurtz plays and gets pulled immediately for the rest of the game.

Somebody has to sit. I'm fine nor trying to force feed minutes in an up-and-down game like the the Raps one. But hopefully Yurt gets some minutes against similar big centers.

Glad that we have this problem/conversation though, as it's a good problem to have. Let's keep this OP streak rolling!

Agreed, that player is Markief Morris and he's been sitting most of the season.

Our front court depth chart looks like this:

C-Bam/Dedmon/Yurtz
PF-PJ/?????????????

It should look like:

C-Yurtz/Dedmon
PF-Bam/PJ

I'm with you 100%, though.

[IggieCC]

This OP rocks

[RexBoyWonder]

This W will finally give us first place in East IMO.

I trust DOM OP To be right OP for the job.

Let's do this.

[RexBoyWonder]

Do we see Yurt this game? Might need him against Nurkic.

Let's go Heat!

Worst case scenario: Yurtz doesn't play

Best case scenario: Yurtz plays and gets pulled immediately for the rest of the game.

Somebody has to sit. I'm fine nor trying to force feed minutes in an up-and-down game like the the Raps one. But hopefully Yurt gets some minutes against similar big centers.

Glad that we have this problem/conversation though, as it's a good problem to have. Let's keep this OP streak rolling!

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2157837

Made a poll on that exact issue

[gom]

I'm in to see the Blazers's last remaining cinder to turn to ash. Lead us, DOM! Take us to the top!!!

[Johnny Fontane]

I’ll take Spo playing Yurt for certain matchups rather than not playing him at all. Hopefully that’s the plan moving forward this season

[Heat_Down_Under]

Only way Yurt is gonna play in this one is if bam and Dedmon are in foul trouble

[somerandomdude]

Only way Yurt is gonna play in this one is if bam and Dedmon are in foul trouble

Last time that happened, Spo went with UD.

It was only until UD picked up 2 quick fouls that Spo decided to put in Yurtz.

[Wiltside]

Only way Yurt is gonna play in this one is if bam and Dedmon are in foul trouble

Last time that happened, Spo went with UD.

It was only until UD picked up 2 quick fouls that Spo decided to put in Yurtz.

That was well before the recent streak of Yurt playing significant minutes. Yurt also struggled in his initial few opportunities earlier this season, so Spo went with the vet UD (who actually played well in those small stints, shockingly).

Spo just started Yurt for like 10 straight games and gave him 30 mins a night. If there’s foul trouble, he’ll be in. He just has to stay ready. That’s life as a rookie on a contender sometimes.

[Heat_Down_Under]

Only way Yurt is gonna play in this one is if bam and Dedmon are in foul trouble

Last time that happened, Spo went with UD.

It was only until UD picked up 2 quick fouls that Spo decided to put in Yurtz.

LOLL you are right bro

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Lowry is out.

[somerandomdude]

Only way Yurt is gonna play in this one is if bam and Dedmon are in foul trouble

Last time that happened, Spo went with UD.

It was only until UD picked up 2 quick fouls that Spo decided to put in Yurtz.

Yurt also struggled in his initial few opportunities earlier this season, so Spo went with the vet UD (who actually played well in those small stints, shockingly).

His initial opportunities consisted of garbage time.

Spoiler:

I don't think we can draw conclusions of how good a player is based off garbage time and Yurtz showed us why.

Now, there's one game in there that I know wasn't garbage time, and that's the Lakers game, because Bam+Dedmon+UD combined for 8 fouls in the 2nd quarter.

In that game, Yurtz helped us erase a 6pt deficit and put the Heat up by 2 before the end of the first half. His +8 in 4min was the highest of any Heat player for the entire game. He didn't play the rest of the game and, not surprisingly, we lost.

From there on, it was back to garbage minutes.

----

When I was first advocating for Yurtz to play, I made sure to make it clear that I wasn't expecting him to put up big stats; it's about the intangibles that a true Center brings (box outs, clogging the paint, solid picks/screens, etc).

He went on to have big statistical games, and that's what people tend to focus on, but the intangibles he brought to the team were always there when the stats weren't and it's what this team needs.

[Heat_Down_Under]

Last time that happened, Spo went with UD.

It was only until UD picked up 2 quick fouls that Spo decided to put in Yurtz.

Yurt also struggled in his initial few opportunities earlier this season, so Spo went with the vet UD (who actually played well in those small stints, shockingly).

His initial opportunities consisted of garbage time.

Spoiler:

I don't think we can draw conclusions of how good a player is based off garbage time and Yurtz showed us why.

Now, there's one game in there that I know wasn't garbage time, and that's the Lakers game, because Bam+Dedmon+UD combined for 8 fouls in the 2nd quarter.

In that game, Yurtz helped us erase a 6pt deficit and put the Heat up by 2 before the end of the first half. His +8 in 4min was the highest of any Heat player for the entire game. He didn't play the rest of the game and, not surprisingly, we lost.

From there on, it was back to garbage minutes.

----

When I was first advocating for Yurtz to play, I made sure to make it clear that I wasn't expecting him to put up big stats; it's about the intangibles that a true Center brings (box outs, clogging the paint, solid picks/screens, etc).

He went on to have big statistical games, and that's what people tend to focus on, but the intangibles he brought to the team were always there when the stats weren't and it's what this team needs.

From nba.com

“ His 156 rebounds since December 17 are second in the league behind Rudy Gobert and just ahead of Nikola Jokic. His rebounding percentage of 24 would have him tied with Jokic for second in the league if he had enough minutes to qualify. He’s the first rookie in a decade, since Blake Griffin, to grab 12-plus rebounds in at least 11 consecutive games.”