Is the experiment in Miami is failing?

[AllBall]

Week 3

[telekenisis24]

The heat are fine at this point..When Miller is back, when they build chemistry more so, they won't let or shouuld not let a 20 point lead slip away.. Problems are interrior presense/defense and of course the point guard..in all, the Heat are ok at this point. For the future they are set up...tough losses though..Some posters like to go crazy over some quick ish, Laker fans know all to well..

[Malinhion]

Is this the line I'm supposed to be in to push the panic button?

[Millsap24]

Why are people still saying the Heat don't have a bench. House, Z, Jones, Haslem have played great for the roles they're asked to do, and they're having Miller come back in 2 months. What they need is a better C, not a better bench.

They don't have a bench dude. House and Jones are inconsistent shooters, Z is done, Haslem is okay but still not that great.

We finally agree.

Other than Haslem, who can rebound and play defense, the rest of their bench are one-dimensional.
What's missing for them off the bench is PG play. Can't expect LeBron to run everything.

[reapaman]

From what I've seen, their defense against pentration is horrible and it causes them to shift their defense akwardly.

For example, williams or price would drive to the middle from the perimeter and then all of their guys will shift towards the side they are drive on. That usually mean at least jazz player is open on the other side. The open guy would get the pass and they would either have a easy shot or get fouled by a heat player that rotated late.

So basically if your team has a good facilitator that can drive to the basket well, then you got a good chance versus the heat.

[SJAXnCRASH]

Hornets>Heat

Difference between a TEAM and 3 guys playin iso-ball

[Wade2k6]

They don't have a bench dude. House and Jones are inconsistent shooters, Z is done, Haslem is okay but still not that great.

I disagree. House and Jones are career 40% 3pt shooters, and they have done a decent job so far this year (Jones has been great for his role). Z might be done but he plays 15 or so minutes a game, he isn't playing starting minutes. He is in there to stretch the defense, and he's done a pretty good job of that so far this year. Haslem is a starting caliber player in the league and he's coming off the bench. They're getting Miller back in a 1.5-2 months. He is going to be getting around 30 minutes a game, which opens up more time for LeBron at PG and less time of Arroyo on the court. There problem is they don't have a starting caliber center and don't defend elite PGs very well, not their bench.

[MitchellUK]

There problem is they don't have a starting caliber center and don't defend elite PGs very well, not their bench.

In a way, it still is their bench, though. Not necessarily a complete lack of talent, just the distribution of that talent.

Haslem and Miller are guys everyone would want on their bench, without a doubt. James Jones is the kind of player most teams want somewhere in their rotation. The rest of the bench? Probably not so much. House is a streak shooter who does little else, Z is past it but like you said probably still good for a 15 minute contribution most of the time.

The big problem is that their three best bench players - Haslem, Jones, Miller - play the same position as the Big Three. The point guard position is weak in the starting 5 and weak from the bench. The center position is weak in the starting 5 and ok, but very old, from the bench. Balance is the biggest issue. They have an embarrassment of riches at the 2, 3 and 4, and an embarrassment of mediocrity (or worse) at the 1 and 5.

[Neutral 123]

I think it's shockingly clear that this is the worst NBA team ever assembled. 8 games in, and the Heat are in tank mode.

[MitchellUK]

I think it's shockingly clear that this is the worst NBA team ever assembled. 8 games in, and the Heat are in tank mode.

Knicks style, they're targeting the big free agent class of 2015...oh, wait.

[infinite11285]

I still can't believe Millsap dropped damn near 50 last night.

[Teen Girl Squad]

Right now I think that team is not being set up to win as well as they can. With that core, they should be up there with the Warriors/Knicks as the fastest tempo teams in the league and right now, they are among the slowest. I though that Riley was trying to recreate his old Laker teams, not his old Knicks ones.

[TAI8]

I still can't believe Millsap dropped damn near 50 last night.

I can. Miami's interior D is trash. Udonis Haslem gets this reputation of being a good, solid defender because of the job he did against Dirk in the '06 Finals, but the reality is he's utterly useless against bigger stronger guys like Paul Millsap. Not to mention that he's a midget (6'8"). Since when was the last time an undersized "big man" was a good capable defender? Chris Bosh is still not that good defensively although his defensive potential is MUCH higher than that of Haslem because of his size and length. Joel Anthony is their best guy and I don't think you can count on him to hold down the fort defensively for an entire season and in the playoffs.

[Chosen01]

I still can't believe Millsap dropped damn near 50 last night.

I can. Miami's interior D is trash. Udonis Haslem gets this reputation of being a good, solid defender because of the job he did against Dirk in the '06 Finals, but the reality is he's utterly useless against bigger stronger guys like Paul Millsap. Not to mention that he's a midget (6'8"). Since when was the last time an undersized "big man" was a good capable defender? Chris Bosh is still not that good defensively although his defensive potential is MUCH higher than that of Haslem because of his size and length. Joel Anthony is their best guy and I don't think you can count on him to hold down the fort defensively for an entire season and in the playoffs.

Back from your suspension already? ..

[TAI8]

I still can't believe Millsap dropped damn near 50 last night.

I can. Miami's interior D is trash. Udonis Haslem gets this reputation of being a good, solid defender because of the job he did against Dirk in the '06 Finals, but the reality is he's utterly useless against bigger stronger guys like Paul Millsap. Not to mention that he's a midget (6'8"). Since when was the last time an undersized "big man" was a good capable defender? Chris Bosh is still not that good defensively although his defensive potential is MUCH higher than that of Haslem because of his size and length. Joel Anthony is their best guy and I don't think you can count on him to hold down the fort defensively for an entire season and in the playoffs.

Back from your suspension already? ..

What are you talking about? That was like a week long.

[Chosen01]

^^ Ah haven't seen you post since then

[DEEP3CL]

So now guys have taken to calling the Heat a "experiment failing" ?

[TheMartian]

They haven't lost the championship yet, so it's too soon to say.

How can they lose something they haven't won yet? Sorry, just nitpicking.

[nonemus]

They haven't lost the championship yet, so it's too soon to say.

How can they lose something they haven't won yet? Sorry, just nitpicking.

How can they win something they haven't started yet?

[miamiballer]

so 8 GAMES IN

miami has blown our a bunch of teams including the magic, lost to the celtics on the road (1st game togehter) (barely), to the perfect hornets on the road (barely) and to the freakish jazz who are playing out of their minds right now...

yeah season over