2024-25 Regular Season Thread Vol. 2

[MettaWorldPanda]

Read on Twitter

Stocked draft cupboard. Marks has done a good job building it up. Well positioned to attract talent to BK via trade and free agency.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

Stocked draft cupboard. Marks has done a good job building it up. Well positioned to attract talent to BK via trade and free agency.

Think I saw $65M in cap space too, only team that can outright sign Jimmy

[greg4012]

Cross-posting this from the game thread because the development of Miami's future frontcourt is one of the main things I'm focused on for this season:

Read on Twitter

Ware was always going to take time and require patience. I've been harping on that since we drafted him. The fact that he's already providing some of the force multiplier effects in competitive games while limiting the sort of mistakes that would be expected from a raw center prospect is super encouraging.

I want to reference back to a breakdown I did when we drafted Ware from watching most of his college tape--see Spoiler below--bc I believe we're seeing a lot of it play out in real time as he gets more minutes. If Ware is already proving to fit in the NBA rotation, then we are in REALLY good shape with him because I believe his 3-ball will come around and I believe he still has A LOT more to learn and develop in terms of harnessing his talent within a team scheme.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

For any sickos that wanna dive deep

Just finished up watching the 2.5 hours of Ware game tape linked above. Took some scattered notes. Nothing groundbreaking. Ware's length and athleticism are real gamechangers on the court. He's thin and light in the a** and needs to add strength/weight.

When he knows where he's going and what he wants to do, he can do it in an elite way. Oftentimes, he's a step delayed or lost while processing things and that's where the lapses come from. My biggest takeaway is that I did not see any motor or attitude issues. He goes hard and seems to care. This only further validates that he has the "want to" to improve and compete on the court. THat was the hope in seeing the Heat draft him after working him out, interviewing him, and doing their due diligence. I feel even better about his attitude concerns being a bit of a false flag after watching the game tape.

OFFENSE:

- His touch is legit and he looks natural getting up shots on all 3 levels of the court.

- Doesn’t really seem to have any go-to offensive moves--freestyling everything but looks comfortable/natural doing a lot of things on offense. He needs to develop 1 or 2 go-to rhythm moves where when he unexpectedly gets the ball or needs to be the source offense in a bind, he can get into his rhythm shots.

- I’m encouraged by him working as a connective passer. Showed general awareness to move the ball to open guys. I don’t expect him to ever be a creator. He’s a connective passer and a play finisher IMO. Not a blackhole with tunnel vision. Capable passer—showed range in the type of passes he made and difficulty level.

- He would work as a zone buster in middle of court; good at finding cutters; looks natural passing from the perimeter and moving the ball

- His assist numbers probably would have been better if he had capable shooters around him. Indiana's spacing was abysmal. Indiana ranked 265th in the nation in team 3pt% (32%) and 344th in team 3PA per game (out of 351 teams). Ware was constantly dealing with a lot of bodies/traffic around him in the paint on offense.

- Ware is not currently a people mover (boxing out or screening), but he seemed to be a much more willing screener than I was expecting. Between working on his technique and strength, I think he'll be a positive on that front sooner rather than later (just look at Niko's progression on that front in 1 year).

- He needs to "find work" more often when off the ball. A lot of this falls on coaching IMO and my general takeaway overall--Ware needs to have defined specialized roles early on that he can focus on executing with full confidence.

- Most of his turnovers seemed to come when the offense is stuck and he's trying to create offense (no reliable go-to move). I did not see a ton of errant passes/bad decisions. As noted, he dealt with A LOT of traffic/bodies in the paint.

- Some ball security issues arose from Ware not being strong enough in the paint. Ware would often get stripped by a 2nd or 3rd body in the paint when he brings the ball down to get into a move to try to score/create.

- A few turnovers were from moving screen calls on offense--I can dig it because it showed his desire to move people instead of slipping screens and avoiding contact.

- He showed no signs of a functional handle at Indiana. Would almost never even dribble the ball up after a rebound in transition. It seemed like he was specifically told not to do so. A few of his turnovers were the result of him putting the ball on the floor. I wouldn't bank on Ware being much of an off the dribble driver early on.

DEFENSE:

- Ware's combination of length and movement ability is rare. It shows up on the court well beyond his block numbers. It impacts how drivers approach the paint and put up shots.

- From the tape I saw, Ware is not a shut down defender today. He's inconsistent with elite tools. He also clearly was not in a system or context to be a shut down defender.

- Ware didn't have good defensive teammates around him to make his job any easier. Indiana ranked 234th in defensive efficiency this season. Indiana had 4 of 5 new starters this season. The 1 returning starter was Trey Galloway (Senior). He was the worst defensive starter on last year's Indiana team that tanked 102nd defensively. The other 3 starters along Ware were 2 freshman and a Sophomore transfer (so 4 of 5 starters weren't with the program last year).

- Ware's full extended length shows up a lot and makes things difficult for the opposition. He highpoints rebounds and alters a lot of shots by extending and being a long wall defensively.

- Ware's length and coordination consistently show up defensively--including getting hands on balls that appear to be going through clean passing lanes (deflections). He's not lumbering defensively--he looks natural moving on defense even when he's out in space.

- He looks engaged defensively, but sometimes appears a step slow processing or being certain what action to take in team defense (sometimes he's ball watching too much as a result).

- Ware needs to work on his body positioning and footwork mirroring defensively. With his physical skills, there is a A LOT of upside if he can get more consistent with his footwork and use of body positioning for team defense. Indiana's defensive rotations were poor as a whole (see defensive efficiency rating).

- Ware looks good sliding his feet when guarding along the perimeter. Often times you see drivers spazz out as they expect to be able to blow by Ware off a switch but he stays with them stride for stride. Perimeter players aren't going to just walk past him. Ware was susceptible to getting put on skates with craft double moves, though.

- Ware uses his length well, but his weaker base consistently shows up when battling for positioning in the paint.

- Ware is more of a reactionary defender than he is an anticipatory defender at this point. He shows discipline by not jumping at every shot fake. He actually looked too delayed at times in reacting. I wonder if some of this was him being coached to not overreact.

- Ware is a very good shotblocker and rim deterrent. But, I can't place him in the elite category as a shotblocker.

- Ware faced Zach Edey twice this season. Edey got his against Indiana. Refs called A LOT of tick tack fouls against Ware vs Edey. Interestingly, when you dig a little deeper, you find that Edey's 3rd and 4th least efficient games of the season were in the matchup against Ware. Ware battled and made it hard for Edey on a possession by possession basis in the paint. Very encouraging IMO. He blocked Edey numerous times (more than accounted for in the official stats).

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- Ware will benefit GREATLY from quality coaching, working within defined systems, NBA spacing, and operating as a supporting piece rather than the primary offensive option and defensive anchor.

- The 2 biggest boosts to Ware's impact will come from gaining functional strength and operating within a clearly defined role.

- When Ware knows where he wants to go, his athleticism and length are impressive to see on display.

- I believe his shooting touch is for real and Miami should have him working as a floor spacer from the jump.

I'm excited to watch Ware play. I believe and hope he should get some rotation minutes from the get-go as a backup center, but Miami will need to be patient with his development. I expect Ware to follow a similar trajectory to Jovic with regards to weight gain and developing the toolkit to bump with bigs (screening, boxing out, etc). I think Ware's natural physical gifts and shooting touch should allow him to slot into a low usage off-ball role from the jump where he's solely a play finisher and not hunting for his own offense. Defensively, he'll need developmental time to defend the stronger frontcourt players. He can have his greatest impact in a limited role where he "hides" on corner 3 pt shooters and doubles as the weakside rim protector.

If Ware fills out his frame to eventually be a 245+ pound big and can play confidently within his specifically designated role, then skies the limit as a force multiplier for Miami on both sides of the ball. It will take a couple years to get there. He's not a Derrick Lively level defensive player today. But he has more offensive upside IMO.

Also, I want to pair this with a prior post you shared:

Read on Twitter

Mentioned this action a week or 2 ago, more of this please.

I believe the 2 things that will accelerate the path to having Bam and Ware share the court for extended time are (1) using Bam more in the above-referenced facilitator role--see Draymond Green playing with centers throughout his career and (2) the continued development of Ware and Bam as off-ball floor spacers.

#1 has potential to ramp up this season IMO. #2 is a bit of a longer lead time for it to be fully functional in high level game play IMO, but it is progressing.

As always with this build, the fact that neither Jimmy nor Bam are true floor spacers adds another wrench of complexity to this dynamic as going BIG in the frontcourt without one of the 2 being a true pure shooter requires the 1-3 spots to all be reliable and willing 3 pt shooters.

[twix2500]

Cross-posting this from the game thread because the development of Miami's future frontcourt is one of the main things I'm focused on for this season:

Read on Twitter

Ware was always going to take time and require patience. I've been harping on that since we drafted him. The fact that he's already providing some of the force multiplier effects in competitive games while limiting the sort of mistakes that would be expected from a raw center prospect is super encouraging.

I want to reference back to a breakdown I did when we drafted Ware from watching most of his college tape--see Spoiler below--bc I believe we're seeing a lot of it play out in real time as he gets more minutes. If Ware is already proving to fit in the NBA rotation, then we are in REALLY good shape with him because I believe his 3-ball will come around and I believe he still has A LOT more to learn and develop in terms of harnessing his talent within a team scheme.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

For any sickos that wanna dive deep

Just finished up watching the 2.5 hours of Ware game tape linked above. Took some scattered notes. Nothing groundbreaking. Ware's length and athleticism are real gamechangers on the court. He's thin and light in the a** and needs to add strength/weight.

When he knows where he's going and what he wants to do, he can do it in an elite way. Oftentimes, he's a step delayed or lost while processing things and that's where the lapses come from. My biggest takeaway is that I did not see any motor or attitude issues. He goes hard and seems to care. This only further validates that he has the "want to" to improve and compete on the court. THat was the hope in seeing the Heat draft him after working him out, interviewing him, and doing their due diligence. I feel even better about his attitude concerns being a bit of a false flag after watching the game tape.

OFFENSE:

- His touch is legit and he looks natural getting up shots on all 3 levels of the court.

- Doesn’t really seem to have any go-to offensive moves--freestyling everything but looks comfortable/natural doing a lot of things on offense. He needs to develop 1 or 2 go-to rhythm moves where when he unexpectedly gets the ball or needs to be the source offense in a bind, he can get into his rhythm shots.

- I’m encouraged by him working as a connective passer. Showed general awareness to move the ball to open guys. I don’t expect him to ever be a creator. He’s a connective passer and a play finisher IMO. Not a blackhole with tunnel vision. Capable passer—showed range in the type of passes he made and difficulty level.

- He would work as a zone buster in middle of court; good at finding cutters; looks natural passing from the perimeter and moving the ball

- His assist numbers probably would have been better if he had capable shooters around him. Indiana's spacing was abysmal. Indiana ranked 265th in the nation in team 3pt% (32%) and 344th in team 3PA per game (out of 351 teams). Ware was constantly dealing with a lot of bodies/traffic around him in the paint on offense.

- Ware is not currently a people mover (boxing out or screening), but he seemed to be a much more willing screener than I was expecting. Between working on his technique and strength, I think he'll be a positive on that front sooner rather than later (just look at Niko's progression on that front in 1 year).

- He needs to "find work" more often when off the ball. A lot of this falls on coaching IMO and my general takeaway overall--Ware needs to have defined specialized roles early on that he can focus on executing with full confidence.

- Most of his turnovers seemed to come when the offense is stuck and he's trying to create offense (no reliable go-to move). I did not see a ton of errant passes/bad decisions. As noted, he dealt with A LOT of traffic/bodies in the paint.

- Some ball security issues arose from Ware not being strong enough in the paint. Ware would often get stripped by a 2nd or 3rd body in the paint when he brings the ball down to get into a move to try to score/create.

- A few turnovers were from moving screen calls on offense--I can dig it because it showed his desire to move people instead of slipping screens and avoiding contact.

- He showed no signs of a functional handle at Indiana. Would almost never even dribble the ball up after a rebound in transition. It seemed like he was specifically told not to do so. A few of his turnovers were the result of him putting the ball on the floor. I wouldn't bank on Ware being much of an off the dribble driver early on.

DEFENSE:

- Ware's combination of length and movement ability is rare. It shows up on the court well beyond his block numbers. It impacts how drivers approach the paint and put up shots.

- From the tape I saw, Ware is not a shut down defender today. He's inconsistent with elite tools. He also clearly was not in a system or context to be a shut down defender.

- Ware didn't have good defensive teammates around him to make his job any easier. Indiana ranked 234th in defensive efficiency this season. Indiana had 4 of 5 new starters this season. The 1 returning starter was Trey Galloway (Senior). He was the worst defensive starter on last year's Indiana team that tanked 102nd defensively. The other 3 starters along Ware were 2 freshman and a Sophomore transfer (so 4 of 5 starters weren't with the program last year).

- Ware's full extended length shows up a lot and makes things difficult for the opposition. He highpoints rebounds and alters a lot of shots by extending and being a long wall defensively.

- Ware's length and coordination consistently show up defensively--including getting hands on balls that appear to be going through clean passing lanes (deflections). He's not lumbering defensively--he looks natural moving on defense even when he's out in space.

- He looks engaged defensively, but sometimes appears a step slow processing or being certain what action to take in team defense (sometimes he's ball watching too much as a result).

- Ware needs to work on his body positioning and footwork mirroring defensively. With his physical skills, there is a A LOT of upside if he can get more consistent with his footwork and use of body positioning for team defense. Indiana's defensive rotations were poor as a whole (see defensive efficiency rating).

- Ware looks good sliding his feet when guarding along the perimeter. Often times you see drivers spazz out as they expect to be able to blow by Ware off a switch but he stays with them stride for stride. Perimeter players aren't going to just walk past him. Ware was susceptible to getting put on skates with craft double moves, though.

- Ware uses his length well, but his weaker base consistently shows up when battling for positioning in the paint.

- Ware is more of a reactionary defender than he is an anticipatory defender at this point. He shows discipline by not jumping at every shot fake. He actually looked too delayed at times in reacting. I wonder if some of this was him being coached to not overreact.

- Ware is a very good shotblocker and rim deterrent. But, I can't place him in the elite category as a shotblocker.

- Ware faced Zach Edey twice this season. Edey got his against Indiana. Refs called A LOT of tick tack fouls against Ware vs Edey. Interestingly, when you dig a little deeper, you find that Edey's 3rd and 4th least efficient games of the season were in the matchup against Ware. Ware battled and made it hard for Edey on a possession by possession basis in the paint. Very encouraging IMO. He blocked Edey numerous times (more than accounted for in the official stats).

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- Ware will benefit GREATLY from quality coaching, working within defined systems, NBA spacing, and operating as a supporting piece rather than the primary offensive option and defensive anchor.

- The 2 biggest boosts to Ware's impact will come from gaining functional strength and operating within a clearly defined role.

- When Ware knows where he wants to go, his athleticism and length are impressive to see on display.

- I believe his shooting touch is for real and Miami should have him working as a floor spacer from the jump.

I'm excited to watch Ware play. I believe and hope he should get some rotation minutes from the get-go as a backup center, but Miami will need to be patient with his development. I expect Ware to follow a similar trajectory to Jovic with regards to weight gain and developing the toolkit to bump with bigs (screening, boxing out, etc). I think Ware's natural physical gifts and shooting touch should allow him to slot into a low usage off-ball role from the jump where he's solely a play finisher and not hunting for his own offense. Defensively, he'll need developmental time to defend the stronger frontcourt players. He can have his greatest impact in a limited role where he "hides" on corner 3 pt shooters and doubles as the weakside rim protector.

If Ware fills out his frame to eventually be a 245+ pound big and can play confidently within his specifically designated role, then skies the limit as a force multiplier for Miami on both sides of the ball. It will take a couple years to get there. He's not a Derrick Lively level defensive player today. But he has more offensive upside IMO.

Also, I want to pair this with a prior post you shared:

Read on Twitter

Mentioned this action a week or 2 ago, more of this please.

I believe the 2 things that will accelerate the path to having Bam and Ware share the court for extended time are (1) using Bam more in the above-referenced facilitator role--see Draymond Green playing with centers throughout his career and (2) the continued development of Ware and Bam as off-ball floor spacers.

#1 has potential to ramp up this season IMO. #2 is a bit of a longer lead time for it to be fully functional in high level game play IMO, but it is progressing.

As always with this build, the fact that neither Jimmy nor Bam are true floor spacers adds another wrench of complexity to this dynamic as going BIG in the frontcourt without one of the 2 being a true pure shooter requires the 1-3 spots to all be reliable and willing 3 pt shooters.

Stop rushing Ware. Let him learn at his pace. As soon as he start effing up you all gonna start putting him in the trade machine.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[greg4012]

Cross-posting this from the game thread because the development of Miami's future frontcourt is one of the main things I'm focused on for this season:

Read on Twitter

Ware was always going to take time and require patience. I've been harping on that since we drafted him. The fact that he's already providing some of the force multiplier effects in competitive games while limiting the sort of mistakes that would be expected from a raw center prospect is super encouraging.

I want to reference back to a breakdown I did when we drafted Ware from watching most of his college tape--see Spoiler below--bc I believe we're seeing a lot of it play out in real time as he gets more minutes. If Ware is already proving to fit in the NBA rotation, then we are in REALLY good shape with him because I believe his 3-ball will come around and I believe he still has A LOT more to learn and develop in terms of harnessing his talent within a team scheme.

Spoiler:

Just finished up watching the 2.5 hours of Ware game tape linked above. Took some scattered notes. Nothing groundbreaking. Ware's length and athleticism are real gamechangers on the court. He's thin and light in the a** and needs to add strength/weight.

When he knows where he's going and what he wants to do, he can do it in an elite way. Oftentimes, he's a step delayed or lost while processing things and that's where the lapses come from. My biggest takeaway is that I did not see any motor or attitude issues. He goes hard and seems to care. This only further validates that he has the "want to" to improve and compete on the court. THat was the hope in seeing the Heat draft him after working him out, interviewing him, and doing their due diligence. I feel even better about his attitude concerns being a bit of a false flag after watching the game tape.

OFFENSE:

- His touch is legit and he looks natural getting up shots on all 3 levels of the court.

- Doesn’t really seem to have any go-to offensive moves--freestyling everything but looks comfortable/natural doing a lot of things on offense. He needs to develop 1 or 2 go-to rhythm moves where when he unexpectedly gets the ball or needs to be the source offense in a bind, he can get into his rhythm shots.

- I’m encouraged by him working as a connective passer. Showed general awareness to move the ball to open guys. I don’t expect him to ever be a creator. He’s a connective passer and a play finisher IMO. Not a blackhole with tunnel vision. Capable passer—showed range in the type of passes he made and difficulty level.

- He would work as a zone buster in middle of court; good at finding cutters; looks natural passing from the perimeter and moving the ball

- His assist numbers probably would have been better if he had capable shooters around him. Indiana's spacing was abysmal. Indiana ranked 265th in the nation in team 3pt% (32%) and 344th in team 3PA per game (out of 351 teams). Ware was constantly dealing with a lot of bodies/traffic around him in the paint on offense.

- Ware is not currently a people mover (boxing out or screening), but he seemed to be a much more willing screener than I was expecting. Between working on his technique and strength, I think he'll be a positive on that front sooner rather than later (just look at Niko's progression on that front in 1 year).

- He needs to "find work" more often when off the ball. A lot of this falls on coaching IMO and my general takeaway overall--Ware needs to have defined specialized roles early on that he can focus on executing with full confidence.

- Most of his turnovers seemed to come when the offense is stuck and he's trying to create offense (no reliable go-to move). I did not see a ton of errant passes/bad decisions. As noted, he dealt with A LOT of traffic/bodies in the paint.

- Some ball security issues arose from Ware not being strong enough in the paint. Ware would often get stripped by a 2nd or 3rd body in the paint when he brings the ball down to get into a move to try to score/create.

- A few turnovers were from moving screen calls on offense--I can dig it because it showed his desire to move people instead of slipping screens and avoiding contact.

- He showed no signs of a functional handle at Indiana. Would almost never even dribble the ball up after a rebound in transition. It seemed like he was specifically told not to do so. A few of his turnovers were the result of him putting the ball on the floor. I wouldn't bank on Ware being much of an off the dribble driver early on.

DEFENSE:

- Ware's combination of length and movement ability is rare. It shows up on the court well beyond his block numbers. It impacts how drivers approach the paint and put up shots.

- From the tape I saw, Ware is not a shut down defender today. He's inconsistent with elite tools. He also clearly was not in a system or context to be a shut down defender.

- Ware didn't have good defensive teammates around him to make his job any easier. Indiana ranked 234th in defensive efficiency this season. Indiana had 4 of 5 new starters this season. The 1 returning starter was Trey Galloway (Senior). He was the worst defensive starter on last year's Indiana team that tanked 102nd defensively. The other 3 starters along Ware were 2 freshman and a Sophomore transfer (so 4 of 5 starters weren't with the program last year).

- Ware's full extended length shows up a lot and makes things difficult for the opposition. He highpoints rebounds and alters a lot of shots by extending and being a long wall defensively.

- Ware's length and coordination consistently show up defensively--including getting hands on balls that appear to be going through clean passing lanes (deflections). He's not lumbering defensively--he looks natural moving on defense even when he's out in space.

- He looks engaged defensively, but sometimes appears a step slow processing or being certain what action to take in team defense (sometimes he's ball watching too much as a result).

- Ware needs to work on his body positioning and footwork mirroring defensively. With his physical skills, there is a A LOT of upside if he can get more consistent with his footwork and use of body positioning for team defense. Indiana's defensive rotations were poor as a whole (see defensive efficiency rating).

- Ware looks good sliding his feet when guarding along the perimeter. Often times you see drivers spazz out as they expect to be able to blow by Ware off a switch but he stays with them stride for stride. Perimeter players aren't going to just walk past him. Ware was susceptible to getting put on skates with craft double moves, though.

- Ware uses his length well, but his weaker base consistently shows up when battling for positioning in the paint.

- Ware is more of a reactionary defender than he is an anticipatory defender at this point. He shows discipline by not jumping at every shot fake. He actually looked too delayed at times in reacting. I wonder if some of this was him being coached to not overreact.

- Ware is a very good shotblocker and rim deterrent. But, I can't place him in the elite category as a shotblocker.

- Ware faced Zach Edey twice this season. Edey got his against Indiana. Refs called A LOT of tick tack fouls against Ware vs Edey. Interestingly, when you dig a little deeper, you find that Edey's 3rd and 4th least efficient games of the season were in the matchup against Ware. Ware battled and made it hard for Edey on a possession by possession basis in the paint. Very encouraging IMO. He blocked Edey numerous times (more than accounted for in the official stats).

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- Ware will benefit GREATLY from quality coaching, working within defined systems, NBA spacing, and operating as a supporting piece rather than the primary offensive option and defensive anchor.

- The 2 biggest boosts to Ware's impact will come from gaining functional strength and operating within a clearly defined role.

- When Ware knows where he wants to go, his athleticism and length are impressive to see on display.

- I believe his shooting touch is for real and Miami should have him working as a floor spacer from the jump.

I'm excited to watch Ware play. I believe and hope he should get some rotation minutes from the get-go as a backup center, but Miami will need to be patient with his development. I expect Ware to follow a similar trajectory to Jovic with regards to weight gain and developing the toolkit to bump with bigs (screening, boxing out, etc). I think Ware's natural physical gifts and shooting touch should allow him to slot into a low usage off-ball role from the jump where he's solely a play finisher and not hunting for his own offense. Defensively, he'll need developmental time to defend the stronger frontcourt players. He can have his greatest impact in a limited role where he "hides" on corner 3 pt shooters and doubles as the weakside rim protector.

If Ware fills out his frame to eventually be a 245+ pound big and can play confidently within his specifically designated role, then skies the limit as a force multiplier for Miami on both sides of the ball. It will take a couple years to get there. He's not a Derrick Lively level defensive player today. But he has more offensive upside IMO.

Also, I want to pair this with a prior post you shared:

Read on Twitter

Mentioned this action a week or 2 ago, more of this please.

I believe the 2 things that will accelerate the path to having Bam and Ware share the court for extended time are (1) using Bam more in the above-referenced facilitator role--see Draymond Green playing with centers throughout his career and (2) the continued development of Ware and Bam as off-ball floor spacers.

#1 has potential to ramp up this season IMO. #2 is a bit of a longer lead time for it to be fully functional in high level game play IMO, but it is progressing.

As always with this build, the fact that neither Jimmy nor Bam are true floor spacers adds another wrench of complexity to this dynamic as going BIG in the frontcourt without one of the 2 being a true pure shooter requires the 1-3 spots to all be reliable and willing 3 pt shooters.

Stop rushing Ware. Let him learn at his pace. As soon as he start effing up you all gonna start putting him in the trade machine.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I'm with you. People shouldn't be upset if he goes for another G League stint this season

[contract]

Jimmy signs an extension, Duncan JRich and a 2nd for Brogdon or Ball. Terry and a 1st for CaM Johnson

Brogdon/Ball
Herro
Jimmy
Cam
Bam

Why would you extend a 36 year old? This is insanity!

[BadMofoPimp]

Read on Twitter

Stocked draft cupboard. Marks has done a good job building it up. Well positioned to attract talent to BK via trade and free agency.

Think I saw $65M in cap space too, only team that can outright sign Jimmy

Lol. Jimmy will have lots of fun playing with a bunch of rookies and young players. He won't win any ships there.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Jimmy signs an extension, Duncan JRich and a 2nd for Brogdon or Ball. Terry and a 1st for CaM Johnson

Brogdon/Ball
Herro
Jimmy
Cam
Bam

Why would you extend a 36 year old? This is insanity!

3/15M!!!!!!

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

Stocked draft cupboard. Marks has done a good job building it up. Well positioned to attract talent to BK via trade and free agency.

Think I saw $65M in cap space too, only team that can outright sign Jimmy

Lol. Jimmy will have lots of fun playing with a bunch of rookies and young players. He won't win any ships there.

Yea I mean even with those draft picks who are they going to realistically trade for and become contenders by next season? I don’t see it

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Cross-posting this from the game thread because the development of Miami's future frontcourt is one of the main things I'm focused on for this season:

Read on Twitter

Ware was always going to take time and require patience. I've been harping on that since we drafted him. The fact that he's already providing some of the force multiplier effects in competitive games while limiting the sort of mistakes that would be expected from a raw center prospect is super encouraging.

I want to reference back to a breakdown I did when we drafted Ware from watching most of his college tape--see Spoiler below--bc I believe we're seeing a lot of it play out in real time as he gets more minutes. If Ware is already proving to fit in the NBA rotation, then we are in REALLY good shape with him because I believe his 3-ball will come around and I believe he still has A LOT more to learn and develop in terms of harnessing his talent within a team scheme.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

For any sickos that wanna dive deep

Just finished up watching the 2.5 hours of Ware game tape linked above. Took some scattered notes. Nothing groundbreaking. Ware's length and athleticism are real gamechangers on the court. He's thin and light in the a** and needs to add strength/weight.

When he knows where he's going and what he wants to do, he can do it in an elite way. Oftentimes, he's a step delayed or lost while processing things and that's where the lapses come from. My biggest takeaway is that I did not see any motor or attitude issues. He goes hard and seems to care. This only further validates that he has the "want to" to improve and compete on the court. THat was the hope in seeing the Heat draft him after working him out, interviewing him, and doing their due diligence. I feel even better about his attitude concerns being a bit of a false flag after watching the game tape.

OFFENSE:

- His touch is legit and he looks natural getting up shots on all 3 levels of the court.

- Doesn’t really seem to have any go-to offensive moves--freestyling everything but looks comfortable/natural doing a lot of things on offense. He needs to develop 1 or 2 go-to rhythm moves where when he unexpectedly gets the ball or needs to be the source offense in a bind, he can get into his rhythm shots.

- I’m encouraged by him working as a connective passer. Showed general awareness to move the ball to open guys. I don’t expect him to ever be a creator. He’s a connective passer and a play finisher IMO. Not a blackhole with tunnel vision. Capable passer—showed range in the type of passes he made and difficulty level.

- He would work as a zone buster in middle of court; good at finding cutters; looks natural passing from the perimeter and moving the ball

- His assist numbers probably would have been better if he had capable shooters around him. Indiana's spacing was abysmal. Indiana ranked 265th in the nation in team 3pt% (32%) and 344th in team 3PA per game (out of 351 teams). Ware was constantly dealing with a lot of bodies/traffic around him in the paint on offense.

- Ware is not currently a people mover (boxing out or screening), but he seemed to be a much more willing screener than I was expecting. Between working on his technique and strength, I think he'll be a positive on that front sooner rather than later (just look at Niko's progression on that front in 1 year).

- He needs to "find work" more often when off the ball. A lot of this falls on coaching IMO and my general takeaway overall--Ware needs to have defined specialized roles early on that he can focus on executing with full confidence.

- Most of his turnovers seemed to come when the offense is stuck and he's trying to create offense (no reliable go-to move). I did not see a ton of errant passes/bad decisions. As noted, he dealt with A LOT of traffic/bodies in the paint.

- Some ball security issues arose from Ware not being strong enough in the paint. Ware would often get stripped by a 2nd or 3rd body in the paint when he brings the ball down to get into a move to try to score/create.

- A few turnovers were from moving screen calls on offense--I can dig it because it showed his desire to move people instead of slipping screens and avoiding contact.

- He showed no signs of a functional handle at Indiana. Would almost never even dribble the ball up after a rebound in transition. It seemed like he was specifically told not to do so. A few of his turnovers were the result of him putting the ball on the floor. I wouldn't bank on Ware being much of an off the dribble driver early on.

DEFENSE:

- Ware's combination of length and movement ability is rare. It shows up on the court well beyond his block numbers. It impacts how drivers approach the paint and put up shots.

- From the tape I saw, Ware is not a shut down defender today. He's inconsistent with elite tools. He also clearly was not in a system or context to be a shut down defender.

- Ware didn't have good defensive teammates around him to make his job any easier. Indiana ranked 234th in defensive efficiency this season. Indiana had 4 of 5 new starters this season. The 1 returning starter was Trey Galloway (Senior). He was the worst defensive starter on last year's Indiana team that tanked 102nd defensively. The other 3 starters along Ware were 2 freshman and a Sophomore transfer (so 4 of 5 starters weren't with the program last year).

- Ware's full extended length shows up a lot and makes things difficult for the opposition. He highpoints rebounds and alters a lot of shots by extending and being a long wall defensively.

- Ware's length and coordination consistently show up defensively--including getting hands on balls that appear to be going through clean passing lanes (deflections). He's not lumbering defensively--he looks natural moving on defense even when he's out in space.

- He looks engaged defensively, but sometimes appears a step slow processing or being certain what action to take in team defense (sometimes he's ball watching too much as a result).

- Ware needs to work on his body positioning and footwork mirroring defensively. With his physical skills, there is a A LOT of upside if he can get more consistent with his footwork and use of body positioning for team defense. Indiana's defensive rotations were poor as a whole (see defensive efficiency rating).

- Ware looks good sliding his feet when guarding along the perimeter. Often times you see drivers spazz out as they expect to be able to blow by Ware off a switch but he stays with them stride for stride. Perimeter players aren't going to just walk past him. Ware was susceptible to getting put on skates with craft double moves, though.

- Ware uses his length well, but his weaker base consistently shows up when battling for positioning in the paint.

- Ware is more of a reactionary defender than he is an anticipatory defender at this point. He shows discipline by not jumping at every shot fake. He actually looked too delayed at times in reacting. I wonder if some of this was him being coached to not overreact.

- Ware is a very good shotblocker and rim deterrent. But, I can't place him in the elite category as a shotblocker.

- Ware faced Zach Edey twice this season. Edey got his against Indiana. Refs called A LOT of tick tack fouls against Ware vs Edey. Interestingly, when you dig a little deeper, you find that Edey's 3rd and 4th least efficient games of the season were in the matchup against Ware. Ware battled and made it hard for Edey on a possession by possession basis in the paint. Very encouraging IMO. He blocked Edey numerous times (more than accounted for in the official stats).

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- Ware will benefit GREATLY from quality coaching, working within defined systems, NBA spacing, and operating as a supporting piece rather than the primary offensive option and defensive anchor.

- The 2 biggest boosts to Ware's impact will come from gaining functional strength and operating within a clearly defined role.

- When Ware knows where he wants to go, his athleticism and length are impressive to see on display.

- I believe his shooting touch is for real and Miami should have him working as a floor spacer from the jump.

I'm excited to watch Ware play. I believe and hope he should get some rotation minutes from the get-go as a backup center, but Miami will need to be patient with his development. I expect Ware to follow a similar trajectory to Jovic with regards to weight gain and developing the toolkit to bump with bigs (screening, boxing out, etc). I think Ware's natural physical gifts and shooting touch should allow him to slot into a low usage off-ball role from the jump where he's solely a play finisher and not hunting for his own offense. Defensively, he'll need developmental time to defend the stronger frontcourt players. He can have his greatest impact in a limited role where he "hides" on corner 3 pt shooters and doubles as the weakside rim protector.

If Ware fills out his frame to eventually be a 245+ pound big and can play confidently within his specifically designated role, then skies the limit as a force multiplier for Miami on both sides of the ball. It will take a couple years to get there. He's not a Derrick Lively level defensive player today. But he has more offensive upside IMO.

Also, I want to pair this with a prior post you shared:

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Mentioned this action a week or 2 ago, more of this please.

I believe the 2 things that will accelerate the path to having Bam and Ware share the court for extended time are (1) using Bam more in the above-referenced facilitator role--see Draymond Green playing with centers throughout his career and (2) the continued development of Ware and Bam as off-ball floor spacers.

#1 has potential to ramp up this season IMO. #2 is a bit of a longer lead time for it to be fully functional in high level game play IMO, but it is progressing.

As always with this build, the fact that neither Jimmy nor Bam are true floor spacers adds another wrench of complexity to this dynamic as going BIG in the frontcourt without one of the 2 being a true pure shooter requires the 1-3 spots to all be reliable and willing 3 pt shooters.

Yep, in due time it’s coming. I wish they would run some bam/Ware lineups next to herro Duncan and Highsmith or Terry even for like 4-5 minutes here and there while Jimmy rests just to get them used to playing together and to see if it opens up new/better looks for each. That Bam/Ware pick and roll could be deadly lol, I would much prefer that when we want Bam to get a bucket over isolating him every time and shooting over a collapsed defense, his shot isn’t falling but his shot quality is also horrible, hard to get a rhythm like that. With these inverted pick and rolls you’re giving him and little space and allowing him to attack with some momentum, they’ve worked out great clearly and he will make the right pass if necessary too

As for shooting, this is just step 1. Bam is now taking 3s and it’s been up and down as expected in year 1, next year I expect it to be more consistent, year 3 I expect more consistency and more volume. My dream shot diet when the 3 is fully developed would be 5-6 3s a game, 8-10 layups/dunks, 2/3 mid range (off an assist) but that’s just me, it’ll depend on how Spo wants to use him. Ware is taking the occasional 3 already so that’s a good starting point for him to build on.

Defensively they can step in right now and be an elite duo I think. When we go Zone have Bam at the top or wings depending on where the best perimeter player is and have him funneling guys into ware, that’ll be nearly impossible to score over. Ware so far is solid in 1v1 matchups but his team defense is lacking and I think it will improve as he gets more comfortable and familiar with our sets. He’s out of place quite a bit but that’s part of development.

I feel like we’re so close to finally getting some Bam/Ware minutes but maybe I’m wrong

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Bernie at the arena tells me there were some negotiations going on, the mood of the video tells me they went well. Or maybe they just went to chill and play dominos

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Rockets fans taking victory laps because Amen tossed Herro like a rag doll

I guess when your only championships came because Jordan decided he was bored with basketball 30 years ago these are the types of victories you take

[3ammy3uck3ts]

We should still be looking at signing DSJ for a guard defender or if we just don’t want to play defense anymore might as well get a good shooter and passer in DLo if he’s bought out.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Trade for a Vuc, Cam Johnson, KO, Collins, Grant (I don’t remember his contract details) and sign DLo post buyout? Could be a solid infusion of talent, passing, size, rebounding, and shooting. Could go a long way for this group

[SerialChiller]

We've downgraded so bad. Went from Wade with his body guard in Haslem to Herro and his body guard Rozier haha.

[carnageta]

We need James Johnson back on this team.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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This is one big difference compared to last season, we’re actually picking up some quality wins. We’ve lost quite a few very close games as well. Cant help but wonder what 2 added pieces that will actually contribute in areas we’re weak would do for this team. And Bam getting higher quality shots and snapping out of his career worst slump

[Beenie]

We need James Johnson back on this team.

Crowder and Tucker would have stepped up

[3ammy3uck3ts]

We need James Johnson back on this team.

Crowder and Tucker would have stepped up

All 5 that were out there got in the scrum and were getting guys off Terry, we didn’t need anyone to get suspended but I wouldn’t have minded someone from the bench running up and throwing a bench like TB last year lol

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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Well deserved, watch Herros right arm in the scrum, it could’ve ended his season