2025 Playoffs: Round 1, Game 1: Heat @ Cavs - 7pm EST on 4/20

[marson]

I also would like to see more ware. He had a deer in headlights type of game which isn't surprising since he's a rookie.

But him being a rim protector and rebounder will allow bam to confidently roam more rather than having to do too much..

Have you watched the 1st half? He is getting switched on and can't guard the perimeter. It's his developing season, no need to rush him.

I see that as more of a scheming issue which should be corrected before game 2. The heat should not be switching everything, they just don't have the personnel for it. Too much reactionary defense.

Spo has been using defense switching since 2008. His scheme won't get changed overnight.

[Tim_Hardawayy]

It kills me that the perfect guy to both cover Herro's defensive woes, and assist him in directing the offense, would be current Jimmy Butler. Still probably leaves us with an ECF ceiling, but that's exactly what you need next to Tyler to make him work. We never really got to see Jimmy gel with this version of Tyler, since he (Jimmy) was basically checked out the entirety of this season even when playing.

[marson]

It kills me that the perfect guy to both cover Herro's defensive woes, and assist him in directing the offense, would be current Jimmy Butler. Still probably leaves us with an ECF ceiling, but that's exactly what you need next to Tyler to make him work. We never really got to see Jimmy gel with this version of Tyler, since he (Jimmy) was basically checked out the entirety of this season even when playing.

I'm convinced we clear the EAST with a healthy Jimmy.

[Beenie]

Jimmy a G

[wade44]

Pessimist take but not enough Heat offense to remotely hang against this stingy defense. Heat maybe take one of the games back in MIA. Cavs 4-1 looking like a strong possibility

[Bishop45]

Pessimist take but not enough Heat offense to remotely hang against this stingy defense. Heat maybe take one of the games back in MIA. Cavs 4-1 looking like a strong possibility

They can’t win at the pace that they’re playing. Ain’t got the tools to run-and-gun with them. More Bam/Ware likely won’t make the difference, but I’d love to see it

[SerialChiller]

Yes sir! The good ole days, glad to see you’re still going strong!

What was your username on PSD? I was SportsFanatic10.

I’ll PM you, if I tell you here it’ll give it away that I’m not just a Bam only Stan and tarnish my legacy.

I’ll give you a hint, I was HeatNations finest Wade supporter and bodied “more-than-most” daily on the nba forum

I remember the name more-than-most. Think he was a 6ers fan is that right? I'm probably not so memorable there as I only had maybe about 2 thousand posts over the years and mostly just lurked around the NBA forum lol. When the Wade disrespect was too much to take I'd defend him and set people straight from time to time. That's how I started off here on RealGM after as well.

[eddieheatfan]

so far, golden state 1- the heat 0 regardless they wont go so far past the first round, i hope

[DayofMourning]

Think I read that TJ had 24 points in a row for the Cavs in the 4th (either scored or assisted).

[Kobewade11]

It kills me that the perfect guy to both cover Herro's defensive woes, and assist him in directing the offense, would be current Jimmy Butler. Still probably leaves us with an ECF ceiling, but that's exactly what you need next to Tyler to make him work. We never really got to see Jimmy gel with this version of Tyler, since he (Jimmy) was basically checked out the entirety of this season even when playing.

Gotta move on.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

What was your username on PSD? I was SportsFanatic10.

I’ll PM you, if I tell you here it’ll give it away that I’m not just a Bam only Stan and tarnish my legacy.

I’ll give you a hint, I was HeatNations finest Wade supporter and bodied “more-than-most” daily on the nba forum

I remember the name more-than-most. Think he was a 6ers fan is that right? I'm probably not so memorable there as I only had maybe about 2 thousand posts over the years and mostly just lurked around the NBA forum lol. When the Wade disrespect was too much to take I'd defend him and set people straight from time to time. That's how I started off here on RealGM after as well.

Yes he was lol!

[greg4012]

I think we had a good game overall considering we just had to play two games on the road to even make it into this position. We still have the better coach on our side, too.

People in this thread really have no clue who Kenny Atkinson is? He’s literally a coach of the year finalist and has a shot to win it.

Gotta leave your bubbles if you think his coaching is some fluke.

Kenny is a very good coach and is super locked in with this squad that has been building consistently and in lock step (virtually without distraction) for almost a year now.

The statement you responded to remains true, tho.

[greg4012]

Pessimist take but not enough Heat offense to remotely hang against this stingy defense. Heat maybe take one of the games back in MIA. Cavs 4-1 looking like a strong possibility

Wouldn't call that a pessimist take in the slightest. I'd say that is an extremely reasonable and appropriate take for any 1 seed with 64 wins facing a 10 seed (under 500 on the season) that traded away its best player mid-season amid tumultuous drama

[wade44]

Pessimist take but not enough Heat offense to remotely hang against this stingy defense. Heat maybe take one of the games back in MIA. Cavs 4-1 looking like a strong possibility

Wouldn't call that a pessimist take in the slightest. I'd say that is an extremely reasonable and appropriate take for any 1 seed with 64 wins facing a 10 seed (under 500 on the season) that traded away its best player mid-season amid tumultuous drama

We like to hold onto hope as fans that we got a shot. From that perspective though yeah you could say we’re way overmatched

[twix2500]

Man I really hate beat writers don't exist anymore, it just bloggers with takes. You may call me old school but I don't care about random people online "First Takes". Never cared about Smith and Skip takes and they are the ones who started this takes culture of covering sports. I wanna know whats going on with the team. I wanna know what the direction the team is going, the injury situations. What are the coaching staff and players thinking? Simple things question for the team to answer. What is going on with Jovic and Larsson? Whats going on with the inconsistent play with certian players. When Butler was being shopped all I kept hearing about is Butler's fat groupie/secretary twitter account takes. I don't wanna ask Ira or the fat groupie. Dammit, someone ask the Heat! Stop guessing and ask the Heat where is Jovic and Larsson?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Vertical Limit]

Pessimist take but not enough Heat offense to remotely hang against this stingy defense. Heat maybe take one of the games back in MIA. Cavs 4-1 looking like a strong possibility

Id be surprised, but i think we need to return to the formula that got us out of the 10 game losing streak..

Ware needs to play more than 20 minutes per game and he needs to be effective, even if its just on rebounds.. his pairing with bam is unique.. you cant just limit him because you trust your small ball lineup more.

Duncan provides nothing for us, clearly what we need out there is more perimeter defense so Pelle needs to get back on the rotation and duncan can stay on the bench.

[greg4012]

Ware needs to learn to take up space on the court and engage with the game more. He seems to be a very linear in approach to game. The more he can operate in a scripted manner, the more confidently he'll perform. The struggle is that the playoffs are all about testing every player in off-script scenarios. Good learning experience for Ware and I'm hopeful that he'll learn a lot this playoffs.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Man I really hate beat writers don't exist anymore, it just bloggers with takes. You may call me old school but I don't care about random people online "First Takes". Never cared about Smith and Skip takes and they are the ones who started this takes culture of covering sports. I wanna know whats going on with the team. I wanna know what the direction the team is going, the injury situations. What are the coaching staff and players thinking? Simple things question for the team to answer. What is going on with Jovic and Larsson? Whats going on with the inconsistent play with certian players. When Butler was being shopped all I kept hearing about is Butler's fat groupie/secretary twitter account takes. I don't wanna ask Ira or the fat groupie. Dammit, someone ask the Heat! Stop guessing and ask the Heat where is Jovic and Larsson?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I feel like there was WAY better coverage even back during the big 3 era. Obviously it was the big 3 but still. There would be 10-15 different reporters that would tweet out every single quote, we always knew what was going on at all times

[Shewasfly]

The problem with all the talk about playing Bam and Ware together is that you want to have a big out there at all times, and that wouldn't be possible with our current roster if both Bam and Ware were allowed to get gassed and need a break at the same time throughout the game. This is obviously why Spo alternates them, and not sure why people are ignoring that.

However, Ware should be playing more. 30-35 minutes seems about right. And the Bam/Ware pairing should be closing the game in this series imo. Makes no sense not to with Allen and Mobley out there. I get Ware isn't all the way there as far as defensive knowledge and physicality, but size is size. And continuing to get killed on the boards pretty much ensures this will be a sweep.

[greg4012]

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1.78 points per possession is WILD.

Need to clean it up