Tim_Hardawayy wrote:I want to keep Bam, but I also agree claiming he was a clear number 2 on championship level teams is definitely overstating his impact. If you squint really hard you could make that claim, but it feels like a very homer claim that sort of has to lobby on both sides to make sense (firstly that the teams were championship level and not just overachievers, and second that Bam was the clear number 2 on all of those rosters, when both takes are pretty debatable).
I think neutral fans, or fans of other teams, would be more likely to say those Heat squads overachieved, and Jimmy was doing a carry job most of the time (though I'd also argue Spo was doing some of the carry to even get us there with those squads).
Or to view it another way, go to the PC board and make a thread asking how many teams could win chips with Bam as their second best player. You're probably not going to see a lot of support for that take. And it's not hate, he's a guy well liked around the league, the worst I see is occasionally fans will call him dirty but that's not common at all (Wade got way more dirty player hate in his day).
Again though, (this is mostly towards a certain poster but can apply to anyone) this is why some view Bam as underrated on this board. Because at times people overrate him in this way and expect more than he's really capable of, instead of appreciating what he really is, which is an ultimate glue guy that could probably fit on any roster and make them better, but if you want to be a real contender, should be your third best player at most.
However you all want to try and spin in it the fact remains we’ve came very close to winning championships with Bam as our 2nd best player and even 2nd option. That’s a fact. Bam can likely be your 2nd best player but I think we all agree it’s best for him to be your 3rd best scorer (again one does not equal the other) especially with the lack of playmaking we have.
We get bounced in the first round of 2023 against the Bucks without Bam regardless of what Jimmy was doing and that’s not a knock on Jimmy but we don’t make 2 16 point 4th quarter comebacks without Bam locking up giannis in the 4th and giving us a triple double to close them out in 5. Jimmy came back down to earth after that series as well so it wasn’t just this major backpack job everyone tries to make it out to be, albeit that clown Josh Hart injured him flopping but still.
