10/14 - Hawks vs. Heat (in Miami) 7:30PM - SUN SPORTS

[Heat_team02]

Sorry here's the link again if it doesn't work it's on google search.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miam ... story.html

It started simple enough, with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra asked about Chris Andersen's energetic play during the backup center's 18 minutes in Tuesday's 109-103 exhibition loss to the Atlanta Hawks at AmericanAirlines Arena.

First the setup, courtesy of Spoelstra, during the straightforward part of the postgame process:

"I think he's in very good shape. Is he able to play his 25 minutes? No. But I'm able to play him certainly probably more than I could last year at this time. He's lighter. He's very light. While he didn't do much basketball work this summer, he was at least fit and he worked on shaving off some pounds as he gets older."

Then it went off the rails as soon as the locker room opened, as it only can with the 36-year-old.

Me: "Erik said you're playing lighter and he could really see a difference in your play. Do you feel a difference playing at a lighter weight?"

Birdman: "I'm not talking."

Me: "But if you were, what would you say?"

Birdman: "I'm not talking."

Me: "I really need something here."

Me: "Does it make a difference in your play?"

Birdman: "Absolutely it does. How's that?"

Me: "Does it make a difference in your play?"

Birdman: "Absolutely it does."

Me: "Have you been this light before. Or when is the last time you played this light, at this type of weight?"

Birdman: "I'm not light."

Me: "Lighter. Erik said you were lighter than you were."

Birdman: "Well, that's because I ain't been tanning."


====
I'll stop it there.

[ifrosty13]

We didn't pay Deng that much money to come off the bench. Ennis has no choice but to come in off the bench.

I was critical of the Napier, Wade and Shannon lineup but it was working last night. Sadly though, all it would take to put that to a halt is a zone. None of those three have consistent range from deep...

Actually, Ennis is an above average three point shooter.

[DWadeno3]

A huge problem we had last night was a lack of ball movement after a good start with it. We'd break the defense down, have it collapse and then either try to score on the first pass or force up difficult shots. I don't know why that happened, maybe we were too comfortable going up big early on and then couldn't find our rhythm again but the movement we had early on was very encouraging and showed what this team is capable of.

I'm a little surprised at the lack of actual high pick and rolls between Wade and Bosh though. Whenever Wade runs a pick and roll/pop, it comes from the wing where his options are limited. At the same time, Wade really has to look for the score more often, even if he ultimately ends up pitching it out. We just can't have him not attack a the defense off of a screen because they'll just sag off and easily rotate back to their original players without the screen action having much of an effect. I'm pretty sure he knows to be more assertive offensively once the regular season rolls around. He still plays like LeBron is around, but Deng is nothing but a solid 3rd option for us.

[KingDavid]

We didn't pay Deng that much money to come off the bench. Ennis has no choice but to come in off the bench.

I was critical of the Napier, Wade and Shannon lineup but it was working last night. Sadly though, all it would take to put that to a halt is a zone. None of those three have consistent range from deep...

Actually, Ennis is an above average three point shooter.

Right but Ennis can only play the 2/3. I was specifically talking about Wade, Shannon and Napier lineup. Ennis is not...not yet anyway. Or he's just sticking to his role of cutting, shooting and defending. I wouldn't peg Ennis as a playmaker, but a finisher. He can't take his man off the dribble out of a triple threat consistently. Dribbles too high and too close to his body. Thankfully though, he's a threat from deep o he can use the pump fake to get his man up and go to the basket to finish. I wonder if he has a good one-two pullup game...

[KingDavid]

A huge problem we had last night was a lack of ball movement after a good start with it. We'd break the defense down, have it collapse and then either try to score on the first pass or force up difficult shots. I don't know why that happened, maybe we were too comfortable going up big early on and then couldn't find our rhythm again but the movement we had early on was very encouraging and showed what this team is capable of.

I'm a little surprised at the lack of actual high pick and rolls between Wade and Bosh though. Whenever Wade runs a pick and roll/pop, it comes from the wing where his options are limited. At the same time, Wade really has to look for the score more often, even if he ultimately ends up pitching it out. We just can't have him not attack a the defense off of a screen because they'll just sag off and easily rotate back to their original players without the screen action having much of an effect. I'm pretty sure he knows to be more assertive offensively once the regular season rolls around. He still plays like LeBron is around, but Deng is nothing but a solid 3rd option for us.

I think he isn't aggressive attack on P&R because the paint gets flooded quickly.

Cole
Wade
Deng
Danny
Bosh

None of those guys are threats from three except for Granger. So if there's P&R action, help is bound to come super quickly. They'll sag off the non shooters and play a soft zone. I hate that.

I think Deng should stick to what he's good at. He's got a decent midrange and can finish and draw contact and elite off ball movement. Forcing him to sit around and shoot threes is not the answer. But a lot of our woes are from a lack of chemistry. You can see it.

[DWadeno3]

A huge problem we had last night was a lack of ball movement after a good start with it. We'd break the defense down, have it collapse and then either try to score on the first pass or force up difficult shots. I don't know why that happened, maybe we were too comfortable going up big early on and then couldn't find our rhythm again but the movement we had early on was very encouraging and showed what this team is capable of.

I'm a little surprised at the lack of actual high pick and rolls between Wade and Bosh though. Whenever Wade runs a pick and roll/pop, it comes from the wing where his options are limited. At the same time, Wade really has to look for the score more often, even if he ultimately ends up pitching it out. We just can't have him not attack a the defense off of a screen because they'll just sag off and easily rotate back to their original players without the screen action having much of an effect. I'm pretty sure he knows to be more assertive offensively once the regular season rolls around. He still plays like LeBron is around, but Deng is nothing but a solid 3rd option for us.

I think he isn't aggressive attack on P&R because the paint gets flooded quickly.

Cole
Wade
Deng
Danny
Bosh

None of those guys are threats from three except for Granger. So if there's P&R action, help is bound to come super quickly. They'll sag off the non shooters and play a soft zone. I hate that.

I think Deng should stick to what he's good at. He's got a decent midrange and can finish and draw contact and elite off ball movement. Forcing him to sit around and shoot threes is not the answer. But a lot of our woes are from a lack of chemistry. You can see it.

Yeah that's true, but I meant aggressive as in still forcing the help defender to do something, either attack him if he sags off or pull him further away if he hedges, Wade simply picks the ball up too early or passes it too early.

Us lacking spacing in the starting lineup is a huge reason why it's good to see him show confidence in his outside shot and shoot it well. With that being said, I think a lineup of Chalmers-Wade-Deng-McRoberts-Bosh will provide better opportunities unless McRoberts suddenly falls off with his outside shooting.

[Sign5]

Of course it's a project guys, Heat are still trying out players for the team and the rotation isn't even set. We have guys more than capable of leading the Heat to 43 wins AT LEAST, nothing to worry about.

I see no reason to worry about Wade either. Physically from what I've seen in the last few pre-season games he's definitely quicker than he was in the finals but it was apparent that last night he refused to be aggressive/attack which I'm not going to over-analyze as it' pre-season. Other vet stars I've seen have also looked pedestrian to their standards. If he half-asses it in regular season THEN I'd be more annoyed/concerned but definitely not going to panic over a pre-season game.

Bosh will have a breakout year this season, I can almost guarantee it (barring injuries). He has the same demeanor as he does when he's playing without one of the big 3 or both(Spurs, Hawks, Portland), just a completely different person from the 'big 3' Bosh.


I do expect to see TONS more Wade/Bosh PnRs. It'd be idiotic of Spo NOT to force it given their strengths.
Luckily our opener is against an opponent that is missing two of their best players so we can still afford to make mistakes/chemistry errors while still getting the win with energy and effort (home-crowd).

[HEAT_ME_UP]

I was at the game and all I can say is that the crowd was really loud, it was not a full house but men it was loud at times, specially when they did the comeback.



What I saw from my seat:


Ennis looks like a PRO, but his ball handling and passing are not that great. Nice jump shot
Napier, he is really small but can drive and his passing skills were better than what I saw from Cole. Ugly jump shot.
S Williams, boy he looked lost on the court and played terrible.
Bosh, he looked like he was playing among kids just like P. Millsap did.
Wade, he looked slow at times, everytime he misses he stays behind complaining to the refs. I know is just a Pre-season game, but nothing impressive from Wade.


In general, it was a fun game with a lot of energy from the get-go!