Moderators: KingDavid, MettaWorldPanda, Wiltside, IggieCC, BFRESH44, QUIZ, heat4life
IggieCC wrote:gom wrote:No way Lebron will sit out in Miami. He might not play in Orlando though.
Why would Blatt sit out any players on the first game of back to back games gom? It makes zero sense.
It will be NBA's fault for setting the schedule in a way that Blatt can have an excuse to sit out player(s) for a featured matchup. Blatt's eyes are probably on getting ready for the playoffs not beating Heat.
KingDavid wrote:Dr_Heat wrote:Call me crazy , but I'm prescribing a Heat win , 110 to 105. Go Heat.. Kyrie is not having a mega game, deng will guard lebron pretty good and Mozgov will have a hard night against WhiteBlock.
And Kevin Love will be locked down byyyy...looks at spreadsheet, blinks...a Bill Henry Walker?
Dr_Heat wrote: Oof
the subject on the Miami Heat practice court Sunday was LeBron James and change.
But it wasn't about James' July 11 defection to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just about every party has moved on from that summer shockwave.
Rather, with the Cavaliers to face the Heat on Monday night, it was about how much has changed merely since the last time the teams met at AmericanAirlines Arena.
"That's a different team now," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We're a different team."
On Christmas Day, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller were in the Cavaliers' starting lineup alongside James. Dion Waiters was Cleveland's sixth man. Timofey Mozgov was still a Denver Nugget. And Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith were still New York Knicks.
That same afternoon, the Heat were within two games of .500, starting Shawne Williams and Mario Chalmers, featuring Norris Cole and Danny Granger off the bench in what would turn into a 101-91 victory over the Cavaliers.
Now? Now the Cavaliers have rocketed to second place in the Eastern Conference, while the Heat are on the outside of the playoff picture.
"They're playing with great continuity right now," Spoelstra said. "So you absolutely have to respect that."
By the teams' second meeting, a 113-93 Cavaliers victory Feb. 11 at Quicken Loans Arena, Mozgov and Smith were in Cleveland's starting lineup, with Shumpert playing as sixth man. Stability had been seized.
By contrast, a week after that loss, the Heat would learn that center Chris Bosh would be lost for the season with blood clots on his lung, with the Heat having just acquired guard Goran Dragic at the Feb. 19 NBA trading deadline.
"It just shows you it's the NBA," Heat forward Luol Deng said. "Obviously they're playing well. They're playing really, really well. We've struggled and we've had a bunch of different lineups.
"If you look before they made their trade, they were probably going through it worse than we were. They were losing a lot of games in a row. LeBron sat out a little bit and they were losing. And they made the trade and the team changed. It just shows you, this league, it's really a thin line of how good a team could be or how bad they could be."
When the Cavaliers arrived on Christmas Day, the buzz surrounding the ABC broadcast was about whether James had made the correct decision with his offseason return to Cleveland. Monday's ESPN broadcast of the Cavaliers' second and final visit of the season figures to offer few positive comparisons of the teams.
"It'll be a great environment again," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "It's not Christmas, but we're a team fighting for the playoffs and they're a totally different team than the last time we played them."
Miami Heat recall Zoran Dragic from D-League
Miami Heat recall Zoran Dragic from D-League
It has been nearly two months since the Heat have defeated a leading playoff seed, when they won on the road Jan. 25 against the Chicago Bulls. Since then, the victories have been limited to the likes of the Celtics, Knicks, 76ers, Magic, Suns, Lakers, Kings and Nets. Now the Heat practically have no choice but to step up against higher-tier opposition, with upcoming games against the Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
"We need to come out and show we can play against those teams," Dragic said. "It's kind of hot and cold. We win one; we lose one. We need to be more consistent."
As for now taking a lead role in the Heat's rivalry against their two-time championship leader, it's a situation Dragic said he could not have envisioned.
"I was back in Europe. I thought he was going to stay, because you guys were playing in the four Finals," he said of James' departure. "But that was his decision. They're making those decisions and I was fine with that, because it's his life. It's his decision. So whatever he was making was fine."
Now the only question is whether James will go 0-for-Miami in his first season away.
"Wherever LeBron goes, the attention goes with him," Wade said. "The excitement of playing him, the excitement of beating his teams is always going to be there.
"That's what makes him great, to be able to have the record he has in this league, because every night someone gets up for him."
Heat work to get the ball more often to Whiteside
he Miami Heat went back to a basic during Sunday's video session and on-court review: How to get the ball to the really big guy with the really large wingspan.
Wade on facing LeBron again in Miami
It's LeBron vs. Heat on Monday night for third time since he left.
After Hassan Whiteside was limited to six shots in Friday's 102-92 loss to the Toronto Raptors, the goal is to make sure such limitations again are not placed on the emerging center.
"We were watching some film and sometimes we miss him on the play," guard Goran Dragic acknowledged. "Now, the teams, they're preparing for him, because he's so dominant, and sometimes it's hard.
"We just need to figure out those things and try to put him in the right positions so we can make those plays for him and he can make plays for us."
Whiteside said he is making his best effort to make himself available.
"As a team, we were just watching video," he said. 'Because sometimes the guards, they just miss me. I mean, I've only been playing with these guys for a couple of months. It's not like we've got years and stuff of just chemistry. So it's still a learning experience. Every day is a learning process."
The Heat closed the loss to the Raptors with forward Henry Walker taking twice as many shots as Whiteside.
Coach Erik Spoelstra said part of it was the Heat committing 20 turnovers in Toronto.
"It's tough to stay how it would have played it out if we would have been more in the 10- to 12-turnover ratio, if those possessions would have gone where they were supposed to go," Spoelstra said. "That's all it takes, a handful of possessions that can change the complexion of the offense."
Whiteside said he plans to be more definitive with his movement.
"Just better chances of just ducking in at the right moment," he said.
...so we shall see if spoelstra is really tuned into the idea of getting whiteside more touches. We don't mean go to him the first play of each half then abandon that strategy after his one touch. I hope they see what I see nightly. Hassan posts up, calls for the ball but the ball handlers...
He said he's gained quite the following since his numbers skyrocketed from his anonymous start with the Heat.
"It's like normally when I roll, it's like four guys there," he said. "And even like rebounding, it's like three guys there."
He then turned to the assembled media on the practice court at AmericanAirlines Arena practice court and smiled.
"I guess you all did a good job of getting my name out there," he said. "So congrats to you all."
He said there is one type of attention he wishes others would note, namely some of the hard hits he has taken in recent games beyond the ejection-worthy shots he got in against Phoenix Suns center Alex Len and Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk.
He, in fact, made a point of retweeting those who mentioned the hard shot he took early in Friday's loss from Raptors guard Kyle Lowry than went uncalled, a shoulder bump that knocked Whiteside out of bounds.
"If you think that was an accident . . . I'm not questioning your judgment," he said. "I just wanted the NBA to see it. Day in and day out, guys are beating me up. But they only see what I do."
3ballbomber wrote:I'm not sure i like Whiteside, at this early stage of his resurgence, complaining about physicality and lack of calls. Refs won't respect him in that way, especially being the new guy. This is not the rep you want for yourself. Talk to the coaches about it, let them handle it in regards to getting the league and these referees to acknowledge it. I understand where he is coming from but it just makes him sound like his whining. Hell Lebron has been saying the exact same thing out there too and he's the face of the league sounding like a p(u)ssy........
Get some more games and particularly wins under your belt, handle the punishment.....work hard and just play harder. Nobody is going to make things easy for you out there. He needs mental toughness. Kid still has alot to learn.
KingDavid wrote:3ballbomber wrote:I'm not sure i like Whiteside, at this early stage of his resurgence, complaining about physicality and lack of calls. Refs won't respect him in that way, especially being the new guy. This is not the rep you want for yourself. Talk to the coaches about it, let them handle it in regards to getting the league and these referees to acknowledge it. I understand where he is coming from but it just makes him sound like his whining. Hell Lebron has been saying the exact same thing out there too and he's the face of the league sounding like a p(u)ssy........
Get some more games and particularly wins under your belt, handle the punishment.....work hard and just play harder. Nobody is going to make things easy for you out there. He needs mental toughness. Kid still has alot to learn.
When someone else takes that kind of shot at him like Lowry did but he ends up injured, let's see what you have to say then. Hassan doesn't mind the extra contact. It's the cheap shots. That **** has to stop.
Q: I know everyone's focus has been squarely on Hassan Whiteside's maturity and temper in reacting to non-calls and getting hit, I get that. But from my point of view, I see a guy who is constantly getting hit in the face or upper body (that would generally qualify as excessive contact) and isn't receiving the proper calls, repeatedly. Sometimes it is as if the referees are blatantly ignoring and disregarding the hits he takes. Kyle Lowry lowered his shoulder and did nearly the same thing as Whiteside had done to Kelly Olynyk a few days prior, sending Whiteside hard to the floor with the referee in perfect position to see the entire event unfold. Whiteside gets a Flagrant 2; Kyle Lowry gets possession of the ball. I'm sitting here wondering why there is such a disparity between the refereeing. I'm also wishing Birdman and Udonis Haslem were a bit younger and still able to play the role of enforcer. All the hard hits to Goran Dragic and Whiteside should be repaid in kind, before it starts to get out of hand. It's like every team has had free reign to commit hard fouls on them without much penalty. DeMarcus Cousins got away with so many elbows I stopped counting. Dragic took a hard elbow to the face and the Raptors got free throws. Is it time they start protecting themselves and hit back? The referees certainly aren't protecting them if they don't. -- Chris, Huntington Beach, Calif.
lRelated "Ask Ira" is a daily feature of the Sun Sentinel.
A: I agreed that the non-call on Lowry was egregious. But I also think it was a case of Tom Washington clearly not seeing the play. I'm not sold that the Heat take more abuse than other teams. And it actually says something positive about Whiteside and Dragic that they are willing to stick their noses into such situations. As for enforcers, it's difficult for Haslem to get involved when he can't get off the bench. I simply don't see the Heat in position to retaliate when their priority has to be on winning games. I think with more time in the league, Whiteside will start getting more respect.
DefenseWins wrote:Now you want to give the ball to Whiteside more? I swear these people always late atleast a **** month with what many of us expected for them to do
Might as well develop him for next year as well.
Heat_Fan_87 wrote:Lebron tweaked his knee in the game tonight vs orlando...questionable tomorrow night
Cmon_Son-_- wrote:Heat_Fan_87 wrote:Lebron tweaked his knee in the game tonight vs orlando...questionable tomorrow night
He's sitting then probably. Anytime he even sniffs an injury this year they're gonna rest him.
DefenseWins wrote:Now you want to give the ball to Whiteside more? I swear these people always late atleast a **** month with what many of us expected for them to do
Might as well develop him for next year as well.
Sign5 wrote:DefenseWins wrote:Now you want to give the ball to Whiteside more? I swear these people always late atleast a **** month with what many of us expected for them to do
Might as well develop him for next year as well.
Seriously, obvious moves that are suggested by fans, analysts etc take at least a month before action is made. Adjustments takes Spo eons to figure out.
It's mind-boggling how he could say Walker gets the green-light to chuck instead of dumping it down to your more efficient center. As if a 29% 3pt shooter (in Walker) is a better option than a guy averaging 63% from the field. I mean even if his efficiency dips due to increased volume, 55-57% conversion in hooks/post moves>>>>>>> 29% from 3 especially when you see that Walker is attempting 7 a game.
Rocky M5 wrote:He's back in Miami where all the good HGH is. Don't be surprised if he plays
ZoStrong wrote:Rocky M5 wrote:He's back in Miami where all the good HGH is. Don't be surprised if he plays
doesn't seem to help Wade unfortunately.
