Can we learn something from playing without our big 2?

[RexBoyWonder]

Admittedly, very very small sample size.

But the change has been very glaring (regardless of it resulting in wins, the style/pace is noticeably difeerent).

What are you taking away from playing without our 2 best players, if anything? Did you learn anything new or noticed any lessons we should think about going forward?

I'll start of with :

1. There's no vacuum in basketball. Even when losing a great player, a good team with talent will often see others guys showing things you didn't see before. (you might still not be as good, but you also might be better then you imagined when thinking about the production you lost with the great player/s).

2. Playing fast is so much fun!

Add your own

[puppa bear]

Our role players (& non-all-stars) look better when playing with players that fit them better.

I think Bosh can take Amar'e's place in the starting 5, and we would improve. But I think Wade in for Green would be a backwards step in pace. If we could get a Redick or Korver-like shooter to start for Green, then bring in Wade with a back-up PG that has a better outside shot.

Dragic/Shooting PG
Shooting SG/Wade
Winslow/Green/Deng
Deng/McBob/Bosh
Bosh/Whiteside/Stat

That's a legit rotation & something that can be put together (as long as Bosh is okay long-term).

[goodboy]

No more! That's it! I don't care!

[RexBoyWonder]

4. Deng - his best position might actually be PF these days.

He lost a step, not as quick as used to be, his mediocre shooting doesn't hurt as much at PF, his cuts are more effective.

[QUIZ]

After Bosh went down I was excited to see what we'd look like. Even once Wade was ruled out I was excited to see Dragic lead the team.

I'd much rather watch a scrappy untalented team play their hearts out then watch a talented team laze around.

Clearly playing at a faster pace covers up a lot of our flaws.

Can't shoot 3's? Attempt more 2's.

Crappy spacing? Push the ball up before opposing defenses can set up.

Everybody just looks so much better. I think going forward we need to figure out how to properly play both ways. Wade can play fast some of the time but his presence changes the way guys play. People like McBob and Goran aren't going to be as loose because Wade's out there. Thats through no fault of his own, its just representative of the respect that those guys have for him.

Still I think he's perfectly suited to join the fast paced mayhem offensively. Defensively, getting back may be a bit of a challenge for him

Bosh may be a bit of a problem. He can get up and down the floor but offensively he prefers to slow it down, set it up and be methodical.

So once he gets back, we could try something like Wade and Bosh two man game with the starters and stagger Goran's minutes instead of Bosh's. Take Goran out early and bring him back late to run the bench. Going from the slowest team in the league to one of the fastest will no doubt throw opposing teams off balance.

[DWadeno3]

First of all, it's to not overreact to small sample sizes. We played a Hawks team that didn't perform to their abilities and caught a Wizards team on the back end of three games in three nights. Opposition was not exactly top notch, that has to be taken into consideration.

Second of all, roleplayers always step up when the big guns are out. They know they have to make up for some things, so they'll look to perform better. Don't let it fool you into thinking they could deliver such performances consistently, meaning over the stretch of 30 or more games.

Lastly, a faster pace should be implemented. I don't know where the notion comes from that Wade doesn't like to play fast. Nobody would benefit more from it than he does. In fact, I've often pointed out that he runs the lanes very well on breaks, but is often overlooked in favor of Goran dribbling the ball all the way to the rim.
Our lack of pace has been one thing that is on Spoelstra. Even during the Big Three era, with LeBron James and a healthier Wade we were playing incredibly slow. Are you gonna tell me LeBron doesn't like to play fast either?

[ZoStrong]

Deng has been great, but you can't expect that kind of production on a daily basis. He will however give you more with Wade and Bosh out.

Dragic, what can I tell you? This is how he plays when he's at his best, if you'd watched his Phoenix days. What's been bothering me was all the talks here wanting him traded because it seems he does not "fit" here and the "outrageous" contract he signed. In two years that contact will look like a bargain with all the 30+ million per year contacts. He's the only proven product other than the Big Two, who are either aging fast or a big health question mark. You gotta build around your proven commodity especially after you signed him into a long term contract. I still have a faith that Wade can play in this push-the-ball style offense. Reducing his minutes to 28 will do the trick, for the long regular season at least. Now going forward, we do need a better outside shooting to surround Dragic.

Also, someone mentioned when Wade is in the starting lineup, pulling Dragic early and putting him back in for Wade will be a solution to give Dragic to run the offense while Wade is sitting. Well, personally I really want to try Wade and the sixth man for a few games and see what happens. Dragic will be a token starter then, still feeling marginalized, losing confidence. I always believed that for his last couple of years in the league, Wade should a sixth man, winning the sixth man of the year honors playing about 28 minutes a game. Dragic can start the game with the ball in his hand, confidently controlling the offense and Wade can survey how the game is unfolding and come in fresh killing the tired first unit or sub par second unit.

[kayath]

Wade coming off a bench? Come on his ego would be hurt and most of his fans would be crying like little girls. We all know this is the best way how the team should be run. I just don't see that Wade would adjust to fit the system while this is still his team and not Spoelstras.

[3ballbomber]

We learned that Kade'ing or Wode'ing was never the answer. We also learned that anal sniffing causes long term softness issues. Let's not Kade & bumhole sniff ever again, for team work and ball movement was always the answer.

Team work good, hero ball bad

[BBallFreak]

Wade coming off a bench? Come on his ego would be hurt and most of his fans would be crying like little girls. We all know this is the best way how the team should be run. I just don't see that Wade would adjust to fit the system while this is still his team and not Spoelstras.

He would be such a perfect Ginobili, though. He and Whiteside off of the bench, along with McBob and Udrih, would be excellent. Green, Winslow, Dragic, Bosh, and Deng would run like gazelles. The energy would be astounding. Then we hit them with two of our best difference makers off the bench? Forget it!

[Ph4nt0m]

We can't really judge and make conclusions after 4 games, but some patterns are becoming very obvious to me:

First, in all preseason and these 4 games I can't for the life of me figure out what offense our team is running. I keep hearing/seeing this positionless basketball crap from Spo. I said it then and I'll repeat it now; Spo is overcomplicating the offense, hence the players are confused and overthinking. You can see it by picks, rolls, pops, cuts being too late/hesitant - looks slow.

Second, we aren't playing to our strengths/or the coaching staff is bad at recognizing them. Case in point, Hassan vs Hawks really had an advantage - we should've gone to him more and force the Hawks to change it up. Spo is really bad at adjusting mid-game.
Goran dribbling the ball over half court only to hand it over to Wade still boggles my mind. Though Goran has played like **** 'till now, stamina is not his only problem, Spo puts him in the most awkward positions on the court. He's not fast paced PG only, he can play half court.

Third, we need to have at least one quick trigger shooter on the floor at all times so that defenders are glued to him. A combo of Wade-TJ/Green and Goran-Green/TJ would definitely be better offensively. Goran, Deng, Bosh can hit 3s, but all have a slow release. McBob needs to take those open shots, teams have figured him out. The way Spo plays him currently only clogs the paint more. The NBA trend right now is that all 5 players can hit the 3. You have freaking A.D. and Boogie hitting them.
Pay attention to Frye in this video:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHrTo23K3Kw[/youtube]
Bledsoe 20pts, 4TO; Dragic 19pts, 4TO; won by 7
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9FvH4l0tWk[/youtube]
Wade 21pts, 4TO; Dragic 19pts, 4TO; lost by 6

This was 4 games in, then I decided not to watch this tragedy anymore until Goran gets the keys to the offense. It was obvious to me that the system that we started with won't bring us anywhere. Basketball can be so simple if you let the players do what they're good at and not force them into something they're not.

[HIF]

teams haven't planned for McBob to Whiteside or JRich getting 20 mins.

Role players should be less frightened to shoot, Wade and Bosh don't have to touch the ball every offense.

[miami305]

Couple things:

1. Deng seems like a great small-ball 4 when we're pushing the pace. Remember he's 6'8/9" with long arms so he can hold his own against most 4's. I'm interested to see how he would fare against a more traditional PF that uses strength to get his shots. He's also a great PnR defender and loves to blow up the play. On offense, it's obvious he thrives when we move the ball and our bodies and cause chaos for the defense. In the first half, he was a major reason we built our lead as we were finding him on cuts and he even crashed the O-boards along with Hassan to get some dirty points

2. J Rich is getting more comfortable and even though his outside shooting isn't as consistent as TJ, in spurts I think he can give some contributions in the backcourt during nights when wade sits out. His defense is a plus and loves to get out on the break as well.

3. McRoberts needs to get heavy minutes and be AGGRESIVE in those mins cause he takes such a load off our playmakers as he always knows where to put the ball. I think he can be the key to bridging the gap between this high energy pace we're seeing and our methodical game if/when Wade n Bosh get back to playing (playoffs). Good passing and decision making will thrive no matter who is on the floor.

[RexBoyWonder]

Another lesson I kinda already knew - Style MAKES OR BREAKS some players.

Dudes like Goran and Mcbob are to a degree system players - they have specific talents that will shine in the right environment, but they can also look very average (or worse) in a system that doesn't fit them.

Our issues don't seem to come from lack of overall talent, it's more the lacking use of the current talents for the collective good.

[Chalm Down]

Lastly, a faster pace should be implemented. I don't know where the notion comes from that Wade doesn't like to play fast. Nobody would benefit more from it than he does. In fact, I've often pointed out that he runs the lanes very well on breaks, but is often overlooked in favor of Goran dribbling the ball all the way to the rim.
Our lack of pace has been one thing that is on Spoelstra. Even during the Big Three era, with LeBron James and a healthier Wade we were playing incredibly slow. Are you gonna tell me LeBron doesn't like to play fast either?

Maybe he does? The Cavs were one of the slowest paced teams in the league before LeBron came to Miami and they're the same way now as well.

[3ballbomber]

Wade coming off a bench? Come on his ego would be hurt and most of his fans would be crying like little girls. We all know this is the best way how the team should be run. I just don't see that Wade would adjust to fit the system while this is still his team and not Spoelstras.

He would be such a perfect Ginobili, though. He and Whiteside off of the bench, along with McBob and Udrih, would be excellent. Green, Winslow, Dragic, Bosh, and Deng would run like gazelles. The energy would be astounding. Then we hit them with two of our best difference makers off the bench? Forget it!

I wouldn't be surprised if Wade came of the bench when he comes back form his knee issue - this would mean also that Spo grew some balls.

[littlerock2277]

Hey i had I question about bosh since I assume you guys would have more knowledge about his situation.

Do you know how long he maybe out for? Like I have him for fanstay and hearing about this bloodclot situation is very scary but I haven't heard anything since they said he was out.

Also I was wondering if I should drop him? deng is available in my league and hes been balling since bosh was out.

[Bishop45]

Hey i had I question about bosh since I assume you guys would have more knowledge about his situation.

Do you know how long he maybe out for? Like I have him for fanstay and hearing about this bloodclot situation is very scary but I haven't heard anything since they said he was out.

Also I was wondering if I should drop him? deng is available in my league and hes been balling since bosh was out.

They've been really hush about the situation which could mean anything. There's been a lot of hinting that he could return this season but I wouldn't buy into any of it... My guess would be, that he won't return but I usually assume the worse

[heat4life]

We spoke about this at length at the beginning of the season. Dragic needs to run the show and set the pace. Spo's vision of his teams has always been to run and push the pace. You can see him like a maniac on the sidelines every time we grab a defensive rebound.

The question was getting Wade - and to a lesser degree, Bosh - to buy into it. Wade's comfort zone has always been half court, give me the ball. Changing that line of thinking is Spo's biggest challenge and might've been his biggest failure thus far. It is not easy convincing a superstar like Wade that they need to get out of their comfort zone.

I really hope Wade buys into this pace and gets out and runs like in the Big 3 era. He is capable of doing it, he just needs to trust his teammates like he trusted LeBron and Co. to do it right. Like QUIZ said, we can't shoot 3's, then let's kill them with deadly 2's.

[DWadeno3]

We spoke about this at length at the beginning of the season. Dragic needs to run the show and set the pace. Spo's vision of his teams has always been to run and push the pace. You can see him like a maniac on the sidelines every time we grab a defensive rebound.

The question was getting Wade - and to a lesser degree, Bosh - to buy into it. Wade's comfort zone has always been half court, give me the ball. Changing that line of thinking is Spo's biggest challenge and might've been his biggest failure thus far. It is not easy convincing a superstar like Wade that they need to get out of their comfort zone.

I really hope Wade buys into this pace and gets out and runs like in the Big 3 era. He is capable of doing it, he just needs to trust his teammates like he trusted LeBron and Co. to do it right. Like QUIZ said, we can't shoot 3's, then let's kill them with deadly 2's.

Wade has been running the lanes well, whether it's in the Big Three era, the Shaq era and in the recent era. The pace of this team under Spoelstra has always been slow, even with a team consisting of Wade and LeBron. It's the way he prefers to play.