Kobewade11 wrote:SA37 wrote:
Miami is defense-first organization and Bam fits that perfectly. With Butler, Miami doesn't need Bam to be a top-15 player. He's a perennial DPOY candidate and is a 20-a-game scorer. How many other bigs fit that category? He is exactly the kind of player Miami looks for not only for his skills, but for the way he plays and the way he can set the tone culturally.
Look at the issues teams have to deal with with guys like Irving, Kawhi, Zion, Harden...etc. Character and personality matter.
Between Bam and Herro, both are going to have to step it up in the scoring department. Bam in particular - the defensive stuff is nice but he’s playing on a max contract, 10 points a game isnt going to cut if we are serious about contending for a championship. Jimmy is going to need help.
I also have to push back on this notion that we dont need Bam to be a top 15 player. Isnt that the kind of leap that drastically raises the ceiling for this team?
We can't judge Bam and Herro on a handful of games against the Hawks. It's disappointing they are playing so far below what they are capable of, but it would be imprudent to make decisions based on that.
My opinion is the league is unfathomably talented and making the top 15 is tough. Consider you have ~10 players who could be the MVP in any given year: Curry, LeBron, Kawhi, Embiid, Giannis, Jokic, Doncic, KD, Paul...you could in theory add Tatum, Irving, Harden, Lillard, AD, Ja Morant, Jimmy Butler...etc to this list.
I don't think Bam can sustain the level Giannis, Embiid, or Jokic play at, but he certainly has the talent to do it for stretches and is possibly better than anyone in the next tier of players behind those bigs/forwards (KAT, Gobert, AD, Randle, Ayton, Siakam)



















