What is krack alacking hardwink Ox listeners, I am Dan Valley coming at you
once more without my fantabulous co host Adam Promo. It is time to wrap
up our NBA Team look Ahead series, the thirtieth and final team, the
Miami Heat. I have brought on Alanna to Howur from five Reason Sports.
She is a podcast host over there. She's a co host of the Field
the Heat podcast does a fantastic job with that. Follow her on Twitter at
Alanna to Howard that's at a L l A n A t A c h
a u e R. We have a great conversation about all things in Miami.
She almost sold me on them wasting a roster spot emphasis on wasting on
your donus Haslam. But before we get started, I just want to remind
Employer Beg continue pleading with everyone to keep raiding, reviewing, and subscribing to
Hardwin Knox wherever you get your podcast. That is the best way to help
us out in the charts. If you've been listening to this podcast while and
have not done that on iTunes, especially whether or not you use iTunes,
we asked that you head over to iTunes search Hardmon Knox. Throw us that
five star rating and also write or review those help us out a ship ton.
If this is your first time listening to the podcast because you're a huge
Miami Heat fan, or just curious about the Miami Heat, or you've stumbled
upon us completely, utterly, randomly, without a cause, welcome, consider
throwing us that permanent subscription. We cover the entire MBA at large and are
pleasantly sub mediocre and only modestly insufferable about it. Follow us on Twitter at
Hardwood Knox. Follow us on YouTube go to YouTube dot com search Harder Knox.
We come up the team look aheads for all the other squads twenty nine
aside from the Heat are up there as well. In addition to our landing
page at MBA math follow us on Instagram at Hardwood Underscore Knox. With all
of the housekeeping notes out of the way, let's talk some Miami Heat with
five reasons sports is Alana to how our Alanna. Thank you so much for
jumping on the Hardwood Knox podcast to talk some Miami Heat with me. This
is the final team look ahead that we're doing. The thirtieth team. They
were debuting on Wednesday this week so I thought they were one of the teams
I could leave for last. I'm excited to dig into the Miami Heat first
and foremost, though, how are you doing. I'm doing great, And
I love that you saved this for last, like saving the best for last.
I feel like you're bringing good vibes already to the Miami Heat. Anyways,
Look, you've never appeared on this podcast before too, so we just
had to make sure that, like we book ended it with a first time
appearance. And the Heat I think are going to be like the team that
pisses off opponents the most of any other team, just looking at their projected
starting five. So it just feels like a fitting ending to this. And
there there's like when I was going through the outline to send you, I
feel like I didn't have enough interesting questions but the team itself because there's so
many known quantities on it. But the team itself is just polarizing as hell,
which honestly is so on brand for me as a human being, Like
I feel like I'm a very acquired taste. So the fact that now the
Miami Heat have the roster they do and it's just a bunch of dogs,
like I'm just so excited for the season to start. What if we have
to start here Kyle Lowry, which was somehow they got the deal done like
two seconds into free agency. That's really quick work without having to agree to
anything beforehand, that has been in like the ether for months. It's funny
how that was just such a given that he was going to Miami. Would
have been your impressions of his fit so far, and even just looking beyond
that, like what is just the biggest element or addition that he's going to
bring that go on draggage did not for them, aside from probably being available
for more games. So I am a huge Gorn fan and it broke my
heart. I really thought that there was going to be some way we could
work out to keep them both. I understand why they couldn't, and I
obviously wish him the best. I will say I still think Gorn retires as
a member of the Miami Heat, even if it's just a one year contract
on the line. But there's no question that you know, Kyle brings something
way more to the table, and it might not even be xs and os,
although I do think a little bit of that, but just for this
particular team and the fit of the guys around him. He is a godsend
to BAM already, I think and again, and I don't like to make
judgments offt preseason. I don't think they're necessarily super indicative of what's to come.
But I think what we've seen already his passing alone is crazy. Like
I've started just calling him quarterback Kyle because I think it's insane. His vision
is there. I just think he's looking to not only be obviously a score,
but make other guys better. And I think it's really going to help
BAM the Jimmy as well. He's like and I don't know, like I
said before we recorded this, I haven't watched like whole preseason games, so
I don't know if they're using him like this. He's very good connective tissue,
like Kyle Lowry will scream without the ball on offense as a guard,
which is just absurd. And I think I even saw making it the rounds
on Twitter. He fans being impressed, like he's just gonna he's gonna shoot
above the break threes in transition. My Kyle Lowry's just going to do that.
So and his personality just makes with Jimmy Butler's personality with also cut with
PJ. Tucker's personality, that is going to be eminently watchable. I guess
for fans who are like of not the other team, if you're playing the
Heat, I feel like that's the team that you probably don't want to play
this season. Yeah, And the thing is, I think Gorn's really tough,
and I do feel like he fits the culture very well in a different
way, but I don't think he was as outspoken in the sense of,
you know, now, Jimmy has kind of a partner in crime. If
Jimmy's barking at someone, Kyle's going to be there barking at him too.
And honestly, I don't think anyone but Kyle would bark at Jimmy, and
sometimes Jimmy might need that this season. So I do think, you know,
from a fit standpoint, even off the court, he's a really great
addition. I think he can do a little bit of everything. I also
think just the way he's built defensively, he's going to give us a little
bit more too. He's up there in age kind of like Gorn. But
Gorn's had some health issues that unfortunately have really hindered him. I think,
you know him dealing with his back spasms, he was not as explosive,
and I don't think that Kyle, hopefully he's going to deal with anything like
that. So I just think his physicality is going to be huge for us
too. Glad you got like half a year off too last season. Who's
the Raptors just decided they weren't going to try to win games? So maybe
that helps. Did you like the I forgot to ask you this now,
and did you like the PJ Tucker addition or you at all worried about kind
of how much he gives back on a fence in the regular season because he's
so low volume, just so low volume. I am so excited for PJ.
And I might be the only person in Heat Nation that feels this way.
I definitely see his shortcomings and I think he has some work to do,
but just his aggressiveness, he automatically bought into the culture, which obviously
is huge for us. I think he fits our identity really well, and
I just think that he is going to do more than people think he's coming
off of a championship. I think he has a chip on his shoulder now
to kind of stay at that level that he was playing at. He still
needs, obviously time to get in a little bit better of shape. PJ
is gonna be PJ at the end of the day. You know, he's
built a specific way, but I think he has some work to do that
way. But I think he's going to be a better shooter than people are
giving him credit for too. Yeah, I mean he can knock them down.
I'm just maybe Jimmy can get him to take more like he he doesn't
take enough shots even when he's open. The one thing I'm curious about with
them, and I know I actually got the rotation later on just looking at
who's behind bam Adebayo, is there a chance that we do see some PJ
Tucker at the four in Miami since there's really like only Dwayne Deadman kind of
vying for those minutes. Yeah, I'm curious to see what happens there.
I have been a little bit critical, like openly so SPO over the years,
just because I think his rotations sometimes he gets tunnel vision and he doesn't
necessarily adjust based on the opponent, but even on what's happening in the game.
I think that that could be kind of a secret weapon he could use,
obviously depending on how we're doing and who we're up against. There's also
the possibility that, you know, Deadman does not necessarily have as much energy.
He's a little bit older. And also I just think because if his
size, he can't necessarily last as long, whereas PJ seems a little built,
more built for that kind of role. So I don't know, it
is going to be interesting to see. I think that's kind of the hole
that they need to figure out how to fill. BAM their actual starting center
when you look at kind of how old they skew. Now, like he
becomes even more important because of what he means. Like now like he is
the he's the swing star. They have three stars, but like he's the
star that you look at and you can envision getting better. Still, what
does the next You know, he sprinkled in more mid rangers last year,
we know what he can do as a passer, we know his value on
defense. What does sort of the next level look like for him? You
know, I waver on kind of what I want from BAM in terms of
specifically him taking more threes. I think a lot of people that's what they're
gutting for from him this season, and it'd be great. I don't think
that's something he should limit himself on, but for me personally, I just
want him to look at himself more as the primary scorer. It's not to
say that I think he's going to be every gamer he even needs to be,
but I think part of his problem is that he, at least last
season, didn't necessarily feel like the guy, and he needs to feel like
that because to your point, his age makes him kind of the cornerstone now
of this franchise. We are on Jimmy's timeline, but Bam is kind of
what we're going towards the future in I think though he's coming in with that
gold medal, and I think already having Kyle and the team is going to
help his mentality that way. So I just want to see him be more
aggressive and really just take ownership of the fact that he is the guy on
the team. IDENT agree with you as you put It'd be nice if he
started shooting threes, but I just want to see him be more aggressive looking
for his own scoring in general. I would look, if you want someone
on this team to take more threes, I'd rather Jimmy Butler took more threes
than bam Adebayo at this point. Yeah, and you know, this was
an argument that we were having, I think over on kluch Forner a few
weeks back, because everyone was expecting Bam to take more threes. But then
you know, people were like, well, what about Jimmy, And that
is a good question. It's never been Jimmy's game necessarily, but I think
that if they both work on it, they can balance each other out.
However, you know, in terms of three point shooting, we have Duncan
Pj's there now. Even Tyler, I think, is going to focus on
that too, So I don't necessarily need Bam to put all his stock in
becoming a more of a three point threat. I just want him to be
more aggressive across the board. Jimmy Butler is coming off such a bizarre season
because I think you look at it, what he did, it might have
been the best season of his career. It was probably one of the top
two seasons of his career. If it wasn't the absolute best, do you
worry about drop off at although at the age of thirty two, and I
kind of mentioned it's not even just about the volume of threes. He's just
not been that good of a jump shooter in Miami. There was in the
bubble, like you had that stretch in the postseason where he was knocking down
three like just everything, But he really just hasn't been a good jump shooter.
And while that's you know, he has the rim pressure he gets to
the line, all the facilitating that he does, it just feels like,
if you're gonna be a power win in this league, it'd be nice if
those fell at a higher clip, or if you were more confident in him
being able to take more of those jumpers. Not even curious, it's to
like, what is the reason that threes became like such a tertiary part of
his game in Miami, Like you said, they've never been in the crux,
Like there's been a very clear like decline in those attempts since he arrived
to the Heat. Yeah, I personally am not worried about drop off.
I think Jimmy was absolutely exhausted going into this past year. I think that
between obviously being in the bubble and then not really having much of it season,
then going into what I'm still going to call an Asterix year for the
rest of the time, and I don't care who tries to oppose me on
this. But also we have to remember he had COVID, and I don't
think that's talked about enough. I know there were some reports that came out
that he lost a bunch of weight. He said he didn't lose that much,
but the muscle mass wasn't there when he came back, and I just
think that it slowed him down. So I'm not really worried about that.
I will say, in terms of kind of what his game has looked like,
I think it's definitely going to change up a little bit this season,
just with all the new additions. I think the fact that you know,
he now has Kyle and that again hopefully Band's going to be more aggressive.
I think his game is going to look more like kind of peak Jimmy,
And you know, if he can give us anything close to what he looked
like in the bubble during those two three games where he was just kind of
shooting lights out and taking, you know, the bearing of the weight of
the team on his back, I think we'll be in good shape. The
perception of Tyler Hero definitely veered like too far from reality. I think a
lot of it had to do with that report that the Heat wouldn't includ him
and James Harden trade back. My theory there, as our listeners know,
is that the Heat had no real pathway to getting James Harden in the first
place, So why not just leave that you're not willing to give up Tyler
Hero so that Tyler Hero doesn't think you're willing to give him up. He
like didn't as the year went on. I think he got some valuable point
guard reps under his belt. His pull up three got better later in the
season after the All Star break, he finished better around the basket. There
still seems like there's a potentially really good player in there. I'm wondering if
his life gets so much easier with Kyle Lowry here now too. I'm just
curious what your expectations are for him leading into two year three and what this
team actually needs from him looking at how the rest of the roster is built.
Yeah, it's funny that you use the word expectation, because, to
be honest, I think that was his downfall. I just think that Heat
fans expected way too much of him. He looked tremendous in the bubble but
again, the bubble was very well suited for the Miami Heat. It's kind
of I honestly think that if any team benefited from the bubble the most,
it was Miami. And so I think between the expectation and just he's a
polarizing figure. Whether it be just because you know, I don't know,
he's very confident in himself. He has a certain swag to him. He
obviously had you know, deals off the court too. People just didn't really
like him, and I think that got to his head. And I think
to your point, if you look at the raw numbers, he actually didn't
have that bad of a season. It's just based on the expectation and the
fact that he was not very consistent. You know, he's been killing it
in preseason. I think the last game he had like thirty some points.
I don't expect that from him. I'm looking at probably sixteen to eighteen points
a game, and I actually think that would be more than enough. I'm
looking for, you know, him to bring a spark off the bench and
kind of re energize that second unit. And and I know we're going to
get to this later. I actually think that he should probably be in in
those closing minutes because there's just something about him. He has that clutch chain.
He lives for those big moments on the court. So I just want
consistency from him. I want, you know, more threes, and I
want the confidence back because that was all so lost. I think around the
trade deadline, when he was starting to get you know, mentioned in trade
packages across the league. Who do you if he's coming off the bench,
how do you sort of envision that second unit chacking out in the sense that
I can't imagine like the heater going to stagger their stars. So which star
is he going to end up spending the most time alongside? I hope it's
Lowry. I think that would be tremendous for him. I also think a
lot of it is contingent on, you know, how Depot looks when he
gets back. I think everyone can agree that he's definitely the X factor this
year, not only in terms of the timeline of his return, but what
he's able to do once he does come back. I also think it's going
to be interesting to see Tyler kind of take maybe Duncan's spot in kind of
those closing minutes. Duncan is a tremendous shooter, and I think that he
also has the ability to remain calm. But there's just something about Tyler that,
again, he just lives for those bigger moments, and I'd actually rather
him close out games. I think also just the method with which he attacks.
Like Duncan Robinson just he had one wild play in the preseason where he
put like the hit like this off the dribble jump or whatever he did,
But Tyler cho was gonna put the ball on the floor a lot more,
and that just puts a different kind of pressure on defenses, where like Robinson's
very much the thread of his range and just his movement. So I would
that's gonna be an interesting decision for them because that you did pay Duncan Robinson,
so he's not going to be in your closing unit unit. You did
mention Victor Ladipo, though I feel like it's not talked about enough because it's
been years since he's the player that everyone since he made All MBA I think
it was like four seasons ago, eighteen, whatever it was. At this
point, he just might be like one of the biggest swing factors in the
entire league at this point because you look at the heats roster and it's good
at the top. Maybe don't feels good about it at the bottom. But
if all of a sudden, like you get sixty sixty five percent of the
player that Victor Oladipo was, if he gets healthy, like this team just
gets infinitely better because of the pressure he puts on defenses off the dribble,
the way he can defend. And so do you have a sense of it
does seem like the expectations that he'll play this season and then what is kind
of like the ideal role for him looking at the rest of the roster assuming
he does return this season. Yeah, the timeline is still up in the
air. I think originally they had said January. Then I saw November.
I'm gonna guess maybe December. But this is coming from no information. I
that is wild that this is swung by because there are people that think he
was gonna play it all this season and it was like, well maybe January,
Well maybe it'll be before Like that is just like that timeline is all
over the place. Yeah, and you know what I was going to say
is that whatever, whatever the case, maybe when he comes back, I
just hope that it's a slow role because my fear is that, you know,
everyone's going to be so excited that he comes back. He is kind
of an X factor for the team. They want to get him acclimated in
there to just see kind of what they're working with as we get closer to
the trade deadline. But I just hope that they understand that, you know,
he's not going to be himself coming in. He himself is not going
to be himself. But on top of it, you know, it is
kind of a new squad and he only I think played four games for us
last season, so we didn't really get a lot of reps with the guys.
Anyway, I hope he's coming off the bench, and I hope it's
limited minutes for quite some time, because again, we don't really need him
till the later half of the season. I'm excited to see what he does.
I think that I would stick him probably in the second unit, but
maybe that's just because I'm cautious on him. Yeah, I mean, if
they started him coming back, like and it's even who do you bounce because
it might be easier to bounce Tyler Robinson for Tyler Hero But I don't know
if you want to pull Tyler hero for all the deep and when he's like
even more of a questionable shooter and hasn't played basketball like a super high level,
were full board roughly forever. Yeah, And I think also, you
know, just judging from preseason, the pace has picked up so much for
us that you know, do you really want to put a guy coming off
injury and throw him into that. I just think they're being cautious. Is
going to be key here, and I fully obviously trust the Miami doctors and
kind of the medical staff that way. But I'm excited for him to come
back. We got him for so cheap too, that it's kind of it's
worth the trouble. Yeah, they were smart from a team perspective with the
way they were able to keep his bird right. So like, if he
does have a breakout year, it is going to cost a ton of money.
They have the option of still paying him. I did find it you
mentioned the pace that the team is playing. You know that it's like frantic
when Jimmy Butler says it's hard to play at Kyle Lowry's pace, like one.
I think that was my favorite preseason quote related to the actual game.
Because for Jimmy Butler of all people to say that is just absolutely amazing.
Yeah. I you know, I don't necessarily consider us slow by any means,
but there were moments and we tend to kind of go off of what
the opponent is doing, and I hate that. I hope that's something that
changes. I remember I think at some point last season we were playing the
Pacers and I almost couldn't watch it, Like I just it was so slow
and it was just the dullest game. But I think we're going to be
across the board just quicker, and I hope that Kyle pushes the pace regardless
of who we're playing. Yeah, look, he's so Miami was thirteenth last
year and the percentage of their possessions that were finished in transition, Lowie was
running the team that was number one in to Rome know, it's like he's
very much going to force him to get up and down the floor and that,
you know, that's entertaining to watch. I also think it's it's variants
in the way that you play, and I think that that's super important.
Yeah, and I think that, you know, it might be a little
bit troublesome when you think of some of the older guys or the guys who
don't necessarily, you know, have that explosiveness. But for Bam that shouldn't
be a problem, and Duncan and Tyler I think are definitely going to benefit
from that too. Who is going to be more important to this team this
season, Max Strus or Gabe Vincent. Oh, I'm going with Struce and
it's not anything against Vincent. I think people are really down on Gabe,
and I don't really understand why. I don't think we saw enough from him
last year to really make kind of an assumption of how he's going to be
this year. I also think he looked pretty good during the Olympics, but
I understand why. You know, if you're going from Kyle to him,
it is quite a jump. And that's why I think the second unit is
really gonna, you know, be led by Depot and by Tyler. Max
Strew so looks a lot better already. I think he stayed in game shape.
He led the team so well in Summer League. I think he bulked
up. I think that's gonna help him on both ends of the floor.
And I just think he's gonna get more reps in so all. I need
from him is honestly consistency, because I think he didn't really have a chance
to find his rhythm. He hit some wild shots in Summer League and was
defending his butt off too, and it's like, if that's just how he's
gonna play, that would be that would be my pick as well. Although
I guess you can consider like Tyler hero the backup point guard, but like
there's really no one else aside from him and Gabe Vincent to fill that role
too. Yeah, And I think that, you know, they are so
different. You know, Gabe came out and so that he just wants to
be a traditional point guard. He's you know, he's gonna put up buckets,
but he's mostly looking to facilitate, which I actually think is a smart
move because I think if people were worried about his shooting, the fact that
he's not necessarily relying on himself to make that happen for the second unit is
super important, and I think getting Tyler the ball as much as possible is
going to be key. Before Victor Oladipo comes back, it feels like there
are just seven Givens in their rotation with Lowry, Butler, Duncan Tucker,
Bam Hero and then Deadman. How do you see like those you know,
and maybe they run deeper than ten, maybe they don't even run ten,
But like, how would you the final three guys in their top ten rotation?
How would you that shaking out prior to Victor Oladipo's return. Yeah,
I mean, I think you probably have to put Struce in there. I
feel like Caleb Martin and Keith are going to be the two question marks for
me because I think we saw some of what they can do in the preseason,
but I don't think it was enough. I also just don't again,
I don't like to rely in preseason because those rotations and those lineups are not
indicative of what's to come. Jimmy didn't play some of the games, Kyle
was sitting at some point. I think Caleb Martin though already showing promise,
and I think that I know people are worried about Keith. I just think
he needs more time to kind of learn our system and honestly work on himself
a little bit more in the gym. He's coming off an injury last season.
So I would say probably those three. The fact that you mentioned Martiv
Morris the fact you mentioned Martin, it begs the question should we be concerned
about this team's depth after it's top six or seven players. Yes and no.
So I think there's still room for improvement, absolutely, but I don't
think that we should be as concerned as maybe name recognition says. Again,
I know it's preseason, but the fact that our G League team pulled off
that win against the Hornets, they are now you know, signed some of
them to two ways. Some of them went to the G League to kind
of work on their game. But if we were able to do that and
we have guys still like Dirt, I think will be okay. I do
still hope we make a move or two at the trade deadline after we,
I guess, kind of figure out how things are looking and also what Depot
is kind of going to bring to the table. But you know, I
don't think that we need to be as worried as maybe I would have been
going in, you know, going into the summer. Who do you views,
since you brought it up as the right now the player that would be
most likely to be traded by the deadline on this roster. That's a good
question. I you know, if we were going into before preseason, I
would have still said Tyler because I just think that he was on shaky ground.
We weren't sure what they were going to get out of him, but
he put in the work. Everyone is praising him, including Jimmy again,
so I don't really know. I think that if we were to make a
move, I have a feeling it's going to be a smaller move and maybe
moving some of our more low key pieces. Pj's contract is pretty hefty,
so that's gonna be hard if people do want him gone. So it's going
to be interesting to see. But I kind of hope it's not Tyler at
this point. I just want him to flourish. Heare. What's interesting,
they seem very much like a team that will probably make their most substantial moves
on the buy out market because their seventh highest paid player is Kasey Akpola at
one point eight million dollars, and so you get into the issue of what
are you matching salary with At that point, you're not trade lowerry, you're
not trading Bam, and you're not trading Butler. Are you willing to move
Tucker? Are you willing to move Duncan Robinson? At that point if you
want to make a big move, I think clearly, Hero It's just like
that is the sweetener that you have, like that is the cornerstone type trade
asset, which is why I just don't expect them to be They're normally like
pat Riley teams are always aggressive. It feels like leading into the trade deadline
saw that with you know, they didn't give up much to get Victor Ladipo,
but they swum at Victor Ladipo at all this past year. I just
don't know if that opportunity is going to be there this season because the way
that they're their books are structured, it feels very much like they're gonna have
to bank on like the buyout market yielding someone or a couple of someone's.
You know what's really sad and I hate that I just did this, but
I forgot Casey was on the team. I didn't even mention him, mentioned
him in the trade packages, I didn't mention him in the roster my second
rounders. Did they give up to draft him twelve thirteen? Like it just
it hurts me because he seems like a really good kid, and he does
seem like someone who is trying nothing infuriates me more than you know a player
who kind of gives up on himself and his team allah Ben Simmons. But
it's just not working. I think that both sides need to change. I
think, you know, Casey will be much better off somewhere else. If
you even look at what Precious has done so far in Toronto, it's a
better fit. And he was not looking good for us. So I hope
we can find a way to move him. And it's nothing against him.
I just I want him to develop more, and I just I don't want
him to take up a spot on our roster anymore. But it's okay that
UD takes up a spot and doesn't. Oh absolutely, you d has a
spot for as long as he wants. That man is a staple and he's
not. To me, it's crazy that people are like, we're taking up
a Roster's like, he does more for this team probably than a lot of
the coaching staff at this point, just because he's been ingrained in that culture
for so long. Then put him on the coaching staff. I can't.
But he doesn't want to be a coach, which I don't really I that's
the part. I don't really get you're already coaching the guys you're barely playing,
like, may as well make the transition. Just yeah him as a
coaching him wear warm ups instead of like whatever coaching office there. I'm very
much don't you know, if you want to trade Kzy, don't want him
on the roster, fine, but like there's clearly someone who doesn't belong on
any of I think you're only the second person i've heard say this, what
that you'd rather like not you d have a spot on a roster that I
really I thought that would just be like the sweeping to like I get,
I get there's value in like the emotional aspect that he can bring to a
team. You don't need to be taking up a roster spot to do that.
I wonder though, for them if like they don't, if they're just
kind of looking at it more as if he goes, part of the culture
dies because he is that like the last remaining from like the old school mentality,
and I think Riley really does value that, So I don't. I
don't know. Every year people are like, oh, this is year,
and then Udi's like, no, it's not. I'm still around. So
I'm fine with it. Stay as long as you want good, let me
make clear good for you. D I just I don't think it's the smartest
like franchise decision. I don't think it's crippling. But if you're sitting here
talking about, like, you know, should Kazy be on the roster?
I think it's fair to be like, well, should you do then be
on the roster. But then you don't have culture moments like when you have
Kyle and Jimmy Butler. Yeah, but he put his finger in Dwight Howard's
face, and I now have that on a T shirt, Like I can't
not have that T shirt. That's the most convincing argument that I've heard yet
to keep him the roster. So there you go. Their defense should just
be flames. I don't like, I don't even even during I don't view
them as like this. And we'll get into this a little bit. I
don't few them as like this super dangerous regular season team because they're very much
built for the playoffs, and I think they'll care about let's get in the
top six, avoid the play in but I don't think they're gonna go fullball
after your home court advantage. That being said, even with me thinking that
I feel like their defense is gonna be absolutely spectacular. Where do you think
they sort of wind up ranking in the context of the rest of the league.
It better be top five, I mean, from from what I see,
I mean, I somewhat agree with you on the playoffs stand although because
they have a chick up on their shoulder, I kind of feel like they
want to dominate the regular season and the playoffs if that's possible. Like,
I feel like they're just gonna shoot for the stars, but we better be
top five because if there's anything besides the fact that our identity is so tough
coming out of this roster, it is our defense, and top five is
just I guess I'm like sort of thinking, like, are they gonna play
Kyle Lowry all the time? Play PJ Talker all the time? And then
I guess I would be just more because I'm like, what does the second
unit defense kind of look like when you're playing a bunch of those guys.
Demon was fine for them last year, but we're like two three seasons removed
from Dwyane Deman being really good. I still think they're like floor is tenth.
I'm just like I d I landed I think at seventh or eighth when
I went through it, I think I might just been being too conservative about
who I think is gonna play during the regular season or how much they care
about it. I think Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry are just wired to care
if they're gonna play. I'm just curious, Like it's tough for me to
get a feel for how committed to the regular season this team is going to
be and if they are going after it. I'm just gonna be in the
back of my mind a little terror fied, Like is Tucker or Lowry or
Butler just gonna be too tired when the games start to matter even more?
Yeah, I mean I think that's fair. I also think that again,
because we are pretty revamped, it's gonna be kind of a combination of all
these new guys coming coming together with their own personal chips. But I think
the chip is there on literally every guy's shoulder. I think Tyler wants to
prove himself too, which I think is going to be huge. So I'm
just gonna go all go all in and say top five. I'm not I'm
not even usually the girl with like these crazy hot takes like I'm usually pretty
realistic, but like, I'm just gonna aim for the stars on this one.
Well, I mean, you could tell me they finished first inn like
that wouldn't shock me. Just based on their personnel, that's f I am
curious to see, Like are they gonna just given the defenders they have now,
Like, are they still gonna be running all this zone. Maybe that's
a way to like sort of conserve their energy, and I know Spoke kind
of loves that. But they'll be fascinating. So they could be the best
defensive team in the league if they want to be. I just don't know
if they're going to be incentivized to be. I just I would not want
to face this team if everyone's playing you're on the second night of a back
to back in January, maybe you're on the road two and used to go
up against like the Heat starting lineup. That's just like, if I'm a
Star, I'm dipping from that game. I'm just you know what, I
need a rest night. Yeah, And I mean I think that, you
know, that's what type of team pat Riley wants. Like this, I've
been saying this. I feel like this is the closest to Heat identity we've
had in a long time. There have been bits and pieces along the way.
I think Jimmy's a great culture guy, but I think as a whole
we've kind of lost our identity in these past like two three years, and
I think it's fully back now. Does this team have enough shooting? I
sure hope. So what's interesting about this team to me is I don't think
that you can pinpoint from one night to the next who's going to be the
top scorer. I think there's people who you can probably guess, and there's
probably like a running list of three four guys that are rotating. But I
really think they're playing team ball this season, which I mean is exciting.
And the fact that you know, God forbid, but injuries do happen.
Guys need rest. I also think that's super helpful for you know, the
position of defenders not really knowing who's going to go off. So I think
if you're looking at it kind of guy by guy, Yeah, the shooting
might be questionable, but the fact that on any given night anyone can step
up, I think is going to be huge. And I also think that's
probably where Kyle Lowry helps out the most, is that the heat were.
I think they were twenty second in the frequency with which they took above the
break threes as a percentage of their shots. That is something that he can
remedy. I'm just curious, like from a pure and I you know you
mentioned it. They could definitely have different leading scores from night tonight, which
means that their offense could sort of come through different operations. But once you
get past like Lowry, you have Duncan Robinson, you can probably count on
PJ. Tucker to hit some corner threes and then Tyler Heroes. Fine,
it almost feels like they need like another player, like whether it's Max Strus
or is this the year that wasn't Gabe Vincent, like yo here for his
shooting in the first place, Like maybe this is the year that comes together
for him. It feels like they need another player to sort of pop from
three point range to really maximize their offense because and I guess that'd be My
next question is like I don't there's a pathway to this team being like a
top ten or twelve offensive team, but I kind of expect him to be
more like even as good as they are, like in that fifteen to twenty
range because I'm so iffy on like their general rotations floor space and maybe not
of the best lineups, but just the rotation at large. Yeah, I
think that definitely is a concern, But for me, it's actually more so
of a concern of Housepo utilizes guys, and I'm not trying to criticize him.
He's an elite coach. He's done a great job. I actually think
that he didn't get enough credit during the Big Three era, But just lately
it's like he has tunnel vision and he can't pivot and it drives me nuts.
I think it's gonna be Max trus So I think to your point,
someone else needs to step up. I am more willing to bet that Max
gets more minutes and he has a higher kind of volume shooting year than Gabe,
especially after Gabe's comments of not, you know, necessarily wanting to be
looked at as a shooter, but more so a traditional point guard. Maybe
you know that is the one thing that we're missing at the trade deadline,
is not necessarily a big name, but kind of an undiscovered star who can
just empty the clip when we need him to. Yeah, look I will,
I'm I'm gonna sound an alarm every time Max Drews hits an off the
dribble three pointer, because I think he's gonna take. He took like seven
or something of them last year. I think I'm gonna smash the over on
that, assuming he gets mints, which I like you think that he will.
So, whether it's harping on a specific position or just skill set,
what is this team's overall biggest weakness. I would probably say rebounding, and
I think that it's not gonna be, hopefully as bad as people think it
is, but I do think it's something to keep in mind. I just
think that some guys are gonna have to step out of their comfort zone a
little bit and help on that side a little more. Hopefully, though,
if Bam is more aggressive, that can definitely help out. I think even
Lowry's defense is better. I think Tyler is going to be more helpful at
Arena two. But I am just a little bit concerned about our size,
because you know, if you're thinking about going against the Bucks, I don't
really see what what we've done to change that, except for you know,
maybe adding PJ. I think that we're definitely gonna struggle against guys like Jannis
and teams like the Bucks. But I hopefully don't think it's going to be
as bad as kind of I'm feeling. Yeah, I think the rebound is
a really fair concern. If there's any consolation. Kyle Lowrys has only ranked
lower than the seventieth percentile as a defensive rebounder in his position once in his
career, so I think he wants to get the ball, get out and
go, and PJ. Tucker will at least box out, which is probably
like a novelty for a heat forward at this point. So maybe that helps.
But that's a fair like you Bam has never been like that dominant guy
on the glass, and even though he's a true big, like he's not
big was he's six nine like it in hues right, So yeah, that'll
be interesting to see how that plays out. I think some people will harp
on their lack of shot blocking, at least on paper. I just when
you look at the way that SPO likes to defend, and then just the
type of the defenders that they have, I can't bring myself to care about
the number of blocks that Yeah, that's just not something. I mean,
what are we back in the Hassan white Side days where he's like trying to
lead. I mean, it's just and listen, I actually I think Hassan's
fun. I think he's just an overgrown child. I think people expected too
much of him. He is who he is. But like, I don't
think we necessarily need to like be top five or even even top ten really
in blocks, that's just not the game that we're playing. Yeah, the
Hassan Whiteside felt a little entitled at one point, evere me the wrong way.
But yeah, as soon as you sign that contract, if you don't
play the way that like people expect you to, like, everyone just views
you differently. And I'm with like his not so much anymore. But like
his snapchats were like a breath of fresh air. We were hilarious. He
was my favorite snap follow honestly, probably of all time. Like I don't
know if anyone ranks higher. Maybe Benny the Bowl because they were they were
doing some good things with that campaign, but like for a while there,
Hassan just yeah, he took he took the leaderboard on that one, and
like I don't, I just he is who he is. I think the
money definitely played a big part of it. But like that's good for him,
Like anyone's gonna want to get paid. Oh, I'm very pro players
getting paid. I just if teams are stupid, like team I don't even
know that that was stupid what he did, Like he played really well.
It just felt like, I don't know, we shouldn't go through that heat.
Ever, they made a bunch of questionable decisions then. But yeah,
his snapchat was I never really used snapchat, but he would always pop up
like people would record it. Didn't he announced that he like resigned with the
Heat via snapchat too. Wasn't that something? Yeah? Yeah, And he's
just known from mispelling everything. He had like a whole thing of Koi fish
in his house, like he he would record what his chef was cooking.
It was just like a day in the life every day if Hassan Whiteside.
Yeah, And it was like, look, I couldn't stand d white Howard
basically even at his peak, and like I always found a sun white Side
at least tolerable off the court. And look now that he's on a minimum
deal on a really good team, I bet you there's like an Assan Whiteside
appreciation resurgence because he's Rudy Gobert's back up, and that team will probably be
really good when he's when as on Whiteside on the court, not Hassan Whiteside
podcast apparently though, that's what I'm being told at the moment. So you
already mentioned the crunch time lineup, and it is to some extent, or
maybe to a huge extent, matchup dependent for this team. But if you
had to pick a go to crunch time lineup, what would it be?
I really just think it's our starters plus Tyler. So I have, you
know, Kyle, Jimmy Bam Tyler, and see I don't. I'm going
with PJ personally just because of his defense, just because he has that championship
experience. Now, I think I believe more in PJ than anyone else.
And maybe it's foolish and I might change my mind a week into the season,
but that's what I see happening. I to your point, do hope
though, that it's dependent on not only the matchup but how things are going
for us. I also have to say that I feel like if Duncan is
hot and he's kind of on a streak, pulling him might not be the
best idea, even if necessarily I still think Tyler is a better closer,
So I think it really depends on how Duncan's looking too. I agree with
everything you said. My preference would be that if Tyler here is going to
be in the closing lineup, I'd be yanking Pja Talker over Duncan Robins.
I'm in love with Duncan Robinson. I just can can they coexist? Though?
Because that's my problem, Like Tyler and Duncan together make me nervous,
which is fair, But aren't we at the point where, like you need
to find out if they could co existence you kind of build your future around
that. It's like the Spurs with Derek White and Deshante Murray. It's like,
these dudes need to play together a bunch at some point. Might as
well just make it now. And also, what better way to sort of
in my mind, have both of them in the lineup than if you have
Bam, Jimmy and Kyle Lowry. Is like the three like defensive pieces around
them. Yeah, no, that's fair, And I do think that in
the past SPO has been kind of hesitant to play certain guys together. I
think we saw precious and Bam on the court once for like three minutes a
whole season, and that was crazy to me that we didn't try that more
either, considering like it was kind of make it or break it for Precious.
He was looking awful, so why not at least try So that is
kind of a good point and I do wonder if he's going to do that.
Yeah, man, pressure Shichia is really gaining momentum in Toronto. I
think people have him getting minutes now over kem Birch as like the backup big
once they're fully healthy and like Samouche are both on the court, which is
what he was on. The heat is wild, like it's sometimes you just
need an environment change and that's all it takes. And I you know this
is a cliche, but the culture and the fit and the organization, it's
not for everyone. Like sometimes it just doesn't work and guys thrive somewhere else.
And that's okay again for me, as long as I'm seeing that you're
like showing effort, you did your best. It just it wasn't a good
fit. And I'm happy for him, and I'm also you know, I'm
happy that Goren's there because maybe at least like he has kind of someone who
saw his development and is there still rooting for him. Is Goren happy he's
there though? Absolutely not. Gorn wants to get back to Miami as soon
as possible, and I'm I'm telling you he's going to be back next year.
Goren's back. I don't know how it happens, but it's happening.
It's gonna be in Andrea Godala with the Warriors type situation. Takes one or
two year sabbatical from them and then returns. I could see that. That's
what I'm putting down. I will say I wouldn't count on him to be
drawn a long term. That is a franchise that can win him over though,
just based off and they even when he said he didn't want to be
there, they sent him like a swag package. And I think that he's
slowly come around. It would not shock me. I think most people expect
him to either get bought out or traded. If I had a pick right
now, I would almost expect him to finish the season there, so long
term totally agree with you. Yeah, I just think Toronto is like a
very underrated franchise from the outside that people don't realize the lengths to which they
go to really like make their players feel at home. No, I agree,
And to be honest, if we're really going into this, like Toronto
is a great city too, so and I think for him and his family
that's probably important. I think, obviously he wants to be in Dallas.
I don't think that's you know, a secret, but I could see him
remaining there too. I just I think he comes back to Miami. I
get why he wants to be in Dallas, but knowing that Jason Kidd is
the head coach, I have no idea why he wants to be in Dallas
at the same time is there. And look, he kind of spent a
good part of this posing that you don't think Bow is creative enough. So
maybe this is You're Eric Splosti right now. You're the head coach of the
Heat. You get to put out any lineup that you want. It doesn't
need to work. It can be chaos, but you need to see what
happens. What is the lineup that you're rolling with. I'm just doing like
an all dogs lineup, So I got like Kyle Jimmy, I don't know,
do I put Bam in there. I don't know if I put BAM
in there. Honestly, Pj's in there, U D's in there, Babe.
Just throw Deadman in there. Oh okay, okay, yeah, Like
that's just like my chaotic lineup. There's something about Deadman that like he came
in and instantly clicked, Like it literally took one game and he was like,
oh, I'm here, I'm part of this team. I love it
here. I'm totally bought in. And I just think that he is so
underrated. I know he's not going to give us that much, but just
from like a personality and identity standpoint, but if we could just like go
all in on a dog's fight it out lineup, like for sure, so
mine was I basically want four guards plus Bam, So Jimmy Butler, Oladipos
when he's healthy, Kyle Lowry and then Tyler Hero. That's just see what
happens that lineup. That lineup might be able to do if Ala Deepo is
healthy. Like, I don't have a problem with Jimmy Butler having a guard
up, Like there's a chance that they're good on both ends of the floor,
which I think when Jimmy Butler is not a guard, but he can
play a guard. When you build those types of lineups, you normally expect
them to be defensive sieves. I look at it and I'm like Oladipo,
Lowry Butler not Yeah no, that that could still definitely work the pace there
would frighten me a little bit for Depot. I just I'm like on edge
about Depot constantly, and I feel like every game I watch with him,
I'm just gonna be sitting there like, please don't get injured. I just
think that he's gone through so much, but that would be fun to watch
it. I actually think heat Twitter would love that. You know, the
best way to probably preserve Victor old deppos to actually make sure he doesn't play
with Kyle Lowry that the pace is not there. And this is you mentioned
this before desert something really quickly. I think Kyle Lowry, like is this
great culture buffer for them where he brings a levity along with sort of blending
that Jimmy Butler three am workout mentality, Like he's the middle ground because I
know Jimmy Butler, like we've seen clips of him having fun, but he's
like a I would say a lot more no nonsense. Then Kyle Lowry where
or if people don't align with how Jimmy we saw at Minnesota, if people
don't align with his work ethic like he's he's very much not going to mess
with them. I feel like Kyle Lowry is like sort of that good in
between and if anything that and I think we've seen whatever the moment was they
make up of Mark Keith Morris dribbling like an idiot and transition the other day.
So I'm actually I think that that's you know, we talk about u
D's value off the court, I think that's huge to have Kyle Lowry sort
of in that buffer type role for their culture. No for sure. And
I also think and I mentioned that this earlier, but no one's going to
tell Jimmy to shut up or stop doing the most except for Kyle, and
Jimmy's never had that. I think even when Jimmy was with you know,
Wade, he respected him and Wade was kind of a mentor, but it
still wasn't the same. His just his identity and his personality is not match
Kyle's. And I do think to a to an extent, Kyle is just
as you know, kind of like harsh and severe as Jimmy, but Jimmy's
crazier and Kyle called him crazy already in a good way. But I do
think that Kyle is kind of the guy that could help Jimmy come down a
little bit, kind of at his peak of maybe rage or disappointment or you
know, just not feeling like other guys are up to his standards because they
might not be. Jimmy is one of one, and this team can be
as hard working as they can, but Jimmy's still going to be a level
above. And I do think Kyle is the perfect buffer. This is not
a comment on Jimmy Butler the player. Off the court. Jimmy Butler the
basketball player is a fucking sociopath. Oh and I love it. And the
coffee shop owner Jimmy Butler's a sociopath too when you look at these places.
That's what I'm saying, Like he's absolutely one of one, Like there's no
other guy on the court or off the court like him in the league.
Fun fact that actually picked this apartment unit because it's his birthday, Like it's
nine to one four. I'm just I'm there something about Jimmy Butler. I'm
obsessed with and I just I hope he stays in mind me for as long
as possible, or that is talk about being an inspiration, Jimmy Butler impacting
Where you're going to live. This team's over under as we record this is
set at forty eight point five. Would you go over or under on that
win total? And where do you see them stacking up in the larger context
of the East. I had them at like forty eight or forty nine,
so right around there that the lines are good, right yeah, I mean,
like again, it's very dependent on depot and if we make other moves
going okay, So before preseason I had them sitting at third, and as
preseason went on, between that and the Kyrie Irving mess, they might take
second. I don't have as much faith in Brooklyn right now. I think
it's become a circus. I know that they put their foot down about Kyrie
not being able to play, which I think it was the right move,
if only from the perspective of not being in limbo. But I don't know,
we were looking good in preseason. There's all that hoopla happening there.
I still just am cautiously going to with them third but I do think they
could sneak into second. If you tell me Victor Oladipo plays in let's say
forty two games, so more than half the season, and looks relatively well,
I could see a pathway to them like cracking the top three. I
just and I've already mentioned the podcast, I just don't see them caring enough
like I have them probably in like the four or five six range, And
I went under reluctantly because I do have questions about their depth and if Oladipo
doesn't play a ton. That being said, if this team is really invested
in the regular season and then stays relatively healthy, I think when you look
at teams that could maybe crash the top two of the East, where as
of now, I still think it's the Bucks and Nets are givens. If
there's a team that can displace one of them, and my guests would be
it's Brooklyn at this point gets displaced, it's Atlanta or Miami. For me,
I think, like I thought about Boston a little bit, but no,
So that's a but. I just I have a tough time believing that
this team is going to be like go go go all regular season. See
I don't know what it is about Atlanta, and I love Treyong, and
I just I think a lot of their culture embodies a little bit of the
Heat, and I think they're a great organization. I just feel like they've
benefited from the Asterix year. And I know people are going to come after
me for this, and they're gonna keep saying, like, stop calling it
that. There's just something about last year. I just don't see them doing
as well. I think that just like the Heat honestly thrived in the bubble
because it was for them, something about last year just lined the Hawks up
better. So I actually I don't know. I don't think they're going to
come close to us. I think if Philly figures it out, I see
Philly maybe being in fourth after don't see Philly being in fourth then, because
they're definitely not figuring that. I mean, listen, I don't want them
to. I can't stand MBAD. I think that organization is dumpster fire at
this point. But I think that if by some luck they do, they're
going to be in fourth. But I hope it's at Lanta because I'd rather
Atlanta than Philly. I think it's okay to call last year in Asterix season.
But like the Hawks had so many injuries themselves were and Reddish and Badanovitch
and Gallo were all like they just all weren't available at the same time,
and they still went that far, which is why I'm so high on them.
Back to the Heat, though, is there anything I did not ask
you about that you think needs to be covered for this team? No,
I mean, I think this was pretty comprehensive. I'm super excited. I
think that we are re energized, and I think, actually, if there
is one thing people don't talk enough about, it's the fact that we were
exhausted, we were done. We I think, you know, I don't
think these guys ever stop loving the game of basketball. But Jimmy said it
himself this summer he finally missed the game. I just think that it was
too much, too soon, you know, between all the injuries and you
know, guys having to deal with that, not having an off season,
Guys like Precious and Casey didn't really get the chance to develop because there was
no G League and there's no summer league. I think that is going to
be such a huge factor for us that people don't really take into account.
So I'm excited. I think they're re energized and I'm ready. Alana,
this was great. Thank you for giving me so much of your time.
Are you able to tell our listeners where they can follow you and all the
work that you do. Yeah? Absolutely, It's just Alana Tahower on Twitter
and Instagram A L L A N A t A c h a U e
R. I am part of five Reason Sports. So right now we have
me and my co host and Michael Christian have a Feel the Heat episode coming
out on Tuesday morning. We record Monday nights and then Clutch Corner every Wednesday.
So definitely a lot of content coming up, and it's good to finally
talk about a team that's going to do well again. Once more. Thank
you so much for coming on and give me so much of your time.
This this was a blast, and I hope to talk to you again down
the line. Yeah. Absolutely, thank you,