jordan’s heat bløg

this team is desperately in need of a 4 who can play small ball 5. bam's +20 to dedmon's -18 was the story of the celtics game. dedmon gives them decent back up 5 mins on most nights but he can't play vs a team like boston.

caleb martin is really more like a 2 to me than a 4, he has a wing skill set but is so skinny that he can't credibly hold up in that role. they tried a super small line up at the end of the third last night w/ butler at 5 and haywood highsmith on the floor to go w/ more wings but highsmith doesn't look ready for primetime and spo went away from that pretty quickly. jovic is being groomed for the small ball 5 role based on how they used him in the preseason but understandable that spo doesn't trust him yet vs a team like boston.

i wonder if they make a move for jae crowder fairly soon. i think there's a hard ceiling on his ability as you get deeper into the playoffs but he seems like a fairly logical stop gap option at the 4 until they can figure out a more significant move closer to the deadline. it would be a seamless fit given their history and there's also the connection between james jones and the heat front office, it just feels like a really obvious move for both sides if the suns are still intent on moving crowder. also wonder if they look at olynyk tho not sure if there's any working relationship between the ainge and reilly front offices.

the defense has been pretty poor overall in both two games, they're just very small. you could see last night vs boston that they were double teaming a lot and bleeding threes as a result, especially in the corners. will be interesting to see how they match up vs toronto the next two games. i'm curious if the heat look more comfortable or if toronto's size on the wing really strains the heat's roster. i'm leaning more towards the latter

on the bright side, the starting 5 played at a high level last night when bam was on the floor. lowry looked way better, his shooting especially off the dribble from three is much needed. but it's hard to know how often he can get there. gabe vincent looks like one of the better back up 1s in the league but this team is going to need a good season from lowry to stay out of the play in in all likelihood.

herro has also looked even better than last year. 24-6-2 on 50/42/85 shooting in two games so far. he has improved his ability to finish at the rim especially through contact in each season and looks physically stronger again this year in his upper body. he's showing a devin booker like skillset as a scoring guard at all three levels of the court. lengthier defenders can still give him trouble but his shooting ability, creativity, and skill as a scorer really plays in the modern game.

haven't seen a finish like this from him previously

Tyler Herro is special. ⭐️

pic.twitter.com/sTaTsAD0r3

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 20, 2022

yeah the dropoff from bam to dedmon was rough for them last night, they shd get myles turner

not getting much attention nationally but oladipo has tendinitis in his other knee and hasn’t played this year and didn’t travel with the heat out west

Victor Oladipo isn't traveling to Portland, Golden State and Sacramento, meaning the chronic condition that has developed in his non surgically repaired knee will sideline him at least the first 7 games this season.

— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) October 25, 2022

sad

nice blowout win in portland last night. the game shifted when they put jovic at the 5 w/ butler and three other shooters. jovic was actually quite bad (2 points, 5 fouls in 14 minutes) but his presence on the floor opened the offense up. the heat look like how the heat are supposed to look when bam is off the floor with jovic out there.

elsewhere, caleb martin was +19, duncan robinson was +12 and max strus was +24. teams like portland that are/want to play small are going to be great match ups for the heat. if two of martin/strus/robinson can credibly play the 3 and 4 at the same time (w/ herro on the floor too) the heat are gonna score a ton of points on you and will be able to do enough on defense w/ butler & bam around to win most games. the issue is against teams like boston, milwaukee & philly who have the size to punish those guys. martin in particular was awesome (16-8-3 and 4 steals), portland just has no one on their roster who could make him pay for being a 200 pound PF.

17-2-6 on 5-7 shooting from three for lowry last night. he seems to have righted himself. they used him a lot off the ball, only one of his 8 shots was a two. it feels like a viable path forward w/ him on the floor if he can shoot ~38% from three. the offense can be run thru herro, bam, and butler but they need lowry to essentially be a 3 and D guard. he's shot 11-21 from three in three games (wins over toronto and portland, competitive loss to boston) and 2-15 from three in two other games (losses to toronto and chicago). feels like that correlation is gonna stick for most of the year because if he isn't hitting threes it's going to be tough for him to make an impact offensively on a lot of nights and they need him out there

4-1 over their last five after the nice win in boston last night. they’re healthy for the time being now for the first time in weeks and it’s right as the schedule gets a little soft. it feels like if they can make a run over the next 3-4 weeks they can put themselves in solid position for a 4-5 seed. their schedule to finish out the calendar year…

@ grizzlies
pistons
clippers
spurs
@ pacers
@ thunder
@ rockets
@ spurs (mexico city)
bulls
pacers
wolves
lakers
@ nuggets
@ jazz

if they can go say 10-4 over that stretch they’d get to 5 games above .500 which would prob give them a little breathing room ahead of the play in race. if they can make that push the formula appears as if it will be pretty uncomplicated: their highest paid players playing very well.

bam has averaged 27-9-3 over the last 5 including games of 38 and 32 with butler out. herro put up an efficient 48-11-12 while shooting 8-16 from three on some pretty difficult ones in the two games vs boston. lowry has had some great games the last few weeks more or less carrying the team w/ a lot of guys hurt tho you do have to wonder about the wear and tear on his body. and of course jimmy comes back last night with a 25-15 and some crazy shotmaking to beat boston.

the other development is haywood highsmith who i’ve never particularly been a fan of… but he was a team leading +12 vs boston last night & was noticeable for his individual defense. he’s one of the league leaders this year in individual field goal percentage against & this team has desperately needed another wing defender so this is worth monitoring. his offense is still in utero to be polite but he’s gonna see the floor playing the 3-4 swing spot and even some small ball 5. the rotation feels more complete with a player like that out there tho it still ultimately feels like there are gonna be multiple trades swung before the deadline to bring in new bodies for the playoffs.

one of the bigger variables here & with basically every team in the east outside milwaukee, boston & cleveand is how the top 3 shakes out. there will prob be a lot of jockeying around the standings hunting for match ups depending on team preference… i think if you’re the heat you’d rather see boston in round 2 than milwaukee, so maybe you’re pushing for the 4-5 if boston is gonna be the 1 or taking the 6 if the they’re gonna be in the 2-3 spots

bam, herro and lowry have looked so good. and of course jimmy. he wants that ring. who am i to say he shouldn’t get it?

feel like they need more from vincent and strus

highsmith was very impressive in game 1 against boston, a non-factor in game 2 though it seems he did rebound the ball pretty well

herro averaged 24-6-5 on 47/42/94 shooting in the month of december. included games of 34, 35, 41, 28, and 29. he is playing like a $30 million per year type of player.

he showed the full skillset last night in utah... hitting pull up threes, scoring from mid range off the pick and roll using pull up jumpers and floaters, and then athleticism at the rim w/ several finishes on the fast break. he also got to the line 7 times and was the heat's leading rebounder with 9.

when he's clicking like this he's a very fun player to watch. he's so fundamentally sound, his footwork is pristine and his jumper always looks good. a three level scorer w/ creativity to his game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfWZqE-Jjuw

26-10-5 on 9-18 shooting, 4-9 from three two nights ago in denver. the combo of the pull up game from three and mid range plus the ability to make those floater shots is a really nice combo. and showing some ability to find open shooters as a ball handler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8DSPmq5vnE

the heat feel like a different team when oladipo is out there and having a positive night on offense. the difference it makes for them to have a guard who is a plus defender and who can make some plays on his own w/ the ball changes the complexion of their line ups. of course the offense comes and goes -- to put it politely -- but when he's contributing on that side of the floor putting him out there w/ herro, bam and butler + any of their other guys has felt like their strongest line up. he's much more dynamic athletically and as a playmaker on both ends than either lowry or gabe vincent. his ability to cause turnovers and finish on the fastbreak is major for them given the state of their half court offense.

last two games for victor are 15-5-4 on 6-11 shooting vs the clippers and 23-5-5 on 7-15 shooting vs utah. just massive contributions for where this team is at. of course, in the previous three games he had 16 points combined on 5-20 shooting and 1-9 from three. nobody will guard him in the playoffs but he proved his value in the boston series last year. it's just gonna be a really tricky balancing act for them trying to squeeze real games out of him in the regular season and keeping him healthy enough to try and contribute for two rounds in the playoffs. they didn't need him at all in the regular season last year but that just doesn't appear to be the case this season

another awesome herro game last night putting up 23-7-3 on 7-15 shooting, 5-9 from three. he's up to 8.5 3PA per game this season after being at 6.7 last year and 5.5 the year before. in the month of december that was up to 9.9 3PA per game and obv he put up another 9 last night. if he shoots at that volume above 40% w/ his ability to shoot off the dribble, catch and shoot, on the move etc he becomes one of the most dangerous three point shooters in the league & it kinda changes things for him and this offense altogether. it almost moves him more into a klay thompson kinda realm offensively w/ a bit more ability off the dribble

last year he shot 60% of the time from 2 and and 40% of the time from three. this year it's 49% from two and 51% from three. a huge and very effective change in shot diet for him and that will prob keep widening. on top of that his 2 pt% is actually up this year to 51% from 48% last year. he's traded a lot of his tougher mid range shots for threes (and is also going to the basket a bit less) and the result is a career high 59% true shooting (last year he was at 56%)

just some high level three point shooting in this clip in terms of off the dribble as a ball handler as well as some tough catch and shoot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSoFNfG-dKc

Also:

Over the last 11 games that the Heat have gone 8-3, Miami has a 115 offensive rating and 106 defensive rating when Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo are on the floor together

You add Victor Oladipo to those two, Miami has a 119 offensive rating and 104 defensive rating

Insane

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) January 3, 2023

i really like the heat

i like the bucks too

and the celtics

i’m conflicted

i mean don’t get it twisted i’m a boston fan but i feel like

i feel like i know these guys

hows this not a foul wow

Wow. Jimmy Butler misses at the buzzer. No foul call. Game over. Nets beat Heat 102-101. pic.twitter.com/krtyZCEnRb

— Will Manso (@WillManso) January 9, 2023

two time champ norris cole courtside tonight

bam went 14-14 from the free throw line tonight

norris cole is a true heat legend salute

one of our most exciting young players

haha he’s the guy that originated with right?

Yes lol

in the house in brooklyn tonight

with lowry oladipo and herro hurt the heat are putting out some unwatchable line ups when butler sits

Just leaving this here btw

Bam vs Embiid in the clutchpic.twitter.com/F8IhJUJkif

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) February 28, 2023

trae young is shooting 30.3% (with 49 turnovers) in his last 8 games vs. the Heat.

— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) March 5, 2023

Trae Young had one of the worst games this season - going 2/13(lowest this season) with 5 TOVs

The Heat had a similar game plan as they did in the playoffs. They prevented him from getting inside - having multiple defenders pinching in, helping off, timely doubles pic.twitter.com/1gOBKwz2h5

— John Jablonka (@JohnJablonka_) March 5, 2023

im not sure theres a less talked about solid team in the league. i hear nothing and seems like theyre never on national tv either. weird team.

it’s been a weird season, right? their point differential is negative. jimmy has been spectacular, but lowry, oladapo, and duncan robinson are complete zeroes now. jimmy in particular could always make noise in the playoffs but for this to be basically the same roster that took them to the finals a few years ago has to be pretty depressing. I don’t follow them closely enough to know what their off-season move is going to be. I assume it starts with extending udonis haslem

halsem said hes hanging it up!

it’s been a very dreary season. nobody talks about them bcuz there is nothing to talk about… aside from jovic who has been hurt they didn’t add a single player to the team between the end of the finals and the buyout period

they had a nice 4 year run with this iteration of the roster. i don’t necessarily fault them for their lack of action bcuz it’s a function of them understanding they need to make a big move. ultimately i think staying pat and hoarding assets at the deadline was the right move but jimmy has been outstanding this year & it’s a shame to not give him at least a fighting chance in the playoffs

the good news is they can’t possibly bring this iteration of the roster back. jimmy & bam aren’t going anywhere but i have to imagine everything else is on the table. i’m excited to see what the team looks like next year bcuz i think they’ll have 2-3 new starters

You're gonna need tissues handy for this one 🥹

Ahead of @ThisIsUD's final game his teammates from all eras of his 20 year career have nothing but love for OG pic.twitter.com/YjrE7wvkc5

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 8, 2023

Can’t believe Spo called the “Tyler Johnson for the win in 2015 Summer League” play for Jimmy in a close out playoff game on the road vs the #1 seed @MiamiHEAT @5ReasonsSports @5OTF_ @BradyHawk305 @DosMinutos @Alf954 @jeremytache @MarcHochman pic.twitter.com/2GxrbzvVc6

— Jonathan Keller (@JKeller5) April 27, 2023

congrats Jordo, that must've been awesome to watch

Jimmy Butler para Jrue Holiday “I OWN YOU!” pic.twitter.com/QDMtPnUw77

— MIAMI HEAT DEPRÊ ™️ (@MiamiHeatDepre) April 27, 2023

thanks frogs. it was a lot of fun

jimmy & jrue were complimentary of each other in the press all series so i feel like this was just a heat of the moment type thing but i really can’t remember seeing a guy just completely go at another player like that, in that important of a playoff game, and with the game still very much in doubt the entire time. it’s not like heat were up 15 and jimmy started running his mouth. and on top of it the guy is maybe the best defender at his position in the league. it was crazy. that fake spin into midrange jumper he put on him in overtime (before staring him down all the way up the floor) was nasty. it must be some thing jimmy was doing to psyche himself up to close out the game bcuz based on their interactions otherwise in the series i don’t think he looked at jrue was like “lemme be a huge asshole and embarrass this guy bcuz i don’t like him.”

jimmy was in the zone lol

Jimmy definitely seems like a likable guy who has to put himself into asshole zone to get every ounce out of his talent.

in G4 Jrue made this weird floater off the high glass and Jimmy was yelling at him saying something like "did you call that?". it was such a weird thing for him to be concerned with especially given it was like a tie game with a minute left at that point. like he was just playing streetball out there. whatever it is obviously it's a zone embodied in the true hooper spirit that brings out the best in Jimmy as he basically transforms into Michael Jordan in those spots. but unlike Jordan I don't think Jimmy is an asshole in real life, in fact I actually really like him, or at least I used to before he put a knife in my heart

last night spo called jimmy psychotic in the post game presser lol, in an admiring way of course

i loved his quote about how some guys in the NBA are playing basketball, but jimmy is competing to win, and "that's a different language"

yeah everything he said there was perfect heat culture

otm. jimmy really the perfect heat

jimmy was supposedly this unmanageable malcontent, until he finally landed with a serious team

remember when the bulls were gossiping about how he got a big head from being friends with mark wahlburg lmao

that whole wolves ending is still so funny to me.

honestly w/ every passing year the thought of pairing jimmy butler & karl anthony towns together gets exponentially funnier. like, if you tried to select a single player in the NBA who would be the worst person to pair w/ butler from a personality perspective i'm not sure you could do better than KAT. it's really hysterical. almost like it was a science experiment? butler must have seriously been losing his fucking mind

i also think these last two games gave us a very realistic look at what the infamous "jimmy scores on the wolves every possession in practice while talking shit the whole time & then peaces out from the franchise entirely" day probably looked like lol

lol yeah that was primo nba dramedy

i also think these last two games gave us a very realistic look at what the infamous "jimmy scores on the wolves every possession in practice while talking shit the whole time & then peaces out from the franchise entirely" day probably looked like lol

― J0rdan S., Thursday, April 27, 2023 9:45 AM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

haha yup

It’ll get lost in the mix

But Jimmy Butler did this in a 20 second stretch in the 1st quarter LOL pic.twitter.com/uRyDzeu1H9

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) April 27, 2023

it's amazing that we haven't figured out how to make statues that look like the people they're based on consistently

thats what happens when you blow your budget on uniform wrinkles

That looks like something you put up outside the arena to scare away a particularly aggressive species of bird.

what the hell lol

you gotta respect the sculptors going out for the post-game press conference after the tough loss https://t.co/XiejNsifXq

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) October 27, 2024

“Who is that guy?”

Dwyane Wade’s reaction to his statue 💀

pic.twitter.com/R7IiYJIEww

— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) October 27, 2024

they're quietly up to ninth in offense and 11th in defense per cleaning the glass

first in offensive rating in the entire league over the last two weeks, herro has been flat out awesome, blowing away his career highs in important stats. 63% TS this year vs 56% for his career. 64% 3 pt rate this year vs 56% for his career. 22% free throw rate vs 17% for his career. among the 12 players shooting 9+ threes per game his 42.7% 3pt percentage is tied for the lead w/ anthony edwards

they dropped rozier from the starting line up and their new starting 5 of herro/robinson/butler/highsmith/bam is +17.5 per 100. for reference boston's starting line up is +20.9 and denver's starting line up is +16.6. among line ups that have played at least 250 possessions together, that heat 5 is third in the league, behind the boston 5 and a spurs 5 man combo of chris paul/steph castle/julian champaigne/barnes/wemby that is +18.1 per 100 (denver starting 5 is fourth)

they caught the suns w/o KD and mobley turned his ankle vs them and missed the second half, so we'll see how it plays out. they have the thunder next week. but this was looking like a hella boring season / nightmare redux of the last two seasons but the projection systems like them as a clear top 6 team in the east now and that perhaps underrates them if they actually really found something w/ this starting 5

64% 3 pt rate this year vs 56% for his career. among the 12 players shooting 9+ threes per game his 42.7% 3pt percentage is tied for the lead w/ anthony edwards

*jack nicholson nodding gif*

j0rdan any thoughts on the spectacle of jimmy's agent and shams sniping at each other on twitter

i think shams basically generated a whole news cycle out of pointing out that 1+1=2, so i understand why jimmy’s side was mad about that. but i’m not sure who is ultimately trying to exercise what leverage thru the media, i def think jimmy is alluding to the drama thru his hair, and i also think if the heat are gonna be in the top 6 of the east there’s no way they’re trading jimmy. pat riley is not punting on a playoff run for B level young talent

jordan what’s the deal with jacquez? I’ve only caught a few heat games this year but his numbers seem to be down across the board including his minutes. loved watching him play last year

my assessment of his season is twofold

1. he caught a stomach virus in mexico early in the season and missed three games and came back for a few games then sprained his ankle. it feels like he's sorta been speeding down interstate sophomore slump since then, just one of those years

2. the heat's line ups and rotations have shifted around a lot. jovic went from the starting line up to out of the rotation and rozier got benched and now plays as a 6th man ball handler w/ the second unit. jaime plays very much in the flow of the game -- it's a lot of what makes him great -- and i'm not sure that he is really figured out how to assert himself w/ the guys he's playing w/ at the moment.

he's also just been in a huge slump from three and that was the big question mark about him coming out of college so we'll see how that plays out

thanking u

Heat finally entering their post-Butler transitional phase, difficult to get hyped for a Bam-Herro #1-#2, but I feel like that + their bench is enough to stay afloat if they want and play for the #6 seed. Especially given how Kel’el Ware has looked after they opened up minutes for him by shipping Bryant, which might end up being more important than any player development they do this year.

Not sure if they expected Ware to elevate this fast, but he's been dominant for tiny stretches over the past two weeks in ways I don't think I've ever seen from Jovic or Jaquez Jr. Especially important since the next biggest Big on the Heat roster is 6'10''/215lb Jovic. Wonder if Ware being on ice for the first half of the season might help him get to the end of the season w/o hitting a rookie wall. A playoff rotation of Bam / Herro / Jovic / Highsmith / Jaquez Jr / Rozier / Duncan / Ware + spot minutes from bench vets could steal some games or a series!

bam-ware twin towers situation developing

ware seems like a per minute beast

he is really interesting. i posted before the season that everyone on earth could tell this era of the team needed to end but i was interested in this season bcuz you could already see their plan for the next phase of the team w/ the combo of the ware pick + playing bam as a floor spacing 4 on team USA. the jimmy stuff kinda derailed the good vibes immediately & you can't expect a rookie center to play that much in the first month or two of the year but i think most of the fanbase has been waiting to see this switch be flipped.

either he or bam will have to be able to consistently make threes for it to work longterm but kel'el is already a monster lob finisher and can do some stuff around the basket w/ the ball. on defense it's pretty exciting, there isn't any team in the league that would be able to deploy an elite rim protector and a second big w/ bam's mobility at the same time.

they shot insanely hot the other day vs the spurs -- their third quarter was one of the 5 highest scoring in franchise history or something -- so some of the ware-bam stuff looked especially good. but what i like is that doesn't really take much imagination to see how it could work & be really effective ... based on what we've seen from kel'el already and what we know about the heat as a franchise there's no way it fails on defense. it will probably be sick. it's just a question of whether the development from both guys can get there to make it work enough on offense especially in a post-jimmy world where your best ball handler is tyler herro who is playing great but far from a real no 1

on defense it's pretty exciting, there isn't any team in the league that would be able to deploy an elite rim protector and a second big w/ bam's mobility at the same time.

― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, January 21, 2025 4:01 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

cavs maybe?

oh yeah, i'm dumb

they're sorta trying to mix the cavs defensive set up w/ the celtics offensive set up

jordan what do you think the heat should do roster wise?

i think realistically they’re not about to rebuild so i’d put everyone on the table except bam bcuz you wanna try and find an offensive no 1 to pair with him. i think the major question is whether they think kel’el ware is gonna be a transformative piece, if even just in style. they’ll obv always be heat culture hard asses etc i think they need to reset their identity a bit in terms of how they’re playing and whether they really wanna invest the next 3-5 years developing a double big starting line up as the foundation. i think it’s interesting to think about and ware had a lot of exciting moments but he’s also not evan mobley or whatever

i’m personally a bit more sanguine about the situation than other people seem to be. i think bcuz they’ve felt stagnant for three seasons now it seems like they need to do something major this offseason to shake things up and while that would be wonderful i do think people have to remember it’s only their first offseason post-butler. there is likely going to be a bit of a reset period

the recent history of this franchise is very peaks and valleys, they pour everything into a nucleus and then take a few years to find the next group. there were rough years in between shaq and bron and then between bron and jimmy, tho the latter may largely have been bcuz of the bosh blood clots. so im personally prepared for a few more seasons of mediocrity and i think they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to finding the next guy

one other thing i’d say about their future

lebron came bcuz of wade. jimmy came bcuz of the culture stuff, which was preached to him by wade. why does the next guy come?

yeah you just can’t rule out a guy wanting to live in miami

too humid and too many republicans for me personally but I might consider for 40 million dollars or so

VICE, BABY

yeah cool. sounds reasonable to accept a medium term rebuild. i guess with todays cba punishing you so harshly for overpaying the wrong player its not worth rushing into things.

not sure how happy bam will be to stick around on a team that kind of sucks tho

jakucionis few good games recently, interesting he was a super hyped primary ballhandler/shooter prospect but that didnt survive contact with the ncaa he couldnt beat anyone off the dribble, now however as a spot up shooter and secondary creator he could possibly be on to something, 44% from 3 for the season

i’m unsure how i feel about him. feel like cole anthony seemingly falling out of the league is a good reminder of how thin the line is for small scoring guards. kas is obviously pretty skilled and plays ball the right way… i’m not sure i see him as a starter or even a great sixth man. he could potentially get there but i think it’s kinda crazy that he was seen as a top 10 pick before the draft, i think he was drafted more or less in the right spot. he is def a nice off the ball player on offense & he’s at least active on defense

yeah idk if hell make it but did think it was interesting that he was able to find some success playing a different role than he was projected for, obvs being able to shoot is great idk what the deal with his defense is tho

just want to say on principle I dont like his name it sounds like charles barkley saying the nuggets 2 centers at once

lmao