Pat Riley y la encrucijada del Miami Heat

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Pat Riley ofreció una extensa rueda de prensa el pasado sábado para analizar la temporada del Miami Heat.

El fracaso de la eliminación hace que la fanaticada busque a los culpables de esta debacle.

Un equipo que se suponía debía clasificar sin problemas en la Conferencia del Este terminó despidiendo a Dwyane Wade con una amarga despedida.

Ahora hay que responder de alguna manera, y ese camino aún no parece despejado.

Ethan Skolnik y Chris Wittyngham analizaron las ambiguas palabras de Riley en su último episodio de Five Reasons:

Con el Miami Heat luchando con el tope salarial por diversas circunstancias, Pat Riley parece aferrarse a la esperanza de que tanto Hassan Whiteside como Goran Dragic no ejerzan sus respectivas opciones para continuar con el equipo.

Whiteside quiere ser titular y en el Miami Heat de la 2019-2020 parece que ese no será su rol.

Dragic, por su parte, estaría mas abierto a renegociar su actual contrato, dejar pasar esta opción y volver a firmar con el Heat por mas años y una cantidad similar de dinero.

Estos dos escenarios combinados le abrirían la posibilidad a Pat Riley de tratar de buscar a algún pez grande en la agencia libre.

De lo contrario, se tendrá que conformar con lo que tiene disponible.

¿Hay un Dwyane Wade en este roster?

Riley afirmó el sábado que los contratos de cuatro años de James Johnson y Dion Waiters se materializaron tras la negativa de Gordon Hayward hace un par de años.

Así, tras ese 30-11 estéril, se comenzó a confeccionar la ensalada de roster que le tocó manejar a Erik Spoelstra esta temporada.

Justise Winslow, Bam Adebayo y Derrick Jones Jr. dieron pasos importantes hacia adelante esta temporada y junto a Josh Richardson son los llamados a ser la nueva cara de esta franquicia.

¿Hay un Dwyane Wade en alguno de ellos?

Ricardo Montes de Oca, Leandro Soto y Alejandro Villegas lo ponderaron en el EP 30 de Cinco Razones Podcast :

Mike Gesicki grabs a new number — now, some footballs?

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There are certain numbers in Miami Dolphins history that are fraught with disappointment.

There are certain draft rounds that are as well.

Now we have a combination of the two.

Mike Gesicki, picked in the second round last season — a round that has been (sometimes) really good or (mostly) really bad for the Dolphins — has taken advantage of the departure of a failed third-round selection.

Gesicki was sort of a flop as a rookie, though our Chris Kouffman of Three Yards Per Carry documented the problems in usage that contributed to his lack of production (blame Adam Gase, in other words).

Now, though, he’s chosen a number that is sort of jinxed.

You can find the complete list of No. 88’s here.

We will pay homage to the great Jim Mandich — a good player and a better broadcaster — by drinking a green lizard with the windows down. And Keith Jackson was decent here, though not as good as he was in Philadelphia.

The rest?

Charles Jordan, last seen giving gang signs on the sidelines in Oakland.

Derrius Thompson, a Dave Wannstedt special.

Cris Carter — not the Hall of Fame version, but the version who let a critical touchdown slip through his hands in Minnesota while with the Dolphins.

David Martin, a disastrous addition at tight end.

Oh, and Carroo, who cost the Dolphins three draft picks and couldn’t crack the lineup.

So it’s up to Gesicki to change that.

Or he’ll be 86’d too, before too long.

 

Feature photo by Tony Capobianco

Gordon Hayward Changed The Heat More Than You Think

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The summer of 2017 is a sore subject for Miami Heat fans. Miami was coming off a 41-41 season, but closed the second half of the year going 30-11. They beat the Golden State Warriors. They came within a tiebreaker of making the playoffs. And, we can now definitely say, the Heat believed in what they had achieved.

This wasn’t a group of overachieving misfits who were ultimately going to regress to who they had been for the entirety of their careers. It was a team they were going to build with and around.

And so they gave out the following contracts.

James Johnson: 4 years, $60 million with a player option in the 4th year

Dion Waiters: 4 years, $52 million

Kelly Olynyk: 4 years, $50 million

Josh Richardson: 4 year extension, $41.9 million

These have been well chronicled. It has had Miami in a state of inaction for almost 2 years because the contracts have been impossible to move.

However, this could have been avoided, as Pat Riley said at his end of season press conference

He was prepared to give James Johnson and Dion Waiters two year deals if Gordon Hayward chose to come to Miami. But because Riley was concerned about losing both of those players and not getting Hayward, he offered them four year deals if Hayward didn’t come.

As Ethan Skolnick and myself discussed on the most recent edition of the Five Reasons Podcast, it is incredible how much the Heat bought into 30-11. Riley says at the end of the clip it would’ve been “ridiculous” to lose everyone. That requires you to have believed at least in some part that it was real.

It also requires you to believe that Gordon Hayward meant everything. As with the Kevin Durant negotiations, Miami were at best third favorites. With Durant, the incumbent Oklahoma City and the defending record breakers Golden State were well on top of those negotiations. With Hayward, the incumbent Utah and the rising Celtics who had his former college coach were the likely choices.

Miami did remarkably well to get in the room, one of our favorite phrases in Miami, with those two. Hayward even said at the time that he was close to coming and was really impressed by the presentation. But he chose Boston.

And that sends Miami down their current path. What does it look like if Gordon Hayward came here? We can’t really know. Hayward devastatingly broke his leg in his first game in Boston. Does that happen here?

But we do know that Riley and the Heat organization either became tired of chasing free agents or wanted to see out what that 30-11 team could do.

Now, they’re on their 3rd straight season of hovering around .500 with no end in sight. Riley doesn’t think the contracts he chose to give out on July 1 are an obstacle to improvement.

All we can now say is, they would be expiring this summer if Gordon Hayward chose to come here.

First series win slips through Chen’s hands

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Chen just did it again.
The Miami Marlins engaged in a 14-inning pitching duel with the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon, but failed to win their first series of the season. Wei-Yin Chen allowed his fifth home run in the same number of innings pitched this year off the bat of Jean Segura, and the Phillies took the third game of the series, 3 to 1.

The Marlins, who scored 10 runs on Saturday night, came back to their old ways scoring only once in 14 innings, with only four hits. Marlins’ lonely run came thanks to Brian Anderson’s solo shot. One of the positive news of this series…
The other one, was José Ureña, who finally had an ace-like start, allowing one run in seven frames.

However, all the effort by Ureña, Steckenrider, Anderson, Kinley and Conley was not enough to get the win.
And then, there was Chen.
The owner of the worse contract in Marlins’ history had allowed 10 runs in his last appearance, in a blowout against the Reds.

His ERA got better after Sunday’s inning of work, despite getting rocked by McCutchen and Segura (McCutchen hit a moonshot foul ball right before hitting it to the wall before Segura’s homer).
How much more time will the Marlins wait to release Chen?

They sent O’Brien down because he wasn’t hitting.
They better pay Chen and give another young arm an opportunity to work in the majors.
Jarlin García and company are waiting for their call…

The Game of Thrones, Miami Sports match game

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Screenshot photo from Games of Zones on Bleacher Report.

 

Eighteen months.

That’s how long it’s been since the last episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones, during which time South Florida’s various major athletic teams have won a grand total of one postseason contest — that thanks to Dwyane Wade, who wasn’t even here when that last episode aired.

There’s always been some crossover between sports fans and Thrones fans, except in our network, in which a surprising number of millennials have never seen the show. This is where I would compare Giancarlo Navas of Miami Heat Beat to Reek if I wanted to be mean. But I don’t.

But we did feel it was appropriate to ask the question above.

We already know that Pat Riley is Tywin Lannister — no, we don’t expect Riley to die on a toilet. Bleacher Report made the comparison in a brilliant Game of Zones video, and others have come to the same conclusion:

We threw the rest to you and, as usual, you delivered….

Let’s start with the best one, which a few submitted….

 

This one was kind of obvious…

Some Big Three takes… (no Red Wedding here)….

Another one we saw a few times…

Dolphins fans jumped in….

 

So did Marlins fans, those that are left…

A little love for Mr. 305….

Some of you had jokes…

Of course, #JustiseBetter was associated with a couple of series favorites…

 

But we had to slip this in before the wire…

 

The best of the Pat Riley press conference

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Not much of an introduction necessary here…

The most important things Pat Riley said today, tweet by tweet….

First, this, in response to our question…

 

And now, the rest, on the team..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jorge Alfaro’s production determines winner of JT Realmuto trade

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Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto made his return to Miami on Friday for a three-game series with the Marlins. Like former members of the fightin’ fish last year, he came, said how much he loves the Marlins organization (despite asking for a trade in back-to-back offseasons) and how happy he is now.

What makes this year different is now he got to voice his approval of the new changes to Marlins Park. Like a former fling who leaves only to return and see how everything has changed since.

“It’s great — a lot better than the sculpture,” Realmuto said. “I wasn’t a huge fan of it.”

The Marlins traded Realmuto to Philadelphia for catcher Jorge Alfaro, pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart, and $250,000 in international bonus money. Even though MLB Pipeline named Sanchez Miami’s top prospect and Stewart flirted with a no-hitter in his most recent start at Single-A Jupiter, Alfaro’s production is what will determine whether or not the Realmuto trade is a winner. 

Both catchers were on display in the Phillies 9-1 victory. Realmuto went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a couple runs scored. Alfaro went 2-for-4 with a run scored as well, thanks to sac fly by right fielder Austin Dean.

Alfaro has been the lone bright spot in the Marlins’ lackluster lineup. The 25-year-old Colombian catcher leads the team with a .286 batting average, a .342 on-base percentage and .543 slugging percentage.

“If he will stay with the approach and the plan, he’s going to be dangerous,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Alfaro. “He will swing at way more strikes, and hit a lot more pitches. He just has to stick with it daily, and stay with his work. I think he understands what we’re trying to get to. I honestly think, if he sticks with it — and he’s not a kid who is afraid of anything at all. You can see it. He’s not afraid of the ball in any way, shape or form. He’s going to be dangerous, if he will stay with the plan and the approach on a daily basis.”

Realmuto made the All-Star Game last year by hitting .310 in the first half of the season and finishing with 21 home runs. Mattingly has said repeatedly since the trade that Alfaro’s power is off the charts. After hitting 10 home runs in 108 games as a rookie last year, clearing the 20 homer benchmark this season seems realistic.

That alone will make the trade a winner for the Marlins.

Tony Capobianco is the lead photographer for FiveReasonsSports.com 

JT Realmuto knows comeback to Miami will be quiet

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JT Realmuto will play for the first time in his career against the Miami Marlins.

However, he doesn’t expect much of a revolution in Marlins Park’s stands today when he steps up to the plate.

The All-Star catcher knows it will be a quiet atmosphere.

The best hitting catcher in baseball, along with Buster Posey and Willson Contreras, who crushed two balls out of Wrigley Field today, knows Miami and the fans here.

Will he get a big ovation? Probably not.

And not because he doesn’t deserve it, because he does, but because as usual, Marlins Park will look like an empty mall (which doesn’t happen here in Miami).

“It will be just like any other at-bat. I don’t expect too much out there for me,” were Realmuto’s words before the first of the three-game series between the Marlins and Phillies.

Miami struggled a lot swinging the bats during the road trip, scoring only eight runs in six games, getting swept by the Cincinnati Reds.

But for Realmuto, life is beautiful right now. He forgot about playing for the losing Miami Marlins and is finally playing for a competitive team.

There, with Bryce Harper and company, he is having the opportunity to play in a pennant race.

Harper wanted him in Washington, as he publicly confessed, and he even whispered a couple of times in Realmuto’s ear when he was a member of the Washington Nationals.

Now, they can both be happy slugging for a city that loves baseball and supports their team.

 

JT Realmuto’s comeback to Little Havana will get most of the headlines, but we will come back to reality soon  to realize this team had the best catcher in baseball, the best outfielders in baseball and the best pitcher in baseball at some point, and the stands were empty.

Good luck to Sandy Alcántara tonight, by the way.

 

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Heat to Dion Waiters: Time to Shape Up or….

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It was the open secret of the Miami Heat season.

The proverbial elephant in the room.

Dion Weighte- (er, Waiters) was overweight.

And the Heat, behind the scenes, weren’t happy about it.

Very not happy about it.

Heat fans, on the other hand, were equal parts amused and annoyed, until Waiters went on a three-point shooting spree to salvage his season somewhat.

This has been going on forever, actually.

Look at the date on this one:

We all know how Pat Riley feels about conditioning. Miami Heat shape. World class shape. He forced Tim Hardaway to meet a certain weight, even after Hardaway was a multi-time All-Star. He briefly banished Antoine Walker and James Posey after the 2006 championship, after Walker promised to keep drinking all offseason and seemed to diligently fulfill his promise. He has nearly killed men in practice; just ask them.

So it was a matter of time before the team snapped. The Heat tried to put on a good face about this, as they typically do, when there’s something they’d like to not make a public issue — particularly when they’re paying a player $52 million guaranteed over four years to overeat and underperform.

For instance…

Recently, roughly two weeks ago, Spoelstra said that Waiters was getting into better condition and that’s why he was playing better. There wasn’t much of the season left.

It is not like Spoelstra to call players out publicly. That’s a Riley thing. That’s what made Friday’s Spoelstra press conference so remarkable. He basically spoke for both of them, with more pointed words for Waiters than anyone else on the roster. Actually, Waiters was the only player targeted with even a tinge of negativity, as Spoelstra waxed poetic about Dwyane Wade, gushed over the Heat’s kids (especially the clearly beloved Bam Adebayo) and even said he believed in Hassan Whiteside.

Waiters?

Well.

Here are some tweets.

And this…

And this was the money quote…

Just in case no one understood…..

“Pat and I are on the same page on this.”

That’s a message they meant to deliver. Together.

This time, there’s no Good Cop.

Just Bad Cop and Worse Cop.

Expect Riley, if he ever speaks to the assembled media again — we’re expecting next week — to deliver it even more sternly. They have two years left on Waiters’ contract and he has been difficult if not impossible to deal. They need to try to make something work.

So it will be interesting to see what happens if he can’t make weight.

Bam Adebayo wants the burden

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There will be no playoffs this season for the Miami Heat, so Clean Out Day came early. Some players and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra are meeting with the media and, as of this writing, big men Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo have already done so.

Adebayo, in particular, is interesting because he had a bit of a breakout this season, especially in the 28 games he started, while being the only player on the team to play in all 82. He developed his ballhandling and his defensive versatility, and has shown glimpses of a jumper if he’ll just be more aggressive.

But here’s what is most promising about Adebayo, who is mature for his age (22 in July):

He facilitates.

This is something, of course, that the other Heat center is loathe to do.

And Adebayo wants to do more of it.

Adebayo averaged 2.2 in just 23.3 minutes this season.

That’s solid for a center, and as he develops more chemistry with his teammates, that should improve. As Erik Spoelstra noted, Adebayo had at least five assists in 14 games.

He also says he can play with the guy he calls “H.” They played only 14 minutes together this season, with Spoelstra preferring to pair either with Olynyk or James Johnson.

One of our guys isn’t thrilled with that idea…

But this is the way Adebayo speaks, and this is what is so encouraging. Miami’s Kids are all quality people, but the question is whether they are players to build around, or just build with.