Miami Heat Beat: Episode 206.
Giancarlo Navas, Brian Goins and Christian Hernandez discussed Juwan Howard staying in Miami, whether the Heat should have pushed harder for Jimmy Butler and then shifted to Game of Thrones to debate who has the best odds of ruling Westeros on the Miami Heat Beat’s 206th episode.
The Los Angeles Lakers recently interviewed Juwan Howard for its head coaching vacancy, but multiple reports expect Tyronn Lue to be named the next head coach and reunite with LeBron James. Hernandez prompted the thought of how it’s good that Howard will stay with Miami because the Heat retain its top assistant. However, there comes a time when an assistant eventually is expected to move on to higher positions, and if they don’t eventually climb the coaching ladder and get hired as head coaches, does that signify that they’re bad at their job?
The guys moved on to discuss the NBA Playoffs and how Jimmy Butler has impressed thus far. Navas debates whether the Heat made the right decision regarding Butler, and where the franchise would be right now if they had made the deal.
Butler continues to take over fourth quarters for Philadelphia. In clutch time situations in the postseason, Butler has been the most efficient player in the NBA.
The price tag of Kelly Olynyk, Josh Richardson and a future first rounder for a 30-year-old star with the baggage of Tom Thibodeau minutes and an eventual max contract on the books seems too high for Navas. The move may have put them ahead of the Indiana Pacers as a five or six seed, locking the Heat into a relatively higher mediocre level than they find themselves now. Hernandez argued that this Heat team was built for a player like Butler.
Miami lacks the fourth-quarter superstar that shines when all eyes are on him. Butler has proven he can be that player. However, the Heat’s cap situation in this what-if scenario makes the situation too difficult to debate whether the move could be reasonably justified long-term.
Navas, a known Kyle Lowry-apologist, then broke down the Toronto Raptors woes in its playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors are making about 30 percent of its three pointers this series, and subtracting Kawhi Leonard from the equation drops the team to 23 percent from beyond the arc. The combination of Joel Embiid’s size, who has been covering Pascal Siakam since Game 2, and the 76ers adjustments defensively have caused Marc Gasol, Danny Green and Siakam to struggle throughout the series. Kawhi Leonard, however, has been one of the lone bright spots with his historically efficient play. Leonard’s career true shooting percentage increases in the playoffs compared to his regular season numbers, a massive anomaly among all current NBA players. Dwyane Wade’s true shooting percentage numbers also remained exactly the same in the regular season and playoffs, showing his consistent play throughout his career.
The guys shifted from NBA talk to an even more polarizing subject recently: Game of Thrones. The communal aspect that Game of Thrones has exemplified the past few weeks whether on Twitter or at work is unlike any other television show ever. Though this cultural phenomenon seems to be finding its way everywhere, fans continue to express their displeasure with where the plot and storylines are headed with just two episodes remaining in the series. Despite this, the guys headed to OddsShark to debate who they think will take the Throne. After an over-confident Night King blew an easy 3-1 lead to the Starks, Brian thinks the white-walker king may make a return and claim the Throne. Navas thought Arya Stark, described as the LeBron James of Westeros (or Justise Winslow, depending on who you ask #JustiseBetter), provides the best betting value at +1400 to sit on the Throne at the end of the series.
Rounding out the episode, the guys discussed the illustrious career of Miami’s best point guard in franchise history: Mario Chalmers. After claiming a European Championship overseas with Virtus Bologna this past month, the 32-year-old point guard is now a two-time high school state champion, an NCAA champion, a two-time NBA champion and a European champion. Chalmers is now taking his talents to the Big 3 League, where he was drafted this week in the third round by the 3 Headed Monsters. Stat of the Pod: Jason Terry outscored LeBron James in the 2011 NBA Finals (JT: 108, LJ: 107)
