Tag Archive for: NBA

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.

Jeffrey Loria: Your worst person in Miami sports history

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We probably didn’t need to do this.

It was kind of a foregone conclusion, when we selected 52 of the least popular sports figures in South Florida history — split into Sports Figures and Athletes brackets — that the frugal, former owner of the Miami Marlins would eventually tear down the nets like he tore down baseball in this market.

Still, we went through it anyway, and Jeffrey Loria was the big winner… or loser.

(We won’t show his face because, well, why?)

He was never really challenged, not against another former Marlins owner (John Henry), not against former Dolphins GM Mike Tannenbaum, not against the destroyer of the University of Miami football program Nevin Shapiro, not in the Futile Four against former Dolphins coach Nick Saban — who upset Loria’s son-in-law David Samson in the Awful Eight — and certainly not in the Final against the person you oddly deemed the worst athlete (former Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin).

This was a rout.

And why not?

Loria did win a World Series as owner, but he also made decision after decision to destroy the Marlins franchise. (Oh, and he called me a “piece of crap columnist” once, so I’ll acknowledge some bias.

He’ll probably take this condemnation as a compliment.

What was strange was the other side of the bracket, where four former Dolphins (Martin, Dion Jordan, Mike Wallace, Jay Cutler) were the last four left, not exactly the quartet we expected. In fact, Dolphins kept beating Heat, Marlins, Panthers and Hurricanes players in terms of how much you disliked them.

But no one beats Loria, not at this game.

Dwyane Wade Triple-Doubles in Last Game

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(Photo taken after the 2013 championship, and one of the few I have that isn’t blurry.)

 

This was supposed to be anticlimactic.

Dwyane Wade, however, isn’t capable of creating boredom.

So in his last game, in front of his Banana Boat mates and mostly Miami Heat fans in Brooklyn, and playing 36 minutes the night after playing 35, Wade recorded his first triple-double in eight years.

Wade took 28 shots (the good old days! But not quite Kobe!) and finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, recording that 10th assist on a pass to Udonis Haslem at the top of the key. (Haslem had a double-double in what may have been his final game too).

 

Here are some of the top tweets:

 

Magic Johnson somehow drags Dwyane Wade into it

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This has been a nutty night in the NBA, and it’s not just that Dwyane Wade nearly suffered his first significant injury of his age-37 season when he stood on a table, or that Udonis Haslem was draining jumpers again.

Anthony Davis wore this to the arena:

Jamal Crawford did this:

Dirk Nowitzki dropped some big news and then dropped 30…. on 3,012 shots. (But congrats Dirk!)

Oh yeah, and Magic Johnson quit without telling his bosses he was quitting, just eight months after luring LeBron James to start a supposed Lakers renaissance.

But that’s not the weird part.

The weird part was this…

Poor Magic.

He wanted to be in Miami.

So does everyone in Los Angeles  — they just don’t readily admit it.

Right, LeBron?

Thank You, Dwyane Wade: From HEATnation

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Dear Dwyane Wade,

While we really never wanted this moment to come, it’s time to officially say goodbye to the person HEATnation watched grow up before our eyes, the player we called our captain, and the hero this town nicknamed their county after.

There are very few legends in this community. Maybe that’s because South Floridians have a tough time opening up our hearts to sports heroes unless they are truly worthy. Dwyane Wade, YOU have been worthy of it all. From the moment you joined the Miami HEAT as a draft pick in 2003, you proved you were worthy like a flash of lightning descending on this city and creating a spark in the league. And like a flame that never burns out, you’ll always be worthy of the love, respect, celebration and admiration from the fans and the community for generations to come.  We are HEATnation, because of you. Without #3 leading the pack, there aren’t three championships parades, there’s no “Big 3” era, and there are no ring ceremonies or banners hanging from the rafters of the American Airlines Arena. You made us more than just a #BasketballTown, but a town that WINS.

But more importantly, you gave our community LYFE and lead us in fights we couldn’t win on our own. You made our town a better place with your endless philanthropy. You stood up for so many who couldn’t find the strength to do so during one of the most tragic, darkest periods of our time: gun violence. And you didn’t just care about the tragedies in our own backyard, you fought for everyone in the country because you care about them as if they were your own sons, daughters, sisters and brothers, because that is the WAY OF WADE.

So how does this town, this city, this league thank you for all you’ve done on and off the court? Nothing seems to suffice! But here’s a shot:

 

Thank you for the years you devoted to our team. For the thousands of hours of blood, sweat and tears you poured into your craft. For giving us your soul and lifting us up when we needed it most. Thank you for representing our team 13 times in the NBA All-Star game and for being one of the most respected members of our community. Thank you for playing with all your heart as you represented our team on your jersey and for giving all of your heart as a citizen to the place we all call home.

Thank you for literally putting all of HEATnation on your shoulders and for embracing South Florida.

You gave us your all, always. Time. Effort. Energy. Gave up money to make our team better. Played through pain to bring us the glory of a championship. Spent your days off fighting to make the world a better place. You’ve been our family and we’ve been yours. And FAMILY IS FOREVER!

HEATnation may wish for another year to watch your greatness in the house that you helped build, watch you drop back for another pull away three, and scream as you hop on top of the scorer’s table one more time, but there is so much more to the Dwyane Wade L3GACY than the years you’ve spent wowing us as an athlete.

As the the final buzzer rings on your prolific career, we know you’re just getting started. We hope wherever this retirement takes you, you are always reminded of the pride, love and admiration we have for you. And we know the drive, dedication, commitment, passion and love you brought to the sport that made you a household name, will continue to burn brighter than ever as you get ready to begin the first quarter of another game in this thing called life.

It’s been our pleasure to live by the thrill you provided night after night to HEATnation, and South Florida will never forget what you’ve done for us. Your place in history among our intimate club will always remain at the top…because of who you’ve been to us on and off the court. We can’t wait for you to be brought to your feet the way you repeatedly brought us up on ours. The stats may one day get surpassed, but your legacy and impact are forever irreplaceable.

We thank you, we celebrate you and respect you for being as much of a champ off the court, as you are on it …for being our brother and friend…for being knocked down 7 times but getting up 8!

 

The key is forever under the mat,

 

Every HEATlifer, member of HEATnation, fans of the game and all of South Florida.

 

Genna Revitz, a Miami media veteran, is the latest addition to Miami Heat Beat. 

What did Dwyane Wade mean to you? Everything

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The day started with a simple question.

What has Dwyane Wade meant to you?

Here were some of the best responses:

¿Se acabó la Cultura del Miami Heat?

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El Miami Heat anunció el despido de Rodney McGruder tras la derrota ante los Toronto Raptors.

¿Sorprendidos? Muchos de los que seguimos al equipo sí..

¿Porqué en este preciso momento?

El famoso tope salarial era la principal razón de esta extraña movida, y algunos analistas de Five Reasons asomaron la posibilidad de que este fuera un golpe letal a lo que se le llama la “cultura” del Miami Heat.

A falta de dos juegos solamente para que termine la carrera de Dwyane Wade con el Miami Heat (a menos que pase algo improbable), se asoma la posibilidad de que ese concepto, que ha sido clave en la manera de construir esta franquicia en los últimos años, se deje en el abandono.

¿Fue el despido de Rodney McGruder la clara señal de que el equipo va en otra dirección?

¿Quién mejor que él para personificar lo que en escencia es la cultura del Miami Heat?

Ese fue el tema principal del episodio 29 de Cinco Razones Podcast, en la víspera del último juego de Wade en el American Airlines Arena:

Good morning. Paul Pierce is fake news.

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Paul Pierce and the rest of the late 2000s, early 2010s Boston Celtics have always had an inflated sense of self.

They won one championship together, but you’d think it was 12. They felt they owned Ray Allen, like, literally. They believed they were in LeBron James’ head, right until he dropped 45 on them in their building of blowhards when the Celtics might have ended the Heat’s Big Three right there and then.

But Pierce, oh, Pierce. He’s really big market Alex English and slightly lower budget Carmelo Anthony, but somehow he’s always been the biggest blowhard of the bunch; at least Kevin Garnett was actually a top-3 player at one point. And last night, on ESPN’s pre-game show, he couldn’t help putting himself ahead of Dwyane Wade in terms of career accomplishments.

And Twitter had its way.

A few highlights of, um, Truth…..

 

 

 

And, finally, Wade speaks the real truth…

Windhorst: Space Jam is LeBron’s Championship

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LeBron James won’t be in the playoffs this season.

But he will be in a movie theater soon.

And maybe that’s what this was all about.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, author of the forthcoming book LeBron Inc., joined the Five Reasons Sports flagship earlier this week to discuss James’ long upcoming summer… and what could potentially redeem a difficult first season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here’s the full podcast: https://www.fivereasonssports.com/south-florida-podcasts/five-reasons/

And here’s the clip:

JRich, Winslow out for Heat trip

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The Miami Heat need just about every game from here out…. and would seem to need every key player.

They won’t have two of the Kids for the next two games, however.

Neither Josh Richardson (heel) nor Justise Winslow (thigh) traveled to New York for the opening contest of a short trip that finishes in Boston.

That means Goran Dragic will continue to start at point guard, with Derrick Jones Jr. also likely taking a spot in the lineup. It also means that the Heat will rely heavily on Dwyane Wade and Dion Waiters to provide offense.

That should be enough against New York.

Against the Celtics, who are trying to grab a homecourt seed in the East?

We’ll see.