Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Cleveland’s Ceiling With Donovan Mitchell

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Donovan Mitchell is a lucky man.  He now lives in the same city as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Oh, and he’ll also be playing with a better-equipped squad to hide his deficiencies guarding opponents.

 

It might take the first couple of months of the year for coach JB Bickerstaff to calibrate the ball handling duties, late-game pecking order, and defensive principles now that his group added an All-Star.  Training camp and the preseason might highlight some favorable combinations, but the real test will come when the games matter.  But this experiment should work, at least before the Playoffs.  

 

Garland spent 95% of his minutes at point guard this season, but in 2020 as a rookie, he spent 3/4s of his time at shooting guard while Colin Sexton locked down the QB spot.  Playing off-ball is a skill Garland has demonstrated but with Mitchell integrated into the lineup, he should see more opportunities than he did in 2022.  It would allow him to work as a sniper that repositions after a screen or helps as a decoy.  Garland didn’t have many chances to show off this feature of his game after Sexton missed all but 11 games and Ricky Rubio was absent for 48.

 

The newest Cavalier, Spida, was third in usage among guards who qualified for league leaders in 2022.  Moments off-ball will come for Garland, but it’s essential that Mitchell sacrifices touches and his body for his backcourt mate and others too.  Screening is a fine technique that gets the initiator open as it does the player who received the help.  Using Mitchell as a pick-and-pop and screen-and-roll weapon would be tough to guard.  He has enough accuracy on his jumper to fire away outside the lane, or he could exhibit his speed on a cut to the rim after the catch.

 

Mitchell and Garland are elusive enough to burn a defender off the dribble to cause a breakdown.  They are also dynamic attacking through pick and roll.  If the defense is deploying drop coverage, Cleveland’s guards can force separation and pull up from the elbow while one defender is behind the hip of the ball handler and the other by the rim.

 

 Both are three-level scorers that bend defenses even when the ball is out of their hands.  Opponents will make difficult decisions when both are on the floor, and one catches fire.  If a trap or double is sent towards Mitchell or Garland, damage could be inflicted if the ball handler passes out on time to the nearest teammate, and then the rock is dished to a wide-open man.

 

But how much better are the Cavs?

 

Cleveland should enter the postseason without competing in the Play-In Tournament.  Defensively, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley provide backline protection when the Cavs’ guards get beat checking the perimeter.  Yet, always having to help because a teammate can’t stay in front of their matchup will unnecessarily tax Cleveland’s frontcourt by covering too much ground.

 

The defense’s ceiling-setting flaw is that the backcourt likely won’t guard up effectively when switched onto opponents of a different position.  If one of them is stuck in a mismatch near the paint, help will be sent, but at the risk of exposing space.

 

Garland and Mitchell are one-way players and small at 6’1. Spida’s long arms are a tool that could help him improve guarding his yard under the right defensive philosophy, but success on that end is about high ball IQ and effort.  Cleveland’s backcourt cannot afford to be overly reliant on its rim protection because the Cavs will want its twin towers as close to the paint to influence rivals into attacking exclusively from the perimeter.

 

Cleveland will be one of the most exciting teams to watch this upcoming season, but this trade doesn’t make them contenders.  Their backcourt could get hunted down if the opponent chooses to strike this weakness.  It’s an arduous challenge reaching the conference finals when a starting unit has just one player who is a liability guarding.  Cleveland has two.

 

For now, the Cavs are a second-round crasher.

 

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Butler’s Time in Miami Won’t be for Nothing

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Miami’s window for a championship will remain open as long as Jimmy Butler can produce as he has in two of the last three Playoffs.  Even then, he will still need some herculean efforts from his teammates, but if they fall short, it won’t mean his time wearing white-hot was a failure. 

 

Championship rings aren’t the only thing that matter in sports.  Sometimes the memories left blowing in the wind are worth as much.  In his tenure with the club, Butler-led groups gave Heat Nation two of their most enjoyable seasons in franchise history.  That was not guaranteed after LeBron James and Dwyane Wade left.

 

I’m old enough to remember when Butler arrived in Miami, the Heatles had just missed the Playoffs in Wade’s farewell season.  His addition was supposed to make the team respectable again as it briefly lingered in purgatory after Flash’s transient departure in 2016.

 

But Butler did more than that.  And now, the conversation among Heat supporters and media following the team has shifted towards the squad’s chances of competing for a title.  Butler set the bar high.

 

This wasn’t supposed to be the Heat’s outlook.  In 2019 the best players on the squad were Goran Dragić, Josh Richardson, and Hassan Whiteside.  Managing to flip two of those three in a four-team deal that netted Miami Butler was as prolific a steal as the Lufthansa Heist.  It changed the Heat’s fortunes because they got a dude who impacted winning and said the right things after the games in pressers.  

 

Butler may miss time nursing his injuries in the regular season that arise from his bruising style of play, but he’s been as dependable as one can be in the Playoffs. After Game 2 of the 2020 Finals, Butler had played over 44 minutes in the loss, and before he left the Zoom call, I asked him if he could play all 48.  He said he could and would do “whatever it takes to win.” In Game 5, he recorded a triple-double and played all but 48 seconds of the win.  He averaged 43 minutes a night in the six-game series Miami lost to the Los Angeles Lakers for the championship.

 

The fine details about a team losing Game 7 at home are infrequently remembered.  Some might point to Boston’s win at Miami to claim the eastern crown as a stain against Butler’s term.  But I don’t.  He did miss a pull-up triple on the right wing that Boston’s Jayson Tatum admitted “could have sent us home,” but his legs were dead.  He had played 47 minutes and logged 35 points and nine rebounds on the stat sheet.  Butler finished the season, leaving every ounce of effort he generated on the floor.  

 

The Heat is a relatively new franchise at 35 years old, but they, at different points in time, have been the employers of a distinguished Hall of Famers who left their indelible mark.  James, Wade, Chris Bosh, Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Ray Allen, are as legit as it gets when it comes to elite talent being a part of an organization.  With all Butler has done in three seasons, he has elevated himself to the third most important figure in the team’s history behind Wade and James.

 

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Mario Cristobal’s Calling

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November 13, 2021. The Miami Hurricanes did what they’ve done for the better part of two decades. Play infuriatingly poor football, have enough explosive plays to somehow be in a position to win, and blow the game anyway.

But this felt different. Losing to that Florida State team was clearly unacceptable to the fan base. But to the administration? In the past, coaching retention decisions were made based on what the administration felt they could get away with versus what was necessarily in the best interest of the program. The Miami Hurricanes football program had reached a low point, with Manny Diaz somehow managing to win just enough to convince the higher-ups to keep him, while also blowing a game just to make sure all fans would lose any semblance of hope. This felt different because it was the end of the program.

That is a version of this story that I’m happy I’m not writing, a reality we’re thankfully not living.

The school had had enough, and Blake James, and eventually Manny Diaz, were shown the door.

The Long Kiss Goodnight

The last 6 months of frenetic recruiting and hiring successes obfuscate the slow, deliberate way in which the Canes conducted themselves, at least publicly. When the history of the upcoming Miami Hurricanes Renaissance is written, it will describe a tale of the Hurricanes zeroing in on their coach, and landing the only real choice. And that much is true, from a certain point of view.

But the long wait, the consternation about Diaz potentially being retained…that was real. The anxiety of those days, easy to forget in the glorious present, was palpable at the time. From November 27th to December 6th…the fans waited. While the wait felt interminable, the feeling could have turned into reality had Diaz continued. The school was mum on Diaz’s future, and the former Miami Hurricanes’ coach filled the vacuum with hashtags and hot air, stirring up toxicity in a bid to retain his job.

But then December 6th happened. A day that changed the trajectory of the University of Miami.

The Native Son

Mario Cristobal embodies Miami. There is a drive and intensity about him that is a throwback to his own playing days.

A Miami native, he went to the University of Miami, and had stints there as a both a graduate assistant and an assistant coach. And then he got his first head coaching job, also in Miami, at Florida International University.

Not enough is said about the job Mario Cristobal did for FIU. He took over a program that had won 5 games in total in 5 seasons, and in 2 years, had them in a bowl game. But one backslide and he was out of a job, and landed at a familiar place, at home in Coral Gables.

But the thing is Miami had changed. The year was 2013 and Al Golden held a near tyrannical hold on the Athletic Department. This was not the Miami that Cristobal remembered from his playing days. While perhaps not dead, the program was in hibernation. Cristobal spent 6 weeks on Golden’s staff, and when the greatest coach in college football history comes calling, he made a decision that was easy on paper, but incredibly difficult in reality.

Miami is Home

The “easy” decision turned out to be anything but.

Even while observing the disaster that was the Golden Era from inside. Even with the allure of going to work for Nick Saban.

Because Cristobal knew what he would be risking. Leaving Miami was one thing, but in an era where fealty to Al Golden was valued above all else, this native son of Miami knew he might never get another chance to work at the school he loved, replete with knowledge that this version of Miami would shun an alum in favor of an interloper who was using the program as a stepping stone. He might never be able to go home again.

In a more sane time, Cristobal could have gone to Alabama comfortable with the knowledge that he could return to Miami a better coach. But in 2013, he knew that leaving would paint him with a scarlet letter. What would you do? Leave the program you love and potentially never be able to return? Or help participate in the downfall and failure you know is coming, contributing to the failure itself, deluding yourself into thinking you can mitigate the incoming disaster?

Sometimes, you have to leave home, and that’s what Cristobal did. And predictably, he spent almost a decade as person non grata at Hecht. It’s safe to say without making that decision, Cristobal would not be the head coach today. 

I’m reminded of the Great American hero Virginian George Thomas. Most Virginians sided with the Confederacy at the outbreak of the Civil War. The Lost Cause narrative spilling out of that war whitewashed and deified Virginians such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, while largely ignoring or outright shunning those that did the right thing, like Thomas. To this day, Thomas is a hero in Washington, DC and a pariah in Virginia. He had to make a decision, to side with his home state and participate in something that was not only destined to fail, but awful in its cause, or to fight for the United States, and hasten the end of this dark period. He chose the latter. So did Cristobal.

Cristobal Chose Wisely

Mario Cristobal was always going to have to be the one to save Miami. And in order to do that, he had to leave. He knew that. Staying in Miami, remaining with that toxic program, would not only stain him, but would also not allow him to grow in a manner that would ultimately put him in a position to succeed here.

We are all the sum total of our collective experiences, our successes and failures. Greatness isn’t born, it’s forged. And through Alabama and Oregon, Cristobal broadened his horizons. He became a better coach. More exacting, more precise, more demanding. He took over a largely broken Oregon program and took it to two New Year’s 6 bowl games in 4 years, including a Rose Bowl victory.

The irony in late November and early December of 2021 was how the local view of a potential Cristobal hire so heavily diverged from the national narrative, while both still coalesced around a collective lack of belief.

For battered Miami fans, the question was simple. Would they really fire Manny Diaz and outlay the funds needed to bring in Cristobal? As Diaz’s public relations campaign dominated the local narrative, doubt crept in.

As far as the national media was concerned, they never miss an opportunity to denigrate the University of Miami. Every talking head rushed to find any outlet they could to offer up the opinion that Cristobal would be a fool to go to Miami and that there was no way he would take the job.

El Destino Cristobal

For Miamians, the possibility of Cristobal being offered the job with a reasonable salary and refusing to take it was unthinkable.

The University of Miami is different, as is the city as a whole. It’s a melting pot of people that were born there or made their way there, eventually called it home. Miami never leaves you even if you leave it. There is a draw, like a magnet pulling Miamians home. A klaxon alerting the sons and daughters of the 305, sometimes faintly, sometimes loudly, but ever present.

The irony of the private university in Coral Gables embodying the true Miami is not lost on any of us. And yet the University serves as a symbol of hope and pride for the community, not just because it represents us, but because it is where Miamians go to do big things, as Miamians. And this community has spent decades suffering, wanting our native sons to succeed, watching them collapse under the litany of false dawns and repeated failures. And yet, it still draws us in, draws us home, not because of the football, or the bravado, or the locale, but for what it symbolizes.

The U is the symbolic manifestation of the hopes and dreams of a Tri-County area on the Southeast tip of Florida. When those players run out through the smoke, they carry the weight of all the inner city boys that look up to them, hoping to be there one day. They carry the weight of the legacy of a program that reached heights before HDTV was ubiquitous. They know the price of success and failure.

And they know it’s been decades since the program has fulfilled the promise of Miami.

For Miamians, being acutely aware of the enormity of the task at hand does not equate to being deterred by the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. On the contrary, those challenges only harden the resolve. You tell any Miamian that he or she has the opportunity to rescue this dormant program, restore it to past glory, lift up the South Florida community, instill pride in a forlorn program, and the answer will always be to rise up and meet that challenge.

No, the question was not whether Cristobal would say yes, it was whether the question would be asked.

On December 6, the University of Miami sent for Mario Cristobal. The home land called up their best general to guide the troops to ultimate victory. And the call was answered.

Cristobal has been preparing for this his whole life, his life’s work leading to this moment, coming to the rescue when his home needs him the most.

The rough patches are not over. There will still be struggles, frustrating losses, moments of doubt. Such is football. Such is life. Cristobal’s hiring does not signify the end of that pain, as there are still miles to go before we sleep.

Cristobal’s hiring is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

The Prodigal Son has returned home.

Vishnu Parasuraman is a journalist for @FiveReasonsSports. He covers the Miami Hurricanes for Sixth Ring Canes and Formula 1 for Hitting the Apex. You can follow him on twitter @vrp2003

Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Better Scorer…. LeBron or Kareem?

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LeBron James is 1,325 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the regular season for the all-time scoring crown.  He’ll shatter the record before the upcoming NBA year concludes if Father Time doesn’t visit him and claim some of his powers.  If that happens, he’ll still have until 2025, when his contract expires.  

 

When James claims the record, will it mean he’s a better scorer than Abdul-Jabbar?  It depends on who you ask and how old they are.  

 

LeBron is one of the most efficient scorers the league has ever seen, and to his credit, he averaged a career-high in points per game in his 19th season.  The millions he spends annually on maintaining his body are paying off by keeping him in world-class shape.  

 

Indeed, the rule changes throughout the last few decades have tilted the game entirely in favor of the offensive player.  This has assisted James and players of his era by lowering the degree of difficulty to score because there is less physicality in the league now.  Defenders can’t hand check, and more recently, shooters have additional protection because of the unofficially named Zaza Pachulia rule.  According to the NBA’s law, defenders must give a shooter landing space.

 

These rules are a good thing.  When the game was more physical, it could allow certain players to affect the outcome of a match without using basketball skills.  Some of the effects of the rule changes, like the game becoming more perimeter-oriented, are not such a great thing, but that’s an argument for another day.  

 

LeBron hurts a defense primarily within 0-10 feet from the basket.  He’s never been better than a streaky shooter, but he never had to be with how efficient he is inside the paint.  Although, in certain situations, being guarded in single coverage on the perimeter, I wish LeBron would just cut or use his body to post up instead of taking a jumper.  When he settles for outside looks, he guards himself by forfeiting an opportunity to bang down low.  For his career, James converts 73.7% of the shots he takes within 0-3 feet of the cup.

 

 

In the first half of LeBron’s career, he was an unforgiving wrecking ball.  His cuts to the basket had to be guarded below and above the rim.  Those who followed his career can vividly remember when he jumped over John Lucas III on the baseline, caught a lob from Dwyane Wade, and slammed it, all with one hand.  Or when he obliterated Jason Terry with his chest for futilely trying to contest an alley-oop. 

 

James is a slasher. Despite his inconsistencies as a perimeter shooter, the more concerning flaw to his game, aside from underusing the post, is that he isn’t near automatic from the line.  He’s finished five seasons recording below 70% from the charity stripe.  In 2021/2022, James was 18th in the NBA in free throw attempts (6), but someone as tall, muscular, and agile as he should be taking close to double-digit freebies, making a minimum of 80%.

 

 

A player doesn’t have to be a flashy gunslinger to be considered the best at dropping points.  As far as the most recognized scorers of his era- Kobe Byrant, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry- James has a higher career field goal percentage and points per game average than all minus KD.  Durant is behind James in field goal percentage by a hair, but he barely leads the Lakers forward in scoring average.

 

Having gotten this close to Abdul-Jabbar is mind-blowing.  I thought his record was untouchable, but it’s inevitable James makes it his.  Like Kareem said, “The game always improves when records like that are broken.”

 

Abdul-Jabbar played from 1969-1989.  Basketball wasn’t the spaced-out game that is seen today because the NBA didn’t have a 3-point line until 1979, and after its arrival, it wasn’t valued by the players like the current generation does.  The ballers, then too, had more leeway with contact.  Despite that, Kareem was still lighting up the league with his arsenal of post moves.  

 

It should also be noted that Kareem played the first 12 seasons of his career, scoring on hard rims.  Any shot attempted had to be clean for it to go in, and there were not as many friendly bounces before the breakaway rim was introduced.

 

The masses ceaselessly and incorrectly give Abdul-Jabbar props saying his skyhook was unguardable.  Click here for proof of Wilt Chamberlain swatting multiple attempts on the same possession.  Julius Erving, Bill Willoughby, and Manute Bol also deserve a head nod for blocking Kareem’s hook from behind.  

 

The skyhook was indefensible against 99% of the league because it was something he worked on from the time he was in fifth grade.  It was mastered when he arrived at UCLA.  

 

Even with the NCAA forbidding dunks from 1967-1977, Kareem still dropped over 2,300 points before making the pros.  

 

Abdul-Jabbar was a master in the post. Defenders would lean on his hip to bump him off his spot, and he would respond by aiming his left shoulder at the basket and catapulting a shot with his right.  Or he would hit a fader, back down an opponent, or pivot past them for a layup or dunk.

 

One of the coldest moments in NBA history was the closing moments of overtime in Game 6 of the 1974 Finals.  Down a point with seven seconds left, Kareem caught a pass at the right elbow, pivoted, and took off towards the rim, facing a double team.  He raised on the baseline and buried his signature move, extending the season finale to another game.

 

Verdict

 

Who gets the edge?   What determines who is the better scorer, in my book, is who was harder to guard.  

 

They are dissimilar players.  James, a point-forward, he decides who gets the ball.  Abdul-Jabbar was a center and, like a wideout in football, depended on his playmaker feeding him the rock.

 

Both of them are most lethal near the rim.  At 7’2, Abdul-Jabbar is five inches taller than James, and the size advantage creates more mismatches against defenders.  Being a towering post scorer also leaves a player in great position to recover offensive rebounds for putbacks.  

 

Before LeBron developed an adequate outside shot, intelligent rivals would sag off, daring him to misfire.  It was a safer bet than guarding close up and conceding a lane.  Even through traffic, to this day,  James is an excellent finisher, but his kryptonite inside the paint is a legit shot blocker.

 

Kareem’s hook is so deadly that when he missed, it was more his fault than the man guarding him.  Aside from the Dipper, nobody had a chance of contesting it straight up.  Not in this life.  The others who blocked it from behind made unforgettable saves that must have bewildered the  “tower of power”.  But that move ate up schemes deployed to neutralize Abdul-Jabar, and he still had an abundance of other techniques to use.  

 

In this department, I’ll roll with Kareem, regardless of his reign as scoring leader, eventually coming to a close.  

 

When it’s all over, the only thing people will be able to say when examining the record is that at the peak of their powers, the league was theirs.

 

******

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: The Miami Heat Remain Dangerous

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The Miami Heat are going to run it back, and it’s not such a bad thing in the short term. With the latest news that Kevin Durant is staying put in Brooklyn, the only white whale Miami remains interested in is Donovan Mitchell.  But should they give up on that hunt for now?  

 

The market will be inflated for a long time due to the Rudy Gobert trade that sent five First Round Picks to Utah with four players from Minnesota in exchange for the Frenchman.  Conventional wisdom tells me the Jazz wouldn’t be interested in letting Spida go unless they net a haul like they did trading their big-man. 

 

There’s a shortlist of players that can go nuclear like Mitchell on offense- Utah doesn’t need to buckle on its asking price in negotiations because their guy is signed for the next three seasons. They already pulled off one historic exchange this summer.  There isn’t a rush to manufacture a second so soon.

 

The best chance Miami has of getting Spida in uniform is if they sign him when he’s an unrestricted free agent or devise a way to trade for him in two years when he has one season left on his contract.   

 

The best swap Miami could offer would be Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and two FRPs.  It’s a steep price but likely not enough unless Lowry’s spot is switched for Bam Adebayo, but that should be a dealbreaker.  

 

Mitchell is a masterful scorer, but he isn’t Dwyane Wade.  The similarities Spida has exhibited attacking the basket are reminiscent of Flash, but committing a trove of assets for a small guard who is only effective on one side of the ball should be a hard pass.  

 

The Heat have a late-game scoring issue that needs to be remedied, but solutions will likely come internally.  In Game 7s loss at home, anyone not named Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were ineffective on offense.  Boston was keying in Miami’s All-Stars throughout the game, and by the end of the night, their legs were dead.

 

When watching a team go down as the Heat did in the conference finals, it’s natural for fans or even team employees to want to feel the immediate gratification of improving the specific weakness.   

 

 It’s feasible the late-game scoring drags are fixed with a healthy Tyler Herro growing into the role of closer or Kyle Lowry having a bounce-back season as the main ball handler. Or even Victor Oladipo recapturing his former ability to get a bucket at will- fingers crossed.  One of Herro, Lowry, or Oladipo will have to be the third option alongside Adebayo and Butler in the Playoffs.

 

The Heat’s uncertainty at power forward is the team’s primary concern because the Butler era’s window for competing for a title is still open, but there is no telling for how long. He turns 33 on Sept. 14, but he is one of the legitimate difference makers in the NBA.  Miami shouldn’t waste its time on unrealistic options when other improvements are possible to keep Miami as lethal as last season.

.

Former Heatle Jae Crowder, currently over in Phoenix, has one year left on his deal.  I doubt the Suns would want to let an effective 3-and-D wing like him walk as a free agent and get nothing back in return.  Perhaps Miami could explore bringing him back for the right price, and if not, next man up.  His tenure as part of the club was brief but integral in their 2020 Finals run. 

 

Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes is another complementary forward who would fit nicely in the Heat’s rotation.  The Kings are going all-in on the play-in tournament, but if the season goes sideways for them, maybe the Heat could make an enticing proposition for Barnes’ expiring contract before the trade deadline.  

 

 For now, Tucker’s absence will alter some of Miami’s defensive schemes. He won’t be around to guard the other team’s best perimeter player, be a weak side help defender on opposing drives or be a guy who can switch onto any opponent and bother them.  

 

When Tucker was a Heatle, Miami was good enough to contend. His efforts boxing out, rebounding, screening, defending, and spacing the floor made him the team’s leatherman multi-tool. Tucker would seldomly get beat defending the ball handler last season.  His instincts and force to stay in front of the rock let other Heat players stick to their matchup without helping.

 

Caleb Martin is a candidate for the Heat’s starting power forward slot.  He is a solid player, but if he can’t hold opponents in front of him, Miami’s defense could eventually suffer by repeatedly having to send help when Martin is caught in a mismatch.  Martin, who stands at 6’5, will likely guard a bigger or stronger player before a switch. To his credit, his defensive field goal percentage last year was 41.8% on 10.7 attempts by the opponent.

 

Yet, offensively, Martin at the four is practicable. His athleticism is a plus, and he is a comparable deep shooter to Tucker.  At the end of a cut, Martin has enough pop to attack from above on a dunk.  His willingness to go for the slam should grant him more trips to the free throw line in 2022/2023.  Playing next to defenders like Adebayo and Butler possibly will increase Martin’s transition opportunities where he can use his speed getting downhill to Miami’s advantage.  

 

Last season, Tucker logged 609 more minutes than Martin.  In that extra time, PJ hit 16 more triples than his former teammate, on a slightly higher rate (.2%) and volume (.1%).

 

Getting the starting nod should see an uptick in 3-point attempts for Martin and, if converted around a similar efficiency, will provide ample room for Miami’s cutters to attack the cup. 

 

If plugged in at the four, Martin’s role as a screener will be more important than ever to get his teammates and himself open.  It would utilize his explosiveness to run actions for him as the roll man looking to score after a screen.  

 

It was first reported on Five on the Floor, Miami was comfortable not signing a free agent four after Tucker’s departure because they view Martin as a better player than any on the market.  It’s possible the Heat are right, and there won’t be much drop-off in two-way potency in 2022/2023.

 

*****

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‘The Heart Part 20’ by Udonis Haslem

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Miami Heat

 

Udonis Haslem’s final year in Miami was announced by the man himself around the community he holds dearly. Fulfilling a promise to his late father.

 

 

20 years ago, before the Heat were known as the leaders in finding diamonds in the rough, they found a priceless gem of a lifetime. A local kid named Udonis Johneal Haslem out of the University of Florida. Haslem had worked on his weight and fought for a roster spot with every grueling workout the team put him through. The organization saw something in him that many teams passed on and decided to give him a deal as an Undrafted Free Agent. Neither party at the time could have predicted the 19 years that followed.

What ensued was the unbreakable bond between one man and a city that will last for eternity. Udonis has always been proud of his roots and will never shy away from speaking glowingly about his home and the people that make it. Haslem is an extension of all the citizens of Miami that the fans get to watch put on the red, black, and white.  When they see ‘UD’ put on that uniform they see themselves being a part of the team. The front office, coaching staff, and players understand what he means to not only the team but the city as a whole.

Many outsiders have wondered why exactly he remains on the roster and isn’t converted into part of the staff. Have we not thought that maybe he doesn’t want that? And perhaps the team is with him on whatever he decides? This argument has gone on for so long among even Heat Twitter, that it’s gotten nauseating. I took part in this discourse until I realized that it’s really not worth arguing about. I’ve seen the players that Miami has developed into starters, bench contributors, and so on. Yes, you could say that Haslem is “taking up a roster spot for a player who could maybe contribute.”

If you said that you’d be wrong but you could say it, it is a free country after all. The Heat have found so many diamonds in the rough that they could open up a Zales. Do we honestly think that if there was a player they collectively saw something in that they wouldn’t find a way to have him on the roster?

That collective would include Haslem himself after all. It’s not outlandish to imagine that he has had more than a hand in picking out some of these players out. He very well could do this as a member of the staff but, again, he doesn’t want to and the Heat respects his wishes. The relationship between players and coaches is something difficult to understand even at a High School level. Haslem wants to remain as close to the players as possible without seeming like he’s their “boss” of sorts.

It’s difficult to walk that line and I imagine Udonis doesn’t want to deal with the balancing act just yet. When he watches some of these guys at the very limited practices the team has, he wants to connect with them on a level they can understand while trying to evaluate them at the same time. He also uses post-practice scrimmages and workouts with players who are willing to join to gain more of a connection. (It’s pretty impressive that a 42-year-old like him can still be in this type of shape.) There are many behind-the-scenes portions Haslem has a hand in that the general public doesn’t see. I can imagine that list is too long to even begin to make.

So many of the players Miami has found talk endlessly about what Udonis mean to them and their connections, due to Haslem’s own journey mirroring their own. They see a player who stuck it out through the toughest times when so many others would have given up. They see someone being held as this folk hero of basketball in South Florida because the organization took a shot on him. Haslem understands that not all of these guys will make it through the grind that is making a Heat roster. But damn it if he won’t make sure they’re all given a chance.

If you want to tell him that he’s blocking someone’s chance to make a roster; I imagine he’d have something to say about that. The team had JaVonta Smart and Omer Yurtseven on the roster last season. Those guys contributed a total of zero meaningful playoff minutes. No one is losing sleep about that 14th or 15th roster spot anymore. I’d say Erik Spoelstra and the organization has more than earned the benefit of the doubt in this case. Everyone should calm down about Miami missing out on a possible next Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, etc. If that player exists in the pipeline, the team will surely be the first to know. I’ll defer to the best Coach in the league plus the renowned scouts and development staff.

Haslem will get to enjoy his farewell season on his terms. The team will continue to accommodate him financially in a way they regret not doing for Dwyane Wade. They’ll make sure that the sacrifice he gave in 2010 to re-sign wasn’t for naught. A promise he made to a father he lost will be fulfilled. A promise he never imagined would ever be this close while playing in the French League in 2002. Twenty years for a single team is an achievement only Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki have accomplished. Now the list will gain a kid from Miami that never left since he was born. He’s earned all the time he wants on the bench wearing that uniform. No one will ever wear that ‘Miami’ on the front, while also on the back.

Here’s to one more season where after we’ll truly say “Udonis…he did it.”

Mateo’s Hoops Diary: A New Era in the NBA

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The NBA is in the middle of a power shift.  The three most noteworthy players of the past generation are LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.  While the three of them are still outstanding, the new faces of the league snuck in through the back door and will likely remain as the league’s premier ballers for close to a decade.  

 

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić are the NBA’s next titans.  They may not win as many rings as James, Curry and Durant have combined, but that shouldn’t be the only criteria for evaluating their greatness.  Personal records factor in, and so do the moments that took your breath away watching them.

 

For Giannis, what earned my unyielding respect for his game was his 2021 postseason run.  In the Finals, he was the focal point of two highlight plays that will forever shine in championship lore.

 

First, it was the block on Deandre Ayton’s attempted lob.  The Greek Freak was assisting PJ Tucker with icing Devin Booker on a roll.  Booker noticed the attention and hoisted a pass to the 7-footer who stood in the restricted area.  Before Ayton could plunge it down the cylinder, Antetokounmpo was at his chest and rejected the ball towards Tucker.

 

That’s as close as you will get to seeing someone float like a butterfly and sting like a bee on the court.

 

The next play happened in Game 5.  Booker dribbled into a wall in the lane and when looking to pass out, was stripped by Jrue Holiday, who started the fastbreak.  Antetokounmpo was the first Buck to make it to the Phoenix’s paint.  Holiday then flung up a pass, and the Freak snatched it, and while taking a two-handed shove from Chris Paul to the gut, still slammed the rock through the cup.  

 

It was called a shooting foul but it should have got Paul tossed, even with 13.5 seconds left.  Pushing someone in the air is slimy.  When a player has taken flight, they are defenseless and should be avoided by the opposition unless making a play on the ball.  The only reason Giannis powered through Paul’s desperate cheap shot and landed on his feet is that he is a super freak plus close to a foot taller than his aggressor.

 

Antetokounmpo’s Jedi-like maneuver distracted the refs and most observers from calling what happened what it was.  A dirty play by Paul.

 

In the next game, the season finale, Antetokounmpo delivered his magnum opus by dropping 50 points for the title.  By the night’s end, he’d won all the major awards a player can earn in the league.  He was only 26 years old.  

 

Jokić, the reigning back-to-back MVP, is on his way to becoming a historic player if he isn’t already.  If his team gets around eight more wins than this past season’s win total while he produces comparable stats to his last two years, maybe the Joker becomes the fourth player in league history behind Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird to win three consecutive MVPs.  

 

Those are big ifs, but winning a pair in two seasons is a rare accomplishment. It’s only been done by 12 other guys.

 

The Joker’s near 7-foot frame neutralizes the effects of opposing double teams because he can precisely find an open man by passing over the top of defenders.  His post game is as polished as newly minted coins, and he can step away from the paint and torch his rivals from the outside.  

 

Jokić does it all on offense.  His 82 triple-doubles in the regular season and Playoffs will attest to it.  In 2021/2022, he elevated his game and logged a career-high in points and field goal percentage while playing without two starters (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr).  In the absence of two of Denver’s top marksmen, Jokić operated in mostly clogged paints, and he was still untouchable.  

 

Few plays are as pleasing as his no-look passes or when he finds a teammate cutting backdoor or targets another man across court in the shooting pocket. The Joker’s strongest asset is his mind.  Ninety-nine times out of 100 that he steps on the floor, he’ll be the smartest dude in uniform.

 

Then there’s Luka.  A forward who can fill up the stat sheet like James, Bird and Rick Barry.  Who could forget how at 21 and 22 years old, Dončić was making the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Clippers sweat bullets because they were unable to stay in front of him?  Or specifically, when he caught a sideline pass near midcourt, dribbled over to the left wing, and pulled up for a game-winning trifecta in Game 4 of Round 1 of the 2020 Playoffs?

 

Dončić is never the fastest man on the court, but it doesn’t stop him from getting anywhere he wants.  His strength and footwork allow him to create separation when he decides to cut inside or post up.  

 

Guarding Dončić is as enticing as picking your poison.  If he is defended in single coverage, he might casually drop a 40-piece.  If help is sent on each of his drives, he’ll cut up the scheme by finding a cutter on the baseline or a shooter outside.

 

Dončić entered the NBA workforce as an All-Star caliber player.  In four years, he ascended near the peak of his profession. 

 

If I had to start a team and the only three names in the hat were Antetokoumpo, Jokić  and Dončić, I could make the pick blindfolded and be elated at my prospects.  The league is theirs for years to come.  Just as Wilt Chamberlain passed the torch to Kareem, as Bird and Magic Johnson gave it up to Michael Jordan, the cycle repeats.  James, Curry and Durant will be replaced by Antetkounmpo, Jokić and Dončić.

Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Kevin Durant Undercut his Bosses

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The Brooklyn Nets are more dysfunctional than the Royal Family and are addicted to double-dipping in misery.

 

Kevin Durant summoned the trump card when he called for his coach and general manager to hit the chopping block.   If owner Joe Tsai turns on his own, KD will have a chance to sit with the other coach killers of the mess hall. Magic Johnson, Dwight Howard, Latrell Sprewell, Stephon Marbury, Carmelo Anthony, etc., please clear out a spot for the new head of the table.  

 

There’s also the option of keeping him.   I don’t think KD has the nerve to miss camp, yet letting him show up could result in an overwhelmingly uncomfortable situation to deal with.  Leaking this info to Shams Charania has emasculated Durant’s superiors, and his insolence could spread like a virus throughout the locker room.

 

But the more likely finale to this sad affair is that Tsai taps out of this deal and trades Durant for pennies on the dollar, crippling the team for years to come. Following the report of their meeting over in London, Tsai tweeted the front office and coaching staff have his full support, and they will do what’s in the best interest of the team.

 

Initially, I wrote the Nets were better off keeping KD.  The news has changed, and so has my opinion.  He is now more trouble than he’s worth.  The bridge wasn’t burned when he asked out, but it is now.  His plan, from an outsider’s perspective, appears to be that he’s going to break balls until he gets his way.   

 

The Celtics offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a first-round draft pick for Durant’s services but were denied.  I find it unlikely that Boston will be as enthusiastic this time around to offer the same deal knowing how desperate the Nets must be.  Maybe Phoenix, Toronto and Miami are still in the mix too.

 

Durant should feel frustrated the team was pantsed in round one.  But before he calls out his bosses, it would be wiser to set Kyrie Irving straight for compromising the team’s season for fear of needles or wounding his pride.  It was Irving’s selfishness and pseudo-intellectualism that cost the team an opportunity for more favorable seeding.  It would have likely led to an easier opponent to start the Playoffs.  

 

KD didn’t even hold James Harden accountable.  Before Harden was shipped out, Durant never told his buddy to slim down.  Perhaps it would have soothed the stress on the Beard’s aching hamstrings.  

 

This underhanded move #7 pulled reeks of entitlement.  Where does he get the stones to orchestrate such a machiavellian tactic when he hasn’t lived up to his end of the deal?  After all, he did get a fat extension worth $198 million a year ago, and all he has to show for it is a sweep and complaints.  

 

The Slim Reaper is still a force of nature, but it doesn’t matter who it is. Giving any player in year-16 carte blanche is a dangerous gamble.  If he’s every bit as awful as LeGM over in Lakerland at building a team, the Nets might be forced to pack up their stuff and head back to New Jersey.

 

If Tsai hands over executive powers to Durant, the appointment of one of his sycophants as coach and general manager is likely his next threat.  Tsai should tell his disgruntled employee, thanks but no thanks, and start packing your bags.  Sean Marks was doing a fine job before Durant and Irving showed up. 

 

Steve Nash should have submitted his two-week notice the moment Irving said he didn’t need a coach, and Durant called it a “collaborative effort.”  For all of Nash’s faults, he never had the trust of his star players.  Neither did Kenny Atkinson before him, and he too got canned.  

 

Call it what you want.  Durant wants two human sacrifices to wash over his shortcomings.  The only thing that will absolve him of that is a self-led deep trip in the postseason or if he parachutes into another loaded squad and they save him.

 

*****

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Mateo’s Hoops Diary: It’s All on Zion Williamson

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The fate of the Pelicans rests on Zion Williamson’s plate. To protect themselves from their star player eating himself out of the league, NOLA will periodically weigh him to ensure he doesn’t exceed 295 pounds. Although, with the threshold being such a high number, they are giving Williamson a large amount of waist room.  

 

Yet, there’s no word on Williamson guaranteed money getting touched if he misses a certain amount of games. When I asked the Pelicans about it, they did not want to provide any other information about his contract, including how the 295-pound threshold was reached by both parties, how much Williamson is weighing now and what they’d prefer his measurements on the scale to be. 

 

However, #1 is committed to getting slimmer after missing an entire season (2021/2022) with a foot injury. He has employed the services of a new personal chef who works with other athletes. But it’s the least he could do after reportedly showing up last year weighing 330 pounds.

 

It’s news to me that a professional athlete couldn’t stay in shape when going through an injury to his extremities as he was surrounded by some of the best trainers and nutritionists in the world. 

 

Williamson and his camp should be elated that the only thing affecting his guaranteed money is something he can control. Given the explosive nature of his game, it’s reasonable to believe that lowering his density would alleviate some of the pressure on his joints, ligaments, bones and muscles when coming down. 

 

Williamson is legit. But he hasn’t done anything to deserve such a commitment from his team when he’s only played in 85 regular season games in three seasons. For the Pelicans to take the next step into contention after making their first Playoffs since 2018, Williamson will have to rewrite the narrative on his availability.

 

New Orleans valiantly challenged Phoenix through six games in round one before defeat. Despite a short trip to the postseason, the prospects of NOLA having a bright future were as clear as the Weddell Sea because of how much they pushed the Suns without Williamson on deck. 

 

Hypothetically, the series against the West’s top-seeded team would have transpired differently with #1 suited up. Perhaps New Orleans still gets taken out, but what is certain is the defensive strategy the Suns used would have been altered with Williamson on the floor because of the mismatches he creates. 

 

 Replacing Jackson Hayes for a healthy Williamson in the starting lineup would have given the Pelicans four players with the ability to create their own shot to open a game. If that many players can get a bucket on their own, it limits an opponent’s capacity to send help effectively. 

 

About 70% of Williamson’s field goal attempts come from within three feet of the hoop, and it’s usually a surprise when he fails to convert from close range. He is a danger to the rim and commands a double or trap near the paint with the ball in his hands in the halfcourt. That type of attention from the defense will make sure another Pelican will get open on the opposing baseline or perimeter. 

 

An effective tactic to deploy when Williamson returns this upcoming season is using him more as the roll man after a screen. In 2021, his PNR frequency was only 5.2%, scoring 1.4 points per game on those possessions. The screener always gets open if the man he roadblocked is trying to ice the ball handler. Williamson would have a short window to receive the ball and dash toward the cup. If his man is low defending the lane, he can attack the protection by taking a shot from up to 16 feet away or attempt to go through him to force the foul. 

 

Williamson not getting enough action in PNR is a coaching crime that falls on the shoulders of Stan Van Gundy and Alvin Gentry, aside from their inability to keep him in shape. 

 

Fortunately for the Pelicans, coach Willie Green managed to direct his squad into the postseason when the chances of it happening were slimmer than a straight razor to start the campaign. Such an accomplishment adds credibility to Green because snatching the eighth seed indicated the Pelicans were farther along in their development than expected. 

 

Adding Williamson to this group could make New Orleans one of the dark horse teams in the West. They already have two three-level scorers in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, plus a shutdown perimeter defender in Herb Jones. Inserting a skywalker like Williamson around those guys is a luxury not many teams can say they have. 

 

But none of it will mean anything If NOLA’s first overall pick can’t get on the floor. The investment to build a compatible team around him is too large for the Pelicans to fail. 

The Life and Times of Sebastian Vettel | Hitting the Apex

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For older McLaren fans, in particular those who are veterans of the battles of the early 2010s which saw Red Bull transform from plucky energy drink company to Formula 1 dominance coinciding with a McLaren backslide into the midfield, it’s hard to identify the epiphanic moment.

That chill that runs down the spine, causing the whole body to shiver.

The realization that you like and admire Sebastian Vettel.

The 4-time World Champion announced his retirement this week. And his career spanning more than a decade illustrates the power of sports and the platform it provides to reach a higher calling outside of the race track.

Vettel’s journey from Wunderkind to Elder Statesman saw the German achieve much more when he was no longer winning races than he ever did by lifting trophies.

Born to Race

Sebastian Vettel was born to be a race car driver. He started karting at the age of 3 and quickly ascended up the racing totem pole, finally becoming a full-time Formula 1 driver with the Toro Rosso racing team.

And he took the sport by storm, fast from the beginning. He also earned the reputation as impetuous, foolish, too young to win a championship. And despite being the youngest driver in F1 history to win a race, there was still healthy skepticism about his ability to be a world champion.

For much of the 2010 season, that skepticism seemed valid as Vettel adjusted to the Red Bull team he had joined. Vettel was the fastest driver, but several retirements and mistakes, most notably crashing into his teammate Mark Webber in Turkey, seemed to have gifted the championship to Fernando Alonso. With 2 races to go, Vettel needed to win both to have any shot at the title. He accomplished the first half of that in Brazil. In the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Vettel not only needed to win, he needed a minor miracle.

You ask for a miracle? I give you Ferrari.

All Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso needed to do was finish 2nd to win the championship, and Top 4 would be enough to prevent Vettel from winning his first title.

Enter Ferrari strategy. They pitted Alonso early to cover off Mark Webber, who had only pitted early because of damage. By doing so, Ferrari undercut themselves out of the race, spending the race stuck behind a Renault and finishing 7th. Vettel won the race and the championship, becoming the youngest champion in Formula 1 history.

The Wunderkind had delivered on his promise.

Over the next 3 years as part of winning 4 consecutive titles, Vettel transformed from young gun to veteran, from exciting prospect to part of the scenery. We started to take his brilliance for granted. The age old detraction of “anyone can win in that car” was bandied about.

But anyone didn’t win in that car. Vettel did.

For fans of teams that weren’t Red Bull, this period was vexing. An energy drink company is not supposed to put a kid in a car and beat teams with the tradition of McLaren, Ferrari, and Williams.

Which was why what happened next was so shocking. Vettel had been with the Red Bull program since he was a junior driver. But after one bad 2014 season, he left. It’s hard to know what precipitated the divorce, but Red Bull had their next young leader in Daniel Ricciardo, and Vettel wanted the challenge of Ferrari.

The End of an Era

What had actually happened in 2014 was not Vettel’s fault. Red Bull had become so accustomed to winning, they, and really all of Formula 1, was not prepared for the era of dominance Mercedes was about to unleash. Mercedes would win the next 7 Drivers Championships until last year’s controversial Max Verstappen win.

And when history retells this tale of Mercedes’ dominance, it’ll talk about the one Nico Rosberg title, and Lewis Hamilton’s ascension into the greatest driver in Formula 1 history. It will be glossed over as a time when no one challenged Mercedes.

But that isn’t true. Because Vettel did. 

The 2018 season will look in the history books like one that is non-competitive. Hamilton won the championship by 88 points. But he was not in the lead at the halfway mark. This was a season where Vettel pushed Hamilton to his limit. The reason Hamilton is the greatest driver in Formula 1 history is that when pushed to his limit, he found another gear, reaching a crescendo in one of the best qualifying laps in Formula 1 history which saw him take pole and win the race at a “Ferrari” track in Singapore.

This was Hamilton at the height of his powers, and there was Vettel, pushing him all the way.

Which is why once again it was so shocking that merely one season later, Ferrari unceremoniously announced that Vettel would not continue after the upcoming 2020 season. Once again, Vettel, with so much left to offer his team, was on the move.

This time there was no race winning car in his future, but Aston Martin beckoned.

Retirement

Why would a 4-time World Champion decide to finish career at lowly Aston Martin? Sure, there was the opportunity to potentially build a race winning team given the influx of money being pumped into the team. But Vettel has won 53 races. He didn’t need to win another. He had won 4 titles. He didn’t need to win another

No, it was not the on track aspect. You see, while Sebastian Vettel was born to be a race car driver, his actual calling in life is humanitarian. And Formula 1 provided him the platform to become the champion of the downtrodden, the discriminated against, the marginalized people who have no voice.

While our current era of athletes are almost preprogrammed to give rote answers about any social or marginally controversial issue, Vettel seeks out the limelight precisely to highlight those issues, and to take a side. The side he chooses to take is the one of righteousness, of humanity, of putting others in front of his personal brand.

It’s with a sense of irony that Vettel announced his retirement the week of the Hungarian Grand Prix as he returns to the scene of where he famously wore rainbow colored shoes in protest of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination laws in Hungary. For a marginalized community in Hungary legitimately living in fear of discrimination and much worse, Vettel provided a beacon of hope.

He has been at the forefront of supporting Lewis Hamilton in the fight against racism, to the point that the once furious rivals are now close friends.

Vettel is not afraid to be out in front. He’s used to leading the pack. And it is fitting that as former 3-time World Champion Nelson Piquet gave everyone a window into his racism, Vettel continues to show the world what a real champion is. In a cover piece for a LGBTQ+ magazine attitude that was released almost simultaneous to Piquet being banned from the Formula 1 paddock for repeated racial and homophobic slurs, Vettel said:

It doesn’t matter your skin colour, it doesn’t matter your background, it doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter who you fall in love with. In the end, you just want equal treatment for everybody. Everyone has the same right to love.

That is the essence of Sebastian Vettel, the man. Formula 1 is losing so much more than a fast race car driver when Vettel exits the sport. I’m under no illusion that this Aston Martin car can win a race, that we’ll see Vettel ascend to that top step of the podium one more time, that we’ll see him showered in champagne.

However, what we’ve witnessed is far greater than that. We’ve seen Vettel ascend to the top step of the podium of life. From Wunderkind to humanitarian, from petulant to role model, from driver to legend.

It will be impossible to write the history of Formula 1 without Sebastian Vettel. His quality as a race car driver saw to that.

But his impact off the track, his shifting of our expectations of how we expect a driver to conduct himself, his willingness to step out front and lead on issues that were not spoken about previously, providing support to those who need it most, will echo through eternity. 

Formula 1 will lose Sebastian Vettel as a driver in 10 more races.

The world is a better place because of Sebastian Vettel the person, and fortunately for all of us, that Sebastian Vettel isn’t going anywhere.

Vishnu Parasuraman is a contributor for @FiveReasonsSports. He covers the Miami Hurricanes  for Sixth Ring Canes and Formula 1 for Hitting the Apex. You can follow him on twitter @vrp2003