It is time for Tua Tagovailoa to start at quarterback for the Miami Dolphins.

Pressure Point: Time for Miami Dolphins to turn to Tua Tagovailoa

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Staying reasonably competitive with the Seattle Seahawks and MVP candidate Russell Wilson in a 31-23 loss Sunday is of little consequence for the Miami Dolphins.

It only served to set back the time table of their mission.

The 1-3 Dolphins are no playoff contender. This season is about the future, and it is time to take the next vital step in that direction.

Yes, it is time to take the wraps off Tua Tagovailoa.

I say that knowing full well coach Brian Flores doesn’t agree. He will say Ryan Fitzpatrick gives the Dolphins the best chance to win, despite plenty evidence on Sunday to the contrary.

Three promising drives deep into Seahawks territory in the first half netted only three field goals because Fitzpatrick wasn’t sharp. He couldn’t make the money throw when he needed it.

Unlike Wilson, who after the Dolphins pulled within 10-9 with 24 seconds remaining in the half, took the Seahawks 75 yards in four plays in the span of 21 seconds for a 17-9 lead.

Can’t win with field goals

There would be two more field goals in the second half before Fitzpatrick scrambled for Miami’s lone touchdown in the final two minutes with the Seahawks firmly in control.

Flores’ displeasure was evident: “For the most part I felt we moved it well. Fitz ran it, threw it, but at the end of the day you’ve got to finish in the red zone.”

Keep in mind, the Seahawks came in ranked 32nd — dead last — in pass defense and total defense. That’s right, worse than the Dolphins’ porous defense, which ranked 25th in both categories. Seattle was allowing 28.7 points a game, and their defense was banged up.

Yes, give the Miami defense a gold star for a commendable job against Wilson and keeping the Dolphins in the game until the final minutes — until Fitzpatrick threw the game-sealing interception.

But you’re not beating playoff-caliber teams with a flurry of field goals, as Flores also pointed out.

It is abundantly clear at this point what the Dolphins need.

They need to see if Tagovailoa is the talent he is touted to be.

Let’s see what Tagovailoa can do

Some intriguing footage appeared on Instagram last week of Tua scattering pinpoint completions around the field during Dolphins practice.

Right, it was practice. It proves nothing. But it sure whets the appetite to see what Tua can do in a game.

And for him to begin acclimating to the NFL, like Justin Herbert, taken one pick later in the draft, is doing quite well with the Los Angeles Chargers.

For those keeping track, Herbert was 20-of-25 for 290 yards and three touchdowns with a 137.9 passer rating in a 38-31 loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

By every indication, Tagovailoa is fully recovered from the serious hip injury that made it possible for the Dolphins to draft him with the No. 5 overall pick in April. Being active as the backup quarterback in each game so far verifies that.

The other vital question going into the season was whether a rebuilt offensive line would be adequate to protect a franchise quarterback. The play of the line has been the most positive development on offense for the Dolphins.

Rookies Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley are not exhibiting the growing pains that generally come with first-year players immediately thrust into the starting lineup.

Rebuilt line passes early tests

Considering the line has newcomers at four of five positions — veterans Ereck Flowers and Ted Karras were also offseason additions — it is impressive how quickly it has messed as a unit, and with no preseason. Pass protection has been solid from Week 1 and run blocking has improved the past two games.

Now the line needs a playmaker working behind it. Fitzpatrick has served the Dolphins remarkably well, but FitzMagic isn’t taking this team anywhere meaningful after a 1-3 start.

This is not a knock on Fitzpatrick, who has been everything that could have been asked of a veteran leader and bridge quarterback for a rebuilding team.

He is a delightful personality and an inspiration with his daring dashes for first downs and touchdowns. Really, a marvel as a 37-year-old starting for the eighth team in a long career.

The bottom line on Fitzpatrick’s performance Sunday was no touchdown passes, two interceptions and a 66.4 passer rating.

“Red zone execution really falls on the quarterback,” Fitzpatrick said. “For me, I walk out of this game feeling terrible in that. I felt like there [were] a lot of guys on our team that played well enough to win and I, unfortunately, was not of them. When that happens and your quarterback doesn’t play up to his ability, then you’re not going to win a whole lot of games in this league.”

That sums up the frustration of the present. Plenty of reason to get started on finding out if Tua can change the narrative as soon as possible.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

 

Dolphins Stock up, Stock down vs Jaguars

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Welcome back to another installment of Stock Up Stock Down. In Week 3 of the NFL, your Miami Dolphins traveled north to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in a clash of in-state rivals. On primetime television, we took care of business and got our first win of the year with a score of 31-13. There were a lot of positives as well as some things to work on. Let’s dive in and see who raised and who lowered their stock this past week.

Stock Up

 

Draft Class:

It’s getting to be a regular occurrence when we finish the game and see how impressive some of our rookies have been, but this past week it felt like they were of importance to the victory. Without understating how impactful both Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley have been, I also want to give a lot of credit to Noah Igbinoghene. He, after getting torched all last week,  bounced back with a shut-down game where he didn’t let a pass completed to his intended receiver.

Robert Hunt continues to rotate and has solidified a role on the goal line, and finally, Brandon Jones, who has, from the first game, been impressive and continued his solid play by flying around everywhere. The fact these rookies are biting at such an early juncture of the season is very indicative of what we have uncovered because, as Bill Parcells famously said, “if they don’t bite when they’re puppies, they usually won’t bite.”

Team’s Response:

One thing I wanted to keep an eye on is how the team would respond to a close defeat the previous week. The team came out as a unit and from the opening whistle, dominated. The first offensive drive had a script which included a plethora of runs to Myles Gaskin, passes to DVP, Gesicki, Jakeem, and then a touchdown to Preston. Starting strong has not been a strength of ours under Brian Flores, so it was good to see the team play and execute to perfection. It’s up to the team to continue this momentum and prepare for a formidable opponent in the Seattle Seahawks.

Myles Gaskin:

Coming into this year, I think most people following the Dolphins assumed a rotation of Jordan Howard, Breida, and Laird/Gaskin but boy has Gaskin proven us all wrong. Myles got off to a scorching start on Thursday night when he got 50 yards on the opening drive. Gaskin took a stranglehold on the backfield carries this week, ending up with 22 carries for 66 yards and also tying DVP with five catches to lead the team for 29 yards. In total, we gave Myles 27 touches, which he turned into 95 yards from a player we expected little to no contributions from.

Ryan Fitzpatrick:

Fitzmagic is back, baby! Fitz did his thing all night long. From running the ball 7 times for an average of 5.8 yards per carry to only having 2 incompletions, Fitzpatrick seemed to be firing on all cylinders. At one point, he started the game 12 for 12, so he was locked in from the opening drive. One thing that is undeniable about Fitz is the amount of love and passion his teammates have for him. It’s never more apparent when you see Christian Wilkins running to celebrate with the offense after every TD.

After another solid week, it seems tone-deaf to even mention Tua, but that’s what happens when you draft a QB at five, and as much as I would love to see Tua play, he will have to earn it and prove to everyone he’s better than Fitz because just going to him for the heck of it, might not sit right with the team as a whole.

Stock Down 

Run D:

This has become too much of a regular occurrence for me to think it only falls on the players. Some may be thinking well the Jaguars did not crack 100 yards rushing total or even got close, and while that may well be true, it doesn’t show that with a 2/3 score lead throughout the game, the Jags had minimal opportunity to run evident by the 42 passes Minshew threw up. Unfortunately, on the few times, they did run, they gashed us each chance. Minshew carried three times for an average of 7.3 yards per carry as well as James Robinson getting 2 touchdowns and averaging 4.2 yards on just 11 carries. Eventually, Coach Flores will have to take a personal interest in fixing this because he was hired as a defensive guru who cannot improve our defense.

High Priced Free Agents:

It is looking more and more likely that this part of the article will stay here throughout the year. Elandon Roberts looks as lost as any rookie I have seen play. We brought him in as an LB/FB, but with Cox owning the FB position and getting next to nothing from the LB, what did we sign him for? Shaq and Ogbah also have to take some heat because the 2 things they were brought in to do was No.1 rush the passer and 2 stop the run, and after each passing week it feels like those 2 things are next to impossible to ask of them. They have shown nothing through 3 weeks of the season, and eventually, we will have to look at younger players such as AVG, Raekwon, and KGH. FYI KGH and AVG both got sacks.

Situational Football:

After the positive response the team gave this week, I did not want to bash the coaching staff too hard, but it still needs to be done. We had an opportunity at the beginning of the 3rd quarter at the Jacksonville 40-yard line, where we had a 3rd and 7 where Myles was only able to get 6. So, on 4th and 1, with the ability to all but end this game by putting it up to four scores, we decide too late in the shot clock run out the offense to line up with 2 seconds left not to run a play but get the delay of game penalty. Some might say I am too aggressive, but when will we begin to see our Return on Investment for all these picks and money we have spent on the o-line. Eventually, we have to believe we are the tough, physical team that Coach Flores wants us to be and go and get that 1 yard to ice the game. 

Overall this team grew in the four short days in between the Bills game and the Jags game. We need to continue to work on the things we struggled with and continue what we have already mastered. With ten days to prepare against a tough opponent like Seattle, we will need to be firing on all cylinders to hope to steal one from Russell Wilson and Pete Carrol. Till next time, Fins Up!

 

Drink It In, Heat Nation: Your Giant-Ass 2020 NBA Finals Preview

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The Ultimate Miami Heat Playlist To Get You Ready For Game Time: Compiled By You, Heat Twitter

I asked and you delivered. Put this playlist on while you read this. Then put it on repeat every game day and get ready to run through a god damn wall. LET’S FUCKING GO.



The Block And The Importance of Being Cultured

Every NBA playoffs has a series-defining moment. And for the 2020 Miami Heat, it was The Block. The one where Bam ripped Jason Tatum’s soul directly from his body while sealing a Game 1 victory for the Heat and setting the tone for the rest of the series. Not only did Bam block the ever loving shit out of Tatum’s potential game-winning-oh-my-gahhh-Jason-Tatum-is-the-next-Kobe-hurrr-durrr dunk, he utterly wrecked everyone’s expectations of how this series would and should go. It was a block that woke up the basketball-watching to the fact that Bam Adebayo has arrived: fully armed and operational. It was a block that quieted all the Colin Cowherd mouth breathers of the world, not to mention alleged NBA scouts that called Bam’s matchup with Daniel Theis a wash (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA), and every single member of Celtics Nation — as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

If you could bottle #Culture, or at least encapsulate it with one image — it’s The Block.

The Block is a loaded cornucopia of how and why Miami Heat Culture works: A largely unknown and dismissed young player taken middle of the first round and cast off by the so-called experts taking on a highly touted Future Star one-on-one.

Jason Tatum, the Next Guy Up, the Celtics’ Golden Boy Chosen One Danny Ainge Is A Genius And Supposed Heir to Kobe Bryant, takes off towards the basket for a supposed monster dunk that would have made all of ESPN collectively climax into their pants. But he is suddenly and violently met by Bam at the rim. Bam, showing impossible strength and apparently a wrist made of hard rubber, emphatically blocks the attempt.

Clean, strong, with authority.

A nation cheers.

A world watches in awe.

The image is forever burned in our collective brains.

Holy and shit what a play.

And with that, all of what Culture is supposed to be — hard work, dedication, sacrifice, defense first, blood, sweat, courage, ego-aside, badassery — flashes before the NBA’s collective consciousness. The Block was more than just a brilliant defensive play, it was a message to the rest of the league that Heat Culture is open for business and, brother, business is A-BOOMIN. Heat Culture is the cure to what ails all your losing ways. Tired of losing? Come take up the Culture. Want to be the best player you’ve ever been? Come take up the Culture. Want a real shot at winning a title and upping your legacy? Come take up the Culture.

It’s why Andre Iguodala told reporters on Tuesday, “Every young guy should experience what Heat Culture is like because it sets them up for success their entire career.”

ARE YOU NOT LISTENING, GIANNIS? DO YOU NOT SEE, BRADLEY BEAL? HAVE YOU NOT WITNESSED, KAWHI?

Every kingdom LeBron James has ruled over has turned to sand upon his exit. The Cavaliers in 2010, the Cavaliers again in 2018, and we can only guess once he leaves L.A., and Anthony Davis goes too, how that will all turn out (history says: Not great, Bob!).

But the Miami Heat have remained.

The Miami Heat is the Infinity Stone.

Even after a few bad years wandering the wasteland of the Hassan Whiteside Era, bad contracts, and early playoff exits, the Heat still managed to right the ship by unloading bad players, refilling the coffers with young up-and-coming future All Stars, undrafted badasses who shoot lights out from downtown, and attracting top disgruntled talented vets like Jimmy Butler. The Heat are steady even as teams with once promising futures like the Cavs, Sixers, and Thunder all fall by the wayside.

Not only did Bam’s block usurp all other moments during these playoffs (and there are many “fuck yea!” moments, including the Heat dismantling Giannis and the Bucks, the sweep of the Pacers, Butler morphing into Playoff Jimmy), it sent a clear message:

Yes, we’re a fifth seed.

No, we weren’t expected to have gotten this far.

Yes, you can take your expectations and Vegas odds and roll them into a PVC pipe and shove them into your shit-hole.

The sheer impossibleness of that block is mind boggling. Bam, with his WEAK HAND, had to contort his body mid-air to not only contest Tatum, but meet him at the rim without putting a body on him as to not get a foul called by the shit-for-eyes officials. On the strength of an explosive hop and leap, Tatum brought the ball down full force, as he has a million times before in his career. And Bam somehow met all ball and pushed it back (again, with his WEAK HAND), stuffing the dunk and ending Tatum’s quest to be The Hero. It’s a block that needs to be sent to labs at NORAD and studied for decades to come.

Watch this nerd’s breakdown of how it was even better than we all think:

Things were never truly the same for the Celtics after The Block. Sure, they took two games in the series, but they also imploded in a locker room ruckus, wilted under the oppressive Heat zone defense, succumbed to The Baby Goat, and lost yet another Eastern Conference Finals, falling short of expectations and making ESPN very sad about the death of the dream of televising a Lakers-Celtics Finals where they could show more riveting images of Deuce Tatum on the sideline watching cartoons on an iPad.

And all of the experts’ insistence that Boston would storm back and take control of the series, and all of the hopes heaped upon Gordon Hayward’s Antebellum MAGA mustache, and all of Marcus Smart’s gritty-you-wish-he-was-on-your-team-flopping, and all of ESPN turning the camera on Jason Tatum’s kid every two minutes, could not and would not put it back together again.

Bam Adebayo’s block announced to the world that Culture is open for business, even as it takes care of business.

Bam’s block broke the Celtics.

Bam’s block made Paul Pierce shit his pants again (probably).

And it was all very beautiful.

And now we’re here.

Why This Whole Thing Matters

The Miami Heat are back in the Finals (!!!) And it matters. It matters because holy shit nuggets is it hard to get to this point. I mean, stupid hard. Never mind winning it. Just getting here is ridiculously difficult. Like, solving the Collatz Conjecture while someone taps you in the nuts with a ball-peen hammer difficult. So, let’s drink it up and enjoy every moment. DON’T TAKE OUR GREATNESS FOR GRANTED, DUMMIES.

Here’s the thing: Since 2000, only 14 NBA teams have reached the Finals. At the top, the Los Angeles Lakers (thanks to Kobe and Shaq and now LeBron and The Brow), getting there eight times. Know who comes in 2nd? YOUR MIAMI HEAT FUCK YEAH.

The Heat have now reached the NBA Finals six times, thanks mainly to Dwyane Wade and Shaq and then Dwyane Wade and his Two Amazing Friends (feat. Ray Allen). The Warriors have been there five times, as have the Spurs, and the Cavaliers (there’s LeBron again), then the Mavs (twice), and Celtics (also twice LOLOLO), and Pistons and Nets (twice). After that, we’ve seen the Raptors, Thunder, Magic, 76ers, and Pacers (remember Rik Smits? What a weird time that was) all getting there once each. That’s it. Out of 30 teams, 14 of them have Tenzing Norgay’d their way up the NBA mountaintop. And while the Heat have gotten there the second-most times (which in and of itself is fuckin bananas when you think about it), it’s really tough to get to this point.

Finals Appearances Since 2000
Lakers 8
Heat 6
Warriors 5
Cavaliers 5
Spurs 5
Mavericks 2

 

Celtics 2

 

Pistons 2
Nets 2
Raptors 1
Thunder 1
Magic 1
76ers 1
Pacers 1

The NBA Playoffs are a gauntlet-crammed crucible filled with rage-fueled barbarians in leather-and-spike thongs hurdling spears and tridents at your throat. It’s filled with collapsing ancient booby-trapped temples and man-eating sharks and giant boulders rolling down hills from secret chambers. You have to not only be gifted at putting the ball into the hoop more times than the other team, but you have to have the mental toughness of a Shackleton and the physical dexterity of that guy in the meme with the giant cock (don’t Google it, trust us, let’s just move on) to get through it unscathed.

Point is, this moment right here, right now, is a rare one. It’s never guaranteed. And it can never be taken for granted. The moment we start thinking “oh we’re going to be here every year” is the moment we all collectively become the 2008 Celtics. Fuck that.

10 Most Important Miami Heat NBA Playoffs Moments Ranked

1. Dwyane Wade Announce His Presence With Authority In the 2006 NBA Finals: The franchise’s first ever trip to the Finals, which culminated in their first-ever title. There was old Shaq, acquired via a trade with the Lakers a season ago, trying to win one without Kobe. And there was Alonzo Mourning, fresh off his kidney failing him, staring at the eternal abyss that consumed other Greats To Never Win A Title Like Barkley, Malone, Ewing, and countless others. And there was Coach Pat Riley, telling his guys to pack only one suit and dunking his head into a vat of ice water until he almost died to show his guys what it took to win (Pat Riley is fucking crazy!) And there was young Dwyane Wade who, when facing an 0-2 series deficit that included the city of Dallas already mapping out the championship parade route, said, “Fuck this! I’m not going out like that!” and then proceeded to ram his fist into the Mavericks’ collective chests and pull out their spinal cords and skulls like Predator to add to his trophy case. Wade basically singlehandedly won the ’06 Finals, becoming the youngest player to win Finals MVP since Magic Johnson, and the first shooting guard to win Finals MVP since Michael Jordan. This was the Finals that put the Heat on the map as a world class organization. The Finals that announced to the world that D-Wade had joined the chat. The Finals that cemented Riley’s promise of a parade down Biscayne Blvd. This is the one that started it all.

2. The Shot: When you have a play that can be instantly recognized by its own name, you know it’s fucking iconic.

3. Young Dwyane Wade Takes Down the New Orleans Hornets: “Stan Van Gundy went to the rookie and he delivered! Haha! Listen to the crowd, baby.”

4. LeBron’s First Title: LeBron James’ legacy as one of, if not the, greatest players in NBA history has already been cemented. And when they do a career retrospective whenever he decides to hang em up, the first clip they’ll inevitably show is his chase-down block on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 Finals. Followed by all the hoopla about him bringing a championship to a title-starved city of Cleveland, followed by other frivolous bullshit. But never forget — his very first title was with the Miami Heat. This is where he learned how to win. This is where he’ll have won the majority of his career titles. This is where it began. They can hate and hate and hate all they want. But that doesn’t change this one irrefutable fact: This is where LeBron James broke his Larry O’Brien cherry.

5. LeBron’s Cobradick Game 6 vs The Celtics: With the Heat facing an embarrassing elimination and the certain avalanche of shit to come from fans and media alike in the wake of failure, they traveled to Boston where it was win-or-end the grand experiment. The stakes had never been higher, for him or the Heat. So, with Boston fans breathing down their drunken assholery all over the team at the Garden, and no one knowing how shitty the Heat role players might be on this particular night, one man had the coal fire nuts to make a stand against the sea of green douche and obliterate their hopes and dreams into a fine powder: LeBron Raymone James, aka COBRADICK. 45 points, 15 rebounds. An underly devastating performance. The game would catapult the Heat into a Game 7 win and an eventual Finals win. This game also gave us the most iconic LeBron image ever, which the internet insists on using to plaster other people’s faces on because the internet is filled with fucking hacks.

6. The Block: Bam Adebayo serving up rectum sandwiches to every dipshit who thought he was just some guy. And against that team, of all teams. Somewhere Bill Simmons is walking his dog, sad texting his dad and his buddies Sully and Bean-O. No matter what happens from here on out, The Block is a seminal moment that lives in Heat Lore forever.

7. Purple Shirt Guy: It was 2016 and Dwyane Wade, post-Big Three, wasn’t considered the spry young warrior he once was. The Heat entered a slugfest with the Charlotte Hornets that went seven games. The Heat dropped Games 3, 4, and 5 to a team lead by Jeremy Lin and his manbun. To make matters worse, at every Charlotte home game, some doucher in a purple shirt sitting court side endlessly taunted Wade and the Heat from the opening tip. He became a media darling, because he was rich and wore a purple shirt and because he actually took credit for those three Charlotte wins. So when a win-or-go-home Game 6 on the road rolled around for the Heat, there he was — Purple Shirt Guy, choosing to once again taunt Dwyane Wade. He chose poorly. Wade went on to personally kick any hopes of the Hornets taking the series headfirst into a ditch and then promptly introduced Purple Shirt Guy’s asshole to his foot a few dozen times. Not only did the Legend of Dwyane Wade successfully murder the shit out of Purple Shirt Guy’s bullshit, sending him away into obscurity, forever banishing him into The Forbidden Zone, the Heat went and won Game 7 as well, taking the series from Charlotte’s cold dead hands. Dwyane Wade was awesome, in case you didn’t know.

8. The Other Block: Fuck a Danny Green. CB Forever.

9. Dwyane Wade’s Dunk On Kendrick Perkins: Look, I know he’s suddenly our friend and coined the nickname Dem Goons From Dade. But he’ll always be Moose Pussy to OG #HeatTwitter. A big menacing oaf who only knew how to hack players and run his big dumb mouth. So when D-Wade took it to him on this ridiculous dunk in Game 1 of the 2013 Finals, leaving Perkins a heaping pile of ash under the basket, it was one of the most satisfying moments in Heat Finals history (Edit: The video above is from a regular season game but we’re keeping it up because, fuck Kendrick Perkins)

10: Mike Miller’s Shoeless Three: Remember how Mike Miller ran around like a mix of the Scarecrow and Tin-Man, all flailing injured limbs, held together with duct tape and gum? And then remember when he came into the game and turned the tide with his 3-point shooting prowess WITH ONE SHOE. Mike Miller is fuckin awesome.

 

Erik Spoelstra Is the Best Coach in the NBA Right Now, or How I Learned To Hate The Analytics Nerds’ Unearned Love For Brad Stevens

Ever since the Celtics hired Brad Stevens back in 2013 and all throughout the time since, we’ve had to deal with the ceaseless yammering of a million whining gravy-stains-on-their calculators analytic nerds about how Brad Stevens is supposedly the best and brightest coach in the NBA because he likes math and defense or some such horsecockery. And that Spo, for all his winning, was only successful because he had the luxury of having LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh suit up for him. Because Brad Stevens only coaches sock puppets and not an actual NBA team filled with All Stars and big-play guys, apparently.

So, as these things go, it was time to settle this nonsense once and for all in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Stevens and his team of really good players versus Erik Spoelstra and his Wade-less, LeBron-less seemingly less-talented, grungy-ass dog squad.

And then Spo proceeded to make things bad for Stevens and worse for the pasty basketball podcast nerds.

In just six games, Spo settled the argument by reaching into Brad’s high-waisted mom jeans and tearing out his proverbial heart through his proverbial asshole with his beautiful basketball mind.

Spo has always had the “disadvantage” of having coached Wade and LeBron in terms of those things counting against whether he’s an elite coach or not. Never mind that these same people consider Phil Jackson the greatest coach ever even though he’s never won a title without Jordan or Pippen or Kobe or Shaq, and never mind that LeBron had his most dominant years in a Heat uniform. Spoelstra finally had a chance to show the world his meddle. And he showed them the shit out of his meddle.

So enough already with crowning a guy as the best when he hasn’t won jack dick in the NBA.

Erik Spoelstra is the best coach in the league. Period. Done. Shove your unearned love of Brad Stevens into an Elon Musk billion dollar fart rocket and shoot it directly into the sun.

 

2020 Finals Storylines Ranked


1. LeBron vs Riley: Everyone talking about this series say that this is the main narrative of these Finals and they’re damn right. The Heat getting here six years after LeBron left, showing up with a rag tag group of hard-working Culture-fueled warriors built in the mold of a Pat Riley team. LeBron versus the team that gave him his first two rings. A dog fight shall ensue, and LeBron knows it. The LeBron-Riley breakup has been mired in messiness, pettiness, and bitterness over the years. There’s mutual respect, to be sure. And the two men are cut from the same competitive cloth. But LeBron left Pat hanging high and dry when he left, not alerting the team of his intentions of going back to Cleveland, and reportedly treating a World Cup game on TV more important than a one-on-one meeting with Riley. In turn, Riley threw shade at LeBron, making comments about guts, and agendas, and not leaving when things get hard. Two GOATS. It’s great.

2. Riley vs Lakers: Pat Riley cut his teeth with the Lakers. Lakers fans love him. Wild that, after all these years, they’re finally facing each other in the Finals.

3. Jimmy’s Collective Fuck You To His Doubters: It’s crazy that just a little over a year ago, Jimmy Butler was introduced as the newest member of the Miami Heat. Everything that transpired to get him here is amazing. From Dwyane Wade leaving us after things turned sour with Pat Riley and he signed with the Bulls where he met Jimmy and proceeded to plant the seeds of Heat Culture into Jimmy’s brain, to Jimmy having to endure an awful time in Minnesota, to him then being traded to a championship contenting Sixers team, to having a balls-out playoffs series performance against the Raptors that was lost by an improbable shot made by Kawhi Leonard, to the Sixers deciding he was the problem and shipping him off, to Riley pouncing on all that, to the experts saying Jimmy whined his way out of Philly to go to the wrong team — a team that would only end up being a pathetic first round exit to…… well…… HERE. THE NBA FINALS. Holy shit what a ride. And now Jimmy Butler is where he belongs. And no, he did not suffer a first-round exit with the wrong team. He led that team into the NBA Finals.

 

6 Reasons The Heat Can Win

1. They Can Be The 2011 Mavericks (or the 2004 Detroit Pistons): The Heat are once again entering a series as an underdog and it’s appropriate that this run ends with the Final Boss Battle against LeBron and Anthony Davis. So, the Heat have their work cut out for them. But, as we’ve seen against the favored Bucks and again against the favored Celtics, it’s not an impossible task. We’ve seen Davids take down Goliaths in the NBA Finals before. The 2004 Pistons shocked the world when they defeated Kobe, Shaq, and the mighty L.A. Lakers. And then there was the heart-wrecking pain that was the 2011 Finals when the Mavericks beat LeBron and the Heat. If the Heat can key in on the Big Two, clog the paint and force L.A. to shoot, and muck things up with their vaunted Zone defense, knock down their threes, stay aggressive in attacking the rim, they have a puncher’s chance. We’ve seen LeBron get outplayed and man-handled by a scrappy JJ Barea. Now he has to face a full squad of scrappers. It’s very possible the Heat can do this, especially if they can frustrate LeBron and defuse the Anthony Davis bomb.

2. Jimmy Buckets Turns Into Jimmy Cojones: Jimmy has been ferocious in these playoffs. He’s also had moments where he’s vanished. Those moments usually meant a Heat loss (only 3 of them). So we have Jimmy Buckets, which consists of heady plays and drive and kicks and whatnot and that’s all good and fine. But to have a chance against these Lakers, we need more than Jimmy Buckets. We need Jimmy Cojones. Jimmy Cojones flexes his nuts and rescues his team from certain doom. Jimmy Cojones just doesn’t set up his teammates, or dive for loose balls. Jimmy Cojones takes shit over. He attacks the basket, he makes threes, he knocks down jumpers, he plays suffocating defense and causes turnovers. Jimmy Cojones incinerates his opponents into a fine powdery ash. Jimmy Cojones doesn’t do pushups, he pushes down the Earth. Jimmy Cojones is a badass motherfucker. We need Jimmy Cojones.

3. Tyler Herro Unlocks BABY GOAT Mode and Fucks Shit Up Good And Proper: The stage has been set for young Tyler to show the world that he belongs in the conversation of Future Ball Wreckers of the NBA. From Magic to D-Wade, the Finals have had their share of young players announcing their greatness with championship performances. Tyler has shown he can go all NBA JAMS ON FIRE and take over games. With all the talk about Luca and Booker and Tatum being Next Up, it just might be 20-year-old Tyler Herro that gets there first.

4. MECHA BAM: Remember when Godzilla fucked up all of Japan and then they had to build a mechanical Godzilla to keep the original Godzilla for wreaking more havoc? Mecha Godzilla was the baddest monster on the block. That’s what we need from Bam in this series. We need more than Bam. We need MECHA BAM. Expect the Lakers to throw all of the big men at Bam. AD, Howard, JaVelle — they’re all going to get a crack at him. But, just as he showed against Boston, Bam has the ability to turn on the thrusters and take the fuck over. We’re going to need more Game 6 Against Boston Bams to win this series, and we believe he has it in him.

5. GORAN BEING DRAGON: Goran Dragic has been playing out of his Slovenian mind in these playoffs. He’s the engine that makes this thing go, and you know he’s going to come out ALL DRAGON in his first-ever Finals appearance. We’re going to need The Dragon more than ever. It’s his time.

6. The X-Factors: Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder were brought here because of their defensive prowess, to be LeBron stoppers. They came through big in the Eastern playoffs. Now it’s time to sweep the damn leg. Then there’s guys like Kelly O, and even Solomon Hill. Shit we might even see Meyers Leonard. All hands on deck. Aside from Jimmy, Goran, Bam, and Tyler, someone else is going to need to make their mark — the kind made by Shane Battier and Mike Miller and Birdman before them.

Prediction

Heat in 4.

Why in 4?

Chris Joseph (@ByChrisJoseph) is a host of the Five Reasons comedy and politics podcast, Ballscast. He’s written about sports and movies for Deadspin, Miami New Times, CBS Sports, and several other outlets.

A Note to Miami Heat fans: Dream Bigger

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In the words of Daffy Duck from the original Space Jam movie: It’s gut check time.

 

As the initial euphoria of the Heat making it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014 begins to wear off, some basketball fans have already conceded an unceremonious exit for Miami. Pundits alike have also already crowned an NBA champion before Game 1.

 

National media and the general public have all but buried the Heat in this series against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Some media members who host daily shows on two major sports networks fail to even mention the Heat as a participant in the Finals altogether. It’s almost like they would have preferred any of the Heat’s previous two opponents in this position instead. Maybe to show another story about Jayson Tatum’s son because we were all excited for him to have more camera time than Jimmy Butler during game 6.

 

This is to be expected from them. Their opinions mean nothing. They aren’t a part of the culture. They weren’t here for 11-30 or 30-11. They weren’t here for the Justice Winslow vs. Devin Booker war. They weren’t here for J-Rich as your top scoring option. They weren’t here for Okaro White, Luke Babbitt, Derrick Williams, Wayne Ellington, Rodney McGruder, Wilie Reed, tri-captain James Johnson, Dion Waiter and Hassan Whiteside. My God, Hassan Whiteside. THEY WEREN’T HERE. Nothing against those players mentioned. All of them played hard for this team and moved us one step closer to where we are today. Well, almost all of them. But we didn’t expect love from the media then and we shouldn’t expect it now.

 

But I do have one question for the members of Heat Nation that are just happy to be here and only want to make the series competitive: How dare you? 

 

No self-respecting cultureholic should be thinking that Miami came to the Finals and will leave satisfied with just an appearance. That’s not how this work. The Heat compete for championships every year – that’s it. Nothing more and nothing less. Miami didn’t show up to the bubble to be the final chapter in LeBron’s bubble coronation. They showed up to sweep the seeding game’s MVP TJ Warren, make the league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo accept his award from home and to send Gordon Hayward back home to his newborn to be a family man. They showed up to win a championship. They came to win “it”. 

 

Pat Riley is famously quoted as saying “There is winning and there is misery.” We have experienced misery with this organization over the past few seasons. Some grew to expect it. They believed Zach Lowe’s prediction that Miami had the bleakest future in the league. Other believed in the organization, in Riley, in Spo. Those fans are being rewarded with another conference title and another shot to win it all. We deserve to be here and we’ve earned our spot in the dance. This roster has fought tooth and nail for our respect, and we owe them nothing less than to all in on them being champions of the basketball world.

 

So, to all of the people who don’t believe Miami has a chance in this series, bring your stars. Bring your storylines. Bring your refs. Bring your hate. Bring your doubt. And oh yea, bring you King. Throw the ball up and play. Because at the end of the day, Miami is still the Hardest Working, Best Conditioned, Most Professional, Unselfish, Toughest, Meanest, Nastiest Team in the NBA. And some of you better not forget it.

 

Heat in 7.

 

Royal Shepherd (@RoyalAShepherd) has written for several major newspapers, including the Tallahassee Democrat and the Augusta Chronicle, and now contributes to Five Reasons Sports.

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro: A Young Man’s League

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When the Miami Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals to play the Boston Celtics, it was said that it was Jimmy Butler’s time to take control of the team.

And well, that’s exactly what Bam Adebayo did.

Jimmy basically gave Bam the keys to the team in this series, telling him to do what he does best, which is win.

One game-winning block and one game-winning closeout performance further proved he was capable.

The national media began to pick up more on Bam Adebayo’s impact after his block on a Jayson Tatum dunk attempt, but after his series sealing performace with 32/14/5, it put the whole league on notice. He’s made huge strides all season long, showcasing his will and winning mentality, but ultimately showing that he is the textbook definition of a Miami Heat guy.

The accountability that he took after game five’s loss was the cherry on top when referring to a Miami Heat guy. He took the blame for the loss as a whole, and said he will need to be better. Jimmy Butler, Erik Spoelstra, and the rest of the team totally disagreed, saying it’s on everyone.

But after those comments, Bam came out with a purpose in game six, proving he can be an offensive anchor when need be. His ability to draw fouls and attack is obvious, but when that mid-range jumper started to drop, it proved that Bam can be a scary force in this league for many years to come.

And now to Tyler Herro.

It goes without saying that he’s been absolutely sensational in this playoff run. A 20 year old, taking the offensive load with the season on the line. But he doesn’t know how to play any other way.

He’s not a guy that will sit in the corner during big moments, he’d rather get the ball at the top of the key and take a contested step back to be the spark.

And that’s exactly what Tyler did in game six.

The team began to grow cold at the beginning of the fourth quarter. And when that’s the case, find your rookie Tyler Herro.

He scored five straight point, which was actually the most important stretch of the game.

And don’t forget about Tyler’s game four explosion, scoring 37 points.

Let me just say this, that isn’t normal.

But for Tyler Herro, it’s just another day.

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are just further proving that the future is very bright in Miami.

Two Kentucky Wildcats.

Two dogs with a winning mentality.

Two Heat-Lifers.

 

Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) contributes to the Five on the Floor platforms

Savor this Moment, Miami Heat Fans

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I’m over the moon as I type this. And I admit, I started this piece at the commencement of Game 5 and had to hold on to it since. There were even moments tonight where I thought that I would have to hang onto it for another couple days.

 

But I write this not because the Miami Heat are in the NBA Finals. It feels surreal to see that typed on my screen. We beat a team in the Boston Celtics that many national folks had penciled in as representing the Eastern Conference against the West. Best of all, we beat perennial Heat hater Paul Pierce. That is most certainly the cherry on top, the extra clams in my chowdah.

 

I write this not because this team has exceeded all of our expectations (the second round of the playoffs was universally regarded as their ceiling). This was supposed to be the table-setting year for when we would be cap flexible in 2021 (check), working on raising the skill level of our young players (check), and showing all free agents and interested superstars contractually bound but not really contractually bound (wink, wink) that this is an organization to be a part of. 

 

Let me just add, “Opa!”

 

But I am going to take a pause on all of this celebration because the Five On The Floor podcast will do all the breaking down and celebrating. Readers please make sure you check it out.

 

Truthfully, I write this for a different reason. I want to focus on appreciation.

 

Regardless of the outcome of this unique season, don’t just savor this run, Heat fans. We need to savor and appreciate this entire organization. It is the organization’s collective will, spirit, and mindset that has the Miami Heat relevant and compelling. I’ll be plain: this goes way beyond getting the right players and drawing up the right plays.

 

When the national media and various pundits scoff at “culture”, we embrace it. Dudes, it is a thing! The whole We-Aren’t-For-Everybody-And-Everybody-Isn’t-For-Us attitude gives us a swagger but ultimately it’s a credo that really should be etched in the hardwood of the practice gym because it speaks truth. It sets a bar and an expectation right from the jump. It’s a way to weed out those who just aren’t cut from this red and black cloth.

 

I’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid since 1988 and been doing Kool-Aid keg-stands since 1995. Since Pat Riley landed Alonzo Mourning I have pledged absolute fealty to the Armani-clad Don. Let’s not lose sight of what the appropriately named Winner Within has created here from the front office to the players and everything in between. 

This front office has managed to both acquire and jettison players and contracts thought to be unattainable and universally accepted as indisposable, respectively. I touched on some of it in a previous post I wrote. 

 

I half-heartedly joke when I say that Riley should do a Masterclass seminar of some kind but wouldn’t you pay to watch it?

 

So why am I feeling this way? Other than as a father who is able to enjoy watching a championship run with his son, I have my own personal history driving me. 

 

I have been a fan of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. I grew up on Dan Marino. He was everything.

 

Despite his greatness, I took him for granted. I started whining about the lack of a running game or the lack of a defense or the lack of a running game and a defense. For many years the Dolphins were in Super Bowl conversations and Marino made magic and yet each season ended without hoisting a Super Bowl trophy. 

 

Like many Dolphins fans, I would be apoplectic after each loss. Sure we had winning seasons. Yes, we would be one of a small handful of teams who made the playoffs. Not many would reach a conference championship game. But it was insatiable and I could be insufferable. We had Dan Marino while others had something called a Billy Joe Tolliver and yet I was blind to it.

 

It wasn’t until Marino retired in 1999 and the Dolphins since that time churned through more quarterbacks in the starting position than cabinet members in the current administration’s White House did I appreciate what no. 13 actually brought. He brought stability. 

 

We never had to worry about the quarterback position and with Tua Tagovailoa on board we will hopefully never have to for the foreseeable future.

 

Heat fans, we cannot let the same happen with this organization and take them for granted. Let’s take a pause from our frenzied celebration to toast this Miami Heat culture, this Miami Heat organization. Let us savor what we have in front of us. Let us recognize that we are blessed to not be the Kings, Hawks, or Hornets. Let’s even take an extended knee, look skyward, and thank someone upstairs that we are not the Knicks.

 

This organization from top to bottom has us poised to consistently contend and be in many meetings with top tier free agents. We are one of a handful of teams whose calls get answered and who get invited into the exclusive after party. Yes, we will have some off years. But hey, Robert De Niro is a phenomenal actor but when he said, “Yes” to the live adaptation of The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, did that take any shine off of Taxi Driver or Goodfellas? That’s a resounding, “No”. 

 

So yeah, I’ll take our batting average as well.

 

We have found a formula that starts at the top and spreads throughout. Those aforementioned teams have been testing recipes for years and they still can’t get it right. They see a cavalcade of people sitting in front office positions or leading the players from the bench and nothing has changed. Us? We can take a down year or two because we know that around the corner and just beyond the horizon we’ll be back in the game. We take one step back but then several leaps forward.

 

There will be a time when Riley sets off into retirement. That day is inevitable. But I take solace knowing that this well-oiled machine has been succession planning for years. I know this because any great business or organization has a succession plan, has groomed those who are next in line, and has game-planned for every possible scenario. That’s what great organizations do. The Miami Heat are that great organization.

 

Fandom is such that we will often focus on how a ball failed to bounce our way, what horrible call was made or missed, or what untimely injury befell and derailed a promising season. Or we will use our own sport intelligence to dissect a game and second-guess coaching. This will never go away. In fact, I’m betting that the emotions on Heat Twitter will be swinging wildly! Heat fans, let’s not be us.

 

Success can be fleeting. It can go as quickly as it came. But with this team, this culture, and this organization, the great times eclipse the lean times such as the post-Shaq, pre-LeBron period. I’m sure we will have many more of those during our lifetimes. As I said previously, I’ll put my money on this Miami Heat culture.

 

After all, the Miami Heat are the hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA.

A Night of Magic in the Magic City

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Sometimes life is unfair. You do the things the right way, put your best foot forward, and it doesn’t go your way.

And sometimes you get exactly what you deserve.

Miami 52, Florida State 10.

And the game wasn’t as close as the score indicated. A result like this does cause me to pause and think of those schools less fortunate than us. I think often, in these trying times as a country, about this quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

And there is no doubt that FSU has little, oh so little, at this point. So, as a humanitarian, I am a bit conflicted. Conflicted about whether to laugh hysterically in Florida State’s face for the abhorrent performance and program trajectory OR whether to celebrate the glorious performance by Miami. So I’ve decided to do both.

Bobby Bowden Ain’t Walking Through that Door…

…and if he could, he’d do a Grandpa Simpson.

via GIPHY

Glee does not begin to describe my level of euphoria at the complete meltdown in Tallahassee.

Whatever you think about Willie Taggart’s ultimate coaching ability, he got a short leash. And you know how we know this? FSU fans told us! How FSU arrived here is a worth recounting, because we can rejoice in years long incompetence enabled by shifting excuses and justifications from FSU fans. Let’s humor this nonsense.

We were told that it was a good thing that Jimbo Fisher went to College Station because he had so torched the football program that the best thing is for a National Championship winning coach to leave.

Okay, fair enough. That would mean that his successor had a major rebuild. And no, Willie Taggart going 9-12 is not acceptable, but is it fireable, in the middle of the 2nd season? You don’t even let him finish the season.

Okay, fair enough. You fired him because you had a coach waiting in the wings, a true genius of the game. A can’t miss coach. And then you hired this guy…

And it took less than an offseason for Norvell to exaggerate his response to social injustice and have his best player call him out for it.

That this program walked into Miami having already lost to a really bad Georgia Tech team (who has, since then, lost 2 games by a combined 45 points), with a coach in quarantine having tested positive for COVID-19, is not actually that surprising. That they still didn’t realize how bad they were makes the victory even sweeter:

The only reason you can’t tell that Miami wasn’t playing the Little Sister’s of the Poor is that the Little Sister’s wouldn’t grab that many face masks and the Little Sister’s would know not to throw this pass:

With the Canes setting a record for points in the rivalry, people keep bringing up FSU’s 47-0 win in 1997, the last time the game was a complete mismatch like this. At that time, Miami was at the depths of probation. Down 30 scholarships. FSU was one of the best teams in the country. FSU finished the 1997 season 11-1 and ranked #3. They also played in the National Championship Game in 1996, 1998, and 1999, winning the last one. 1997 was FSU at their height and Miami saddled with historic sanctions.

That is not the case now. FSU is just awful inside-out, and has been trending this direction for years. Maybe Norvell will turn it around. Maybe next year, in Tallahassee, FSU will win this rivalry game.

But they reveled in the Al Golden Era and the subsequent fallout, an era placated by the Miami Athletic Department repeatedly doubling down on stupid. Bottom rail on top now.

Manuel Alberto Diaz II

While Norvell was fabricating stories about his response to the social injustice protests, Manny Diaz was on the trail. Yes, he was on the recruiting trail, where he has been dominating and stocking Miami’s cupboards. But he was also marching on the social justice trail:

And yes, you can be cynical about these things. But I’ll trust what Greg Rousseau told 247 Sports:

“It was great to see him do that. You see like other coaches around football, they say nothing when that happened, they are hiding, but now with that the season in jeopardy, they are like, ‘Oh I love my kids, I want these kids need to play.’ But a lot of it isn’t not genuine around the country. Some of the SEC schools, it’s really just all about money. But I feel like Coach Diaz really cares about us, like 100 percent. He’s a great dude and he’s always supportive. Even for me when I told him my decision [about opting out] he wasn’t one of those coaches that was like, ‘Oh you’re going to be a third-round pick if you leave.’ He didn’t try to lie to me or anything. Of course I don’t know if I’m going to be a first-round pick, but at least he shot me straight … He’s a class act and a really great guy.”

Ultimately, this sort of thing should matter. And maybe it does. Of course, if Diaz keeps doing things like losing to FIU, he won’t be long for this job. But maybe players want to play for someone genuine, believeable, and in their corner. Maybe you can draw a direct line from Diaz caring about players to recruits wanting to play for him.

Diaz arrived at the Florida State game at the peak of his short tenure. Last year started with 2 losses, and even after getting to 6-4, 6-4 is still 6-4. This time, they came in 2-0, with a road win against a ranked team in their pocket already. College Gameday was covering the Canes’ game for the second week in a row. FSU was terrible. Clemson was next.

This was the game the Canes had either been losing or at least playing terribly in for more than a decade. This helps explain the odd build up to the game. The pandemic certainly played a major role in that. A normal day of celebration and festivities reduced to the immediacy of the game itself.

But even from a football angle this game was viewed, on paper, as a Top 15 program that is growing into the season against a team without their head coach on the sideline that had just lost at home to one of the worst teams in the conference. This looked like a mismatch. And yet, we struggled to believe it, primarily for 3 reasons:

  1. It’s a rivalry game.
  2. FSU still has athletes to match Miami.
  3. Miami has spent 15 years not playing up to their abilities on a consistent basis.

All 3 of those “reasons” became clearly not applicable a few minutes into the game.

This was a different Miami. Executing on 3rd downs, precise, foot on the gas. This was Manny Diaz’s Miami, the unwavering violence he delivered to the defense 4 years ago now on display on both sides of the field. That negated any rivalry aspect to the game. And FSU clearly did not have the players to match Miami.

I don’t think we fully realized the gap between these 2 teams coming in, but we could sure see it a few minutes into the game. Diaz’s staff having cohesion that was absent last year. Mike Norvell watching from his couch, his acting head coach Chris Thomsen spending the entire game wearing his mask as a chinstrap in an apparent tribute to the team going through the motions but not doing anything with a chance of success.

Miami was better in every facet of the game. They played to their potential, and that was enough to dominate Florida State.

Maybe Diaz will ultimately be unsuccessful. Maybe he will fail at Miami. But as a program, we’ve been through a really dark stretch. So we should revel in Diaz’s masterpiece.

You Reap What You Sow

Whatever ultimately happens here, this result was deserved. Manny Diaz overhauled his entire coaching approach and it paid off. He could have gone the Al Golden route and stuck to his guns. He didn’t.

He put in the work, and the results were on display on Saturday Night. Diaz brought a team in that had every reason to come in with a big head and find themselves in a close game. Instead, they listened to Joaquin.

Meanwhile, FSU came in in shambles, absent a head coach, and somehow left in worse shape.

The bye week will afford Canes fans an opportunity to revel in this. And they should. You don’t often beat your rival like this, and future success is never guaranteed. It was fun. It’s a game they can put on and watch over and over again, for years to come. And they can do that with the knowledge that this is not a one off, not an isolated game, but as part of a larger string of games where the Canes have looked and played like a Top 10 team, something they now are.

But the not so shocking thing that managed to shock us is that any other result, anything other than a complete Miami blowout, would have been unjust.

Sometimes life is unfair. You do the things the right way, put your best foot forward, and it doesn’t go your way.

And sometimes you get exactly what you deserve.

Both Miami and FSU got what they deserved on Saturday, in a Magical Night in the Magic City.

Vishnu Parasuraman is a contributor for @FiveReasonsSports and generally covers the Miami Hurricanes. You can follow him on twitter @vrp2003

Five Reasons to Like the Canes Win Over Florida State

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Miami destroyed Florida State 52-10 on Saturday night. And while it was challenging to find just 5 things to like, unlike FSU, I chose to rise to the challenge:

  1. 52-10. Remember when this used to be a rivalry? I do, we all do. And it still is! The Canes beat their biggest rival by 42 points. Frankly, I try not to just put the score in here, but FSU’s obvious deficiencies are obfuscating how big of a deal this is. The series since the 90s has been categorized by periods of dominance oscillating back-and-forth, with each school going on long win streaks multiple times. But even in those streaks, the games tend to be competitive. And even less rare is consecutive blowouts. Last year’s 17-point win in Tallahassee resulted in Willie Taggart’s firing. The Canes won this game by TWENTY FIVE more points than that. This performance was legendary and we shouldn’t lose sight of that in the aftermath of the dumpster fire in Tallahassee.
  2. Offensive Physical Domination. We’ve heard a lot about Rhett Lashlee’s offensive pace. We’ve heard a lot about “spread” being used as a generic term, often used to imply this team is just going to wing the ball all over the place. And Lashlee is playing faster, although he is changing pace a lot to keep defenses off balance versus just running hurry up on every play. And yes, D’Eriq King is spreading the ball around to multiple receivers, with 8 WRs catching passes in the 1st quarter alone. But a less talked about change is the change up front. I personally have lambasted the lackluster offensive line play for years. And the unquestioned strength of this FSU team is their defensive line, touted by some as one of the best in college football. If FSU was going to compete, it would be by dominating this matchup.
    ‌
    The Miami offensive line destroyed FSU. 200 yards, 5.4 YPC, 4 rushing TDs, no sacks allowed, and no QB hurries for the  Seminoles. Complete domination. Incredible performance from the Canes’ front line, the much maligned front line. Garin Justice has worked wonders with this group.
  3. Bubba Bolden. I have to talk about the Canes’ safety for the second week in a row. Once again, he showed himself to be one of the best safeties in the country. There were 2 highlight plays, a deflection leading to an Al Blades, Jr. interception and an interception of his own later, but on every play Bolden is quick to diagnose the play and rally to the tackle, quick to diagnose a pass and break on the ball. On a field full of athletes, Bolden seems to be playing at a different speed. The physical ability is there, but the mental aspects of his game are eye popping. Last year, he was injured celebrating a late interception against FSU, which cost him the rest of the season and possibly facilitated the Canes’ late season implosion. This year, his performance guaranteed that no such drama was necessary, and as he grabbed a much deserved 4th quarter interception, the game was so out of hand he didn’t need to celebrate.
  4. The Defense Hit. Both defenses started the game slow, with the game commencing with back-to-back long drives. FSU’s defense folded from there. Miami’s flexed. Yes, there is a lot of work to do on the defensive side of the ball. The Canes gave up over 300 yards to one of the worst teams in the country. And there were some mental lapses, missed gaps, and plenty that will need to be cleaned up. But the big positive here is the Canes responded to giving up a long FG drive by getting enraged, almost offended that the Seminoles were on the same field as them. When the Seminoles offense took the field again, this time trailing 14-3, the game reached it’s first (and ultimately last) inflection point. This was either going to turn into a shootout or the Canes were going to win in a blowout, with FSU’s defense looking clueless. That drive? Run for 4 yard loss, Run for 5 yard loss. False Start. Give up play for 15 yards on 3rd and 29. Punt. Game over.
    ‌
    And then they started to eat. And eat. And eat. The Canes ended the night with 3 interceptions, 6 sacks, and 13 Tackles For Loss, physically toying with the Seminoles. On the rare occasions FSU did manage to move the ball, it ended poorly. It wasn’t a perfect defensive performance, but it was a physically imposing one.
  5. Offensive Perfection. While the defense wasn’t perfect, the offense was as close to perfection as you can get. There were 4 possessions where the Canes did not score a TD: (1) The end of the half where they ran out of time and kicked a FG, (2) A fumble while driving in the 3rd quarter, (3) A punt on the first possession with all the backups in, and (4) Kneeling the ball at the end of the game. All 7 other possessions were TDs, and 3 of the 4 that weren’t had extenuating circumstances or there was a reasonable chance those also end in TDs.
    ‌
    As impressive as the top line was, it only gets more impressive when you dig deeper. This was a masterclass from Rhett Lashlee, who through 3 games has shown a keen ability to quickly to adjust to whatever a defense is doing and counter it. Lashlee has all the tools in his toolbelt, play fast, play slow, run, pass, misdirection…he seems to not have a preference for any one thing, settling for whatever is working at that point in time. But in this game, everything worked. Miami put up 517 yards, with 200 on the ground and 317 through the air, an amazing level of balance. They actually won the time of possession battle. This game was a symphony, and Lashlee was conducting a masterpiece of his own writing with D’Eriq King as first chair. It’s really rare that everything clicks like this, and Saturday was one of those nights. And what a night it was.

Vishnu Parasuraman is a contributor for @FiveReasonsSports and generally covers the Miami Hurricanes. You can follow him on twitter @vrp2003

Looking for Redemption: The story of Gonzalo Higuaín

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As you may have heard by now, the city of Miami is eagerly waiting to Spanish it up and yell out ¡GOOOOL! as international star striker Gonzalo Higuaín is finally set to change the narrative of this franchise forever.

Pizarro was a nice first step as the team´s original designated player, and Matuidi bolstered Beckham´s credentials as someone who can bring quality, World Cup-winning talent to South Florida. Higuaín, however, is the game changer.

The former River Plate, Real Madrid, Napoli, Milan, Chelsea and Juventus forward claims the title of the best striker in the MLS without having played a single minute in the league yet, and he could even have a bigger impact in the league than Zlatan Ibrahimovic ever had in Los Angeles.

What makes me so sure? Simple facts.

Zlatan arrived in L.A. as a 36-year-old and scored 52 goals in 56 matches, becoming an All-Star and setting himself apart with his outsized personality. Higuaín is only 32 and can easily match those stats, since we are talking about a guy that has 250 career goals in 463 matches playing for the most important teams in the world’s top leagues.

Most importantly, he is a team-first instead of “me first” kind of teammate, unlike Zlatan.

In fact, the 2015-16 season saw him be Serie A’s “capocannioneri” (the league’s top scorer) with 36 goals in 35 matches before being named Juventus’ MVP the following two years in 2017 and 2018 as the Vecchia Signora won consecutive Serie A titles with “Pipita” scoring 40 times in 73 matches against some of the world’s sturdiest defenses. That wasn´t long ago at all.

LAFC’s Carlos Vela set an MLS record with 34 goals last year, and Higuaín is vastly superior to him when it comes to being an animal inside the box. His ability to topple and outplay naïve MLS defenders will be second to none.

Vela played for a middle of the road team like Real Sociedad between 2011 and 2018 and had just 66 goals in 219 matches there before setting the MLS on fire. Imagine what Higuaín can do.

Just like 31-year-old Jimmy Butler arrived in Miami and helped steer the Heat back to prosperity, Higuaín can and will guide Inter Miami to the playoffs as a potential title contender. And just like Jimmy Butler, he arrives in South Florida looking for peace in a city that will allow him to be himself.

For all the accolades and amazing numbers I just presented you with, you also should know he is sort of…well, broken inside.

Because of this:

 

The three potential championship goals that never were. If he made those, he would still be playing for Argentina as its undisputed starting striker and national hero responsible for the 2014 World Cup as well as the 2015 and 2016 Copa America titles for the decade´s new dynasty with Messi by his side.

Instead, he missed them all in the clutch and became a national pariah that almost retired because of it as a 26-year-old in his prime back in 2014.

‘It’s not easy to be told “this guy’s no good anymore, he’s a failure, he can’t play football,'” he told the Spanish newspaper Marca, a notorious pro-Real Madrid outlet. ‘It hurts. Yes, it’s true that we didn’t achieve our objective, but to have been a failure? Reaching three finals isn’t failure. I was about to stop playing, but my mother (Nancy) told me to keep going. If it was up to me, I would’ve quit football…she said she wouldn’t let me to leave what I love.”

The pain was real, and so were the memes:

Higuain’s legacy as Argentina’s sixth all-time scorer with 32 goals has been overshadowed by his reputation as a choker in the clutch and the disdain of 40 million people who hold him responsible for the continuation of a title drought that spans 27 years and counting.

An entire country that ha had devoted an entire decade to, that he became only the 48th player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup for in 2010, that he had helped get over the quarterfinals hump with his goal for a 1-0 win against Belgium in 2014, had turned his back on him. He didn’t score at all in three group matches before being benched in the Round of 16 of a tortured 2018 WC and finally said “I’m done” quitting the national team for good in March 2019.

If you think that didn’t affect him, the 2019-20 campaign was the worst of his career with just eight goals in 32 matches for Juventus.

So what can Miami give him in return for his goals? Peace, understanding and, more than anything, love.

Let’s embrace him and make him remember how fun soccer can be, and how he can go out on the street without having people look at him like he just slept with their significant other multiple times in front of them.

Let’s make Higuaín great again. Because once he is, nobody in the United States will be able to stop him.

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick is a worthy role model for Tua Tagovailoa as Dolphins quarterback. (Tony Cappobiano)

Pressure Point: FitzMagic brings much-needed joy in Dolphins win

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Well, that was fun.

For the love of Fitz, how often has it been possible to express that sentiment about any Miami Dolphins game during the past two decades?

Just when it was needed most, 37-year-old boy wonder Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to a 31-13 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Thursday night performance that was as joyous as effective.

Big picture conclusions should be avoided from any given game in the NFL. But coming on the heels of troubling opening losses to the Patriots and Bills, it was a relief to allay fears of another season-killing opening winless stretch like Miami’s 0-7 start last season.

And the “We want Tua” chants can remain on hold for awhile.

Tua Tagovailoa’s time will come soon enough, and hopefully he will prove to be the wunderkind of Dolfans dreams.

Right now, this is Fitzpatrick’s team and there is no question about that in the locker room.

Tight end Mike Gesicki said: “Yeah, I mean Fitz is out of his mind. He’s [37] years old and still playing this game like he’s 23. But to have him as our leader and for you to see the fun that he has — after I scored my touchdown we just came off to the sideline and just started yelling and screaming and chest bumping; it’s so fun to play with him.”

Sure, Fitzpatrick is averaging more than an interception a game in his long career with eight teams. He may throw up three picks any given day, as he did in the opener at New England.

More about Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins’ win at Five Reasons Sports

Fitzpatrick can be ‘crazy’ good

Then he turns on that old FitzMagic and has a night for the ages as he did Thursday, opening with 12 consecutive completions. Added to the nine in a row to conclude Sunday’s loss against Buffalo, Fitz’s streak of 21 was second-longest in Dolphins history behind Ryan Tannehill’s 25, which is also tied for the NFL record.

Fitzpatrick completed 18 of 20, including two for touchdown, ran for another score and even caught one of his own deflected passes.

What stood out apart from the stats was the crazed celebration after bowling Csonka-like into the endzone for a third-quarter touchdown that blew the game open — confirming Gesicki’s “Fitz is out of his mind” affirmation.

Fitzpatrick put it in perspective afterward: “I feel like the luckiest guy in the world being able to go outside and play football with my friends.”

Cleary, Tua couldn’t have a better role model to prepare for when he gets the keys to the franchise.

No question, this Dolphins season is still more about the future than the present. This is the first forward step in a rebuilding process (last season was the teardown that began it).

Some exterior walls have been set on a foundation, but it remains to be seen how the finished product will look — it will never be finished, of course.

There will be sobering Sundays ahead for the Dolphins. They’ve got more tough opposition coming up the next two weeks with the Seahawks and 49ers.

The Jaguars aren’t on the level of the Patriots and Bills, but they were favored, and rightfully so at home in prime time of a short week for both teams.

Offense shows positive signs

We began the season with the perspective of looking for progress. And for an indication that the approach of coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier in constructing this team and Flores in coaching it is well founded.

The first two games were not encouraging. The defense, despite an extensive makeover, was atrocious. High-priced veterans signed in free agency played like suspects rather than upgrades.

The first encouraging signs are with the offense, and if began in the second half against the Bills.

Over the past six quarters, Fitz and Co. have produced 508 yards and 41 points.

The reconstructed offensive line, with right tackle Jesse Davis the only holdover, is showing potential of a solid unit. Rookie linemen Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley are looking more comfortable each week.

Neither rookie has allowed a sack in three games. Commendable, considering they had no preseason games to get acclimated.

The Dolphins rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time this season, with a 138. They need to improve on the average of 3.8 yards a carry — even that was inflated by a 29-yard run by wideout Jakeem Grant.

That Myles Gaskin (66 yards on 22 carries at Jacksonville) has emerged as the surprise featured back is an endorsement to building through the draft rather than free agency. Veteran offseason signees Jordan Howard and Matt Breida combined for five yards on six carries and have done little in three games.

High-flying Gesicki catches on

The biggest revelation on offense is Gesicki, the 2018 second-round pick who was the target of criticism as a rookie and the first half of his second season. But since late November the lanky former Penn State Nittany Lion has seven touchdown catches, tied for most in the NFL in that span.

Gesicki’s latest was another leaping masterpiece, which gave the Dolphins a 21-7 lead. Hopefully he will be a popular target for Tua for years to come. For now, he has become a favorite of Fitz, especially in the red zone.

The heaviest lifting remains on defense, though the unit was much better against the Jaguars, including four sacks. Several of the offseason acquisitions had more of an impact than in previous weeks. Linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill had seven tackles including a sack. Kyle Van Noy forced a fumble and recovered it in the scramble. Shaq Lawson had six pressures.

Notably, rookie cornerback Noah Igbinoghene found some redemption in coverage after getting undressed by Bills receiver Stefon Diggs.

Veteran corner Xavien Howard had an interception, but is not back to pre-injury level in pass coverge.

Better teams will continue to expose the shortcomings of this defense. Tackling remains surprisingly shoddy for a Flores team.

But for one night the Dolphins had reason to pose and puff out their chests.

For Dolfans, it was a game that left you wanting more — more celebratory screams. More quirky, crazy FitzMagic.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns