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- May 8, 2002
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Q: Bam Adebayo only taking seven shots each in the last two games is ridiculous. Who is that on? Tyler Herro dribbling too much, with the lack of a true point guard? Erik Spoelstra’s coaching? – Joel, Fort Lauderdale.
A: What it is is a lack of talent. This is what happens to good players, and even good coaches, on bad teams. Since Jimmy Butler moped his way out of town, the talent hasn’t been there. As it was, with Jimmy they were a .500 team, so what exactly should have been expected afterward? Stars play off of other stars. Remember, Tyler Herro was in the voting for the NBA’s Clutch Players award a few years ago. You get to be clutch when teammates are attracting attention. Now Tyler is the Heat’s lone shot creator (with Andrew Wiggins trying way too hard to be something he is not). And defenses are wisely turning Bam Adebayo into a facilitator. The roster is not good enough. So the stars aren’t good enough. And the coach isn’t good enough.
Q: It seems that post Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro has become a ball stopper. This is very evident in the fourth quarter. Even with Donovan Mitchell in as a distributor, Tyler continues to dribble at the top of the key while the other four Heat players watch him. Is there anything Erik Spoelstra can do to have players have more flow? – Michael, Parkland.
A: Yes, get a point guard. Donovan Mitchell is not a pure facilitator. The Heat, in their ensuing failure, have cast Kyle Lowry in a completely different light. They need someone like that, albeit younger. Isaiah Stevens time?
Q: Shouldn’t Pat Riley be fired for his worst error ever, a complete mishandling of Jimmy Butler? All Pat Riley had to do was pay Jimmy and not insult him in public. Instead he traded away a player who is 13-1 with his new team for players that have made the Heat much worse. – Joey, Coral Gables.
A: Please. Stop. This. Who exactly said at the end of last season that the best idea was to pay a 35-year-old who misses at least a quarter of every season? Did Pat Riley handle it in the right 2024 way? Arguably not. But Jimmy Butler did not earn unquestioned trust by routinely failing to report for duty. There is no guarantee that a paid-in-full Jimmy Butler would have made the Heat any better this season than the .500 team they were when he stopped caring.
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A: What it is is a lack of talent. This is what happens to good players, and even good coaches, on bad teams. Since Jimmy Butler moped his way out of town, the talent hasn’t been there. As it was, with Jimmy they were a .500 team, so what exactly should have been expected afterward? Stars play off of other stars. Remember, Tyler Herro was in the voting for the NBA’s Clutch Players award a few years ago. You get to be clutch when teammates are attracting attention. Now Tyler is the Heat’s lone shot creator (with Andrew Wiggins trying way too hard to be something he is not). And defenses are wisely turning Bam Adebayo into a facilitator. The roster is not good enough. So the stars aren’t good enough. And the coach isn’t good enough.
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Q: It seems that post Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro has become a ball stopper. This is very evident in the fourth quarter. Even with Donovan Mitchell in as a distributor, Tyler continues to dribble at the top of the key while the other four Heat players watch him. Is there anything Erik Spoelstra can do to have players have more flow? – Michael, Parkland.
A: Yes, get a point guard. Donovan Mitchell is not a pure facilitator. The Heat, in their ensuing failure, have cast Kyle Lowry in a completely different light. They need someone like that, albeit younger. Isaiah Stevens time?
Q: Shouldn’t Pat Riley be fired for his worst error ever, a complete mishandling of Jimmy Butler? All Pat Riley had to do was pay Jimmy and not insult him in public. Instead he traded away a player who is 13-1 with his new team for players that have made the Heat much worse. – Joey, Coral Gables.
A: Please. Stop. This. Who exactly said at the end of last season that the best idea was to pay a 35-year-old who misses at least a quarter of every season? Did Pat Riley handle it in the right 2024 way? Arguably not. But Jimmy Butler did not earn unquestioned trust by routinely failing to report for duty. There is no guarantee that a paid-in-full Jimmy Butler would have made the Heat any better this season than the .500 team they were when he stopped caring.
Continue reading...
