My, My, Miami - Big3Heat631's Blog

Big3Heat631's Blog

My, My, Miami

Posted on November 28, 2010 at 03:09 AM.

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Sitting one game above .500 following tonight's game against the Dallas Mavericks, it's no secret the Miami Heat, as of right now, are failing expectations to the point where Mark Cuban looks like a genius.

All the people on the bandwagon (including me) are disappointed. With Haslem's potentially season-ending injury and the questionable release of Jerry Stackhouse for Erick Dampier instead of, say, Jamaal Magloire, we don't have much to be happy about. Looking into the future, I'm having trouble seeing Miami garner more than a third seed, or MAYBE a second seed if they're lucky. Obviously, that was not the outlook coming in. Prior to the season, Miami was vying for that first seed, right up there with
Boston and Orlando.

So, Miami. What do you guys need to do for this season as well as later seasons?

Well, assuming Chris Bosh will not be traded despite rumblings, then you need to make a few moves to make your team stronger. One point of focus should be removing Mario Chalmers, whose potential might be welcomed on a rebuilding team in exchange for a reliable point guard to replace Carlos Arroyo in the starting lineup. Right now, LeBron isn't cutting it as their primary ballhandler. Mario Chalmers, who doesn't get a whole lot of minutes, should be traded for a PG that can cut it as Miami's primary ballhandler, particularly in fast break situations (doesn't need to be spectacular since Miami does have other playmakers, they just need one solid one to be their main guy) and can also space the floor with outside shooting. Looking at some potential suitors for Chalmers, the likes of T.J. Ford and Jason Williams come to mind. Indiana and Orlando both would like Chalmers' ability to shoot the three, and would enjoy having Mario Chalmers backing up Jameer Nelson/Chris Duhon or Darren Collison. Both offensive systems rely on that three ball which Chalmers is adept at and would take advantage of Chalmers' bright future. Chalmers would be able to replace Duhon and Nelson (both in their high 20s) in the starting line up in the next 3 or so years in Orlando's case, or could provide Indiana with a fresh backup PG that has good potential who has not ever been in Jim O'Brien's doghouse unlike T.J. Ford.

They also need to address the issue of interior defense and rebounding. Ilgauskus is a fouling machine who, despite being 7'3'', can't rebound to save his life. Joel Anthony is too short to challenge all the size thrown at him, particularly against teams like the Lakers or Celtics. Bosh is an inconsistent defender and rebounder, and not a super good one even on his best days. Picking up Darko Milicic might sound dumb, but it actually isn't in this scenario. He has become a good shotblocker and rebounder in Minnesota, and will probably come at a cheap price given Kevin Love's emergence as a reliable player. Trade Z (sorry, LeBron) and someone else to Minnesota for Darko (let's hope David Kahn is still David Kahn, shall we?), and with a Darko-Damp timeshare at the 5, Miami would look very stable as far as rebounding and interior defense is concerned.

The last major issue to be corrected is their style of offense. LeBron and Dwyane Wade need to step it up. They need to play with some intensity and push the break so we get more of these. They need to do things like aggresively attack the rim, with or without the ball. I want to see the LeBron that runs his defender into a screen, uses his quickness to blow by the help defense at the perimeter and dunk on whoever's waiting for him at the rim. I want to see the Dwyane Wade that splits you-can't-count-how-many defenders and finish it in traffic, plus the foul. More importantly, I want to see set plays where either player run from the three point line past an offball screen and dunks an alleyoop. It would sell tickets, provide entertainment and most importantly, win games. Everybody wins, except for the team Miami (theoretically) beats.

EDIT: Check this out (fast forward to the timeout called around 0:25 after the Dirk fadeaway). LeBron isn't happy, and I'm sure Phil Jackson is feeling pretty good right now.