The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

It seems that they have no system.  We're playing ISO with one of our 3 superstars, but the guys without the ball are just standing around.  This means that even though we have good players on the court, the offense doesn't allow them to work in tandem.  Meanwhile, our opponents are running plays, moving, cutting, and getting layups through a scheme.

For as good as we are, we're taking way too many outside jumpers.  I'm told that Spolstra is adding new looks to the offense throughout the season.  I hope that comes sooner than later, because right now, we're relying only on our sheer skill to beat opponents in a glorified game of 1-on-1.  Against balanced teams, we'll have problems.

That said, it's taking someone on the opposing team to have a ridiculous game in order to beat us.  (Ray Allen going 7 for 9 from three.)  It's a playoff atmosphere for every one of our games and we're getting every team's very best shot.  I think that it'll be hard to beat us in a 7 game series, despite us not looking too sharp to this point.

i think it's the difference between people playing together a month vs. 2 years .. i think as the season goes on the heat will get more and more in sync with what the proper strategy is to playing winning basketball.

as long as they keep beating people who they're supposed to beat and make the playoffs, then that's a whole new story

Don't worry about it, Dave.  The Heat will get it together and win 60 games.  They won't threaten 72-10, won't threaten the Lakers' 33 regular season wins in a row record, but will be fine down the road.

The issue is that 2 of the 3 main players on this team are adjusting to new systems, teammates, and roles (LeBron to primary ballhandler / distributor, Bosh to third option and defender/rebounder). 

One thing that needs to happen is that the outside shooters need to make their shots in order to open up the floor.  It seems teams are now defending the Heat by collapsing the paint, as Miami doesn't scare anyone from the 3-point line (other than, occasionally, James Jones).  Someone also needs to step up at C and PG so that Miami isn't 3-on-5 on offense.  Ideally, the PG would be a 3 point shooter who would benefit from the drive & kick game. 

As an aside, did anyone see how tiny Joel Anthony looked when guarding Shaq?  It was like me posting up my three-year-old!  I know Shaq's huge, but damn, I think he ate Jermaine O'Neal or something!

The Heat are not very big up front and will continue to have problems with teams that pose a big front court.

I don't agree. 

A big front court doesn't scare me.  I think that the problem is that we don't do well against little guards that can distribute (Chris Paul, Rondo).  They drive, we collapse, they dish and make shots.

We had all kind of weird matchups last night, that didn't work in our favor.

I agree to some extent, but "big" teams that would give Miami problems would only really be:

Los Angeles (Lakers)
Boston
San Antonio
Orlando
Houston (if Yao is right)

Other than that, there are some "maybe" teams like NY, Chicago, etc...but the rest of the league has problems at the 5 spot, too.

I don't fear Orlando (who we already walloped) or Houston, but am more afraid of Phoenix and Charlotte.

I think the Lakers give you trouble, just because they're pretty solid from top to bottom and are well coached.

I got news for you.  That's only a decent game from Allen.

That is a pretty good team.

Granted I don't watch the Heat regularly being from the West but what I have seen from them is they tend to get beat up inside the paint and that seems (to me anyway) to be a glaring weakness on that team. It very well could be, as Dave said, the point guards getting good penetration to create easy buckets for others. I will have to pay closer attention the next time the Heat are on the tube.

The problem with the heat is they arent tough enough physically or mentally. The heat can beat up on all the scrubs the NBA has to offer, but their season will be judged on the playoffs period.  Boston plays with an edge, intensity, and nastiness when they play miami. Boston was sick and tired of hearing about miami. It's personal when they play the heat.

Everytime wade or lebron came down the lane SHAQ was right their to hammer them and make them shoot free throws. Meanwhile. Christina Bosh is allowing rondo to come down the lane and posterize him. Rondo can affect the game without even scoring and Pierce just loves to get into lebron's head and, Ray Allen just frustrates wade by running him off screens ans drilling 3's.

The celtics were playing without Kendrick Perkins, Jermaine O Neal and Delonte west. If the heat think the regular season is physical wait until the playoffs. Im tired of hearing the chemistry excuse with the heat. That shit never comes up when they're beating up on the minnesota's, philadelphia's of the world, but when they play a team like boston who could give a shit about how much hype they've recieved and will punch them in the mouth that's when chemistry is thrown into the equation.

The bottom line is boston is better and will remain better. They know how to bully the heat and break their will. If i were Miami id try and trade for James Posey. He can guard 3 positions and plays with the kind of nasty streak you need to beat a team like boston. They need an enforcer in the worst way. Pat Riley didnt look to happy last night, and Lechoke James is already bitching about playing to much......Umm their is a reason the cavs never won the title. When the pressure was on he missed 2 free throws, shot an airball, and hit the side of the backboard on a 3!!!... It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Go CELTICS!!

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/boston-celtics-star-paul-pierce-takes-twitter-dig-at-miami-heat-lebron-james-111210

Could someone in South Beach tell Haslem that Pierce is the guy who has a ring and is going to the hall of fame unlike him.

Haslem also has a ring. What of it. Pierce is an Internet tough guy. Very manly.

When you are a scrub whos career will amount to nothing, you do not talk shit about a future hall of famer. Pierce has earned the right to talk smack about an overhyped team that his own team has beaten twice this season already. Pierce's club was and is still the odds on favorite to win the East and challenge for the title. Miami has been overhyped all summer over the two teams that played in the Finals last year and looking like it will be a rematch again this year.

1- Haslem's no scrub.  Ask Dirk Nowitzki, whom Haslem guarded and frustrated in the 2006 finals.
2- Pierce is not Michael Jordan.  Don't make him out to be a "you can't talk about this guy or else" person.  He's a nice SF.  Don't get carried away.
3- Miami is over-hyped the same way the Celtics became over-hyped the second Garnett joined them.  The hype became justified when they won a title.  We'll see if the hype in Miami is justified, in time.  My guess?  Yeah, it will be.
4- Nice of you to draw such strong conclusions after 9 games.  10% of the season's done, and you're anointing the conference champs. 

^^^^ Stands and applauds the All-you-can-eat Truth Buffet.

1.Dirk chokes in the playoffs, not relevant to the point though. And one series is your justification of the guy's career against Pierce? Please.
2.He is going to be a first ballot HOF guy. What will Haslem be again when he wraps it up again? Pierce has earned the right to talk smack over a team that was outrageously overhyped pre-season ( remember 82-0, 5+ championships, going to the Finals this year, etc.)
3.The Celtics were not hyped to the level the Heat were because of the ages of the Big Three, but go ahead and believe that the hype level was the same.
4. The path to the Finals was going through Boston or Orlando before the trade, and so far it is still going through Boston. The Heat have serious point guard issues, and weak inside presence, but yeah you are right we should completely ignore the fact Boston has more depth, and is playing as a team already. No reason to think they will make the Finals again.

But none of your tepid little hysterics makes up for the fact that a second tier player at best should be talking smack about a HOFer, and questioning his toughness. If I remember correctly it is the star of Haslem's team who is already earned a reputation for quitting on his team during the playoffs.

R U kidding? 

The hype level wasn't in the same stratosphere.  There wasn't an hour long special for Garnett joining the team. 

I know of one ex-Miami neighbor who roots for the Dolphins and Heat who told me 1 week before the pre-season there there was a very good chance that the Heat would be joining the 72 Dolphins and Miami would have the only two undefeated professional sports team.  Granted when it comes to homerims, he makes Tenshot look like a chicken little, so his expectations probably didn't jive with many Heat fans.  But still, I know way more Celtics fans than Heat fans...None of them have ever predicted an undefeated season. 

When I asked him how that was going, he stuck his middle finger at me. 

Greatest thing for basketball is having them lose. 

BSmooth,

You called Haslem a "scrub", not a second-tier guy.  There's a difference, and you know it.  Haslem is a solid pro, and his nullifying Dirk Nowitzki in the 2006 finals is an example of his value.  (Good God, you make him sound like Jack Haley or something!)

Pierce a first-ballot hall of famer?  No, that's Garnett.  Garnett is an all-timer.  Pierce is a very, very good player.  There's a difference there too.  And who says Haslem "can't talk" about Pierce?  I seem to remember even John Starks talking about Jordan, and Jordan was a real first ballot hall of famer.

The Celtics became instantly relevant and a mainstay on national TV when Garnett joined them, just as Miami has.  The level of hype may be more now for Miami, but the Celtics became nationally relevant on a completely different scale once Garnett joined.  The same is true of LeBron and Miami.  I said in the same way, not on the same level.  Same way, as in:  maxing out national TV coverage, maximizing exposure.

Boston has a lot of 36 year-old depth.  Should we ignore that, too?  You want to hang your hat on Jermaine O'Neal, Shaquille O'Neal, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett ALL staying healthy for the entire year?  All I'm saying is to not draw conclusions 10 games into the year. 

Yes, because they will do exactly what they did last year.  Do you really think Shaq was hurt for six consecutive games and then could come out on the 7th night, post a 19 point / 10 boards / 3 blocks / 4 assist  / 1 steal night? That is exactly what just happened over the last week and a half. 

 As the season goes along these guys get stretches off.  Boston proved last night that all you need to do is hang around mid-pack and make the dance.

Or did you miss the Celtics taking the Lakers to game 7 last year and coming this (-) close to winning banner 18?  The ONE reason they lost?  Kendrick Perkins.  Period.  Perk doesn't tweak his knee in game 6 and Boston is the current defending World Champion.  Not bad from a what?  4 seed? 

Boston is off to a good start.  They'll fall back in the pack and then pick it up again come April.

The Celtics became relevent.  The Heat became the unquestionable favorites that were a lock to win it all and 7 by 24 hour focus of ESPN.  Saying that the Heat and Celtics had simliar focus, is liking say that Ricky Williams unretirement got too much and as much attention just like the Favre retirement/unretiremment.  They ain't close.

I don't pay much attention to basketball. But you get more national coverage of the Lebron signing than their was news of Garnett in BOSTON where it was a local story.    

the heat got more coverage because lebron is a better player than garnet and/or allen .. that's the only reason .. had lebron stayed in cleveland he could have won 5-6 consecutive MVP awards .. all of this talk is irrelevant.. i still think miami is the favorite to win the championship .. i still think boston is at most the 3rd best team in the conference.

In 2006 Miami won something like one game TOTAL against the other "contenders" in the regular season .. and blew people up in the playoffs. Debate the first 10 games all you want .. hell debate the 1st 30 games all you want .. miami will finish with the #1 seed in the conference and be in the finals.

I haven't seen anything from boston that shows me otherwise.

Yeah, that's fine and well.  He expected 82-0, I expected 65-17.  Can we just say that reasonable expectations are somewhere in the middle, and most likely tilted towards where I thought they'd end up?  For every person saying this team will be the greatest ever, there's someone saying they still need a C or PG, or that the whole experiment is going to blow up in Riley's face.

Last, I know after the Boston trade for Garnett, people were talking about a 3-4 year Boston dynasty in the making.  SOME people.  I wasn't out there going "the whole world is overhyping Boston, Boo-hoo".  They had reason for being overhyped.  The second or third best SF in the league (I score them LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Pierce), the third-to-fifth best shooting guard in the league (I had them as Kobe, Wade, Allen) and the second or third best PF in the league (I had Duncan # 1, Garnett # 2, Dirk # 3) joining forces is a big friggin' deal!  Well, this year we have the best SF, second-best SG, and third or fourth best PF joining up, too!  It's kind of a big deal.  The difference is, Miami will still be young in 3 years, so the expectation is a LONG run at the top, while with the Celtics, the feeling is that any day now, they'll get old.  For an example, look at how people are disregarding the currently 8-1 San Antonio Spurs, who are getting no realistic chance of winning the title because they're "too old" for many pundits.

That's fine, Maine, but my point is that you assume good health from players that, statistically, should be breaking down.  I assume that players that have never played together will jell (gel?) at some point and become what all the pundits believe they will become.  Why is your (or BSmooth's) assumption valid and not mine?  All I've been saying is that the season needs to play out.  Boston DOES worry me.  LA worries me.  Orlando worries me (though they like to chuck the ball from 3, rather than get the point-blank shots the way the Celtics do). San Antonio worries me.  New Orleans worries me.  Chicago will worry me when Boozer returns.

So covers of ESPN the Magazine, SI, SLAM, etc... is Boston only coverage?  Getting maximum nationally televised games is Boston only coverage?  Boston became "The Celtics" again the minute they traded for Garnett.  To that point, they were that sad team from Boston that couldn't get it together while the Lakers continued to reload, year after year.  Don't pretend that it was otherwise.  When Boston started 8-0 that year, there was DEFINITE national talk of them approaching the 72-10 Chicago Bulls record.  True, ther was no "Celtics Index" on ESPN (unless you count Bill Simmons); the amount of hype is definitely different.  But the hype around the Celts, back then, was really high, almost unprecedented, and the defending champs from THAT year (the guys in San Antonio) were almost ignored because of it.  Of course, they're USED to that, given that they're the best franchise of the past 20+ years (you could argue Bulls and Lakers, but those have both gone through losing stretches, while San Antionio has, like, 1 losing season since 1988 and 50+ wins every year except for 91-92, 92-93, 96-97, 98-99) but don't get much national attention for it.

Quote for Mother Fucking Truth. Outstanding!

I didn't say Boston only coverage.  But I am saying that the combined coverage of the Boston media and the national media of the signing Garnett was less than the national media coverage of the signing of LeBron. 

So the Heat's issue as some of you have stated is their lack of experience together. It's also the fact that you basically have 2 guys who you give the ball to in clutch / "game-time" situations in Wade and LBJ. There's only one ball, so it's difficult to get a game plan offensively when you're basically playing All-Start game offense where all 5 starters are go-to guys on their team(s).

The Heat have lost to Boston (twice), New Orleans and Utah. All three teams are well coached, all three teams have strong nuclei, and all three teams have outstanding players (Pierce, KG, Allen / Deron Williams / Chris Paul). The big win for the heat came against Orlando, where they played out of this world defense. That's their key - defense. They need to play that type of shut-down D in order to be in these games.

Keys for Miami Heat success:

1. Play all-star caliber defense, like vs. Orlando
2. Use Bosh and Anthony and "Big Z" in a screen and roll game
3. Don't "settle" for the long 3-point shot - work it around the horn and in the paint until you get a good shot - a lot of the shots recently have come with lots of time left on the shot clock.

[quote author=JVides link=topic=17573.msg214505#msg214505 date=128983355



Pierce a first-ballot hall of famer?  No, that's Garnett.  Garnett is an all-timer.  Pierce is a very, very good player.  There's a difference there too.  And who says Haslem "can't talk" about Pierce?  I seem to remember even John Starks talking about Jordan, and Jordan was a real first ballot hall of famer.



Boston has a lot of 36 year-old depth.  Should we ignore that, too?  You want to hang your hat on Jermaine O'Neal, Shaquille O'Neal, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett ALL staying healthy for the entire year?  All I'm saying is to not draw conclusions 10 games into the year. 
[/quote]

Paul Pierce is a first ballot hall of famer without question. Are you kidding me? When his career is over he's going to be the celtics 2nd all time leading scorer. He's already 3rd and will soon pass Larry Legend. Pierce is so clucth it isn't even funny. I'd take him over Lebron James anyday of the week. He's been an all-star 8 times and has been finals MVP. You can't be that ignorant to think that pierce isn't a lock first ballot hall of famer.

And yes come playoff time i'll take my old farts over Miami's crew. I nthe playoffs the game is a halfcourt, physical game. The heat don't excel in the halfcourt, plus their are days off in between games. The old guys wont be extending themselves because Boston is deeper this year. Miami has zero post prescence, and if they play boston in the playoffs the celtis will just pack the paint and force miami to shoot jumpshots. I've seen lebron james enough to know that he will not beat you throughout a 7 games series shooting jumpers. Wade is the only guy im worried about because  he has that killer instinct lebron lacks. You Miami fans cany deny all you want, but the 2 games against boston dont lie. I'll even goes as far to say Miami wont beat a healthy Chicago Bulls team when they get healthy.

Guys, the season's not even a month old and JO is out for two or three weeks and Shaq is iffy.  What's going to happen in 45 games when Garnett's knees start felling like crap?  I'm glad you're sold on your team, but to ignore - or even scoff at - the possibility that age will be your team's undoing is extreme Pollyanna syndrome.

You're not worried about LeBron?  You should be.  He carried a crappy Cavs team to a finals appearance.  Add Wade, Bosh, and essentially the Cav's crappy team, and no matter how you slice it, this team is capable, not guaranteed, but capable, of hitting the finals. 

Paul Pierce played, like, 8 seasons as the C's lone gunner, where he was permitted to jack up shots at will.  Of course he put up points.  Who did Larry Legend have to share shots with?  Chief, McHale, Walton, DJ, etc...  Most of your great teams featured lots of great scorers.  It's no surprise Pierce is climbing up the scoring list, he was essentially all the C's had for so long!

You think he's this first ballot guy, fine.  I'm not so sure.  After all, Dominique Wilkins waited a year or two to get in, and I don't consider Pierce to be in his class (Pierce is almost 6,000 points behind Wilkins, or, at his current scoring rate, 4 more seasons, which he doesn't have left).  He doesn't especially scare me.  I've never considered him the best SF in the league, not even for one year in his career. What can I say?  He just doesn't scare me that much.  Put it this way:  If he or Ray Allen are my choices to leave open for a shot, I'd rather triple Ray Allen and give the shot to Pierce, because Allen WILL rip my heart out, but Pierce only MIGHT.  That's just me.  Oh, and LeBron has been an All-Star 6 times in 7 years, MVP twice, all NBA first team 4 times and will be, trust me here, a finals MVP as well before he's done.  Oh, and he's 25.  You'd trade Pierce for LeBron in a nanosecond and cackle at Miami's stupidity the whole time.  In fact, you'd trade your big three for Miami's big three, because your window would expand by 6 years. 

C'mon now, we're all grown ups here.  You can admit it.

fact of the matter is that between the heat big 3 and the celtics big 3 .. the only celtic that would start on this heat team would be garnett and even then it would be because he and bosh could both play as a 4/5 in a pinch

I think that, technically, the "big one" in Boston's Big-3 at the moment would be Rajon Rondo, and man, would I love to see that kind of stud PG talent on the Heat.

I don't know if it was just a favorable matchup, but Miami thumped Phoenix.  It wasn't even a contest.  The Suns had no answer.

I noticed that Miami was distributing the ball better, and moving without the ball better.  I think Bosh's effectiveness may have opened up the floor, but I'm not really sure.

OK I have been reading the posts & being an objective Heat fan I do not think they will win the conference this year. Team chemistry is very real & the Heat still do not have an identity. They are still figuring out if Bosh is most effective with LeBron on the court while Wade sits, etc. Oh and they have an issue at the point. I don't think having a big center is that big of a deal. Hell the Jordan Bulls never had one & they have 6 banners. Bottom line is this is not YMCA or division II ball where you can just put the best talent on the court & run teams out of the gym. That's why we can beat the Minnesota's of the world but not the Bostons.

Having said all that - there is no question that this is a foundation for a dynasty. Once we fill in the bench this is a team that *will* win at least 3 titles in the next couple of years. For now I'm not surprised they are not world beaters but they should be much better when Miller is healthy.

The Suns also have no defense. They don't match up well against the Heat.
A more defensive team like the Hornets, Lakers, maybe even the Spurs would cause probs right now

Everyone thought that right off the bat the Heat were going to blow out teams. You have to remember that this is the first time that the Heat r playing together. They have to develop a chemistry. If you have noticed they r getting better every game.  Bosh is starting to heat up.

My hole problem is that James is on the team. Sorry KING James. I just dont see how its going to work out because of how big of an ego that he has. I see a blow up with him later in the season. We'll see.

Translation...SOME people in the media and SOME people on this board thought that...but saying "Everyone thought that..." makes his point look more intense.

Side note...This sort of blanket statement/massive exaggeration is rapidly becoming my biggest pet peeve with message board communication. Too many people do this sort of thing...it's like a lot of folks feel that reality doesn't support their point well enough, so they may as well just tweak the truth until it does!

So annoying...

The problem with the Heat is that they have no one who can dominate in the low post and get them rebounds.  That sort of basketball has been Riley's trademark for YEARS.  He always had a center or power forward who would dominate the boards relentlessly.  In L.A. he had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.  In New York he had Patrick Ewing.  In Miami, he had Alonzo Mourning for a number of years and Shaq for a brief period of time.  Bosh does not have the low post presence any of these guys have.  When they play a team with a low post presence, they get pounded on the boards. 

Are you not paying attention, or does LeBron count as "everyone" in your world?


Edited to add that people who jump into a conversation without reading any of the relevant preceding comments are way up on the message board pet peeve list as well.

I think he does in LeBron's world.

Cromartie was right!

In the pre-season. Mr. Fatherhood called the Jets the Miami Heat of the NFL.

Lets compare:

1. Both are a little more than 1 game out of first place in their division.

2. Both have suffered humiliating loss on national TV to a team from Boston.

3. Both were hugely over hyped in the preseason.

4. Both had their own TV special. (The Lebron signing & Hard knocks)

5. Both are filled with big named, big ego players that don't believe in team work.

6. Both are failing to meet the expecations they boasted about before the season.

I say he was absolutely right!

Take out #5 from that list (subjectivity, speculation, incorrect assumption...in that order) and I have no argument about it.

Couldn't we just make a "Boston Fans Sports Masturbation" thread for this sort of commentary though?

blowing out the lakers in LA on xmas day = no issues with the heat

The Heat are looking really good, but I still see some issues they need to deal with as the season goes on. They need Mike Miller to get back into playing shape and work him in as a primary bench player. They need to get either Dampier, Ilgauskas, Anthony or someone to do a better Udonis Haslem impersonation. They need Chalmers to be able to provide useful minutes at the point, and they need to work up enough quality depth that, when they get up by 15-20 late in 4th quarters, they can sit the big-3 down and keep them healthy as the season goes on.

^^^^^^^

You're right about that on all counts.  The Heat still have no low post presence.  When they face a team like Boston in the playoffs, that's going to really hurt.

I've been watching every single HEAT game.  They are looking great.  There is still room for improvement, as well.  I'd like to see:

- Miller get back into form and see where he fits in.  Right now, there doesn't seem to be a place for him in the rotation to contribute.
- How long Haslem will be gone.  I'm happy with the improved defense of Joell Anthony and James Jones, but we need a "blue-collar" rebounder to compete down the stretch.
- A better start to games.  We are beating teams in the 3rd/4th quarter.  That's good, but we often miss the opportunity early to get a lead.

So, Heat haters...we're now almost halfway through the season and Lo!  The Heat have the second best record in the entire league, are threatening the all-time consecutive road wins record, and generally look like phenomenal, even in close wins to teams they should crush.

Boston fans: worried yet?  Is age a factor?
San Antonio fans:  Can the Spurs keep up the offensive pace and improve defensively?  Can they keep this up?
Lakers fans: starting to sweat?  Will you remain disjointed on the floor?
Orlando fans: think your trades are enough to beat Miami in a playoff series?
Bulls fans:  Have you seen enough to believe you can contend?

Have your fun little moment in history. A comparison of the organizations is all you should have to see to leave you wanting.

I'm not a Heat fan as much as I am a Suns fan, but looking at the Lakers doesn't leave me wanting...it leaves me experiencing an involuntary gag reflex.

New York sports fans = obnoxious evil that gets in your face at every opportunity

Los Angeles sports fans = Laid-back evil that shows up late and leaves early

Common tie... Both are evil. ;)

^^^Phish, I'm asking a legitimate question.  I'm certainly not crowing!  I'm pretty well known for being a San Antonio Spurs fan, after all!  As I wear my Spurs fan hat, the Heat do scare me, because their athletic ability makes them a team that can run with San Antonio's new, fast-paced offense.  The Heat players are also just the kind of guys that give the Spurs fits:  superior athletes that exploit individual defenders so badly that not even excellent team defense can cover for individual shortcomings.  In other words, uber-athletic teams always give the Spurs problems.

Also...what 'Stroke said.