Post by joer625 on Aug 2, 2005 15:14:14 GMT -5
Miami Heat Season Outlook
The new-look Miami Heat lost in the Eastern Conference Finals last year to the Pistons and are looking to make that final step this year to the championship. Once they brought Shaq into town, all of Miami was ecstatic, thinking a title was going to come right away, but Shaq, Wade, and the crew couldn’t do it all last year. They needed help, and GM Joe R. knew that he had to find it this offseason. And what a job he has done. He started by moving shooting guard/small forward Eddie Jones and both of the Heat’s draft picks this year to the New York Knicks for young scorer Jamal Crawford and veteran Malik Rose. Joe was quoted as saying, “Jamal is a very athletic combo guard who fits our goal of getting younger, faster, and more defensive. Malik has the experience of winning a title, so that is very important to our squad, and he will backup Udonis at the power forward spot.” Now, Wade will have a backcourt mate in Crawford for the next 10 years, since Jamal is only 24 and Dwyane 22. While Eddie Jones is now doing well in Houston, Joe is still very happy that he made this deal to get a 24 yr old scorer and a high energy bench player in Rose.
Miami was again abuzz, since most citizens look at Eddie Jones as an over the hill bum, and now Miami had their third scoring option. But Joe made another trade to get more talent in, sending the expiring contracts of Alonzo Mourning and Rasual Butler to his sex slave Hamadani in L.A. for the versatile forward Lamar Odom. “Lamar can do so many things well on the court, from shooting the 3 ball, to running the offense, to scoring inside that we had to make the move. Alonzo wasn’t going to get many minutes with that Shaq guy being here, and we are sad to see him go, but we absolutely had to make this deal.” No one in Miami that I talked to had any problem with this deal, because they felt that they got a great player for guys who wudn’t get any minutes. Now Joe has 4 unselfish scorers and Udonis Haslem to do the dirty work of fighting for boards and setting screens to free up guys, so he is definitely happy with his starting lineup.
Joe then went into free agency looking for backups at the point guard spot for Dwyane Wade and at the small forward spot for Lamar Odom. On the first day of free agency, Joe brought back Damon Jones to play behind both guards. Jones is an excellent shooter and a superb ball-handler. He fits in perfectly with Joe’s 2 main players, Shaquille and Dwyane, in that he can set them up and get many open looks when they are double teamed. Joe also singed Shammond Williams, a solid shooter and defender, so that in case any injuries occur he has a solid backup. All Joe had left here were minimum deals to go around, but he managed to sing young big man DeSagana Diop to a 3 year deal, small forwards Glenn Robinson and Jim Jackson to 1 year deals, and power forward Brandon Hunter to a 2 year deal. Glenn and Jim will likely get some minutes, but Diop and Hunter are likely going to be relegated to the UBDL to improve, since they are young and won’t get much playing time now.
The UBDL, where young guys can be sent to get playing time when they normally wouldn’t in the UBL just yet, is a great idea being instituted into the league this year by Commissioner David “Play” Stern. It is basically the same as a farm team in Major League Baseball. Since all of the playing time will be given to veterans on this team, the Heat are going to field a strong UBDL team with their young ballers. Wayne Simien, the team’s first round draft pick who was considered a steal by many people, will be a part of this league. He should be their leading scorer, after getting 20 ppg and 11 rpg on 55% shooting last year at Kansas and being named first team all-america by Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press. That was against the top college talent, and he will be playing against weaker talent in the Developmental League. His teammates will be Brandon Hunter, the rebounding machine formerly of the Boston Celtics and Orlando MAgic, and the 17th pick of last year’s draft, 18 year old Dorell Wright. These could all become big time contributors in the future, but this year they just aren’t prepared to get many minutes, so Joe will send them down their to get experience against a lesser competition.
Joe accomplished all of his goals this offseason, and during the preseason his hard work paid off, with the Heat going 10-5. Shaq was his usual dominant self, getting 25 points per night and patrolling the paint, and Wade has been on a tear, dishing nearly 13 dimes a night. New acquisitions Lamar Odom and Jamal Crawford have been scoring and playing solid defense, and the team has outscored opponents by an average of 10 points per night. Joe has high hopes for this season, even saying, “Anything less than a title this year is a failure.” We can only hope that the team will do this well, and I have a good feeling they will.
The new-look Miami Heat lost in the Eastern Conference Finals last year to the Pistons and are looking to make that final step this year to the championship. Once they brought Shaq into town, all of Miami was ecstatic, thinking a title was going to come right away, but Shaq, Wade, and the crew couldn’t do it all last year. They needed help, and GM Joe R. knew that he had to find it this offseason. And what a job he has done. He started by moving shooting guard/small forward Eddie Jones and both of the Heat’s draft picks this year to the New York Knicks for young scorer Jamal Crawford and veteran Malik Rose. Joe was quoted as saying, “Jamal is a very athletic combo guard who fits our goal of getting younger, faster, and more defensive. Malik has the experience of winning a title, so that is very important to our squad, and he will backup Udonis at the power forward spot.” Now, Wade will have a backcourt mate in Crawford for the next 10 years, since Jamal is only 24 and Dwyane 22. While Eddie Jones is now doing well in Houston, Joe is still very happy that he made this deal to get a 24 yr old scorer and a high energy bench player in Rose.
Miami was again abuzz, since most citizens look at Eddie Jones as an over the hill bum, and now Miami had their third scoring option. But Joe made another trade to get more talent in, sending the expiring contracts of Alonzo Mourning and Rasual Butler to his sex slave Hamadani in L.A. for the versatile forward Lamar Odom. “Lamar can do so many things well on the court, from shooting the 3 ball, to running the offense, to scoring inside that we had to make the move. Alonzo wasn’t going to get many minutes with that Shaq guy being here, and we are sad to see him go, but we absolutely had to make this deal.” No one in Miami that I talked to had any problem with this deal, because they felt that they got a great player for guys who wudn’t get any minutes. Now Joe has 4 unselfish scorers and Udonis Haslem to do the dirty work of fighting for boards and setting screens to free up guys, so he is definitely happy with his starting lineup.
Joe then went into free agency looking for backups at the point guard spot for Dwyane Wade and at the small forward spot for Lamar Odom. On the first day of free agency, Joe brought back Damon Jones to play behind both guards. Jones is an excellent shooter and a superb ball-handler. He fits in perfectly with Joe’s 2 main players, Shaquille and Dwyane, in that he can set them up and get many open looks when they are double teamed. Joe also singed Shammond Williams, a solid shooter and defender, so that in case any injuries occur he has a solid backup. All Joe had left here were minimum deals to go around, but he managed to sing young big man DeSagana Diop to a 3 year deal, small forwards Glenn Robinson and Jim Jackson to 1 year deals, and power forward Brandon Hunter to a 2 year deal. Glenn and Jim will likely get some minutes, but Diop and Hunter are likely going to be relegated to the UBDL to improve, since they are young and won’t get much playing time now.
The UBDL, where young guys can be sent to get playing time when they normally wouldn’t in the UBL just yet, is a great idea being instituted into the league this year by Commissioner David “Play” Stern. It is basically the same as a farm team in Major League Baseball. Since all of the playing time will be given to veterans on this team, the Heat are going to field a strong UBDL team with their young ballers. Wayne Simien, the team’s first round draft pick who was considered a steal by many people, will be a part of this league. He should be their leading scorer, after getting 20 ppg and 11 rpg on 55% shooting last year at Kansas and being named first team all-america by Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press. That was against the top college talent, and he will be playing against weaker talent in the Developmental League. His teammates will be Brandon Hunter, the rebounding machine formerly of the Boston Celtics and Orlando MAgic, and the 17th pick of last year’s draft, 18 year old Dorell Wright. These could all become big time contributors in the future, but this year they just aren’t prepared to get many minutes, so Joe will send them down their to get experience against a lesser competition.
Joe accomplished all of his goals this offseason, and during the preseason his hard work paid off, with the Heat going 10-5. Shaq was his usual dominant self, getting 25 points per night and patrolling the paint, and Wade has been on a tear, dishing nearly 13 dimes a night. New acquisitions Lamar Odom and Jamal Crawford have been scoring and playing solid defense, and the team has outscored opponents by an average of 10 points per night. Joe has high hopes for this season, even saying, “Anything less than a title this year is a failure.” We can only hope that the team will do this well, and I have a good feeling they will.
