Just wanted to consolidate a thread to talk about their roster as it fills out...

Wade/Chalmers
LeBron
Miller/Butler
Bosh/Ju.Howard/Verando
Haslem/Ilgauskas/Pittman

If they add Big Z and do retain Haslem, that is a pretty sick squad.




[This message has been edited by claym711 (edited 7/12/2010 3:57p).]

[This message has been edited by claym711 (edited 7/13/2010 2:12p).]

[This message has been edited by claym711 (edited 7/14/2010 1:05p).]

Rumor mill is that Miami couldn't match 2.5 million for Fisher.

2 point freaking 5 for a starting PG, and they couldn't match.

This is going to be all kinds of awesome to follow this over the next couple of months.

They're going to have to fill out the rest of their roster with minimum salary guys.

C Haslem/Pittman
PF Bosh/Varnado
SF Bron/Butler
SG Miller
PG Wade/Chalmers

I think they are going to trot out their best 5 most of the time to start. Why not when Wade or Bron can bring the ball up?

I agree with soup. I think Chalmers comes off the bench.

I agree that Miller will be out there most the time with Wade and Lebron at the 1-3. They need his shooting to stretch the floor. Chalmers will come in periodically to give one of those 3 a breather. If they can find a decent backup for Lebron / Miller at the minimum, they will be stacked nicely. Getting Haslem was big for them.

And their big weakness will still be severe lack of depth...they will log a ton of minutes all year long.

That said, they wouldn't be the first team over the past 10-15 years to win a championship with very little depth.

Jordan averaged 37+ minutes every year they won.

Pippen was even higher at 39+ every year



Lebron played 39mpg last year
Wade played 36
Bosh played 36
Miller played 33 (a few years ago when he got 39mpg he averaged 18/5/4a


Wade 39
Bron 39
Miller 36
Bosh 39
Haslem 36

Need to find 51 minutes. 30mpg at 1-3, and 21mpg down low.

Chalmers can make up 20 of those minutes. I suspect Butler gets 10mpg if healthy. They need to pick up a decent post for the min so they can avoid having to play Pittman much.

If one of their starting 5 goes down, they might really struggle to fill minutes... just have to see who they can get to come for the min.

It should be interesting how this team does defensively and on the boards. They will be the most formidable offense in the league, but I'm not sold they will be a force on the defensive end, especially with Miller on the squad.

fat Pittman making or breaking their run cracks me up

Haslem, Wade, Lebron and Bosh are all pretty decent defensive players. I'm really hoping they re-sign Joel Anthony though.

Their weakness is going to be defense. Wade, Lebron, and Miller aren't used to being primary defenders all game long on the other team's best player and they don't have a shot blocker.

And rebounding. Sure, Bron and Wade can pull 12 rebounds together, but it is going to be a lot harder to do that when Bron is the tallest guy on the team. Teams like Orlando, Boston, LA, and SA should absolutely dominate them on the glass.

I disagree Soup. I suspect the Heat will be a pretty good rebounding team. Height is overrated as a quality of a good rebounder. Sure, it is very important, but so is footwork, desire to rebound, ability to get up quick, wingspan, and general athleticism. The Heat may not be a great rebounding team, but I bet they are a pretty dang good rebounding team.


I think they are going to be the best team in the league by far.

The Rockets were a good rebounding team last year with Chuck Hayes at Center -- but the real problem was the lack of a shot-blocker in the paint. If you don't have someone that can redirect, indimidate, or block shots then good defense is almost impossible in the NBA.

I think they will be a decent rebounding team.


Bron, Wade, Bosh, Miller, and Haslem combine for 36 reb/game.


The Spurs get 38 reb/game from 8 players. Duncan, Blair, Dyess, Bonner, RJeff, Manu, Hill, Parker.

Again, their problem is they have to be as healthy as possible come playoff time (like most teams, but even more important for them).

Bosh has missed an average of 11 game in each of the past 5 seasons. If he is out of the game, they quickly become a bad rebounding team.

Actually, you could say another problem they have is that the team they'll probably have to go through for the NBA Championship is a bad matchup for them. With Bynum, Gasol, and Odom in the front court, the Heat really have nobody to match their length on defense. Between Kobe and Artest playing up front and having Gasol and Bynum near the rim, they'll be able to defend Lebron and Wade better than most. If they want to beat the Lakers in a series, they need something else in the center... maybe that guy is Shaq, who knows. But they can't roll with Bosh and Haslem in the front court against Gasol and Bynum -- they'll get killed... not to mention Wade or Lebron have to guard Kobe all game long and there's nobody to protect the paint.

[This message has been edited by HotardAg07 (edited 7/13/2010 10:35a).]

I could see the Heat signing a guy like Louis Amundsun... he's not overly tall at 6'9", but he has one of the highest block rates in the league and is a pretty good hustle guy in the paint.

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it is going to be a lot harder to do that when Bron is the tallest guy on the team.

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So have you already completely forgotten about Chris Bosh or are you clueless as to how tall he is?

The Lakers cannot match the Heat's athleticism and speed, not even close.

Kobe and Artest are going to guard Wade/Bron the entire game? Neither Fisher nor Odom can.

When the Heat trot out:

Wade
Bron
Miller
Bosh
Haslem

How does LA hide Fisher? The other options are Blake, Walton, and Vujacic.

If you are a Heat fan (which I guess I am starting to sound like), you are asking how is LA going to match up with us, not how are we going to match up with LA. The Heat are putting a lot of elite speed and athleticism on the floor.

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So have you already completely forgotten about Chris Bosh or are you clueless as to how tall he is?

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Good question

[This message has been edited by Guitarsoup (edited 7/13/2010 11:01a).]

1. Wade+Bron > Kobe+Artest
2. I'd take Bosh > Gasol
3. I'd take Miller > Odom
- Odom is 11/10/3 .46FG .31 3PT .69FT
- Miller is 11/6/4 .50FG .48 3PT .82FT
4. Bynum > Haslem
5. Fisher > Chalmers

LA Has a far superior bench, but the Heat obviously have more vets to sign.

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2. I'd take Bosh > Gasol
3. I'd take Miller > Odom

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lol whut. this cannot be true. plus, i wouldnt take kobe+artest over wade+lebron because we have absolutely no idea how well they are going to play together.

bosh is better than gasol? miller better than odom?? WTF is you smoking and can i have some

The way you match speed and athleticism is with a zone defense. You also have to understand that by the time these two potentially face other, their top three guys will have played 40 mins a game over 100 games. I don't care how young or athletic you are, your tank won't be full at that point.


Kobe and Artest are going to guard Wade/Bron the entire game? When Wade and LeBron are both in, chances are so will Artest and Kobe. There will be times when only Wade or only LeBron will be on the court. That makes the match-ups far more manageable and the Heat nothing more than a playoff team in the East.

When the Heat trot out:

Wade
Bron
Miller
Bosh
Haslem

How does LA hide Fisher? The other options are Blake, Walton, and Vujacic. On Miller, obviously. Lakers have the size to rotate over if he posts him up.

If you are a Heat fan (which I guess I am starting to sound like), you are asking how is LA going to match up with us, not how are we going to match up with LA. The Heat are putting a lot of elite speed and athleticism on the floor. -- And the Lakers put a lot of length on the floor. Ask Boston who has a big three AND depth how that worked out for them with only 1 big man in Game 7.

1. Wade+Bron > Kobe+Artest - true but these two are as close as you get to matching those two in the league
2. I'd take Bosh > Gasol - Gasol's perimeter game and passing ability > than Bosh's; If Gasol pulls him away from the goal Bynum will murder them; this is at best a push for Miami
3. I'd take Miller > Odom; only in a shooting contest; every other variable favors Odom
4. Bynum > Haslem - big-time
5. Fisher > Chalmers - irrelevant; the other four positions are the ones that will determine the outcome; the PG on both these teams will be spectators most of the time

[This message has been edited by Look Out Below (edited 7/13/2010 11:38a).]

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Ask Boston who has a big three AND depth how that worked out for them with only 1 big man in Game 7.

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Well, the Lakers won by 4, at home, in a game where they were +20 in free throw attempts.

Further, I don't know which of Boston's lineup you are calling "the big 3", but no three person combination of anyone in their lineup can match Bron/Wade/Bosh. All three of those guys were among the top 10 scorers in the league last year. All three of those guys are extremely athletic. None of them are old dudes on the downside of their career.

Rondo is the only player in Boston's lineup that might currently be as good as any one of those three players.

- Odom is 11/10/3 .46FG .31 3PT .69FT
- Miller is 11/6/4 .50FG .48 3PT .82FT

Obviously Miller is also going to be a much better player alongside the likes of Wade, Bron, and Bosh.

- Gasol 18.8/11.3/3.2a/1.7b .52FG .74FT
- Bosh 20.2/10.8/2.4a/1b .52FG .80FT

Same rule applies for Bosh. You play alongside a superstar (2 superstars in this case), and are going to look like a better player. He will be able to devote more energy to rebounding and defense.

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lol whut. this cannot be true. plus, i wouldnt take kobe+artest over wade+lebron because we have absolutely no idea how well they are going to play together.

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Christ. Can you please at least attempt to type coherent sentences and thoughts?

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All three of those guys were among the top 10 scorers in the league last year.

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3 of the Top 5 in PER


Gasol is at 10. Bosh at 4.

coherent sentences and thoughts?


you are the one who are assuming an upgraded TWO TIME DEFENDING CHAMPIONS are going to be beat by a team that hasn't played a single game together and is still missing half their roster.

if your posts are the measure of a coherent thought....i'll take that as a huge compliment.

I think it's funny how everyone is assuming the East to the new Heat! That is by no means a given anything but.

Boston, Orlando and Chicago can match them and at the end of a season may have more legs and defense and inside toughness to weather the playoffs. If they are counting on Bosh to the be their main inside out half court post presence they are in for a shock! Bosh is no better then L Aldredge IMHO!

No doubt that Miami's big three can put up some impressive numbers in all areas. However they are going to have to do that pretty consistently because they have no balance at all. They are going to have to work hard a lot of minutes on both sides of the floor. None of those guys are used to doing that. They are go to offensive guys with their respective teams and they pick and choose when they play D. THAT'S GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE.

Basically they are going to be soft inside on both sides of the floor and I think that that is going to cause them some great problems over the long haul. They are going to get gut punched and over the course of a season that can take a big toll on you! Legit bigs are going to be chomping at the bit to have it em.

I am not even talking about chemistry and learning how to play together and who is the go to guy in crunch time.

The Heat will do well to make it past the 2nd round next year unless they pull some sort of rabbit out of a hat to address their soft belly!

Point out where I said the Heat were going to beat LA.

Also, Haslem and Bosh were both among the top 20 in rbs/48 minutes and top 22 in rebounds/game last year among qualified players. They only avergaed about 2 rbs/game less than Gasol/Odom.

In my mind, the Heat are the clear favorites to win the NBA championship. The will have the best team, barring injuries.

We'll see who is right soon enough.

[This message has been edited by Whistling For Flies (edited 7/13/2010 12:04p).]