I keep having the thought of coming to me that this team does not fit Shaq at all. I then keep telling myself that this team just needs time to gel. But we are for a fact 1-11 agaist division leaders and that one win is against New Jersey which is the weakest division right now. Hell we don't even have a win against the Nuggets. Last nights 36 point or whatever it was really gave me the impression that this team is LOST completely and will never be a championship team. I really think if we just signed Earl Watson while keeping the rest of our roster in tact we would be one of the elite teams. (San Antonio, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix). C- Shaq PF- Udonis Haslem SF- Eddie Jones SG- Dwyane Wade PG- Earl Watson/Damon Jones Honestly I Couldn't think of a better starting line-up suited to this team. Earl Watson is one of the most underrated players in the game today. He is one of the best defenders at the point and he can knock down the three. That should be all the PG has to do in this offense. You got Eddie who can consistantly knock down a three and play defense also and knows he is the 3rd option. The Fact is these guys don't know their roles on this team. With Eddie Jones we knew what we were going to get. With Walker we don't know if we're going to get, whether it be 11-15 or 1-13. He will ruin us or win it for us. So all I want in Pat Riley is to bring in Earl Watson!! All of the dominant teams have amazing guys at the 4 and the 1 and that is what we struggle against. Detroit- Rasheed and Chauncy(two best players) Phoenix- Nash and Marion(Amare when he comes back) Dallas- Dirk and Terry(Terry is arguably their 2nd best player. but I'd say so. Josh Howard could be made a case for) San Antonio- Duncan and Parker- nuff said Jason Williams cannot defend the opposing Point guard. Tony Parker had a career night against him. Terry smoked him last night. Nash dominates us, as does Billups. Payton is certainly an upgrade at defense, but he clearly has lost a step and I'm not going to rely on an 80 year old to win a championship. PAT RILEY MAKE A MOVE. C- Shaq PF- Udonis Haslem SF- James Posey SG- Wade PG- Earl Watson With Zo, Shandon Anderson, Payton, and a CONSISTANT scorer.
I liked Eddie Jones. I liked R Butler coming off the bench and knock down some shots. The only complaint i had was DJones because this guy chokes almost every big games. I thought we would only need a PG upgrade but Mr.Riley swapped half the starting lineup. They say that they gotta get used to new faces but Shaq doesn't have time to get used to them. If we want to get the most out of Shaq, get it now, not later. Eddie Jones in Heat uniform was just fine. He hit some good shots, and if he didn't, he played hard nosed defense. We gave the Pistons a hard time last year. We just needed a new PG!
Yeah I'm with you Basically if we upgraded our PG slot with Earl Watson we'd be a helluva lot better than 30-20 right now.
Out of interest, where you saying the same thing when the trade was done? All the Miami fans i know were talking themselves up as the deepest team and certainties to come out of the East this year. There was a reason Memphis got rid of three highly talented ballers cheaply.
You're right Deisel, this is not a good team to build around Shaq, just like so many non-Heat fans were saying when the deal went down. Riley's roster right now looks like it's doomed to repeat history. Historically, the teams that Shaq has had the most success on are the ones where he was surrounded by one superstar SG, and the rest of the starters were catch and shoot role players who were clutch and didn't demand shots to be effective. These teams were the 04-05 Heat and the 3-peat Laker dynasty. So far, Shaq teams where he's surrounded by several all-star calibur players and/or aging stars looking to get an easy championship have not been successful. These teams are obviously this season's Heat and the 02-03 (I think that was the year) Lakers. Of course, when the trade went down Heat fans were sure that this roster was different from the Lakers' stacked roster with Malone and Payton in addition to Shaq and Kobe.
I say you build around Wade because, he's younger and is definitely the future. I say you bring in guys who attack the hole aggressively.
I've been saying this since I first heard of the big trade...this move was made based on 'wants' not 'needs', and that means it'll affect chemistry...last year's miami squad was a lot more tougher and effective than this year's...not even riley can right this ship... yet they'll still be in the eastern conference finals by default, so fear not Heat fans...
We can't win with damon jones STARTING at point our chances are greater with J. Williams. But I don't know what did we do with the Small Forward position. Our SF is mediocre at best and with no depth at all in that position. I don't know why we didn't go for artest, our defense can use that help. I'm not sure about spreewell, but we need to take a risk at that position. I can list many other Small Forwards better than ours. But can't list too many SG, or Centers. Our PF may be bested by allstars but not everyone same goes for the point. But the SF and SF bench ehh... Walker would be much more effective as Haslem's backup as well if we had a better sf. A richard jefferson/T. prince caliber player can take us to the championship. I mean, who doesn't want to live in Miami. Especially with some real estate incentives.
The team would've been in the finals had it not been for an unhealthy Wade in the finals. I still think the trade wasn't exactly neccessary though. The team was fine with Shaq and Wade creating openings for sharp-shooters like the Jones and Butler. If they had signed a defensive-minded PG with 3-point range in place of Dooling, they would have been just fine. I like Posey and Williams as the Jones' replacements, but Walker's taken too long to adjust to his role. I do think that this year's squad has the potential to become much greater than last year's, but it's up to the players' detirmination to be that great.
I think bringing Shaq to Miami had more purposes than just basketball. He sells jerseys, tickets and which means more cash for the team. A basketball franchise is more than just a basketball team but it's a business you know. I think Mr.Riley had both basketball and business in mind and did quite well making money for his boss. I don't know about building championship team tho. We still are a few pieces short.
The Heat really miss Eddie Jones this season. Not only has DWade come out and said it, but other players from around the league have also mentioned it. Eddie played a huge role on this team on both ends of the court. He allowed the Heat to hide DWade on defense, because Eddie can guard the opposing teams best perimeter player at PG, SG, or SF. I have no idea why Gary Payton was brought in either. Plus Payton was completely owned by Billups in the NBA Finals. He didn't really work with Shaq the first time around, and Keyon Dooling was a better option coming off the bench. Dooling gave the Heat an advantage in the backcourt because of his speed. When he shared the court with Wade, the Heat were hard to stop on offense. Antoine Walker is probably the worst move the Heat made in the offseason. You cannot surround Shaq with chuckers and players who aren't effective without the ball in their hand. You need specific role players like they had in LA to compliment Shaq. Players like Luke Walton, who new how to create the right passing angles to feed Shaq in the post. You also need some gunners on the perimeter who can shoot a high clip from behind the arc to space the floor. Last year the Heat had Eddie and Damon on the perimeter to stretch a defense, plus Eddie is great at slashing to the basket and catching those bounce passes from Shaq. I was really shocked at the moves the Heat made, because Riley is old-school and knows defense wins championships. Then he goes and adds A. Walker & J. Williams in the offseason. Two players who do not understand the concept of defense. At the same time you trade your best perimeter player, Eddie Jones, and don't re-sign your defensive spark plug off the bench, Keyon Dooling. The Heat are obviously worse than last season and once again DWade's body is taking a beating in the process.
i would say the moment miami got airball walker it's bound to NOT work look at his brief stay in dallas, and mess dallas over like that he is only good when the team is mediocre and people have to let him score he is just not a good player to have for an elite team
