<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"The source said the Heat might be interested in reacquiring Dooling, who played for Miami in 2004-'05." Palm Beach Post "Gary Payton is expected to re-sign with the Heat, but Miami might want to add a guard. Swingmen Shandon Anderson and Derek Anderson are not certain to return." Palm Beach Post "After playing the past two seasons with the Heat at the NBA's veteran minimum of just over $1 million, Mourning received a raise for the coming season to an undisclosed amount. Because the 6-foot-10, 36-year-old has been with the team for two seasons, his raise does not count against any of the team's still-unspent salary-cap exceptions.He is the franchise's all-time leader in games played (491), blocked shots (1,405), free throws made (2,328) and free throws attempted (3,512)." South Florida Sun-Sentinel "The Heat's next priority appears to be reaching an agreement with free-agent backup point guard Gary Payton, who is expected to return for a second season." South Florida Sun-Sentinel "With Mourning re-signed, and with Payton expected to join him soon, it would leave the Heat with 14 of the 15 players on last season's title roster under contract. The exception would be veteran swingman Shandon Anderson, who likely will not return." South Florida Sun-Sentinel "The only players added by the team in the offseason have been undrafted longshot rookie prospects Robert Hite, Daniel Horton, Mike Gansey and Chris Quinn. Should Payton re-sign, it would leave the team two rosters spot from the NBA camp maximum of 20. The regular-season maximum is 15." South Florida Sun-Sentinel</div> http://www.insidehoops.com/nba_rumors.shtml I think Keyon Dooling is the perfect player that we need right now. Hes played here in Miami before and he was sensational. Hes a quick player that can provide some great energy off the bench, I hope we get him.
I thought it was a mistake when they let him go last season. When Dooling and Wade were paired in the backcourt the Heat were tough to defend and Dooling took some defensive pressure off Wade. The Heat could use a change of pace guard to matchup against the quicker teams in the league. They had problems against a team like Phoenix, because Payton isn't fast enough to defend Nash or Barbosa.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">I thought it was a mistake when they let him go last season. When Dooling and Wade were paired in the backcourt the Heat were tough to defend and Dooling took some defensive pressure off Wade. The Heat could use a change of pace guard to matchup against the quicker teams in the league. They had problems against a team like Phoenix, because Payton isn't fast enough to defend Nash or Barbosa.</div>ehehe, that's the Wests' problem But either way, the Heat uses a help defense and zone which is what a lot of teams are doing, including Dallas in the Finals. The NBA is filled with speed guards and with the new rules, man-to-man defense is not what it once was. The only thing that Keyon would bring over Payton is the ability to put more pressure in the full court and on the perimeter. But as far as being beat off the dribble, most teams have schemes where help is sent and players rotate and recover.
Yea, but if you're playing against a nice playmaking PG, when you're sending help, all that means is that someone else is getting open, and passing lanes are being opened up. I think Dooling definately helps in terms of stopping initial penetration. Of course when Alonzo is there, he eats up a lot of the shots fired up, but I see no harm in having a guy to defend. Offensively though Dooling sucks at running the offense, and he's not the smartest guy out there, but a smart coach wouldn't make that his role, and Riley is a smart coach.
Yeah but once the help comes the idea is to rotate and recover on shooters. There's nothing you can tell Heat fans about having to defend speedy Guards and Swingmen: Hinrich, Gordon, Pargo, Kidd, Carter, Richard Jefferson, Billups, Hamilton, Devin Harris, Jason Terry, Josh Howard. I'd argue no other team had to deal with as many perimeter threats as the Heat did, and no one would thought we'd be successful with Jason Williams as a PG and Walker as a SF. Our defense works.
