Miami Fans reaction to Shaq signing - Feel this means they'll get Perk next year

[Celtics4ever]

I think we are going to have to play them man and collapse on them when they drive.   I think we may have to put them on their backs a few times, to send a message.  Shaq won't be shy about that.

[BballTim]

LeBron is a very unreliable shooter.  His fg % is vastly inflated by his dunks and layups.   You have to stay in front of him, which is what Tony Allen did so well.  That is the key to LeBron.  I still think making LeBron shoot will be the key to beating MIA, that and Bosh.  Force them out and clog the lane.  

  Of course all you have to do is stay in front of LeBron. The problem is that very few players in the league can accomplish this.

Nevermind that he will be playing with another of the leagues top 3 players and maybe it's second best slasher in Wade (next to LeBron himself) and he will be playing with one of the leagues best pick and roll big men.

That's the problem.  As the Celtics proved in the playoffs we can stop these one man teams but when both LBJ and Wade are out there with Bosh... it gets so much harder.  How can you really provide help?  You can try to clog the lane but you can't camp out and these guys can exploit any opening to the rim.

  It's a little tricky for Miami because their best players are both slashers. If (for the Celtics) the defense collapses on Rondo when he penetrates, he can kick it out to Ray or Paul and they'll shoot it. If LeBron starts to drive and we collapse on him, he can pass it to Wade. Wade also wants to drive, but that gives us time to react to him and since we collapsed a little on LeBron we're already in a good position to defend Wade's penetration.

[Snakehead]

LeBron is a very unreliable shooter.  His fg % is vastly inflated by his dunks and layups.   You have to stay in front of him, which is what Tony Allen did so well.  That is the key to LeBron.  I still think making LeBron shoot will be the key to beating MIA, that and Bosh.  Force them out and clog the lane. 

  Of course all you have to do is stay in front of LeBron. The problem is that very few players in the league can accomplish this.

Nevermind that he will be playing with another of the leagues top 3 players and maybe it's second best slasher in Wade (next to LeBron himself) and he will be playing with one of the leagues best pick and roll big men.

That's the problem.  As the Celtics proved in the playoffs we can stop these one man teams but when both LBJ and Wade are out there with Bosh... it gets so much harder.  How can you really provide help?  You can try to clog the lane but you can't camp out and these guys can exploit any opening to the rim.

  It's a little tricky for Miami because their best players are both slashers. If (for the Celtics) the defense collapses on Rondo when he penetrates, he can kick it out to Ray or Paul and they'll shoot it. If LeBron starts to drive and we collapse on him, he can pass it to Wade. Wade also wants to drive, but that gives us time to react to him and since we collapsed a little on LeBron we're already in a good position to defend Wade's penetration.

You are right, it's not perfect, but you won't be able to camp the lane unless you want the 3 seconds. 

Neither is as bad of a jumpshooter as Rondo, not even close, and both are far better FT shooters, giving them a reliable option to score points by putting their head down and getting to the line, a luxry Rondo doesn't have that makes a slasher truly dangerous.  Wade and LBJ will both be at the line very often.

LeBron is a pretty good 3 point shooter, definitely one you have to close out on (at 33%) and I can see his percentage going up with more open looks on this Miami team. 

Wade is not a good 3 shooter, but is streaky and is a good midrange shooter. 

Bosh also can shoot midrange shots and if everyone is focused on Wade or LeBron, will probably be able to capitalize near or away from the rim.

All three are good passers, so if they recieve enough attention they will be able to find open players slashing or hanging out in the paint or on the perimeter.


The team also has Mike Miller, who shot around 50% from three for a good part of last year and also has House and Jones as 3 pt specialists.  Haslem is a great jumpshooter from the foul line and baseline at about 15 feet and Z can knock down open shots from midrange.


Their two best players may be slashers but I think they have plenty of options and neither are as one dimensional as some make them out to be.  Both will recieve enough attention going to the rim that others will be open cutting to the rim or from mid to 3pt range.  And both are such good finishers that the rotation, even if quick, may not be fast enough.  We've seen these guys cut into defenses solely focused on them, imagine one where both must be looked out for.  It will still be hard to cover the paint regardless.  Regarding the previously mentioned Free Throws, I would imagine Wade and LBJ could average about 20 attempts per game.

And I haven't even gone into the pick and roll with Bosh that both can use (or LeBron could also pick)... it will be a scary team to face.

[the_Bird]

Mike Miller's obviously not going to be this team's MVP but he may well be the guy that determines whether this experiment succeeds or fails.  It's absurd that a guy who's as good a shooter as he is will get so many clean looks. 

And yeah; Bosh and Haslem have nice mid-range jumpers as well.  Eddie doesn't scare me too much, he was cold pretty much all season and didn't do much in New York; thinking his time may have come and gone. 

[BballTim]

LeBron is a very unreliable shooter.  His fg % is vastly inflated by his dunks and layups.   You have to stay in front of him, which is what Tony Allen did so well.  That is the key to LeBron.  I still think making LeBron shoot will be the key to beating MIA, that and Bosh.  Force them out and clog the lane.  

  Of course all you have to do is stay in front of LeBron. The problem is that very few players in the league can accomplish this.

Nevermind that he will be playing with another of the leagues top 3 players and maybe it's second best slasher in Wade (next to LeBron himself) and he will be playing with one of the leagues best pick and roll big men.

That's the problem.  As the Celtics proved in the playoffs we can stop these one man teams but when both LBJ and Wade are out there with Bosh... it gets so much harder.  How can you really provide help?  You can try to clog the lane but you can't camp out and these guys can exploit any opening to the rim.

  It's a little tricky for Miami because their best players are both slashers. If (for the Celtics) the defense collapses on Rondo when he penetrates, he can kick it out to Ray or Paul and they'll shoot it. If LeBron starts to drive and we collapse on him, he can pass it to Wade. Wade also wants to drive, but that gives us time to react to him and since we collapsed a little on LeBron we're already in a good position to defend Wade's penetration.

You are right, it's not perfect, but you won't be able to camp the lane unless you want the 3 seconds.  

Neither is as bad of a jumpshooter as Rondo, not even close, and both are far better FT shooters, giving them a reliable option to score points by putting their head down and getting to the line, a luxry Rondo doesn't have that makes a slasher truly dangerous.  Wade and LBJ will both be at the line very often.

LeBron is a pretty good 3 point shooter, definitely one you have to close out on (at 33%) and I can see his percentage going up with more open looks on this Miami team.  

Wade is not a good 3 shooter, but is streaky and is a good midrange shooter.  

Bosh also can shoot midrange shots and if everyone is focused on Wade or LeBron, will probably be able to capitalize near or away from the rim.

All three are good passers, so if they recieve enough attention they will be able to find open players slashing or hanging out in the paint or on the perimeter.


The team also has Mike Miller, who shot around 50% from three for a good part of last year and also has House and Jones as 3 pt specialists.  Haslem is a great jumpshooter from the foul line and baseline at about 15 feet and Z can knock down open shots from midrange.


Their two best players may be slashers but I think they have plenty of options and neither are as one dimensional as some make them out to be.  Both will recieve enough attention going to the rim that others will be open cutting to the rim or from mid to 3pt range.  And both are such good finishers that the rotation, even if quick, may not be fast enough.  We've seen these guys cut into defenses solely focused on them, imagine one where both must be looked out for.  It will still be hard to cover the paint regardless.  Regarding the previously mentioned Free Throws, I would imagine Wade and LBJ could average about 20 attempts per game.

And I haven't even gone into the pick and roll with Bosh that both can use (or LeBron could also pick)... it will be a scary team to face.

  Granted they will be hard to stop but they won't spread the floor that well. It's not ideal because their games don't complement each other's as well as PP/KG/RA when they came together. And they combine to average about 20 free throws a year, but that's when they're both controlling the ball for most of the possessions while they're in the game. They'll both lose at least a quarter of their possessions to the other if not more, and that's not accounting for all of the shots Bosh (and to a lesser degree Miller) get.

[Snakehead]

  Granted they will be hard to stop but they won't spread the floor that well. It's not ideal because their games don't complement each other's as well as PP/KG/RA when they came together. And they combine to average about 20 free throws a year, but that's when they're both controlling the ball for most of the possessions while they're in the game. They'll both lose at least a quarter of their possessions to the other if not more, and that's not accounting for all of the shots Bosh (and to a lesser degree Miller) get.

Sorry I meant 20 shots from the FT line total between the two.  And I think both will handle the ball a good amount still, the majority of the time, especially since I think LBJ will be the PG (he will be if they are smart).  The other guys are complimentary and will probably have most of their baskets be assisted layups or spot up shots.

Obviously both won't handle the ball for as much time since both dominated it on their respective teams, but I don't think the production will suffer much and the 20 FT attempts between the two seems pretty likely to me.  Both could really shoot a higher percentage and score plenty of points being able to work more off the ball and without the focus of the defense at all times.

[BballTim]

  Granted they will be hard to stop but they won't spread the floor that well. It's not ideal because their games don't complement each other's as well as PP/KG/RA when they came together. And they combine to average about 20 free throws a year, but that's when they're both controlling the ball for most of the possessions while they're in the game. They'll both lose at least a quarter of their possessions to the other if not more, and that's not accounting for all of the shots Bosh (and to a lesser degree Miller) get.

Sorry I meant 20 shots from the FT line total between the two.  And I think both will handle the ball a good amount still, the majority of the time, especially since I think LBJ will be the PG (he will be if they are smart).  The other guys are complimentary and will probably have most of their baskets be assisted layups or spot up shots.

Obviously both won't handle the ball for as much time since both dominated it on their respective teams, but I don't think the production will suffer much and the 20 FT attempts between the two seems pretty likely to me.  Both could really shoot a higher percentage and score plenty of points being able to work more off the ball and without the focus of the defense at all times.

  I know you meant 20 shots combined. That's what they average playing separately. They won't average that playing together because they'll both have the ball less often, take fewer shots and drive to the hoop less often. They're both commonly in the top 2 in the league for the highest usage rates, up over 30%. Chris Bosh is close to the top 10 as well. Obviously that won't hold. They're all going to have the ball less. They're all going to shoot less, drive less and (therefore) go to the line less often.

[MBunge]

  Granted they will be hard to stop but they won't spread the floor that well. It's not ideal because their games don't complement each other's as well as PP/KG/RA when they came together. And they combine to average about 20 free throws a year, but that's when they're both controlling the ball for most of the possessions while they're in the game. They'll both lose at least a quarter of their possessions to the other if not more, and that's not accounting for all of the shots Bosh (and to a lesser degree Miller) get.

Sorry I meant 20 shots from the FT line total between the two.  And I think both will handle the ball a good amount still, the majority of the time, especially since I think LBJ will be the PG (he will be if they are smart).  The other guys are complimentary and will probably have most of their baskets be assisted layups or spot up shots.

Obviously both won't handle the ball for as much time since both dominated it on their respective teams, but I don't think the production will suffer much and the 20 FT attempts between the two seems pretty likely to me.  Both could really shoot a higher percentage and score plenty of points being able to work more off the ball and without the focus of the defense at all times.

  I know you meant 20 shots combined. That's what they average playing separately. They won't average that playing together because they'll both have the ball less often, take fewer shots and drive to the hoop less often. They're both commonly in the top 2 in the league for the highest usage rates, up over 30%. Chris Bosh is close to the top 10 as well. Obviously that won't hold. They're all going to have the ball less. They're all going to shoot less, drive less and (therefore) go to the line less often.

What makes people like Jeff Van Gundy go gaga over the Heat is that they forget that unless Miami plays twice as fast as the Phoenix Suns, there are going to be a limited number of shots to go around.

Both Wade and LeBron took over 15 hundred shots last year.  That's as many as Kobe took with the Lakers, but Wade also took about 160 more free throws and LeBron took about 230 more fts than Kobe.  So, two guys who dominate the ball even more than Kobe in LA have now got to coexist in the same offense.

To continue the Miami-LA comparison, last year Pau Gasol played in 65 games, took 844 shots and 363 fts.  Bosh played in 70 games but took over 1100 shots and 590 fts.  Unless Bosh averaged 40 shots and 40 free throw attempts in those extra 5 games, he dominated the ball much more than Gasol did.

Now, Miami's going to be very good and their offense is going to be very tough to stop.  However, it's not physically possible for the team to play the way some folks are imagining they'll play.

Mike