Erik Spoelstra innovations with this Miami Heat roster? | Five on the Floor

Erik Spoelstra innovations with this Miami Heat roster? | Five on the Floor

Welcome to the latest episode of Five on the Floor on the Five Reason Sports Network. Thanks for joining us on your favorite podcast app on Apple Podcast. On Android, we recommend Spotify. Also check out off the floor. That’s our Discord server. Two bucks 99 cents per month. Link right here in the description. Bypass the Apple Upcharge. You’re like, “Nobody’s talking heat these days.” They are there. Most Heat information and conversation, plus our stage shows, our host updates, and more. You can cancel at any time. Again, use the link in the description, pay the $299, and you’re on there. There also prize picks. Use the code 5 fiv. MLB and WNBA both back right now. Also the fights on the weekends. Use the code five FIV. Put down your five bucks. You get $50 to play right away. Legal in the state of Florida. Recommend that you trail our baseball picks. We’ve been hitting on a lot of those. So prize picks, use the code 5 f. And now today’s episode. [Music] Mercy luxurious heat nation. Yeah. Mercy go down the gang. Y on the floor ride for my dogs. Where’s the thing? You can check the score. Hustle hard. Couple scars down. kept the floor plan. Got our own van. Y’all seen the block. Stop with one hand and Pat trust is have the guts. We’re here to bring the heat. Y’all can hang it up. Welcome to five on the floor, a daily insider show on the Miami Heat and the NBA featuring Ethan Skolnick, Greg Sander, Alex Toledo, Brady Hawk, and others from the Five Reason Sports Network. Also, make sure to subscribe to Off the Floor for the most heat anywhere. [Music] Welcome back to five on the floor. Here’s today’s floor plan. I’m Ethan Skolnick. You can follow me at EJ Skoligan at five reason sports. I got Brady Hawk. You can follow him at Brady Hawk 305. We are careening towards the end of July. Anybody has any ideas on how to fill all of August, please let us know. All right, we’re going to get into Eric Bolster here a little bit. three ideas, three innovations, three things that he can do with this roster now that we know what the roster largely is. I know there could be changes prior to training camp, but we’re operating under the premise that there are not going to be, at least not any significant ones after, of course, the additions of Norm Powell, also of Simone Fonteio. And that’s pretty much it, right? like we’re looking at Oh, and of course uh uh Casper Casperis, but we’re not expecting him to play a ton this season. Let’s get into uh innovations that Spolra can use to freshen this thing up a little bit because it has gotten stale spec specifically on the offensive end. Now, one of the things he’s leaned into a lot in recent years, Brady, has been the DHO between uh Bam and and Duncan. We should we should we should run a funeral service for the DHO between Bam and Duncan. We will not be seeing that anymore. So, that’s something that’s sort of taken out of the repertoire here. Uh, give me one thing you think he can do to to make this I don’t know, feel fresh. So, this is something we’ve talked about a lot, but this is the one thing I really do believe can freshen up this roster if this guy makes a jump. This guy is heavily involved within the offense. Uh, and it’s giving the keys to Yovic to kind of be a point guard in in many lineups, just kind of kind of run the show, be the primary playmaker, uh, and to tie that into something else. Not only lean into Yoic as the point guard and find him a specific role because that’s kind of what this offseason’s been about. We’ve been talking about with Yoic is one, you know, staying healthy, making a jump, getting better, but it’s also like not just being the guy that’s throwing in off the bench. It’s like, okay, just go see if you could spark something. like give him a specific role that you could say we need you to do this offensively. Uh and not just sit around and stand in the corner and shoot a bunch of threes in the corner and that be his only role. With that said about the point guard thing, I think it’s also leaning into finally the Yoic Bamware thing. Like we saw it a little bit. I think it was that Orlando game last year where we saw it and it looked good. it it like add like some flashes and I just think when we talk about kind of rejuvenating the roster a little bit there’s some fun ways I think they could balance out that lineup and just like find ways to spark some things if you have Yovic spam and wear in the front court and you could have the flexibility just throw Hero and Powell out there just for fun just to see what happens offensively like there’s some firepower out there and you could go obviously in the defensive way with Mitchell if you need you feel like the point of attack stuff’s not good enough for that big man lineup uh I just think it’s it’s going to be a lot on trying to find the right lineup for Yoic. I really do believe that. I know he’s not like top three player on, you know, player on this team that they’re trying to like you come into a season and say, “Okay, we want this guy here, this guy here.” But I think he’s really important for this team this season in terms of the trajectory. So, I would just think that the one innovation I’d like to see is like them just figure something out for him and specifically more than the lineup thing. It’s just like let him play point guard. Like I I know they have DaVon Mitchell. I know they have two, you know, ball handlers in Hero and Pal are going to be, you know, their main scorers, but let him be himself. Let him set the other guys up. Let him get two feet in the paint and kick out. Just like let him run the break and be a playmaker. Just I I’d like to see point Yoic this year. Well, we may see a little of it in Eurob Basket, right? We don’t know how that roster is going to look. Um, it was it’s hard to gauge it off his last experience internationally because he got hurt right before he went out there. I know Spolsters challenged him. he did so publicly uh when we were out in Vegas to uh you know to really perform well there and to to make himself a key factor on that team uh playing for what Spolster called a demanding coach. So we’ll see if he’s used in that regard that way. I I think most of us are in agreement on this that it’s time to just see what you have with Yoic. Now, I I was interested that when I asked Bo about finding a regular role for him, he said, “Well, he was before he got hurt last year, but that regular role wasn’t necessarily what you’re talking about, right?” Like, he he was coming off the bench, he was sparking them, but it wasn’t really tailored necessarily to his skill set. It wasn’t like a full-on this guy’s our point guard, but I don’t think it has to be that. Like, I don’t think it has to be like I don’t want to put him in a box, if that makes sense. like when when it’s a player that has like the the upside that Yoic has, I don’t want to just say like you’re the guy that brings the ball down, sets other guys up, and then stands around. But like I I just want him active. I want him there was I mean the I think the role that he was talking about is kind of the one we talked about the the pocket of the season where it was hero, Yoic, and Wear where they would come in together and they were just those three were heavily involved in the offense and it was just clicking. It was like the Yovic wear pick and roll stuff was working. uh Yoic was kind of hitting at a decent percentage from three at that point in the season. Um there was a certain game I can’t remember exactly what team they were playing but they were it was the game where uh Hero and Yoic both had like I think Hero had 30 and Yoic had like 234 uh and they were just playing off each other really well where it was just them just balancing off and both of them were getting two feet in in the paint and kicking out and it’s like I think that’s kind of what Spose sees as his role is like when Yoic gets a little bit of confidence like when he’s first of all the health is the biggest thing because he looks like a different player obviously I think any player looks different when they’re healthy but he definitely has an extra step to him when he’s when he has that full health bar. Uh, but I would just like to see that specifically is like adding in more point guard reps, adding in more big lineup stuff. But like 100% I just want him to be heavily involved with the offense because like when it’s like DaVon Mitchell is going to be a big part of the offense because he’s going to have the ball in his hands because he was good at it last year. But I’d like to see a little bit more where it’s like Yoic getting downhill stuff and all like DaVon’s able to get downhill against, you know, small guards and he was physical and he was able to finish at the rim at a high level. But it’s like if you’re bringing out a fourman or a threeman on the perimeter that maybe is not as versatile as, you know, maybe some other teams and you have Yoic that’s able to get downhill on them, it just changes a lot of the trajectories of the offense and that’s kind of where the innovation kicks in. It’s sort of like structured unstructure, structured chaos a little bit like you giving him kind of a diet of things that you want him to do and then letting him play freely out of it. Um, I think that’s why some of the guys on this team like playing with him because it just it feels like a little more free flowing basketball. I think Tyler in particular benefits from that. Um, as opposed to put, like you said, putting putting him with guys in a box and then Tyler’s very easy to find and then you start getting the doubles and and all of that. uh if Yoic can create a little bit of sort of confusion just because like you said he’s a different kind of player um that may bend the defense a little bit more in a different way. All right, let’s get to number two. Uh what would be another innovation that Spolster could use? Yes. So I want to play off this thing we’re talking about like putting a guy in a box like Yovic is somebody who needs to be freelancing out there and kind of play his game go kind of wild in in a sense. Kel Wear on the other hand is somebody that I think needs to be put in a box. Like I think he is better with structure. When they tell him, “Okay, you’re just going to screen roll here, you know, watch for the ball here, stop in a pocket here.” Like when they give him structure offensively and defensively, I just think that he’s just more comfortable. When I The reason I bring that up is because when we talk about like renovations here, I mean, the one thing we’ve been asking for for the longest time is something new. And they have that. They brought in Norman Powell. And in a sense, if if Andrew Wiggins is on the roster, to me, that’s something that they could build off of. That’s something at least new. No matter how you feel about the way it ended after his injury and how he just wasn’t, you know, extremely aggressive at certain pockets, he’s something new to add into certain lineups to certain offensive builds. Uh, and the reason I brought up the freelancing slash in the box thing is like I wonder how they’re going to treat these two guys like like where do they think they fit best? Because in my head when I first think about it, I kind of think Norman Pal’s more the freelancing. I don’t want to put him in the box guy because I want him to kind of be able to fill in for, you know, some of the things Tyler does. Get him a bunch of threes, still get downhill and work the floater that he’s been good at in LA. And then I think on the flip side of Andrew Wiggins and last year I felt like we were all pushing the freelancing theme because it was like, okay, we don’t want you to fill Jimmy shoes. We don’t want you to be that guy, but we still need you to be offensively aggressive. And I look at it this year where it’s almost like maybe Golden State Wiggins where you want to put him in a box where you want to say right I want you to play this role, play out of the corner, play the cuts, you know, but if we need a mid- post insertion, we’ll put you here. But it’s like simplifying his role in a way where he doesn’t have to be out of his comfort zone where it’s like, okay, I have to put up 17 shots in this game to kind of be competitive. That’s not him. I think we saw that last year even when he had his, you know, big quarters where he’d go on a run. Yeah, he could get into a flow state. like no doubt about it. But it’s like but telling him it for a full game to go out there and lead the team in shots like that. I just don’t see that being him specifically. So I just think that’s an interesting conversation is like what guys on the roster would you rather be putting in a box and who you wouldn’t. And I just feel like Andrew Wiggins was one of those that popped out to me. But I think about Norman as a guy that he’s the real guy that can like give a be a differencemaker on this roster. feel different. The locker room feel different. Something new like to bounce off Tyler to bounce off Bam after losing Duncan because he’s just like a different version of Duncan obviously because he has more on ball ability. I’m just curious to see how they treat their role specifically because that’s that’s what can jump this specifically. Yeah. And I think we we we know that they’re going to start together. I don’t think there’s any question about that at this point. And we know that they’re going to close together. Um Powell and Wiggins. And you know, I was curious uh for your opinion on this before we move forward on it cuz I just did an episode with Gio about this where he and I both feel that they have four regular closers and then the fifth is going to be variable. Do do you is that what you anticipate also that looking at at Bam, Tyler, Wiggins, Powell, and then I think he’s going to lean Dave on early in the season, right? Yeah. I I didn’t get to listen to that episode yet, but I was already gonna say I don’t think a lot of people are going to be happy when they see uh Wiggins at the four, Pal at the three, here at the two, Mitchell at the one, but that is going to be the closing lineup to me. Like, yeah, as much as we’re going to say the thing we did last year where it’s like you want where to close. Spo’s not going to trust him consistently to close games. It’s just not going to happen. So, they’re going to lean into the small ball stuff. And what about what about Yo, what about Yovic? Because that’s what I was going to say. He’s the only other guy that I see could possibly having the nights where he has it going and they put him in there. Uh but it it comes down to how much they trust Yoic Pal Tyler defensively. I mean that’s that’s what we’re going to have to find out early in the season is how those that grouping looks. Um but I do think most nights it’s going to be DaVon Tyler Pal Wiggins. Like that’s kind of going to be I have I have a wild card for you. Um, Larson, it’s not crazy cuz he has the ability to close games because he has he has the build that Spo likes. Mhm. But if he’s already going DaVon, which I really do believe he’s going to close with DaVon consistently, uh, I don’t know where Pal or Larson would fit into that. Like I I don’t I don’t know how he Well, he would be he would be he would be instead of DaVon in some of those situations just to give you a little bit more size. I could see it. I could see it. It’s just I’m still wondering what the lineup’s going to look like rotation wise if it’s Larson or or Hawz or how that’s going to work out. Even though I think right now Larson’s a little bit ahead, but I don’t think Spo 100% has given up at all on Hawkeyes. I still think he has the ability he’s going to lean into Hawkins a little bit. So we’re I’m still curious to see seriously like what Larson’s role is going to be in general even in the rotation. But he in theory if like all things work out I mean if let me ask you this. If Larson is closing do you think that’s a good thing for this team or a bad thing for this team? because it’s like, yeah, Larson looks good, but it’s also means somebody one of your young players isn’t looking as great. Well, I I I I’m with you in that I don’t think he’s closing with wear consistently early in the season anyway, so I’m not even considering that one. Uh I Gio and I both thought the best case scenario is that Yovic forces him to let him close. That that’s the best case scenario. That means that that Yic has gotten SPO’s attention. There’s a reason for that. So, that would be the upside. But I I actually think there is something to be said for Larson closing over DaVon because I do think DaVon could help you in obviously in other pockets of the game. But if Larson has gotten to that level defensively that Spolster will put him out there, we saw some of the offensive skill set that Larson has uh in summer league. That one wouldn’t bother me. I I think the other one that is possible is I could see some games where even Haywood’s out playing Wiggins and Spo just sticks with him. Like we know that sometimes he’ll just stick with the lineup or stick with a guy. I I think Wiggins is an almost certain closer every night, but I don’t think that’s an absolute guarantee. I think the other three are guaranteed. I think Pal’s going to close every night. If if you look at if you look at Pal’s numbers and we we did an episode on this as well and I was surprised at how good I mean in clutch situations last year I mean this shouldn’t surprise anybody who’s followed my views of James Harden but in clutch situations last year he far outplayed Harden for the Clippers. He outscored him. He shot 53% from the field, 50% from three, 87% from the line. Harden was under 40% under 30% under 70%. Okay. Powell was their best clutch player last year. Now, of course, he was playing off of Harden, but he that’s the key, but he he I get it. But he showed closing chops last year. And so, I think he’s going to be out there in all those situations. And it almost makes you think though like because the reason I said he was playing off him is like it makes you think of how they’re going to deal with their closing lineup stuff where it’s like Yoic almost does make I’m not saying Yoic is hard in here but like you adding like a playmaker on the ball that could set up how because it wasn’t like in LA it wasn’t late in the game pal just like running pick and rolls to death and he’s just like taking over in the fourth quarter like yes he could have those moments but it’s a lot of like there’s a tension on this side of the court which I think is going to be Tyler Hero like it’s going to be right Tyler I I really do believe I remember I said this with BAM a few years ago, but I think the one thing we’re going to see a jump in from Tyler is his playmaking. And we’ve already seen it, but I think it’s going to be more not like the assist numbers going up, but the level of playmaking just because he’s going to have the attention and better players on the weak side than he did obviously this last season. Uh I just think it’s going to help his playmaking in general. So that’s just something else with the closing line of stuff. All right, we got one more to go here. We were going to do three. I know I pivoted off of this, but sometimes we like to talk about other episodes. because we have so many uh guest hosts on here uh lately. Um before we get there though, we do want to mention Lynette. You can find her at insurancebylanette.com in Lauder Hill. Serves the entire Tri County area. Health insurance, car insurance, got a bad driving record, definitely reach out to her. Also, uh Renters Insurance, she’s she can handle all of it for you. 954, it’s 954-5818800. 954-5818800. If you’re on YouTube, you can see her smiling face there. She definitely will help you with all of it. and a huge Miami Heat fan as well on all of our platforms. The insurance agency that works for you, that’s insurance by Lynette. Two ends and two T’s. Insuranceby.com. Okay. Uh what’s your third? So before I get to my third, I’m going to mention just a a boring one right before I get there because you mentioned before like replacing the Duncan Bam Handoff. And the number one thing I I think they’re going to replace because it’s going to be hero pick and roll is probably at the top of their their action list and probably a close second I think is going to be Powell coming off Curls. It’s something he done a lot with the Clippers. Uh it’s something that Miami has run a lot of actually, but it’s just they haven’t really had the guy. I mean, they’ve done it with uh Tyler. They’ve even done it with guys like I remember with PJ Tucker, Haywood Highmith, like they’ve they’ve clawed at this like they’ve wanted to have a guy they could fly off a curl and shoot like a close little floater. Um, Howal is very good at it. He’s just very good at coming off that where I think there’s going to either be Bam or Kell sending a down screen and either one of them could come off that and there’s there’s a potential lob or a potential dump down, but Powell has the ability to kind of get in a rhythm there. Uh, so that’s just something to keep an eye on. I do think that’s kind of the action that’s going to replace the dunking stuff. Like it’s just a quick trigger they can get to you out of nowhere and they can create like somebody getting downhill and if they help down it’s a kick out to the weak side. So that’s just like the boring answer. But I’m gonna keep this theme I’ve been randomly throwing out. I don’t even know where this started, but the in the box or freelancing thing. I think Tyler Hero with the situation, not only with the roster, but with the situation he’s in with the contract with trying to make decisions and figure out what he’s worth and all this stuff. I want the beginning of this season because last year we came in, it was like, “Okay, you’re playing next to Terry. You’re going to play threes and layups. You’re going to do this. You’re going to we’re going to kind of change your game.” I want to see them come into the season and say, “Tyler, go be Tyler.” Like, shoot mid-ranges, do what you do, get to the floater, you know, try to still get to the line and get it gets, you know, layups. I think it worked 100%. I still want to see a bunch of threes. But I think there was times last season and we saw it gradually change as the season went on because as it went on, it was like he leaned a little bit away from a little bit away from it. But it’s natural because he’s seeing so much attention. He’s seeing guys, you still fly at him on the three-point line. He’s almost forced to it and he’s a really good mid-range shooter. It’s just that, you know, we’re in a league right now where it doesn’t work. But the reason I look around the league at the past champions and it kind of did just work. I’m not saying Tyler She Alexander or the Heat are going to be, but it they were, you know, working off of that type of offense where they were allowed to shoot mid-ranges and they were kind of just a freelancing offense based off their best player. I do think in a lot of ways I want to see Tyler lean into that. like let’s see, not let’s see what Tyler is because I think we all know what Tyler is and that’s that why the contract thing is weird. It’s not like he’s proving himself. Like we know what Tyler Hero is. Um but I would just I’m just curious when I like think about guys like putting in a box or letting just go freely. I’d rather this season specifically not see Tyler in a box where it’s lays in and threes. just rather him and Powell like when they try this offense has been such a weird state over the last few years that I’d almost rather just like let Tyler and Powell just go and then dial back from there. Like it just make minor tweaks from there and say, “Okay, well let’s dial this part of your offense back. Let’s dial this part back.” But like just let them go full throttle for like the first 10 to 15 games of the season and then see where your offense is. I’m with you on this. I I think that we’re at a point now in the NBA where defensives are starting to adjust to this offensive transformation which was analytically based, right? To the threes and layups, threes and dunks where now it’s like, okay, take the best shot that’s available and open. And I I don’t I I don’t want him thinking too much. I I feel like he’s better when he’s he’s not when he’s just sort of playing. Now, sometimes, you know, like couple of shots he took late in games last year, you’re like, “Well, we’d rather you think there.” Uh, but I’m with you for the majority of the game. I I I really think so much of the season, people are going to focus on the Bam Wear thing, and I get it and it’s they have to figure out a way to make that work. But as far as this season’s success goes and and I’ve talked about the young players and the importance of seeing some of them pop and Yoich, but so much of this season success is just going to be based on how Hero and Pal Click. That’s that’s really it. Like if if they have chemistry together, if you look at the 1617 season, why did they go on a 30 and 11 run? Because Dragitch and Waiters found something. That’s really why like we you could talk about the rest of it and they had James Johnson, they had Whiteside, they had, you know, pretty average team. Okay. Very average team, which is why they ended up at 500, but they did it in a weird way. But it was just that Dragitch and and uh and waiters were just playing drive and kick. That’s it. They that they literally drove that to a 30 and 11 record in the second half of the season, which some people were upset about. They ended up drafting Bam anyway. But that that that is what this is going to be about this year in terms of their one win loss record. I think not in terms of their future success, but their win loss record is do do Hero and Powell find that chemistry together. And you know, cuz when you have a back court that really works, that really clicks, it drives everything else. Okay. And and so that’s the ball’s going to be in their hands a lot. Howell does not seem like a hard guy to play with. And so I think that it’s I really do think it’s going to work. It’s not traditional necessarily, but it’s kind of traditional in the modern NBA sense. like you don’t really have a true point, but you have two guys who can both handle the ball. Both can play in a variety of actions. They’re they’re they’re just they’re players, okay? They’re players. Like that that’s really what it is. And so I I feel like he got he’s got to let them be players uh to a certain degree. And it’s, you know, and then like I said, Wiggins is kind of playing off of them. I would not be initiating forcing actions with Wiggins as the primary. I just I wouldn’t I I feel like going back to that kind of Golden State thing and I’m not saying that these guys are Curry and Clay, but uh and but let them play like Curry and Clay, right? I mean, here’s here’s my final thing on it is we didn’t mention Bam and Wear, which is kind of one of the innov I mean it’s hard to be super innovative with it. It’s just them kind of developing and figuring out where it goes. But the reason I I think it’s interesting the hero pal thing is like the only way to really be innovative and take that bam wear thing to the next level is having a strong back court like a a strong scoring back court. The reason why I think it looked a little spotty at times last season is because it got down to the shot clock and it’s bammer where like having to throw up a short flo mid-range because everything else breaks down. If you have two strong scorers in Tyler and Powell that are able to kind of do some things offensively and work off that. the bam wear thing does not look as clunky at all. Like it that’s why I think the back court is kind of so crucial here. So, uh, in a lot of ways it’s not really Bam and Wear unlocking it. It’s like the lineups unlocking it and then that’s when I think Bam and Wear together can kind of really kind of take off and click. All right, so those are some innovations we’d like to see Spl. Uh, it is what July 29th as we record this. We’ll see if we have the same ones in uh, well, we’re two months away basically two months away from media day. So, it’s we’re we’re we’re rounding the corner. I’ve got some really talk about innovations. I got some ideas to get us through August. I got some I got some ideas. Um I don’t think they’re as good as the ones we just suggested, though. All right. Thanks to our sponsors, insurancebyette.com, prize pickics. Use the code fiv. How about like the 31 most frustrating players in Heat history? We just do a different one every day. Or we just do Whiteside. Have a good day, everybody.

Brady Hawk joins Ethan Skolnick to share three innovations he’d like to see from Erik Spoelstra, to maximize the current Miami Heat roster. What can he do with Tyler Herro, Norm Powell and more?

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