State of the Miami Heat (episode 4): Digital Adel’s Take | 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 the Five Reasons YouTube channel for content around the South Florida spectrum. Also off the floor, that’s our Discord server. You can get it for $2.99 per month. Link right here in the description. bypass the Apple Upcharge plays for the most heat anywhere, the most heat information and conversation, plus our stage shows, which we brought back. Also, uh we actually got a chance to watch Yovic play for Serbia. We did that on our stage. So, we’ve got lots of things going on there. It’s kind of like a cruise ship, right? You just come in. You never know what’s going to be performing. Uh you know, sometimes Adele does tricks. We’re going to have him on here later today. Check out Off the Floor. It’s in our description. Also, prize pick. Use the code five fiv. Put down your five, get your 50. You know how it works. Pric official fantasy sponsor of the five reasons sports network. Pricepix.com is legal in the state of Florida. It’s Daily Fantasy Simplified. Play MLB, WNBA, and more. And yes, NFL preseason. And yes, I’ve been winning on that. Don’t judge me. And now today’s episode. Mercy. Luxurious heat nation. Yeah. Down the Five on the floor. Ride for my dogs. Where’s the thing? You can check the score. Hustle hard. Couple stars. Got all y’all seen the block. Stop with one hand and pack trust. It’s about 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. All right, welcome back to Five on the Floor. Here’s today’s floor plan. I’m Ethan. You can follow me ether JC again at five reasons in sports. I got digital Adele. You can conveniently find him at digital Adele. Of course, Adele is the guy who handles a lot of our draft coverage as well as without there was out there with me in summer league in Las Vegas. That and a loose strand of hair which I couldn’t get back in place is the reason that I’m wearing this hat. I’ll cover things up, but I won’t completely cover things up. All right. What we’re gonna do today, State of the Heat. We’re doing this with our contributors, not just the three hosts you hear me on the most with on Five on the Floor, but also other contributors to our NBA coverage on Five Reasons Sports Network. We recommend you subscribe to Off the Floor because that’s where you can find most of these folks. Uh, but we’ve already had three words. We asked for a word of the day and then we’re going to evaluate the other people’s words afterwards. So, I will give you the words of the other three if you haven’t heard them yet to describe the state of the heat. Alex Toledo gave us Satisfactory. Brady Hawk gave us Seeking and Greg Sander went lyrical on us and gave us Crossroads. Then I had Greg decide between Brady and Alex and sorry Alex, but in the Kendrick Gref uh you’ve been pushed to the side here. So that’s where we’re at. Adele, may you have a word? I do. and that is growth. Um, where’s the growth going to come from on this team? Which which one of the prospects that they’ve invested time, money, and energy like Haimei Hawkins Jr., Nicole Yoic, who’s going to grow, you know, on this group? And so that’s kind of how I want to preface it and frame it. I do like Crossroads. I’ve been singing it ever since I heard Greg say it. Um, the Bone Thugs and Harmony, Meet Me at the Crossroads, 1990s hip-hop song. So that’s been stuck in my head for days. That’s more my generation. Well, kind of yours. Oh, absolutely. Yours, mine, and Greg’s. Brady has no idea right now. He’s already Sorry, he’s already turned this off. Okay, so we’re going with growth. Um, but to say growth means when you say the state of the heat is growth, yes, that means you’re assuming there will be growth. Now, let let me let me let me throw something at you before we go forward. Okay, we’ll continue and then then I’ll challenge it. I I’m saying they need to find out will there be growth? Like that has to be what they find out. Like it’s got to be about that. It it can’t be well this is our team. Like that’s not set in stone. This is absolutely a a period where they got to find out which one of these guys Hela Larson as well is included in that who’s going to actually show growth because Kel Wear even in his rookie year he did a lot of nice things but if he does that same thing this year what do you really have you you can’t evaluate and build a team without any of these guys growing. Can I ask you a a question here? Well, I guess I can because it is is my podcast, but I’m going to ask you a question here. There is this belief in Miami Heat internal development, right? Yes. And that is it’s gotten more stated during the Sper years than during the Riley years. We didn’t talk about these things as much at that point anyway, where it was pre-ocial media in a lot of ways, pre-analytics. The game has changed quite a bit. Okay. Right. put your three or five best guys on the floor and you kind of see how it played out. Um, but Spolster has made this a development uh culture, right? That’s pretty much what’s happened here. A lot of this had to do with him changing the coaching staff, which doesn’t get talked about enough. Pat gave him more control over the coaching staff at a certain point and they went to this this process where they’re very tied in with Sue Falls, Adam, Cadet, the whole group that they have, Asins, everybody. They bring in these players and then they build them, okay, with the various coaches that they put down at Sou Falls who they keep a pretty close eye on and they try to have a program at Sou Falls that is that mirrors the one that they have in Miami all the way across the country. Okay. So, they’ve gotten this reputation as development organization and they’ve gotten guys paid. They’ve gotten guys roles that never nobody thought they would get. And I’m not just talking about the Struses and the Duncan and the Haywoods and those guys, but even even slightly before that, the Tyler Johnson’s, the Ronnie McGruters, etc. But there’s a different thing about developing guys who maybe had a skill set that you saw and you can make them a rotation player. There’s another thing that’s developing a guy with real talent into, you know, a star level player. Okay, their argument would be Bam and Tyler were drafted in the teens and they’ve both been allstars. That is development. Both guys have developed, okay, uh even if now Heat fans are sort of bored with their development, so they don’t really give them credit for the year-over-year improvements that they may have in certain areas, okay, where they expect more or then they’re getting paid. But we haven’t really I guess I’m I’m just wondering like if we look at Hakez’s season this past year, right? Yoic is now his third year into this. Some of this is injury related. He was came in very young. Okay. Yes. Like you mentioned, it’s too early to really tell. Do you have confidence in them to be able to get to to develop that type of player to the same degree that they’ve been able to get a player who was here up to here? Can they get a player from here up to here? A lot of it though. So, all right, let’s talk about and break down what happens with these undrafted guys because it’s a little bit different when you go undrafted and you have a skill set to survive. You’ve got to have this internal mechanism to keep maniacally working, working, working to where you bring yourself to a level to find a role. And the heat puts you in a position to be able to do that. Right. Right. Like if say Duncan Robinson went to XYZ organization that wouldn’t put the time in to let him develop, maybe he never develops into the player we see today. The mind he’d allow you to do that. When you take a player of a higher talent level, there’s got to be this internal thing where you’re never satisfied with the level that you currently are. And that’s the super superstars. That’s the guys that you want. like that’s the guy and not everybody has that and that’s that’s okay but you got to be able to identify that as an organization like to me Tyler Herro when he came here he’s a competitor you saw that from day one you can see he’s going to keep working and working but there’s a ceiling right to where you’re going to bump against that he’s broken through one ceiling of his already question is could he break through another. So, yes, I trust the Heat to develop a guy to be a super superstar, but it’s more on that particular player, his total athleticism package, his internal drive to be the best of the best of the best. Okay. So, as we look at Bam and Tyler specifically, just to look back a little bit, uh I think both of those guys uh you know, had that drive. They scouted them both really carefully. They knew the program that both guys came from. And I don’t think Tyler gets enough credit, frankly, for the ceilings he’s busted through because I don’t think anybody anticipated this when he was drafted. I remember people wanted Seikku. Okay, so this is he’s reached a level nobody really thought he was going to be an old store when they brought him in. I mean, he was being compared to uh Nick Stskis, okay, pre-draft, who end who ended up with the Heat briefly. Okay, so so Tyler Herro has well exceeded any reasonable expectations. uh whether from the time he was drafted and beyond and bam of course they knew what his motor was there was no question they I he they called him the anti-Hassan somebody in high up in the organization on the very night that he was drafted okay they they knew what they had they didn’t want that anymore ultimately they ended up uh they they ended up drafting Bam the next year a year unfortunately after they gave Hassan the big money but uh so so yes I think there is the track record of that but you’re right Tyler has a physical limitation once he gets to a certain point. Bam seems to have a little bit of a mindset limitation. It’s not an effort limitation, right? It’s just he’s just doesn’t he’s just not a constant takeover type guy. And I think that’s gotten in the way sometimes as you look at these young players, we talk about growth, okay, and they will talk about internal improvements that Bam and Tyler make. And I I remember Spo once told me Duncan Robinson was his most improved player in an offseason. Like, so there will be some existing players, but we pretty much expect Wiggins is at this stage what he is. I mean, we’ve seen him now for a decade. He’s never going to be the superstar that people thought, but he’s found a way to have a significant role in championship team and he’s still a good player in the league. He can fit better with Miami than he has. Okay. Norm Pow Norm Powell, by the way, had 32 points for Jamaica last night as we’re speaking. We’re going to do more on that. And I have Mark Jones on who actually called the game. Um, he’s going to come on with us this week. But I think when you when you look at Nor Pal again, he’s 32. like he’s he’s had a breakthrough late in his career. But but when you’re talking about growth, you’re really talking about the four guys that you mentioned at the top, right? Absolutely. The young guys. Because Norm Pal, I like Norm Pal, but Norm Pal isn’t the guy guy guy and when you look at his game and you look at the metrics, he’s very efficient, but he does a lot of what Tyler does. Like in a playoff series, they’re going to game plan him. He doesn’t have the skill set to get his own buckets all the time. Like he’s very smart. He doesn’t facilitate. Tyler actually facilitates better than Norm when you look at the metrics. Um the thing about Norm is that he gives the Heat a competent player that they like the way he works right with this group for this limited time. So when we’re talking about growth, it is the other guys. It’s got to come from Haime Hawz Jr. Can he be a guy that gets back to the form that when he was a rookie, but does he add counters to his game? And I’m not talking about just footwork counters or, you know, driving left as opposed to always driving, spinning back right. I’m talking about making reads, like once you get down there, can you quickly assess and make reads and add that layer to his game? Yoic, can he handle the ball better? cuz I know everybody’s on this point yoic thing, but he’s got to be able to handle the ball even better than he did the previous seasons. If he’s going to be that secondary facilitator that they need, he’s going to have to shoot the ball more consistently. He’s going to have to drive the ball more consistently and facilitate more consistently. So those guys, Pella Larson, another guy, is he going to shoot the ball consistently? Cuz that’s his swing skill in the NBA. Very rugged defender, rugged driver to the hoop, but he’s going to have to knock down the three ball consistently. Cuz when you look at the roster construction as a whole, lose Duncan Robinson to Detroit, right? You is Drew Smith going to come back, okay? Because he was shooting the three ball pretty decent. He was, but I I I wouldn’t count on that early in the season. But he’s not even signed yet, right? Right. He’s not even technically signed. Yeah. Where’s the three-point shooting going to come from on this roster, right? Well, it’s going to come from your two primary guards, I think. Uh but then you’re right, there have to be the complimentary guys, whether it’s Yoic. Now Haywood’s out for several weeks and he was somebody who you could at least count on in certain It’s funny with Haywood he’d have certain games he’d make three or four uh from the corner and then he’d go without him for a little while but at least his percentage is kind of kind of leveled out about 35 36%. Yeah. Know these are clearly things that they need. Uh before we get to the other side of this and I’m I’m going to get you to to challenge the uh the the words of of of others uh as we continue our beef um you know here at the Five Reason Sports Network. You said swing skill. That’s an interesting uh term because when we talk about okay, what does the guy have to do to get to a level that he’s not at right now? So, I think with Larson, it’s pretty clear it’s the shooting and that’s really not what they emphasized in in summer league. They emphasized putting the ball in his hands and the attacking and kind of making him a secondary ball hander. But when he we know that he may get opportunities for that, but largely he’s going to be probably spotting up uh in a lot of these situations. So just let’s just do this quick one word association with this swing attribute or skill for these guys. Yoic the the shooting also shooting. Okay. Yeah. See see I I I think with him I I’m with you on the shooting but I think I think the shooting stroke is there. I I think with him it’s more kind of clarity honestly. Like I feel like I I I get it with the ball handling. I get it with the ball handling. Like we kind of make too much cuz we see him do this. Oh wow. He can do that, but then doing it on a consistent basis without turning it over. I get it. Uh where where’s gonna have to just be hustle and motor, man. It’s got to be that. It’s got to be that. Yeah. Yeah. It’s motor. All right. And what So what is it for Haime? Haime’s decision- making. Yeah. Okay. I mean, not trying to spin 12 times into the same guy and then or or the or the or the just the the careening oneon three on a break kind of stuff. That’s decision- making. Yes, that is decision making. Okay, that’s all fair. All right, on the other side of this, well, we’re going to tell you about a decision to make with your money. On the other side of this, uh we’re going to have uh Adele question the decisions of his peers here. Uh before we do though, cash app. Again, you want to be secure whether you secure with the ball on the court, whether Yovic, Hakis, or anybody else. Certainly with your money. Do we know there are some crazy weird scams out there? And when you come to your money, when it comes to your money, you deserve to feel safe from fraud and in control. It’s exactly what you can expect with Cash App. With Cash App, you can spend, save, and live your life knowing your money is right where you left it. With advanced built-in security protections, you should count on and help when you need it. Spend with peace of mind today and order a Cash App card in the app or at cash.app back/card. Turn on security. Lock in your Cash App settings now. Keep your account and your information safer than ever. And pay attention to scam warnings of sending money to someone new. Learn more at cash.app/security. Also, for a limited time only, new Cash App customers can use our exclusive code to earn some additional cash. For real, just download Cash App. Use our exclusive referral code on the floor in your profile. Send five bucks to a friend within 14 days. You get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That’s money. That’s Cash App. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partners. Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank member FDIC. Instant discounts provided by Cash App, a block inc brand. Visit cash.appleodcast. appleal back/mpodcast for full disclosures. Okay. Oh, I got to take that off the screen there. Okay, there we go. All right. Um, let’s get to the other words. Uh, just your your thoughts on this. You only dwell on Alex said satisfactory. We believe we’ve been trying to interpret this. We brought in a hieroglyphics specialist to try to understand what Alice, who by the way has been Greg and I agreed on this yesterday, has been the most critical I think of the front office decisions probably of the four of us on the pod. Not not I mean in a rational way. I mean but he he was the one who I think is most frustrated didn’t go more in on the Jimmy build than they did. And yet he he’s I think in referencing the offseason the fact that they got Norm etc was like satisfactory. Brady was like, “Seeking sounds a little bit similar to yours.” And Greg’s was crossroads. So, you’re at a crossroads now, my friend. Choose one. I absolutely will. And I am going right at We have beef here at Five Reasons Sports. Alex Toledo. Satisfactory is not the right answer. It’s not the right word. Um, this this team isn’t satisfactory. I mean, they were a 37 win team. I like Norm Pal, but adding Norm Pal, you may be able to compete in a weekend East, but when you look at the overall state of the team, you got to find out what you have. So, me and Brady are sympatico in seeking that, figuring out where the growth is going to come from because they’re going to have some decisions to make. Um, you know, the Tyler’s coming up for an extension, Norm’s coming up for an extension. Uh, Bam has his money. You have young players like Kel Wear going into his second year. You’ve got Yovic. He’s into his third. He’s what? Fourth year or is Yoic third year? Third year. Third year. Third year for second for for Haime. Second for Pella Larson. So there’s question marks up and down this roster for guys that you’re going to have to make a decision on because if you’re not going to extend Tyler or if you decide to, you got to figure out how you make these pieces work and you’re going to have to figure out what you keep and what you don’t. So, is it satisfactory? No. Is Norm Pal a great get for nothing? Absolutely. But overall, no. I would say 37 wins as like a benchmark to where you want your team to get to. A little bit above that is not satisfactory. Well, we’re going to put you all in a ring. We’re going to let you We’re going to let you duke it out. Um I Sean I I Sean’s coming up uh next week. I’m sure his will be positionless. Uh the heat state of the heat is positionless. Uh and Brian’s gonna make it somehow about Eurob basket. Uh but we’ll have more on as we and a turtle will make it about a turtle. Uh we’re gonna have everybody on though over the course of the next week. Also, in addition to these episodes that we’re doing on the present and future, uh we’re doing a bunch of episodes. Our guy Mate Mayorg has been conducting interviews with a lot of people that you know of uh Tim Reynolds, Ira Winderman, others about the 2006 championship team as the Heat entering that 20th anniversary season of their first title. So, we’ll be posting some of those episodes here as we satisfactorily are seeking uh growth, but we’re at a crossroads. Anyway, those are our four four words so far. We’ll get more as we go forward. Cash App, use it on the floor in your profile, but also check out off the floor as your Discord server. Have a good one, everybody.
We move around the Five Reasons Sports Network, and bring on draft specialist Digital Adel for his “word” on the state of the Miami Heat. Ethan Skolnick hosts.
Sponsors: CashApp (ONTHEFLOOR) and PrizePicks.com (FIVE)
Join us on our Off The Floor Discord server for the most Heat anywhere! Get exclusive insider information, along with updates/stats/insights from the 5OTF crew and hang out with other Heat fans. https://discord.gg/5otf (Scroll down after clicking)
5OTF Special Offers:
*https://go.happinessexperiment.com/begin-aff-o2?am_id=podcast2025&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=michael
* Check out Mood and use my code FIRST20 for a great deal: https://mood.com
If you want more exclusive Miami Dolphins content, join OnlyFins on Discord: https://discord.gg/onlyfins
If you’re interested in sponsoring Five Reasons, contact us at fivereasonssports@gmail.com
