URGENT: Miami Heat NEED to Fix This 1 Thing to Get Back in the Win Column

URGENT: Miami Heat NEED to Fix This 1 Thing to Get Back in the Win Column

Tyler Herro is ramping his way up to a return to action and we break down the latest updates. Plus, does Miami have a huge rebounding problem? The short answer is yes. The long version, I guess, is what we’re going to get into. [Music] You are Locked on Heat, your daily Miami Heat podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked on Heat, your daily podcast on the Miami Heat, part of the Locked On podcast network. Now, the number one sports podcast network. Whether you’re tuning in on YouTube or on your podcast app, thanks so much for making Locked on Heat your first listen every day. Join the Cookie Gang. Become an Everydayer by subscribing and listening every day. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. I’m Wes Goldberg, host of Locked on NBA Daily and Real GM radio. I’m here with David Rmill. Both of us are credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day. We have a great show for you today. We’ll talk about Bamabio and Tyler Herro practicing on Sunday and what it means for their return in a second. But first, David, we are recording this on uh Sunday night. We have not spoken since the Heat lost to the Knicks on Friday night. They lose their second straight game. Rebounding has been a problem during this stretch. They gave up 20 offensive rebounds to the Knicks on Friday. And since Bam Adabio has been out of the lineup, they’re giving up an average of 20 and a half offensive rebounds per game without Bam since since he got hurt. I think part of us needs to accept that the this is the way that this team plays. They’re not going to be elite rebounding team. And I think we need to accept that. And I think the team accepts that. I think they understand that. But at the same time, they also can’t be this bad, right? There’s a benchmark that they need to hit. And clearly they have not been hitting that benchmark without Bam in the lineup. Yeah, we we talked about that before. I I think a lot of people have looked at Bam’s numbers and say, “Well, he’s not a particularly good rebounder.” We also talked about how Bam contri rebounding edge because of his elite uh skill at boxing out. And without Bam there, I think those problems have been certainly magnified. like it it seems like Miami is just incapable of chasing down those loose boards and those kind of 50-50 possessions that tend to skew in an opponent’s favor has cost them quite a bit. It just there’s moments there throughout the course of the game where you need to pull down that rebound where you need to be able to create an extra opportunity for another bucket and it’s costing you games because you can’t you don’t find that way to score. It seems really simplistic and yet it seems like a huge problem that Miami can’t seem to figure out without baming the lineup and nobody that’s available whether it’s Kell Wear or Kashad Johnson or Nicole Yoic. Yoic has always been a problem in terms of rebounding but he seems even to have taken a step back in that regard. So there is just nobody who’s capable of stepping up to contribute has done so. And I think even without the Tyler Hero in the lineup, somebody who is an elite rebounder at his position, that’s been a glaring problem as well. So it’s uh it’s been difficult for Miami throughout the season. I think there have been moments there even with Bam in the lineup, but certainly without Bam, it’s been much worse. Yeah. I mean, we have the stats to back it up here, right? So, the Heat have the NBA’s 29th ranked defensive rebounding percentage over the last five games with Bam out uh as of Sunday. That’s bad. That’s it’s it’s very bad. And so, that they’re second to last. Prior to Bam getting hurt, they were 14th. So, again, not elite. They’re not an elite rebounding team. They never will be. not with this personnel and not with this system, but they were average, slightly above average, 14th. That’s right where this team needs to be because they’re going to be elite offensively. They’re going to have elite pace, right? There’s other they’re going to be elite at getting to the rim. There’s other things that this team is going to be elite at. But in the NBA, you have to choose what are you going to be elite at and what are you willing to sacrifice not being quite so elite at. One thing you can’t be and be a great team is be 29th in anything, especially rebounding, especially defensive rebounding. You’re giving up so many second chance points to these teams. It doesn’t matter how good defensively you are if you’re giving up 61. Teams are rebounding uh uh uh 39% of their misses against the Heat. I mean, over a third of their misses, more more than one out of three missed shots. They’re getting a second chance at that. That’s it’s it’s not tenable. You can’t keep doing that and continue to win games. But if you’re 14th, if you’re slightly above average, that’s right where this I think that’s the sweet spot for this team. And without Bam, they can’t do and this is not, by the way, a KL Wear thing. This is just a BAM thing and not having him out there. He is your best rebounder by far when it comes to team rebounding. You mentioned the boxing out, all that stuff. That is what Bam is a lead out. You go through the stats year over year over year. Miami is consistently a top 10ish defensive rebounding rate team because BAM does such a good job of finding the one guy that you can’t let get that offensive rebound and boxing that guy out and the Heat just don’t have that guy. Again, this is not a wear thing. Wear is also a very important player for this re for this team rebounding wise. It’s more of just losing your best guy and not having a bunch of really good rebounders. And to your point also Talah not being in the lineup which is a smaller but definitely a factor. like it’s just not having your best guy and not and not having the guys to step up behind him. I will say that I think Khil has improved. I I think you know he started off a little shaky in Bab’s absence and just didn’t look particularly aggressive out there and I think he’s done a better job as the stint has progressed. It seems like he’s understanding the need to be a little bit more aggressive and trying to pull down those rebounds and and I think that has helped. Uh I think I I saw something anecdotally about you Donis Hasslam recommended that he look at game film of Mitchell Robinson and that use that as an example and I think it’s paid off to a certain degree and and you hope that with this renewed or at least reinvigorated version of Khalil and then playing alongside Bam and then eventually Tyler as well once you get all those pieces back into place they could be a top 10 team. I think he could be a top 10 team in terms of rebounding and I think that would certainly be a much greater improvement than what we’ve seen over the last few games. And for the record, it’s also a little bit on Kell, right? He did get muscled by Mitchell Robinson in that game. Like totally muscled. But at the same time, you have to understand Mitchell Robinson, that’s what he does. And Kh is young and he’s not as strong and it’s there’s going to be a certain amount of just stuff that you’re going to have to give up. And the Heat would never admit, hey, yeah, you know what? We’re probably But realistically, they understand that, right? like Mitchell Robinson is going to bully Khloe wear. That’s just going to happen. Now for eight offensive rebounds, including uh two really big offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter of that game. You’d like to maybe be a little bit better. And as a team, by the way, everybody’s got to help, right? And so somebody’s got to box out Mitchell Robinson and somebody else has to come in. So I don’t know how they the Heat figure this out, right? Do they have to uh do on on the defensive glass? Do they have to crash more? Do they have what do do people have to be better at boxing out? you have to play play a little bit more less zone because that kind of gets you out of position defensively. I don’t know. But some of it’s an effort thing, some of it’s a personnel thing, but they could certainly be better than 29th with a little bit more effort and focus on that end. I I I think the effort is the biggest part of it. I think the personnel certainly, but uh there there are possessions there where you see the ball kind of car. Nobody’s pursuing it with the intent that is necessary to be that kind of an elite rebounder. like you have to have at least one player chase down those opportunities and you don’t rarely you rarely see Miami players doing that and that’s a problem. Uh much less having everybody out there kind of just look at the ball float away into the distance. It’s like oh there it goes landing in an opponent’s hands. It’s like well maybe had you chased it down maybe it would not have done so and it could have led to an extra opportunity there. I mean that’s yeah I think part of it too right is do we want to go chase that ball all of us or do we want to leak out and try to score some points and that’s the tricky balance right because you don’t want everybody crashing because then nobody’s getting out in transition and now you’re not playing to your strengths the team strength is getting out you want Pel Larson hackers Jr. andrew Wiggins bolting down the court and hopefully somebody like Kell wear is there to corral the rebound or Niklo Yoic or whoever is over there is there to corral the rebound and then get it out to those guys. Da’Von Mitchell, I think, has done a nice job trying to opportunistically grab those rebounds so that he could be there for those hit ahead passes. So, it is that balance of we don’t want everybody go sitting around waiting for that defensive rebound because we need somebody to get out so that we could play to our strengths and get out and play with tempo. And that’s the part I think they need to figure out. That’s not easy. Yeah, I think Nico is certainly a factor in that regard, too. like he he tends to be one of those guys that’s like you know what let’s go for that fast break opportunity especially once he uh you know is just we’ve seen this from him before usually it’s also on the heels of him pulling down the rebound himself but uh we’ve seen him also without the ball in his hands just kind of leak out and try to ignite something in that regard and I think he could certainly do a little bit better job there too. Uh Bam and Hero practiced with the team on Sunday. We got an update about when to expect them back on the court. Bam coming back obviously would help the rebounding. Tyler Hero coming back on the court. That’s a big question that some people have. We’re going to talk about that next here on Locked on Heat. Today’s episode is brought to you by Robin Hood. Your ambition just met its match. 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If you’re doing a thing, just do this. And what better opportunity than to go there and and drown out some of those obnoxious Knicks fans that will unfortunately be at the Cassada Center. Too far too many Knicks games. Knicks fans, excuse me. We need a lot more Heat fans in those seats to kind of drown them out. And Game Time is the opportunity for you to get those tickets at a great value. Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use the code lock. NBA. You get $20 off your first purchase. terms to apply, but that’s the code L O C K D O NA. Get 20 bucks off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. That’s game time. We’ll be right back. [Music] Thanks again for making Lockdown Heat your first listen every day. Support the show by hitting that subscribe button on YouTube. Follow us on your favorite podcast app. Here’s the good news. Yep. Bam out of bio. Tyler Herro both practiced with the team on Sunday. It’s the first time that Tyler Herro has practiced with the team since he first suffered the injury. First time Bam’s gone through a full practice since he had his injury against Denver uh a few days ago. They are both still ruled out for Monday’s game against the Knicks, but this is a big step toward their returns. Obviously, Bam still considered day-to-day and could return as soon as Wednesday’s game against the Warriors. Really hoping that he’d be back for in the lineup for that one for very obvious reasons. Uh and then Tyler Herro, he said he’s still a week or two away. We know what this team is with Bam. We know how important he is. We just talked about the rebounding and all the things and defensively gave up 140 points to the Knicks. Obviously, we know how BAM is going to help this team. The Talahero thing that’s more interesting and he was actually asked about his potential fit in the offense speaking with the media again for the first time this season uh after the practice on Sunday. He was asked what his fit could be uh and if he’d have to change his playing style when he comes back. Uh here’s what he said. Uh nothing. Nothing. I think I’m going to be myself, play how I played last season, the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that. Um, yeah, I I know how to play fast. I’ve played fast my entire life until I came to Miami. You know, I adjusted to play with other players, and um I know how to play in this offense. And that’s the beauty of me. I can play in any offense. That’s just that’s what I can do. It’s the beauty of me, David. But I don’t know what to tell you. I could host anybody. Get that tattooed. Want to get that tattooed. The beauty of me. I just want it to be so evident that everybody sees it shine through. This is what I do and I do it. Hey, be your own biggest fan. Positive reinforcement. Positivity. We need more positivity. That’s the beauty of me, man. Let’s go. Especially if it’s directed my way. That’s kind of what he’s saying there. You know, everybody recognize my greatness. Um, what a what a statement from him because he not only does he throw like Jimmy and Kyle Lowry under the bus completely. He also props himself up at the same time says, “Yeah, I can do anything. It’s not a problem at all.” Are you buying it? Because I mean, it’s easy to kind of just say, “H that whole I’ve played fast this.” But you know what? It’s kind of counter to the the statement he did before. That’s the way I played the year before and the year before that and the year before that. It’s like, no, it wasn’t. We didn’t see that style of play. This is a completely different offense. So, are you buying his ability to kind of lean into it? I mean, I know he’s got the confidence that he can pull it off. Sure. Are you buying it? I don’t know that I’m buying his answer because to your point, he kind of contradicts himself within the same answer. He says, “I’ve been playing this way for the last few years, but then I had to change the way I played when I got here because of these other players.” So, it’s like, okay, so what were you really doing these last few years? And let’s be real, like the way that he played last year for the first half 100% fits this offense, right? A lot of threes, a lot of quick offense, a lot of quick decision-making. the way that he had to play in the second half where that he was basically their main initiator and they just totally leaned into him as a pick and roll initiator after the Jimmy Butler trade that clearly doesn’t fit in this offense because they don’t run pick and roll anymore. And then the year that he won six man of the year as a as a six-man kind of taking a lot of mid-range shots, that also doesn’t fit in this offense because this team doesn’t want to take a ton of mid-range shots. So, I don’t buy the answer in terms of we’ve seen it the last the last few years and that he doesn’t have to change anything necessarily. I do buy the fact that he has played fast previously and that his game at Kentucky that team played fast under John Calipari that was a fast team. Uh and he was kind of he wasn’t an on ball guy on that team. He was a little on ball but off ball and he was really putting up shots. He was he was a floor spacer for that team and I think he’s going to be a big time floor spacer for this team when he does come back. So I do buy that a little bit. Whatever. His answer is interesting and it’s kind of funny and that’s why I played it. But at the end of the day, I do think he’s going to be able to fit into this offense. And uh I but I understand people hearing the question, hey, do you have to change? And then him saying basically, no. If you’re concerned about Tyler Hero’s fit in this offense, I don’t think that answer helped. No. That’s the beauty of me, I guess. You know, you could just kind of all be my answer. Um, yeah. I I I I wonder I the answer. You’re right. You can’t vouch for the veracity of it, but at the same time, um, it is not necessarily a concern. I I I do think he can’t play to that regard. I I I I don’t know. Maybe this is what, by the way, this is what NBA players say when you ask them the question, do you have to change anything? Do you need to sacrifice anything? 100 time 100 times out of 100, every NBA player from the 15th guy on the roster to Michael Jordan is saying, “I don’t have to change a thing.” These players don’t say that. Like, do you have to sacrifice? I don’t have to sacrifice anything. Do you have to change? Nope. Just going to be me out there. That’s what they say. You know, it’s funny because I just saw this on the Prime broadcast the other day with Blake Griffin and asked what was the most underrated skill. Did you hear what his answer was? No, I don’t I self-awareness. It’s great. And that’s exactly what we’re talking It is. And it’s a p it’s the answer that comes with a long career derailed by injury and now in retirement because that’s where you’ve developed that self-awareness. It’s not something you tend to get develop over the course of Yeah. You don’t tend to have your ego death on the heels of your first all-star appearance. Right. Right. So, uh but I do think that Tyler Hero is relatively self-aware. I just what what you what we consider do you have to change anything to your game and what an NBA player considers changing their game are two different things. They they cuz NBA players are always viewing themselves of what they’re capable of. They’re not really viewing themselves of what they’ve necessarily done. Whereas we’re just looking at the paper. We’re looking at the track record. We’re not necessarily thinking about what they’re capable of. My argument this entire time, regardless of Tyler Herro’s answer here, is I know he’s capable of playing in this offense. And I do, having spoken with Tyler Hero several times, I think I could say I I know him as a a media to basketball player type of relationship as much as you can know somebody. He’s a lot more humble than I think people give off. I think he doesn’t have that huge ego. I think he’s willing to fit into the team concept. I don’t think he’s a me guy. No. Uh, and and I think some of in some of the way that he’s played in the past, it can come off of that because players who have played that way tend to be me me guys, but he’s changed the way he’s played quite a bit in his time in Miami. And I just again go back to what got him onto the All-Star team last year. He was very different. And by the way, he also does have the track record. Talah averaged 1.25 points per possession in transition last season. That is a very, very good mark, right? That’s in the That’s almost the 80th percentile in the league last year per Synergy. He shot 42% on transition threes last year. Like he’s done it. He’s an awesome. And but like we’ve watched Tyler for years. The most exciting moments is when this team is in transition and he just pulls up from 28 ft and just drops it in like it’s nothing. We know what this guy is capable of. Okay. Now, given however what we just talked about in the first segment, given Miami’s rebounding rose, can the Heat withstand the pullup jumper from 25 to 28 feet out from Tyler that we want those quick choices and we see it a little bit better. I I would say differently from Norm. Like Norman Powell is much quicker in in terms of you know what, I have the ball in my hands. I’m going to know when to shoot it. But it doesn’t feel like it kind of countermines what the offense is trying to do. And I’m not saying that Tyler necessarily would, but if he’s just pulling up in transition, you’ve got the opportunity to, I don’t know, get to the basket, will he choose to just pull up from three rather than take it in? And maybe, uh, given Miamiy’s rebounding issues, cost them a possession. Um, I don’t know. I think that’s fair. I think it’s a fair concern. Um, I’m, like I said, this team’s not going to be a top 10 rebounding team. They could just be average. And I’d rather have that three and the threat of the spacing and what that’s going to open up for everybody else. what that’s going to you everything, you know, is a balance in the NBA. If you give up one thing, it helps another thing. If it if you’re focusing on this thing, something else is going to go down. But, um, I think Tyler Herro’s floater game is going to be really interesting in this offense. When he gets two feet in the paint, he’s an elite elite float guy. He’s really developed that over the last couple years. And we even saw, and you pointed this out a h 100 times last year, David, like getting to the free throw line a little bit more and stuff like that, the advanced physicality that he started to play with. We’ll see what he looks like on the heels of this injury obviously, but I think that floater could be really interesting in this offense because that is a high efficient shot from Tyler Hero and a shot that, by the way, nobody else on this roster has. Is this the end of Pel Larson’s starting stint or Now we’re getting into some interesting questions, right? Um, kind of has to be. I don’t think he can. Or maybe he’s not the guy that gets pulled. Maybe it’s somebody else. You kind of need P Larson’s defense on the perimeter. Or maybe do you go back to the bigger lineup when Bam’s back in the lineup? I don’t know. Um some interesting questions. Uh maybe we could tackle that on the other side of the break. Plus, Kasparus Yakonis has not made his NBA debut yet, but he also took a be a big step toward getting on the court over the weekend. We’ll talk about that next here on Locked on Heat. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get out on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or you want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team is making that late push. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets. One of your first $ five dollar bet wins. There’s so many different things that could keep things interesting. Look, you know, Miami style of play is going to make these games a little bit closer and there’s so many chances there when you can see that team making that late push. If you want to tie that together to maybe something else that you’ve got a little money writing on, I think the overall point totals. Yeah, definitely. Especially with Bam missing games. Yeah. Well, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully he’ll be back in the lineup on Wednesday. And will he be refreshed? You saw what happened last year when he took on Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors. That’s a huge matchup. I think I’d take the over on his point production that night for sure. So head to fanduel.com, sign up, and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. We’ll be right back. [Music] The way I see it, I think the Heat have four guys in Sharpie in that starting lineup. Tyler Hero, Norm Pal, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adabio. Yeah, when everybody’s healthy. Obviously, that fifth spot is between Pal Larson. He has earned his way into this conversation at the very least. Da’Von Mitchell. Ditto for him the way that he’s played and how important he’s been into in facilitating and setting up this offense. And then obviously you got to go Kell and you got to go Nico. And they got to be better. Both of them have to be better, but they’re in this conversation, right? If you want to play a little bit bigger, it’s going to be one of those two guys. So, I don’t think Nico’s in that conversation. Probably not. You’re probably right about that. But if you want to keep bringing Wear off the bench and I I don’t know. I don’t know. So, if you’ve got Powell and hero, I don’t know that you want to start another guard like Davon because now you’re really small and now you’re giving up quite a bit defensively. That’s fair. I think DaVon’s switchable in that regard. And people are starting to shoot over. Yeah. I mean, he is he is short that there’s no way around that. As much as he’s stout enough to kind of hold his own against big men like kind of like Cal Lowry before him, uh it’s just it’ll be a problem. So, especially again we’re facing the rebounding edge, I’d rather have Pella out there, but it almost feels like uh you know, DaVon did everything he could. He started games. He played really well. I think he even exceeded expectations for what he’s what he’s able to do and continue to build off a really strong stint with Miami last year. I do think but I think that’s the closing lineup. I think I think it’s DaVon hero pal wigs Bam. I think that’s the closing lineup. But to start it is a little small, uncomfortably small to start games. And maybe maybe ultimately Spose just like I don’t care. And he just and he starts that group because that’s their best five. We’ve seen Haime in that point guard de facto point guard sort of where he brings the ball up and initiates. So that’s true. So, no, but I’m saying even now though, like we’re talking about DaVon coming off the bench more than likely, does he handle point guard duties? Does that take away from Haime’s production? Is that Dave Young playing more off ball? Hime I mean I think Haime plays with Drew Smith right now. Yeah, Drew Smith is not Dave, but yes, I see your point. Yeah, but like Yeah, so Drew Smith probably ends up maybe getting the short end of the stick here at the end of the day. Uh but I don’t know. I I I I like your idea about Pelar. He’s what I like about Paul Lson. He provides a little bit more size than DaVon. He’s obviously not as big as Kell or Nico, but he’s frankly more proven so far this season than any of those guys. Yeah. And he’s a connector type, right? He doesn’t need the ball, but he’s really good at cutting in this offense. He’s a good offball guy. The way he’s been shooting it lately has just been unreal. So, um, you know, I I this is a really interesting question and, uh, you hope that these guys get back and healthy and and there’s there’s a healthy roster for, uh, for Eric Wolster to try to make these decisions with. Last bit of news today though, the Heat sent rookie Kasparis Yakonis to the G-League, uh, for some game reps. Still hasn’t played in an NBA game so far in his career, but uh, in his uh, Sou Falls Sky Force debut, he had 12 points on four of 15 shooting. So, not super efficient. seven rebounds, a couple of assists, three steals, and six turnovers uh on Sunday. Um not a great debut for Sou Falls certainly, but uh also not some, you know, it’s whatever. It’s a G-League first time doesn’t really matter. My question to you is could the Heat use him sooner rather than later given their injuries and and what we know Casper Aonis can do or what we at least think he can do. It’s funny because I think the opportunity would have been there just now like uh given that Tyler was out and and now with Tyler’s return I mean he’s going to get at least 30 plus minutes per game. So, where does that leave a player like Yakianis? Uh, you know, at his size, you think maybe he’d be a little bit more effective, maybe a different kind of contributor, and certainly he has the playmaking skills, should probably be a better rebounder, having six rebounds a game in college. It’ll help. Uh, and yet Eric Spolster saw something maybe that he didn’t think he was ready for that kind of opportunity. Yeah, he’s also coming back from an injury. That’s important. It’s not that. Yeah, I think that’s part of it. And look, I I think the stakes are higher now. I know a lot of people kind of clamoring for this team to lean into a youth movement and things of that sort, but you know, that wasn’t the case a few games ago when they were winning at an unexpected rate and had the most electric offense in the NBA. And people really thought this this group would continue. Have they taken a minor step back without baming the lineup? But I think they’re going to get them back soon. And if that’s the case, I I think if look, you win against the Knicks on Monday night. If you can pull that off at home and you can take that kind of energy and and push that onto Wednesday when you host Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors, that’s a good, you know, place for you to continue to build momentum and and then as players start returning back to the lineup, Bam, Tyler, etc., then you’re in a much better place. Like they could have been off to a much worse start than what they’ve been. So I think um they’re they’re still they’re still not just treading water. They’re still doing a pretty good job overall. Yeah, but Yakuchon is his opportunity. I don’t know that he would have gotten it if not for this past, you know, few weeks. If this was his best chance of being guard hasn’t been the issue for this team. We’re talking about Tyler Hiro their best guard and being like where does he fit in? You know, like because the guards have been so good for this team. It’s the guard hasn’t been the issue. Now, if Sparis Yako Jonas could play center for this team, that would be a lot more helpful, but he can’t. And so, uh, you know, I I I think this is the right way to play it coming off the injury. We know that the turnover thing, we we talk about it, that is the Yakonis thing. If there was a reason he slid in the draft, it was because he does have a propensity to turn the ball over way too much. Get him some reps in the G-League. We know how they treat Sou Falls, right? They’re they’re probably I didn’t watch the game. I just had the stats in front of me. I’m going to go back and watch the game. probably running something similar to this offense. So typically what they do, you know, it’s almost like they want to have the same thing so that they can just kind of use that as a launching point for once they make it to the and obviously Yakatonus was there for the install in Boca Raton for training camp and preseason and we saw what he could do in that preseason game. It was phenomenal. So I’m very much looking forward to seeing Cass on the court with this offense. I think he’s an incredible fit with this offense when he is ready, right? He’s probably not ready yet. And it’s not like this heat team is clamoring for more guard help. I mean, the way that Pel Lararsson has been good, right? Even with the ball in his hands sometimes. DaVon, Drew Smith, I mean, these guys have been so good. Guard is not the problem for this team. Uh, Kasparis, Yakonis, take all the time you need. Enjoy Sou Falls. I think there’s a Chili’s up there somewhere. Have fun. Is it Chili’s? I I can’t remember. Fridays or Applebees or something. I can’t remember. It’s one of those Applebees. It’s exciting. There’s probably a cheeseburger at one of these places. Uh, you’ve earned it. That’ll do it for us today. We’ll be back on Monday night for the Heat Nicks postgame show. This has been Locked on Heat, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.

Miami Heat’s rebounding woes hit a breaking point as Bam Adebayo’s absence exposes a glaring vulnerability.

Wes Goldberg and David Ramil dissect the Heat’s slide, spotlighting the team’s plummeting defensive rebounding stats and the pivotal role Adebayo plays in anchoring the glass. Can Miami remain competitive while giving up second-chance points at a league-worst rate? Is average rebounding enough for a deep playoff push?

With updates on Tyler Herro’s imminent return and speculation on his fit in Miami’s new up-tempo offense, the hosts debate whether Herro’s confident attitude will translate to winning plays. Key roster questions emerge: Will Pella Larson hold onto his starting spot, or could Davion Mitchell’s surge shake up the rotation? Plus, rookie Kasparas Jakucionis takes his first steps in the G League—could he be an answer to Miami’s depth concerns? Don’t miss this sharp breakdown of the Heat’s next chapter.

0:00 — Rebounding Struggles Exposed
12:10 — Bam & Tyler Return Updates
23:10 — Starting Lineup Decisions

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