Q: Ira, I’ve had it. This team is going nowhere, a middling play-in team. Bam Adebayo is not a superstar. He is who he is, a good defender and an maddeningly inconsistent scorer. Tyler Herro can’t stay on the floor. Kel’el Ware needs to play more, and Erik Spoelstra is too stubborn. Don’t understand his love for Pelle Larsson and Simone Fontecchio. Time to blow this up. – Roy, Miami.
A: But the Heat don’t blow it up. They just don’t (except in 2008, when there was nothing left to salvage). And this is a middling play-in team, as advertised, no matter the quick start out of the gates, with a roster built to be somewhere around .500, give or take. What is interesting is the middle ground in the rotation. Yes, some youth, such as Pelle Larsson, as you cite, but also some veteran balance, with Simone Fontecchio, as you also cite. That’s what happens when you attempt to play the middle ground of competing while developing.
Q: I love Kasparas Jakucionis’ potential, but he needs to stop being so deferential, that is, he needs to assert himself offensively. Right now, it’s like the Heat are playing four on five when he’s on the court. – Ray, Deerfield Beach.
A: Again, as mentioned above, that’s what happens when you attempt to go with such a mix of youth and veterans. The younger players naturally find themselves deferring to the older players, which certainly could be the case with Kasparas Jakucionis. Typically, that ebbs over the course of the season, as players play together more often. The problem is, with a lack of continuity due to all the injuries, it is if the Heat are constantly starting all over again from scratch.
Q: Should Bam Adebayo really be shooting seven threes? – Bob, Davie.
A: Much like this can be a make-or-miss league, such is the case with Bam Adebayo’s 3-point shooting. When the ball is falling, there are no questions. When it is not, it becomes a question of quantity. The reality is, if you are going to play Bam as a somewhat undersized center, the natural inclination is to try to draw his defender outside and shoot over the top. But to your point, this is not like a 3-point specialist who has to continue to take such shots, regardless of the outcome, with the confidence that the next one will fall. At some point, moving onto Plan B for Bam might not be such a bad idea. Just because it is something he added to his toolbox, does not mean it has to be brandished with abandon.