As the Miami Heat head toward the final 10 games of the season, with only one player (Jaime Jaquez Jr.) on pace to play 72 games, Ethan, Greg and Alex look at the way it used to be for the organization, and discuss what may have led to the decline in player availability. Is this strategic? Bad luck? Part of a larger NBA issue?
Sponsors: C-ArmAndStaffing.com, Jerseys305.com
Join us on our Off The Floor Discord server! Get exclusive insider information, along with updates/stats/insights from the 5OTF crew and hang out with other Heat fans! https://t.co/izwgN0SEt6 (Scroll down after clicking). Also, come hang out and watch games with us live on Playback.tv/5RSN or on their app, we also do off-day live shows there.
Advertising Inquiries:
https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out:
https://redcircle.com/privacy you have one unheard message. Hi I was calling current the influencer marketing platform but I think I just got redirected to a bunch of people listening to a podcast well anyways I was calling current because I was told they could help get my brand set up on TikTok shop and even build out an affiliate program of content creators promoting my brand and even have those content creators go on live streams and promote my product there. Wow I could really use current. I also heard that the brands they work with are making millions in sales. I guess I'll just go to their website at current.tech. The Honda you want is here so drive in the moment with the versatile Honda CR-V or a cord all from the 2023 Kelly BlueBooks KBB.com best value brand. For a limited time well-qualified buyers can get a 3.9% APR on the 2024 Honda Accord and a 2.9% APR on the 2024 CR-V. C dealer for financing details based on 2023 brand image awards from Kelly BlueBook visit KBB.com for more information. Welcome to latest episode of five on the floor in the five reason sports network thanks for joining us on your favorite podcast app. Google podcast is going away if you're Android we recommend that you switch to Spotify also check us out of course on Apple podcast red circle and the five reasons YouTube channel make sure you hit like subscribe and turn the notifications on also check out off the floor that's our new discord server 10 different channels we're following the NCA tournament on there of course following the heat that's where you get direct Q&A's with us hosts updates and again lots of time to converse with fellow heat fans away from Twitter so check it out off the floor $2.99 per month and you get access to everything link right here in the description on the podcast feed as well as on the YouTube channel also check out the great sponsors of the five reasons sports network includes our friends over at mobile CRM and staffing services Nelson and his family huge Miami heat fans but the biggest thing is if you're a medical professional you definitely should reach out to them they rent the CRM standalone they also rent it with x-ray tech again it's called mobile CRM and staffing services they offer complete in-office procedures where they bring the CRM the table the x-ray tech and everything else so check them out there at c - arm and staffing calm again that c - arm and staffing calm they can set up those pain management procedures right in your office so reach out to them today again Nelson at c - arm and staffing calm and now today's episode Welcome to 5 on the floor a daily insider show on the Miami heat and the NBA featuring Ethan Skolnick Greg Solvander and Alex Toledo plus others from the five reasons sports network all right welcome back to five on the floor here's today's floor plan on Ethan Skolnick and follow me Ethan Jay Skolnick and at five reasons sports I got Greg Solvander you can follow me Greg Solvander I got Alex Toledo you can follow him at tropical blanket we come to you with the Miami heat having 10 games remaining on their schedule they are not out of the plan at this stage but the big topic we're gonna get into is who's actually gonna play in these games and why it is that we're at a stage of the season where there's only one guy on this team who may play 72 games and that's a rookie who looks like he's broken down at this point because he's had to play all these games because so many others are not playing and that's Jaime Hawke's Duncan Robinson is the other who could play 72 but most likely won't because we still don't know when he's gonna be back this comes to you on a day that Tyler hero was in the news again because shams from the athletic and other places tweeted out something that seemed to me at the time even like speculation not actual information we know that the national guys don't have the same bead on heat information that they do on information other teams because the heat don't really leak very much and especially to the national reporters but he essentially said that no one knew when Tyler was going to be back and then that led to speculation that he might not come back at all this season and Tyler followed up with the cap emoji did I get this correct that means not true or basically right is that that good with the kids well Greg I can't go to you on that I can go to Alex Brady's not here damn just a shot at me mid go ahead I'll catch that stray continue your 80% of my age and actually 80% of the games would be a lot for a heat player to play so he he returned with the cap emoji and then the other tweet today and this is not really necessarily in Tyler episodes I don't want to over focus on this but it obviously is part of it for heat fans the exact tweet that he saw which was via shams but it was tweeted by the heat versus haters account was Tyler hero has quote Tyler here was not played in a while there's no sense when he'll be back so he tweeted cap but then he also tweeted separately I just had a great workout but I ain't coming back no time soon I will acknowledge that I miss the irony or the sarcasm I should say of that tweet at first but apparently this is more of a sarcastic tweet okay I just had a great workout but right I'm not coming back anytime soon that's the way to sort of read it okay so that's the Tyler part of this but this comes after 24 hours of discussion about the team superstar which is Jimmy Butler and the criticism of Jimmy which I have I'm gonna say it right now I have not seen this in the five years he's been here in social media this level of criticism and it follows him attending a tennis tournament taking pictures with Namar some said it was DJ Khaled it was not DJ Khaled of course it was his friend Ernie who was in the photos and as well as a couple of tennis players who he's close with he tends to go wherever Alcaras goes and a couple of the others okay and of course the Miami open is down here and then they were all at the heat game last night but of course Jimmy Butler was not playing Namar was there I guess they're 0 and 4 when Namar is there and all the rest is a lot of criticism of Jimmy for not playing in a way that I've never really seen okay and I'm gonna start here before we start to get into some of the numbers and we're gonna try to dissect this in a reasonable nuanced way if we can my Miami players do not play enough anymore thank you that's where I'm at they don't play enough anymore and what the reasons for that are and we know that some of it is freak injuries I don't like to speculate on players injuries because I don't know how hurt they are I don't know how sick they are okay but the collective okay the macro is the heat didn't used to be like this and I know we need to go into right we need to go into why is this a decision made by the organization that either we're gonna hold guys out longer because we want them to be a hundred percent when they come back or maybe we're not gonna hold them as accountable as we used to hold them or maybe we don't want to deal with their agents the other people around them so we're gonna be more lenient is this players who are more spoiled than they used to be taking the lead from other players around the team but we're gonna go through the numbers and the numbers are undeniable Miami Heat players used to play a lot and now they don't and that's just facts okay so again whether this is by design whether it's by some bad luck and design or whether it's all bad luck we need to get into it okay and that's without me saying that I know how sick Jimmy was Tyler is they don't and I'm not gonna criticize them individually when I don't know the answer that but I do know that it's not an acceptable situation at this point it's just not you're 10 games before the end of the season and it just seems like this content to me that's how it feels to heat fans okay message they don't want because that is the perception and Greg I'll just go to this before we start to go to some of the numbers it's as angry as I've seen heat fans without it being like a transaction that didn't go through which a lot of things we define the organization on that because fans don't understand everything that goes into that and the things that are beyond the team's control or what they might have in mind later on we know fans were reactionary and they just want moves so we defend them a lot okay but beyond that as we look at the overall situation other than that or like a bad playoff loss I'm not seeing the level of anger on social in a long time so I'm gonna read you a message I got I got a text earlier 8 36 a.m. I got this text message from a friend who I would consider to be as big a heat fan as me as a as he's as plugged into every single game he is a lifelong heat fan and this is what he messaged me morning Greg sorry if I haven't been around as much lately but I've been totally checked out on this team the last few weeks when I do randomly check a game so many guys are out over and over just uninspired I can't say watching I can't stay watching it without getting upset so I just turn it back off that's from a lifelong heat fan who messaged me it's one of two things it's either this is strategic and all of the the load management is top down strategic although I don't know how much of it if that's what it is or we have a group of players that have taken this to an extreme and maybe there's a bit of luck involved as well I think we should acknowledge that but it's unacceptable and it's not sustainable you can't be a high-level team go look around the league at all the teams in the top seeds they don't have guys with only 50 games played so far with 10 games to go like this is just not a ton of that so this is something we'll dissect that we'll get into the numbers but I will say that when Jimmy missed that game last night I the heat fans there was a shift in consciousness that's all I'll say that that I have not seen from the fan base yet and there was something about Jimmy missing that particular game in the optics of him being where he was the night before that matter it's the Golden State Warriors like people come to town to see like we got our guy Dan Healy who flies all the way across the country like across the pond to come and watch the heat and that's a game where you've got Steph in the building and and Jimmy doesn't play and you saw where he was the day before the optics of it don't look good I don't want to speculate beyond that the optics of it don't look good and the team has kind of followed suit and that's a weird place to be when there's only a couple guys leading by example BAM and DUNK and being primarily those two and then the real kindy where they're available most of the time BAM probably can get to what 70 71 games maybe so I consider that to be pretty available other than that it's been a complete mixed bag and the fans are feeling it right now yeah we're gonna get to the numbers on all that as we go forward but Alice I'll go to you on this you know before we do Jimmy has earned the benefit of doubt in terms of what he's produced down here when it's mattered and so I felt like the fans were kind on board with it like what Greg is getting at like I think I'm kind on board with it okay preserved so you don't need to play 70 75 games give us 60 to 65 strong games and I think that's why it hit yesterday part of it is the optics of photos of the tennis room and look guys get sick overnight okay it happens it doesn't necessarily mean he was out partying and and lots I'll say this to somebody who's done this for a long time and was on the road with players so a lot of guys come back to the hotel at four in the morning play really well the next day okay so I don't I don't get into all of that okay there and some of those were critical of Jimmy for being in movies or he now is like he has ten different commercials and all the rest of this I don't care what they do on their off days there are a lot worse things to be doing than to be on a movie set okay or to be even recording you know a commercial for six seven hours okay as long as he's working on his craft enough he's getting the proper rest for him that's fine here's where I come down again I'll go to you Alex on this if he's gonna play 60 games play them pedal to the middle and I think that's where for me this has gone off the path a little bit this year because in a lot of the marquee games we talked about this year and this team is now by the way oh oh and nine as a home under dog that means when they play good teams in what should be a favorable place for them to play they lose and some of them he hasn't played and some of them he just hasn't played with high intensity and I kind of feel like if he had played the games against Boston and Milwaukee and the others with high intensity people wouldn't pair as much when he misses a game here or there because he's had legitimate reasons for missing a lot of them right or maybe even all of them but I feel like that's why this turn of I completely get that sense and you know I think it's fair especially when you start comparing to heat stars of the past right it's like you know if you're a heat fan you're saying we still need you to be there to get us you know to a decent seating store you don't have to do this again or you don't have to play you know kind of the three best teams in the Eastern Conference back to back to back just to get to the finals right like the seating I know they don't do the shit about seating but you know if I think if the NBA regular season hasn't been so de-emphasized over the years right this would be a different story it might be like a four seed right now or five seat I just think it's got into that point where you know as time has gone by like I think the heat do like Jimmy and the heat do it like more than other teams but it really feels like a league wide pattern so like I agree with you that you know no other team has like their stars missing that many games and you know the heat has had such a weird season with the 35 starting lineups like it's really hard to get a representative sample especially ever since the acquisitions that were made right where like these guys have been thrown into regular rotation minutes right like Terry was thrown into us as a starter and then you know Patty and Delaun as guys who are who have come in and replace others who have been out like it hasn't been stable and even you know when there was some health it wasn't that great either and so it's hard to look at it like you know their contender everything's fine you give them the benefit of the doubt I give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt because we've seen this before but when it comes to the heat it's like I can see like I can see the vision for who they want to be but there has been no consistency there's been no stability right and and Jimmy has been kind of the guy who set the tone for that and like you like you said Ethan I'm not gonna speculate on you know how hurt a guy is or how sick a guy is and I just rolled my eyes at the hole like oh Jimmy was out at the US open oh Jimmy has a life outside of basketball he's told you this a million times he's not this is the worst kept secrets not a secret at all like I I understand people don't like it when you see like you know a guy miss a game after being out at the US open I don't know what to tell you man like this is kind of the trend with the NBA at this point is like if he's actually sick which you know I'm not gonna say he isn't then it's perfectly reasonable to sit I'm like I wasn't upset at them for losing that game last night the way they did where they just kind of ran out of gas which makes perfect sense when you look at all the guys are missing most of their offense right and but Jimmy has been the one again who has set this tone where it's like like you said Ethan even when you do play it's not balls to the wall pedal to the metal like and I just think that's kind of the product of the NBA that we live in now where it's like okay you're not gonna shorten the season because you want to milk all this money well we're gonna be like conservative right and I'm not talking about Jimmy by himself I just mean around the league and like I said Jimmy doesn't more but we're gonna be conservative with the way we are it's like we're not gonna play through injury for regular season matchups for TNT matchups I think everything has been you know winning in the playoffs is what matters that is all that matters that's what we've talked about for years and years and years that's how the players feel that's how coaches feel this is kind of the reality of that it's like they want to make sure that you know it's they're on like a maintenance plan it feels like to make sure that they're good to go for the playoffs and it's really hard to feel like that's not happening with the heat right now when we've seen it play out in other seasons where it's like Jimmy is just kind of like he's playing well he's still like a top 20 player when he's out there for the most part you know he has some bad games you're in there but you know he turns it up to a different level in the playoffs I think that's hard to replicate year after year as you get older but I think he's doing this because he's getting older and he's played so many long playoff runs already well and others are saying he's he does it because they didn't give him enough help I mean that's another conversation like you know and again there are a lot of reasons to kind of look at here and you know some have said okay let me just throw him out here before we go forward because I do want to get to the numbers because the numbers are startling that if even if you want to get into a lot of these things being freak injuries okay which I've talked about with Tyler many times right you know we're stepping out a foot or something like that it does not that does not explain did where the heat lucky for the first 20 something years of Pat Riley's tenure is team president because no ice played we're gonna get into it but there when you when people are going through the list today okay and they want to blame the front office for this like someone to blame the training staff someone to blame the front office someone to blame the players right someone want to blame a black cloud over the arena or whatever it is okay but some are saying okay if you didn't have such an undersized team that had to work so hard that maybe you wouldn't have some of these injuries in some cases it's well the team practices too hard I can tell you that's not the case anymore okay like that is not okay Pat Riley had these guys working after back-to-back for six hours okay and again I was there at LaSalle waiting for them to come out okay and then they played the next day okay and he played an eight-man rotation so that's just not and there are some who believe actually and I've actually heard this from credible NBA people including some associated with the heat who think that the lack of practicing these days has contributed to more injuries okay like they've eliminated a lot of these back-to-backs but it's changed kind of the practice schedule in some ways and that the guys are not as conditioned maybe as they used to be at least for game action because they're not getting in the work and practice that they used to it again that's league wide that's not just here but that is a philosophical change and some of it has been caused by the players and their agents and a conscious decision that we're not we're gonna preserve ourselves for later but I can tell you this was not the organizational philosophy before this organization would go for the one seed that's the way they were wired and we were critical of it Greg again before we're gonna go to break here in a second again to some of the numbers but the criticism of Riley way back was he worked with practice too hard he ran him into the ground as a one or two seed and then they lost to the Knicks right they would always be short on every shot in the playoffs because you felt like they had been worked too hard and they always were a top seed like that was the reoccurring theme and they always had the best defense in the league and they you know you saw that all season long consistently and everyone from PJ Brown on PJ may have played 81 games in all of those runs like over and over and over he did he did he did you know who else did during the during the big three runs Mario Chalmers yep always out there Norris Cole always out there not just the the younger players either okay and we're gonna get into that Ray Allen and Shane Batty in the 12 13 season this is under Spill not under Pat okay in the 12 13 season I think they missed a combined I did a math that I think it combined 11 games between the two of them they were combined 71 years old Ray Allen and Shane Batty in the 12 13 season it's not just an age thing okay so after the break we'll get into some of those numbers and then again I'm willing to take all opinions on this of why this is happening I just keep coming back to the same point it's not this is the fans are tired of it I think okay and the only way that this is gonna be validated is if they have another run like they had last year and I don't know right now that any of us see that coming all right we'll get to that in a minute but first a word from one of our great new sponsors hey it's even Skolnik for the five reasons sports network we've got a great new sponsor that fits with us perfectly it's called Jersey's 305 dot com that's Jersey's 305 dot com this is your home for deadstock and vintage jerseys from the heat Panthers dolphins Marlins and the other local teams their mission was born from a passion for wearing jerseys of the old styles in the past players jerseys 305 aims to make every fan stand out from the crowd with unique pieces that you don't commonly see anymore maybe 10 15 20 years ago but not today in jerseys 305 was created by the fans for the fans their diehards just like you in fact they're probably listening to this episode right now so check them out jerseys 305 their partnership with five reason sports celebrating with a 10 discount on the next purchase using the code five a check out unlock your exclusive savings on the entire vintage collection this show is sponsored by better help what's the first thing you do if you had an extra hour in your day go for a run take a nap maybe check the stats of the latest Miami heat game I've got a better idea a lot of us spend our lives wishing we had more time the question is time for what if time was unlimited how would you use it the best way to squeeze that special thing into your schedule is to know what's important to you and make it a priority therapy can help you find what matters to you so you can do more of it I've benefited from therapy I went through some life changes major life events had some difficulties wasn't a believer in therapy but it helped me and it can help you also so if you're thinking of starting therapy give better help but try it's entirely online designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge so learn to make time for what makes you happy with better help visit better help dot com slash Miami heat today to get 10% off your first month again that's better help h e l p dot com slash Miami heat you have one unheard message hi I was calling current the influencer marketing platform but I think I just got redirected to a bunch of people listening to a podcast well anyways I was calling current because I was told they could help get my brand set up on TikTok shop and even build out an affiliate program with content creators promoting my brand and even have those content creators going live streams and promote my product there wow I could really use current I also heard that the brands they work with are making millions in sales I guess I'll just go to their website at current dot tech why don't more infant formula companies use organic grass-fed whole milk instead of skim why don't more infant formula companies use the latest breast milk science why don't more infant formula companies run their own clinical trials why don't more infant formula companies use more of the proteins found in breast milk why don't more infant formula companies have their own factories instead of outsourcing their manufacturing we wondered the same thing so we made by heart an infant formula company on a mission to get a lot closer to the most super superfood on the planet breast milk our patented protein blend has more of the important and most abundant proteins actually found in breast milk where the first and only us made formula to use organic grass-fed whole milk not skim we even conducted the largest clinical trial by new infant formula company in a quarter century with clinically proven benefits like easier digestion less spit up and softer poops versus a leading infant formula and we make our own formula in the USA and our very own factories in Iowa Oregon and Pennsylvania buy heart a better formula for formula learn more at by heart calm right so let's get to some of the numbers here as we come back let me start from way back okay so these are these are some of them see if I can still find this these are some of the teams that Greg and I would actually remember as I can try to locate this hold on oh here we go ready all right 96 97 season I'm gonna go back here this and this is way back this is old timey NBA okay but I'm not doing 95 96 only because that was the year that Pat kind of put the team together on the fly yeah in that year we just said that there's only one guy on this team that has a chance to play 72 games and that's Hawkins who we've all I think agreed needs a little bit of time off right now Duncan was gonna get there but if he misses two more games he won't and BAM is gonna just miss it most likely well he's gonna miss it but for probably just by a little all right so 96 97 these players all played 72 games I cost in Tim Hardaway who's in his 30s by the way PJ Brown had bad knees PJ Brown Keith Askins and the Sean Leonard five guys 97 98 season Eric Murdoch Tim Hardaway again for Sean Leonard PJ Brown again Dan Marley can I ask you a quick question how many of those guys played 80 I don't have it off hand but I can tell you just looking at I cost and did that one year he was a younger player that they had kind of you know that he was one of Pat's first projects and I PJ did for sure and PJ did the second year too and Murdoch did in 97 98 for sure but and Vichon was right there again a younger player and then Marley who again Marley was supposedly broken down when they got him he played at least 72 games that next year the year after just a 50-game season but it was a compressed season six players on that team played at least 46 of the 50 okay including Terry Porter who was age 35 and played all 50 games all right so that's old school Riley crazy-ass long practices right not the conveniences that the players have now all right things were not as easy for them as they are now they didn't have a practice facility right there in the arena okay again was LaSalle it was you know across the city all the rest of this kind of stuff and they were going to Miami arena and all that and yet somehow they managed to play all of these games all right then if you want to go into the Spolster again I've mentioned this before the big three the 2012 13 season this is where it gets interesting these guys all played at least 72 games Norris Cole Ray Allen at age 37 Mario Chalmers LeBron James who did not take games off did not had to be forced to take games off you don't as has them Chris Bosch Shane Batty at age 34 Duane Wade did not he played 69 and everybody complained he didn't play enough nice nice and the other one thank you and the other one and and this is why I say it's actually eight of nine who did because Birdman played 44 games after his acquisition he was obviously on a pace to play way over the 72 if you've been with the heat the whole time so you're really talking about eight of their nine rotation players were at least at least 72 games and the only one who didn't was Duane who missed 13 and again there was a lot of criticism of Duane not so much that year but there was some but the year after of course for not playing enough and then if we want to go and then let's go into the post LeBron error okay 13 15 they had a rough season we know about that they only had two guys play 72 which was Chalmers and Dang 15 16 all of these guys played at least 72 Winslow dang Wade white side he played Dragach year after 16 17 Magruder this is the year they came back from 11 and 30 Magruder 13 11 run Magruder white side James Johnson Dragach Tyler Johnson five guys 17 13 17 18 season Jay Rich Ellington Olinic James Johnson Tyler Johnson five guys played at least 72 games BAM I guess that was his rookie season played 69 probably would have played the full 82 I think there are actually some games he was held out I don't even remember if that was injury really so that's five guys could have been six 18 19 season BAM KO Josh Richardson Hassan again and Duane Wade at age 37 with a 29% usage okay which would be the same as Tyler's on this team played 72 games age 37 after the knee injuries after everything I didn't play heavy minutes like he used to play a big role on that team okay so that's 18 19 then we get into the COVID period and see I think this is the thing that's not talked about enough I think that changed the way that some teams operated it was such a weird season we had situations where guys ran they were out then they had the long break so it's hard to really measure it because again there was like three months off in the middle of it but I'm gonna give this a 64 game pro-rate because they played 73 games so that's equivalent to playing 72 over 82 Duncan BAM none and KO all played to that level 2021 that's a drop off though to drop off no and that exactly and then I'm gonna now 72 game season in 2021 64 game pro-rate Duncan and BAM that was it okay Iggy just missed 21 22 back to a 72 game season back to 82 I'm sorry on the part Duncan was the only one who played 72 games PJ Tucker at his age played 71 last year Trusan BAM played 72 Kayla played 71 and now this year they make it one so we have started to see it tail off do you think of changes do you think it ever goes the other way I mean it has to because it's not all teams right like that's the thing about this if you look around the league I mean I just quickly looked at some of the top teams in the west in the east and it looks like if you add 10 games to all of their best players they're gonna probably play somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 something and to me that's like being available and I know that's my arbitrary ruling there but that's just what I'm going with so for the heat it does look like it's been something that has kind of haunted them since the pandemic and I don't understand why that is like what what there's no probably correlation directly to that that's not what I'm inferring at all it's more of that just like what has happened there and to this point like this season is different because things are normal now and so like to me this one is a little different it hurts more it sticks out like a sore thumb more and to me it looks like all that culture stuff that they've been talking I mean it looks a little weird when you can't get guys out on the court I mean you had guys you LeBron who people have always said you know never fully bought in because he always wanted to do bigger and better things all led by himself or whatever the narrative is on him he was available you could not talk him out of playing and like there's a certain level of that that's missing and and you can't quantify it but it matters because for you to say that Dwayne in his age 37 season played 72 games and we're gonna have no guys really be able to crawl to that other than the ones you mentioned that's glaring like that slaps a fan right in the face like is the farewell tour that big of a driver over a run towards a fine of championship because like that's what everyone's goal is right so to me it leaves a sour taste in the mouth for sure so let me ask you this Alex Greg mentioned the heat culture thing right and one of the lines in there is best conditioned right best conditioned it's right there okay so we have enough no I want to get to that because I feel like the heat culture philosophy has shifted from best conditions so we're gonna practice the hardest be out there the longest people are gonna play we're gonna show up we're gonna outlast everybody right like that's the thing we're gonna drive towards it it has shifted to the three words that I've used to praise Eric Spolscher a lot because he embodies this and these this is like this is the one we have enough exactly what you said right this has become the heat culture philosophy we have enough yes we're short-handed no not everybody she's playing it's not necessarily necessary because we have enough next man will step up we'll do some of the things that the other guy did we'll gut it out we'll grit it out we'll play it in the mud right our 12th guy on the roster will give us what the third guy on the roster was gonna give us and we're still gonna get wins anyway and that is a redeeming thing like to say we have enough it's much better than Doc River saying I don't have enough because I had a long flight okay like I'd much prefer the air spolscher philosophy but we talked about this in other areas when we talked about personnel and personnel acquisition that the fact that they have a coach now who is so good at what he does and making more with less at first we were talking about and okay they don't need to get other stars because you know he'll find the next Max Drew's he'll find this guy he'll find that guy along with you know the others who are good at you know talent procurement in the organization or scouting and all the rest of that but now it almost seems like it's like it's like it's like it's almost like setting like you're playing Madden okay and you set it on like the hardest level just to make it is difficult you know it give me more challenges that kind of feels like the heat culture now is the we have enough not necessarily the best conditioned right has it has it switched I mean but go ahead no no you go no finish what you were saying though well now I forgot the question so you have to go well I mean we have enough here let's go you guys are to me like can speak more to whether or not that has changed but it does very much feel like we have enough you know kind of blankets everything else and I get I get why because it's like we're never like you said we don't want to be the ones out there talking to the media about oh we're missing this guy like we already know that like that doesn't need to be explained to media members that doesn't need to be explained to fans so it then just take it the kind of the public image and I know it's not that they don't treat it that way you know internally as well but then taking that you know image to me it's just smart PR it's just like forget all that we're out here to compete we don't care how many people are out we have other guys who can step up I completely get it but now it's gotten to the point where I just don't think people agree right and I know like whether or not people agree that the heat don't care photos and care Jimmy doesn't care they don't hear that stuff they don't hear they block out of they block out all the all the noise they'll tell you that gay men game out if you ask them about what other people are talking about like they don't care but you know like their belief that they'll be able to be okay in the playoffs I think that's kind of where that lines been drawn because a lot of people are like sure you can do that again or you absolutely sure because yeah it is a different roster it feels like a deeper roster than last year if you just go through the names but like I said before there's been no consistency no foundation and to me the biggest difference with like this year between other years where Jimmy you know has quote-unquote coasted I don't really believe he's not trying I just don't think he tries as hard as he does during the playoffs I think that the biggest difference this year is that usually at this time of year Jimmy's already doing that stuff and like we kind of forget right like it even it even happened as far back as the first couple of seasons here like that Jimmy P stuff he wasn't playing at a Jimmy P level the first half of that season and I know like he played amazing in the second half and people forgot same thing has happened kind of every other year like you know he's all right in the first half turns it up in the second half and ramps up towards the playoffs that Jimmy calendar has been right year after year except this year we thought it was happening there in February and then it's just kind of tailed off a little bit and I just think it's a more extreme version of what he's done in the past and I also think it's got to do with the wear and tear I think that's also like a huge difference between you know some of the other examples when you're just going back to you know comparing the heat players like you guys were I think you know shout out to the Brown and Wade for being as available as they were playing through injury all that I think it's clear that stuff has changed within the last decade league wide to me that sucks that the fact that it's changed sucks and and season so it's like they have to find a way to to elongate their careers and I think this is the kind of the compromise it's like you don't know but you're gonna see these guys well that's true but but it does feel like the it feels like the bar has changed here in the sense of like I remember having these debates when like the heat were in a certain position like should they go for the one seed and it was like okay do they really need home court throughout the playoffs or even during the big three are which obviously a more talented team than this okay but during the big three are it was like well not necessarily like you've got LeBron okay and you've got Dwayne in some piece right and you go to court in the first couple right no but they didn't they didn't always well no but that's when we get to they didn't have home court down the line like they didn't have they beat Indiana on the Indiana was a one seed one year Chicago was a one seed one year and we were always having these conversations and this goes all the way back to Shaq being here whether it was important to be a one seed in Shaq I'm used to downplay that stuff and I remember that there was pushback about that from you know because Pat believed in going for it at that point and of course if you remember that they were not the one seed in in 12 506 I mean they had that kind of choppy season and they had to go to you know they had to beat Detroit you know as a road team in the eastern conference finals but we've shifted now from do you need the one seed so do you need home court throughout the entire eastern conference to like I mean is this a conversation about the one seed this is a conversation about just being a playoff team like because you're as you're playing team you are not a playoff team like you are you're literally on the outside looking in trying to scrape your way in and I don't have faith in this team in a one game scenario at home from what I've seen lately I mean would they even be a home favorite in in a seven eight game against a Philadelphia team with Embiid no right probably not and like the the other part of this that that gets difficult to manage is like let's say they just took half the season um seriously with the games that they were available they could have enough cushion where they all could be resting right now and so like that's where it gets even more to the point where I start to get frustrated by the fact that they've kind of slow played this and now they're in a situation where they could get bounced so anyway that's just another kind of a trade-off that they're making now where it's like before like you guys were talking about during the big three years even if they weren't a number one seed they were like okay we're gonna have home court in the first couple of rounds and then from there you know whatever just you know thug it out basically right whereas whereas now it's like you know maintenance plan throughout the season and then the grind is you know get out of the play internment and face a harder path back to the finals and that's kind of like they've essentially like traded the old ways for this now and to me it pretty much just feels like that's the biggest difference and then also you talk about just Jimmy Mann like the amount of wear and tear he's had on his body specifically what happened to him in the last playoff run where I thought he was like at the past couple really because I think he missed a game uh a couple conference finals ago right against Boston and that season they were the number one seed they didn't have Tyler available Tyler was playing hurt in the playoffs and didn't play well um before he was out they tried to bring him back did not work out we we don't even really talk about that anymore it was a game seven of that of 2022 the conference finals they tried to bring him back didn't work out he barely played and they just stopped playing him after that first stand if I remember correctly and they were the one seed and look what that got him what I remember more than anything what I think about that that season and how it ended of course behind the the Jimmy shot which will forever live in all of our heads of course is how hard it was to get there and then constantly losing at hole three over so in that series what did the ones he get them and then last year they get to the finals as the Ape Seed so I think part of it is like you know how much does it really matter I think that's like me trying to get it in their heads a little bit because of the way that some of these seasons have played out they got to the finals in 2020 of course the bubble is a weird kind of situation but they did it as a fifth seed day and of course again home court was not a factor in the bubble but I just don't think they care that much about the seeding and I feel like that's kind of the trade-off that's happened now it's like it's all about the playoffs forget like busting your ass for the regular season oh you're right that that has been a part of the trade-off but it's a stark difference to say okay we're comfortable being the number two seed and we'll have to play one road series perhaps or start one series on the road in the eastern playoffs as opposed to we're comfortable in the play-in where we have to win a home play-in game just to get in and if we don't we've got to win another play-in game and then that gives us the right to go on the road to play a top two seed in the eastern conference and if we win that then we go on the road again and then if we win that we go on the road again I think you know part of this is like what they did last year was unprecedented it was unprecedented like it's the only thing we're holding on to hope for right now with this team and it literally has never happened before like the only thing that's equivalent was Houston winning a championship as the sixth seed and they had a team in his prime okay or the next when they were the eight seed and they got all the way to the finals and that was completely weird because that team was only six games behind the first seeded heat but it was as I mentioned earlier a 50 game season and so the teams were not that different and even though they lost you in they didn't have a healthy spree well Houston that whole team together and they put that team together on the fly the fact that we have to we have two examples basically over like 25 to 30 NBA years of something somewhat equivalent to what the heat did last year just tells you it's not going to happen again and again if the I think if this is not to say that the heat want their players to be hurt or they wanted to be on the plane I'm not saying any of that I'm just saying that I understand the fan frustration with this because we've not seen this team healthy long enough for it to figure anything out and I think that although we could go through each injury or ailment individually and we can go through and I'm sure that's what you know some of the organization will be upset at us for even doing this because they'll say well what do you want us to do about you know Tyler has this freak thing okay or Jimmy has you know needs some time away from the team we're going to grant that to him or whatever because that was earlier remember that was for personal issues and we all understood that okay and we understood we respected the organization stance to give him the time but the problem is it's mounted now where it's like it's just it's it's everybody literally it's everybody and that just I think that's where the frustration comes in so I don't know that we've solved anything at this point I just know that over the last 10 games they need to get some bodies back right like even the most available to that mantra it's a good way to close have a good night everybody thank you for listening to the five on the floor on the fibers in sports network after all someone has listened to my dad at independent financial we know you work hard for your business that's why we work hard for you our local bankers are ready to jump in and support your next vision or venture and we have the resources to make it happen ready to get down to business let's talk learn more at ifinancial.com independent financial banking for business banking for life member fdic hey there did you know king supers always gives you savings and rewards on top of our lower than low prices and when you download the king supers app you'll enjoy over five hundred dollars in savings every week with digital coupons and don't forget fuel points to help you save up to one dollar per gallon at the pump want to save even more with a boost membership you'll get double fuel points and free delivery so shop and save big at king supers today king supers fresh for everyone savings may vary by state restrictions apply seaside for details when you fly south west we always give you our mile high heart that's why we're giving denver more flights than ever before not only do you get our low fares but you'll always get two free bags and never pay change or cancel fees because we mile high heart you denver book today at southwest.com based on us do t oh we scheduled daily flights from denver starting in july 2023 surpass all prior days as a 512 2023 for consecutive check bags waiting size limits apply fair difference may apply failure to cancel a reservation at least 10 minutes prior to schedule departure may result in forfeited travel funds why don't more infant formula companies use organic grass-fed whole milk instead of skim why don't more infant formula companies use the latest breast milk science why don't more infant formula companies run their own clinical trials why don't more infant formula companies use more of the proteins found in breast milk why don't more infant formula companies have their own factories instead of outsourcing their manufacturing we wondered the same thing so we made by heart an infant formula company on a mission to get a lot closer to the most super superfood on the planet breast milk our patented protein blend has more of the important and most abundant proteins actually found in breast milk where the first and only us made formula to use organic grass-fed whole milk not skim we even conducted the largest clinical trial by new infant formula company in a quarter century with clinically proven benefits like easier digestion less spit up and softer poops versus a leading infant formula and we make our own formula in the USA and our very own factories in isla or again in pennsylvania by heart a better formula for formula learn more at byheart.com the Honda you want is here so drive in the moment with the versatile Honda CRV or a cord all from the 2023 kelly blue books kbb.com best value brand for a limited time well-qualified buyers can get a 3.9 percent APR on the 2024 Honda Accord and a 2.9 percent APR on the 2024 CRV seeing dealer for financing details based on 2023 brand image words from kelly blue book visit kbb.com for more information
