The Heat have finished their summer league schedule in California and now head to Las Vegas. Ethan, Alex and Brady talk about Kel'el Ware and others and have they have done.
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King Supers, fresh for everyone, prices and product availability subject to change, restrictions apply, and see site for details. Welcome to latest episode of Five on the Floor and the Five Reasons Sports Network. Thanks for joining us on your favorite podcast app on Apple Apple Podcasts. On Android, Spotify, or the Five Reasons YouTube channel, make sure you subscribe to all the floor. That's our Discord server, $2.99 per month. Get away from Twitter, communicate with us and other heat fans all day long. Almost 600 members on there now find out why. The link is right here in the description on the podcast feed and on the YouTube channel. Also check out the great sponsors of the Five Reasons Sports Network, who's our friends over at PricePix. Yes, you can be a degenerate like us. You can wager on Southerly Games. What happened to Brony tonight? Use the Code 5, F-I-V-E, get that initial deposit matched. Up to $100 legal again in the state of Florida, set your lineup. Of course, you can play Summer League with there's plenty of other sports. You can pair those players with. Check it out, PricePix.com. Use the Code 5. And now, today's episode. Welcome to Five on the Floor. A daily insider show on the Miami Post. All right, welcome back to Five on the Floor here today's floor plan. I'm Ethan Skolnik. I'm Ethan Jay Skolnik. I'm going to Five Reasons Sports. I've got Alex Salido. I can follow the Tropical Blanket. And Brady Hawk. You can follow him at Brady Hawk 305. The Miami Heat are finished with California. They are heading to Las Vegas, played the Lakers tonight. A lot of their key guys did not play. Their top two draft picks did not play. So we'll get into that. But what we want to talk about is the totality of the California trip for the Heat and what we think of some of the players who played out there. We're going to blitz through this tonight. We'll do deeper dives on some of these players as we go forward. All right, so 30 seconds or less for each of you. Let's do this. Kaleil Ware, Alex, your thoughts thus far did not play tonight. Oh, that's a tough one. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I think where, you know, it was fun to watch those couple of games for him just to see like the difference between one game and the next, right? Like you saw some stuff where it was like the screening was a little bit not great. The rim protection was pretty damn great in both games. But then like in the first game you had like moments where he was kind of jumpy on defense or maybe out of place, you know, and I think those are things that can be coached. But otherwise like he is as billed an athletic roller who, you know, had a tendency to kind of play a little bit in the mid range. I think he has great touch in the paint. I think he showed kind of a willingness to pop out to the three in that first game didn't do as much in the second game. But I think it's going to be something they work on behind the scenes. But as of right now, I think they're going to use them as an athletic roller. And you saw those things at a high level in that second game. Brady? Yeah. I think the thing that stuck out to me was just how much of a fast learner he is just for the fact that like some things we talked about from game one that he did wrong that he needed it's weak. And we were kind of talking about a big picture and the fact for game two, you saw so much of that stuff we were talking about like the screening need to be more physical on and he stayed a little longer as I was just talking about the rolling, not drifting out to the three as much. It's not falling. He just continued to dive. And the biggest thing is not like he's going to just it doesn't just mean when you roll it's for the catch and get it pull up or get a lob. It's like so many opportunities for office of rebounds. He's so much bigger than so many of these guys. He's showcasing a lot of like really good post work and he has like different counters. He has a really good touch around the rib he can get that push shot and as we he's talked about he feels like the one thing he can showcase a little bit more is that putting the ball on the floor into that pull up and the thing that stands out the last thing I'll say is that with that pull up is like the shot is so much more fluid when he puts the ball into a pull up than it is like off the catch like it is legitimately fluid in those spots of the floor. So I think the mid range is a real thing and the defense is legit but the shop blocky is needed. So you didn't need a perfect defender on this roster to back up baby or play next to baby. You need a guy that is lengthy and can block shots will be able to turn at the rim and he's showing that he can do that. All right my thoughts on this first thing he'd fans temper the expectations just a little bit in terms of the playing with BAM you know again I have serious doubts about whether that's going to happen once the season actually starts but you want to see at least a skill set that may work with him and we've seen certain things there and again the big thing in Summer League is the adjustment from one game to the next I remember I wrote a column an ill-fated column after the first game I saw poor Zingas play saying that he would not be a factor in the league looked a little bit better by game two by that his agent wasn't speaking to me anyway. Well he drinks the Celtics championship amazing I absolutely did. Peli Larson Brady yeah I think he's pretty much as advertised like he's all over the court and I think that's kind of what he is he's like a Swiss ARI knife in a way that he's not really a he's not just a shooter he kind of does a lot of the other stuff the things off the ball the cutting just no he really takes contact will which is kind of the one thing I think that surprised me a little bit like he's a physical player and usually shooters aren't like usually shooters are just you know they're just trying to find open space and fire like no he puts a shoulder down he likes to just draw contact he got to the line in these two games that he played and defensively he's kind of you know he's kind of all over the place off ball he really navigates greens pretty well it seems like he's just a pest and I think that matters and athletically he could run the floor he does things you know he could slash a little bit like I do think the one thing I'll say about him is I want to see the shot a little more in Vegas he got he got drafted to be a shooter in Miami preaches us all the time like with their shooters they just want they don't care what you shoot efficiency wise especially now that they this is the time to get them up you have to be high volume right now so I'm just kind of looking specifically I think the issue is with swider on the roster is kind of hurting it a little bit because wider is getting so many shots so I think we were talking about lineups in Vegas and now the high me might be playing in Vegas for the first two games could switch things up lineup wise that I wouldn't be surprised that they kind of staggered some things so pay like can kind of be a little bit more is that that spot of shooter is it for you to also the shots we want to see more of Alex no doubt and we will and like Brady was saying I 100 agree they're going to ask him to launch the that's 100% going to be something we see because I'd like I think his natural tendency is to have the all around game that Brady was talking about where I don't he definitely does not view himself as just a shooter and that's not like something that he says specifically because he did he was hyping up his shooting a little bit in the in the press conference like he knows that that's like his NBA skill but when you watch him play it's it's very it's it's obvious to you know when you watch him that he has other parts of his game that he likes to go to like he occasionally shows off the midi Brady was talking about how physical he is looking for contact sometimes in the paint and physical going over screens his body as a 23 year old is also very filled out that's why I feel like he's somebody who can contribute right away right and there's a similar thing with somebody else that we're going to talk about but I think Larson is somebody who you want to see more of that NBA skill being showed because I think the other stuff that he does can be showcased and and kind of you know you can see that stuff more if the shooting comes first and teams are worried about it and I think he really has a lot of upside to be a great closeout attacker I feel like he shows a lot of those kind of traits and so you know basically I don't know if it's crazy to say like at his best you can get some of what you get from your shooters as far as that you can throw him in some of those sets if you wish you know eventually and I think at the same time get some of what give get some of what Kayla was giving you as far as being being a closeout attacker somebody who can kind of you know be a strong cutter be a good perimeter defender so I think I feel like they got a nice hybrid a hybrid of a player here but I would like to see him really launch coming up and just show off more of that shot alright so we've hit the two draft picks on the other side we're going to get to some of the undrafted guys want to mention a great sponsor of the five reasons for its network our friend Lynette she was watching with us on playback today go to playback.tv/5rsn you can call Lynette at 95458100 that's 95458100 aggressive insurance agency insurance by Lynette calm car insurance life insurance renters insurance she handles all of it there again 95458100 insurance by Lynette.com when you need meal time inspiration it's worth shopping king supers where you'll find over 30,000 mouthwatering choices that excite your inner foodie and no matter what tasty choice you make you'll enjoy our everyday low prices plus extra ways to save like digital coupons worth over $600 each week you can also save up to $1 off per gallon at the pump with fuel points more savings and more inspiring flavors make shopping king supers worth it every time king supers fresh for everyone fuel restrictions apply save big this summer with great deals all in the king supers app get juicy washington red cherries for $2.99 a pound then get 10 for 10 on items like lays stacks rice or any and sparkling ice sparkling water for $1 each all with your card shop these deals at your local Kroger today or tap the screen now to download the king supers app to save big today king supers fresh for everyone prices and product availability subject to change restrictions apply see site for details alright kasha johnson we talked about him beforehand we were surprised that the heat actually got him or able to get him he was featured a little bit more today making passes on the break a little bit of a skill set we didn't necessarily know that that he had um Alex I mean is this a guy can you already declare him a keeper at this stage yeah like I think he's somebody who easily depends like when you try to protect his future like it really seems like he is just a clean cut role player who also brings like that element of just chaos else because he is really everywhere man like the guy that was just incredibly impressive what we were what we just saw in a game where kind of their best players were out and even though they still had you know some of their point guards playing well and in alandis and pulling I do think it was pretty impressive for him to stand out in the sense or like he was just everywhere on both ends of the floor and like you saw the stuff that he was you know getting talk about being a second round pick for and I do think it you know you could say unironically that having having got shot johnson is like having an extra second round pick I do believe that because he he was that caliber of player and I know that's not good you know like something to get super hyped about having an extra second round pick but I do think they got somebody of that quality and it's somebody like the arc it the archetype the the build is something that we've been talking about for the heat for years as a type of player that should get in their program we even talked ourselves into darius days at one point a few years back you know somebody who could be that similar archetype and I think kashad has more I think the the bounciness is not just like oh he has really nice dunks which is great right like you know that's always fun to have some entertainment and excitement in your basketball but it shows in the way he plays he had six stocks tonight right three steels three blocks and a lot of deflections like that's exactly the type of player that they've always liked in the past his defensive energy is insane he gets he deflects like good passes it's really insane like guys will throw just regular basic NBA passes it's like nothing wrong with it and he just gets there with the length the athleticism it's really like he jumps out of the building and it's functional athleticism that's what's really exciting about him the shot still needs to be worked on but he's a willing shooter he's a willing passer I think he has upside as a transition guy so like these are all things that we've been asking for and I think he just you know gets in the gym needs to keep working on that shot you know has already gotten a lot better on it compared to those first few years of college so he is on his way man I think he's gonna be sticking around do you see any scenario where he doesn't Brady no I don't I think he went hundred percent sticks especially with the fact that they're losing you know a wing here with Caleb and even if they didn't like they this guy like jumps off the page like I had I thought they should have taken him with the second round pick like I was kind of a pronative or pushing for that because just how much he fits them and I think we're seeing that Alex said the word lengthy and I think that's what jumps out to me is because he's so stocky and usually stocky guys aren't like also lengthy with the wingspan they'd be able to be have active hands like and that's what makes him so interesting as like a defensive piece is that he does like always get his hand on the basketball he does always get kind of there was one play at the end of the game that that forced the at the end of this third there's the last summer league game tonight where he jumps the inbound pass like jumps in the air two hands on the ball gets it runs the break and they end up scoring out of it he just finds ways to make defensive plays the question the reason why he fell in draft as we keep saying one of the reasons is the shot is it was in question because he just had one good year this past year is it was it a fluke and I we never seem to really worry about that with Miami like they kind of always figure that stuff out and they could develop that stuff along the way and even the shot does not look too crazy like it's a smooth jumper like he that is easy to work with and there were even points of this game like he he was like one of the number one options and he should pull up leaning threes I don't he didn't make the one that I'm thinking of right now but like he literally was like had the confidence to do that he was the pick and roll ball handler in that one he was he was like they it's funny because like hey what a few years ago when they played him in summer league did not have this role like they were he did not they did not like let him play in this fashion so the fact that he's able to do this now I think matters and just the physicality the stuff he's doing on the offensive boards the fact that he does he's not going to get bullied like he he's gonna bully some people uh just a heat guy and like he said after the game like he said uh I didn't get drafted but I feel like a heat culture guy like he's gonna stick around there's there's no doubt about that my only question is how long is he gonna be on that too with another thing really quick I also think he has upside to be used as a screener and a handoff guy for the heat and the way that they like to use bigs who maybe are not like the most reliable shooters I feel like he can be a spacer and a screener and handoff guy in that way but man the guy should not let him fall in jail right PJ PJ did a lot of that stuff so I mean I feel like they they can get to it there is there is a comp there we've talked about the type of player that they've missed we know Jimmy wanted a key PJ for sure um let's get to somebody who's been a little up and down but showed more tonight I think Brady and I have a particular thought on him Alondis Williams who I was really excited about um but it feels to me like he's just like he needs to not be around as many of the other scorers like when he's in more of a featured role he shows out but when he's not he doesn't have I think you said Brady maybe some of the role player things that the heat typically look for and we don't think there's going to be a role unless there's some trades here um a role for like a primary scorer in the back court is there so I so I guess where does Alondis Williams fit Brady that's the tough part because he is talented like he he's a he had that one move on Brony through the end of the game where he spun off him and and laid it in off the glass uh like he's a smooth player like he's he's he's skilled the issue is when I'm looking at like a guy making the one of the three two ways and what they want like the reason they've always gone Drew Smith over along his Williams is they want the guy that they can trust they want the guy that could play a specific role and has a specific ability and Drew Smith has the ability to just run the offense get out the way put guys in the right position not you know uh doesn't need the ball in his hands for a long period of time to be effective and my question with Alondis is like if Miami there's a game where they're down a player and they need somebody to step in to the rotation like what is he what is he filling in for like because it's not like he's his job won't be to fill it and just go do everything and score like he does in these games so I think that's kind of the question I think they need to kind of figure out what his role is going to be specifically like what's his main strength but he's a good player like he's a skilled player and he's a fun player to watch especially when he has it going the issue is like there couldn't be ups and downs but when he has it going like he's he's a really skilled guy so the question is like these other guys and this the real thing so they have Drew Smith locked in to their two way. Poland in Kachal Johnson the other one the third one is Zion Poland. Zion Poland to me is kind of like Drew in a way because he's also like an under control point guard that could set up your system so if you're going to take a chance on like on the third two way that's the reason for the three two ways you use kind of different abilities across the three my question is like it's not the craziest thing to throw Alondis in the mix because of that but I just don't think it ends up happening like I think there's some other guys they end up leaning toward and Zion Poland I don't want to put him in a box either like I think he's really talented and you're probably going to go to him but I just kind of I'm kind of curious how they lay out the two ways because as much as people talk about Drew Smith I don't think he's getting cut off that two way I think they want a guy that that's been in their system knows what they're doing could throw into games when needed he's going to stick around Kachal Johnson he's going to stick around the question is who's going to be the third one because there's a bunch of point guards on this roster that are fighting for it and it's pretty even right now to be honest all right so Alice I go to you on that as we close here so Isaiah Stevens did not play tonight and I know I know that we have a fan in our network digital Adele is a big fan of his and it kind of stuck out is he ahead of pulling to you I don't know I honestly and I know I like people will get frustrated when I don't just like pick an answer but honestly like I don't feel very strongly about either one I agree with Brady that it feels like it's a competition right now for that last spot because I agree Kachal is definitely not going anywhere and I don't think Drew is going anywhere either especially with like their apparent lack of perimeter defense now on the roster thank god they brought Haywood back or else we might have seen Drew Smith's starting but no and in all honestly like Drew was pretty solid at that position last year and I thought showed some growth there like became an even better defender has you know decent size for a point guard and just really didn't try to do much on offense just kind of stay out of the way and occasionally hit an open three you know set a guy up and so if you're looking for a guy to fill that archetype I think Alondis isn't that guy but I do think like this point guard crop that they've got right now is the deepest that they've had in a while like it's it's encouraging I think they all bring different things right you know some overlapping skills for sure but like to me like Stevens is the best passer out of all of them I think he's a natural point and you know average seven assists in college and I think you know that second game when they when they started him there I thought he looked really nice just kind of you know setting the plays up and very natural there I think pulling at some of that too although I feel like just from what I've seen because I'm not like any college basketball I mean just from what I've seen so far feels like you know he will look for the shot a little bit more but I feel like both of them pulling and Stevens can shoot I would like to see like more of it just to get more of a sample but like I feel like both of them have that in their bag Stevens is a bit smaller but it's kind of bulky for for someone that small and I just think brings a good energy to the floor and so I don't really have an answer as far as who I think gets that last spot I think it really just depends on what you want because pulling does offer more size at that guard position and if you trust the like the catch and shoot three maybe he's the guy especially since he already has the two way and they've kind of been linked to him for a while now I think he he maybe he's the guy but I wouldn't be surprised if it's Stevens or they just go back to Alondas because it seems like they've liked him too but I agree with you guys that Alondas is not the the role guy the clean the the role player alongside some of their other players maybe like Terry Tyler and Jimmy all out you need another shot creator maybe that's his role otherwise it's a little weird yeah I know I I'm with that and that's been him for hitting a three tonight though yeah I know but I I think when you look at it they still see themselves again not as a contender necessarily yet but they see themselves kind of in a playoff mix and that's when the guys who can carve out roles in those spots it's it really is like the way it's been described to me is who can you put around your best players and so we always talk about it's it's really who can you put around Jimmy and BAM and there are certain archetypes I think that they need um a lot of us may have the highest upside but it I don't know I'm not I'm not feeling it so far even though he played better tonight just in terms of his fit uh with this group all right thanks to Brady thanks to Alex thanks for responses insurance by the net.com prize picks use the code 5 FIVE we'll have more episodes throughout the week subscribe to all the floor and everybody thank you for listening to the five on the floor on the fibers and sports network after all someone needs to listen to my dad when you need meal time inspiration it's worth shopping king supers where you'll find over 30,000 mouthwatering choices that excite your inner foodie and no matter what tasty choice you make you'll enjoy our everyday low prices plus extra ways to save like digital coupons worth over 600 dollars each week you can also save up to one dollar off per gallon at the pump with fuel points more savings and more inspiring flavors make shopping king supers worth it every time king supers fresh for everyone fuel restrictions apply save big this summer with great deals all in the king supers app get juicy washington red cherries for two ninety nine a pound then get 10 for 10 on items like lays stacks rice eroni and sparkling ice sparkling water for one dollar each all with your card shop these deals at your local Kroger today or tap the screen now to download the king supers app to save big today king supers fresh for everyone prices and product availability subject to change restrictions apply see site for details
