Sports Agenda for Friday (5/18/12)
Big Story:
It's taken me awhile to put together my frustration after watching last night's Heat game, but at least the Marlins wo….oh yeah, they got skunked too.
Quote of the Day:
"Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield." – don't know who said it originally, but it's fitting today.
Miami Heat:
Let's face it, it's time to look at next year because this Heat team is toast.
And it's not on LeBron, or even the Bosh injury, it's on D-Wade's shoulders.
He's not getting calls like he did in the regular season and it's frustrated him to the point where he didn't even need to be on the floor last night.
Seriously, you call yourself an All-Star and you get 5 points in a freaking playoff game where you're not injured and miss 3 quarters?!?!
Are you kidding me?
Remember I said the Pacers were going to give the Heat major trouble….sometimes I hate being right.
Let's face it, the Pacers are the better team in this series and the Heat have some major rebuilding to do in the offseason.
Here's something the Heat have to face soon, D-Wade is getting up there in years and I think he's past his prime.
What does that mean for the Heat?
I don't know, but it's a reality that is setting in with each passing season.
I know they're still technically in the series, but that was a complete demolition last night and kudos to the Pacers for attacking all night.
What I saw last night was a passive Heat team playing to stay close and an attacking in your face Pacers team willing to do anything to win.
And let's face it, this is probably the worst supporting cast Wade or LeBron has ever played with in the playoffs.
Before I get into the numbers, great job by Mario Chalmers, I said he needed to step up yesterday and he did…too bad the rest of the Heat didn't.
Okay, here's a look at the numbers….
Shane Battier 0-7 shooting
James Jones 1-6 shooting
LeBron 10-22 shooting
Joel Anthony had 10 points…wait, what?
The Heat were 4-20 from behind the three point line while Indiana shot 8-14….that's pathetic.
For the series the Heat have managed to raise their 3-point shooting to a paltry 12 percent.
Seriously, they are 5-42 behind the stripe…..5-42!!!!!
Here's the only Indiana stat's you need to see….
Roy Hibbert – 19 points, 18 rebounds, 1 turnover, 5 blocked shots
David West – 14 points, 9 rebounds, 0 turnovers
So where do the Heat go from here?
I don't know to be honest unless C-Bosh makes a miraculous recovery.
The sad part is, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley don't know where to go either.
I mean when two of your starters combine to go 0-9 from the field and get 0 free throw attempts….that's pretty incompetent.
I'm pretty confident in saying the Heat will not win a game in Indiana and I'm not sure they win another game period.
So what do the Heat do next?
I thought I'd take a look at the salary cap for next year and see what's there….
Currently, the Heat have $78.5 million committed against the salary cap for next season.
They have the Big Three, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony, Shane Battier, James Jones, Norris Cole, and have a player option for Ronny Turiaf.
Here's my proposal:
Amnesty Mike Miller, which will clear up $5.8 million salary cap space.
Trade D-Wade which would give you major YOUNG pieces to rebuild with hopefully including draft picks.
Keep Bosh and James and build a new core around them since LeBron is just hitting his prime.
Now, this won't happen because Riley doesn't have the marbles to do it.
Plus, I'm not sure LeBron or Bosh would let it happen.
But Miami is learning something that the Washington Redskins and countless other pro sports teams have had to learn the hard way…you can't win through free agency.
Consider the bad moves the Heat have made since getting the Big Three.
First, their combined salary next season is $52 million.
So you have roughly $18 million to play with until you hit the luxury tax cap.
Look who they've signed long term and for this amount of money.
Joel Anthony is signed through 2013-14 at roughly $3.75 million per.
Udonis Haslem gets roughly $4 million per through the same time frame with a player option for 2014-15.
And let's not forget….the Heat only have the Big Three technically for two more seasons….after that they can opt out into free agency.
Dumping Miller is a given, and I bet the Heat will try to trade Udonis and Jones for something with a pulse that can shoot and rebound.
Problem is, there's not going to be much of a market for either.
It's kinda sad, but humorous that the Heat are learning what the Dolphins just figured out….the draft is where it's at.
Look at the teams remaining in the playoffs….
Indiana, built by the venerable Larry Bird through the draft and one major free agent signing, David West.
Boston, found Rajon Rondo and another good player in the draft whose name slips my mind.
San Antonio, drafted Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli, plus most of the role players.
Clippers, drafted Blake Griffin and their center.
Oklahoma City, drafted the whole team and traded for Glen Davis.
Lakers, drafted Kobe and Andrew Bynum.
Philadelphia, drafted Evan Turner and others to fit their style.
Miami….not so much.
It's the curse of not building through the draft and it's coming home to roost for the Heat.
Miami Marlins: (@ Cleveland Indians, 7:05, Fox Sports Florida)
Just when I go singing the praises of the Marlins, they lay a goose egg on the score board.
Atlanta won when Michael Turner barreled through the line to put them up 7-0.
Just kidding.
Now the Marlins play some interleague ball against the Indians.
Cleveland has been tough this year and has led the AL Central at times.
The Marlins are still 12-4 in the month of May and are playing well.
Once the Indians series is finished the Marlins return home for a 10-game homestand against the Rockies, Giants, and Nationals to close out May.
