Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
The Miami Heat are third in the East at 17-6.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Lynne Sladky/AP.)
You saw the record and their place on the caption. The Miami Heat are doing just fine.
I’ve been called out by a few people before about how I predicted the Heat to be a not-so-great team this season when I did my season preview. I decided that I was cool and went against the grain. I looked into my dirty crystal ball and said the Heat would win 34 games. A lot of experts and Vegas had the Heat winning in the low 40s.
I’ll say that the main reason was I didn’t think Jimmy Butler would have that much of an impact. I definitely made the mistake of underestimating him; I didn’t think he could do a lot of damage with the team that was there. Bam Adebayo was going to get more PT, sure. Justise Winslow was going to be unlocked more but I thought he wasn’t as far along as the player he should be. I felt Goran Dragic was on the downside. Dion Waiters was giving them problems. I didn’t know much about Tyler Herro. And Kendrick Nunn (yeah, yeah, I know) wasn’t even in the equation yet.
But I probably didn’t think about the environment Butler was going into. The Heat is notorious for being a super disciplined organization (I mean, they have Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra there) and it fits right into Butler’s personality and maniacal work ethic. He would be in a better mood there than what was probably a looser atmosphere in Minnesota.
Jimmy has thrived. He has career-bests in rebounds (6.3) and assists (6.8). He continues to play hellish defense. And Butler has been previously portrayed as a malcontent in recent years but he’s been nothing but great in Miami.
It’s trickled down to the rest of the team. Dragic has rejuvenated his career as a sixth man. We know the story of Kendrick Nunn (15.3 points per). Adebayo is a double-double machine. Tyler Herro has provided excellent offense off the bench; he scored 16 of the last 18 Heat points in their overtime win against Chicago. Duncan Robinson has been a pleasant surprise. And they have done this without Winslow for a few weeks.
And I feel stupid for doing this. Erik Spoelstra has always gotten his guys ready to play, no matter the circumstances. People know that he’s a two-time champion as a coach but remember when his team fell to 11-30 in 2016-17? That team finished with a 30-11 flourish to finish at 41-41 in what might have been his best coaching job. He got that squad led by Dragic, Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters, James Johnson, and Tyler Johnson to end the season like that. That’s incredible to me and it really shows what Spoelstra can do with any roster.
So maybe most of us should NOT be surprised that they’re 17-6 with Butler (who was just named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week) leading the way. Sometimes, all it takes for someone to thrive is to be in the right place.
Go to me for lottery numbers.
Bullet Passes
Anthony Davis put up 50 points against Minnesota. The funny thing is that he made NO three-pointers on the way to that total.
I joked that he was one short of Corey Brewer’s career-high. Relax, guys. I know full well that Davis’s career-best is 59 points. Sheesh.
Because the NBA is weird, of course, Sacramento beat Dallas on the road in a mild upset. Sometimes, the NBA just doesn’t make sense and Greg Wissinger from Sactown Royalty agrees with me. Yes, he predicted that the Kings would win. Give him a cookie.
The rematch between the Raptors and Sixers went much better for Philly this time around. Joel Embiid “only” scored 10 but that’s better than laying an egg, which was what Marc Gasol did for this game.
Denver‘s offense continues to sputter. It’s either they have bad shot selection or they take way too long to set up something. Nikola Jokic has woken up in the last couple of games but he’s not the only problem that needs solving.
Finally, Cam Reddish really tried to nutmeg Devonte’ Graham. Watch it. You can totally see he was trying to attempt it:
.@Devonte4Graham with the steal and the transition three!👌🏾🔥@HornetsOnFSSE | #AllFly pic.twitter.com/3CfHEy1gbt
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) December 8, 2019
Luckily, the Hawks won going away but man.
Watch This Play
Let me say this again. LeBron James. 17th season. 35 years old in 21 days.
(VIDEO CREDIT: CliveNBAParody.)
Father Time is undefeated. But LeBron probably thinks Father Time is at age 50.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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