Just trying to get our Coli Rating Up - Miami Heat Season thread 2015/16

WaddupDoe!

WaddupDoe!

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prophecypro

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Not sure where the hell this team will end up but I gotta bad feeling about health and complacency

And most of all Spo making the pieces fit.
 
HiphopRelated

HiphopRelated

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Add Dragic to the by far best 4 man unit from last year

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Primetime21

Primetime21

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For 20 years, everybody has heard all about how the Heat treats its players like family. Heck, LeBron James mentioned that when he signed here; Amar’e Stoudemire said this week, unsolicited: “What you need is a family type atmosphere and truly it is” here.

The franchise has backed up those words with actions, everything from hiring former players for coaching and scouting and front office jobs, to consistently promoting from within (general manager Andy Elisburg started with the Heat as a public relations intern), to purchasing Tim Hardaway’s house when the IRS placed a lien on it in 2011.

For a few weeks in June, that reputation, that the Heat takes care of its own, threatened to crumble when Dwyane Wade and the team became embroiled in a contract dispute.

But the Heat’s subsequent actions with Wade --- and how it handled a difficult pregnancy for Goran Dragic’s wife --- reaffirm what players have been told about this organization for two decades under Pat Riley and Micky Arison. And that’s significant, not only because the Heat handled matters the right way, but anything less this summer would have damaged one of the franchise’s selling points in courting free agents.

In a few hours in June, Wade went from disappointed and seriously considering a move elsewhere to knowing how much he’s valued here.

“When you get the owner of the team [Arison] and the future owner of the team [Nick Arison] to come to sit at your table at your home and feel comfortable just sitting talking to them, it shows the relationship we built,” Wade said Tuesday.

“No agents around. No nothing. Just us three sitting there and reminiscing but also talking about the future. It means a lot, when they take their time to come and say, ‘Listen, we want you here. You’re a lifer and we want to do whatever it takes to make that happen.’

“I understand the business side as well. I understand as a player, I want certain things but I also understand the organization needs certain things. Us coming to a one-year [$20 million] agreement this year was the best for both sides. I never lost faith in the Heat family, ever. It’s a business. Things are said, but I never lost faith.”

The Wade issue drew headlines. This, though, unfolded in private:

Early this offseason, when Dragic’s wife Maja required hospitalization in Slovenia for 15 days, six months into her pregnancy, the Heat was in frequent contact, offering to help find a doctor or assist any way it could.

“[Erik Spoelstra], Pat, they were sending me messages checking on my wife,” Dragic said this week. “Pat called. They were real helpful. If I needed something they were here for me. Even D-Wade [emailed].”

After the baby was born healthy more than a month ago, the team sent a gift basket and Spoelstra bought and mailed a baby carriage and some clothes, Dragic said.

It arrived at the Dragic home in Slovenia this past week because “in Europe, with customs, it takes time,” Dragic said.

How touched was Dragic by all this? “It was unbelievable,” he said. “I never experienced anything like that. I was on a couple of teams in this league and in Europe, but here they do stuff differently.

“It’s a great feeling because you feel like a part of this great organization, part of this family where if you need something, you know they will be there for you.”

Chris Bosh, too, was moved when Spoelstra and Riley visited him at the hospital when he was diagnosed with blood clots on his lungs.

“I don’t know how many organizations where the GM and the coach on a game day would come to see you,” he said, noting Wade also visited. “Without being too mushy, coming to see me showed me how much we mean to each other. It’s always put to the test in difficult situations and they came through. It was pretty awesome.

“They sent gift baskets, flowers. Spo brought books. He tries to find something I never read or what he’s reading at the time. I thought I would be able to read them in the hospital but I was in too much pain.”

For the cynical, I should note that I learned of the Heat reaching out to Dragic during Maja’s pregnancy from a friend of Dragic, not from the Heat. So the team isn’t looking for publicity on this.

From Wade contract to Dragic pregnancy to Bosh illness, Heat reaffirms family commitment; WQAM fires Grimes; Dolphins, Canes, Miami Herald news | Sports Buzz
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Elisburg started as a public relations intern :wtf: I'm gonna write Riley a personalized letter and see where I end up
 
B

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havoc said:
We have some decent mid-range shooters, pick and roll players, and great backdoor cutters in the squad to make up for the lack of three-point shooting. Also, the Heat can adjust to run and gun offense to speed up the tempo which could result to easy buckets. As for the defense, Bosh is a dominant player in the pick and roll defense, and he has Whiteside behind him to pick up any player that finds his way to the paint. That's a great defensive combo in the front-court. I'm not going to worry about Deng and Winslow because I know their effort will be there in defense. Plus, we have Anderson and UD if needed. Wade could be great on defense when he isn't playing lazy. :francis: On the other hand, Dragic and Chalmers are going to be food.:francis:
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Dragic isn't a horrible defender. He can stay in front of his man, and has a large enough frame to check most smaller point guards. Remember, he'd often play at the 2 in PHX.
 
Primetime21

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“I want to take him under my wing,” Deng said this week. “I’ve been in this league for 12 years and I don’t have habits that will hurt him.

“What I really like about him is… you can see he’s very mature for his age (19). His talent is amazing. He’s versatile. I don’t think physically he will struggle with the game.”

The 6-foot-7 Winslow, who has gained close to 10 pounds since leaving Duke and is now 230, said he made “a lot of progress” this summer in two areas where growth was needed: mid-range shooting and extending his range to the NBA three-point line.
Strangers until recently, two former Duke stars ready to handle SF for Heat; Dolphins/Philbin; UM, Heat notes | Sports Buzz
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havoc

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ma3polo said:
Dragic isn't a horrible defender. He can stay in front of his man, and has a large enough frame to check most smaller point guards. Remember, he'd often play at the 2 in PHX.
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I don't know about that, breh. :patrice: The point-guard position in the league is looking extremely scary. :merchant: I never seen so much great talent in the PG before and it is deep as the pool of great big men of the 80s and 90s..:wow:
 
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