Miami Heat: Bam? Jimmy? Who can they least afford to lose?

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This is our great new spots. You're going to hear about them all year. But we want you to go get signed up for the two K tournament. Brady, you playing? I guess so. Never go to him. I never go to him on the on the on the on the intro. Brady's playing. Our guy, Ben Tovey, is playing. Alex is plating. Come, come beat them in two K. I'll be on a camping trip with my daughter. And now today's episode, a couple of stars. We have a fraud just like to say you in trouble. Y'all kept the floor clean. Got an old man. Y'all seen the fly. Stop the one here. And Pat, we trust this. Bob had the guts. We're here to bring the heat. Y'all can hang it up. Welcome to five on the floor. A daily insider show on the Miami Heat and the NBA. Featuring Ethan Skolnick, Greg Sylvander and Alex Toledo, plus others from the five reason sports network. Welcome back to five on the floor on the five reasons sports network, also the five reasons YouTube channel. I'm Ethan Skolnick. You can follow me at Ethan J. Skolnick and the five reasons sports. Apologize for the voice. It's worse than usual. Came down a little bit of a cold. Got Greg Sylvander. You can follow me, Greg Sylvander and Brady Hawk. You can follow me, Brady Hawk 305. I don't want to say that we jinxed everything, but we actually discussed this topic a little bit and then it played right into our hands because what we're going to talk about today and tonight and we still will is who can the Heat least afford to lose? And we're going to go down the entire list. And then there were two injuries today. So let me go through the injury list. This has been reported by Anthony Chang of the Herald, but we have similar information. The first thing is Josh Richardson. Foot injury suffered in the last game is considered day to day. So he had an MRI. It does not appear to be particularly serious. That's good news. We know that Omer Yurtsevin was bothered by a foot injury for quite a while last year, never really got back in the rotation. Heywood Highsmith is a little bit more serious. MCL sprain in his knee. He's going to be reevaluated in two weeks. Reevaluated in two weeks is always that kind of murky thing where you get reevaluated and then maybe you need more time or maybe you need something surgical, although typically with MCLs, you don't. So hopefully for him, this won't be too long. But it is a shame because the guy was playing at a really high level. And actually, I jinxed him this morning on starting five, which you may have heard here on the feed where I said he's been the guy who's popped the most. We talked about who would pop the most in training camp. He's been the one. I mean, Tyler, you make an argument for Tyler Hero. But from where Heywood was to where he is, it's probably Heywood Highsmith. So we're going to go through first thing. Let's talk about these two guys in particular. I guess, Josh, we don't need to spend a lot of time on because it looks like he's going to be around. But I don't think he's going to be a starter. I don't think he was going to be a starter anyway. The way that this was trending. But Heywood, let's get to that. Did you guys expect him to be in the nine man rotation to start the season? Brady? Yeah, I definitely did. I think I've been pretty consistent with my Heywood takes that I felt like he was going to be somebody that even though it was fun to talk about the Hawkeyes and the Ovich's of the world all offseason that Highsmith is more ready right now. And I think the overall improvement that he made in the offseason was clear. And I think that's what you're seeing. Like, it's one thing to be able to be in that defensive conversation where he's just locking that, like putting him on point guards and then putting him on these guys in the playoffs. And then all of a sudden he's guarding Wemby in the preseason. Like he could guard so many different positions. And then you add the fact that he's added a real consistent three point shot. Like his jumper is completely different. It's smooth. I've watched him so many times in these warm ups and training camp and everything. And he rarely misses in an open gym. And then you're seeing it him take contested ones out there in the preseason. It's like, OK, there's something legit. So 100% I remember I said before that I think he's a guy that actually will be closing a lot of games for the Heat. So I even took it a step further. It's not even the rotation. He's a potential closer that they can utilize. So it's a tough break for him. That's kind of the big thing is because he's on such an incline. And then you hit this type of bump and it kind of alters things because then all of us, I'm not saying that somebody's going to take a spot, but then all of a sudden you're two weeks into the regular season and you got guy. Maybe I don't know if it's Jovich or if it's maybe Jamal King gets a standard and he starts playing good. And it's like all of a sudden you get these other guys in front of you that you were just in front of a week ago. And then this little injury messes that up. So we'll see what happens. But I think once he returns, he'll be back kind of in that same range. But definitely a tough, tough blow for him. Yeah, I think people wanted to see him against Boston because they've seen him guard Tatum before. And of course, that's the first road test of the season. I guess this creates an opportunity for Hawkins, but Hawkins has been banged up also. So we haven't really seen him other than that one game and particularly that fourth quarter. So, you know, again, this is why we've said that he'd have depth. There are going to be opportunities for players like Hawkins, Jovich, maybe even Jamal Kane going forward. And that that is the way they built this roster is really for the regular season right now. And then the question is how it converts to the playoffs when the rotations all shrink. But let's start to go through the list now. And I'll start with you here, Greg. And let's start from the very top and let's see if we have any debates about any of this stuff, OK? Who is the guy? Let's do it this way. I'm not going to say out for the season, OK? Because, you know, anybody's out for the season. It causes a total readjustment of what you do. And he'd have had to deal with that before, whether it was Alonzo Mourning or Chris Bosh and play a totally different way. Let's not say out for the season. Let's say somebody misses a month. OK, let's say somebody misses a month. You know, roughly what BAM missed a couple of years ago, which was closer to six weeks, I guess. But we get that four to six weeks diagnosis from about somebody. OK, we don't want to jinx anybody. Who is the player that he can least afford that to happen to? Greg, is it as obvious as it seems or are you going to go the other direction? Well, I mean, I don't know that it's as obvious, but it's BAM on a bio. I hope everybody is clear about that. I mean, if we're talking about getting through a stretch in the regular season, this team as presently constructed, they need BAM. There's just no doubt about that. I think like there can be conversations about seven game series and what Jimmy means, blah, blah, blah. I'm not trying to discount Jimmy Butler at all, but to me, it's BAM out of bio. And truthfully, this is a top heavy like roster offensively in terms of like the there's not a lot of creation, but beyond the top of the roster. So to me, all those guys lumped up at the top, Tyler included, they can't really afford to not to go extended stretches without Jimmy BAM and Tyler, frankly. But BAM out of bio to me is clearly the guy that they can't afford to lose. Jimmy, they're going to have to learn to play without to some degree. BAM's the guy that they don't. You see, I agree with you, but I think when I said it was obvious, I think most people would say it was Jimmy. And if I pulled it, they would probably say it was Jimmy. I think there would still be a lean towards Jimmy Brady. Does it matter? First thing, do you choose the same person? And does it matter at all that it seems like they've fortified things behind BAM a little bit where you wouldn't be starting a Dwayne Deadman or a Cody Zeller, but you'd be starting a Thomas Bryant with Orlando Robinson coming off the bench, most likely, and Kevin Love and Nicole Jovich soaking up some of those minutes. Is that does that change the perspective here at all? Look, I've loved what Thomas Bryant has provided. I think Orlando Robinson is a really interesting project behind him if potentially somebody goes down. But neither one of those guys are close to what BAM Autobio does. Like, they're completely different players. You're talking about a guy that has a walking defensive coverage. And now all of a sudden you're debating if you're going to be in zone or pressing or like doing all these different things to hide him in a way. Or BAM is the guy that you're basically folding everything around usually. So I probably would lean BAM. But I think Tyler is high up on that list. I really do. I think Tyler might. I'm not saying it sounds crazy to like that. We're bumping down Jimmy in a way. But like in the regular season, because I think we're projecting that Jimmy's going to miss a couple of games. You're kind of like going through these gymnastics. But I look at this roster and kind of like what Greg was saying about kind of the top heavy offense and stuff. I look at this and I'm like, if Tyler's out, I already have my questions about this team scoring at certain points. And I'm like, where is the scoring coming from at that point? If you don't have Tyler for a month, like for if you're forming a whole offense around that, you're basically saying we need to shoot 40 percent or plus from three. Like we have to do that, because if not, I don't really know where it's coming from, the overall shot creation. And the question is, are you going to be playing enough three point shooters for that to even happen? And that's why I think that it's an interesting conversation, because a lot of the guys we're talking about that are missing time or potentially plugging in are like a bunch of defensive three D type wings that could plug in different spots, which is a great thing to have. Like you can never have enough of that build. You love that, but it's not replacing what Tyler Hero does. So it's like that is the first one. Honestly, I think that an underrated one, even if if he missed that much time, it's it puts a lot on Jimmy because you're asking him now to play a bunch of games, because if you already have Tyler out, Jimmy can't be taking games off in that month now all of a sudden, because then things could get really rough really quickly. And then you're asking a lot from Jimmy in like a November or February or whenever the heck it happens. Ideally, it does not happen. Let me just say that, because I feel like we're going in a really terrible direction. You're talking about this, but agree. Yeah, as much as I think BAM is kind of the easy answer just because of all the stuff he provides. I think Tyler's really high up there was surprised people because they just made it to the NBA finals without Tyler Hero. Right. So is it because the roster construction has changed enough? And again, without Struce and Vincent, that that's where this would be felt. You know, because we've talked about, OK, we think they have replacements. It does feel like this is where we would start talking about, OK, if you had Max, you know, they were successful with Max in the starting lineup last year. Vincent does some of that in between stuff. Now you don't have those guys. Larry doesn't like to shoot, so you don't really have anybody to replicate the stuff that Tyler does. I wonder if the guy who would step up with Tyler Hero out is Jaime Jaquez. Like, I feel like they would redesign the offense a little bit to create some opportunities for him and see how ready he was to soak those up. But you're right. He's not going to provide the kinds of things that Tyler provides. So before we go to break here and then we're going to get to sort of who's next beyond the top three. Greg, are you ranking it? In other words, you know, one you one you would least like to lose for a month. Bam, Jimmy, Tyler, is that your order or is it Bam, Tyler, Jimmy and Brady the same? I'll go, Bam, Jimmy, Tyler, because I don't want this this episode to go in any weird aggregating fashions. And also to echo what Brady said, like that we're jinxing things here. So we have to be very careful. We're actually doing the opposite. We're doing the opposite. This is true. Good call. Good call. It may not happen, except I just said that if we say it's going to happen, it may not happen, which means it is going to happen. And you know how that works. So, Brady, would you Brady, are you going to be that bold? Are you going to say it's Bam, Tyler, Jimmy? Man, this tough. But the reason I might say Bam, Tyler, Jimmy, just because if Tyler was to miss that time and you compared it to the playoffs like, yeah, they just did it. You're not asking Jimmy Butler to go drop 56 over a month period. Like that puts a lot of pressure where it's like maybe you're better off for Jimmy like rekindling and healing up than putting his whole body on the line for a month straight to make up for Tyler Hero's absence. So I think that's the reason I would lean in that direction in general. So, yeah, Bam, Tyler, Jimmy. I think that's that'll be the aggregated answer. Look at that. All right. Stepping out on a limb there. All right. Here's not stepping out on a limb. The place to call water cleanup of Florida. If you got a leak of any kind, mold, water damage. They're based in Boca Raton. They service the entire tri-county area. Reach out to Michael Robert and his team at WCUFL.com. If something happens or before something happens, get involved in their preventative program, because we know that the insurance companies don't always take care of you after the fact. So reach out to WCUFL.com and that's WCUFL.com fully state certified. Good, good people. We're actually in a fantasy basketball league with them right now, Greg. So we may need to call water cleanup with some of the picks that we made. If you've got the schmutz. They got the guts. I also do want to mention better edge. Use the code five RSN. We've got a couple of things going on there. You get five hours and you get $20 to play, which is always cool. We've got our NFL tournaments every single week. Beat us and you'll win money. It's only $10 to play. So basically we're giving you two free entries. But additionally, there's a contest on there now for the first month and a week of the regular season through the end of November. Answer nine questions about the NBA and the winner is going to win a five reasons piece of merchandise, whichever one they want and a better edge hat. So check that out at better edge.com and again, use the code five RSN. All right. So let's go through the rest. And if we agree that those are the top three, let's make an argument for who's next, because I think this is harder, actually. Because this is a top heavy roster. And there are a lot of guys who do a lot of the same things on this team. There's different groupings, but and different age brackets. But there's a lot of wings. There's a surplus of bigs and there's a shortage of point guards. And that's just the way that it is. So, Greg, for you, who's for who's the guy that can't miss for a month? Oh, man. Timely. Luckily, a source close to Josh said, quote unquote, he's fine. I think it's Josh Richardson. And I say that because after you look at the roster at the top and we get past Jimmy Bam and we get past Tyler, I know everyone wants me to say Caleb Martin or they want me to go with one of the rookies or something like that. But what is the question mark about this team? It's about getting it into offense. It's about handling the ball. It's about or getting organized. Who's going to help with that most other than those guys at the top? I'm not picking Kyle Lowry in this spot. So to me, Josh Richardson is he's that next guy. So I would say Jay Rich is probably the one that they're going to need. It's crazy that he could be in that spot as a veteran minimum signing this summer. Who would have thought? But I think that just with the way the roster played out and the fact that I'm not sold on the guard room beyond Tyler and Josh will say, I think that they need Josh there. Brady, I'm going to do what Greg did not want to do. I think it's Kyle Lowry. I think just past what the reasons you just said, like it was funny hearing you describe like the they cannot lose ball handling and and getting them into offense, all this stuff. And I'm like thinking of Kyle as you're like projecting all of that. It has to be him. Just it's not even about the starting thing. And I know we keep having this starting conversation, but it's like even if he's not the starting point guard, I still think it's him, because I think I'm more worried about what the bench has control of than the starting lineup. Like I just I keep saying that I think Kyle makes so much sense with those guys off the bench because he could set a lot of those guys up. He could put the young guys in position, like especially if these guys like Heywood and all these guys are going to getting these type of injuries. And now the Hawkeyes and the Ovidges are playing. Yeah. Put them out there with Kyle, please, because he's the guy that can kind of get them settled in certain type of look. So I do think it's Kyle. I just think he's had good regular season moments, like even thinking back to his first year, like he had that good December. He's had good kind of runs when guys have gone out that I just it's it's hard to say one thing that you have, like a lack of point guard depth. And it's another thing to say you don't have one point guard. And also about him not missing time for the fans sake. If Kyle doesn't play, I think there's Drew Smith might be the starting point guard. And I know a lot of people will be just they'll be voicing their opinion about that specific lineup. So I was going about him last night was just priceless. I just I it's like they hear it right. Like I I'm trying to figure out. And it's no it's no offense at all, because usually, again, I defer to their developmental program. I defer to their eye. They have more trained eyes than me. I just don't see it. And I was talking to some heat folks have been around for a long time. They're not decision makers, and they don't see it either. I don't know what it is I'm missing, other than like I said, he's supposed says he just kind of makes the right play. But yeah, I just don't know. I'm going to go against both of you guys. Honestly, I I had a feeling Brady was going to go with Kyle. And I do think a case can be made for that because of the point guard situation. I I'm going with Caleb for one reason. I think I think Caleb is the only one on the roster who still who has right now at this moment. OK, because I don't know what Hawkins and Jovich are going to be. And we know what Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry no longer are. Right. Caleb Martin is the one guy who has borderline star potential because we've seen it. We literally just saw it in the Eastern Conference Finals. Like that was a star. Like that was you're talking about the biggest possible stage you could play out in your conference. And he balled out for seven games. He literally made threes in people's faces. Like he just I mean, there's a level that he reached that none of us thought. I mean, we liked him as a back end of the rotation player, thought it was a good pickup, all the rest of that we hit on that early. OK, but not this. But now it's there. And the Caleb is such a kind of quiet confidence about himself and just in talking to him during training camp, like he knows more is in there. And, you know, this little knee injury that he's had, this is not going to be, you know, he's making the trip. So that's a good sign that he's going to be fine. He's the guy who I think can carry them offensively in some spurts. He's I think he's ready to do it. And he did. He literally did without Tyler Hero. Like you asked who stepped up without Tyler Hero last year. It was a little Max. It was a little game. It was a lot of Caleb in the playoffs. So I'm going to say it's Caleb Martin now. Could Jamal Cain get there in a year? Could even Haywood Heisman is a different kind of player in some ways, but he could he was some of the development, but potentially. And Hawkins Jovich, absolutely. There's a ceiling that, you know, is much higher than where they're at right now. But for right now, I would say it's Caleb. And by the way, I I'm going to go against you guys on the opening stuff. And I understand why you're going with them. I get it. It feels a little bit to me like the Bosch thing during the big three years where I would say that's our most important player. And the case could be made because when LeBron or Dwayne was out, particularly Dwayne, LeBron would just, you know, take over Dwayne's duties a lot of times and vice versa because they operate the same spots on the floor. But Bosch was sort of irreplaceable. And so I understand the BAM argument. But here's the thing, right? At this point, particularly because they've upgraded the front court at this point, like losing Jimmy Butler after for a month or more after not getting the help in the offseason would be so deflating because it would just bring back the you expected Jimmy to carry you again. You didn't, you know, protect yourself for his departure. And now here he's out. And how are you going to rally the troops? And he is the emotional center of this team. Even if he doesn't want to be the, quote unquote, leader, I think would be so deflating. And look, they got by without them a couple of years ago. I mean, they did. I mean, it wasn't ideal. But they they patched it together for a little while. Kyle had a lot to do with that, by the way, with during that period of time. But I just to me, it's it's Jimmy until proven otherwise. Although I respect your guys views on that, I do. And I thought about going that direction. And when you both did, I said, I'm not going to do it, too. All right. Thanks to our sponsors. Rock Esports again. Check out our two K tournament and live watch party. I just want to see, you know, I'm not going to be there, but I want to see how Alex handles all this stuff at the same time. It's going to be fun to watch for whoever's there. October 27, Celtics heat and play two K afterwards. That's not bad. But if they lose, look, I mean, you can win. So that's how this works out. And also water cleanup in Florida. If you got the guts or if you got the schmutz, they got the guts. Have a good night, everybody. Thank you for listening to the five on the floor on the five. We do sports network.