Miami Heat: Has Bam Adebayo hit his "ceiling"? | Five on the Floor

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bubble frog just like Buck said you in trouble y' check the FL got it all B y'all the block stop with one hand and trust is have the guts we 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 scholet Greg sander and Alex Toledo plus others from the five reasons Sports Network welcome back to five on the floor here's today's floor plan I'm Ethan SC and follow me Ethan J SK in five Reon Sports we got GRE slander you can follow him at Greg slander and today we're going to talk bam and we have to because he's struggling there's no way around it we're not going to color that any other way and I part of what we're going to get into is the heat Twitter reaction to him because there were a couple of tweets that came at me last night I see everything by the way I do I probably shouldn't say that because uh that will encourage people to send me more ridiculous stuff but I always scroll through okay it's just it's a habit of mine for the past few years and there are a couple of people on there who have this thing where they don't think I criticize bam they're like why don't you go with bam the way you go with Tyler and Jimmy which to me is funny I I the Tyler I mean let's start with the Jimmy thing okay we practically declared him a God so I I don't I don't know you know when when I tweet out something the effect of see what happens when Jimmy engages it's because when he engages they're really good because he's really good it's not a criticism of him as a human being or anything like that or even as a basketball player it's more so this is what this team needs like they need Jimmy Butler to be engaged as much of the time as possible because he's their best freaking player okay let's start there second one Greg is on Tyler I don't know where this is started because I'm the one that literally put my bet for six man of the year out there for him okay the year that he was the six-man which thank you Tyler for helping me cash and uh and since then I've been the one like criticizing those who criticize him for being injury prone in quotes when most of his injuries have been as a result of freak incidents accidents whatever or hustling like going for a loose ball we criticize here when we have to we feel we have to because we don't want you to feel that we're blind to everything else we're just carrying water for every player and person in the organization okay but we try to be a little bit more nuanced so the BAM thing like I don't think I've been any more critical of Tyler or Jimmy than I have been of bam when bam hasn't played well but Greg okay the person who coined no ceiling and I should have worn the shirt and that shirt is in our site I I I I think that the BAM stuff has to be put in the context of what he's expected to do for this team that most players around the league are not expected to do for theirs okay no one is expected Luca donic to lock someone up defensively call out the defensive signals make sure everybody's in the right place honestly no one expects LCA to play any defense at all and the reality is although I think he's a better Defender than people give him credit for nobody expects that of jic either and ENB nobody talks about his defense yes he's a very good Defender when he's engaged on that end but everybody talks about him scoring 33 to 35 points a game and whether or not he's going to be healthy for the playoffs bam is a different type of player than other players in the top 25 in the league and he is in the top 25 in the league so I just put that into some context so when I tweet out something like from NBA University where they're talking about the 10 responsibilities that bam has to hold this thing together I'm not like saying it's okay for bam to play like crap on the other end which is what he's done the past two games which is a big reason they lost both I'm just saying like understand okay something else comes first for him with this team because when he was out we saw they were giving up like 145 to Indiana they need him for that so Greg I'm Gonna Let You Go on your thing and I'm not going to read out the tweets today because there's one guy literally who came at me last night and then I went through his timeline and his last 50 tweets or replies are calling bam a loser he bleeps he this I can't deal with those people okay I can deal with people who want to make a nuanced argument you want to make a statistical argument even if it's an eye test argument I'm fine with that but there are agendas and somebody said this today on Twitter of course and I agree with this or maybe it was on our Discord where we tend to have a little bit more elevated conversation okay which is that there is a cottage industry of Heat fans who hate their own players there is like they just hate their own players like they are that they are hero stands or bam stands doesn't Jimmy nobody really hates Jimmy but there's there's just there's an industry of people they just don't like and this goes back to the big three era because I for all the Heat fans who are jumping down people's throats about Chris Bosch now okay because by the way Chris Bosch was the most important player Eric spol said it LeBron James said it you not has said he was the most important player because there was no duplicative skill set on that team that's why he was the most important player it's not because he was better than Dwayne or Lebron it's because of what UD said that Dwayne until he went the other way injury-wise could do some of the things that LeBron did and vice versa nobody could do what Chris did so that's where there was but he fans jumped all over Jeff Teague for that and some of those same he fans I am sure were in my mentions for those four years ripping BOS apart the way that they RI bam apart because to me they are the most similar in terms absolutely fans view them so I'll let you go so everyone thinks I am constantly defending bam and I do and part of it is because I remember the Chris Bosch experience and I'm glad that you went there because that's where I was going to start is that um there's a reason why Eric spola why why he gets uh defensive when people ask questions about both of those guys uh and when he says things like you know like so that's something that someone with the untrained eye would say or just the the different things like that because I think these two players Bosch in his role in Miami specifically and Bam what they do transcends the box score let's let me level set by saying bam has not played well lately he looks like he's lost confidence he looks like he is um I will say that although he's lost confidence he hasn't lost his aggressiveness and he used to just go into a shell and not shoot and we would be begging for him to shoot well he's still shooting um 15 field goal attempts a game he's just dipped between behind 20 points per game after last night's loss where he you know was abysmal we can acknowledge all of that and not sayoh my gosh Evan MO is better than Chris or better than bamat bio or bamat bio can in no way be the second best player on a title contending team I just don't think that there's anything that showed us that that's the case I mean the heat of if bam is not good enough to be the second best player on a contender then what are all these other guys who aren't advancing further than Miami uh and where do they rank and so I I just think it gets a little out of hand when we start to uh get hyperfocused on a bad stretch of games by one player it happens with Tyler I've been critical of Tyler um and it's I'm more critical of players than I am of bam because I think there's so much that he's having to clean up for and maybe this becomes a roster construction conversation maybe it becomes how do you help bam so that he doesn't have to take such a burden on on one end of the floor where there's nothing left on offense on certain nights particularly if he's lost lost confidence and then there's just a part of going through a season where sometimes you have a bad stretch it's okay to be in a slump and come out of it how do guys come out of it they play through it they're gonna continue to play through bam he's not a player that's gonna get um you know someone else you can't duplicate what he does just like you said about Chris BOS so I think that that ultimately means that he's got to play through it no no in no way shape or form am I saying bam should get a pass they need him to play better I just think on the road at Dallas at Oklahoma City is not when we should get existential as it relates to bamat of Bio I just think it's completely off the- wall and um and ultimately I think that you're gonna see him turn this around rather quickly he better turn it around rather quickly and to the last point about us not being critical of guys I feel like we've often we we've been pretty objective about all all Heat players throughout this season and and I say that because when Jimmy has not given his all we've called it out when Tyler has not fit or um appears as if there's certain things he could be doing differently with the ball out of his hands we've called it out when bam is struggling we're calling it out so I think that there is a perception that we do carry water a little bit more than maybe we did at one time you know there's a difference between Lefty life with the Godfather ABY and Greg Vander on five on the floor and so I know that I'm uh going on here but there is a little bit of a I think that a reputation um precedes me when it comes to just blindly uh blindly backing these guys but bam is a little bit of a different story for me just like Chris Bosch was and just like Chris Bosch is in retrospect now when he wasn't back at that time glad you made that point about where we've had to come because you and I started on Polar Opposites of this thing where I was journalist objective uh you're not supposed to carry water for anybody in that position I mean I was a classically trained journalist as they said say okay I went to you know the journalism school that holds all the you know all this journalistic principles up you know I went to Columbia New York and it's you your objective that's the way you do it well the ground shifted under my feet right like first thing newspapers died uh that's part of it so obviously they were kind of the culture carriers of objectivity or they were supposed to be I mean they are you know they're basically and no no offense to those who are still working at them I worked at newspapers for 20 years but we we know they're kind of you know they're they're they're dead entities walking at this point uh or or crawling okay so um that changed and the other thing that changed it uh was ESPN changed it because they started allowing their commentators to openly root like Michael wilbon was was a bulls fan like we knew that uh skip bis uh you know roots for the Cowboys okay all that so the objectivity thing which I always thought was a little bit stupid honestly on the sports end um it's not like I think objectivity matters when covering political stuff obviously that doesn't exist now either okay because we're so polarized and we've got Fox News on one side and MSNBC on the other but the the the thing was always again you don't root for teams um that's why you don't you can't wear team gear in the Press Box that's why you're not supposed to take pictures with the players that's why I don't have with the exception of when they were retired I don't have pictures with any of the players um so I I do think that that's changed the other thing is changed that there's entities like ours because I think we've kind of gone the direction of and I I Have This this term trademark fist okay where it's kind of in the middle right where where it's you know Brady was a fan you were a fan Alex was a fan okay that's where that's where you guys came from now you're more analyst so you've come a little bit on the Spectrum here closer to the middle and I have two from the other direction I would say we're probably if you say a scale of one to 10 whereas on objectivity maybe you guys were a one and I was a 10 now maybe you guys are a three and I'm a six or seven I think that's because because I acknowledge and with this network and this is the network as a whole of five reasons is that fans want to hear from people who care they they don't they don't want it to be uh you know just journalist who doesn't you know isn't doing anything but reporting what they see and that's it uh because they want to know that and collecting a check right like they want to know that there's some investment in it okay so I'm invested in this team I don't root for them maybe the way that some of the others in network to but I'm invest it's good for the network when they're good okay it's good for the network when they're compelling um and so I'm rooting for a story and I'm rooting for us to be honest okay and and we're we're better when the heat are better okay when they're go they're making deep playoff fronts so so I say all of that before we sort of dive into bam here more specifically to say that uh I want bam to succeed I I like bam personally I'm sorry I'm I'm a human being I I like him I like the way that he carries himself for the franchise um I like what he represents I love the relationship he has with his mother and that he's so public about it I love his story I like I just like the way he treats people okay I like I mean I I had my my daughter with me because I had her you know one day and they were training up at FAU uh you know and and I had her with me and so you know I asked the he could I bring her and you know I have a photo of you know her bam bringing her over to have a conversation with her he's just a good person like I and so yes I wanted him to succeed shoot me okay but we're also we're also gonna dive into it he has sucked the last two games like just sucked like he's been awful I and I and I don't know if it's he's again he's in his head um like like you said like Brady has said it may be some of that and some of it is there are things that are going wrong and then it leads to something mental so it starts with the physical and all that and there are legitimate things and I think this is a discussion we need to have about bam ceiling because you and whether we're expecting too much okay and maybe we are partially responsible for that so you have coined the phrase no ceiling right I see a ceiling in certain places right now okay but I see a ceiling he can crash through but again like you mentioned it's not that he's not shooting his shot attempts this year are exactly by the way Pat Riley said and Bam said two years ago they wanted his shot attempts to be at 15 you know where he's at right now 15 exactly 15.0 on the dot last year he was 14.9 okay so he's continuing to shoot his efficiency is down and I don't like his shot diet okay his efficiency is down he's gone from he won't shoot the mid-range and SPO has talked about that okay about the improvements he's made and Brook Lopez uh and everything that happened with that right the Catalyst for him changing the way that he plays where now it's like all he does and and I and and he does it even when he's not in Rhythm and I would like to see him do more towards the basket but if he's going to do more towards the basket and this is where the ceiling is well as our Gad Carana pointed out on playback the other night we welcome you to join us during the game because we do this in real time he needs a left hand like yeah like he he needs to be able to finish with his left uh he needs to be decisive and you know around the basket he needs at times not to hold the ball so low because teams I I I mentioned that a couple years ago the teams were were were uh were you know basically they were locked into that he puts the ball down they're going to strip it okay and I think he's got a little bit better at that but what I'm saying is you can say he has a ceiling and he's kind of bumped against it but there I do think with work there are things he can still crash through to get to another level and I think they need him to okay and and I think that's a reasonable criticism to have and I think when he does struggle he has to stay out of his own head and I that's what concerned me about this last game was uh he just looked like he was forcing everything like you say he goes the other direction and I think part of it is roster construction he does not have a backup center on this team that they trust okay so Kevin Love is the only one he they've had to do it by necessity they have missed Kevin desperately since he's been out okay so Kevin is a huge part of this team and uh they it's this problem where they can't really survive the non bam he went to yic SPO went to yic in the game this last one which is what Brady and we all suggested that he do he did that uh and they had slightly better results than putting Thomas Bryan out there and he doesn't seem to trust Orlando Robinson But ultimately yes they do need to address that position I don't think that uh I I I don't because Kevin's you know in his mid to late 30s like I I I don't think that something you have to draft high for something like that but they have to do a better job of developing bigs and I you know that's it I mean they've managed to mine they have a certain prototype that they do very well with developmentally and I'm not talking about the guys they draft like bam or Tyler okay so I understand they've developed those guys I'm talking about the guys who were nothing that they create something out of there's a long line in the organization particularly recently of wings and go uh that they've been able to do this with the high Smiths Caleb Martens Etc uh there's and Shooters okay they are very good at that we'll see what Sider becomes okay um they have struggled a little bit more to develop point guards and bigs and you know people are going to point to wh side he would kind of be the last one that really popped before that' be Joel Anthony I guess before that maybe UD there's a long line of those guys and most of them are gonna fail okay but they haven't I don't think they I don't Orlando Robinson has not become I think what maybe they hoped he would be this year and so it looks like the search continues for that and I do think that puts pressure on bam because bam 's minutes have to be impactful two ways when he's out there because when he's not out there and if it's not Kevin okay who can come in for him they're going to lose ground and and I so I think a lot of these things have come together and plus again team scouting the fact that bam won't use his left hesitates sometimes brings the ball down too low doesn't seem to have a ton of post moves and then we're saying this Greg and I'll go to you now we say he doesn't have a ton of moves and then we were praising him three games ago it just three games ago for this oh my God he used that spin late in the game to finish off a game like it's in there some it's like it's not like he's athletically incapable of it but he's not showing it on a consistent basis you know when I said no ceiling I there's a part of me that loves that nickname and I think that it's so applicable for him because there are so many elements of his game that do not have a ceiling and particularly on the side of the ball that you can't quantify as easily on defense but also understand where people are never going to let me live that down I constantly get in my mentions well bam has a ceiling listen folks like of course every human being has some sort of a ceiling like what are we doing here are you really taking it that literally where you have to come and remind me that there's a chance that this basketball player could potentially have a ceiling every player has some sort of a ceiling um you know like it's where people get a little bit too literal there and it just sounds ridiculous frankly for me to even have to argue the point I just think this is a scenario where uh they got to get him in in good spots where he can convert but he's got to make the buckets there's also been a lot of bunnies he's been missing lately and so there are things that he needs to look inward for but I think without anybody off the bench for him right now they've clearly miscalculated what Thomas Bryan or Orlando Robinson could provide I thought Orlando would pop when he was on our show I said directly after that show that guy's going to be the backup center here because it appeared as if he really understood what he was supposed to be coming here and doing it hasn't translated and I don't know why but I think that it's just if you look at everyone else in the roster like let's look at Jimmy they have a carbon copy of him that is so close that they're doing commercials together where they have one following the other there's nobody like that like with bam aob bio and so I just think they kind of tried though didn't I mean they tried with a guy who actually had a big game for the Knicks last night they they kind of tried with precious like I I mean a a different and and they paid for it right because they didn't take Maxi which they could have had a carbon copy well it didn't turn exact but in terms of pedigree they could have had a Caron copy of 14 right um in Maxi who might have you know supplanted 14 yeah actually uh but they they went after we were calling him bam to now he's a totally different player than bam as as he's evolved he's more of a three-point shooter obviously he's nowhere near the uh defensive player uh that that bam is but that was I think kind of the point was to have because we we were even discussing I remember asking Pat the question can can bam and precious play together and he's like well that'll be something for SPO but that's something that we we would look at and all the rest of that but they I I think the initial plan was precious was going to emerge as Bam's backup at least as a small ball five you know in those lineups and of course they traded him for Kyle and and sort of the rest his history but um yeah I mean they they they do they do like certain prototypes uh it's just hard to find a ban prototype like that that's the thing and and I and I think doesn't that make the point like doesn't that make the point that he's a unique special player that like it's very hard to find someone who can replicate any of the things that he does right and and it's kind of like it's like CB and it's kind of like a quarterback right so when you have a starting quarterback and you want to bring in someone to back him up or you draft somebody you know you try to to bring in somebody who does some of the same things so that you don't have to start you know you don't have to totally change right like like I never really understood like the Dolphins and McDaniel's thinking on his backups uh for Tua because I don't know that Mike White runs stuff the same way that Tua does Bridgewater certainly didn't um you know but you know you look at like if I'm Baltimore right now you got Lamar Jackson like Justin Fields is out there like you know I mean probably paying too much to get him but you can understand my point like Justin Fields maybe goes to a place like Philadelphia plays behind Herz okay there you know if Herz gets hurt which has happened like Justin Fields could probably come in and run a lot of that stuff but it's hard to find these fa similes and I it's very hard to find one of bam he is in a lot of ways one of one um and I think again when we say stuff like that fans take it as okay we're saying he's the best player on the team or he's infallible and we're not saying that we're it's the same thing with Bosch okay no Chris BOS was not the best player on the big three heat he might have been the second best at times he was not when Dwayne started break down he was not the best we know who the best was okay the heat got LeBron at the peak of his powers I still feel 1213 was the best LeBron ever you can give me the 16 Cavs year I still think it was 12 13 and I saw it every day home and Road okay but they were lost when Chris BOS was out and for those who are making the point I just want to tie the bow on this because it's been annoying me about Twitter the past couple days like yes people are making the point of the Indiana Series in 2012 I was right there okay uh where Bosch went out and LeBron and Dwayne went nuts in the last three games and I've said that's the best I've ever seen LeBron and Dwayne play together they had to do that because they didn't have Bosch okay they had to because SPO was playing he tried seven seconds of Dexter Pitman okay and everybody else until it was like just effing okay here LeBron Dwayne and Dwayne had Dwayne was you know in his own head we about guys being in their own head Dwayne was in his own head during that series he had to go visit Tom creen he had to go get his knee shot up all kinds of different things that he had to do just to get back on the floor and then he and LeBron went nuts don't use that as an example that they didn't need Chris Bosch okay please okay they desperate that's all we talked about how are they going to replace Bosch and they were struggling in that Series against Boston in part because BOS shouldn't have been playing he was playing with a torn rib cage uh muscle or whatever and and they he was not himself at that point and they tried to get it to the finish line and then of course LeBron went nuts in game six and then they won game seven so I I I don't want out of state Heat fans telling me what I saw I was right there okay they needed Chris Bosch he was incredibly important and Bam is important now I want to go to a sponsor and then I want to get into something you said earlier because I wantan I'm gonna challenge you on this a little bit because you said about BOS on the BOS conversation about bam being the second best player and whether you can be a contending team in that circumstance I want to uh I want to get into that next before we do want to a great sponsor of the five reasons Sports Network our friends over at tub culture you can find them at shop culture.com this is handcrafted bath and body care products local business support local business but it's just really cool stuff check out the site seriously before you're done here if you have a significant other this is perfect for you trust me okay shop culture.com again that's shopt culture.com we're also not that far away from Mother's Day so you want to get the gifts early although they do come quick quickly in terms of delivering but you should get it now shopt culture.com they got uh bath bombs all this kind of stuff check it out and it's really unique stuff too okay I've mentioned the beer bath bombs there's just there's a lot of stuff there check it out uh shopt culture.com use code 5 FIV and you'll get 10 uh excuse me uh 10% off your order of $20 or more all right I want to give you something here you ready let's go first thing I'm gonna say this from a very start you cannot argue he can't be a top two player on a contending team because he has been correct so that's okay you're not gonna argue that but I'm saying that for the general public but when you when you made it to two finals and an Eastern Conference Finals within a shot of going to a third finals in four years you've proven you can be and you probably would have won the championship if you hadn't got if he hadn't got hurt uh in in the finals against the Lakers okay if he and drag him been healthy I still think they win that final so nobody can argue he can't be a top two but let's see where he ranks against other number twos Jaylen Brown the second best player on Boston yes bam or Jil I mean I'm taking bam but people are gonna say that and you'll be surprised I may not take bam on all these but I'm taking bam in that circumstance strictly for the defensive side of the basketball all right bam or Dame Dame although they're not going anywhere by the way no not at all I mean like if we were to unpack Milwaukee I don't think that they have a run in them but if we're just doing individual players come on Dame is I mean he's D I don't know how they lost that game any okay um bam or Maxi Bam Bam or moyallen Garland next bam or B B bam or Julius Randall next I mean we are arguing Julius Randall is their second best player right yeah correct I would think yeah behind Jaylen Brenson he's the second guy all right are there any other contenders in the East that I've missed here I is not indad is not a contender but you taking bam or seak I'm taking bam okay um Orlando France Vagner or bam I'm taking bam right now yes right now yeah right fron has got a pretty good upside but it's a different kind of upside but yes right all right so so we we've covered these bam or current Paul George um that's a tough one I fans want to kill Paul George right now I I don't he's been in I love Paul George I wish I mean to me if if Clippers want to get rid of him they he want to make a run in him I'm fine with that but right current Paul George I think he's ranked higher than bam if we were to just rank NBA players straight down the line okay bam or Booker uh I think Booker's ranked a little bit higher than bam the West is where this gets dicey well that's gonna be my uh Booker um when we're saying Booker are second best player still right I mean I yeah as long as KD is breathing right correct bam or Jamal Murray oh that's a fun one [ __ ] uh you gotta go Jamal Murray because he's won a championship I I would I would go Jamal uh um you know why I would go Jamal it it's part of it is fit honestly like I I don't think you could argue as much success as bam and Jimmy have had that anybody any duo in the league fits as well as yic and Murray do and it's not it's not just on the court skill set although a lot of it is that it's also just personality they just are that's why that's why the NBA media doesn't know how to cover them there's no Strife there's no drama it's just like they're just two guys who know how to play they get along play and be quiet I'm a big Jamal Murray admirer I just think I think he's great you know where this is heading um it's almost like bam can be the second best player on a championship team but I don't know that he can be the second best offensive player on a championship team that's what's resonating with me as you're going through these players I well I I I have another thought on it but let's finish it because I I think you're headed somewhere bam or current Chad I'm sticking with bam for now but that could change in time Chad is really impressive so is so is jayen there that team is oh my God if they we were talking about this on playback last night like if they pres cash in some of those first round picks for one more star I wonder what it would be and people are talking about embiid I don't know what the fit is there but shoot you could trade two first round picks and throw Kawai in that mixer I I there's just I don't know they're going to be people better beat them now I I I know everybody said that about OKC with Harden uh obviously with Harden joined Durant and and they hit on all those picks with Westbrook Etc uh and they had a Baka and for a little while they had Jeff Green but you bet but that was blown up because the owner didn't want to pay Harden and it was cheapness and all if they're willing to pay these guys as they come you better beat them now because I there's we're looking at a lot of Denver OKC uh Western Conference finals and uh so sorry Steve a agree suck it um sabonis he had the worst play I've never seen a guy shrink in the playoffs the way he did last year uh I'm taking bam all day and twice on Sundays current ad ad although Bam's outplayed him when they played against each other he has but I do know that in the finals and Bam was hurt and also in some matchups uh ad's mix of offense and defense it it that gives bam some trouble I bet if you asked bam his toughest covers ad would be a top the list and also I mean on Team USA I think ad will end up starting at center with bam as the primary backup and so I'm gonna try to be objective here and say Ad they've also won a championship by the way no I I I'll give you ads above it a cat oh you know I'm never taking Carl Anthony Towns over bamat bio I I value defense too much to do that people will point at Stats and offense and I understand all that there's no way that a that bam doesn't contribute to winning more than Carl Anthony towns in my book Ingram bam still Ingram hasn't blossomed he hasn't got to that point hasn't been on that stage yeah or McCullum take your pick uh Kyrie current Kyrie the whole package too I mean everything he brings that's where I lean ban because you just have less crap going on and um you would think a team with him and Luca would be the one seed in the west and they're just not so I mean if you're going off Talon alone it's Kyrie but it's not Talon alone with Kyrie and then the final one this is a hard one to figure out because they've this guy was never really considered their second best player but because of declines of others and defections I guess it' be Draymond with the Warriors I guess right now I mean it's becoming kaminga obviously yeah yeah that I mean I'm still taking bam over all those guys I feel like that's the like bam is the exact player that if Golden State could acquire to kind of like breathe life back into that they would love to do that so I'm saying Bam's probably their perfect player uh so there's no one on that roster outside of Steph that I think should be ranked ahead and those are the 10 teams that are the top 10 in the west right now um Memphis obviously if job was healthy we'd be talking about Triple J uh and others Bam's ahead hit him also and he's dominating him when he's playing so I'm going through this okay the only team in the East where the number two is clearly better than bam more impactful than bam and again this is if we're leaning towards the offensive part of this is Dane that's it okay now in the west different conversation okay where you know we Booker Murray Anthony Davis I mean those would be the ones that we would talk about here I guess right I mean others might say cat others might say Kyrie and sometimes like in Oklahoma City's boat their three and their four are so good that it makes the two conversation harder to have and then their one is absolutely dominant I think he should be the MVP this year so there is Nuance to this but you're right you've you've narrowed it down I mean I I think Jaylen may end up being their second best player we we'll see um but they yeah they're they're they're just so loaded so here's what I here's where I come down on B absolutely can be the second best player on an Eastern Conference Champion like absolutely first thing we've seen it okay twice almost three times and we're saying even now he's still the second best number two in the Eastern Conference right the issue is the team you're going to see out west right you're right but like that's not this is not a way to disparage bam to say he can't be your number two I mean look all these teams of the East are going to struggle against who comes out of the West even Boston which we just saw what happened when Boston went into Denver so I'm just trying to add a little bit of nuance to this like to say that bam has gone through a bad stretch that he's in his head that he needs to learn to use his left hand he needs not to hold the ball so low he needs to be quicker and more decisive in the post okay all of those things are legitimate and he needs to snap out of it freaking quickly okay amen like now and probably will against Washington okay I know he's been a little banged up so I'm assuming he's playing but probably will and then every's gonna say well it's just the wizards but I you know but he probably will bounce out of it and then he's gonna see jic next week and we're gonna have this whole conversation all over again but he absolutely needs to be better and the reason he needs to be better is because they are so damn relying on him and they are so damn relying on him because he's a really good unique player right yeah okay and if they get to the finals and they go against one of these teams where he's not the best number two on the floor they probably will lose and everybody will say well they've wasted Jimmy's window and all this I don't know maybe it's the new fan in me I'll take the finals run okay and if this is a guy who sucks I'll I'll live with that yeah hey Pat Riley has everyone always says um winning or misery it's champ chionship or bust Pat Riley has always said since he's been in Miami we want to compete for championships compete for championships that's what the goal is it's not obviously there's winning or there's misery but you just want to be in the conversation where you got a shot at it and to even argue that you don't have a shot at it when bam is there is crazy and I think that that's part of why he is the culture carrier why he's kind of the torchbearer of the organization to some degree as UD and dwade file away it's because they know if you have bam you're already got a foundational piece that leads typically to winning basketball and so that's just where I come down ultimately um there was conversations on whether you need more scoring around bam or different kinds of players around bam so that you can ultimately get over the hump once you reach the finals that's a different conversation but I think them finals runs we shouldn't take for granted go ask a magic fan go ask a hornet fan about finals runs and they'll tell you very quickly that they would take bamat bio in the Miami Heat success rate well it's kind of like what uh SPO said you mentioned um being I mean SPO said it flat out he says we think we're one of those teams and they think they're one of those teams largely because they're anchored by Jimmy and Bam and regardless of fit which we've talked about it it's rare to have your two best players r on three-point shooters although Jimmy I guess is trying to change the narrative on that um and I'm okay with Bam's shot diet maybe going down a little bit even as much as we talked about him remaining aggressive and getting up to 15 but for that to happen then other guys need to be more efficient to make up for it we saw haime hakz last night okay like if you guys's gonna shoot 10 of 12 10 of 13 uh I'm okay with him taking more shots if Tyler comes back and he can get in a Groove where there's a little bit more efficiency there and he's getting to the line more often then I'm okay with that if Duncan uh you know who who you know finally kind of had a little bit of a clunker game after he's he's played so well of late is gone for it I'm I'm fine with running Duncan bam you know dhos that end up with Duncan 3es okay or even Duncan midies at this point uh or going to the rack but what I'm not okay with is is the All or Nothing nature of these conversations they just kind of drive me insane and and for those again I'm I'm I don't know if I'll be alive in 10 12 years when bam in the Hall of Fame uh but it when that happens ultimately um all these people who are tweeting 50 straight times bam sucks he can't play he can't this don't be defending him against the Boston writers then okay can say he doesn't belog there can I finish the show with one thing yes no ceiling have a good day everybody thank you for listening to the five on the floor on the five reason Sports Network After All someone needs to listen to my dad