ASK IRA: How much Heat stock should be put in summer Lowry, Butler, Adebayo?
Q: Seeing summer video clips of Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo jacking up jumpers hints that they got the message of being able to space the floor to some extent.– Leonard, Cornelius, N.C.. A: Which is all well and good. Or, in some cases, as in the Miami Pro League, highlight videos from spectators.
Q: Seeing summer video clips of Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo jacking up jumpers hints that they got the message of being able to space the floor to some extent. – Leonard, Cornelius, N.C.
A: Which is all well and good. But converting jumpers and 3-pointers in an empty gym or during pick-up scrimmates is far different than doing it against NBA-level closeout defense. Yes, it is heartening that the three are working at an element so essential to the Heat’s needs. But remember that it’s not as if a player ever is going to go to his social media to display his missed shots, extra body fat and careless ballhandling. So what you basically get to see are self-edited summer highlights. Or, in some cases, as in the Miami Pro League, highlight videos from spectators (rarely are there posts of failure). So Enjoy. And then true judgment will come during camp and the preseason.
Q: I think Miami learned in the Shaquille O’Neal trade, trading your future for a championship and a two-year contender is not exactly the best thing. We got the chip, but weren’t very good soon after and wasted some of Dwyane Wade’s best years. I prefer to let the team we have play their hardest and let the chips fall where they may. – John, Ocala.
A: Actually, I think the way the NBA, and most professional sports, works is that it is all about that two-year window, that you work to create such a moment. So, no, I don’t fault the move for Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 at the cost of Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, Caron Butler and a first-round pick. But, to your point, Dwyane Wade was 22 in 2004. Now, Jimmy Butler is 32 and Kyle Lowry is 36, which is why you have to live in the moment.
Q: Don’t the Heat have to give Omer Yurtseven rotational minutes this season to see if he could be another Nikola Jokic? – Bob, Davie.
A: Or they simply can run back the core that got them within one victory of the NBA Finals. Omer Yurtseven, like a typical backup quarterback in the NBA, appears to have more outside interest than inside the coaching suite.
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