107 Comments

Interesting tidbit from Manso:

Will Manso

This is maybe the wildest number from all of this. Pat Riley has been involved in a quarter of all NBA finals. The first finals were in 1947. 1947!!!

3 as player, 10 as coach, 6 as executive.

The Godfather 👏

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the og has been in 7 finals thats about 1 every 3 years 33% ratio,the miami dolphins have been to 0 superbowls since maybe 1984.the panthers until this year 1.no current baseball team im aware of.this is a heat town since the godfather arrived.shula was the og of sports down here but this is a heat town now,thanks pat dont know where we'd be w/o u .lgh

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Some poetic scores indicating the toughness of the competition as the stage series progressed.

Heat vs Celtics. 4- 3

Heat vs Knicks. 4 -2

Heat vs Bucks. 4 -1

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only score left 4 0

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Gonna need 9 game series vs Nuggets?

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Or maybe we can sweep? Haha!

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joker will get a ring not on jimmys time.joker this is your first year in finals have some patience u will get one eventually but teams on their first visit to the finals very rarely win.theres no stopping jimmy joker

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pay gabe pat or else boston might try to get him.if they had gabe and we had smart i believe they would have won

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The Heat are capped out. It's possible this is the last few games we see Gabe and Max wearing Heat uni's. If that happens, I won't be sad they're gone, I'll be happy for their success. I think between Gabe, Duncan, Max, Caleb, Whitside, Airplane Mode, and a few I'm probably forgetting, the Sioux Falls Skyforce alumni team could compete for an NBA title

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Rodney McGreatness 😀.

I’d be happy for them too and proud of the organization for their excellent development program. I’m hoping the next group will include more Highsmith, along with Yurt, Cain, and Orlando Robinson.

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rec for McGOATer!

Agreed, Highsmith and Yurt are already the next wave of Skyforce alumn coming up through the pipeline. Technically also Jovic. Am I crazy to hope the Heat trade their first round pick for a package of undrafted g-leaguers?

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cant keep them all good problem to have

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I’ve read Lakers are interested

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not sure how much we can offer gabe but id rather have gabe than ty

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I would rather trade Herro for someone like VanVleet. Gabe is too inconsistent and not a high assist man. I would keep Gabe as rotation player/back-up combo guard, if Lowry can be traded.

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I’ll wait for post season to go deeper, but I love the idea of VanVleet!

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gabe is bad on d but quick and shooting is good,so lowry played alot last game in second half and did alot of good things with his big rear end,pf body with 6 foot frame.kyle moves people with that big tukas

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Too early to talk about trade with NBA final games coming up. Trade talk may dampen players morale, most of whom will like to wear Heat's uniform next season. I'm sure the players and their agents know the reality. See no good rubbing it in early for them.

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If both Herro and Vincent were available to be traded (Vincent is unrestricted), Herro would bring back much more in a trade. It may not be your preference, but we’ll soon see the proof when Vincent is offered a contract.

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after the playoffs not sure about that.pg prob most important position.ty herro for me is grayson allen who shoots twice as much

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I started to write an answer, but instead, I’ll wait until after the finals. I have a number of thoughts what the Heat could do post season.

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right lets concentrate on the denver series for now

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i think theres more calebs down the pipeline (hh cain) i think will be good nba players if given the oppty

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I believe that Denver poses very different match-up requirements, and perhaps we may even find that some of the ways Boston took advantage of our weaknesses, are not quite as exposed by Denver. And, in other ways, Denver will be more difficult. Overall, the challenges Denver brings are somewhat equivalent to the Celtics, albeit different. I am saying that I think the Nuggets are no better than Boston.

One differece, is Love or Zeller, particularly Zeller, might be able to get effective rotation minutes in this series. If either of them or both can be of service, it might not be a big factor, but it would help our efforts. I could see Zeller's height and reach being possibly able to slightly slow Jokic who, though deadly effective, doesn't move at the speed of light.

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One area of concern for me is I don’t think zone will be effective against them. Jokic is a great passer and can see over anybody even from 3 point range. And he can shoot the 3 - that last second 3 against LeBron was in the ‘you gotta be kidding me’ category.

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That was an amazing shot.

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I have the same concern. I think Jokic will murder the Heat zone

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porter murray kcp are all pretty good shooters but its jimmys time

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Also, their size. They have a huge frontcourt .

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6’11”, 6’10”, 6’8”.

We are 6’9”, 6’7”, 6’5”

Definitely have our work cut out for us, but I don’t count out this crazy team of ours.

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porters not really a banger.karate kid and gordon need to be boxed out.lowrys fat ass is great at clearing players out.only concern is jokics size therefore might need to give zeller and yert some run.if yert got some run think id faint

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yeah i really like the Caleb vs Porter matchup. A super talented lottery pick with a 9 figure contract that's never proven anything? Seems like fresh meat to me!

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Very doubtful that Yurt gets any minutes, barring injuries.

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who guards jokic bam to small

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Seems like the perfect opportunity to give UD some run!

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Let Jokic get his and guard everyone else.

You need a team to win at this stage of competition. One guy won't beat you. He'll have to score 60 every game. I know Denver has a stacked veteran team so I'm not downplaying any of their players but we can defend them more than we can a big guy.

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I don’t think anyone in the league can guard Jokic. AD looked small next to him. As mentioned above, Zeller might get an opportunity. Between him and Yurt, we can at least foul him 12 times.

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And, btw hfl, if any of the last paragraph above does come to pass, then I will make amends..

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denver and boston two opposite teams.everything goes through karate kid.we got spo caleb and jimmy feel good about our chances

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From Jnicho:

2022 Heat:

38% from 3 in reg season

30% from 3 in ECF

Lost in 7

2023 Celtics:

38% from 3 in reg season

30% from 3 in ECF

Lost in 7

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JNicho, we're in the Finals! Come home to HHH!

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jnicho not family anymore he ran away from home

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I still respect his bb perspective. I’ll probably post some others l

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hes the og of hhh his posts always welcome

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@macaronioverloard and @rocketsprocket would like a word!

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Yeah, miss them too

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Also a shoutout to @CanadianHeatFan, who we lost in the Kelly Olynyk trade. And shoutout to some of the great trolls we've had along the way, including my personal favorite, @StephenASmithisaClosePersonalFriendOfMine

But if there is one old schooler I would love to see back for the finals, it's @ForceFanatic. What a triumph for the Skyforce this playoff run has been!

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I didn't come back until the playoffs. Maybe we get a guest appearance in the finals

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Boston lost because they got away from their defense. Live by the 3 and die by the 3. Live by defense and win championships!

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23% shooting 3s didnt help last 2 games.our zone d was fantastic .bam anchoring low post was amazing.no ez baskets for boston they need a jalen brunson type pg hope they never get one

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Spo is now tied for fourth place all-time for finals appearances with Kerr and Pop. Jackson, Auerbach, and Riley are the top 3. Like Spo, they ALL had to have special players to reach those heights.

Spo, no doubt, is stubborn. Drives me crazy at times. But throwing the curveball of (finally) inserting Highsmith for some important minutes helped lead to victory. Moving Martin back to starter. Taking Love and Zeller out of the rotation. And (this is a real biggie for me), playing Duncan significant minutes in these playoffs after a pretty dismal season. Duncan, like Martin, was fantastic. Also thrown in were full court presses and drifting in and out of zone, which clearly threw Boston off their game.

Some respected posters expressed disappointment with the trade deadline moves, or lack thereof. Love and Zeller had some moments (Zeller in regular season, Love early in playoffs), but, yes, neither worked out that well. But what could they have done differently? Maybe we don’t remember the crazy deals being made, like 5 second rounders for Crowder?? We didn’t have the capital for Mitchell (sorry) or Gobert (definitely not sorry). Maybe we could’ve done more, but our options were limited. And I’m not sorry we got rid of Dedmon. His effectiveness had cratered, and the temper tantrum sealed his fate.

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Love that stat. Top-3 coaches all deserve to be there. Next-3 are all active and all still coaching in the finals. Pop just got Big Vic. Kerr has the last few years of Steph. And Spo is just making it happen with Skyforce dudes.

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You make good point about what could we have done differently at the deadline. Thats where it gets tricky. Were there better choices than what we ended up with?. I do think so, but just because a player got traded or bought out, doesn't necessarily mean the Heat could have put a deal together. Still, I hope going forward we don't make anymore moves like the ones that didnt work, and we particularly scrutinize the over 35 player as to how much his fitness and skills have diminished.

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WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN

I am the first to admit that I was pretty down on Riley and Arison for failing to make any trades to improve the roster before the trade deadline. I felt the team needed more height and bulk to help Bam with the rebounding, scoring and defense in the paint. I still do.

I was somewhat less critical of most of the players, because I felt they were doing the best they could with the talents God gave them and Spo because I felt he was doing the best he could with the roster he was given. The exceptions were the underperformers (Lowry and Robinson), who I felt should be traded, if possible. The late season acquisitions of Love and Zeller did little to relieve my concerns.

After failing to catch New York or Brooklyn for the 5-6 spots, I was not very hopeful of the team's chances in the playoffs. I figured if they got the #5 spot, they had a decent chance against the Cavs in the first round. I didn't feel as good about their chances against the #1-#3 seeds, the Bucks, Celtics or Sixers, since all three teams had made roster improvements over the past year and the Heat had not.

After losing to a mediocre Atlanta team in the play-in round, I was very frustrated and disappointed and had all but given up on the team. At that time, I was suggesting that Butler and Herro (along with Lowry and Robinson) be traded over the summer to the highest bidders for draft picks and younger, up-and-coming players with potential. I was also recommending that the team not re-sign inconsistent players such as Vincent and Strus. In other words, I was suggesting a full rebuild. I also suggested that Riley’s time had come and gone.

After squeaking by Chicago for the #8 spot (following a 15-1 run to close out the game), the Heat were scheduled to play a very tough, talented and deep Milwaukee team. Milwaukee was the best team in the NBA this season and favored to win the title. The Bucks were favored -1200 to win the series; the Heat were +700 underdogs. To my shock, and that of most other folks, the Heat convincingly won the series in 5 games, overcoming 16 point, 4th quarter deficiencies to win games 4 & 5. The Heat won the next series against the Knicks in six games, despite being slight (+120) underdogs.

That brings us to the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Celtics. What can I say? The Celtics were -500 favorites to win the series (the Heat were +350 underdogs). Miami looked like world beaters in Games 1-3 and like their regular season mediocre selves in games 4, 5 and most of Game 6. They reverted to world beaters in Game 7 (Thank God). The difference between my attitude about Game 7 vs the regular season was that I did not lose faith in the team. I knew if it was humanly possible for them to pull the game out, despite the crowd, the momentum or the odds, they would…and they did. I can’t say enough about the outstanding performance of “Playoff Jimmy” and the unexpected emergence of “Playoff Caleb.” The undrafted role players on the team were awesome throughout the Boston series and the playoffs. Spo’s coaching was masterful!

I won’t pretend to know how the NBA Finals will end. But I do know two things:

1) Miami players will give everything they have and leave it all on the court.

2) The team’s loyal fans will be behind them every step of the way.

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL!!!

GO HEAT!!!

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Although our paths and opinions differed at times, they were remarkably similar at others. I was also wondering how we could revamp the roster to get younger and more athletic (we still actually need to do so). I felt if we were ousted in the first round and Butler wanted out, we should accommodate him. Then this improbable run began and here we are. I really hope that the Heat can pull off one more miracle, not because of how ecstatic I/we would feel, but because Butler really deserves a ring on his finger. He’s one of the most dedicated and hard working players I’ve had the pleasure to watch (Zo was another).

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Hell yes! Jimmy deserves one. Joker is still young :P

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AMEN!

This summer should be very interesting with many personnel options to discuss. But I digress.

GO HEAT!!! BEAT THE NUGGETS!!!

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I had to do a zero dark thirty after game 6 to not have to listen to any of the national negativity and those who wanted to look ahead before the job was done.

Now we can look up and see we're at the base of the mountain.

This mountain is a mile high.

Thursday we start climbing.

Let's go!!!

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That's what I did as well and it worked lol

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After all is said and done winning on their floor in game 7 was the ultimate payback.

I think we have a budding rivalry going on with the Celtics.

We had to beat them twice with the game 6 fiasco.

Payback is a female dog

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if u cant disagree in a nice way then u really dont understand sports talk.thats what its all about different opinions

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A big salute to this oh so amazing TEAM!!

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Congratulation to all the HHH posters. Following the Heat with you made it so much more fun. So proud of our team. Getting this far without Herro and Oladipo was a Herculian task. In someways, there was truly greatness shown, as this team confounded all the experts. And now, we should know not to doubt anymore. Doesnt mean we are definitely going to take it all. But can we? The answer is yes, for sure.

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I hate to proselytize, but for all of my HHH compadres, if you can afford it, let's kick-in a couple bucks a month to thank them for all the years of free content. They've earned it

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Done!

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brother 30 think u owe pat an apology

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No way. We couldn't even use Love/Zeller. They were terrible pickups at the deadline. If anything, benching them justified my comments. We play better when they don't see the court. And Lowry continues his minimal contributions.

And, your one to talk when it comes to Duncan. I only said his cotract is ridiculous, hurts our ability to do other things. I never attacked him as a player like you. I value him. In fact, your the one that turns on all our white players the second anything goes wrong. I am glad I am getting to point out how unfair you have been. Now you probably want Tyler to not play in he finals (we both agree he should be traded for someone who is more of a two way player). But, your the one who owes Duncan, Tyler, and Strus an apology. They are all good players.

Can't ay the same for Love and Zeller who both used to be good, (emphasis on the used to be).

Look, Pat was great. He just did terrible in the last year. Just like you say, some criticism, if made judciously, is appropriate. If we had picked up a better big, even someone middling like Precious, we would be sizing Jimmy's ring right now. And, the man deserves it.

This doesn't even addess your critcisms of Spo, (Sposcratchers), who I esteem, but enough for now.

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only players avail at buy out market are scrubolas.dunc for years was a one trick pony not anymore .spos a great coach look at his track record case closed not perfect.playing zeller over hh took him while to figure that out.last 3 secs of game 6 heat were too small and hh off ct.

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thanks 30 been alot fun on hhh.def enjoy the talk on here.never will meet u guys but i feel close to u as a heat family that we are.lgh

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One more thing. We share a lovevof the Panthers too. In somexways, as much as I love the Heat, I may love the Panthers more. Heres why....while the Heat have been a tremendously successful franchise, the Panthers have wallowed in mediocrity for 27 years. Some weeknights even this season, when a western team that doesnt travel well comes to town, we have maybe 7-8k in the stands. For many years I thought we were going to lose the franchise and cities like Quebec and Houston have been salivating over our attendance woes for years. So, when a perennial bottom feeder finally breaks thru, it is just so sweet.

South Florida, winter sports capital of the universe!

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thank tkachuk for the turnaround

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I like everyone on here, including even HHH, but despite what I said above, you have been one of my favorites all along. As for HHH, I think we should tolerate some dissent here. One of the resons I like you so much is because in the past you were often in his role and I liked how you took it and kept coming back and saying what you really thought. I like it when people are honest. Then, as I looked at the qualty of your comments I realized you were actually quite polite and only wanted to win. HHH was the site villain last nite, but he did stand up and be counted. He also had a right to defend himself. We need all types here, that's what makes it fun.

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I am referring above to HHHfan.

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Interesting Stats

Caleb Martin: 123 points on 82 shots

Jaylen Brown: 127 points on 124 shots

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great post as usual heat bro.thats one of themain reasons we won caleb outplayed brown.talking about intelligent players which we have them .jaylen super athlete but bball iq lacking.jimmy didnt really have his super hops but the heart and iq overcame that little lack of explosion.rest up jimmy get 3 days off relax and chill in denver for thursday 830 game.hhh family got your back

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My hero, Caleb Martin. Kenyon Martin will be damn

proud of his "fawn".

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Well...I watch games 4,5 and 6 from 1st quarter and the heats lose....I go back to watching only the 4th quarter and tada....the heats win 🏆 😀

Great series and support everyone...cheers

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