2012 Heat Media Day/Training Camp Thread

[Knicks4life]

Originally Posted by Wade County

If Seattle get a team again, do they get the Sonics back?

I think so but the deadline for them to keep there history has already passed.

[Jace]

Damn, that sucks. Can OKC turn it over if they feel so inclined?

[-33-]

Originally Posted by Jace

Question for everyone: Does anyone else struggle with the apparent conventional wisdom that more LeBron at the 4 means more LeBron in the post? Really depends on the situation and how the other team plays it, but if the other team is forced to put their PF on LeBron, wouldn't he be more inclined to attack from the perimeter? Of course, he may still outsize/weigh a few PFs, and his speed advantage could still help him in the post. On top of that, when a Battier/Miller/Lewis/Jones-type is the other forward, the opposing team might be able "hide" their 4 on them.

Its all going to depend on the matchups, I guess, but I just see a lot of writers and such essentially saying LeBron at the 4 = more LeBron in the post. Not sure its that automatic.

That's where you use him in the high post or short corner. He's not on the perimeter, but in the middle, where he can use his strength and quickness advantages together to kill just about anyone. He's also such a good passer that it opens up cutters to the basket, backdoor, etc. If you google "horns" or "A-set" offense, Spo uses this type of set a lot if you're looking for x's and o's.

[Jace]

Where's the "short corner" exactly? Halfway down the baseline? Not familiar with that term, as my X and O knowledge is limited since I never played organized ball.

I've actually been thinking a lot about 'horns' this summer as one of our prime sets. We've used it a lot with Bosh/UD, with mixed results. I imagine LeBron/Bosh as the horns quite often this year, with Ray or Rio & Shard or Shane in either corner, and Wade handling, as an example. Not sure any team out there can run it as versatile-y or effectively as us. So goddamn pick-your-poison.


While we're on the subject, here's ESPN's Mike Wallace's piece on LeBron developing classic post moves:

A year ago, LeBron James adopted elements of Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake. This time around, the Miami Heat star forward is implementing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's patented skyhook.

And no one in the gym is more ecstatic to see James continue to add to his low-post scoring arsenal than longtime Heat assistant coach and Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, who knows a thing or 20 about finding different ways to score around the basket. Especially old-school ways.

So when a sweat-soaked James spent nearly 30 minutes alone after a recent practice working on his sweeping hook shot, on some levels it was déjà vu for McAdoo.

“I'll be down here even more this year,” James shouted through near exhaustion as he wrapped up the extended workout. “Might as well keep getting more comfortable.”

James vows to add the traditional hook shot to his game, and he could test it out when the Heat play a pair of exhibition games this week in China against the Los Angeles Clippers. McAdoo proudly acknowledges that James is continuing to build a foundation of post moves that took root two summers ago in Houston with Olajuwon.

Those workouts with Olajuwon came after James struggled with his rhythm and confidence as the Heat faltered in the 2011 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. But after boosting his post game, James worked more from the power forward position and led the Heat to a title last season.

Now, he's tweaking, adding and refining for another run.

“To already be the best, the most unstoppable player in the game, and still put this kind of work in to pick up little moves here and there to make him even better shows you the kind of great player LeBron is,” McAdoo said. “He studies the game. There are moves guys used back when I played that I know would be effective today. There's a lot more to it than shooting 3-pointers and athletic dunks. When you get to a certain point, it's about doing whatever you can to complete your game, to have something else to go to when entire teams try to take something else away.”

During the 1970s and early '80s, McAdoo played against – and later alongside – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who perfected his skyhook and used that virtually unstoppable shot en route to scoring more career points than anyone in NBA history.

McAdoo said Abdul-Jabbar's combination of nifty footwork, execution, high release point and soft touch made his version of the skyhook “one of a kind unique.” McAdoo would also see former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Magic Johnson refine his own low-post game in his mid-20s by developing a “baby hook” that ultimately would help beat Boston on the way to the 1987 NBA title.

When factoring in James' freakish leaping ability, size, strength and quickness, McAdoo believes the versatile Heat catalyst can breathe new life into an old-school move. James said he's been studying multiple back-to-the-basket maneuvers used effectively by star players over the years.

“[Michael] Jordan's fadeaway, Steve Smith's head-fake-and-go, [James] Worthy's baseline spin. There's a few,” James said. “I'm still developing. Ten years in the league, I still have no idea what my signature move would be.”

James' high-profile Heat teammates agree. James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are considered elite players, masters of their craft. Yet they still remain students of the game.

Wade insists his favorite move borrowed from another player didn't come from the likes of an influential megastar such as Jordan. Instead, it was swiped from Sam Cassell, who played for the Milwaukee Bucks when Wade was a star college guard at the city's Marquette University.

“When I was in Milwaukee, Sam would come down the court all lackadaisical, then all of a sudden he'd pump his head and everybody would leave their feet,” Wade said. “I took that from him when I came to the NBA. And when I finally got [Cassell] with that same move, I was like, 'Yes.' That's what I added to my game, because I was like, 'You know what? I need that.'”

Wade has parlayed that move into hundreds of free throw attempts after getting defenders to leave their feet on his shot fakes. Wade and others grew so effective at leaning in to draw contact that the league tweaked the rules last season to render extreme cases of the move an offensive foul.

For Bosh, who grew up in Texas, Olajuwon was the standard-bearer for low-post play in the 1990s.

“That Dream Shake, to the turnaround, to the one-legged fade – seeing that as a kid changed my life as a basketball player,” Bosh said. “ He was shooting turnaround jumpers with the Shake, back when they were telling bigs to stay under the basket and rebound. He did a lot for me when I was watching it in the mid-'90s. When I started loving basketball a lot in Texas, it was amazing watching him do what he did. My eyes were wide. I was like 5-8 and a post guy in little league, hearing my coaches telling me, 'Don't do that' and 'Boy, if you take one more dribble … '”

McAdoo said he'd like to see more current players study how effectively yesteryear's good players honed their craft. He then leaned back and rattled off some of the most unstoppable signature player moves he's ever seen.

There was Wilt Chamberlain's over-the-shoulder flip shot, Sam Jones' bank shot and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe's elbow spin move in either direction to get into the lane.

Then McAdoo rocked his head back and smiled from the nostalgia of short shorts, Afros, sideburns and old-school skill sets that seem to be a lost art in today's game.

“And, of course, there was anything Tiny Archibald did in the open court,” McAdoo said. “When you saw him coming, all you could do was yell, 'Help' and hope it came. Because if you were by yourself, you were in trouble.”

James' game is known to conjure up similar sentiments. And if that hook shot ever gains traction in his game, it just might provide one more headache for defenders. During a TV broadcast of the Heat-Thunder Finals last June, Magic Johnson told viewers that James had attempted to contact him in hopes the two could work out. But Johnson said scheduling conflicts prevented them from getting together.

Evidently, that didn't stop James from working on the baby hook entering this season. James still prefers his face-up game but insists he's gaining confidence in post-up options.

“If I had to make one move to get a basket, it would probably start with me out top, with a right-to-left crossover facing up,” James said. “Then, I'd just have to see where that takes me. I'm trying to work on a couple from the post, though. So we'll see how that goes, too.”

@SherwoodStrauss

If this was 2010, LeBron getting a skyhook would be framed as, "WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS??"

[Jace]

Gotta love Kobe's late career honesty:

@ArashMarkazi Kobe: "Smush Parker was the worst. He shouldn't have been in NBA but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard."

Amazing.

Speaking of ex-Heatians:

@JMcDonald_SAEN Curry at half: 7 points, 5 boards, 3 of 6 from floor, 1 of 4 from line. Has played 15 minutes, has not keeled over

!!

Doesn't that surpass his entire total from last season? Ira's Q&A should be fun tomorrow if this continues.

[Wade County]

Bahaha that Smush comment is hilarious.

[Jace]

Shootaround right now. So weird.

[-33-]

Originally Posted by Jace

Where's the "short corner" exactly? Halfway down the baseline? Not familiar with that term, as my X and O knowledge is limited since I never played organized ball.

I've actually been thinking a lot about 'horns' this summer as one of our prime sets. We've used it a lot with Bosh/UD, with mixed results. I imagine LeBron/Bosh as the horns quite often this year, with Ray or Rio & Shard or Shane in either corner, and Wade handling, as an example. Not sure any team out there can run it as versatile-y or effectively as us. So goddamn pick-your-poison.

Yes, short corner is essentially half way down the baseline. It's the spot where Haslem commonly was found bricking shots last year that he used to make

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkgr7...layer_embedded (too much help)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN9vF...layer_embedded (no help)

Horns example - but think about this year's versatility on this play. Wade with the ball (instead of Rio), Bron and Bosh as the screeners, Ray/Rashard/Mike/JJ/Shane in the corner. If you don't help off the shooters, the p&r will beat you. If you help too much off the shooters, corner 3's will rain. If you play with no help, Wade is going to beat you off the screen more times than not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-42ZuHeUhfs

Another horns example - lots of options. The offense is old school, but you can do so many thing out of it.

[Jace]

Awesome SD, thanks. I've spent waaaaay too much time daydreaming about these possibilities. In most cases, the teams will choose to focus on the pick-and-roll (mainly LeBron), but Ray Allen is one of the guys in the league you just never leave open, and between all of our other shooters you'd have to imagine we can get at least one other one hot just about every night. Its gonna be very interesting to see how teams play this.

[doctordrizzay]

curry 11 points 8 boards in 25min. lol

[Jace]

No, I don't want him back.

[Jace]

Holy shit.

[Jace]

@MiamiHeraldHeat

Spoelstra says he's leaning towards keeping two bigs w/ last two roster spots but that could change (and then change again).

No Harris?

Jorts/Gladness, I would think, assuming he's not calling Dozier a big.

[Wade2Bosh]

Yeah, I'd guess that means that Gladness and Jorts have the upper hand. This team is loaded at the wings so I can see why Spo would lean that way.

Just now learned that JJ was writing quick postcards from China for the sun sentinel. Here are the 1st 3 in order

"The flight from Atlanta to Beijing was a long, yet productive trek. Every single player managed to get some much needed rest. It has been a very competitive and productive start to season. We are all excited about the opportunity for growth during this China trip. This is all business, the fun will come later.

"We are greeted by a few hundred fans as we exit the airport. D Wade! LeBron James! Shane Battier! Chants fill the air. The fans here love the Miami Heat. They roll off the names of all the players and coaches with ease. As the buses pull away, a group of fans give chase.

"It never gets old. It's always exciting to see the different faces. All across the globe, there are Heat fans. The NBA Champs are back!!!"

"After a short night's rest, we set off for our first China practice. It's familiar territory for my Beijing Olympic teammates.

"Practice starts out fast. The speed of our team is evident. Fast breaks, dunks, layups and threes. Every day we get a little better with timing, spacing, and efficiency. We put in a good day's work and finish with 3-point shooting games.

"This roster is loaded with shooters. Competitive shooters from top to bottom . . . which happen to the best kind. D-Wade, LeBron, Mario, Ray, Terrel, Shane and Norris end up winning the best-of-5 series (3-2). We'll get even tomorrow.

"After leaving the arena we take a team photo and head over to the Great Wall. The majority of the team and coaches make the climb up and down the wall. We take photos, videos, and haggle for souvenirs. The bait-and-switch from the street vendors is the best we've ever seen.

"This team is a true team. On the bus ride back, we talk about how much we enjoy winning and playing for/with each other. That's the only thing that matters to us."

Heat forward James Jones details the Heat's third day in China on Wednesday, including a hard practice and a welcoming reception in Beijing.

After yesterday's fun excursion, today has been all business. We had the late time slot for practice. The Clippers had the early-morning practice slot.
For the first 30 minutes we had interviews and the reporters watched our initial drills. After they exited, we really started to work. Everything that we do is at full speed and we play the full length of the court. To be at our best, we must play fast on both ends of the
floor. There are no shortcuts. Our defense was on full display today. We want to be the best defensive team in the league. That is our identity.
Later in the evening, we set off for our Beijing NBA China Welcome Reception held at the Westin Beijing. The Clippers are the home team for our game in Beijing and were our hosts. We left the event and walked back to the hotel. Immediately after our team dinner, we all headed to get some physical therapy and sleep.

[Thursday] is the day that we all have been waiting for . . . Let the games begin.

[Jace]

Yup, love that they had him do that.