The Heat need Jimmy Butler on the floor: Ethan Skolnick on Defo Show

welcome on and all to another edition of the defo show with lby here on the five reason Sports Network brought to you by water cleanup of Florida our homes our offices our inner sanctum we feel safe we feel secure it's where we spend most if most of all most of our time maybe not all of it most of our time we like to know that it's in good shape and when there are issues we freak out at least I have in the past until I came across water clean by Florida because when it comes to water or fire issues they get the job done not only do they actually answer the call and get get back to you and when you just call 954579 0356 but they fix the problem and because they have licensed certified insured contractors they make it look brand new water clean up of Florida we're there for my wife and myself they'll be there for you 954579 0356 wcu.com check out the website they're on the socials Atwater cleanup again dealing with service companies like I say it quite often can be a pain in the rear it's not the word pleasure is something I never thought I would say dealing with the Service Company it is applicable when it comes to water clean up above Florida 954579 0356 if you have the Schmutz they have the guts water clean up of Florida the Miami Heat have had lots of guts over the years I don't know if it's Schmutz I I don't know lack of guts I don't know what's going on with the Heat this season the last few years injuries have been a major issue this year as much as any we talked to Mr five Reon Sports Mr heat our Mr heat Ethan skolnick about the Miami Heat what's going on with them the last time we talked to him it felt like they could be World beaters they were sitting there in the sixth spot within like a half half a game to a game behind the four seed within two three games of the three seed now they're within three games of the six they're within a half a game of the six seed within three games of the 54 seed sitting there in the playin game playin tournament right now injuries are problem what is going on with Miami we talk with Ethan skolnick right now the defa show with the luy on the five reason Sports Network Ethan scoop skolnick welcome back to the show I'm Mike Luby luik Jeff Tores with you and from five reason Sports Network outstanding journalist awarded uh many of the top prizes in journalism in terms of uh rating the performance of various people that were in the business Ethan scoop skolik joins us here on the show scoop how are you my friend I'm good I'm better than the heat right now my friend I although I feel like I should be nursing some kind of an injury right like what what's bothering me my thumb uh my entire arm my leg my whole body it's kind of where I feel like the heat are right now I mean which was stranger I mean the Heat's regular season last year resulting in an appearance in the finals or the Heat's regular season this year so far where they they look sort of similar to what they did last year uh but at the same time it's it's been a long series of kind of ups and downs no yeah I mean I I think this roster on the whole is better than last year's um but we've never got to see it whole so and and when we have seen it whole it hasn't had enough time to get any rhythm and so that's kind of where they're at right now I mean they're they're fighting to get out of the playin although I don't know how hard they're fighting when you know so much of their salary is sidelined on a nightly basis I I feel kind of bad for the guys who are pushed into roles that they shouldn't be in you know this is uh this is a team that you know feeds off Jimmy Butler and Jimmy Butler is not going to get to 60 games this year is he hurt what's with because he played and then now he's not playing I I mean this time it's the foot uh you know Tyler is the foot you know it's it's one of those things it's like it's like a game of operation at this point we don't really know and look I I don't like to to get in and say how hurt a guy is and whether or not he could play I mean that's up to each particular player all I know is that this didn't happen 10 years ago uh you know you go back through the big three era those guys played like uh you know even Dwayne like we complained about Dwayne Dwayne played a higher percentage of games uh during the big three era than Jimmy or Tyler is playing right now so you know and then you look at the rest of the roster you had guys like you know Shane Bader in his you know late 60s uh playing playing 77 games uh you know they all played um and and so you know Norris Cole played 80 to8 82 games Rio uh always played like they you know 70s and 80s and you know I sound like the old man here saying back in my day but yeah you know it's the same organization it's the same people in charge it's it's and and we had Patty Mills on our podcast last night that actually just posted to the YouTube channel how the hell did he get here scoop I missed that one I saw him out there I'm like Patty Mills when did we get him by what method well he was he was stashed uh you know on Atlanta in a rebuilding situation and so he asked for a buyout and and when Josh Richardson got hurt and then Tyler got hurt you know they needed guard reinforcements I don't think they necessarily thought that Patty was going to be playing clutch minutes uh you know at his age you know I asked him yesterday I said you know you played for pop but even pop like we talked about the you know the uh the you know the management the uh you know the load management like that pop was doing which kind of started this about 15 years ago even he even his guys were not sitting as much as this I mean and the Heat at that time had this very had this strong stance against it and now it seems to have flipped the other direction you know he said that some of it is just players you know wanting to be 100% when they play and and all the rest of this and the training staff's wanting to make sure they're ready for something later and I I I've heard that argument you know just be ready for the playoffs but you're making yourself harder it harder for yourself when you get into the playoffs um I I mean you're uh I mean you're looking at like you know an eight SE that means that you got to win poti potentially if that's where they're at they you got to win a road game uh in the in the playin just to get yourself positioned to go into the playoffs to play a road series I mean this you know what the heat did last year has sort of skewed everybody's sensibilities on this because that just doesn't happen like you you you don't go from being the e seed or seven seed losing a Game ending up in the e seed and then you know in the last three minutes of the game you're fighting to to you know just just to survive you needed 31 from stru and a big shot at the end just to get out of there and then you know you have to play you know you playing Milwaukee and Boston and all those teams early in the playoffs I I it's this is GNA be a Herculean task for them if they don't just get to the six they got to get to the six and at the at then at least you know okay reset probably playing Cleveland maybe New York uh maybe Orlando uh and and just you know look try to steal a road game there but they're trying to get out of the play in again I I think they're I think they're out before they even get to the playoffs to be honest all right I mean what needs to happen guys just have to get out there I I naturally was a little bit shocked because uh I I blindly took the four points with the Heat against Philadelphia thinking Philadelphia isn't very good and the heat are going to start to make their push and then I turn on the television set and there's Jimmy Butler in Street close and all I could do scoop was look at the television set and scream [ __ ] right well that's why you probably thinking the signal went out you know she she couldn't figure out what I was screaming about he probably should have gotten six and a half at that point I look it's uh which would have been real torture by the way well exactly I look it's just that you know again it's three four hours before the game and you know when the message that he's been downgraded from questionable to out I I don't know how that's not deflating uh for this team at this point I they feed off of him in so many different ways they're built around him that that the the whole structure of the organization is built around him now let him get away with things they never let LeBron get away with uh all across the board basically because he has produced and Pat sees him as kind of an extension of himself and to a certain degree SPO does also but it's everything and you know but the one thing that has to happen is play and um I I can't even count like I said I can't even count the number of injuries at this point that he's had and we knew that this would be somewhat an issue when they signed him because tibs had put a lot of wear on him and all the rest of that and and again he's getting excused because of what he's produced in the playoffs but you know you watch that game and you're like okay you've got Caleb and hakz and Mill they're trying to do things that they are not tasked with doing on this roier look roier is actually playing well like roier is supposed to be their fourth or fifth dude roier wasn't brought in to be their second guy like the whole thing like look at some point and again I'm I learned last year I'm not throwing anything out who knows what the hell will happen there's still like 14 games left fine it's just it felt like there was reasons last year it felt like like def comparing the season last year last year felt like they were hurt and they were frustrated and and they were like what the hell's going on this year it doesn't feel like that it feels like whenever they play they get on a roll it's like oh look at them we had Jo two weeks ago look at the heat there's no one they're scared of and I believed it now I'm like I wouldn't want to play anyone like the way magic are playing the way the Knicks are playing like they care at least they care like you have SS finally mattering you have Cole Anthony mattering the Knicks they want to make Brunson an MVP you know like whatever it is at least they play at least they care like the heat it's like Caleb Martin has been up and down all year HZ is now he's a rookie like how much we were making hakz their third best player at you know like you're you're trying to thrust these guys into weird ass roles well teams have scouted him at this point and so that's the thing he's got of Now counter that and and that's not easy I mean for a guy who's already played twice College season um you know Caleb I think has actually been pretty good over the last couple of months um once he he kind of got into a rhythm I mean now even as much time as he missed early in the season he's gonna end up playing a lot more games than either Tyler or Jimmy I mean Tyler's stuck on 36 I me I don't know that he's getting to 40 um at this point and Jimmy Jimmy's not getting to 60 and I there does seem to have been an organizational shift here where they're they're tolerating this and uh like I said it's just frustrating to watch I you know I I I thought that Pat used to be too much the other way where he would be driving them for the one seed and you know and then during the big three era I thought they kind of found a happy medium they they would play hard enough to get a home seed and and not stress themselves too much like they didn't catch Chicago that first year they didn't catch Indiana one of the other years they just went up and beat them in the playoffs okay so that's one series that you got to do that but you know when you got to do it not just three series if you're gonna get to the finals but you also have to get out of a playin just for the right to have an opportunity to do that uh you're just creating a situation where again first it puts too much stress on your players later on uh and it's not it's not plausible to continue to do this and and additionally I do think it gives the fans the idea that you just don't care about the regular season and and so then they're going to start to tune out and and we've honestly because we gauge our number on a daily basis we've noticed that when they have a big win which has been far and few between we get a ton of downloads um but otherwise there just seems to be sort of an apathy about this team right now again because it's kind of like okay let's see where they end up and see if Jimmy can save us again and I don't Jimmy doesn't look inclined to save anybody right now like I I just I I don't you know his numbers are good uh the efficiency numbers are good but if you actually break down the games there's been about like six or seven games this year that he's been really engaged other than that there's been a lot of kind of Nosh shows for a quarter for a half I mean against the better teams in the league like Boston Milwaukee you know every time they have a national TV game everybody says oh Jimmy will get up for this one actually he's played the worst in those games if you look at his numbers against the better teams in the league there's a lot of 13 points 15 points 16 points on low efficiency uh his better games this year have come against the garbage teams um and that's just kind of again I'm a big Jimmy fan I love what he's done here in Miami I'm not necessarily saying you trade him in the offseason I'm not going that far but I do think there needs to be a recalibration of okay are we gonna play hard in the regular season are we gonna take this seriously because if he doesn't they don't and I and I just think that's where they're at right now holy Louie pastor we need him to look into this what what happened this guy was supposed to be the epitome of heat culture and and he seemed to be all of that like he he had this sort of inner anger it appeared that uh would not allow him to capitulate to what's going on in the NBA today which is uh hey we don't know if these guys are showing up tonight and uh that seems to be an open Defiance of everything that we thought the heat were acquiring and looked like it was in evidence early on in in Jimmy Butler it just it doesn't seem uh that that it's comprehendable that that he would be the guy that you're looking at and going is he with us or not um and know and I guess maybe he'll turn it up in the playoffs but uh you know I I don't know that fans really want to embrace that and their one Superstar or budding superstar that everybody was trying to put in that category that that he was a guy that could carry a team on his back he has look he has uh he did against against LeBron in in you know the Lakers finals and and obviously dragic and Bam don't get hurt he might have a ring already I I don't want to go so far as to say that the fact that he's in 10 different endorsements I mean he literally has 10 companies how did he get all these commercials when did his Q rating you know approach Kel his agent did a hell of a job for him he's going to be in bad boys four also and more power to him I that stuff look guys do all kinds of stuff off the court uh you know being in a controlled setting shooting a commercial for for three hours on an off day I don't I don't care about that like that's good for him but but so I'm not gonna go that far but I I do think okay that he may that whole emo Jimmy thing at the beginning of the year you know sometimes telling on yourself a little bit like all jokes have a hint of Truth and I I just I think that he he believed that they were getting Dame or someone of that caliber to help him carry the load during the regular season and they didn't and instead you know they have Tyler who doesn't play and and so it it's just kind of like I I I think that this thing has kind of melted down a little bit because there were expectations even if the reality was that they it wasn't really their fault they were dealing with an organization that did not want to communicate with them I I think they I think that their top guys believed that they were getting reinforcements and they didn't and I think with bam we see it in the way of not necessarily him dropping his shoulders or anything like that but more so he's asked to carry so much of the burden for them defensively and I think at this point of the year he just wears down I I just think he I think he wears down we've seen it every year and there's not and then there's like okay why isn't fam taking over he's exhausted he can at this it's not he's not that kind of player to begin with to do it every night and then you don't have Jimmy you don't have Tyler he's asked to carry the whole thing defensively he's the only one out there most of the time and it's like okay bam do everything and then fans get pissed when he doesn't and I'm just like I'm like okay they need to take a serious look at this this offseason like they have in previous builds and say all right we may need to give up more than we want to we may need to give up more of the future than we want to but we ha if we're gonna if we're going to make it work with Jimmy and Bam we have to get them more help to at least carry through the season Jimmy's gonna play 55 games okay so get someone in the other 27 who's going to carry us and and that they just don't have that right now all right so and Lu's counting on his theory that Boston will collapse and isn't what they appear to be I don't know and that the heat somehow will get it together I think he's going back to his old magic wand Theory Ethan and uh that they're going to be able to wave a magic wand over the whole thing and get it together on the playoffs so spoler has got to be ready to pull his hair out huh is it standing up like Don King at these post I don't I I don't know if he's coloring it he's doing a hell of a job he's three years older than me and I I I saw a little gray there on the top and now it's disappeared but if I were him I'd have a lot of them so yeah that's he's doing his best all right we'll uh we'll keep in touch uh and uh I I don't know how excited you are at five reasons about the uh college basketball tournament college basketball not necessarily the Marquee sport here in South Florida even though we had two teams in the final four last year and still the possibility that that one might make get back there although a slim possibility uh but yeah I I mean we we'll look forward to all of this coverage on five reason Sports Network and see if we can't find a solution for the heat scoop thanks always a pleasure my friend great job as always scoop does know his stuff Luby yes yes he does very look plenty of people have covered the heat for a long time covered the NBA uh but for us Ethan Scoops gold that covers him as well as anyone he leans their way in the sense that he's worked with them closely four years so he knows how they think he knows how they act and he understands them and they find a way to win so it makes sense that he would give them benefit of the doubt however he's very honest when it comes to the Miami Heat and it's hard it's hard to see what's going on this year not see it be an issue Jimmy Butler Mr competitive is going to play less than 60 games so he's going to play about half the games this season that is utterly ridiculous when he's had injuries but he hasn't had major injuries Tyler hero will play less than half the games this season which for a guy that's in his early 20s is ridiculous and it's every year for Tyler hero and these are supposed to be their number one and number three players on a roster that's supposed to get in for a title I mean they played in the finals last year without hero their number three player I agree with Ethan they have a better roster this year they have more Talent this year they have even more size when you look at yic when you look at Bryant and they have more scoring now with roier compared to what Lowry was with hakz JR who can score from all three levels who when you throw in uh some of the just Caleb Martin who's now back playing and a guy that we saw shine on the in the Conference Finals is should be a different player and the last month or so as Ethan said he has been a different player but the Heat have struggled and all year long whenever they start to build this team and they did it they were they had won a bunch of games seven of eight or something like that they had won what was it like 11 out of 14 they had gotten themselves into the sixth seed fifth seed and were a half came out of the four seed and now they've lost like four of six or something even the two games they won versus the Pistons they did not look good in those games versus the AR not arguably the worst team in the NBA they lost to a Wizards team that was second worst in the NBA they just are playing not great basketball right now and again it's not the team it's not the roster it's those two guys bam out bio gives everything he can I get frustrated because after the austar break he dips well Ethan talked about it he dips because he's exhausted he has to be there everything on defense and he does contribute on offense and at some point that weighs on you and that SS supposed to be his job his job is supposed to be good to great on defense with help from Jimmy Butler with help from everyone else and good to great on offense with the facilitators of Jimmy Butler Tyler herro and a roier the problem is with no Butler or hero everything falls on bam and it gets exhausting and it's daunting and you see that and they he'd have the talent but I don't know what's going on with Butler and I don't know what the deals with hero and to me they were a team I thought could beat anyone two weeks ago now I'd be scared to play anyone right now I won't WR them off there's like 14 games left plenty of times for them to figure out a way to get into that six spot I think they're only a half half they're around a half a game to a game depending on the night and when you listen to this behind the Pacers in that six spot or the Sixers in that sixth spot they're within Striking Distance and honestly they have as much if not more Talent then I would put everyone from everyone from four on the Miami Heat and the calvs aren't Superior in Talent to the heat it's health and all these other teams even when they've had injuries find a way to get back to health healthy the heat don't get there so we'll see what happens I wouldn't put it past him to make a run in the playoffs I wouldn't put it past them to get to that sixth seed to get to the fifth seed but they got to start making a move and they gotta play and at some point and Ethan talked about it they got to retool look they went big game hunting the last two three years to give Butler help they haven't been able to do it they got a pony up don't wait for the other and it wasn't their fault this time around with Dame the Blazers I think no matter what they offer the Blazers the Blazers look if you see what they took none of the players they took back either play for them or do anything good Aon is useless so they gave away Damien Lillard and then they gave away Drew holiday to All-Star caliber SL Superstar caliber players at least in Damen Lillard's case and got nothing so it didn't matter what he' offered so that's not their fault but they got to come big there are players out there that would fit perfectly with Jimmy Butler and give him relief he's showing you in the playoffs will give his all until he gets her and even then he gives his all regular season he sort of screws around I mean that there's no other way to say it he needs help so that his screwing around doesn't kill the team because that's what you see they're sitting around the eighth seed right now and they should be a three or four seed at worse they should be right there with the Celtics or the Bucks they should and right now they're fighting with the Pacers and and the magic and the playing teams so we'll see how this season wraps up check us out each and every morning from 8 to 9: on South Florida live the YouTube and Facebook channels you can check us out with our daily podcast no filter. net or just Google the morning briefing caffeine TV check us out on National podcast we have stuff there daily we also do interesting Sports and out of sports conversations on the believe Network b a.com search after hours and our South Florida content right here the dvo show with the Luby on the five reasons Sports Network hey folks Tony cetto here let me ask you a question what do you look for when you go out to eat good food obviously friendly atmosphere not too loud but good energy reasonable prices and a place where you feel comfortable all those ingredients no pun me there are hard to find unless you're talking about the Texas Roadhouse you see they Encompass all of those attributes really 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