The worrisome reality to consider before Heat plays Lakers. And more on Dedmon, newcomers
A six-pack of Miami Heat notes on a Wednesday:
▪ When a Lakers team missing injured LeBron James and Anthony Davis visits AmericanAirlines Arena in a nationally televised game Thursday, the Heat should know better than to overlook an opponent missing superstars.
Not that coach Erik Spoelstra needs to remind most of his players, but Miami lost two games this year to a Clippers team playing without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Jimmy Butler missed one of those games for the Heat.
And if that’s not enough to get the Heat’s attention, consider this:
Miami this season has played nine games against teams that were without at least one player who has been an All-Star since 2018. And Miami is just 2-7 in those games.
The caveat is that Butler missed two of those losses (against the Clippers and Raptors) and Adebayo missed one of the two wins (against the Pelicans).
Among the most ridiculous of those seven losses: A 103-100 Feb. 3 home defeat to a Wizards team missing Russell Westbrook.
Davis has been out of the Lakers lineup since sustaining a calf strain Feb. 14. James has been sidelined since sustaining an ankle injury March 20.
During the past two-plus weeks, the Lakers are 4-5 without both of them, with wins against Cleveland, Orlando, Sacramento and Toronto.
▪ So how could new Heat center Dewayne Dedmon go from signing a three-year, $40 million contract with the Kings in 2019 to out of the league 17 months later?
The Kings grew frustrated after watching his three-point shooting rapidly regress — from 38.2 percent (83 for 217) with the Hawks the season before he signed that contract to .197 (14 for 71) in his 34 games with Sacramento before he was shipped back to Atlanta.
He wasn’t much better shooting from distance in his Hawks reunion, finishing 8 for 36 (22.2 percent) in his time with Atlanta last season.
The Hawks traded him to Detroit last Nov. 20 and he was waived four days later.
During that 2019-20 season with the Kings and then the Hawks, he was helpful as a rebounder and defender, averaging 11.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes.
The Heat needed a veteran big who would accept not playing some nights, perhaps the vast majority of nights. That was always going to be a concern with DeMarcus Cousins, who’s now with the Clippers on a 10-day contract.
The 7-foot Dedmon could be a help in a playoff series against Philadelphia and Joel Embiid, or if Adebayo is injured or in foul trouble.
▪ The Heat opted to sign Dedmon for the remainder of the season — as opposed to a 10-day deal — because it didn’t anticipate anyone better coming available on the buyout market.
Players who have appeared in an NBA game this season must be released by Friday to be playoff-eligible elsewhere.
Miami opted for Dedmon over bigs Ian Mahinmi, Thon Maker, former UM player Dewan Hernandez, Skai Labbissiere, Tyler Zeller, former Heat player Kyle Alexander (playing overseas), Trey Mourning (Alonzo’s son who spent time with the Heat’s G League team last year and the Rockets this season), Kyle O’Quinn, Justin Patton and Anthony Tolliver, among others.
The Heat, through the process, was made aware of two 30-year-old former accomplished NBA players who haven’t played since 2018-19 and are looking to get back in the league: 6-11 center Greg Monroe, who has been working out in Miami and averaged 10.2 rebounds for Detroit six years ago; and defensively skilled wing Lance Stephenson, who made a mark during those memorable Heat-Pacers Big 3-era playoff series.
Stephenson has been reportedly shooting 500 threes a day, 100 at a time, and making 85 to the low 90s of them consistently. Associates say he has matured after being a teammate of LeBron James and Rajon Rondo with the Lakers. Hopefully, he gets another chance because his skills suit this era of playing small forwards and big shooting guards at power forward.
The Heat was set on the wing, and didn’t necessarily have time to wait on Monroe.
If Dedmon signs Thursday, his prorated veteran minimum contract will come with a cap hit of about $433,000, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
That leaves Miami about $314,000 below the luxury tax line, which would allow for the Heat to add a 15th standard contract to its roster later in the season and still avoid the tax.
▪ Not that the Heat asked me, but here’s a name worthy of strong consideration for the Heat’s stretch four role next season: Bobby Portis, the 6-11 power forward/center who has been a big asset off the bench for Milwaukee, averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game while shooting 54.0 percent from the field and 47.7 on threes (51 for 107).
A career 37.5 percent three-point shooter, Portis, 26, has a $3.8 million player option on his two-year Bucks contract, but is likely to opt out of that this summer.
Players he defends are shooting 45.7 percent this season, compared with the 47.9 they shoot against everyone else.
If he continues playing like this, he could command a full $10 million mid-level exception on a multiyear deal.
▪ Quick stuff: Since they joined the Heat, Nemanja Bjelica has allowed players to shoot 56.3 percent (18 for 32) and Victor Oladipo has permitted 55.3 percent shooting (21 for 38)....
The Heat’s new starting lineup of Butler, Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, Trevor Ariza and Oladipo is already Miami’s sixth-most-used five-man lineup this season despite playing just three games as a group; Miami has outscored teams by six points in their 41 minutes on the court together….
Meanwhile, Adebayo and Precious Achuiwa have played just seven minutes together all season, which is disappointing, and Miami has been outscored by seven points in those minutes.
▪ Apparently Andre Iguodala’s decision not to play for the Grizzlies last season is still a thing. Asked about that after the Grizzlies’ 124-112 win against the Heat on Tuesday, Ja Morant said: “We will let that game talk for itself.”
Dillon Brooks — who scored 23 in the third quarter and 28 in the game — said last February of Iguodala: “A guy that’s on our team doesn’t want to be on our team. I can’t wait until we find a way to trade him so we can play him, and I can show him what really Memphis is about.”
Asked Tuesday night by a Memphis writer if he finally showed Iguodala what Memphis is about, Brooks said: “You could say that. He knows we have talented guys.”
Brooks’ 23 in the third tied Jamal Crawford’s record for most third-quarter points ever against the Heat.
Iguodala went scoreless in 19 minutes.
▪ Quick TV stuff: Paul Pierce, the Heat’s biggest critic on network TV, lost his ESPN gig this week after he inexplicably posted a video of himself cavorting with exotic dancers. Barstool already is pursuing Pierce, who earlier this season predicted the Heat would miss the playoffs and insisted that Tyler Herro is “not a bucket.”
ESPN has no plans to go outside the network to replace Pierce, whose role had been reduced this season anyway. ABC’s playoff studio seems set with Maria Taylor, Jalen Rose, Adrian Wojnarowksi and Jay Williams, with the potential of another internal addition.
ESPN’s studio lineup is deep with Richard Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins and others…
Brian Anderson and Chris Webber call Heat-Lakers on TNT on Thursday.
This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 4:32 PM.
