Justise Winslow‘s ballhandling skills gave Miami the confidence to cut Beno Udrih and Briante Weber, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The second-year forward has been helping Goran Dragic run the offense and allowing coach Erik Spoestra to put another shooter on the floor. Winderman speculates that as Josh McRoberts becomes available, the Heat will play more often without a traditional point guard on the floor.
There’s more news from Miami:
- Weber has been promised a full opportunity to display his skills in the D-League, Winderman relays in a separate piece. With the Sioux Falls team last season, Weber shared the point guard role with Tre Kelley and DeAndre Liggins, but now he will be the clear starter. “They did everything right. They made him feel like he’s still very much in their plans,” said Weber’s agent, Bill Neff said. “To me, that was the sole criteria: They made it clear they have plans. They said, ‘He’s the point guard [at Sioux Falls] and we want to see him get better offensively.’ They told him, ‘Even though we cut you, we see real value.'”
- Late-season collapses like the one Friday night against Charlotte as to be expected for a team with so much roster turnover, writes Shandel Richardson of The Sun-Sentinel. Veteran forward Udonis Haslem understands the need to be patient with all his new teammates. “You have to learn from the mistakes,” he said following the game. “You can’t come back the next game and continue to make the same mistakes and have the same errors. The key is learning from those things and being able to adjust and make those corrections the next game.”
- The absence of Dwyane Wade hung over Friday’s home opener, according to Ethan Skolnick of CBS Sports. Even in the pre-game introductions, where Wade’s name used to be the last one called, fans and players could feel there was something missing. After 13 years with the Heat, Wade signed with the Bulls in July.
Didn’t have Wade to stop the run when charlotte was coming back from down 19 in the 3rd quarter, and then down the stretch in the 4th quarter. Whiteside went out with the foul trouble, and there were no easy baskets inside….but ya. I definitely felt it during the intros, and I think part of what made it even worse was watching Dwyane Wade do what he has done for 13 years, in another jersey, the previous night, for home fans that weren’t at the AAA. AND you just think back to how this happened, and you’re heart breaks again…b/c you know it could have been avoided, and you know that Pat Riley made it happen. AND you know that the bs of how it effects the franchise narrative that was spun by Riley isnt true either, b/c Wade still has another couple of years at a high level left. I will never, ever doubt Dwyane Wade
I’m really interested to see the development of Briante this year. He has an elite skill defensively, and I think he has real potential offensively. He needs to improve his decision making a little more, and improve that jump shot. He sort of reminds me a little of Rajon Rondo and Patrick Beverly. It would be nice if he can even see a little improvement offensively. If so, he is an NBA player