Dolphins win Jets

5 Takeaways from Dolphins Win Over the Jets

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The Miami Dolphins (7-4) rebounded from a tough loss last week with a resounding defensive effort against the New York Jets (0-11). The Dolphins defense stymied any offensive output from Sam Darnold and Co., romping their way to a 20-3 victory.  The win, coupled with key losses by other teams, propelled the Dolphins back into the AFC playoff picture.

Here’s a look at five takeaways from the Dolphins win over the Jets.

Dolphins Defense Dominant in Win Over Jets

The Dolphins defense returned to its dominant ways Sunday. Miami limited the Jets to just three points, 10 first downs and 260 total yards. In 25 possessions this season, the Dolphins held New York to just 0.12 points-per-possession.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the three total points allowed is the fewest by an NFL team in two meetings against the same opponent since 2009. The three points allowed is the second-fewest by the Dolphins against an AFC East opponent in one season. Miami shutout the Baltimore Colts in both games played against them in 1972.

Miami extended its takeaway-streak to 17 straight games, the NFL’s longest active streak. The Dolphins’ 19 takeaways this season are third-most in the league.

Miami improved its scoring defense to just 18.6 points-per-game this season, which is second-lowest in the NFL. And the Dolphins have the best third-down defense in the NFL after limiting the Jets to just 3-of-13 on third downs. Miami’s 32.8 third-down percentage allowed leads the league, and the Jets’ 10 first downs were tied for the second-fewest in a single game this season.

No QB Controversy

Much of the discourse leading up to this game surrounded which quarterback gave Miami the best opportunity to win. Tua Tagovailoa was coming off of his worst professional outing, but he’s yet to turn the ball over through four games played. Ryan Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, coughs up the ball at an average of once per game.

A thumb injury shelved Tagovailoa against the Jets, robbing the rookie of a bounce-back performance. Instead, Fitzpatrick helmed the offense. And although some argue for the veteran to replace the youngster, there was no Fitzmagic Sunday.

Sure, Fitzpatrick piled up yards (257), but he provided just two touchdowns against the league’s worst defense. He flashed his chemistry with DeVante Parker, who finished with eight catches and 119 yards, but little else. In the absence of Tagovailoa, the Dolphins offense did little to indicate the rookie was the problem.

After the game, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores voiced his support of Tagovailoa going forward.

“If he’s healthy, he’s the guy,” Flores said.

Flores couched the statement by saying: “We’ll see how he does in practice over the course of the week. He’s a tough kid. It was very close to him being able to go, but we have to make good decisions for him as well. We’ll see how he does over the course of this week in practice.”

If he can go, Tagovailoa will face a Bengals defense that allows 26.3 points-per-game and 253.7 passing yards-per-game.

Dolphins Rushing Attack Leaves Much to be Desired in Win Over Jets

While the Dolphins defense continued to shine, the offense’s lackluster rushing attack reared its ugly head as well. Miami’s ground game lacked rhythm and was largely absent in the second quarter. While some of that falls on offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, as well as the offensive line, what’s clear is Miami doesn’t have a difference-making running back.

The Dolphins split 22 carries among three running backs and watched the trio gain 94 yards but cough up two fumbles. Matt Breida and Patrick Laird both saw their chances limited after the third quarter miscues.

DeAndre Washington submitted the best performance of the three, gaining 49 yards on 13 carries. He also caught two passes for 11 yards. He may have earned himself a few more snaps moving forward, even with the eventual returns of both Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed.

What’s become abundantly clear is that Miami needs a difference-maker in the backfield and that player is not currently on the roster. It’s particularly important to add one, considering one of Tagovailoa’s strengths is RPO. The “run” needs to be an option.

Xavien Howard, NFL’s Best Cornerback

Xavien Howard continued his All-Pro play, too. He nabbed his league-leading seventh interception, picking off Darnold in the fourth quarter. Howard matched his career-high with seven INTs and has five games to go. He became just the second cornerback in team history with multiple 7-plus interception seasons, joining Sam Madison (1998-1999).

Howard’s 19 interceptions since 2017 also pace the NFL. What’s incredible about Howard’s ball-hawking prowess is that he missed 16 games over that span. His career 0.37 interceptions-per-game is fourth-highest among players who made their debut in the Super Bowl era, per Elias Sports.

It’s not just interceptions, either. Howard broke up three other pass attempts, giving him 50 pass breakups for his career. He has 15 passes defensed this season, tied for second-most in the league and one behind the league leader.

Darnold was 3-for-10 for 37 yards and an interception when throwing at Howard. Opposing quarterbacks have just a 50.3 passer rating when testing Howard this season.

Dolphins Win Over the Jets Propels Team Back into AFC Playoff Picture

The Dolphins dominated the Jets to the tune of 44-3 this season. Those wins helped the Dolphins keep pace in the AFC. After Week 12, Miami remains just one game behind the Bills in the AFC East. With the win Sunday, coupled with keys losses by Indianapolis and Las Vegas, the Dolphins vaulted to the 6-seed in the conference.

Miami’s move up the standings comes thanks to a superior conference record (4-3) than both the Colts (3-4) and Ravens (4-4). But with five games to go, the Dolphins have a difficult task ahead.

The Dolphins will need to secure another win next week against the floundering Cincinnati Bengals (2-8-1). Minus Joe Burrow, this matchup has been robbed of its potential headline, but it remains as a must-win for Miami.  The final four games lack any easy opponents for the ‘Phins.

A win versus Cincy would put the Dolphins at 8-4 for the home stretch. Then comes the team’s stiffest test yet, a date with the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Kansas City Chiefs (10-1). After that, the Dolphins host New England (5-6), who could be playing for their playoff lives at that point.

What follows is another must-win: a road matchup with the Raiders (6-4). This could be a postseason play-in game. The regular season finale comes in Buffalo (8-3), and, considering the Bills have a stiff remaining schedule as well, it might very well be for the AFC East title.

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Miami Heat Sign Max Strus

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The Miami Heat just signed Max Strus, which pretty much showed that a roster can never have too much shooting.

Greg Sylvander reported in the past that Miami had interest in him, which isn’t surprising since Miami always ends up getting the guys they want, no matter how long it takes.

For starters, he’s a great offensive player which is mostly headlined by shooting. The attribute that comes up most with Strus is his shooting on the move off of screens. And well, Miami’s dribble hand-offs will clearly work in his favor.

He also has good size which means he can put smaller guys in the post when needed, which leads to him getting to the free throw line. And the last thing you want to do is put him on the free throw line, since he shot 96% from the stripe in the G-League.

He has obvious scoring abilities, after he averaged 20 points a game in his last year at DePaul, knocking down 3 triples a game on 36% shooting.

And college wasn’t the only place he put that on display, since he averaged 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game in the G-League, before tearing his ACL.

Adversity is the word that best describes Max Strus, since instead of trying to make that next jump in his game to get on an NBA roster, the long process of rehab had to begin.

But now he seems to be back and better than ever, since he was cleared for contact about a month ago.

His story before getting signed by Miami also seems a bit familiar. Playing Dll before heading to DePaul for two years. A good shooter who went undrafted. And now signed by Miami.

There’s a reason these stories always end up on Miami’s roster. It’s because they love guys who have something to prove, and Max Strus has something to prove.

And most importantly, there’s no better development group to trust than the Miami Heat.

Max Strus, welcome to Miami.

The Meyers Leonard Return: Running it Back

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“Whatever role I’m put in, I’m gonna do it and I’m gonna do it well.”

That’s what Meyers Leonard told media last week about his role heading into next season.

As training camp is set to begin tomorrow, there will be a lot of interesting changes that will be made. For one, Moe Harkless and Avery Bradley trying to mesh with the team, while Jae Crowder and Derrick Jones Jr have parted ways.

Another thing is that there will be increased roles for the young guys including a possible starting job for Tyler Herro, plus getting Precious Achiuwa and KZ Okpala acquainted with the team.

There seems to be so much uncertainty surrounding the rotation, but there’s a good chance we see a similar starting front-court from last season.

Bam Adebayo and Meyers Leonard headlined the front-court last season, and were a big reason that starting lineup was one of the most effective in the league.

The perimeter shooting from Meyers gives Bam the space he needs to work the offense, which usually occurs at the free throw line extended.

And the thing that stands out the most defensively with Meyers is the comfortability factor, since his vocal on-court attributes help everybody out on the floor.

Once again, that is something big for the young guys on the roster, since having a free safety in the back calling out screens and plays can truly help a player’s confidence.

“Watching what Jimmy did…It made me feel like I could run through a wall in all of my off-season training. And I have.”

That statement from Meyers sums up this Heat team. A big advantage Miami has over other teams is their chemistry on and off the floor, but mostly since they all drive each other to be better.

And that chemistry can possibly continue with a very similar starting lineup, except they get to sprinkle in some more depth throughout the game, which will be very important this season.

Meyers is looking to come back stronger than ever after recovering from his ankle injury, and this team knows he will be ready to make an impact on day one.

Miami Dolphins: Week 12 Stock Report

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Welcome back to another installment of Stock Up & Stock Down. In Week 12 of the NFL season our Miami Dolphins traveled to face a division rival in the New York Jets and were able to come out on top with a score of 20-3. Being led by our defense (as usual) and a surprisingly even keel performance from Ryan Fitzpatrick. A victory that we led throughout still left a dissatisfied taste in my mouth so with so much to dissect let’s dive right in:

Stock Up

DVP:

After a year where we saw Devante Parker take his game to a level, we have never seen from him, many of us who follow the Dolphins were curious to see what type of season he would have to confirm if last year was a fluke or a sign of what’s to come. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, nagging injuries and Qb changes, DVP hasn’t had a fair chance this year to show what he’s made of. Only twice all year has Devante been targeted more than 10 times with shocking results. The first against Seattle where he went off for 10 catches on 12 targets for 110 yards. The second came this week against the Jets where he converted 14 targets into 8 catches for 119 yards. Without getting ahead of myself and proclaiming that we need to feed DVP 10+ targets every game, what we do need to do is get him going in the offense early and often in every game, to get him into the rhythm of the game as the center piece of our offense.

Fitz & Offense:

Coming off 2 uneven performances for the offense against the Chargers and Broncos, we saw a completely different offensive performance. Whether you can place that on Fitz being out there or on playing the Jets, but we saw a way more effective offensive on Sunday. 8-16 on 3rd down, over 300 total yards, 100 total yards rushing, and winning the time of possession. While most want to vilify Gailey and make it seem like he just loves Fitz more like a son so he allows him more freedom, I would say my only critique on Gailey would be to allow Tua the same slack that’s given to Fitz. Gailey feels comfortable enough to run the same play back-to-back with Fitz and also allows Fitz the ability to continue to throw himself into a rhythm regardless of how the first few passes went. With Tua, it feels like if he doesn’t get into rhythm early, we are heading for an afternoon filled with 1- and 2-yard rushes.

 

Raekwon Davis:

Raekwon Davis is blossoming before our own eyes. Each week it feels it’s harder and harder to get him off the field for any reason outside of him being gassed and tired. PFF ranked Raekwon 2 weeks ago as the number 1 overall DT, last week he came in as the number 1 ranked rookie IDL and I cannot wait to see where he comes ranked this week. Every passing week my analysis of him showed that he was so close to getting hist first sack and it finally came against the Jets. It wasn’t a full sack as it was 0.5 with KVN but it still shows that the more he stays consistent with his technique and effort, the sky is the limit for him.

 

 

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Trust the Flocess

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Stock Down

 

RB Room:

One of the biggest areas that need to get attacked with a multitude of ways has to be the RB room. I would not object to have any of the RB from this year outside of Myles and Ahmed comeback to compete with the talent we should be bringing in this next offseason. This group top to bottom has done next to nothing from Jordan Howard only gaining 1or 2 yards to Breida forgetting how to run and now we have Myles and Ahmed both out. Outside of Deandre Washington who we recently traded for (he only averaged. 3.8 ypc) both Breida and Laird were benched due to fumbles and yet we somehow still ended up with over 100 yards rushing.

Jakeem Grant:

Another of my biggest disappointments have been the play of anyone attempting to soak up Preston’s snaps after his injury. Jakeem specifically comes to mind because he is always someone that flashes in limited opportunities, but we never seem willing to give him extended time with the offense. The past couple weeks have been different as Jakeem has exclusively had a chance to replace Preston with sprinkles of Antonio Calloway and Mack Hollins. Jakeem unfortunately, hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunities being given to him regardless if its Tua or Fitzpatrick out there throwing him passes. After the Preston injury against the Cardinals, Jakeem has totaled 8 catches on 13 targets for only 70 yards and 1 td. Those numbers would be impressive in 1 game but unfortunately are 3 games worth of stats.

 

 Offensive Line:

For the year the Dolphins have given up 24 sacks on the year. The first 14 came in the first 10 games with the last 10 sacks coming in the last 2 games. After the Broncos game, it was very obvious that the Jets were trying to do similar things to what was done to us last week. A lot of stunts and rushing from exotic alignments that confused us last week had similar results this week. Until we show on tape the ability the communicate clearly and to block 4 when you have 5 blockers, teams will continue to attack us. Last week I assumed that the lack of communication on the OLIne was on Tua being out of sync and not getting into a rhythm. With Fitz and all the years of experience he brings playing this week, there should have been no reason for the Oline to again struggle the same unless the problem is Karras as the “QB” of the Oline.

 

Overall, we didn’t win in a convincing enough fashion for us to have played a winless team. Regardless of who we played, we took care of business and improved our record to 7-4 on the year and in the middle of a playoff push. Next week we get the Bengals coming into town (with no Joe Burrow) and it’s another game similar to the Jets, where we should beat a team we are favored to win against.  Till next time guys, Fins Up!

 

 

 

Miami’s Building A Team for Erik Spoelstra

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There have been many roads that the Miami Heat have gone down with Erik Spoelstra running the show.

Big threes. Wild locker rooms. Wild personalities.

But now, he finally has his perfect group.

For starters, it’s obvious that Jimmy Butler is the perfect leader for a team that Erik Spoelstra is coaching, while Bam Adebayo is the perfect centerpiece going forward. But most importantly, the entire roster is forming to his exact liking.

That is because of a bunch of reasons, mostly headlined by versatility and depth. He has the perfect mixture of everything you would want: Veterans and Youth, Offensive talents and Defensive talents. It’s clear he has options.

Many teams in the past have seemed to be built for a specific player, but finally he has his team. His ideal team.

This season will allow Spo to be the most creative he’s been in his career. For one, teams will need to adjust and be creative as they were in the bubble, since this season will be like no other.

Everything seems to be up in the air with the rotation. Does he start a second year Tyler Herro or a veteran Avery Bradley? Do the power forward minutes go to veteran Moe Harkless or rookie Precious Achiuwa?

And honestly, he might have to go to it all, but at some point decisions will have to be made. Spo’s initial evaluation on the roster later in the season will no doubt be the correct one, since he’s been doing it for years.

Lastly, he finally has a bunch of dogs to coach, so he doesn’t have to worry about a lack of effort or intensity. There have been some instances over the past few years where he’s had some players that did not have that same mentality. But once again, he knows his lead dog has the mental toughness that he’s been waiting for, and now it’s time to be unleashed.

Erik Spoelstra solidified his coaching status after the incredible finals run this past year, but he’s not finished. He has a group of guys that fit perfectly, and he’s looking to do much more than just making it to the Finals.

A different weekend for the Florida Gators

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The Florida Gators have played the Florida State Seminoles usually on the weekend after Thanksgiving for 61 years straight. Ever since 1958, this tradition has held strong and provided an exciting rivalry game for Florida sports fans.

Gators fans would have loved to have this annual rivalry game this year considering they are the 6th ranked team. While the Seminoles are a team with a 2-6 record this year, it’s safe to assume that the gators would’ve taken this years game.

Overall, the Gators take the all-time win record holding 36 wins, 26 losses, and 2 ties in these 64 games. The Seminoles have had very well-known names including Deion Sanders and Derrick Brooks compete in this rival game. The Gators brought all-time greats Jack Youngblood, Emmitt Smith, and Percy Harvin into these games.

The biggest win of all-time in these games came when the Gators shutout the Seminoles for a 49-0 win in 1973.

Due to COVID-19, the SEC had to change the college football schedule around. As the season started 3 weeks later, many games had to be moved or canceled to account for the schedule changes. One consequence of these changes was the cancellation of the 61-year tradition.

The hope for Gators fans is that they can continue the rivalry next year with a record-breaking win, but for this Thanksgiving weekend, they had to settle for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Tua Tagovailoa

5 Keys to Dolphins-Jets in Week 12

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The Miami Dolphins (6-4) enter Sunday’s Week 12 contest against the New York Jets (0-10) coming off a difficult loss in Denver. The Dolphins offense lacked rhythm and ultimately saw rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa pulled from the game. Miami’s defense couldn’t stop the run despite managing a pair of turnovers.

The Dolphins playoff hopes took a hit with the loss, but Miami can get back on track with a win over New York on Sunday.

Here’s a look at five keys for the Dolphins versus the Jets in Week 12.

Dolphins-Jets: O-Line Must Bounce Back

The Dolphins offense submitted an anemic performance last week. Tagovailoa was under siege from a Broncos defense that was missing its top pass rusher. Denver racked up six sacks and eight quarterback hits.

Rookie Solomon Kindley entered the game with a sore foot and exited in the second quarter. The line shuffled Jesse Davis to right guard at that point, but the play didn’t improve. Each lineman allowed pressures and sacks in what was the worst performance by the line all season.

They couldn’t protect their QB and couldn’t open holes for the running game. Miami managed just 56 rushing yards, one off the season low (55 against the LA Rams).

But not all of the blame lands on the linemen though. Tagovailoa held the ball too long on a number of occasions. He needs to be more decisive in the pocket and drive the ball to receivers that may not immediately seem open.

The line will have its hands full against a Jets defense that sends an extra rusher 30.9 percent of the time (10th-highest). Last week, Miami’s line struggled with stunts and twists, something they’ll need to sort out ahead of Sunday’s game

Get to Darnold

The Jets announced that Sam Darnold will start against the Dolphins. Darnold missed the last two games with an injured right shoulder. He also missed the game in Miami earlier this season.

The Dolphins defense will need to get back on track, a week after failing to sack the quarterback for the first time this season. And that’s the biggest difference for this defense.

In their six wins, the Dolphins piled up 133 quarterback pressures. In their four losses, just 46 pressures. The last time they played the Jets, Miami managed a season-high 29 pressures and three sacks.

Emmanuel Ogbah was a force against the Jets in Week 6, registering 10 pressures and two sacks against Joe Flacco. Both Flacco and Darnold struggle when pressured and are prone to mistakes. Darnold has thrown 34 interceptions in 32 games with the Jets and six this season in six games.

In four career games against the Dolphins, Darnold has four touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s been sacked 11 times.

Dolphins-Jets: Get the Ball Downfield

Tagovailoa struggled in Denver despite not throwing an interception. Although he’s protected the ball well, Tagovailoa has yet to make very many plays down the field. Against the Broncos, he managed just 83 passing yards and 4.2 yards-per-attempt.

Too many of his throws are short. In three of his four starts, his yards-per-attempt has been under 7.0. After being pulled from last week’s game, Tagovailoa acknowledged his shortcomings and witnessed how Ryan Fitzpatrick nearly doubled his statistical output in a fraction of the plays. Some of that is play calling and situation, but the general point holds. Tagovailoa needs to challenge opposing secondaries with throws on target downfield.

Though Tagovailoa has been limited in practice this week with an injured thumb, this game against New York provides him the opportunity to take the next step in his development. The rookie has completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 602 yards and six touchdowns.

In Week 6 against the Jets, Fitzpatrick put up 191 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions. If Fitzpatrick gets the nod in this one, he’ll lean on a stonier chemistry with DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki, but he’ll need to take care of the football.

The Jets defense comes in after having allowed another rookie quarterback (Justin Herbert) to throw for 366 yards and three touchdowns. New York’s passing defense allows 288.3 yards-per-game (9th-most). The Jets start three rookies in their secondary and allow 30.2 points per game.

Stop the Run

The recent five-game win streak masked defensive deficiencies for the Dolphins. Although Miami sports one of the top secondaries in the league, the run defense has left much to be desired. The Dolphins surrendered a season-high 189 rushing yards and 5.7 yards-per-carry to Denver.

For the season, Miami’s run defense allows 4.8 yards-per-carry (27th) and 134.2 yards-per-game. The good thing is, the Jets don’t feature an overwhelming run game, but that’s mostly because they’ve been forced to pass. The Jets offense ranks 32nd in scoring (14.9 points-per-game) and total yards-per-game (268.6). Their 98.6 rushing yards-per-game rank 26th in the NFL.

The Dolphins welcomed back defensive tackle Christian Wilkins this week, which should help the run D. Wilkins missed the last two weeks while on the COVID list.

Dolphins-Jets: Next Man Up

Miami enters this Week 12 contest with a number of key injuries. The team has already listed recent starter at running back, Salvon Ahmed, as out. Kindley, too. Wide receiver and returner Jakeem Grant is listed as ‘questionable’ and Tagovailoa has been downgraded to ‘doubtful.’ Miami elevated QB Reid Sinnett from the practice squad.

Although Myles Gaskin, Miami’s leading rusher with 387 yards, returned to practice this week, he’s still on the injured reserve and would need to be activated before the game.

This uncertainty could affect the Dolphins pursuit of offensive consistency. The combination of youth and inexperience led to a number of difficulties last week. The team hopes to solve those issues against the Jets.

“Sometimes it’s protection, sometimes it’s holding the ball too long, sometimes it’s guys not getting open,” Chan Gailey said of the Dolphins difficulties in Denver. “I have to do a better job of calling plays where he doesn’t have to hold it.”

Rookie receiver Malcolm Perry, who saw 51 offensive snaps last week, could get more run if Grant’s out. Antonio Callaway, who played eight snaps and caught one pass versus Denver, could also see an uptick in opportunity. Recently acquired running back DeAndre Washington may also see more time should Gaskin remain unavailable. Washington’s played 14 snaps in two games, gaining five yards on two carries last week.

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Position-Less Basketball: Miami Heat Paving the Way

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There are a couple of different things that make Miami much different than other teams. The one I’ve mentioned quite a few times is their depth, but there might be something else.

Position-less basketball is clearly the way the league is turning to, since many teams don’t have true bigs or true point guards.

And well, the Miami Heat see the way that the league is going.

For starters, Bam Adebayo is the textbook definition of position-less basketball, since he can be the primary ball-handler on the floor at times. He’s not a traditional big, since he doesn’t go to work in the post, while only standing 6 foot 9 inches.

But every center wants to be the ball-handling and play-making center nowadays, since every big in the draft said they wanted to be like Bam.

Tyler Herro can be another representation of turning the tide, since he was labeled as a catch and shoot guy coming out of college. And now he might be the starting point guard in his second season.

He’s definitely earned that, since he improved his passing abilities tremendously before entering the bubble. But even though he has the attributes, he’s not the traditional point guard. And that’s exactly how Miami likes it.

Since they have such a deep bench this year, that means Erik Spoelstra will have a plethora of different lineups to try out, mostly because he can insert any of his players in any position.

When heading into free agency, I kept mentioning that Miami will be going after one mutual attribute. Versatility.

And they got that, adding one of the best defenders, in Avery Bradley, while also picking up a lengthy wing, in Moe Harkless, who can guard multiple positions.

Giving a top coach in the NBA this much flexibility is absolutely genius, and it also impacts many of their young guys who struggle on the defensive end.

While other teams in the East are scrambling to get better, Miami has found a bunch of counters, and they will all be beneficial in this very unique NBA season.

 

Miami Heat’s Preseason Schedule Released

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It was just released that the NBA Preseason will begin on December 11th, which is exactly two weeks from today.

The Miami Heat won’t kick off their season until December 14th, which will be against the New Orleans Pelicans.

After Miami plays New Orleans at home, they will take a four hour bus ride up to Tampa, to face off against the Toronto Raptors.

They are trying to bundle up games to make it as safe as possible, and the preseason games clearly worked out well for Miami.

Obviously there’s not much to dive into with exact match-ups yet, but there are some things that will be interesting for Miami.

For one, these two games will be great for Precious Achiuwa to get some run, since he doesn’t have the luxury of getting acquainted in the NBA Summer League.

Jimmy Butler and crew will need to get some run at the start as well, since working their way back in slowly will be important after such a quick off-season turnaround.

We may see these first two preseason games as a showcase for Miami, since there are a bunch of guys who are unsure of their exact role.

We will see how it all plays out, but at least basketball officially returns in two weeks. And that might be a long two weeks for many people.

Kendrick Nunn: Bounce-Back or Bounce-Out

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Kendrick Nunn is probably one of the more intriguing players heading into this next season for the Miami Heat.

He had a solid rookie season, in which he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. But after a disappointing bubble stretch, he isn’t getting the same respect.

He had some personal issues and Covid when he was heading in, so it was obvious that basketball wasn’t the primary thing on his mind. Then he went from starting point guard to out of the rotation, so that clearly had to weigh on his mind as well.

But what stood out most, in my opinion, was the heart he showed in the NBA Finals when he got some minutes. There were many moments that Miami couldn’t get anything going, since they were without Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo, but Nunn stepped up and hit some shots like he did all season.

With all that said, it seems as if Nunn should go back to a similar role heading into his second season, but that’s not the case.

He will be the third guard coming off the bench, since Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley will clearly have a bigger role than Nunn. As I’ve mentioned though, depth will be key this season and Miami has it, but Nunn still won’t have a defined role in the rotation.

There’s still a chance he can get some free-lancing minutes and shine, but there just isn’t a clear opening in the rotation to insert Kendrick Nunn right now.

That means that Erik Spoelstra will experiment with him in the first half of the season, then Miami can consider flipping him at the deadline.

Once again, his offensive talent has shined many times, which means he should be getting minutes and trying to develop with a defined role in this league. But I’m not so sure Miami fits that criteria for him right now.

We will see what ends up happening this season, and if Nunn can show out for the Heat right away, then that’s a good problem to have if you’re Miami. But then it’s decision time for Erik Spoelstra and the coaching staff.