While the Miami Heat were promptly swept by the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers last week, there were still two first-round series that had yet to wrap up. One of them includes Jimmy Butler’s Golden State Warriors against his hometown Houston Rockets; the other includes Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers against Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP, and the Denver Nuggets.
Both of those series were extended to the full seven games, with the Nuggets and Clippers wrapping theirs up Saturday night. The Nuggets secured a 19-point win at home, though arguably the biggest storyline from Saturday was Harden, once again, shriveling when the lights turned brightest, further quieting a puzzling online debate between him and Dwyane Wade.
No, James Harden’s not better than Dwyane Wade. Let’s stop acting like it:
Maybe it’s because I’m online too much, but a loud minority of individuals plaguing the interwebs–yes, we’re looking at you, Jeff Teague–believe Harden is either better than the Heat’s all-time great, or in the conversation of being better.
No, no he isn’t. Let’s talk about why.
Both are phenomenal regular-season players who elevated their team’s floor and ceiling for the full 82-game slate. Harden had the greater counting stats in the regular season due to his inflated usage rate. But Wade was the far superior two-way player, and Saturday was another episode of Harden being gone with the wind when his team needed him most in the playoffs.
He finished with just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting Saturday, adding five rebounds, a game-high 13 assists and two steals. Harden’s mixed a couple of good elimination game performances over his career; he overcame those woes in Game 6 mere days ago. But his shortcomings far supersede his best when the lights turn brightest, including in Game 7s.
Two seasons ago, Harden scored just nine points and seven assists (to five turnovers) on 3-of-11 shooting in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semis against the Boston Celtics. In 2019-20 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden had 17 points on 4-of-15 shooting (1-9 3PA) in 37 minutes; in 2020-21 with the Nets against Milwaukee, Harden had 22 points on 17 shots in 53 minutes–a game famous for Kevin Durant’s shoe barely being on the 3-point line to force overtime (instead of winning in regulation).
I could go on, but the history is too damning. Harden’s a great regular season player. Not in the postseason. Wade’s playoff history isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly not as detrimental as his counterpart’s.
Don’t forget Wade’s four-game superman heroics in the 2006 NBA Finals, averaging 39.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals from Games 3-7 after the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks opened with a 2-0 series lead. Or when Wade averaged 22.7 points and 4.9 assists on 54.6 percent true shooting in the three NBA Finals thereafter alongside LeBron James, including being the team’s best player in their 2011 disasterclass to Dallas. Or when he went on a three-game terror in the East semis against Indiana in 2011, including a 41-point, 10-rebound performance in a series-clinching Game 6.
Wade didn’t fold with his back against the wall. If I’m evaluating the all-time greats, the entire piece of the pie matters, not just what happened over the regular season. There’s no denying that Harden will go down as one of the greatest shooting guards ever and one of the most gifted passers ever for his position.
But he’s no Dwyane Wade. Let’s not get it twisted.
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in 3rd qtr 19 of bost 20 shots were 3s hello dunc for 2026
pop looks bad bummer
diff between nyk and boston is dunc d of nyk
I guess not
ive stated before ny knicks starting 5 as good as anybodys they have no bench.
wish you would make up your mind. Knicks losing by 20, they’re bad defensively. Knicks catch up and win, they’re as good as anyone. Holy cow, I am dizzy here.
thibs played starting 5 whole second half.
towns is weak brunson not good rest of dudes are good
Anyway, good game.
weve seen tatum and brown suk before first hand
I picked Boston. I’ll stick with that.
precious no pt for nyk he would help us.can guard and rebound
Free agent. Only 25.
Heat should not be incurring new debts. They should be clearing up old ones.
Miami doesn’t need any more B- players. They need an A+ and/or an A.
true but we have plenty of c d f players.terry being an f
thibs using no bench
ive stated before ny knicks starting 5 as good as anybodys they have no bench.
Looks like the honeymoon in L.A. is over. Luka may be available next year. (If he needs conditioning he will find it in Miami)
Luka Doncic Under Fire After Lakers Exit and Harsh Criticism Over Conditioning
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/nba-luka-doncic-under-fire-after-lakers-exit-and-harsh-criticism-over-conditioning/ar-AA1EcwVH?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=57ee5fa456a442e68beeeeba01c5ee92&ei=29
Funny, except for the conditioning issue, much of what is written could apply to Herro.
I think some average defensive players function much better in environments where teams play solid help defense. The better the help defense, the less exploitation of the weaker defenders. The stronger the defense, the greater the pressure on all players to excel defensively. If I was recruiting players, I would want to make sure they have the potential to be good/very good defenders. Herro (114.9) and Garland (114.7) were .2 difference in defensive ratings during the 2024-2025 regular season. Maybe their ratings are higher because they play with strong defensive teams. The Cavs (#8) and Heat (#9) are two of the top 10 defenses.
austin reaves should be under fire he was exposed
Luka will stay in LA. He knows, he is on crossroads. He can basically turns into Harden or Magic Johnson for the rest of career. So I believe he will be very well prepared next year.
He is not a bad team defender in the right lineup. But individually, small fast guards will blow by him with no problems, as always did. I remember several videos about it, when he came into league.
As Herro cant guard anybody heavier then him individually.
For those who didn’t see the Bleacher Report proposal that Big Guy posted (i gave my opinion comment to BG below):
Miami Heat receive: Ja Morant and Jay Huff
Memphis Grizzlies receive: Duncan Robinson, Kyle Anderson, Nikola Jović, Jaime Jaquez Jr., a 2025 first-round pick (via GSW), a 2029 first-round pick (top-four-protected) and a 2031 first-round pick
oh come on u think that will get ja lol
I don’t think anything about it. I just copied and pasted it. If you look at my comment below, you’ll see I noted I didn’t know if Memphis would accept the trade.
y even post it its absurd
Again, your opinion. Big Guy posted it earlier. Wake up. Someone in the industry didn’t think it was absurd.
click bait article to get ja herro would have to be in deal
Hey, you never know his attitude/personality with that gang banging could lower his price, and scare other teams probably. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I think it’s possible with what I described earlier with his mentality.
He’s a wanna be gang banger. Crips already called him out on that shit. Herro + ? for Morant? Hmm? Besides Morant, there are several players who could benefit from the conditioning and/or discipline in Miami e.g., Williamson, Mikal Bridges, LaMelo, Trae, Poole, Randall, Beale, Patrick Williams, Kuminga, Jalen Green, Henderson and others.
I’m not recommending Heat go after any of them. Jus sayin there are many head cases in NBA.
You ain’t lying about that.
porzingis should be avail next year
Damn heat, another whiteside? WTF?
7 3 whitesides not extinct quite yet best player in basketball hands down no ?? asked is a 7ft whitesideric .
diff between nyk and boston is dunc d of nyk
James harden always been in underperformer in the playoffs that ain’t nothing new, wade will always be better then harden, and anyone that thinks different is just stupid. But on another note ja morant is my top trade target, I’m ready for a change.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25192188-blockbuster-nba-trades-teams-ready-risk-it-all
Okay, I don’t personally like him, but he is a young gifted player. If he doesn’t do stupid stuff like he has in the past, and is team oriented, you have to consider it. I wonder if Memphis would accept that deal, it seems a bit low and keeps our entire core intact. Again, taking away the personality, it would provide 2 needs – pg and backup center.
I feel you on that and I think miami heat is a great place to set him straight, while in the process making him better. Yes, it would provide 2 needs with huff, but also it would give us a possible clutch finisher, can’t forget that clutch dagger he hit on us to win that one game.
glad we didnt play indiana might have lost by 67
Indy 2 way athletes Mia one way herro type players who gets attacked on defense been this way for years yet some are ok with him being on the team when he should’ve been traded years ago but pat thinkthsts his son or sees himself in herro so he like to live vicariously through him
i dont like him either rc disagrees with that.
You are really talking out of your butt, bro. How many times did you write this season saying there was no sg playing better than Herro? I didn’t count, but you said it often, sometimes more than once in the same game. No all of a sudden, you don’t like him. Pretty hypocritical.
during reg season when he has fresh legs offensively hes very good and his d was acceptable .but ty wears down or either gets hurt.i believe both finals series he was unavail.his terrible playoff versus cleve showed why he cant be trusted in the real season.when he goes against top competition if hes not hurt hes bullied.i want the heat to resign him to a reasonable contract but use him coming off the bench for 15-20 mins a game.
You are so totally unrealistic. First of all, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY HERRO WILL ONLY PLAY 15-20 minutes a game, no matter what team he ends up with. Even if we agree on the sixth man role, he’ll still get 30 minutes. And what ‘reasonable’ contract are you talking about? He was in year 2 of a 4 year contract. He will be paid $31 million and $33 million over the next 2 seasons. He is also eligible for an extension. I want the Heat to trade him while his value is at his highest and before those extension conversations when the number requested by his agent will likely be in the $40-50 million a year range.
And again, I wasn’t talking about the playoffs. All season long, you constantly said how he was one of the best sg in the league.
Herro, as you have correctly stated, is not a #1 or maybe even #2 option. He needs to be playing with an A level player who will draw attention away from him.
u over rate ty defense is 50% of game in playoffs herro wont get u jewelry.good reg season scorer,he gets kille din playoffs.
C’mon man, I do not overrate his defense. Never have.
It’s too bad they don’t have betting here because I would bet you that he is a starter or sixth man at worst on whatever team he plays for who would average 30 minutes a game.
In the 2024-2025 NBA season, Tyler Herro had a defensive rating of 114.9. That is middle of the pack in the NBA. Check out some of the big name players with worse defensive ratings than his.
Booker: 122.6
Beal: 120.8
LaVine: 118.8
Brunson: 118.2
Murray: 117.8
Irving: 117.6
Fox: 117.0
Haliburton: 115.3
Lillard: 115.2
Note: Not a whiteside in the bunch.
book lavigne ?can u tell me how they determine that rating please. please watch the games always the barometer.when a player calls out a player for his weak ass d that says more than some cockamamee rating systemthank u darius if a player gets blown by and bam blocks the shot is that a good rating bad rating no rating pls explain the rating system.all i know when tyler is healthy in playoffs game plan is attack him,hes as bad a defender with dunc luka in the group.
u might be onto something maybe pat sees himself lot like ty pelle dunc jjj jovic
The main problem is, that Heat has nothing in the right place at the moment.
Heat have two good players which just proved, that cant be a leader of this team, but they proved in the past, that can be 2nd and 3th option in good team.
Heat have a bunch of young players, which are unfinished products, and need more time to develop.
Heat have a bunch of vets, which doesn’t fit or are not good enough to help the team.
So the obvious way forward is:
-spent a year to develop young players and find another option 2 or 3 among them.
-get rid of current vets and find those who fits better or they are just better.
-trade one of Herro or Bam for no.1 option.
Its a process, it cant be done overnight. It will take a year at least.
it could be a year or a decade hard to say.with sunman a year with riley a decade.look at portland wash charl etc we could be joining that list .we need some sun in miami not shine the man.miamis a beaut city sun get a condo brickell u can walk to work or take your boat to work.doc right next to heat arena,in 5 years that arena will be called sunman arena.and guarantee i would have shaken rcs hand in july.
The terrible Wades statue will be removed then , and the new one of HFL, a mastermind behind kicking out Riley and bringing Sunman in, will gets his own.
How proud I will be some day, talking to grandchildren, that I spoke with all those great minds on HHH.
ty vagi u have good taste
who do i send a pic to
First, you have to wait till Sunman wins the title. But, its the statue, so the artist will need more then a picture. I suggest to start to sharp you muscles, to rise to an occasion. Its sad that the statue of superman like person differ too much from original.
As I said before, when Heat wins the title, I m coming on parade too (and all occasions connected with HHH members and Heat).
with pat as gm ill settle for above 500record
Let’s make that a date. We’ll all meet at heat’s house. He can show us out-of-towners all of the sites.
kaseya center or hollyweed ?
Start with weed. We can figure the rest out later.
Thanks Vagi.
As I said to heat, I know we don’t always agree on everything, but I also know we all have good intentions and want to see the team succeed. I’m confident it will. It may take a year, or more, but it will happen. I’m looking forward to the transition process. The glass is definitely half full. Hang in there.
GO HEAT!!!
Thanks heat. I know we don’t always agree on everything. But as RC says, we all have good intentions. We all want to see Miami put a competitive team on the floor and succeed. We just have different ways of expressing ourselves.
It’s very frustrating when management, coaching staff or players don’t perform up to our expectations. Sometimes, out of adversity comes opportunities. If the Heat hadn’t totally collapsed in front of God, country and the world, maybe there would not be this sense of urgency by Arison, Riley and Spoelstra that we have all been feeling. Maybe Riley would again be talking about “running it back with minor tweaking.
It’s now clear to everyone that the team needs a major course correction to avoid being a mediocre team for years to come. It’s also clear that Miami needs an A+ or A all-star player, a closer. The Heat cannot become stagnant while younger, more athletic teams continue to rebuild and improve. Look at Detroit, which went from 14-68 to 44-38 in one season. Look at Houston, which went from a lottery team in 2024 to the second best record in the west (fourth best record in the NBA) in one year.
I don’t think any of us expect Miami to turn this disastrous season around immediately. However, we all expect management to develop a strategic plan and take immediate and decisive steps to begin constructing a team that can compete at the highest level. I don’t ever want to see the kind of collapse we saw against Cleveland again in my lifetime (especially what we saw in those last two games).
There’s no better time to begin the process of rebuilding the team than right now! I expect to see quite a bit of activity leading up to the draft, over the summer, prior to the trade deadline and again over the summer of 2026. The Heat could go through a complete transformation (for the better) by the time it’s season opener rolls around in October 2026.
Hang in there, be patient and think positively. It should be an interesting ride.
GO HEAT!!!
that all sounds great sun.but about 25 other teams feel the same way.and d wade no longer plays for us
It’s like looking for a house. Just looking for one A+ or A player and development of youngsters.
All this bitching and moaning will not change a single thing. Face reality. Sorry to tell you, but Spo and Riley are not getting fired. I agree that every player should be made available for the right deal. Do very little and position for 2026? Fine. Make deals this offseason to improve our chances? Fine, if it’s possible.
People wanted to see the team make the playoffs? Fine. I did not. Some say they don’t care about good draft picks, and then complain that their team hasn’t improved.
I look forward to see what moves this team makes, come what may.
steph curry sending houston fishing.tyler herro sending cleve lol
kd should go to houston
and Giannis to OKC!
he aint coming here
The Clippers’ owner isn’t a tightwad. He has spent on players and a new arena (Intuit Dome cost him $2 billion). Too bad they haven’t reciprocated by winning a few series. Back to the drawing board. They ain’t getting any younger.
Bottom line
who cares this is a heat site sun
My point is he’s a billionaire and he isn’t afraid to spend…unlike some other folks. 😉
mickeys cheap no doubt.afraid to go over rcs apron.guys one of the richest man in the world.
Two thirds of all the owners must be cheap because he outspends them. If you are not interested in understanding the cba, and the egregious penalties you could incur, that’s on you.
Lol, the guy who has posted multiple comments about several teams today who were not the Heat.
the owner ugly bald headed geek ,how bout a kawhi trade to maimi
No thanks tired of over the hill part time injury prone players
The difference Indy has athletic players Mia has herro type players.
100% correct again
ty jerome vs athletes not looking to good
strus major charge call good d unlike 55 game changer possibly.took rc about 4 years recognize maxbetter player
No it did not. And yeah, just look at that ss level game Strus had tonight. 2 for 9, 7 points. And Duncan had as good a year. And Strus is not, was never a great defender. Better than Duncan? Yeah, but much better? No.
Cheaper, but Robinson higher ppg and 3pt% and already being overpaid.
Always hated that contract. Strus is overpaid now also.
Yup. So are Vincent, Martin and others. Heat dodged a bullet with Caleb Martin. Talk about athletic as hell and dumb as a rock. Turn down 5 years/$65M for 4 years/$32M. WTF?
Athleticism is just one qualification. BBIQ, skill, work ethic, off court behavior, personality, coachability, winning attitude, etc. are also very important.
I don’t care how athletic a player is if they are lazy, a wife beater, a troublemaker, poor on and off court behavior, arrogant, entitled, nonconforming, negative attitude, etc.
most important u left out pure ability which caleb doesnt have
Athleticism is one thing, skill is another. Caleb has the physical attributes, he is lacking in other departments.
max is a bad contract to.theyre both on same level not good enough
Correct. Bad contracts are bad contracts. Miami has a few right now that should be gone a year from now (if Riley doesn’t get desperate and go for a whale without the team to back it up. Giving up half the team and several draft picks to get a whale makes absolutely no sense. Phoenix tried that, now look at them. S-C-R-E-W-E-D!
a young whale yes kd no
f u pat u suk no more posts sunman we suk please stop fantasy land dreams.trade ty and bam start over
“When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing.” ~ Bo Schembechler ~
it didnt have to be like this u got a ss keep him happy whatever the f it takes.wiggins slo mo lol
So you’re saying “winning is everything, self-respect is overrated…let the inmates run the asylum?” The players are just hired personnel. They don’t run a damn thing! You see what happens when you turn the team over to a player? Just take a look at the Lakers. FTS!
i respect duncan he tries hard.i dont respect bam as much theres more in the tank.which player would i rather have.bam of course
F*ck that quitter! You should be more angry at him than ever! He has shown that he took the Heat’s money and gave no effort. If he showed up and busted his ass last season, he likely would’ve gotten the extension.
i agree rc hes a pos but hes so talented i wish he was still here.hes not so f him im rooting for minnesota big time
He’s talented when he wants to play hard (earn his pay). He’s not very talented when he is dogging it and whining like a little b****!
I just hope you can try and chill a little. You and others are definitely right that Riley and Spo, but not just them, deserve criticism for the current state of the team.
I just want the season to end, so we can start making changes for the better.
fire pat fire pat drafts all these one way pos
thomas bryant would have really helped us bad move pat
Again, more bs. First of all, he definitely wouldn’t have changed any result. Second, they did it in order to sign Dru. Then Dru got hurt, so they gave the contract to Keshad.
the way ware played he would have been better than ware.unfort thats the truth
Dude you didn’t like him when he was here and you were begging for Ware to play. You were against him before you were for him. WTF?
The guy who kept ragging on Riley and Spo to play Ware from day 1. Now he sucks.
A different opinion every time the wind changes direction. And, of course, “ you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”
heat culture 2025 baby
not sure what happened to ware he caught the jjj syndrome.7ft got me excited but man did he fizzle out like jjj.heat culture now means start out good subsequently suk.bryant is a heady vet ware is lost in space(gr8 tv show btw)
ok he would have made a difference ware sukd
Yeah, we would’ve won 2 more games. Big difference he would’ve made. The second coming of The Dream. He has been a journeyman for years.
ind not gonna lose by 57
cleve gonna need garland theyre not playing the heat
indiana has all 2 wayers and tj .pats clueless fire him
Ringless. Nuff said.
so is marino
And Stockton, Malone and Barkley, and cp3, etc
good list rc first name comes to my mind is 13.dont care about the others man im gonna be a big rockets fan tonight,jimmy only getting one day off is good news
Now that Rockets lost, are you going to be big Warriors fan? Asking for a friend.
fk no .i dislike curry with mouthpiece sht and dramond with his wackiness.although id have to say the best sports interview which are usually very clicheish is dramond green dude is super intelliigent and enlightening.some great series coming up .seeing what good teams look like after watching the heat nothing to do but be mad at pat,nothing spo can do.
Harden have a history of underperforming when matter the most. In fact, he is known by that.
He and Wade are not in the same category.
Totally agree! Harden may be a better scorer and assist player, but Wade was a better, more accomplished player.
we like james down here he got us our first ring.i was shocked how good he was playing for the most part but the real playoff james finally showed up.james puts up hof reg season #s but your never gonna get jewelry if beard is on your team.the best player in the series i thought was kawhi he was awesome.kawhis the quiet assasin .one of the most humblest ss in any sport.
Kawhi, when healthy, is definitely a winner.
So are Embiid, Zion, Holmgren, Wemby, George, Anthony “Day to day” Davis, “the Balls” and others.
Don’t forget Oladipo.
Oladipo and Dru injuries were so unfortunate.
Perhaps, but Kawhi proved it in 2 finals. Most of those others haven’t.