Five On The Floor: Miami Heat/NBA

We haven't seen much of him yet. But there have been enough glimpses of Miami Heat 2019 second-round pick KZ Okpala to excite Miami Heat fans. The raw talent is obvious. Can he put it together and contribute soon? Okpala joins Five on the Floor to discuss his background, his Stanford career, his progress at Sioux Falls in the G-League, and the players he models himself after. Oh, and after Chi...

Did the Miami Heat do the right thing? Ethan J. Skolnick, Alex Toledo and Alphonse Sidney look back at the major transaction of the season, when the Heat sent Justise Winslow (plus the contracts of Dion Waiters and James Johnson) away for Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill. Was it the right move in retrospect? How is it affected by Covid-19? And what can be expected from Iguodala and Cro...

One year after the unpopular choice of Tyler Herro by the Miami Heat, hosts Ethan J. Skolnick and Alex Toledo discuss the 20-year-old guard who has taken South Florida by storm. Where would Herro go in a re-draft? Of course, Zion and Ja go 1-2? But should the Heat have taken Sekou at No. 13? Kevin Porter Jr.? Brandon Clarke? Is Herro a better long-term option than RJ Barrett, who went 10 picks hig...

While 2021 cap space remains the objective for the Miami Heat, there will be work to be done whenever this odd season ends. And Miami, while negotiating with its own free agents (Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard, Jae Crowder, Derrick Jones Jr.) may be searching for a one-year fix. Ethan J. Skolnick, Alex Toledo and Greg Sylvander join to discuss Paul Millsap, Serge Ibaka, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and...

The plans are out. We now know where players will stay, how their health will be regulated, how they will entertain themselves, who they can bring, and how often they will eat. But how will the Miami Heat in particular handle the NBA's Orlando bubble when the season resumes? We think it will be well, and we explain why, running down a list of the NBA's best leaders, like LeBron James, Gian...

With the NBA season set to resume in Orlando on July 31st, everything is now again in doubt as a sizable group of players (reportedly led by Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving) held a conference call to discuss their concerns about the plan, in light of social unrest in the country, COVID-19 and the strict nature of the NBA plan.  Alphonse Sidney and Alex Toledo join Ethan J. Skolnick to discuss tho...

We covered the five members of the Miami Heat with the most at stake as the NBA season resumes. What about the rest of the NBA? Jared Greenberg of NBA TV joins with his list. LeBron's on it, of course. And someone on the 76ers. But a couple of the others will surprise. And Heat fans will perk up at the Giannis talk. Sponsored by ChiropracticKeystone.com and ChristophersBakery.com/fivereasons (...

Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler developed chemistry this season and helped the Miami Heat surprise toward a top 4 seed in the East. But where do they rank among NBA duos?  Ethan J. Skolnick and Alphonse Sidney are joined by Brady Hawk to discuss his article. The Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis? The Clippers with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George? The Rockets with James Harden and Russell Westb...

Ethan J. Skolnick, Greg 'Lefty Leif' Sylvander and Alex Toledo hop on to talk about the five Heat personnel with the most at stake with the NBA return and ensuing Playoff run this summer.   Sponsors: MACA.inc (Make America Clean Again) Gonzalez & Tybor (Bankruptcy & Student Loans) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Now that the NBA season is coming back, on July 31, what does it mean for the Miami Heat? Ethan J. Skolnick, Alphonse Sidney and Alex Toledo discuss the 8-game regular season schedule the Heat will likely face, the condition the players may be in, and the matchups they might want. They all cover the meaning of "home court" seeding now that there is none. Sponsored by MacaInc. Net (clean an...

The NBA will return July 31. That will be made official this week with the Board of Governors' vote, but ESPN and others already reported it's a done deal. It's 22 teams, including the Miami Heat, with 8 regular season games prior to a possible play-in tournament and then the playoffs. Sam Amick, national NBA writer for The Athletic, joins Ethan J. Skolnick to discuss the plan and all...

First, it was Covid-10. Now, the nation's crisis has gotten worse, after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. Ethan J. Skolnick and Alphonse Sidney discuss a serious topic: Should the NBA come back? Are their players' voices needed in this crisis? Or should the league just shelve the season, with more important issues at play? Sponsored by Gonzalez & Tybor law...

Fans fall hard for certain players.  Does that influence the way a team handles them? Ethan J. Skolnick and Alphonse Sidney discuss how the Miami Heat have handled that balance over the years -- focusing now on Tyler Herro, Meyers Leonard and others.  Miami will have difficult decisions to make to build a contender. Who do they keep? Trade? And how will fans feel about it? Sponsored by Chiropracti...

Ethan Skolnick, Alphonse Sidney and Alex Toledo are joined by the youngest Five Reasons Sports contributor, Brady Hawk, to talk about the latest NBA developments and to rank the Miami Heat's young core (Bam, DJJ, Herro, Nunn, KZ) against the rest of the NBA?  Better than New Orleans (Zion)? Dallas (Lukas)? Boston (Brown and Tatum)? Memphis? Atlanta? Phoenix? Sponsored by MacaINC.Net and MrMsSu...

There continue to be reports about an NBA return in Orlando, and now there's more discussion about seeding the teams 1-16, without conferences. That means the Miami Heat would play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. On paper, that sounds like an OK matchup, but digging deeper, Chris Paul and company would present problems. Ethan Skolnick and Alex Toledo break it down. Sponsored by B...

Greg Sylvander joins Ethan Skolnick, Alphonse Sidney and Alex Toledo to discuss the entire 10-part series The Last Dance, about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. How legitimate was it? How biased? What did we all learn about the NBA then and now? And how would life for the Miami Heat have been different without MJ around? Sponsored by UBreakItWheelFixIt.com and OneCallLegal.com Advertising Inq...

Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports may have willed it into existence. He wrote a month ago that the NBA should consider Orlando's Wide World of Sports as a site for its 2019-20 season return. Now that site appears to be the frontrunner.  Ethan Skolnick and Alex Toledo speak to Smith about all the developments.  How would it work? Who would compete? How would they stay safe? What will it mean for the...

We hope the NBA season isn't over. But if it is, some Miami Heat players are in contention for awards. We discuss two of those honors, Most Improved Player (Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson) and the All-NBA teams (Bam and Jimmy Butler). What are their chances? What biases may work against them?  Ethan, Alex and Alf are joined by mega-Heat fan Luis Peters of LuisPeters.com (State Farm) Also sponsor...

ESPN has released its list of the top 74 players in NBA history... and we have some questions. Ethan J. Skolnick and Alex Toledo are joined by resident Five Reasons Sports NBA historian Ricky J. Marc to review the selections, starting with Dwyane Wade but also focusing on the other five players on the Heat (Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, Alonzo Mourning, etc.) who played for the Heat.  Sure s...

In a double episode, Ethan J. Skolnick and Alphonse Sidney discuss the latest developments in the NBA talks toward playing this season. Things sound.... promising, especially with LeBron James involved.  Then they are joined by Will Weinraub of the Lessons Via Leaders podcast to discuss the differences in leadership styles between coaches, specifically Pat Riley and Phil Jackson. How would each ha...

In the latest edition of the Miami Heat Stories series, Ethan J. Skolnick and Alex Toledo are joined by former Heat player (1990-99) and current Heat scouting director Keith Askins. They discuss his signing with the Heat as an undrafted free agent, his role before Pat Riley arrived, the Heat's transformation in the Riley era, some highlights from the Big 3 era (when Askins was an assistant) an...

After episodes 7 and 8 of the ESPN documentary #TheLastDance, Ethan J. Skolnick and Alex Toledo discuss Michael Jordan and LeBron James, with Ethan sharing stories of his 1-on-1 interactions with LeBron.  Whose personality and leadership approach would work better in the other era?  Jordan's demanding nature... now? Or LeBron's more collective manner... then? Sponsored by Gonzalez & Ty...

After Ethan J. Skolnick appeared on Daniel Healy's Essex-based Miami Heat podcast, Healy (@TheMiamiHeatUK) returns the favor as they discuss: -- How Healy became an obsessed Heat fan so late in the game -- How the Heat are received in the United Kingdom -- How the Heat-Bucks series would have worked out? -- Some Big 3 moments that Healy may have missed... -- Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson....

After discussing the latest news about the NBA's return -- with some inside info from Ethan J. Skolnick -- the guys start Start, Bench, Cut with great NBA players of the past and future. (Hat tip to @TheNBACentral). MJ, Kareem, Hakeem, Mailman, Sir Charles and more are debated in 8 different combinations.  They are joined by mega-Miami Heat fan Courteney Harris, whose Christopher's Bakery...

Paul Pierce can't seem to get over the Miami Heat. He disparaged them this week. But is he right? And with the struggles of the Indiana Pacers ownership during Coronavirus, is it more likely that Victor Oladipo or Myles Turner becomes an option for Miami? Ethan J. Skolnick, Alex Toledo and Alphonse Sidney discuss. Sponsored by MACAINC.Net and ChristophersBakery.com/fivereasons (code fivereason...