If you ever thought to yourself ‘this hat is great but it could really use some saddlebags” then New Era and TOMBOGO have the perfect collaboration for you.
San Francisco area designer Tommy Bogo has come up with a hat with New Era that will finally match the shorts your dad insists on wearing to Olive Garden when he wants to take those breadsticks to go. That’s right, we now live in a world where they make cargo hats.
According to Hypebeast, the $120 hats are part of a modular series of headware TOMBOGO has made with New Era that comes with removable cargo pockets. Here’s how the site describes these very bewildering hats.
Using the classic headpiece as a base, the multi-functional hat features an all-black colorway with a pair of matching detachable cargo pockets that can be snapped or unsnapped. The pockets can also be swapped for other utility attachments such as a storm Hood. Each storm hood was hand-tailored with Escobar Tailors in San Francisco, California.
What this actually looks like, though, is that you put cargo pockets on a New Era 5950. Most of these appear to be blank black hats, or with the TOMBOGO logo on them. But there’s also a “friends and family” version that are made with bay area teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics.
Considering there’s a group of purists that don’t even like keeping New Era logos on their baseball caps, there’s bound to be a cold reception from baseball fans. But this is a particular fashion choice that’s being marketed as such. The $120 hats will be available on StockX, for one, so they’re certainly being marketed to fans of a particular aesthetic rather than casual baseball fans. Either way it will pair very nicely with those new Yeezy basketball shoes that look like what’s left after a cartoon cat eats a whole fish with one bite.
For the past decade, the NBA had been effectively ruled by a pair of super teams in the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors. Both teams boasted a trio (or, in Golden State’s case, a foursome) of superstars that, while proven to be beatable in the Finals by another great team, didn’t have glaring, potentially fatal flaws.
This season, however, the three top contenders in the league entered the playoffs with real question marks beyond health that could lead to their downfall, which feels a bit strange. The Lakers, Bucks, and Clippers — the three teams with the best odds to win a title — all have shown their respective flaws thus far in the Bubble. All are great teams, but all of them have legitimate question marks and points of weakness that have led all three to losing games already in their first round matchups. What’s resulted is the most fun opening round of the playoffs we’ve had in years.
The Lakers and Bucks mirror each other in many ways, and the biggest questions facing both regard the role players that surround their superstars. These are players that were excellent in the regular season but, to this point in the Bubble, have struggled to regain their rhythm or effectiveness on either end of the floor. These were once two of the top defensive teams in the league, but in Orlando have yet to find the cohesiveness on that end to lock down opponents in the same way. This has led to a lot of good looks for opponents, and in the empty gyms of Disney’s Wide World of Sports, that has led to teams being able to light them up at times.
For the Lakers, the offensive woes come down to two things: shooting and creation. The former has been dismal in Orlando, which is strange because most everyone has noted how the fanless environment has made them great shooter’s gyms. The hope is that those shots eventually start falling, especially for the likes of Danny Green, whose chief offensive value is the ability to knock down shots. As for creation, the load in that area falls almost exclusively on LeBron James, who set a new playoff career high with 16 assists in the Lakers loss in Game 1, while the rest of the team combined for just six assists total.
Rajon Rondo’s return may help in that area, but certainly won’t provide a lift with shooting, and it’s the biggest issue of roster construction for the Lakers. There isn’t a perfect lineup that exists for the Lakers, as every effort to fix one area of need only further exasperates another. You can add a facilitator but take away a shooter. You can add a shooter but limit your defense and offensive creativity.
For Milwaukee, the same questions from years past persist. They’re a team that gives up three-pointers by design, and in a gym that, as I mentioned, has been described as a great shooter’s environment, those shots are going down at a higher rate. Add in some rust and you have a defense that is no longer an impenetrable force you have to bomb from the outside, but one where you can probe and collapse to create legitimately great looks.
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On offense, they can still become extremely stagnant in the halfcourt, and when opponents aren’t turning the ball over and aren’t missing threes, they don’t get the easy baskets in transition that can mask some of their halfcourt woes. Teams load up on Giannis to build a wall in front of him, with a secondary focus on keeping one eye firmly on Khris Middleton to contain him. This means that until Eric Bledsoe shows he can step up in the postseason, the Bucks offense can be contained in the halfcourt. A look down the roster makes you believe in the Bucks role players, but when their two stars aren’t getting to the rim and the free throw line, things can turn ugly.
The other contender is the Clippers, and they face two different key questions. One is whether Paul George can consistently give them what they need in the playoffs, as we know what to expect from Kawhi Leonard come postseason time but George has shown in recent years (and in Game 2) that he can sort of waver in and out of effectiveness from game to game. A lack of cohesion for the Clippers is the other chief issue they face, as they’ve yet to get their guys on the floor together a lot this season and, especially, in the Bubble.
While Leonard may not need consistent time with his teammates to be effective in what he does, the role players do in order to know what spots to be in around him to be most effective. That has reared its head in the form of a sloppy offensive performance against a Dallas defense that has been woefully bad, as L.A. has been unable to get consistently easy buckets against them. With Montrezl Harrell, Lou Williams, and Patrick Beverley all in and out of the lineup recently, the lack of rhythm for a team with consistency issues makes for a real problem.
We’ve grown accustomed to being able to pencil a few teams into the Finals — or, at minimum the conference finals — in recent years. That has changed pretty dramatically this season, as the gap between the very top of the league and the “very good” teams has shrunk, and we’re seeing that play out in the playoffs. It’s quite possible we still get the Battle for L.A. in the West and the Bucks find their stride and steamroll through the East, but it seems increasingly likely that someone else spoils the party.
The layoff has exacerbated some of the issues these three teams face, as all three were knocked out of a rhythm they’d established going into the playoffs, and each one of them was an excellent home team who no longer has the benefit of home court advantage. Still, these were questions that persisted even before the hiatus and are rearing their ugly heads at the worst possible time. Part of what made facing the Warriors and Heat so difficult was knowing that in order to beat them, you had to play five near-perfect games of basketball, because even in one game where you played your best, they were still going to beat you.
That same pressure doesn’t exist against the Bucks, Lakers, or Clippers right now. The Blazers were far from perfect in Game 1 and gutted out a win. The Magic, sure, played about as well as they can in Game 1, but for a Toronto, Boston, or Miami, they have to be looking at that game and thinking they’ve got more than a real shot to take down the Bucks. Dallas was able to win the bench battle against the Clippers with the likes of Trey Burke and Boban Marjanovic, despite L.A.’s bench once being the best second unit in the league.
If the opening rounds of the playoffs once felt like a mere formality, 2020 is offering us a rare reprieve in the form of a thrilling opening round that only figures to get more competitive in the conference semis. Parity isn’t always the best thing for a league, as nothing draws eyes quite like an elite villain. If the top teams fall early, that could lead to a Finals that doesn’t meet the standards we’ve seen in recent years, but for now it’s making these early rounds much more intriguing.
Shortly after the announcement that HBO Max will release Zack Snyder’s original version of Justice League — a.k.a. the infamous “Snyder Cut” — Cyborg actor Ray Fisher went online to vent his frustrations with alleged abuses committed by Joss Whedon after the director replaced Snyder and delivered the poorly-received theatrical version of the film. While Fisher’s allegations made for some interesting headlines and unearthed rumors of behind-the-scenes drama, it appears WarnerMedia is taking the issue seriously. According to a report in Variety, the studio has launched an internal investigation into the production that will focus on Whedon as well as producers Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, who Fisher also publicly accused of misconduct:
There have been no findings yet, and there is no specific timeline for the investigation. The source stressed that WarnerMedia hasn’t prejudged Whedon, Johns, or Berg, that the investigation is not limited to them, and that to preserve the integrity of the investigation, the company won’t conduct it in the public sphere.
Fisher was the first to announce the investigation on Twitter on Thursday.
I believe this investigation will show that Geoff Johns, Joss Whedon, Jon Berg (and others) grossly abused their power during the uncertainty of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner.
Thank you @WarnerMedia and @ATT for making strides to ensure a safer workplace for all!
The brewing Justice League scandal started in late June when Fisher retracted his support of Whedon in the lead-up to Justice League‘s theatrical release.
But as the story began to grow, Fisher pulled back on his public statements and warned fans during an Instagram Q&A that he had to tread lightly to avoid being sued into oblivion, although, he did promise that “we will get it done, and we will win.” From there, the issue seemed to die down until Fisher returned again in August to specifically call out Johns, who has been a top talent at DC Comics for decades.
During the LA reshoots for Justice League, Geoff Johns summoned me to his office to belittle and admonish my (and my agent’s) attempts to take grievances up the proper chain of command.
That accusation came just over a week ago, and with the news of a reported investigation underway, it appears that Fisher is feeling more confident in naming names. The investigation appears to be in its early stages, but it will be interesting to see what unfolds as Whedon is still regarded as a powerful figure in the superhero genre thanks to his work directing Marvel’s Avengers and its sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Thursday brought news that Showtime had picked up Moonbase 8, an A24 project where Reilly will lead astronauts played by Tim Heidecker and Fred Armisen to space without completely losing their minds in the process. Much like Space Force, not much of the show is set in space itself.
As Showtime explained, Moonbase 8 will take place in Winslow, Arizona at NASA’s Moon Base Simulator. The show will feature Armisen’s Skip, Heidecker’s Rook, and Reilly’s Cap working together to qualify for their first mission. Apparently, though, things get weird and they’ll “question their own mental sanity, trust in each other and whether or not they’re cut out for space travel.”
“In a year when we have all been forced to come to terms with life in close quarters, we are happy to have landed this offbeat take on life in captivity with dreams of escaping to something grander,” Jana Winograde, president of entertainment at Showtime, said in a statement. “While the show was produced before the pandemic, its subject matter is timely – and thanks to Fred, Tim, John, and Jonathan, its humor is timeless.”
Considering the cast for the show it seems inevitable some very strange stuff happens, especially considering all three created, wrote, and executive produced the show along with Jonathan Krisel (Baskets), who will direct. No release information was given with the pickup announcement other than sometime this fall, but six episodes of the show’s first season are officially coming to a galaxy… well, this galaxy, very soon.
The Democratic National Convention (Everywhere, all night) — Tonight’s speakers for the remote political shindig include Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, and Keisha Lance Bottoms. And of course, the main attraction — Presidential nominee Joe Biden — is on tap tonight, along with a musical performance by John Legend and Common.
John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (Netflix documentary film) — John Shepherd’s 30-year quest to contact extraterrestrials by blasting music into space gets the spotlight, along with his very special on-Earth connection.
Mysteries Decoded (CW, 8:00 pm) — Bigfoot is the name of the game here, and this episode follows a U.S. Navy vet and a cryptozoologist as they examine fresh “official government” footage. That quote comes from the episode description, so we’ll see how it shakes out.
The Crimes That Bind (Netflix film) — A desperate mother attempts to prevent her son’s imprisonment after the attempted murder of his wife. What she uncovers is a true nightmare that will completely alter her life.
HBO Max Summer Comedy Specials (HBO Max) — The hottest new premium streaming service is digging deeper into the stand-up comedy game with specials that began dropping last Thursday. The series will culminate with a multi-act special from the HA Comedy Festival hosted by Latinx comedian Anjelah Johnson, who welcomes special guests Danny Trejo, Eva Longoria, and Eugenio Derbez. Solo sets from Rose Matafeo, Beth Stelling, James Veitch are also dropping.
Cake (FXX, 10:00 p.m.) — A showcase featuring both live-action and animated comedy programs of varied length that are equal parts thought-provoking, laugh-inducing, artistic, authentic and raw.
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Rachel Maddow, Fred Armisen, Tiwa Savage
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Hillary Clinton
The Late Late Show With James Corden — Lili Reinhart, Anitta
Late Night With Seth Meyers — Kenan Thompson; Busy Philipps
Binge-watching fans, get ready because HBO and HBO Max are bringing their A-game this September with a roster of new films and TV shows that might make you forget we’re still in the middle of a pandemic during a hotly-contested election year.
Just kidding, but these comedies, limited series, and sci-fi dramas will definitely keep you entertained. From big names like Ridley Scott, Bette Midler, and Jude Law to coming-of-age comedies, satires filmed during quarantine, and a new project from Call Me By Your Name’s Luca Guadagnino, there’s no way you’ll be lacking for streaming content this month.
Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) HBO and HBO Max this September.
Raised By Wolves (HBO Max series premiering 9/3)
HBO Max is venturing into sci-fi territory with this new series produced by the master himself, Ridley Scott. The show follows two androids tasked with raising a group of human children on an alien planet. As they grow up, they begin to feud amongst themselves, making the androids question their directive, and if the human race can truly be saved.
Unpregnant (HBO Max film streaming 9/10)
Barbie Ferreira and Haley Lu Richardson star in this coming-of-age comedy that puts a fresh, timely spin on the classic road trip romp. The two plays former best friends and high school students Veronica (Richardson) and Bailey (Ferreria) as they go on a cross country trip straight from Hell after Veronica discovers she’s pregnant, and she can’t get an abortion close to home.
Coastal Elites (HBO special streaming 9/12)
Dan Levy, Sarah Paulson, Bette Midler, Issa Rae, and Kaitlyn Dever star in this HBO special that takes a satirical look at the state of our culture right now. Each star plays a character in quarantine, connecting with Paulson’s new-age therapist and venting about their frustrations — be they political, pandemic-related, or otherwise.
The Third Day (HBO limited series premiering 9/14)
This limited drama series stars Jude Law and Moonlight’s Naomie Harris as two people who are drawn to a mysterious island inhabited by unwelcoming natives. They each must confront their fears and prejudices while trying to survive and understand this strange new world.
Coming To HBO And HBO Max In September:
TBD Haute Dog, Season One Premiere Mo Willems: Don’t Let the Pigeon Do Storytime!, 2020 The Great Pottery Throw Down, Seasons 1-3 The Murders at White House Farm, Season One Premiere
Avail. 9/1 93Queen, 2018 All The Right Moves, 1983 (HBO) The Astronaut Farmer, 2007 (HBO) Badlands, 1973 Ballmastrz: 9009, 2018 Bandidas, 2006 (HBO) Barnyard, 2006 (HBO) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2012 (HBO) Black Dynamite, 2012 Blood Diamond, 2006 The Bodyguard, 1992 The Brak Show, 2000 Butterfield 8, 1960 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 1958 Caveman, 1981 (HBO) Charlotte’s Web, 1973 The Cider House Rules, 1999 (HBO) City Of God, 2003 (HBO) Clara’s Heart, 1988 Clerks, 1994 (HBO) Cold Creek Manor, 2003 (HBO) Congo, 1995 (HBO) The Conversation, 1974 Cop Out, 2010 The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, 2008 (HBO) Date Movie, 2006 (Unrated Version) (HBO) Dave, 1993 The Devil Inside, 2012 (HBO) Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, 2002 Doctor Who, Season 12 Dog Day Afternoon, 1975 Dolores Claiborne, 1995 Election, 1999 Fatal Attraction, 1987 Father of the Bride, 1950 Final Destination 5, 2011 (HBO) Flight Of The Phoenix, 2004 (HBO) Forensic Files II, Season 1 Going the Distance, 2010 A Good Year, 2006 (HBO) Grease, 1978 Harlem Nights, 1989 Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, 2000 Heartbreakers, 2001 (HBO) A Hidden Life, 2019 (HBO) Honeymoon in Vegas, 1992 Idlewild, 2006 (HBO) Impractical Jokers, Seasons 5-8 Impractical Jokers: After Party, 2002 Impractical Jokers: The Movie, 2020 Infomercials, 2013 In Good Company, 2004 (HBO) Jackson, 2016 JFK, 1991 Joe Pera Talks With You, 2018 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, 2012 (HBO) Joyful Noise, 2012 A Kiss Before Dying, 1991 (HBO) The Lake House, 2006 Lassie Come Home, 1943 Lazor Wulf, Season 1 Lean on Me, 1989 Life with Father, 1947 Little, 2019 (HBO) Little Women, 1949 Lost in Space, 1998 A Man Apart, 2003 Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart, Episodes 1-30 Marathon Man, 1976 The Mexican, 2001 Miracle Workers, Season 1 Midnight Run, 1988 (HBO) Miracle At St. Anna, 2008 (HBO) Miss Congeniality, 2000 Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, 2005 Moral Orel, Seasons 1-3 Murder by Numbers, 2002 Netizens, 2018 Observe and Report, 2009 Off the Air, 2011 An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982 OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, Seasons 1-3 The Operative, 2019 (HBO) The Outsiders, 1983 Over the Garden Wall, 2014 Over The Hedge, 2006 (HBO) Point Break, 1991 (HBO) Private Benjamin, 1980 Prometheus, 2012 (HBO) PT 109, 1963 Red Riding Hood, 2011 The Replacements, 2000 Replicas, 2019 (HBO) Reversal of Fortune, 1990 A Room With A View, 1986 (HBO) Sealab 2021, Seasons 1-5 See No Evil, 2006 (HBO) Shrek Forever After, 2010 Sin Cielo, 2018 (HBO) The Sitter, 2011 (Unrated Version) (HBO) Snakes on a Plane, 2006 Son of the Mask, 2005 Squidbillies, Seasons 1-12 Star 80, 1983 Sunrise at Campobello, 1960 Superjail!, Seasons 1-4 Tennessee Johnson, 1942 Three Kings, 1999 Tigtone, Season 1 Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Seasons 1-5 Too Beautiful: Our Right to Fight, 2018 Two Weeks Notice, 2002 V for Vendetta, 2006 Victoria and Abdul, 2017 (HBO) The Wedding Singer, 1998 Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, 1994 When We Were Kings, 1996 (HBO) Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1966 The Wind and the Lion, 1975 Young Sheldon, Seasons 1-3
Avail. 9/3 Raised by Wolves, Season Premiere
Avail. 9/4 Lo Dejo Cuando Quiera (Aka I Can Quit Whenever I Want), 2019 (HBO)
Avail. 9/5 Spies in Disguise, 2019 (HBO)
Avail. 9/10 Unpregnant, Film Premiere
Avail. 9/11 Detention Adventure, Season 1 Huracán (Aka Hurricane), 2019 (HBO) Make It Big, Make It Small, Season 1
Avail. 9/12 Coastal Elites (HBO)
Avail. 9/14 The Third Day, Limited Series Premiere (HBO) We Are Who We Are, Series Premiere (HBO)
Avail. 9/15 Re:ZERO, Season 2
Avail. 9/17
Weston Woods, 2020
Avail. 9/18 Habla Now (HBO) La Musiquita Por Dentro, 2019 (HBO)
Avail. 9/19 The Invisible Man, 2020 (HBO)
Avail. 9/23 Agents of Chaos Part 1 (HBO) Agents of Chaos Part 2 (HBO)
Avail. 9/25 Fandango at the Wall, 2020 (HBO)
Avail. 9/26 Just Mercy, 2019 (HBO)
Avail. 9/27 Patria, HBO Europe Series Premiere (HBO)
Leaving HBO And HBO Max In September
Leaving 9/7 A Star is Born, 2018 (HBO) The Hate U Give, 2018
Leaving 9/8 The Oslo Diaries, 2018 (HBO)
Leaving 9/28 24/7 College Football, 2019 (HBO)
Leaving 9/30 Alita: Battle Angel, 2019 (HBO) Anna, 2019 (HBO) Apocalypse Now, 1979 (HBO) Armageddon, 1998 (HBO) Blade, 1998 Blazing Saddles, 1974 Bohemian Rhapsody, 2018 (HBO) The Departed, 2006
The Exorcist, 1973 Free Willy, 1993 Grease, 1978 Gremlins, 1984 Interview with the Vampire, 1994 Journey to the Center of the Earth, 2008 Madagascar, 2005 (HBO) Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, 1983 Mrs. Doubtfire, 1993 (HBO) The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1981 Saving Private Ryan, 1998 Shaft, 2019 (HBO) Space Jam, 1996 Superman Returns, 2006 Troy, 2004 War of the Worlds, 2005 (HBO) Wedding Crashers, 2005 The Wedding Singer, 1998 The Wild Bunch, 1969
Brennaman, who has no one to blame but himself for saying such a thing, was pulled off the air in the fifth inning — including an incredibly bizarre moment in which his on-air apology was interrupted by him giving the world’s saddest home run call before continuing. The Reds announced shortly afterwards that Brennaman would be suspended, but many fans are calling for him to be replaced on the broadcast team, in large part because this isn’t something from his past that he’s apologizing for and can claim he’s grown from, as it was something he said literally a half hour before issuing an apology. The only thing he may have learned is the dangers of a hot microphone, not why what he said is abhorrent.
The Reds broadcast on Fox Sports Ohio is not Brennaman’s only job, as he calls NFL games for Fox Sports nationally. On Thursday, Fox Sports announced in a statement that Brennaman would no longer be calling NFL games for them, as they will move forward with their NFL plans without him, calling what he said “abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Who Fox will turn to now to fill that play-by-play role will be interesting, as national NFL broadcasting gigs don’t open very often and provide the biggest platform for a broadcaster. There will surely be plenty of people interested in the role and Brennaman now finds himself without at least one of his biggest jobs and no one to blame but himself.
YouTube star Jake Paul recently made headlines again when the FBI raided his home in Calabasas, seizing a gun and other weapons shortly after Paul was charged with criminal trespassing during a Black Lives Matter protest in Scottsdale, Arizona. No stranger to courting controversy — see, well, anything he’s ever done — the YouTube star has now put out a casting call for actors to play FBI officers in a music video based on the raid, according to TMZ.
Among the roles he’s looking to fill: an FBI agent, members of the paparazzi, and “hot women.” Disturbingly, the paparazzi role calls specifically for Southeast Asian or Pacific Islander ethnicities in addition to White/Caucasian people, while the FBI role is open to “all ethnicities.” The shoot is reportedly scheduled for this Saturday, presumably at Paul’s house, despite the mansion being the focal point of criticism against him due to hosting a packed party there complete with amateur boxing matches taking place with no social distancing safety protocols in place.
The YouTuber was also connected to another investigation in Las Vegas, this one into another star of the video platform, Arman Izadi. Now is probably not the best time for him to be making light of his situation, but if he made good decisions, he probably wouldn’t be as famous as he is.
Migos have been building anticipation for their upcoming album for some time now. The trio has shared three singles off their impending record, which they recently revealed may not actually be titled Culture III. Following this year’s tracks “Racks 2 Skinny” and “Taco Tuesday,” Migos teamed up with NBA Youngboy for the strong effort “Need It.” Now, Migos and NBA Youngboy return with an energetic visual accompanying the single.
It’s clear the group had a good time shooting the visual. Each scene is more energetic than the last and Quavo gets silly with an unconventional hairstyle. Saweetie even makes a cameo in the visual after she and Quavo recently celebrated their two-year anniversary together.
Ahead of the single’s release, Migos have been making headlines. The trio recently sued their lawyer for malpractice, claiming they were “cheated out of millions of dollars.” The group filed a complaint against Damien Granderson saying he “abused his position of trust as Migos’ fiduciary from the moment he was retained as Migos’ lawyer.” According to the lawsuit, Granderson’s conflict of interest lies in the fact he also represents the artist’s label, Quality Control, and reportedly favored the label’s interests over Migos’.
Watch Migos and NBA Youngboy’s “Need It” video above.
NBA Youngboy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Miami Heat jumped out to a 2-0 lead in their first round series on Thursday by taking down the Pacers, 109-100. But more importantly, the Heat again looked like the well-oiled machine they’ve developed into since the NBA hiatus back in March.
Led by Jimmy Butler’s 24 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, along with an outrageously hot shooting night by the Heat as a whole, Miami is playing like a team that knows exactly what it is, a statement few NBA teams can make right now.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from Miami’s big win.
Miami looks more cohesive than any team in the playoffs
As stated above, the Heat look like a team firing on all cylinders. The rest of the NBA is forgiven for struggling to find chemistry during this bizarre Bubble playoff schedule, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering Miami at all. That’s a testament to the Heat’s leadership from Butler and head coach Erik Spoelstra as well as a group that just fills its role perfectly.
They’re not just knocking down shots and winning, they seem to be more willing to give that little extra than anyone else in the league right now.
That has translated to a beautiful offensive performance through two playoff games, maximizing a four-out style with smooth, smart passing and off-ball movement.
Last year, we saw Toronto make a deep run by playing better than the sum of its parts, buoyed by a smart roster and a superstar that keeps everything flowing. That’s what Miami looks like right now.
There’s not a lot you can do against Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro
What to say about these two? They have as much to do with Miami’s Bubble performance as anyone, with Herro becoming a real fixture in the rotation during Kendrick Nunn’s absence while Robinson has become an even bigger part of Miami’s offense.
Against Indiana on Thursday, the two combined for 39 points on 10-for-16 shooting from deep. Robinson in particular spaces so far behind the three-point line and has such a quick trigger that it’s impossible to help in any way from the weak side when he’s spacing the floor.
Duncan Robinson (24 PTS) tied a Heat playoff record with 7 threes
Not only does Miami have these two deadeyes on its roster, but Spoelstra deploys them perfectly both on and off the ball and empowers them to take shots anywhere if they’re open and in rhythm. The Heat figured themselves out this summer, and Robinson and Herro made it happen.
Indiana won’t win without a healthy Victor Oladipo
It continues to be disappointing to watch Oladipo play. The story surrounding his impressive recovery from a ruptured quad in time to join his team on the court in the Bubble led to excitement that Oladipo might make the Pacers a scary team in the playoffs, but it’s been the opposite so far.
Oladipo looks uncomfortable, missing routine open jumpers and lacking his usual athleticism, while the rest of the offense isn’t making it any easier on him. Oladipo shot 5-for-14 from the field in this one and has been very reliant on threes rather than the driving game that made him an All-Star. Combine that with six turnovers, and it’s clear Oladipo isn’t ready to make up for the absence of Domantas Sabonis and make this a real series for the Heat.
Without a return to form for Oladipo, the Pacers will be lucky to push this past a gentleman’s sweep based on how they’ve played through two games on offense.
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