A few days ago, Bleacher Report rolled out top-30 lists for the NBA’s best defenders, creators, scorers, and shooters, and the reaction from Miami Heat fans was pretty simple: what are we doing here?
The lists didn’t just leave room for debate. They managed to underrate multiple Heat players in ways that made little sense, even by list season standards. And while Bobby Portis getting tagged as a top-30 shooter wasn’t the strangest thing on the page - 46% from 3-point range will get you noticed - the bigger misses came elsewhere.
Start with Klay Thompson, who was left off the top-30 shooters list entirely. That’s a brutal omission.
He’s no longer the same Splash Brother who used to bend defenses in his sleep, but he’s still an elite shooter who can knock down tough looks. Thompson has never shot below 38 percent from 3 in his NBA career, and even in what people might call a down year, he still hit 38 percent from deep on 7.6 attempts per game while moving into a mostly bench role for the first time since his rookie season.
Yes, his touch faded in other areas last season. His midrange game, usually one of his steadier tools, wasn’t nearly as dependable. But the 3-point shooting is still so strong, and the volume is still so high, that leaving him off a top-30 list doesn’t hold up.
That said, nobody is calling him a top-10 shooter. The point is simpler: a top-30 shooters list that doesn’t include Klay Thompson is just wrong.
Lauri Markkanen, for example, was placed 22nd despite shooting 35 percent over the last two seasons and missing far more games than Thompson. And the difficulty level of Thompson’s attempts is a different animal.
The Bam Adebayo ranking was even tougher to defend. Bleacher Report had him 25th on its top-30 defenders list, which is hard to square with reality.
He was second-team All-Defense this season. That alone makes the placement look way too low.
And if you zoom out beyond just this year, the case gets even stronger: Adebayo has six All-Defensive selections on his résumé.
His impact showed up in Miami’s defense, too. The Heat weren’t flawless, but they held opponents under 100 points 21 times while dealing with stretches where the defensive support around Adebayo wasn’t exactly airtight.
Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins helped. Tyler Herro and Norman Powell did not bring the same level of defensive pressure, and Adebayo was the one asked to clean up the mess.
Then there’s the comparison that really stands out: Collin Murray-Boyles was listed 13 spots ahead of Bam. No slight to Murray-Boyles, who has played one season and earned defensive awards, but that’s a wild gap for a player like Adebayo. Even by generous list-making standards, Bam is the better defender.
At least Bleacher Report got one thing right in that neighborhood by putting Giannis at 10 on the defenders list and 4 on the best scorers list. Small consolation, maybe, but something.
In Other News...
Heat Roster Cuts Just Clarified Who Fans Should Keep Watching
The Heat have trimmed their preseason roster down to the point where the next phase of the season is already coming into focus. Miami waived four developmental players, Ezra Ausar, Kylor Kelley, Gabe Madsen and Bez Mbeng, after the preseason wrapped up, clearing the way for the team to get closer to the leagues 15-player standard contract limit.
For now, the move mostly shifts attention to Sioux Falls, where all four players are expected to land with the Skyforce and continue their development in the Heat system. It is the kind of roster housekeeping that rarely makes noise on its own, but for Miami it also serves as a reminder of which young players remain on the radar as the organization starts sorting out its regular-season depth. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Could Still Find One Veteran Who Changes Their Rotation
With the roster cutdown deadline closing in, the Heat have already trimmed a few young prospects and are still looking at ways to tighten up the back end of the roster. That has naturally turned attention to a familiar pool of recently waived NBA veterans, the kind of players who can step into a rotation without needing much ramp-up time if the fit makes sense.
Among the names floating around are Pat Connaughton, Jeremy Sochan and Bruce Brown, all of whom bring some combination of experience, versatility and lineup flexibility. Miami has not made any official additions yet, but the fact that these veterans are even in the conversation suggests the front office is still weighing whether one more proven piece could help settle the rotation before the deadline passes. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Conwell Is Forcing A Tough Heat Rotation Decision
Ryan Conwell has done enough in preseason to make the Heat think a little harder about how they want to handle the back end of the roster. The second-round pick, originally selected by the Thunder and then sent to Miami right away, has shown the kind of promise that can make a draft-night gamble look smarter in a hurry, even with the Heat loading up on veterans and reshaping the group around the edges.
The tricky part now is figuring out where he fits in the short term. Miami has enough established pieces that Conwell may not have a clean path to consistent NBA minutes right away, and the most realistic route could start with a run in the G-League before he works his way into a regular role. For a team that likes competition and development, it is the kind of decision that can shape how quickly a young player becomes part of the rotation picture. [Read more 🡒]