No Love for South Beach?
As a Miami Heat fan, I get excited when these larger shows do episodes/topics that are supposed to talk about the whole league since I know my team will get some shine. Alas, it was more of the same Tom Foolery as always.
I couldn’t reach for my phone soon enough to turn it off in disgust, and I don’t ever plan on listening to the rest. But that isn’t the end of the Miami Heat disrespect.
Below is the leaderboard of rookies that scored the most points in a preseason game. As you read through each of these names, try to remember how much national media coverage these performances got.
40 (Kendrick Nunn) MIA
30 (Carsen Edwards) BOS
29 (Coby White) CHI
29 (Zion Williamson) NOP
23 (Tyler Herro) MIA
19 (RJ Barrett) NYK
16 (Ja Morant) MEM
I can honestly say that the performances of Coby White, RJ Barrett, and Ja Morant were swept under the rug. Everyone remembers how much the media talked about Zion Williamson’s ‘quiet’ 29 points against the Bulls, where almost all of his shot attempts came from right in front of the rim. I’m glad the over-analysis of the game is over.
The days following their final preseason matchup against the Cavs saw reserve guard Carsen Edwards get tons of praise for his 3-point shooting against a team who will be competing for the league’s worst record come March. The interesting thing about that headline is that there was no media coverage of him going 5-for-16 from beyond the arc during the three games leading up to the Cavaliers game.
Afterward though, boy oh boy was everyone happy for the Celtics young prospect and for the organization that gave him a shot. He put up 15 three-point attempts against the Cavs alone. Sure, he made nine of them, but I had to listen to all the Celtics speculation after he did so.