Wes Goldberg | Miami Heat Insider; Host LockedOnHeat

Walk the dogs, school drop-off, meetings from 10 to 3, take kids to soccer, then no time left for a jog. When everyone else is relying on you, it's easy to put your needs last. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist online so you can show up for yourself the way you do for others. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

That's betterhelp.com slash positive. T-Mobile's network can help keep you connected to all your favorite podcasts when you're out and about. Whether you're an early bird looking to dive into a daily news podcast or a night owl who wants to catch up on the latest reality TV drama, T-Mobile will keep you connected on their strong and reliable network. T-Mobile covers more highway miles with 5G than anyone, so if you need great coverage, especially when you're on the go, check out T-Mobile. Find out more at tmobile.com slash cy.

That's S-E-E-W-H-Y. Wes Goldberg covers the NBA and the Heat. Joining us from Miami following Game 4 at the Locked on Heat Podcast and let's talk about this particular game, Wes. Where did the Heat find an advantage that's given them this not quite insurmountable but pretty impressive lead in the series? Well, I think you got to start with the physicality, number one, which is kind of interesting only because the Knicks beat the Cavaliers using that strategy, right? The Knicks had found success all season long and then obviously in that first round series out rebounding the Cavaliers, getting the turnovers, winning those battles for the 50-50 balls, doing all the things that they wanted to do like a top-divido team wants to do and the Heat came into the series and they said all right bet and they were like we're gonna out physical you guys and so far they have. They won the rebounding battle tonight. They kind of won every 50-50 ball that you could really think of especially the important ones in that fourth quarter down the stretch and after the game even Julius Randle was like I guess they just wanted it more and I guess that's just been the tipping point in this series and you know obviously in the three games of the Heat have won through the four games so far and why they have a 3-1 lead in the series.

Julius Randle enjoys stirring the pot a little bit. What's your reaction to hearing an opponent from another team say that the Heat wanted more? It's really interesting and it kind of dovetails with something that Mitchell Robinson said too about how you know he felt like he was the guy that's usually getting the rebounds and in this series he just he's like I guess I'm just not doing it as well and I don't want to go so far as to say that the Knicks are a broken team because they still have a chance in the series. They're obviously you know the Heat still need to get another win in this one to close it out but this is a team that just doesn't feel like it's exuding confidence right now. You know the Heat I don't want to say that they're unbeatable because obviously they're not I don't think anybody's playoffs are unbeatable but they just seem unshakable in a way that the Knicks feel like they might be a little shook right now.

Who knows what that means? They have another game coming up at MSG back at home for them anything like one game can turn things around but right now like they are not feeling good with how they played and I actually thought that this game was a lot closer than the quality of play might lead you to believe. I thought the Heat played a much more superior game all season all game long.

I thought their process was better. I thought the Knicks made a bunch of tough shots and credit for them for doing that but right now the Heat has been winning like across the board and all the key facets of these games. Flipping it on its head what you said where does the steadiness and the confidence come from with the Miami Heat? They'll tell you that it comes from previous playoff runs and Jimmy Butler and it's sort of like those two things and it's a great question Amy. It's something that I've been sort of trying to figure out ever since they beat like they looked like they were going to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

I was like where is this coming from because I hadn't seen this all regular season long. Nobody did like this team barely got into the playoffs. Let's remember they were a fourth quarter away against the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament from watching these playoffs from home and so maybe there's something to like okay you know that old cliche in sports where the playoffs start and everybody's 0-0 and nobody's got any shooting percentages all this stuff and I don't know you kind of hear those comments and you roll your eyes usually but like so much of this stuff is mental and what you and I are talking about are all like mental things. Maybe there is something to that for this team but also you know you're talking to players in the locker room after the game tonight they really think that last year's playoff run and losing the way that they did in game seven to the Celtics and then this year the regular season being as up and down as it was for them dealing with all the injuries and all the things that they had to deal with it it kind of like forged like them into like a stronger team if that makes sense. I mean that's what they keep talking about and the closer you get to these teams and the more you talk to them maybe there is something to it I don't know. The mental toughness is definitely there and that's one area in which I feel they have an advantage over most teams out there because of everything that they've survived to get to this point and certainly the disappointment of a year ago as you mentioned. Wes Goldberg is with us from Miami after the Heat take a 3-1 lead over the Knicks. He's got the locked on Heat podcast and covers the NBA.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. The injuries I think don't get enough attention with this team and I know every team is dealing with injuries. For them to lose what they have and to continue moving forward what have you seen from the bench that's impressed you in the playoffs so far? Yeah this is a bench that was one of the bottom 10 benches by point differential in the regular season and the playoffs they've also flipped out on a set. They're one of the best benches in the playoffs and they're outscoring right now the New York Knicks who had the third best bench in the NBA during the regular season.

They outscored them 32 to 10 tonight in this win and I think there's a couple things from that. I think number one is Kyle Lowry. He moved Kyle Lowry to that sort of six-man role at the end of the year to manage his minutes. He was coming off of that injury. Wasn't really sure what to make of Kyle Lowry or what to think of what he might look like when he came back and they did a great job kind of putting him on this maintenance program and he looked really fresh for these playoffs and let's remember in the playoffs last year he was not fresh. He was very banged up and that was a big reason why their offense got in the mud so many times in the playoffs last year and ultimately why didn't go to base they had to save them in those eastern conference finals so many times and they just they wanted to avoid that in this postseason so they managed his minutes kind of kept him around 20 over the last month or so of the regular season and now he's playing 25 very very impactful minutes in each of these playoff games off the bench so he's been a big part of that. Caleb Martin moving him to the bench after acquiring Kevin Love on the buyout market that's been like just a solid reliable player off the bench he's always good for a few rebounds and some points and some steals every game and then every once in a while we'll get some contributions from a Cody Zeller or Haywood Highsmith or something like that but they basically took two guys who started for them for most of the season moved them to the bench and they've created sort of this balance across the rotation in that way. Why Kevin Love in the starting lineup what does he bring to the table since he signed with Miami? A lot of outlet passes number one I mean it's like every time you look up there was one he added tonight where I was like what happened I was like typing something on my computer and he did score it because he had an outlet pass off of the Knicks made three and I was like I got to go back and see what like who scored what happened and so it's just like those are the things that I think separate the regular season from the playoffs right it's the regular season you can kind of win just based on metrics on numbers on averages and percentages and all these things right take this many threes play this kind of drop defense force opponents into that many mid-range jumpers and over the course of an 82 game season the numbers will eventually kind of sway your way and you end up with a winning record for the most part right the playoffs are very different you know every single one of these games they're connected but they're different right like it's just one game can change a series one quarter can change a game can change a series right and a guy like Kevin Love who has been through so many postseason runs played in so many final series is so good at finding advantages in those small little corners of a basketball game that's the outlet passing but it's also timely rebounds timely offensive rebounds don't need to crash the boards he's a great cutter off the ball knowing when to make that cut and just be an available pair of hands for Jimmy Butler when he's being double teamed uh even if he doesn't score on the play just keeping the offense moving right and then eventually you go from a good shot to a great shot uh those are the kinds of things where he has that in common with Jimmy Butler with Kyle Lowry like they just understand how to find those little points here and there just to create points out of nothing and those points can ultimately decide a game and like I said that could be a whole series.

Jimmy Butler is unique his game certainly he's got this tenacity and this will that seems unmatched what's it like to cover him? What a great question um it's a mixed bag you know when things aren't going great Jimmy Butler um he's never unfriendly with the media right but you could tell like sometimes like if things aren't going great the way that they're in the regular season you're like oh like I can kind of see how this guy would wear on on teams like Minnesota and Philadelphia like I get it I could see it um but when but you know when they're winning he is so much of a part of that and he really does have such a presence in that locker room and Eric Folsa says this all the time right like we are him and he is us right in terms of the Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat and that relationship and I don't know that Jimmy's ever had that kind of relationship with the team not even like the Chicago Bulls who basically decided that they didn't want to pay him because they didn't think he was that superstar so they traded him to Minnesota and then obviously didn't work out there and it didn't work out in Philly and he ends up in Miami and it just has been sort of a perfect fit uh no matter some of the the things that go on whether he's trying to fight Eric Folsa and he's on the sideline last year or whatever or some of the low moments of even this season and the frustrations that came with that they are willing to deal with that because they know the kind of player Jimmy Butler becomes in the playoffs and what it is that he can do in terms of leading this team to what it is that they want to do and and I think a lot of teams and a lot of players say that they're all about winning and that's all they care about and um I I don't know that that's true for a lot of teams that say that or players that say that for that matter um but I think it's true for the Miami Heat and I think it's true for Jimmy Butler it's an experience covering him like I you know he's always good for a funny quote at the end of the game uh he's very honest even if you kind of will shake some questions with with jokes you will get honesty out of him and and it is he's refreshing doesn't sound like the right word to describe Jimmy Butler but it is a little bit from a media perspective. Wes Goldberg is with us from Miami the Heat one win away from getting back to the Eastern Conference Finals it's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio also I think about Eric Folsa one of the longest tenured coaches in the NBA and I'm constantly calling him underappreciated he's been there forever the Heat are always a factor no matter how many times they change their roster or the roster is changed for him and the teams can be respected for their defense for their intensity and for the fact that they push their opponents to the limit I'm just a big fan of what he's done over the course of his career there. And Amy's never won a coach of the year award it's insane it's insane um I've said this for a very long time I think he's the best coach in the NBA I don't think it's close I I think that so much of coaching we don't see in the media we don't see it even if you're covering the team and you're there after practice you're not in the practice you're not in the locker room you're not really there when most of this stuff is happening coaching is like an iceberg right you don't see like 90 of it um and and I think a lot of coaches in the NBA get a lot of praise for drawing up an awesome out of timeouts play or sideline play or whatever it is and that stuff's important no doubt about it and Eric's also has a fair share of great sideline out of bounds plays all right but really what I think head coaching in the NBA comes down to is setting a tone setting a culture for your organization right just like a great CEO or boss sets the tone for his or her sales team for instance right like this this stuff really matters and getting buy-in and relating to players in a way that makes them feel valued even if they're not playing and when they're not playing right and um I think that's a big part of it and then just like the coaching part of it too and what I mean by that is not just getting star players and figuring out how to make them fit together but taking players who might be undrafted like the seven undrafted players at the Miami Heat have and just coaching them up into being better players than they were when they got into the NBA finding roles that that fit for them finding ways finally looking at what it is that they do positively not necessarily negatively and trying to find places where you could use those positive attributes and Eric's culture is as good as it is at doing that I think it's really impressive I don't know that there's anybody doing it quite like the Miami in the NBA I don't know that that means they're going to win a championship who knows what ultimately happens at the end of this playoff run but I know nobody else is doing it like them and in a league that has been criticized of being sort of more and more kind of vanilla more and more the same copy and paste all right everybody's taking threes and doing it this way the heat aren't doing it that way they're doing it their way and that's pretty cool to watch now 15 seasons with the heat and more than 700 wins so just out of curiosity Wes why do you think he doesn't get more attention for what he's accomplished and what the heat have accomplished since he's been there I think he has the attention and respect from his peers um I think that there's a little bit of a lack of national media attention on the Miami in general and so I don't know that that's specific because of Eric's bolster I don't know that any coach is going to be the reason why the NBA schedules national games for a team right nobody's really watching for the head coach on the sideline right and there's been a lot of years after the big three where you know that big three shine wears off and so obviously you're on to the next thing whether it's the Warriors the Cavs whatever so there's part of that and then there was a long period where he did not have a star you know before Jimmy Butler arrived I I think he does get the the respect from his peers from other coaches in the NBA you talk to other coaches all the time whether they're visiting Miami or whatever it is and you go into those press conferences to a coach uh all of them have nothing but praise for what it is that Eric's bolster does and it's not fake praise like I respect my opponent but not really kind of like like it is real legitimate praise they view him his peers other coaches in the NBA and other players by the way they look at Eric's bolster and say yeah that's the top of the the class right there uh that's the guy I don't know that Eric's bolster cares about the lack of national respect or the fact that he's not a coach here maybe he does I don't know but I know for sure he feels the respect from his peers it's also unique too that he's never coached anywhere else an assistant coach in the late 90s and has remained there his entire tenure in the NBA which is pretty incredible Wes Goldberg is with us from Miami and he's got the locked on heat podcast we're not going to assume too much but if they were to face a team in the finals what's the better matchup for the heat is it the Sixers or is it the Celtics? James Harden and Joel Embiid versus Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Bam Adebayo is going to run a lot more interference on Joel Embiid than Embiid's seen in these playoffs so far and I thought Nick Laxton did a pretty good job and Al Horford obviously does a good job historically on him but Bam's a different cat you know that's that's a different kind of assignment we saw it last year in the playoffs and you know Embiid was a little banged up I think I think Bam could could limit Embiid as much as anybody can limit the MVP of the league right and then and then Jimmy Butler will take this matchup very personally obviously we know his history with the Philadelphia 76ers it's hard to imagine him not leaving everything out there to make sure that he doesn't lose against Philadelphia when you kind of get to those next layers of like a team like the Celtics who are so deep that's where I think you start to worry if you're the Heat how does your depth match up with the Celtics depth so I would say probably Philadelphia but then again like Embiid and Harden they were clicking on Sunday that's something to monitor I think if I'm a Heat fan is like all right what's that really look like and who's the better team looking like in that in that in like sort of the second part of the Celtics Sixers series so I'd have to say the Sixers for right now but we'll see. Considering everything they've been through it's pretty incredible that the Heat are on the cusp of returning to the East Finals it I mean it would be three out of four years right true you don't really think about the Miami Heat as that sort of like dominant of a team that's winning like that but I is I don't think there's another team that can claim three out of four like three of the last four years right like even the Warriors had two bad seasons in there where they were in the lottery so this is a team I don't know if they're ever going to win a championship I have no idea nobody knows right but they have they have wrung everything out of these rosters possible I know it's like rings are bust in today's NBA but I do think that you deserve a lot of credit and a lot of respect for doing that. Agreed the fact that they never go quietly either they're such a tough out you can find Wes on twitter at wcgoldberg covers the NBA both writing and podcasting you can check him out with the Locked on Heat podcast also see his byline in the Miami Herald and other places like Fansided and Real GM we are pleased to have you on the show for the first time Wes you're welcome back anytime thank you so much for a couple of minutes. Thanks Amy. I'm JR of the JR Sport Reef Show on CBS Sports Radio I'm also the host of the new podcast Agents of Inclusion we talk to a different Special Olympics athlete every week to learn how sports can bring us together we're bringing both the disability and non-disability community to one community all one people one family took me a little while but I decided to claim autism as my superpower when you hear the word autism don't let that hinder you from doing whatever it is that you want to do that's what Special Olympics tells you you get involved in sports but then you take it from the playing field out into real life family means to me community acceptance love embracing the person just as they are that's what Special Olympics did for me it's all about family subscribe to Agents of Inclusion on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts surgeons keep our hearts beating they do the amazing help save lives and so can you your csl plasma donation can help create 24 critical life-saving medicines that can give grandpa the chance for his heart to swell when he meets his new grandson or give a bride the chance for her heart to skip a beat on her wedding day every plasma donation helps more than you know do the amazing help save lives donate today at your local csl plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity