ESPN’s JJ Redick And Stephen A. Smith Disagree On Which Miami Heat Players Need To Step Up

Stephen A. Smith and JJ Redick have different players they are highlighting after the Miami Heat’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.

The Miami Heat’s blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets has many pointing the finger and searching for answers. On First Take Thursday morning, JJ Redick and Stephen A. Smith discussed which players they believe need to improve for Miami to win Game 4.

Smith said Caleb Martin, given the hype around him after the conference finals.

“There is an APB out for Caleb Martin,” Smith said. “Where the hell are you? We can’t find you, what’s going on? There’s a missing report going out for you. We saw him in the Eastern conference finals averaging 19 points, shooting 60 percent from the field and 49 percent from three. And now, he made a couple layups last night and we gave him a damn standing ovation. Nice to see you, knowing that you showed up to the NBA Finals. I like Caleb a lot, but he’s been a virtual no-show in these Finals.”

Redick disagreed with Smith, saying Martin’s production was bound to drop at some point.

“No one thought that was sustainable,” Redick said. “That was the guy [the Celtics] were willing to live with shooting open threes and closeouts.”

Instead, he said Gabe Vincent is more essential for team success going forward.

“To me, the key guy amongst the role players is Gabe Vincent,” Redick said. “Outside of the Knicks series, he’s been their third best player in these playoffs. Of course Martin had a great conference finals, but in totality, Vincent has been their third best player. The reason he’s so important is because you can run the offense through him. It’s not just about spotting up and playing off Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. You can actually run pick and rolls through him, which alleviates some of the pressure from Jimmy to create all the offense.”

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.