Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said Premier League clubs should offer help where possible to those lower down the football pyramid who are struggling to cope with the impact coronavirus has had on finances.

The government this week called off plans to allow a number of supporters back into stadiums from Oct. 1 with Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning these measures could be in place for six months.

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"In general people in a better position should help people in a less good position, 100%," Klopp said at a news conference on Friday when asked about the impact on smaller clubs

"I don't understand the structure 100% -- in Germany you have Bundesliga 1 and Bundesliga 2, so they have to share the problems so that makes things slightly easier.

"There isn't a general answer -- people in a better position should help other people but the position in this moment for all clubs is not really easy. I don't know how the government finds time to think about that, but I get it 100%. So, yes football should try to help themselves, ourselves -- however we should say it -- I agree 100%."

The decision to prevent clubs from allowing fans back into the stadiums has caused concern up and down the football pyramid, with some clubs saying they face great financial uncertainty if they cannot generate match day income. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden, said this week he will be "asking sports to help themselves -- starting with the Premier League in respect of football."

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard also called for Premier League sides to help struggling Championship clubs during the pandemic.

Liverpool next face Arsenal in the Premier League on Monday after victories against Leeds United and Chelsea.

Klopp confirmed Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson would miss the match with a thigh injury he sustained against Chelsea, but is hopeful of having defender Joe Gomez fit.

With Henderson ruled out, Klopp could opt to start new signing Thiago from the outset against Arsenal, but he kept his cards close to his chest when asked whether Liverpool's new £20 million man would get a place in their starting line-up.

"We will see... we have a few days to train -- I have an idea for how we will set up but I won't make the decision today," Klopp said. "He's in contention."

Klopp was also full of praise for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta labelling him an "exceptional" manager.

"You can see the balance between defence and offence is really good. He's [Arteta's] done a really impressive job, he's changed the whole mood of the club. That's impressive, he's a tough, tough opponent," he added.

Frank Lampard has revealed Chelsea are devising a special training programme for Christian Pulisic after admitting the club's concern over his fitness record.

The 22-year-old is yet to feature this season and will miss Saturday's Premier League trip to West Brom as he continues his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury sustained in Chelsea's FA Cup Final defeat to Arsenal on Aug. 1.

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Pulisic's debut campaign in England following a £58 million move from Borussia Dortmund was a mixture of fine form and persistent problems, becoming the youngest Chelsea player to score a hat trick in the Premier League but also making just 27 starts in all competitions.

The USMNT international suffered multiple injury setbacks including a abductor tear in early January which restricted him to a total of 1,727 minutes out of Chelsea's 4,950 total.

And Lampard said: "There is always a concern about players' fitness when the history says there has been some injuries and last season we did have it with Christian. I was questioned many times on my position on Christian when he did play and didn't play.

"Of course, when you look at a player with his recent record, you are trying to find the right way, the right balance of getting the best out of him which we saw in big periods last year and making sure you don't overcook him and leave him susceptible to injury, particularly a player of his explosive pace and balance. That's a fine line.

"We are working on that and Christian is also very open to that. He wants to play, he is so hungry to play and he is very nearly fit now but it is certainly something we will have to manage with him this season because we have all seen the talent and it is something we want to get right. I am not saying it is a fundamental chronic issue, it's not. But we want to get as many minutes of the really great Christian we saw lots of last season on the pitch."

Although Pulisic will miss Saturday's game, Lampard was upbeat about the prospect of a quick return to action.

"Christian isn't ready for the squad tomorrow -- nor is Hakim Ziyech -- but they are both training with us now which is good news and we hope to have them with us in proper match contention over the next week or two," he added.

Stafanie Taylor, West Indies women's captain, has hailed the hard work that women's cricketers have put in after becoming only the second player - male or female - to reach the landmark of 3000 T20I runs.

Taylor, 29, reached the milestone with a scampered second run on an overthrow in West Indies' second T20I against England, joining New Zealand's Suzie Bates in an exclusive club.

And while she insisted that she had not been thinking about her proximity to the achievement, she admitted that it felt "really good" to have surpassed that mark.

"I'm not really a stats person, so I wouldn't know these things," she said in an in-house Cricket West Indies interview. "But when it came up on the big screen, it was a really good feeling.

"To see that it's a female who is in front of me, it shows the amount of work that we as female cricketers have been doing over the years. To see that a lot of people have highlighted what we have done is a great feeling. It's always about men's cricket, so it's good to see that they've highlighted females who have done really well in the game."

Reflecting on her achievement, Taylor said that diet and fitness had been the keys to her longevity in the game, having won 105 T20I caps to date, and highlighted Virat Kohli's decision to quit meat after the 2016 IPL as an inspiration.

"I remember he [Kohli] did an interview not long ago, and said that he had been home after a tour and looked at himself in the mirror, and was like: 'nah'. He didn't like what he was seeing, and if he wanted to compete with the top players, he had to change the way he went about thing.

"That was a place I was in, and I was like, if you really want to compete with really top athletes like Australia, they take their fitness very seriously. I thought to myself that I was tired of eating meat. I said: 'you know what, I'm going to change it up a bit, and eat some fish, and when there's no fish, I'll eat veg'.

"When I stopped eating meat and started doing some exercise, people started commenting on the fact I'd lost of a lot of weight. I was like 'no, I don't think so', but as I kept going, kept putting in work, going out to exercise at six in the morning, making sure my nutrition was good, I realised that when I was putting on my jeans, it wasn't the same. After seeing those changes, it really felt good on my body."

ALSO READ: Are more cricketers turning vegetarian and vegan?

Taylor also highlighted the need for a domestic and academy system for women's cricketers in the West Indies structure, suggesting that her side is crying out for young talent that is not coming through.

"I've spoken about this plenty of times," she said. "I'd love to see some young players coming through, integrating with the old folks, learning a thing or two.

"We definitely need a feeder system. That's what we lack. When you look around the world, especially India, Australia and England, they've been doing really well with young players coming through the system, and then when they reach international level, it's nothing new - it's not foreign to them. That's what I would love to see in the Caribbean."

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's Rolling Report of the seventh IPL 2020 match, between the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals. CSK have won and lost a match each, and in their camp are the likes of MS Dhoni, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi and others. On the other, are Shreyas Iyer, R Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Rishabh Pant, Kagiso Rabada, Prithvi Shaw, Marcus Stoinis, Ishant Sharma and others. Can the Capitals stay unbeaten?

The PCB was "surprised and disappointed" by the decision of the six PSL franchises to seek legal action in a bid to get the financial model of the T20 league changed. The board's counsel told Lahore High Court that the franchises' writ petition "was misdirected and was liable to be dismissed" as the proper mechanism for resolving any dispute between the PCB and the franchises is "through initiation of arbitration".

The franchise owners approached the court with the claim that the PSL has made the PCB richer while the franchises have run into losses every season, and asked in the petition for the court to direct the PCB to "formally redress the grievances of all franchises" and "revise the model of PSL in accordance with its statutory mandate and make it financially viable".

The PCB's legal team was in court on Friday, present before Justice Sajid Mahmood Sethi, and "received notices for hearing in respect of the Writ Petition filed by the six franchise owners, fixed today as an Urgent Petition", according to a PCB statement.

Taffazul Rizvi, the PCB's counsel, objected to the "maintainability" of the petition, pointing to the dispute resolution protocols, and informed the judge "that the PCB had twice this week invited the franchise owners to meet and discuss the financial model for HBL Pakistan Super League with a view towards redressing grievances in good faith".

"The PCB remains committed to working with its partners, but in this matter, it is surprised and disappointed that despite its offers to engage in discussions over the financial model and whilst being aware of the appropriate forum for dispute resolution, the franchisees approached the Honourable High Court" PCB statement

The franchises, meanwhile, have contended that they have met with the PCB on more than one occasion to discuss the matter, but nothing concrete has emerged from those interactions. The issue reared its head when the board was late in distributing the franchises' share of the revenue generated during the 2019 PSL. This led to all six owners refusing to submit their bank guarantees, a key part of the petition.

"The PCB remains committed to working with its partners, but in this matter, it is surprised and disappointed that despite its offers to engage in discussions over the financial model and whilst being aware of the appropriate forum for dispute resolution, the franchisees approached the Honourable High Court," the PCB statement said. "The PCB looks forward to addressing all queries and legal-objections before the Honourable Court and then to find solutions that are practicable and acceptable to all parties involved."

The PCB will submit its written comments by September 30, the next date of the hearing, on the court's instructions.

Seeking redressal in court is a culmination of long-running frustration for the franchises about the league's financial model. Franchises have argued for tax exemptions, a better distribution of gate money and better exchange rate terms. No franchise has broken even in the first four full seasons of the league, and the addition of an extra franchise - the Multan Sultans - has lessened everyone's share from the central pool the PCB has set up for revenue.

The PCB has insisted that once the league moves back to Pakistan properly then not only will the franchises be able to move towards breaking even but it will also generate "higher economic activity in the country". This season - the league's fifth - was the first to be fully played in Pakistan, but it was hit by the Covid-19 crisis. Four matches of the playoffs could not be played and have been rescheduled for November behind closed doors.

Heather Knight has implored England to "put a show on" in Saturday's third T20I against West Indies, as her side face the dual incentives of sealing the five-match series with two to play and showcasing women's international cricket live on free-to-air TV.

2-0 up in the series after 47-run wins in both of their first fixtures since the T20 World Cup in March, England have been dominant despite not yet stringing together a complete performance. In the first match, they added only 31 runs in the final five overs to stumble to 163, while in the second nobody made a defining contribution: the top score with the bat was Sarah Glenn's 26 from No. 8, while none of the bowlers took three wickets.

"I think we haven't played our best cricket yet," Knight admitted on Friday, "but we're still winning well and still posting 150+ despite probably not fulfilling our potential as a batting line-up yet. We haven't had many people go on.

"The other night, we had lots of starts but nobody went on to get that really big score which we know wins a large percentage of games. We're obviously looking to do that. The pitch was a little bit slower so they went a bit wider, which we probably didn't adapt to well enough, but yeah, we're hopeful that we'll get some runs on the board."

ALSO READ: 'I want to be a genuine allrounder' - Glenn

While they are yet to put in a perfect performance, England will be buoyed by the visibility that this series has received. The third T20I will be broadcast live on the BBC - the first women's fixture to be shown on terrestrial TV in the UK since the 1993 World Cup final - but the series has already been afforded broad coverage: Sky have made their feed available without charge on YouTube, Test Match Special has broadcast from the ground, and ESPNcricinfo has provided ball-by-ball commentary throughout.

Knight suggested that there had been "a bigger buzz around training" on Friday morning, despite the cold Derby weather, in the knowledge that Saturday's game will be seen by a bigger audience than usual, and highlighted opener Danni Wyatt as a player who would use additional visibility as a motivation.

"This is the most visible bilateral series we've ever had, which is amazing," Knight said. "Sky have been a great broadcast partner and have shown all the games free on YouTube, but to have that prime slot on the BBC is only going to increase the reach that we have. Hopefully we can put on a brilliant performance.

"[Wyatt] loves the buzz of T20 cricket and the buzz of having people to show what she can do. She's had good signs in the first two games and hasn't really gone on, [but] hopefully she can go out and impress tomorrow."

ALSO READ: Making cricket more inclusive would be a small positive from Covid - Knight

And Knight also played down concerns that with West Indies looking rusty and struggling to score fluently in the series so far, Saturday's game might lack something in terms of a spectacle.

"It doesn't concern me," she said. "Our job is to win games of cricket, which we've been doing. The West Indies have had a little bit of a break: not many of them were training before they came over here, so that needs to be taken into account a little bit.

"I think [the second T20I] threatened to be a really good game when Deandra [Dottin] and Stafanie [Taylor] were building that partnership - we did really feel under pressure. In the first game, when Deandra was there, we always felt that they could make a game of it because we know the hitting potential she does have.

"As a side we've executed really well, particularly with the ball, and managed to keep them quiet. Hopefully we can continue to do that. From a captain's point of view, in terms of the growth of the team, you want to see the girls put under pressure as much as possible, but we're doing our job very well at the moment, and will look to continue to do that."

Every morning, we simulate the rest of the college football season 20,000 times. I've peered into these parallel worlds, and let me tell you, some of the simulations are kind of wild. We've got some where Indiana wins the Big Ten. There are others where Kentucky wins the SEC. There's at least one where Louisiana -- that's it, there's no word after Louisiana -- reaches the playoff.

Thirteen months ago, we might have said the simulations that had LSU winning the national championship were a bit unrealistic. They play in Tuscaloosa, how's that going to happen? South Carolina over Georgia in Athens? Zero shot. Wisconsin losing to Illinois?

That's the thing about college football -- the unlikely is never impossible. That's why we play it out.

And that's what we're doing today. We're simulating the SEC season and College Football Playoff. You can easily find all our projections at espn.com/fpi every day; but here, we are going to walk through one of these worlds -- simulation No. 20 -- to see how it all shakes out. It could be wild, like our single simulation of March Madness that resulted in a Wisconsin-BYU final. It could be fairly chalky, like our single simulation of the 2020 NFL season that ended in a Chiefs repeat. But, because it's college football, we know it won't be boring.

Week 4

Kentucky delivers the first upset of the SEC season, taking down Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium by eight points. It's a devastating loss for the Tigers, who enter the season as a long shot playoff candidate, with an 11% chance, according to FPI. Bo Nix, entering his second season in Auburn and with more expectations on his shoulders, throws two interceptions in the loss.

Tennessee picks up a road victory in Columbia, and Texas A&M squeaks by with a too-close-for-comfort win against Vanderbilt. The Aggies led by just a point before Kellen Mond threw a touchdown with four minutes to go to extend the lead to eight. Elsewhere, expectations largely hold.

Week 5

Auburn's season is effectively over before it has really begun. What most assumed would be a close game between Georgia and Auburn was anything but. Kirby Smart's team ran around the Tigers and handed Gus Malzahn his second loss in as many games to open the season -- this time by 23 points. The win helped answer this question for the Bulldogs, too: How would they fare without Jamie Newman?

The answer appears to be, just fine.

In Starkville, Mike Leach had his first winnable game as Mississippi State's head coach (following a loss at LSU in Week 4), but it turned ugly. Arkansas pulled away from the Bulldogs in the second half and won by 16.

Week 6

Leach gets that first Mississippi State win, generating enough offense to best Kentucky by six in Lexington.

Meanwhile, LSU, which hasn't had a significant test after losing last season's stars to the NFL (Joe Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Justin Jefferson, plus 2020 opt-out Ja'Marr Chase), gets a bit of a scare from Mizzou. Ed Orgeron's team holds on for the win, but a team with title defense aspirations can't feel good about a six-point victory against Missouri at Tiger Stadium.

Florida has no such problem against Texas A&M, as Kyle Trask leads an explosive offensive effort en route to a 32-point road win in College Station.

Week 7

It's the 2018 SEC championship game all over again, including the result. Georgia fought to the end but, as is so often the case, Alabama found a way. QB Mac Jones leads a winning drive and the Bulldogs are unable to answer in the waning seconds. The loss hurts Georgia's playoff hopes, but a cross-divisional loss ends no team's chances.

As for LSU-Florida, it turned out their Week 6 results did not foreshadow what was to come between these two heavyweights. The Gators had an opportunity to take control of the SEC East with the Georgia loss, but they instead dropped their contest against LSU. The divisional race is too close to call.

Week 8

Florida nearly lost twice in a row -- potentially overlooking Missouri after a tough game against LSU -- by allowing Mizzou to hang around all game. The Tigers had an opportunity to win with a long field goal attempt in the final seconds, but the kick flew wide right and the Gators hung on for the win to stay alive in the divisional race.

Week 9

The title defense is on. LSU defeats Auburn, with Myles Brennan just besting Nix for a narrow victory. After already dismissing Florida, the Tigers' last difficult challenge is a big one: Alabama. But Orgeron's team enters the contest undefeated and will be staring at a fairly clear lane toward the playoff with a win.

Arkansas' surprise win on the road against Texas A&M gives the Razorbacks a nice 3-2 start to 2020, rebounding from two opening losses against Auburn and Georgia. The Sam Pittman era is going well early.

Week 10

It looks as if we've got a changing of the guard in the SEC East. Florida wins convincingly against Georgia in Jacksonville at what one hopes will only figuratively be the world's largest outdoor cocktail party. It's a two-touchdown win for Florida coach Dan Mullen, who now has his eyes set on the SEC crown.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt picks up its first win of the season versus Mississippi State, Texas A&M picks up its fourth loss and Arkansas nabs another victory.

Week 11

Suddenly, that title defense isn't looking too hot. LSU almost pulled it off, but Nick Saban got the best of Orgeron and Alabama now is firmly in control of the division. Barring a collapse by the Crimson Tide, LSU will have to hope for help from outside the SEC if it wants to return to the playoff.

Week 12

Oh, Bulldogs. The season already was getting away from Georgia, which was apparently never able to recover from losing its expected starter in Newman. But it got ugly this week. Mississippi State, struggling in Leach's first season, pulled out a miraculous performance to stun Georgia in Athens.

Florida is officially heading to the SEC championship game.

Week 13

Alabama wins the Iron Bowl, barely. The Tide are the SEC's lone remaining undefeated team, and the number of narrow victories is concerning to fans with high standards in Tuscaloosa (and hurts their FPI rating, too!). But, record-wise, Saban and his team are on track. Talk has turned to these scenarios: What would happen if Alabama lost against Florida in the SEC championship game? Would the Tide still get in?

Week 14

The divisional races are settled but, in a shortened season, these final games still represent something important for teams not going on to the conference championship. LSU beats Ole Miss to secure a 9-1 record, which is potentially important. Should Alabama win the SEC championship game, LSU could have a shot at a second SEC playoff spot with only one loss to the conference champion.

Auburn's win over A&M secures a winning record for the Tigers. Though Arkansas lost expectedly against Alabama, the Razorbacks finish the season at .500.

SEC championship game

Florida shocks Bama! Tide fans might have feigned concern heading into the contest, but few actually thought Florida could pull off this upset. And this wasn't a nail-biter, either. Led by Trask, Florida posted a solid 16-point defeat and demonstrated it was clearly the better team. With the the Gators locking a playoff spot, their win sends shockwaves through college football, as it is now Saban's team that will nervously await the committee's result.

Playoff selection

Let's take stock of the other conferences.

The Big Ten is easy: Ohio State went undefeated and beat Minnesota in the championship game. The Buckeyes will be in.

The Big 12 is also straightforward: Texas has emerged as an elite team that also went undefeated and won its conference championship game against TCU.

The ACC is messier: Notre Dame went undefeated in the regular season -- including a win over Clemson -- but the Tigers struck back in the championship game and took the conference.

And that has left the committee with a choice. Does it take Clemson, with its conference crown? Or Alabama, whose strength of record is significantly better with a loss but against a much tougher schedule?

Debates rage through the night, but, in the end, the committee selects ... Alabama!

The Tide sneak in as the No. 4 seed and will face Texas in a national semifinal.

National semifinals

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Alabama

For Texas and Alabama, the regular season was no mirage. The Longhorns stomped their way through the Big 12 schedule and went undefeated to earn the No. 1 seed from the selection committee. There is pregame hype of a close matchup, but Sam Ehlinger and Texas skate to a fairly easy victory.

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Florida

Florida has pulled off the upset! In a tightly contested, back-and-forth affair, Trask leads the Gators to a winning field goal attempt in the final minute to book a ticket to the national championship game. Ohio State -- for the second straight season -- is sent packing after ending up oh-so-close in the semifinal.

National championship

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 3 Florida

The Gators have done it!

After struggling to break out of the SEC East during the first few years of the Mullen era, Florida has won the national title. They do so in convincing fashion, with Trask outplaying Ehlinger to the tune of a two-touchdown victory.

Florida wins the national championship in only 1.2% of our simulations, but none of that matters if the simulation that happens is one of the 1.2%. So congrats, Gators fans, you won it all. And if 2020 plays out a different way for Florida? Well you'll always have that time when your 1% chance became reality -- on the internet.

Lauren Poe contributed to this report.

It appears the band might be getting back together after all. After months of hemming and hawing about if, when and whom their teams will play, all five FBS power conferences have committed to playing football this fall. All Group of 5 conferences might end up patching a schedule together too.

Now that we're looking at a reasonably full, if awkwardly timed, fall of college football, I have a chance to revisit one of my favorite pieces from last season ... and right a wrong of sorts.

Last year, I attempted to look at what I defined as the 25 most important players in the 2019 College Football Playoff chase. I defined the list as "an attempt to look into the future."

It was a fun, forward-facing exercise, and I almost perfectly stuck the landing. My two candidates for the No. 1 player on the list were Texas A&M's Kellen Mond and LSU's Joe Burrow. I chose the former, who had a disappointing fall. The pick was still justifiable since this list isn't a prediction of breakthroughs, but choosing the latter would have had me peacocking about the pick all offseason.

This year, I'm pretty confident in my No. 1 pick, I just don't know the guy's name yet. To the list!

Pure transcendence potential

We already know quite a bit about these guys, but they might have yet another gear.

25. OT Samuel Cosmi, Texas: New offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich's offense might require quarterback Sam Ehlinger to look downfield more and, at times, hang in the pocket more. In Cosmi, Ehlinger has a hell of a blindside protector who could become the best tackle in the country.

24. WR Jaylen Waddle, Alabama: He scored return touchdowns in Bama's two biggest games last year and already has over 1,400 receiving yards despite being the No. 4 passing option. Now, alongside DeVonta Smith, he's a go-to guy. Look out.

23. OLB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame: If the junior rover can top last year's rates -- a havoc play on every 34 snaps, a pass rush pressure rate over 22% -- the Irish defense has top-10 potential. It has looked great early this season, albeit against severely limited opposition (Duke, USF).

Other candidates for this category: Oklahoma State's Tylan Wallace (I listed him 24th last year) and Chuba Hubbard, Tennessee's Trey Smith, LSU's Jabril Cox, North Carolina's Sam Howell, Louisville's Tutu Atwell, Minnesota's Rashod Bateman (if he successfully opts back in), Oklahoma's Creed Humphrey, Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux.

The Next Chase Youngs

Here are some recent star defensive recruits who could transform their respective defenses with a huge breakthrough.

22. CB Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson: One could make the case for listing Mike Jones Jr. or Trenton Simpson -- the two players most directly attempting to fill Isaiah Simmons' shoes at nickel linebacker -- but we'll instead go with the guy filling A.J. Terrell's.

21. DT Taron Vincent, Ohio State: We're assuming a lot from OSU's great, recent recruiting classes. The Buckeyes need at least one new DE and one DT to come up big, and the secondary's got a lot of holes to fill. Players like Vincent and sophomore end Zach Harrison should help immensely with the latter need.

20. LB Palaie Gaoteote IV, USC: The Trojans' defense was flaky but ultra young last year, and 2019's sophomores are now 2020's juniors. The QB in the middle of Todd Orlando's remodeled unit is Gaoteote. If he thrives, so does the USC D.

19. OLB Will Anderson Jr., Alabama: Nick Saban signs approximately 113 blue-chip freshmen every year, but we've rarely heard more fall-camp raves about a guy than we've heard about this freshman from Hampton, Georgia, who's already listed as a starter.

18. CB Mykael Wright, Oregon: He thrived as Oregon's No. 3 corner last year with five passes defensed, two TFLs and 0.7 adjusted yards allowed per attempt in under 300 snaps. Now he's potentially No. 1.

17. DE Demarvin Leal, Texas A&M: The Aggies are basically a star pass-rusher away from a top-10 D, and after holding his own in the trenches as a true freshman, Leal could explode in 2020. He's a 290-pounder with the pass-rush potential of a 260-pounder.

16. DB Chris Adimora, Texas: He wasn't quite as much of a star recruit as others on this list, but it appears he has beaten out quite a few, and he's a potential Swiss Army knife for new coordinator Chris Ash's attack.

15. LB Owen Pappoe, Auburn: Speaking of Swiss Army knives, Pappoe had a pressure rate of 24% last year and allowed just 6.4 adjusted yards per attempt in primary pass coverage. He might be Auburn's best blitzer and best nickel coverage guy.

14. LB Brandon Smith, Penn State: With Micah Parsons' return still uncertain, Smith could find extra pressure to dominate as a sophomore. He looked awfully good in a reserve role last year, and if he's ready, Parsons' absence doesn't hurt as much.

Other candidates for this category: USC's Olaijah Griffin, Clemson's Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy.

Spoiler quarterbacks

Plenty of quarterbacks could pilot an upset that turns the title race, even if they (and their teams, probably) aren't quite strong enough to do it repeatedly.

13. QB KJ Costello, Mississippi State: Mike Leach's first MSU squad will feature an enormous receiving corps and former blue-chip quarterback who threw for 3,540 yards in a much different Stanford offense in 2018. This chemistry experiment won't produce a contender, but it could absolutely produce an upset or two.

12. QB Kenny Pickett, Pitt: Lots of names could have gone here, but we'll go with the guy who (A) gets shots at Clemson, Notre Dame and Miami and (B) has a defense so good he doesn't necessarily have to dominate to pull an upset. Pitt's an awfully interesting ACC sleeper.

Other candidates for this category: Tennessee's Jarrett Guarantano, Baylor's Charlie Brewer, Iowa State's Brock Purdy.

Key supporting cast members

These are either returning starters that have to take on bigger roles or new starters facing quite a bit of pressure to thrive immediately.

11. OT Jackson Carman, Clemson: Carman's numbers were decent last year (2.8% blown block rate on passes, 2.0% on rushes), but as the only returning starter on the Tigers' O-line, the former top-25 prospect has to both improve and provide leadership with a solid set of pass-rushing opponents on deck.

10. WR Trevon Grimes, Florida: Grimes is the only returning Florida wideout who caught more than 21 passes last year, and his per-target rates (10.7 yards per target, 67% success rate) suggest he could be ready for a senior-year leap.

9. WR Jalen Preston or Caleb Chapman, Texas A&M: The Aggies' offense stunk on passing downs last year, and no returning wideout caught more than three passes in 2019. Preston and Chapman are "veterans" as sophomores ... but they could be really good sophomores.

8. WR Terrace Marshall, LSU: The junior caught 13 touchdown passes last year and averaged 10 yards per target. But with both Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase gone, Marshall has huge standards to live up to as the new No. 1 guy.

Other candidates for this category: Miami's Mark Pope, Georgia's Zamir White and Demetris Robertson (No. 14 last year), Clemson's Joseph Ngata and/or Frank Ladson Jr., Texas' Jake Smith and/or Josh Moore.

It'd be really cool if he went Full Burrow

OK, that header sets an unfairly high bar, but this is for QBs who could clearly take another step forward ... and would completely transform their team's outlook if they did so.

7. QB Sean Clifford, Penn State: No. 5 on our list last year, Clifford was perfectly fine as a sophomore -- 17th in Total QBR, 2,654 yards -- but struggled mightily in PSU's two losses. It has been a while since a team won the national title with merely good QB play. Can new OC Kirk Ciarrocca unlock added potential?

Other candidates for this category: Alabama's Mac Jones, Notre Dame's Ian Book, Florida's Kyle Trask, Arizona State's Jayden Daniels, Wisconsin's Jack Coan, Nebraska's Adrian Martinez (No. 9 last year).

No pressure, new guy

These new starters need to play at a high level immediately.

6. QB Joe Milton, Michigan: With Dylan McCaffrey entering the transfer portal, it appears Milton's the guy in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines might be playing for 2021 in some ways, but the offense played at a high level late last year, and if Milton provides extra explosiveness, UM's expectations will change quickly.

5. QB Tyler Shough or Anthony Brown, Oregon: Shough drew raves in practice last year and was almost perfect in backup duty (12-for-15 with three touchdowns), and Brown piloted a unique, speedy, physical offense at BC. Whomever wins this job will have to push the Ducks toward an unbeaten record despite an overhauled line. Have fun with that.

4. QB Myles Brennan, LSU: Brennan's predecessor put together maybe the most impressive single-season passing performance in the sport's history last year. Almost anything he does will pale in comparison. But if he's ready for the spotlight, LSU still has top-five potential.

3. QB Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma: It's easy to assume great things of an OU quarterback, and Rattler certainly looked the part in Week 2. But he needs to keep looking great, especially with OU's defense still potentially in transition.

Other candidates for this category: Washington's Jacob Sirmon or Kevin Thomson.

Full Burrow + spoiler potential

A combination typically reserved for SEC West quarterbacks.

2. QB Bo Nix, Auburn: The Tigers mostly ended Oregon's national title hopes in Week 1 last year and officially ended Alabama's in the Iron Bowl. Nix was at the helm for both, but for Auburn to contend, Nix has to be far more consistent than he was in 2019, and must do so with a new offensive line. The defense will help, but he needs to make more plays. Can he?

Other candidates for this category: Texas A&M's Kellen Mond (No. 1 last year).

All of the above

A new starting QB who has the potential to wreck his opponents' title dreams and fulfill his own frustrated program's ambitions? Sounds like the most important player in college football to me.

1. QB JT Daniels or D'Wan Mathis, Georgia: Daniels was No. 8 on this list last year, when it looked as if he were getting tasked with saving Clay Helton's job at USC. He got hurt in the first game, however, and lost his job to sudden star Kedon Slovis. Now at Georgia, Daniels could be the guy to push the Dawgs out of last year's "all-world defense, terribly limited offense" imbalance. But first he has to be cleared for competition.

His ongoing recovery from injury has opened the door for Mathis, who spent 2019 on the sideline after having a cyst removed from his brain. Mathis has apparently impressed head coach Kirby Smart and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

It doesn't really matter who ends up starting here; it only matters that whomever it is thrives. Georgia will start 2020 with the most proven defense in college football, and while the offense could use another top skill-corps player, it still has a couple of proven linemen in receiver George Pickens, running backs Zamir White and James Cook and a new batch of blue-chippers. With great quarterback play, the Dawgs go from SEC East co-favorites to, potentially, national title co-favorites. Sounds like the QB of choice is the most important player in the country to me.

Week 4 playlist

Here are 10 Saturday games -- at least one from each time slot -- you should pay attention to if you want to get the absolute most out of the weekend, from both an information and entertainment perspective.

All times Eastern.

Early Saturday

No. 23 Kentucky at No. 8 Auburn (12 p.m., SEC Network): Maybe the most fascinating game of the weekend to me. It's Bo Nix's first opportunity to prove he has a leap in him, and it's Kentucky's first opportunity to show what lessons it has learned during the Great Lynn Bowden Jr. Experiment of 2019 and how it translates now that the Wildcats have an actual quarterback at quarterback again.

No. 24 Louisville at No. 21 Pitt (12 p.m., ACC Network): Per SP+, this pits the country's No. 13 offense (UL's) against the No. 2 defense (Pitt's). It's also a marquee opportunity for Pitt's Kenny Pickett to prove he can take advantage of what we'll politely call a defense that hasn't quite clicked yet.

No. 5 Florida at Ole Miss (12 p.m., ESPN): Our first look at both what Lane Kiffin can do with a high-potential Ole Miss offense and what Kyle Trask and his new receiving corps might be capable. Expect a Florida win, but how long Ole Miss hangs around might tell us something about the Gators' title potential.

Saturday afternoon

No. 22 Army at No. 14 Cincinnati (3:30 p.m., ESPN): Granted, the potential for a total wild card entering the CFP conversation is far diminished now that the Big Ten and Pac-12 have rejoined the party, but this one still has high stakes. It also pits one of the nation's more interesting and exciting defenses against a good old-fashioned triple-option attack.

Mississippi State at No. 6 LSU (3:30 p.m., CBS): I officially talked myself all the way back into LSU when writing about the Tigers for this week's SEC West preview. Now's our chance to finally find out what they have to offer. It's also a chance to see what Mike Leach does with an utterly enormous receiving corps.

West Virginia at No. 15 Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m., ABC): WVU is one of only three Big 12 teams that actually looked good in their respective first games, and now we find out if the Mountaineers are really second-year-leap candidates. We also get to find out how OSU's offense responds to a first-week dud performance.

Saturday evening

Florida State at No. 12 Miami (7:30 p.m., ABC): Miami has been the story of the young season, but the Hurricanes' offensive efficiency is still pretty questionable. Can FSU's defensive front frustrate the Canes enough to keep things close? Will FSU's own O-line (and QB) issues negate whatever good things its defense does?

No. 16 Tennessee at South Carolina (7:30 p.m., SEC Network): Easily the most tightly projected SEC game of the league's opening weekend, this will go a long way in determining whether Tennessee is worthy of top-25 hype. I'm guessing the Vols' D dominates a depleted SC offense, but the Gamecocks' defense is pretty good, too.

No. 2 Alabama at Missouri (7:00 p.m., ESPN): After a frustrating and humiliating 2019 campaign that saw it finish only (gasp) eighth in the AP poll, we get to find out what Alabama looks like. Is the front seven as dynamite as advertised? Is the offense humming against what should be a pretty solid Mizzou D?

Late Saturday

Troy at No. 18 BYU (10:15 p.m., ESPN): I enjoyed finding killer deep cuts to include in this list last year, but the opportunities for such a thing have been minimal so far. Maybe this one qualifies? BYU looked incredible in humiliating Navy in Week 1, and Troy thoroughly destroyed Middle Tennessee last week. Crushing unprepared competition can be fool's gold sometimes, but this one has lots of potential.

When I first saw the series of passes that led to this Goran Dragic dagger in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, two thoughts whipped through my brain:

No. 1: Why are the Boston Celtics trapping Jimmy Butler on this pick-and-roll with Bam Adebayo? Boston closed with its center-less Best Five lineup of Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward. You play such a lineup to switch every two-man action that doesn't involve Walker. Why not have Tatum and Hayward -- sturdy, like-size defenders -- switch here? Why let one of the best passing big men alive ease into a 4-on-3? Ducking under Butler ball screens -- something Boston is barely doing, though Miami sets up some such actions in ways that make going under difficult -- is preferable to this all-out blitz.

The Celtics played that lineup only five minutes in Game 4 after they went plus-13 in the seven minutes they deployed it in Game 3. They have had zero consistent answers for Adebayo running amok down the gut on the pick-and-roll. They have adjusted their coverages since Game 2, helping more from targeted places -- including some unconventional ones -- and even daring to lunge off of Duncan Robinson on the weak side when there is no better option. Nothing has worked for long.

I wonder if switching more might be their default response in Game 5. Stretching out this Best Five group would enable that. Daniel Theis, the odd man out in this group, managed well switching onto both Butler and Dragic late in Game 4; Boston might choose to amp up its switching even with Theis on the floor in more traditional lineups.

Alternatively, the Celtics have stashed Theis away from Adebayo, off to the side on a spot-up type -- Jae Crowder, perhaps Andre Iguodala. But sliding Theis there removes one hiding place for Walker. Boston has risked slotting Walker on Tyler Herro in an effort to keep him out of Miami's pick-and-roll game, and the Heat finally exploited that matchup with the right level of ruthlessness in Game 4. (Brad Stevens pivoted to Walker on Iguodala midway through the fourth quarter -- too late.)

No. 2: I've seen that same Iguodala pass in crunch time before -- that inside-out, twisting-in-midair, full-body touch pass-slash-heave from underneath the rim all the way out to the arc. That is such a tough pass. The speed with which Iguodala turns his body and releases the ball all in one motion indicates he knew what he was going to do -- what options were available, and which was best -- before he even touched the ball.

Iguodala is one of those spatial savants who sees everything a beat before everyone else. When he brings the ball up in transition, he sometimes hops mid-dribble, eyes wide and head tilting in a specific direction, begging a teammate to make some cut said teammate has not even registered as a possibility.

The cut might not unlock a shot for the cutter. That cutter might never even touch the ball. That cut might distort the next layer of defense in a way that opens up a shot for another teammate -- a progression of events only Iguodala sees.

Watch this clip from last season, in which Iguodala in full flight instructs Stephen Curry to veer toward the top of the 3-point arc because he knows that will draw the defense and free Alfonzo McKinnie for a layup. Iguodala points back at Curry after McKinnie's basket, acknowledging Curry's selfless act:

Iguodala in those moments vibrates with hyperactive impatience. He sees something you don't, and he really needs you to see it now.

He was probably primed to redirect the ball to Dragic the second Boston trapped Butler.

Turns out I had seen a very similar Iguodala pass in an even bigger postseason moment: the last minute of Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto last June.

It's not precisely the same, but it's close. Iguodala jumps to meet Curry's pass in the air -- a method of getting more oomph on what is basically a long-distance inside-out touch pass to Draymond Green. You only jump like that if you know where you are going with the ball before it arrives.

"That's what Andre does," Klay Thompson told me after the game.

Iguodala was the headliner in Miami's deadline deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, but Crowder has turned into the more important player for the Heat so far. It has felt at times as if Iguodala never quite settled in with Miami after sitting out most of the season -- never made his imprint. He played 14 minutes combined over Games 2 and 3 of the conference finals.

Iguodala's impact can be easy to miss. He doesn't score much. It sometimes seems as if he finds scoring unseemly -- that he's almost disdainful of points and their obviousness. It's as if he wants his contributions to be harder to notice, lest he draw too much attention.

But his impact is always there -- quiet background noise. He's always doing something helpful. You know about his defense. (Iguodala is close now to yet another Finals clash with LeBron James -- a potential fifth head-to-head matchup between their respective teams in six seasons.) He spots transition opportunities, and runs the floor hard. When he doesn't have the ball, he stands in the right places -- and slides to more profitable ones when the defense isn't looking. Even when he passes up wide-open 3s, Iguodala turns those instances of frustrating non-aggression into positive next steps -- smart passes, a canny give-and-go, the handoff that becomes a screen, a running floater if the shot clock demands it.

The lineup with which Miami closed Game 4 -- Dragic, Herro, Butler, Iguodala, and Adebayo -- played zero minutes together in the regular season. It includes three minimal threats from 3-point range -- a lineup construction Spoelstra has mostly avoided.

It is now plus-23 in 42 postseason minutes, per NBA.com. Pristine spacing isn't everything, though it certainly helps against elite defenses. That lineup includes five high-IQ playmakers who all move well without the ball. Collective feel and smarts can compensate for an overall lack of shooting. That is Iguodala to a tee.

Miami going into Game 4 had begun to look like a six-man team -- their five starters, plus Herro. Spoelstra in Game 4 benched three regular reserves -- Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk, Derrick Jones Jr. -- and even unearthed Solomon Hill. Iguodala gave them a seventh man -- enough to eke out another win, one game closer to an improbable Finals return. If Miami advances, it will need this Iguodala -- the one for whom the Heat traded -- even more.

NBA schedule: Game 5, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN and the ESPN App

DWYANE WADE SPENT just one season playing alongside Jimmy Butler in Chicago, but that was all that was needed to form a deep -- and familiar -- impression.

"He's a Heat guy," Wade later told Erik Spoelstra, the coach of Wade's longtime franchise, the Miami Heat.

Spoelstra probably didn't need the future Hall of Famer's recommendation -- he saw from afar that Butler and his famous work ethic would fit within the team's system -- but those entrenched in Heat culture know when a player is one of them.

"You know what's really cool about that?" Spoelstra asked a few days before Butler represented the Heat in this year's All-Star Game. "Jimmy's now talking like that. It's cool. Not even because he heard it from Dwyane or heard it from me -- it's just he's now in conversations [about other players], saying, 'Yeah, this guy's like us. This guy's one of us.'"

Those who thrive in Miami are always searching for the next wave of like-minded players who will do the same.

Wade watched Butler work in Chicago and believed he'd fit in Miami. Bam Adebayo saw the way Tyler Herro played at Kentucky and planted a seed with president Pat Riley to draft him. Butler worked out with Herro last summer and recognized the same approach in the 20-year-old rookie that he used to turn himself into a five-time All-Star.

"Man, you had to go through something," Miami lifer Udonis Haslem explained of the connection Heat players share. "You had to go through something in life that put a chip on your shoulder. And that's built grit inside you that you're willing to go through extreme circumstances to get where you're trying to go."

There's a loyalty within the Heat's culture that is rare in the NBA.

"Everyone thinks, 'Oh, it's so militaristic and hard-nosed,'" Heat big man Meyers Leonard said. "No, the Heat just want a level of professionalism ... but truly at heart it's loyal, caring people."

From owner Micky Arison, to Riley, to Spoelstra, to the players, to the staff members who have been with the franchise for decades, there's a familial quality to the Heat. It has been honed over the years through expectations of hard work and discipline.

But it's not always for everyone.

"We are who we are," Spoelstra said after a Game 3 win over the favored Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. "Some years we're a punchline, some years people say it's the wrong culture, but who cares? We're not making apologies for it."

-- Nick Friedell

MORE: How Miami got one win from the NBA Finals

'If you don't have the wherewithal, it will break you'

QUENTIN RICHARDSON HAD heard the stories about the Heat Way before he arrived in Miami for the 2009-10 season. And on day one at the Heat facility, before he formally met anyone in the organization, the training staff measured his weight and body fat percentage. He was then given a conditioning goal he would have to meet. The "or else" wasn't specifically defined, but the message was clear.

"It was real simple," Richardson recalled. "'I know you're new here, but this is how it goes. If you have any disagreements, Pat Riley has an open-door policy. You can take it to him.'"

Richardson was then ushered into Riley's office for a meet-and-greet, before being sent downstairs for a full workout, including multiple sets of wind sprints. When Richardson wasn't running that afternoon, he was throwing up.

Richardson promptly purchased a high-end scale for his bathroom, where he weighed himself every morning. There would be no surprises when he walked into the facility and was sent for a weight and body fat check. He'd go on to lose around 35 pounds in six weeks.

The individual fitness standards are just one facet of a Heat culture that demands a buttoned-up professionalism from its players. The organization exudes intensity, and those who find that vibe repressive or conformist should probably seek employment elsewhere.

"It was the first time in my career -- from top to bottom -- there was no back and forth," Richardson said. "You have to be cut from the cloth. If you don't have the wherewithal, it will break you. It will make you not like basketball."

When Richardson walked into the locker room before the first practice of training camp, two pairs of knee pads were resting at his locker. He told the trainer that he preferred not to wear them. The trainer told Richardson that knee pads were mandatory. Contact is so prevalent at Heat practices that players were often knocking knees. Rather than reduce the intensity, the team would just add protective gear, and Richardson should kindly choose between the lighter hex-pads or the pair with more cushion -- but he would choose one.

"The message is, 'You are preparing yourself for a war,'" said David Fizdale, who served as an assistant in Miami for eight seasons before head coaching stops with the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks.

"Practices should be a war. Practices should be harder than the games."

Though Heat players aren't monks, a certain brand of moderation is practiced. On road trips, for example, a group of guys might set a plan when the team touches down. But whatever the itinerary that night, it will be informed by business.

"I know this is the only time we're going to hit this city, but this is a big game tomorrow," Richardson said of the discussions. "We're going to go out, and we might have a drink or two, chill a little bit, then turn it in early and be ready for tomorrow. We're not going to f--- up tomorrow for tonight."

"Practices should be a war. Practices should be harder than the games." Former Heat assistant coach David Fizdale

Richardson notes that for 25 years, the Heat have had leadership on the roster that set the tone, players such as Alonzo Mourning, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem who genuinely loved the structure, in large part because they believed it made them better players. The coaching staff generates goodwill by committing to the improvement of every player.

Richardson said that Miami was the first team he played for where every coach on staff, from Erik Spoelstra on down, worked with players on the floor. At the time, that role was often played by a developmental assistant.

The Heat Way, of course, was fashioned by Riley. His longevity as Heat president coupled with the enduring success of the franchise buys a lot of equity among players. It's difficult to challenge convention when you play for an organization in which just about every principle has been with the franchise for more than two decades. The Heat demand a lot because they can.

"They want the kind of guys," Fizdale said, "that want those expectations."

-- Kevin Arnovitz

'If you're here 10 years, you're still one of the new guys'

FOR YEARS, WORKING for the Heat has been semi-jokingly referred to in NBA circles as joining "La Familia."

While some of that comes from Pat Riley's legendary personality and impeccable Armani suits, it also stems from Miami operating like a family organization -- one that people join, and usually never leave.

Take the team's organizational flow chart:

• Owner Micky Arison's father, Ted, was the team's original owner when it entered the league in 1988.
• General manager Andy Elisburg has been with the franchise since 1988.
• Coach Erik Spoelstra joined the team as a video coordinator just before Riley arrived in 1995.
• Spoelstra's intern in the video room that year, Adam Simon, is now Miami's assistant general manager.
• Tim Donovan, the team's head PR man, came with Riley from New York.
• Chet Kammerer, a senior basketball advisor, has worked for the team since 1996.

The list goes on. The defining characteristic of the Heat organization -- beyond its success over the past quarter-century, including three NBA titles -- is how many of its employees have put down roots in a profession where that is unheard of.

As a member of the organization joked recently, "If you're here 10 years, you're still one of the new guys."

In a cutthroat world of wins and losses, even the best NBA coaches, scouts and executives change teams several times over the course of their careers. There are even some teams -- most notably the San Antonio Spurs under coach Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford -- known for developing talent that other teams eventually hire away.

Since Riley chose to leave the New York Knicks and decamp to Miami in 1995, though, the Heat have become one of the most stable organizations in the NBA.

But that stability also plays a part in how the Heat go about their business. Teams in the NBA often fall prey to the whims of the moment, trying to chase short-term success to preserve their jobs. That doesn't happen in Miami, save a spending splurge on their own free agents in the summer of 2017 that looked as if it could hamper the team going forward.

Instead, the Heat are one win from the NBA Finals three years later, with institutional knowledge -- and the Heat lifers who possess it -- playing no small part.

-- Tim Bontemps

UD is the OG of Heat culture

DURING THE PLAYOFFS in 1999, Pat Riley once said, "You've got to want to win as much as you want to breathe."

Moments later, inside the Miami Heat locker room, Riley dunked his head in a bucket of water for what seemed like an eternity.

As those witnessing became concerned, Riley eventually came up for air and roared, "Until your last breath!"

Ask anyone around the organization, over the past 17 years of Miami Heat basketball, no player embodies that mantra in the locker room more than Udonis Haslem, an OG of Heat culture.

Haslem, born and raised in Miami-Dade County, has spent 17 years with the franchise as an undrafted gem in 2003. The three-time champion's impact on the franchise continues to be immeasurable.

And it almost never happened.

"The Heat didn't offer me a deal after summer league," Haslem said. "I went to play for the Spurs' summer league team and they offered me a one-year deal. When the Heat found that out, they decided to offer me a two-year deal.

"I was on my way to Pop. A lot of people don't know that."

Haslem became a major contributor in some deep postseason runs, going for 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals in a Game 6 closeout versus the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.

Dwyane Wade convinced LeBron James and Chris Bosh to take pay cuts in the summer of 2010 just to keep Haslem on the roster. He made good on their faith in him by gutting out a key win -- on a busted left foot that had derailed most of his season -- in Game 2 of the 2011 Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls.

"I was on my way to Pop. A lot of people don't know that."

Heat forward Udonis Haslem

"I always wanted to be there for those guys, because they took a chance on me," Haslem said. "Back then nobody was taking pay cuts. So, I always wanted to make good on that for those guys."

Now, he takes his duties as mentor as seriously as when he used to have to guard Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki in the NBA Finals.

"As a captain, I had to learn these guys," Haslem said. "There is a whole generational difference here. So, being able to motivate these guys, comes from learning and hanging out with them."

Since 2015, Haslem has started only 27 games, but he's like an extra coach in the huddle. "Practices are my games," he told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears last week.

And you'd be hard-pressed to find a person in the organization more widely respected.

"[Haslem] represents everything that Miami is," said South Carolina men's basketball head coach Frank Martin, a Miami native who coached Haslem in high school. "An underdog, hard-working, overachieving person that has always overcome others' opinions in his relentless effort to find success."

-- Jorge Sedano

1995: The year Micky Arison turned up the Heat

A FEW DAYS after arriving for the Orlando bubble and looking for any way to make the environment feel something like home, Miami Heat staffers started putting a cardboard cutout of owner Micky Arison courtside during the team's practices.

For years, Arison, now 71, had made it a habit, when his schedule allows, to attend practices and sit quietly alongside his son Nick, the team CEO, as well as general manager Andy Elisburg and president Pat Riley. They all got the cardboard cutout treatment in Orlando.

Both symbolically and literally, the Heat's leadership is there every day and aligned in a supportive role.

Brutal training camp practices, Arison is there. Midseason light walkthroughs, Arison has been there. Dramatic Finals wins or heartbreaking defeats, Arison was there the next morning with his deep tan, long flowing gray hair and laid-back personality as disarming as any billionaire you'll ever meet.

Needless to say, this is an unusual scenario in any American workplace, much less the NBA, which is often gripped with paranoia, intrateam drama and old-fashioned backstabbing. While it's a basic act, in some ways it defines the way Arison has run his team for the past 25 years that has led to repeated success and the moniker "Heat culture."

In 1995, Arison fought two fierce battles. The first was with two shareholders of the original Heat expansion franchise. Though Arison's father, Ted, owned the largest stake in the team, when it was founded in 1988, the family didn't have operational control. And in the first seven years of the team's history, it had one winning season -- at 42-40 -- in 1993-94.

Arison, a permanent fixture in front-row seats, became frustrated in the struggles. The relationship with the partners soured and then went toxic, leading to threats, lawsuits and more infighting. After months of back-and-forth and hurt feelings, Arison finally struck a deal to buy out the other partners and emerge as the controlling owner with more than 80% of the team.

Two days after he closed the deal, also firing the head coach and installing a new GM, Pat Riley came to town. In a highly unusual move, Arison asked Riley, then the New York Knicks' star coach whom he'd never met, if he could watch him run the Knicks' off-day practice.

Naturally, Riley rejected the request, but the message was sent: Arison had a strong affinity for the coach.

Later that year, after Riley's attempts to get a contract extension from the Knicks that included ownership shares failed, he resigned as head coach with a season left on his deal.

Within weeks, the Knicks had filed a tampering charge against Arison for going after Riley to be coach and run the front office. New York's proof was a memo allegedly created by Riley's attorneys with 14 contract requests from the Heat days before he'd actually resigned. The asks reportedly ranged from a five-year, $15 million salary to ownership shares to Arison buying Riley's homes in Los Angeles and suburban New York.

Arison accused one of his former ownership partners with leaking information to the Knicks and helping their case. For almost three months, there was a standoff between the teams with then-NBA commissioner David Stern both holding a hearing on the tampering charge and trying to broker a deal through intense acrimony.

When it was over, Arison had won again. He agreed to pay the Knicks $1 million in cash plus a top-five protected first-round pick to get Riley out of his contract. Riley got his long-term deal and equity in the Heat, one of the greatest deals ever landed by an NBA executive. And, as it turned out, one of the greatest deals ever made by an NBA owner.

After those two battles, Arison has faded to the background on basketball decisions and let Riley work. He never again had to hire a coach -- Riley promoted assistants Stan Van Gundy and then Erik Spoelstra -- and reaped the rewards.

Within two years, the Heat were a 60-win team and in the conference finals in 1997. In the 25 years since he grabbed the team and made the sweeping move to land Riley, the Heat have made 19 playoff appearances, five Finals and won three titles. The franchise's value has soared, at Forbes' last projection, to $1.95 billion.

The Heat's banners are there because of Riley, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Bosh and, who knows, maybe Jimmy Butler.

But the Heat's success stems from Arison, and he quietly reminds everyone of it every day.

-- Brian Windhorst