Wade Delivers at End

Despite the fact that Dwyane Wade has given Heat fans a few nights of prolific scoring, he has been yet to deliver down the stretch, during crunch time -- until tonight. Wade sunk a 20-foot jumper at the end of regulation to give Miami a 104-102 win over the Utah Jazz.

As usual, the Heat blew a fourth quarter lead. Miami had an 11-point lead going into the final period. At that point, you have an opportunity to blow the game out of the water and really make a statement against a quality team. However, Utah went on a run and even took a lead with a pair of free throws from Matt Harpring with 46.3 seconds to go.

At this point, I am not mad about the near loss. If you are the worst team in the East, you need to get all of the wins you can get. Besides, the Jazz are a tough team and they are not going to give up. Miami was able to gut out a win and that is all that matters.

One of the Heat's bright spots has been Daequan Cook. And with 28.2 seconds left, Cook delivered. He hit a three-pointer to give Miami a 102-100 lead. Cook showcased plenty of gallantry for a rookie, and is even not timid to take a shot in the clutch. This young man can develop into a really nice player in his career.

Some may be wondering how Cook and Wade can be the one-two punch the Heat need if the two play the same position. Well, one thing that Riley can consider is to put Cook at the point guard. Of course, in the middle of a season, it will be difficult for Daequan to learn the nuances of the position. However, Cook can dedicate his summer to learning the point guard position. Nonetheless, Riley may be forced to put Cook at the point with Chris Quinn and Smush Parker inactive.

After Carlos Boozer hit a fade-away jumper to tie it, it was Wade's time to step up. He, like everyone else, watched the ball softly bounce on the front rim before falling into the net. In the words of Flash himself, "Finally, we got a bounce around here."

Surprisingly, Shaquille O'Neal took the most shots, 16, out of anyone on the Heat. O'Neal would register 17 points and 10 rebounds for Miami while going eight-of-16 from the field. Shaq had a huge break with Mehmet Okur sidelined, but it could not stop Shaq from fouling out. For the fifth consecutive game, the Diesel fouled out, as the string of ejections keeps on snowballing. However, Pat Riley reported that O'Neal has lost 10 pounds over the past two weeks.

The most surprising performance was Earl Barron. Barron scored 11 consecutive points in the second quarter and finished with 13 points on five-of-six shooting. While this was a great night for the young man, it is imperative to take this game with a grain of salt. Apparently in the rotation for the remainder of the season, Barron must take advantage of this opportunity.

The Miami Heat had six players register double figures tonight. Those are great numbers for any team, but no one can deny the obvious glaring weakness the Heat have. There are needs for trades. Eight days have passed since Smush Parker became available to trade and nothing has been made. I do not know why Pat Riley expects a GM to take a player who has not played a game in two months. Riles was able to get rid of Antoine Walker because the only baggage he was carrying was some weight problems. If I was Riles, I would activate Parker. He would at least be playing for his own contract, which would give him some motivation.