After a horrendous season of losses and losses, the Miami Heat will have a chance to vindicate itself this season, starting with the first of 82 games tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks.
It is pretty much set in stone that Erik Spoelstra will start Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley and Udonis Haslem. The question on everybody's mind is who will Spoelstra start at the point guard position. Spoelstra declined to disclose who he will start, but rookie point guard Mario Chalmers said that he practiced with the starting team.
Starting Spoelstra would be a bold, gutsy and risky move. But it would also be the right move. Chalmers did not impress at first, but has really come along over the course of this preseason. I've said before that Marcus Banks would be better suited as a sparkplug off the bench. And Chris Quinn has simply not provided enough to earn him that starting job. I know he's not great at everything, but he can be more than a ghost.
For this matchup, I do not see the undersized Udonis Haslem at the pivot as a liability for Miami. Mike D'Antoni never played a big lineup with the Suns, and the buzz is that D'Antoni will probably start David Lee at the center.
There is nothing more I can say that I have not told you already. The Heat still need to trade Marion for a big-name center if they want be a force to be reckoned with in the East. But for now, the players should just leave their best effort on the court and let the chips fall where they may.
1 comment:
SINK. Maybe swim later. There's a shark named D'Antoni in the water, though, so be careful.
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