Leaving It All on the Court

Movin' On

2009-01-17T14:45:00.002-05:00

Hello all,

Thanks for all of your continued support. I recently was contacted by someone who works for the independently-owned sports Web site, Most Valuable Network. I was offered the position to write about the Miami Heat, and I have agreed to write for them.

The new blog will be located here. I will continue writing my normal articles, only in a different place with more opportunities.

Marion to go North of the Border?

2009-01-15T17:45:00.004-05:00

In a column published yesterday, Miami Herald beat writer Israel Gutierrez gives a number of strong convictions regarding the oft-mentioned possibilities of trading Shawn Marion.

Gutierrez, among other things, writes, "the chances of Shawn Marion remaining with the Heat for the balance of this season are quite slim," also adding that, "Marion badly wants to be traded," and that, "Marion's agent constantly is talking with management from other teams, attempting to gauge their interest."

Gutierrez goes on to say that "league sources" have told him Heat President Pat Riley is considering making a trade for Jermaine O'Neal, the six-time NBA All-Star. With O'Neal's contract giving him about $44 million over the next two seasons, Shawn Marion would have to be a part of the deal in order to satisfy the NBA's trade rules.

Is this credible information? League sources apparently told Yahoo! Sports that a trade involving Marion in exchange for Anderson Varejao and Wally Szczerbiak was brewing. High officials for both Miami and Cleveland quickly shut down that rumor. If no one says anything about this, then the rumor may lead to a move right before the trade deadline.

Toronto, expected by some to challenge Boston in the Atlantic Division, is currently at 16-24 and the 12th best team in the East. There is no doubt that Raptors owner Brian Colangelo wants to make a move. Jermaine O'Neal has missed the past nine games with a knee injury, and is putting up sub-par numbers of 14 points and seven rebounds per game. Colangelo, who was invovled with the Phoenix Suns, however, may like the idea of playing again with Marion.

Marion, who has contributed two straight double-doubles, hardly plays like a player who "badly" wants out of Miami. He recently spoke of his willingness to get more involved in the Heat's offense. While he has posted career lows across the board in his contract year, it has seemed as though Marion is beginning to get more accustomed to the half-court style of offense.

Is Marion in Miami's long-term plans? No. If Riley makes a trade for Jermaine O'Neal, will he be in Miami's long-term plans? No. The move to acquire O'Neal would probably be to add some size to this team over the next one-and-a-half seasons and part ways with him before the anticipated summer of 2010.

As I have said repeatedly, I don't see Riley moving Marion until he gets more of a read on James Jones. Daequan Cook is only 6-foot-5 and moving him into the starting lineup would significantly hurt Miami's bench production. Michael Beasley, while standing at 6-foot-9, does not have the lateral movement to keep up with players such as LeBron James; and would also hurt Miami's bench production. On ESPN, people are talking about the San Antonio vs. Los Angeles Lakers game. And both teams have one of their key contributors, Manu Ginobili with the Spurs and Lamar Odom with the Lakers, coming off the bench.

Therefore, we could see Riley pressure Coach Erik Spoelstra to get Jones into the rotation with the trade deadline 35 days away. Jones is a player who can fit right into the starting lineup if he works his way back from his injury. Throughout his five-year career, he has shot three-pointers at a 39.8 percent clip. Additionally, his long arms could give Miami some perimeter defense; and Riley may have found the closest thing to another James Posey.

O'Neal is due about $21 million at this season's end. Marion's expiring contract will give him approximately $17 million this season. That still leaves $4 million that Miami has to give in order for this trade to work.

Last season, the Shaquille O'Neal for Shawn Marion deal also needed a throw-in to work. Phoenix General Manager Steve Kerr agreed to add Marcus Banks in the deal. Well, this time Banks could find himself again as a throw-in in a deal involving the other O'Neal. Banks is owed $4.2 million, and his contract goes beyond the 2009-10 season. A deal involving Banks and Marin for O'Neal does satisfy the trade rules.

Shaun Livingston is reportedly leaning towards a Miami return, according to an Arizona Republic article. If Riley still feels there is an investment to be made in Livingston, this trade may give Livingston an opportunity, seeing as Chris Quinn will be a free agent this summer. Of course, there still remains the prospect of signing Alonzo Mourning, as well as the prospect of dipping into the luxury tax.

Looking strictly at the trade, though, it appears as though O'Neal is suited for a half-court style of offense and Marion is suited for a full-court type of offense. Both are 31 years old and both are looking to play as they used to perform a few years ago. From that standpoint, it looks like a pretty even-handed trade.

Not many stars are washed up when they are in their late 20s, but O'Neal has gotten that thrown around at him as many as three seasons ago, and some would argue even longer. Since 2004, the 6-foot-11 forward/center has missed 133 games. For the early years of the 2000's, O'Neal was a consistent 20-point, 10-rebound threat. Now, he averages about two rebounds less than Marion does.

O'Neal averages 14 points for the Raptors, and a moderate increase will be as good as one can hope for the South Carolina-native gets traded to Miami. At best, we'll see someone who will average around 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game. That's not the ideal sidekick for Wade. As I said, O'Neal won't be in Miami's plans for more than a one-and-a-half seasons. But if it's the best thing Riley can get for Marion, it makes a whole lot more sense than letting his contract expire and signing Carlos Boozer (not even a center) or Mehmet Okur (a perimeter player) in the off-season.

We'll see if this is merely speculation or something more. But you can count me tentatively on the bandwagon for this trade.

Cook Bails Out Heat

2009-01-15T12:38:00.004-05:00

If only everything was as economical as the Daequan Cook bailout plan.

Cook was coming off a scoreless performance in Miami's win against Minnesota. But Dwyane Wade continued to trust his young teammate. The former Marquette Golden Eagle usually finds Cook for open three-pointers after driving to the hoop, and it was no different Wednesday night.

And Wade needed Cook to step up.

In a rough return to Wade's college town, Cook stepped up and connected on his first six triples before ending up with a career-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 27 minutes of action. Cook's lethal three-point shooting helped Miami get back in the game after Milwaukee jumped out to an 18-8 lead. His free-throw shooting helped the Heat stave off a late Bucks surge.
Wade's collection of missed jumpers and turnovers allowed Milwaukee to take advantage, eventually cutting the once 13-point second half lead to 97-95 with 86 seconds remaining. Both teams turned the ball over before the Bucks had a chance to tie the game with 30 seconds left. Richard Jefferson attempted a runner in the lane, but Shawn Marion blocked the shot before Cook grabbed the ball. Jefferson intentionally fouled Cook, and the former Ohio State Buckeye knocked down two free throws.

Joe Alexander's layup with 16 seconds left on the clock made it a 99-97 lead for the Heat. After Michael Redd fouled fellow Olympian Wade, and the League's leading scorer connected on one free throw. Luke Ridnour's runner made it a 100-99 game for Miami with just nine seconds to go, but the Heat fed the hot hand, Cook, who calmly connected both free throws. Alexander's three-pointer to tie the game got nothing but air as the clock expired.

Wade was only 5-for-20 from the field for 17 points and turned the ball over four times, but dished out 13 assists.

In addition to Cook's resurgence, Beasley also picked up the slack for Wade. The talented rookie out of Kansas State had 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, four rebounds and just one turnover in 28 minutes of play. Cook and Beasley, Miami's usual spark-plugs off the bench and Wednesday night's leading scorers for the Heat, combined for 45 points on 15-for-22 shooting.

Wade had no problem sharing the wealth, and five Heat players attempted 11 or more field goals. Udonis Haslem shot 8-of-13 from the field for 18 points while also collecting eight rebounds. Shawn Marion contributed 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds and the aforementioned key rejection.

Coach Erik Spoelstra opened the second half with Chris Quinn and Jamaal Magloire taking the places of Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony, respectively. It worked for the Heat, as Miami put up nine unanswered points to start the third quarter. To me, these were a couple of common sense Spoelstra moves. Anthony did have three blocks last night, but Spoelstra went with more size in Magloire. And Chalmers has had a brutal road trip, with two scoreless nights in his last three games, so it makes sense for Quinn to get more minutes.

Quinn, however, struggled with a one-for-five shooting performance from the field. The 6-foot-2 guard out of Notre Dame also let Luke Ridnour constantly beat him off the dribble, who scored a game-high 25 points. Spoelstra couldn't go to Marcus Banks late in the game, who was again in street clothes. If Banks isn't back on the active list after Chalmers' continued struggles and Quinn's defensive liabilities exposed against Minnesota and now Milwaukee, I don't know what will.

James Jones did not even get off the bench last night. Spoelstra opted to play Yakhouba Diawara for seven minutes, and it appears that Jones' return will be a slow process.

Miami is now 3-2 on its seven-game road trip with a hurtin' Houston team up followed by the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat, a team that has beaten top teams and lost to lowly ones, knows that every game is up for grabs. Nonetheless, it's possible that Miami could make a run at the Pistons for the fifth seed. Detroit, which occupies the fifth seed, is only one-and-a-half games above Miami and in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Atlanta, the fourth seed and only two games above Miami, has lost four of its last five games.

Wade Out-duels Foye, Wolves

2009-01-14T16:14:00.004-05:00

In a must-win game of sorts for the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade was his usual self and carried the Heat past the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that didn't have enough to win its sixth straight game.

Rodney Carney's jumper with four minutes and 23 seconds left in the game put Minnesota up 91-86. But on Miami's ensuing possession, Wade made a fade away jumper, while also receiving contact from Kevin Love. Wade made the free throw, and it was suddenly a two-point game. After the Timberwolves came up short on the offensive end, Wade found rookie sensation Michael Beasley for a jumper to tie the game with about three-and-a-half minutes left. On Miami's next possession, Wade turned the ball over, but Beasley took it right back. Miami's 6-foot-9 sixth man gave the ball to Shawn Marion, who lobbed it up for an easy Wade dunk. The Heat had taken the lead and the momentum from Minnesota.

But the game wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

Randy Foye, who finished with 29 points, nailed a three-pointer to put the 'Wolves up 96-95 with just under two minutes to go. After some sloppy execution by both teams, Marion drew a shooting foul on Ryan Gomes.
And so, Coach Erik Spoelstra was counting on free throws from a player who brings the ball up to his chin before releasing a shot to deliver clutch free throws. Fortunately, Marion made both free throws to give Miami a 97-96 lead with 22 seconds to go.

Minnesota coach Kevin McHale set up a play to feed the hot hand, Foye, who made 12-of-21 shots from the field and 5-of-10 attempts from downtown. This time, Wade made a clean block on Foye's jump shot with 13 seconds left. After an errant Carney three-point attempt, Minnesota was forced into a fouling mode. Wade and Beasley hit a pair of free throws to close out the game.

Wade had 31 points on 15 shot attempts, was 13-of-16 from the free throw line, eight assists, three steals and three blocks. Foye nearly matched Wade's numbers, but he couldn't shake free of the League's leading scorer when he went up for a shot with 13 seconds left.

Beasley had 14 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes. But what was most impressive was that Beasley had six points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter, a stanza he played all 12 minutes in. The talented rookie out of Kansas State out-dueled fellow rookie Kevin Love, who finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

Udonis Haslem and Marion each contributed a double-double for Miami. Haslem finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 10 rebounds while Marion had 16 points on five-of-nine shooting, 11 rebounds and a pair of clutch free throws to put the Heat up for good.

James Jones only played six minutes against Minnesota, and still has not scored his first points as a member of the Heat. This allowed Yakhouba Diawara to play 15 minutes off the bench, who finished with eight points and two connections from beyond the arc.

Rookie Mario Chalmers had another tough night, going just one-for-nine from the field in 30 minutes. Chris Quinn got 18 minutes of playing time, and added seven points off the bench for Miami. Quinn's defensive liabilities were magnified, however, against Minnesota.

Does this mean we'll get another go-around with Marcus Banks? Banks had to wear street clothes last night. But keep in mind that Quinn came out of the rotation for a couple of weeks because Jordan Farmar took him apart in the Lakers' visit to Miami. It's more likely that Quinn will stay in the rotation because of his shooting and steadiness, but a return for Banks is certainly plausible.

Spoelstra had his team play Al Jefferson well, holding him to nine points on 4-of-14 shooting. The Heat did allow Minnesota to connect on 11 three-pointers, but Jefferson's high-percentage shooting around the basket is a key component to Minnesota's offense. Last night, Miami was able to take that away.

Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire combined for 16 minutes and 12 seconds of action, and Spoelstra instead went with a three-forward lineup of Marion, Beasley and Haslem late in the game. I still see Beasley coming off the bench as the punch of Miami's second unit, but he will be on the court in crunch time.

Daequan Cook, who was tied in sixth place for three-pointers made at 82, went scoreless last night.

Miami improved to 2-2 on its seven-game road trip and will face Milwaukee tonight at 8. The Heat earned its 20th win of the season and is two games behind Atlanta for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and Miami can take advantage. Two of Miami's next three games are against below-.500 teams; and the one team above .500 is Houston, who will be without Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest.

Suggestions for Spoelstra

2009-01-13T16:48:00.007-05:00

The Miami Heat currently stand at 19-17, and is only one-and-a-half games above the New Jersey Nets for the sixth seed. Fortunately for Miami, three of the team's four games to close out its season-long seven game road trip are against below-.500 teams.

Except the Heat's opponent tonight, the Minnesota Timberwolves, is on a five-game winning streak; and Miami's next opponent will be against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team the Heat failed to defeat at home in December.

Tonight's game against Minnesota is a must-win. And although Miami played tough against the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night, it is 2-4 in January and 1-2 on this road trip. Moral victories just don't do it.

Coach Erik Spoelstra has done a fantastic job with his team, already four games better than last season's 15-67 abomination. But he needs to make a few changes.

Joel Anthony has been non-existent recently. We knew that he never had an offensive game, but his defense has now wavered (a product of his frequent foul trouble, maybe). After limiting Andrew Bynum to four points in Miami's first meeting with the Lakers, Anthony gave Bynum everything he wanted at Staples Center. The undersized, undrafted center for the Heat is a hard worker, but he doesn't deserve his starting spot anymore.

Jamaal Magloire, on the other hand, deserves to be the starting center for Miami. In his past two games, Magloire grabbed 16 rebounds in 31 minutes. He is 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds, easily the Heat's biggest player in the rotation. He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and will give the Heat some toughness in the middle. Like Anthony, Magloire doesn't have an offensive game, but his rebounding and toughness is what should put him in the starting lineup.

Al Jefferson, a man in the company of Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan as the only players who average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, will be a challenge for the Heat. I'm not saying that Magloire will lock Jefferson down, but he will be physical with him and he will never back down.

Staying with bench players, Michael Beasley should be playing more. Against Sacramento and L.A., as well as in the first quarter in Denver, Beasley has shown flashes of stardom. There is no question that Miami's first round pick has untapped potential. Wade can form a dynamic duo with Beasley in the future. Beasley can undoubtedly put up better numbers for the Heat than Shaquille O'Neal did in his first two seasons with Miami. Wade needs some help to carry the offensive load for the Heat, and the 6-foot-9 Washington, D.C.-native can do a bulk of the scoring.

I am not necessarily opposed to the idea of Beasley coming off the bench. Every successful team needs a punch coming from its bench and I have no qualms about Bealey as that role for the Heat. What I am opposed to is playing Beasley just over 20 minutes for Miami. How can he and Wade form chemistry if Beasley isn't even on the court for half the time? Shawn Marion should not be playing 37 minutes per game with the sub-par season he's had so far.

Spoelstra should, in certain situations, play Beasley as a three. This would allow the talented rookie to go to his post-up game against people who are giving up an inch or two on him. I view Beasley as more of a power forward than a small forward, and hope he will continue to get stronger. But I'd like to see the former Kansas State standout to develop his post game so that it will come more naturally to him when he does it as a four against some of the bigger players in the NBA. It's a move for the development of Beasley's game, but it shouldn't hurt the team when it is used in specific positions that will not allow the opponent to exploit Beasley's lack of lateral movement and defense.

Those were the two main things Spoelstra should adjust. I'd like to see James Jones' minutes continue to increase, though. In his two games with the Heat, Jones' playing time has gone up from three minutes to seven. At this point, it's difficult to say whether Spoelstra is working Jones into the rotation or simply giving him token minutes.

Heat News

Several teams, including Minnesota and Atlanta, have inquired into Udonis Haslem's availability. I don't see Pat Riley making any type of move with his forwards until he sees what James Jones can do. Additionally, with Shawn Marion's plausible departure this coming summer, is the Heat willing to give away its starting forward lineup? Haslem won't get Al Jefferson in a Heat uniform.

The New York Knicks offered a deal for Shawn Marion that included center Eddy Curry. The deal was swiftly declined by Riley, who doesn't appear willing to let go of Marion for center with questionable work ethic and a contract that goes beyond the 2009-10 season.

In Thriller, Lakers Get Best of Heat

2009-01-12T15:22:00.004-05:00

The Miami Heat failed to become the first team in the NBA to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers twice this season, but sure put up a fight.

The Lakers went up by 13 with three minutes left to go in the third quarter on a Derek Fisher three-pointer. But the Heat went on a 13-4 run to close out the third period, including two three-point plays, to make it a 73-77 game heading into the final stanza of play.

Dwyane Wade's finger roll with 7:24 left to play made it an 84-88 game, but it would be Wade's last points of the game. It is hard to believe that one of the League's best fourth-quarter performers would not score for the final seven minutes of a tough ball game, but Miami's superstar guard still made an impact in other ways.

An example? Wade's transition alley-oop pass to Michael Beasley gave the Heat a 90-89 lead with 5:32 left to go. The Lakers made a mini-run to make it 100-93 with just under three minutes to play. But when Wade didn't score, it was Beasley picking up the slack for him. That's something you want out of a sidekick.

Beasley scored Miami's next 10 points to pull within 100-102 with less than a minute to go. On the Lakers' ensuing possession, Wade stole the ball from Kobe Bryant after he tried to set up a pick-and-roll play with Pau Gasol. Udonis Haslem dove towards the hoop for a slam that tied the game at 102 all with 38 seconds left. Coach Erik Spoelstra's team could force a miss and have a chance to win it at the buzzer, if only one red shirt could grab a rebound.
Bryant missed a shot with 18 seconds left to give L.A. the lead, but Andrew Bynum's long arms tipped the ball back in to put the Lakers up 104-102.

Wade got a first step on Bryant and drove into the paint. The L.A. defense collapsed on Wade, and the 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette dished it to a wide open Chris Quinn in the corner. Quinn's attempt to give Miami a 105-104 lead with seven seconds left went off the rim. Haslem intentionally fouled Vladimir Randamovic, and the L.A. 6-foot-10 forward sunk both free throws. It was a four-point game with six seconds left.

Daequan Cook nailed a triple two seconds later to make it a 105-106 game with four seconds to go. The Lakers got the ball to the reigning season MVP, Bryant. He made both free throws after Haslem intentionally fouled him; and Cook's contested three-pointer to tie the game at the buzzer got nothing but air to end the game with a 108-105 decision.

Wade finished with 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting, five rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Beasley added 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, five rebounds and two steals in only 22 minutes. I would have liked to see more of Beasley than just 22 minutes, and feel that he is playing well enough on both sides of the court to start.

Cook finished with 17 points on five-of-nine shooting from three-point range. Shawn Marion added 12 on 6-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds and two steals. Mario Chalmers struggled offensively, getting into early foul trouble and only playing nine minutes. Therefore, Quinn played major minutes (32 in all) and finished with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, just one turnover and seven assists. That three-pointer to potentially give Miami the lead, however, will be what most people remember from Quinn last night. Defensively, the athletic Jordan Farmar was injured, and Quinn's defensive liabilities were masked.

Overall, the Heat played good defense. Kobe Bryant shot just 5-for-14 from the field and Pau Gasol shot 4-of-15 from the field. Already without Lamar Odom, one could argue that the Lakers' three best players did not play well. Unfortunately for the Heat, Radmanovic hit four triples and Bynum took advantage of Miami's lack of size. The Lakers out-rebounded the Heat 53-38.

I would have liked to see more of Jamaal Magloire in this game. The Heat's tallest, biggest player grabbed seven rebounds in just 16 minutes. When he played last night, Miami was + 7. With Joel Anthony's productivity diminishing steadily, there is no question as to who should be starting at center for the Heat. If Spoelstra doesn't want to go with a three-forward lineup, he should at least get some size and rebounding with Magloire in the starting unit.

James Jones only played seven minutes last night, attempting only one shot. It was a three-pointer from the right corner that barely grazed the rim. It is not be overstated, even with Jones' preseason wrist surgery. Jones' minutes should steadily increase, and his production will be a key factor in where Shawn Marion will end up after the trade deadline.

The Heat will get a day off before engaging in its only back-to-back sequence of the seven-game road trip, starting Tuesday in Minnesota.

Heat News

Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that Dwyane Wade gets an assist from officials after his team's win over Miami. He specifically spoke of traveling and carrying violations that, he says, the referees turn a blind eye to.

"What he's really been able to do is that pick-up move, that the Europeans really have brought in," Jackson said. "We all would consider that a walk move: Pick up the ball, take two steps, that's two and a half steps. And he's been able to get a long distance on that.

"His ability to carry the ball right now, he's getting away with that. He [carries] left to right, right to left, but he just does it fast, so nobody sees it, I guess."

Jackson, of course, coached Michael Jordan, who was also accused of taking an extra step or two during his Chicago championship days.

Wade, Beasley Lead Heat Past Kings

2009-01-10T01:23:00.006-05:00

In a dramatic showdown in Sacramento, Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley continued to look more and more like a duo, combining for 64 points in a 119-115 overtime win.

For the first three quarters, this game looked eerily similar to the game against Denver. Miami again played poor defense in the first half, allowing 62 points through the first 24 minutes. The Heat managed to make a few mini-runs in the third quarter, but a late surge by Sacramento to close out the quarter had Miami down eight entering the final stanza of play. Former Florida Gator John Salmons made two free throws to start the fourth quarter, putting Miami down by 10 with just under 12 minutes to play.

Beasley, who turned 20 years old Friday, scored eight unanswered points before finding Jamaal Magloire for a nice dunk. Within 1:58, the once 74-84 deficit was only 83-84. It seemed as if this game would go down to the wire until Miami opened up a 99-94 lead with with 115 seconds to go after Wade made a nice dish to Udonis Haslem for a layup. But Bobby Jackson nailed a three, cutting the lead to 99-97 with 68 seconds left, still anybody's game. The Heat would need to dig a little bit deeper for this win.

Mario Chalmers has hit contested threes in crunch time. This time he did it again, but in a red Miami uniform. The rookie out of Kansas State nailed a triple with Jackson all over him with 46 seconds to go. With 12 seconds left and the score at 102-99, Wade picked Kevin Martin's pocket for a steal. He was immediately fouled, and could've given the Heat a 104-99 lead.

But he didn't.

Wade made only one of two free throws. Spencer Hawes hit a three on Sacramento's ensuing possession to make it 104-103 with just 10 seconds to go. Mario Chalmers was fouled and made one of two, and Hawes made another jumper to force overtime.

Wade made the first two field goals of overtime to give the Heat a four-point lead. Unfortunately, Magloire was charged with a flagrant foul on Sacramento's ensuing possession. Hawes hit both free throws, and Sacramento would retain possession. Kevin Matin got free for a wide open jumper to tie the game up. Miami's 6-foot-11 center did a good job on the glass, but that flagrant foul ended up as a four-point possession for the Kings.

Wade and Haslem hooked up for a pick-and-roll that ended up getting the 6-foot-8 power forward a three-point play. But Hawes' reverse layup with 2:14 left to go cut the Heat lead to 111-110. On Miami's next possession, Wade's teammates were able to get him an open lane to the bucket before Hawes came over and pummeled Miami's superstar guard to the ground. Wade immediately grimaced and grabbed his right elbow, and took a few moments to get back up.

Hawes was assessed with a flagrant foul, and Wade connected on one of two. The Kings got possession after a Beasley miss. Daequan Cook was called for a foul on a Martin three-point attempt that didn't have much contact at all. Nonetheless, Martin made all three shots from the line to give Sacramento a 113-112 lead. After Wade turned the ball over, Hawes hit another jump shot to give the Kings a 115-112 lead with just 56 seconds to go.

Those were the last points scored by Sacramento. Miami would go on to score seven.

Wade made a contested three-pointer to tie the game at 115 all (and he did it just after getting a blow to his right elbow). After good Miami defense that forced a 24-second shot clock violation, Wade took another hard foul, but this time, he hit both free throws. The Heat had a 117-115 lead with just five seconds left to go.

Hawes missed on a jumper with .8 seconds left to tie the game. Cook leaped for the rebound and was subsequently fouled. The sophomore guard out of Ohio State sunk both free throws to ice the game for Miami.

Wade struggled early on, missing 11 of his first 16 shot attempts. But the League's leading scorer connected on six of his final 10 field goal attempts on his way to 41 points, 24 trips to the foul line, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Wade knew exactly when to take over the game, but had help from Beasley to spark Miami's comeback in the fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-9 forward out of Kansas had his second double-double this week with 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting, two connections from beyond the arc and 10 rebounds. Throughout the first two months of the season, Beasley hadn't managed a double-double. I was pleased that Coach Erik Spoelstra stuck with Beasley in crunch time. The talented rookie played 35 minutes for the Heat.

Another player off the bench got major minutes Friday night. It was Cook, back from his knee injury that held him out against Denver. While he didn't have the best offensive game, he played tough defense on Martin. During the crucial 24-second violation the Heat forced, Cook stayed his ground and forced Sacramento's leading scorer into an air-ball.

Udonis Haslem had 11 points and eight rebounds while Magloire grabbed nine rebounds, four of which were offensive, in just 15 minutes. All of Magloire's rebounds came in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a sequence in which the 6-foot-11 center from Kentucky stayed with his shot, grabbed two of his own misses before earning a trip to the foul line. Although Joel Anthony had six quick points for the Heat, he got in early foul trouble (again). I don't see Anthony's starting position safe right now.

The biggest news before the opening tip was that James Jones was back on the active roster. Jones, a free-agent acquisition last summer, had wrist surgery on his shooting hand Oct. 18 and was finally back. The former Miami Hurricane played three minutes, with a foul and turnover. It was good to see Jones back, though. He's going to have to continue to work his way into the rotation. Hopefully Pat Riley will see the small forward who is a dead-eye three-point shooter and can provide lengthy defense on the other end of the court for the Heat.

Miami (19-16) will head down to Los Angeles to meet with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers Sunday night.

Heat Can't Find Gold in Denver

2009-01-08T17:01:00.003-05:00

When the Miami Heat flew to Denver to play the Nuggets, the team must have been happy that Denver's leading scorer, Carmelo Anthony, was out with a fractured hand.

Maybe a little bit too happy.

That was the case Wednesday night against Denver. From the get-go, Miami played atrocious defensive effort and allowed 59 points in the first half against a team without its leading scorer. A couple of standoff second-half quarters ultimately ended with a 98-107 loss at the Pepsi Center, an arena Miami hasn't won in since 2002.

Not even the commentating of Hall-of-Famer Dick Vitale could get the Heat to play with some effort, as Denver constantly took Miami defenders off the dribble and took wide open jumpers. The Nuggets also employed a full-court type of offense. The Nuggets outscored Miami in fastbreak points, 35-13. While the Heat is a half-court team, there is no excuse why the players could not get back on defense. Miami's roster is filled with young, athletic guys that should be able to run to the other side of the court quickly. Unfortunately, Linus Kleiza, Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith scored 21 points each, mostly off of defensive breakdowns on Miami's part. For the second consecutive game, the Heat has allowed 30 points from beyond the arc.

Simply put, Miami's effort wasn't there. The Nuggets out-hustled the Heat, highlighted by a second-quarter sequence in which Denver grabbed two offensive rebounds before getting a three-pointer. There weren't any defensive rotations, and there were too many times when a Nugget had an easy two points. Joel Anthony got into early foul trouble (he had two fouls in the first 44 seconds of play), only to have Jamaal Magloire commit five fouls in 11 minutes of play.

The closest the Heat got in the second half was cutting Denver's lead to three in the third quarter off a Shawn Marion hook shot. The Nuggets came right back and strung together eight unanswered points. Whenever the Heat would get the lead to five or six points, Denver would just make a mini-run and it was back to square one.

There were some silver linings in the game, though. Dwyane Wade had 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting and two blocks last night. Wade did give Vitale the "dipsy-doo dunkaroo" he promised the ESPN announcer before, but his highlight of the night came off a contested turnaround three-point shot as the shot-clock expired early in the third quarter. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette did, however, finish below his average in both rebounds and assists, only made it to the free-throw line four times and turned the ball over four times. Wade's backup, Daequan Cook, did not play Wednesday night after his knee bruise against San Antonio, leaving Wade to play 45 minutes. Coach Erik Spoelstra went really small, with a backcourt of Chris Quinn and Mario Chalmers, but the rookie coach couldn't leave that tandem on the court for too long.

The fifth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft only had a deuce through the first 12 minutes of play. The Nuggets followed the lead of other recent Heat opponents and doubled Wade constantly. Fortunately for Wade, Joel Anthony's two quick fouls gave way to Michael Beasley early on. The second pick of the 2008 NBA Draft had 10 points in the first quarter alone. Beasley's offensive aggression, therefore, gave Wade more room to operate. The 6-foot-9 forward out of Kansas State got in foul trouble later on and only scored two points after the first quarter.

Shawn Marion continued to assert himself offensively, scoring 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds and two steals. I liked that the 6-foot-7 forward out of UNLV looked to create his own shot, something we have not seen from Marion in a long time. And even though Denver did run a fast-break offense, most of Marion's points came in the half-court setting. A good thing about Miami's offense was that it did not get caught up in the fast style of the Nuggets.

Mario Chalmers added 12 for Miami, and hit two of four shots from downtown last night (he also had a career-high seven turnovers against Billups). Udonis Haslem added 10 on 5-of-10 shooting, thriving off of open looks as the defense sucked into the paint on Wade's drives. The Heat's problem wasn't the offense, though. Miami put in a respectable 97 points. The Heat's problem was its defense, which was non-existent, especially in the first half.

If this loss has proved anything, it is that Miami cannot come into games thinking that it will be a cakewalk. Hopefully, this team will not come out lackadaisical Friday night against Sacramento. And 1-3 in the month of January, this is a game the Heat needs badly. After Friday's meeting with the Kings, the Heat goes down to Los Angeles to face off against the Lakers.

Heat News

In my last post, I stated that Heat guard Shaun Livingston was released after Monday's loss to San Antonio. That is essentially true; Miami has traded Livingston to the Memphis Grizzlies and cash for a conditional 2012 second-round pick. The pick is protected until the last five picks of the '12 Draft, meaning Memphis would need to be one of the five best teams in 2011-12 for the Heat to get the pick. The move puts the Heat about $400,000 below the luxury tax because Livingston was traded before the NBA's guarantee deadline.

Hours after Memphis acquired the lanky 6-foot-7 guard, the team released him.

The added luxury-cap flexibility on this deal has Alonzo Mourning's name written all over it. The longtime Heat center knows that the Heat is a rebuilding team, but doesn't want to end his career limping off the court, even if it was better than being carried off a stretcher.

Jamaal Magloire's contract, meanwhile, became guaranteed for the rest of the season.

Heat forward James Jones said he could return to the active roster as soon as Jan. 12 or somewhere around that time. Jones has been rehabbing for the past few months after undergoing wrist surgery on his shooting hand in October.

Daequan Cook is expected to return against Sacramento.

Heat Can't Spur to Victory

2009-01-06T17:20:00.002-05:00

Get back Shawn Marion, and his shot? Check.

Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley (finally) look like a tandem of the future? Check.

Hold Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to sub-par games? Check.

Sweep the San Antonio Spurs for the 2008-09 season? Well...

The Miami Heat was close but no cigar Monday night against the championship-contending San Antonio Spurs. Miami was right in the game for about 46 minutes of the game before a late surge by the Spurs put the nail in the coffin against the Heat, leading to a 91-84 loss at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Shawn Marion's transition dunk with 44 seconds left in the third quarter tied the game at 60 apiece. But Matt Bonner made a three-pointer 13 seconds later to push the lead back up to three. After a poor offensive play for Miami that resulted in an errant hook shot attempt by Jamaal Magloire, Manu Ginobili's driving layup just before the buzzer sounded made it a five-point game heading into the final stanza of play.

The Heat was quickly able to tie the score, off of a jumper by Beasley and a triple by Chris Quinn. From then on, the San Antonio lead always stayed between three to five points, with Miami missing on several opportunities to cut into the deficit.

With 96 seconds to go and Miami down 81-84, Wade stole a pass by Tony Parker and looked for a transition bucket. He managed to get his layup attempt over Parker, but Ginobili came out of nowhere and repelled the shot to the half-court line. Roger Mason hit a jump shot six seconds later to extend the lead to 86-81 and all but diminish the Heat's morale. Beasley would only score again on the Heat, on a three-pointer with just 13 seconds left.

Even before the blocked shot, it wasn't Wade's night. He missed 16 of 26 field goal attempts, made it to the free throw line five times and turned the ball over five times. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette was constantly doubled after a pick-and-roll. Wade did have 12 assists, but his teammates could've shot better from the field.

Udonis Haslem, who frequently sets picks for Wade, converted on only four of ten shots from the field. Magloire was zero-for-five from the field, hardly showing any offensive upgrade over Joel Anthony. And Marion missed all three of his attempts from downtown.

That's not to say that Marion didn't have a good game. He had one of his better offensive games, with 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Marion was really aggressive with the ball, but also converted on a couple of jump shots.

Miami's too rookies also showed up to play last night. Mario Chalmers looked to be more aggressive with the ball after going cold from beyond the arc, finishing with nine points on four-of-seven shooting, five assists, no turnovers and a nice block on Spurs forward Bruce Bowen. Michael Beasley, meanwhile, finished with a double-double of 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds in just 30 minutes. As I mentioned, Wade and Beasley looked like the duo of the future for the Heat. Having two offensive weapons on the court makes things tougher for the opposing team.

But that gets to the reality of it all. The Heat is rebuilding, looking to form that chemistry between Wade and Beasley. The Spurs have a goal of winning an NBA Championship, a plan San Antonio has had for the past decade.

The three-point shooting by the Spurs hurt the Heat the most. In total, San Antonio had 30 points from downtown. Matt Bonner and George Hill each knocked down three triples for the Spurs. If you don't follow basketball closely, you probably haven't heard of those two. But it was the role players who did the most damage from beyond the arc.

Inside the arc, Tim Duncan had his way with Anthony and Magloire, finishing with 19 points and nine boards, four of which were offensive rebounds. Anthony didn't know Duncan's moves and Magloire wasn't quick off his feet. I wouldn't have minded to see Udonis Haslem on the 6-fott-11 power forward out of Wake Forest a little bit more. Haslem has guarded Duncan in for the past few years and could've brought that knowledge, something Anthony simply didn't have. He's giving up three inches and 25 pounds to the four-time NBA champion, but he would've contested every shot.

The Heat has lost three of its last five heading into the start of a seven-game road trip. All those losses came against either Cleveland, Orlando or San Antonio, three of the League's dominant teams. But each game had a fourth quarter full of missed opportunities. Coach Erik Spoelstra will try to get his team ready against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN, with Dick Vitale commenting. Carmelo Anthony is not expected to play, with a broken bone in his shooting hand.

Injury Report

Daequan Cook left the game in the second quarter after bruising his left knee. X-rays were negative, but Cook did not return and was held out of today's afternoon practice. He is listed as a game-time decision for Wednesday's game.

A spokesperson for the Heat announced earlier today that the team had released Shaun Livingston, the 6-foot-7 guard originally drafted No. 4 overall in 2004. Livingston is still recovering from a gruesome knee injury he sustained in Feb. 2007 that left him with three torn ligaments and a dislocated kneecap.

I, for one, don't think this was purely a salary-cap move. Some were envisioning a point guard future of Chalmers and Livingston. But the lanky guard hasn't shown that he still has promise in the limited minutes he has received, with reduced mobility and confusion. But this was, surely, also a salary-cap issue. If President Pat Riley released the player whom he wanted to, it would probably be Mark Blount, but his contract is so bloated that it makes a buyout difficult. Livingston's contract only guarantees him $370,000 this season, keeping the Heat below the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax. The vacant spot on Miami's roster can be filled by two-time Defensive Player of the Year Alonzo Mourning, who has spoke of his willingness to return to the Heat.

Dorell Wright will not travel with the team during the seven-game road trip after surgery in November to clear loose cartiledge from his knee. James Jones, however, will travel with Miami. Spoelstra has been mum on whether the three-point specialist will get off the injured list during the trip.

Heat Escape Late Against Nets

2009-01-04T10:40:00.002-05:00

Coming off a disheartening fourth quarter performance against the Orlando Magic Friday night, a Miami Heat fan would have hoped that the team would play like a bat out of hell and run away with against a Devin Harris-less New Jersey Nets team.

Well, things don't always go as planned.

The Nets went up by as many 16 in the first quarter. New Jersey was getting everything it wanted, while Joel Anthony had Miami's lone field goal over the first 5:40 of play. But this young Heat team came all the way back and completed its biggest comeback victory of the season.

Miami slowly but surely cut into the Nets lead, eventually cutting the deficit to two at the end of three quarters of play on a three-pointer by newcomer Yakhouba Diawara, who finished with a season high 19 points. Coach Erik Spoelstra had his team withstand the run, but it would take 12 more minutes of good basketball for the Heat to come away with a win.

Or 17.

Miami and New Jersey see-sawed the lead throughout the final period in regulation, but Dwyane Wade made two free throws to put the Heat up, 85-83 with just 32 seconds left. It seemed like Miami would win it when Wade blocked a potential game-tying layup by Vince Carter with 17 seconds left. New Jersey retained possession, however, and Keyon Dooling made a floater with eight seconds left to tie the game. Wade missed a jump shot just inside the arc as the buzzer sounded. The game would go into overtime.

Wade and rookie Michael Beasley did it all for Miami early on in the extra period. After Beasley converted Miami's first two field goals of overtime, the NBA's leading scorer took it in his own hands. Wade made a bank shot while taking contact from New Jersey's Yi Jianlian. Wade completed the three-point play, and the Heat would take a 96-88 advantage with just 37 seconds left to go.

The Nets managed to make one late last run, cutting the lead to two with just 10 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Dooling after Wade had missed his pair just moments ago. But Miami's two rookies, Mario Chalmers and Beasley, made three key free throws to give the Heat a 101-96 victory.
Wade finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocked shots.Three blocked shots came in the fourth quarter and overtime, highlighted by a block on Brook Lopez's attempted dunk. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette did shoot 8-for-23 from the field and committed four turnovers, but made it to the free throw line 17 times, converting 13 of them. Wade had two points on one-of-four shooting through the first quarter, but delivered when it mattered for Miami.

Leading rebounder Shawn Marion was in street clothes against New Jersey. The four-time NBA All-Star suffered from back spasms early Saturday morning and the Heat medical staff decided that it would be best for Marion to sit out on the second night of a back-to-back. He is expected to be available Monday night against San Antonio.

Sophomore Daequan Cook started in place of Marion, and finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting and three-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc. Cook fouled out after 38 minutes of play, but it was Diawara and Beasley who got the most minutes due to Marion's absence.

And they both delivered.

The French-born reserve made five of eight attempts from downtown and grabbed five boards, keeping Miami in it while Wade was off with his shot. Additionally, Diawara spent a lot of time on Nets star Vince Carter, who struggled through a 5-of-21 shooting, five turnover night. The second overall pick in last June's NBA Draft, meanwhile, logged a career high 41 minutes. Beasley didn't look timid or confused, he just played basketball. It worked out well for the first-round rookie, who finished with an economical 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, seven rebounds, two steals and a late block on Lopez.

While Miami shot just 40.8 percent from the field, Spoelstra's supporting cast did a lot for the Heat. Udonis Haslem grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the Heat. Chalmers had six rebounds, five assists, two steals and late free throws that iced the game. Chris Quinn was back as the backup point guard and finished with seven points on three-of-five shooting and only one turnover in 18 minutes of action.

Even against a below-.500 team without its leading scorer, this was a big win for the Heat. After going 1-2 over its last three games, Miami needed this win before a Monday night meeting with San Antonio before going on a seven-game road trip. Though it wasn't always aesthetically pleasing, the Heat got the job done. And that's all that matters.

Wade Pulls Disappearing Act

2009-01-02T21:37:00.004-05:00

Fresh off receiving Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors, Dwyane Wade was doing it all for Miami. He had 33 points on 16-of-22 shooting through three quarters and was the sole reason the Miami Heat was keeping it a battle with the Orlando Magic.

But then, Wade missed his last seven field goals and went scoreless in the fourth quarter, and the Heat only scored 11 points in the final 12 minutes of play en route to a 86-76 loss in a possible playoff preview.

This time, Wade's teammates were not there for him like they were against Cleveland. Mario Chalmers, who shot six-for-seven from downtown just three nights ago, shot one-for-seven from downtown tonight and 1-for-11 overall. Shawn Marion did not continue to be more aggressive with the ball, instead going one-for-five from the field for just four points.

Wade started a fourth quarter in which Miami was down two on the bench. Coach Erik Spoelstra usually has his star guard rest at the commencement of the fourth quarter, but broke from that in the home game against Cleveland. Spoelstra, however, stuck with his usual rotation and watched Orlando jump out to a quick five-point lead early on.

Even with Wade in the game, Miami's offense either hoisted up a prayer or turned the ball over. By the midway point of the fourth quarter, Hedo Turkoglu extended Orlando's lead to eight on a pair of free throws. And while Daequan Cook hit a three-pointer with 5:30 remaining to make it a 72-76, Miami couldn't get much offense after that. Orlando shot 32 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, but its defense simply stifled the Heat.

It is beyond my knowledge why Spoelstra did not put in Michael Beasley after seeing Wade struggle. Orlando did a good job of defending the pick-and-roll, and closed out nicely to open shots by Udonis Haslem and Cook. Why wouldn't Spoelstra put another offensive threat on the court to make things easier for Wade? Beasley's offense would have been useful in Miami's fourth-quarter scoring drought.

Beasley finished with eight points on four-of-nine shooting in 13 minutes.

Udonis Haslem had 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds, but his shot went cold late in the game. Wade never forced anything in the final stanza of play, and found Haslem for open looks. Haslem didn't deliver, and maybe Wade made a mistake by deferring to his teammates so much.

Cook was the only other Heat player to score in double figures, with 10 points on four-for-nine shooting. Cook has worked hard to get the "streaky" label off him as a shooter this season. Chalmers, however, will have to keep that label with him, after he followed a great night with a deplorable one.

Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire did a good job on Dwight Howard, holding him to 15 points, five below his season average. Rashard Lewis, however, made Miami pay for leaving him open, with four triples and 17 points in total. And although Turkoglu had a rough shooting night, he did make it to the free throw line eight times. Wade, by comparison, only made two trips to the foul line. Orlando as a whole shot 30 attempts from the line, while Miami only went for freebies 10 times.

Marcus Banks may have gotten the backup point guard role just recently, but he may have given it up tonight. The 6-foot-2 journeyman shot zero-for-two from the field, committed two fouls and turned the ball over two times. With 11 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Banks fouled Jameer Nelson about five feet away from the three-point line. Only the Heat didn't have a foul to give, and Nelson went to the line for a pair. I know Chris Quinn couldn't get past half-court and couldn't contain Jordan Farmar against the Los Angeles Lakers two weeks ago, but at least he could offer some shooting and steadiness.

The Heat will have little time to regroup after this loss, as the team will fly down to Miami to host the New Jersey Nets. Miami has beaten New Jersey twice, albeit barely both times, this season. And this is a win the Heat needs, with San Antonio coming up next, followed by a seven-game road trip. With Detroit on a five-game winning streak and Atlanta already 10 games above .500, this wasn't a good way to start January for the Heat if they want to go up in the standings.

Will January Cool Heat?

2008-12-31T13:06:00.003-05:00

A month ago, I said that December should be a pick-me-up month for the Miami Heat. Although the Heat lost to two teams with losing records, Memphis and Milwaukee, Miami finished 9-4 in December and is now 17-13 on the season. The month was highlighted by wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, two of the best teams in the NBA.

Miami, one-and-a-half games behind Detroit for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, has reason for confidence heading into the New Year. For the better part of the first two complete months of the NBA season, the notion that when star guard Dwyane Wade struggled, the team followed was held firm. But when Wade shot 7-for-23 from the field against Cleveland, four other players had double figures as the Heat managed to upend the Cavs.

Now, five players average double-figure points for Miami: Wade, Michael Beasley, Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers. Moreover, Daequan Cook is right on the cusp, with an average of 9.9 points per game. That's an encouraging sign for the Heat offensively. And Coach Erik Spoelstra has done a good job of getting his team to play chaotic defense, most recently a zone defense against the Cavs.

It could all change for the worse in January. Miami will start Jan. 2 with a back-to-back sequence, starting at Orlando and then against New Jersey. The Heat will have one day off before hosting San Antonio, the third-best team in the West. The team will then have to go out for a seven-game road trip, six of those games against Western Conference-teams. Miami will start the road trip with a nationally-televised game at Denver before facing Sacramento, the Lakers, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Houston and finally Oklahoma City to finish up the road trip. The good news is that in the road trip, the Heat will only have one set of back-to-backs, visiting the Timberwolves and then the Bucks.

With that being said, it doesn't necessarily get better after the road trip. The Heat will host five of the last six games of the month. Miami will, however, face Boston, Orlando, Atlanta and Dallas to end January. All four of those teams have better records than Miami's.

All in all, the Heat will play 16 games in January, nine against teams with records better than 17-13. It's good that Miami took care of business in December, because the Heat can go 7-9 next month and still be over .500. On the other hand, the Heat's upcoming schedule will certainly test its mettle. And Miami will not only need to overachieve in the future, but get some help from other teams in order to get the four-five match-up in the playoffs.

Keep in mind that Miami has beaten San Antonio, Phoenix, the Lakers and Cleveland this season. This team has proven it can compete, but the question now is whether this young, small team can be a good enough team that it isn't hovering over the .500 mark.

Balanced Attack Withstands Cavs

2008-12-30T22:07:00.003-05:00

With the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a "mini-playoff" series of sorts with a home-and-home sequence, the Heat took care of its home court advantage and withstood several late Cleveland surges to hold on to a 104-95 win.

Miami built up a 16-point lead by halftime as the Cavs shot a miserable 31 percent from the field. But as the Heat saw against Cleveland just two days earlier, the game was far from over. LeBron James did much more against Shawn Marion than he did on Sunday; finishing with 38 points on 12-of-24 shooting and 11-for-14 from the foul line. A three by James, who celebrated his 24th birthday in Miami, cut the lead to 78-77 with just under nine minutes left.

The Heat simply ran away with the game from that point on, building the lead back up to 14 with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter before Daniel Gibson made two triples that were simply too little, too late.

Rookie guard Mario Chalmers shook off a hamstring injury he sustained in his last game with Cleveland and really turned it up for the Heat. The second-round pick out of Kansas had eight points in the dicisive Miami run to finish with 21 points on six-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc, eight assists, three steals and no turnovers. Chalmers' point total was only matched by Wade on the Heat and registered a career-high in three-point field goals. Chalmers also did a good job on Maurice Williams defensively, as Williams shot just two-for-eight from the field.

On the offensive end, it did not matter that Wade only had two points in the fourth quarter. Daequan Cook and Chalmers made Cleveland pay for double-teaming Wade. The sophomore out of Ohio State had 11 of his 17 points in the final quarter and did it on five-of-nine shooting from the field. Cook even hit five straight points for Miami to give Miami its 14-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion each had double-doubles, combining for 27 points and 21 rebounds. I was happy that Marion looked to dunk the ball more as opposed to shooting his point-blank floaters. And Udonis Haslem's jump shoot is still there, a positive sign for Miami.

In the fourth quarter, Spoelstra went to a zone defense. Cleveland was stifled by Miami's zone defense, and never had another run when the Heat went to it. This allowed LeBron James to have different guys thrown at him, not just Marion. Even Wade was seen guarding James in the latter stages of the game.

The best thing about Miami's win tonight was that its ball movement was flawless in the fourth quarter, and its defense was confusing for Cleveland. Outside of Wade, the entire Heat only committed eight turnovers. Wade finished with 21 points on an abysmal 7-for-23 shooting from the field. However, Wade did have 12 assists. As I said, it did not matter that Wade was off on his game; others stepped up for him.

Joel Anthony was much more active against Zydrunas Ilgauskas, even making the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian product play some defense. Anthony played Ilgauskas to a near standoff, coming up just short in a 7-8 match-up. Ilgauskas scored six points below his season average of 14.

Michael Beasley struggled offensively, going just one-for-five from the field in 13 minutes. Beasley, however, did make it the foul line six times and sank all of them and grabbed five rebounds in his limited time. Spoelstra sat him on the bench in the fourth quarter after the Kansas State product played more than 24 minutes in his past two games.

Miami has a tough January ahead, with games against Orlando, Boston, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta, among other teams. But this Heat team, fresh off a horrendous 15-67 season, has beaten San Antonio and Phoenix on the road and the Lakers and now the Cavaliers at home. There has got to be some confidence heading into the challenging road of the New Year.

Cavs Shock Heat

2008-12-28T21:48:00.004-05:00

The Miami Heat did what only one other team in the NBA has done: carry a lead into the final quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Unfortunately, Miami could not do what no other team in the NBA has done: beat Cleveland at home, as Miami gave up a 10-point fourth quarter lead to lose, 93-86.

Dwyane Wade struggled in the first half, shooting just 3-for-11 in the first 24 minutes of play. The star guard for Miami turned it up in the third quarter, with 13 points and stifling defense as the Heat went into the fourth quarter with a nine-point advantage.

Coach Erik Spoelstra did what he normally does, rest Wade at the beginning of the fourth quarter. However, LeBron James was on the court at the beginning of the final stanza of play; and the first overall pick in the 2003 Draft found Zydrunas Ilgauskas for a crowd-pleasing three to cut the lead to four just two minutes and ten seconds into the game.

Wade immediately came in and hit a jump shot to extend the lead to six. On Miami's next possession, Michael Beasley dunked the ball with authority even as Ilgauskas fouled him. That would, however, seemingly be Miami's last graceful moment as the Cavaliers ran away with this game because of open jump shots, tough defense and lots of foul shots as the Cavs went into the bonus with 8:19 left to go in the fourth quarter.

This was a tough loss for Miami. The Heat had the game within its grasp before it slipped away. Miami played horrendous defense in the fourth quarter, making careless fouls early on and letting Cleveland put up 35 points in the fourth quarter. Miami also committed five turnovers in the final quarter. Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion could not hold on to the ball, combining for eight turnovers in the game.

Wade finished with 29 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field and five-for-seven from the foul line. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette added four rebounds, eight assists and two steals on the game, but only had six points in the fourth quarter and could not take over the game

Haslem added 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting and nine rebounds, but those turnovers hurt Miami. Haslem would set a pick for Wade and the Miami native would let a guard take the ball from this hands after diving to the hoop. Still, I have to give credit to Haslem for coming back to play after bleeding profusely from his head after an inadvertent blow by James in the fourth quarter. And Haslem has re-gained his shooting touch, and the Cleveland defense could not load up on Wade as much.

Cook added 12 for Miami on four-of-eight shooting from the field. The former Buckeye nailed a three to keep the game to within 86-90 with 28 seconds left, a good sign of not giving up. Cook even took on the defensive assignment of guarding James, even while giving up three inches and 40 pounds to the star forward. He and Marion did a good job on the 6-foot-8 forward out of Saint Vincent-Saint Mary's High School, who made some incredibly tough shots.

The problem is that no one outside of those three and Beasley had more than two field goals for Miami. Mo Williams made mincemeat out of Mario Chalmers, making him take tough shots while making the rookie out of Kansas State pay for leaving him open. Marion continued to aimlessly attempt his point-blank floaters that usually bounce off the rim. When will the four-time All-Star try to bank it in?

Joel Anthony could not match up with the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas. I add part of the blame to Spoelstra. He should have known that a player should never front a bigger player with no one guarding the basket. Jamaal Magloire did a nice job backing Anthony up, with six rebounds by halftime. This is the second consecutive time Spoelstra has used Magloire against bigger centers. Do not be surprised if Magloire gets more playing time in the future, especially with Cleveland and Orlando next up for Miami.

Marcus Banks is officially the backup point guard for Miami. Is it to showcase the player whose contract goes beyond 2010 or a common-sense move to get more defense? Time will tell, but Banks had good floor vision, with five assists in 14 minutes of play. Banks, however, did commit a senseless eight-second violation before looking at the official as if he had never heard of the rule before.

Miami played tough defense through three quarters, keeping the Cavs to just 40.8 percent shooting. Unfortunately, the early fouls really plagued the Heat in the fourth quarter. The Heat will attempt to get even on the series with Cleveland Tuesday night in Miami.

Joe Smith to Miami?

Sources have said that Pat Riley is interested in trading for Joe Smith, the 6-foot-9, 13-year veteran for the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder. Although the power forward position is not an area of need for Miami, I can see why Riley is interested. If it meant giving up Banks' aforementioned long contract, it would allow the Heat to rent Smith for the rest of the season, start the Shaun Livingston experiment and get more money coming off the books for 2009.

Sweet 16

2008-12-26T19:31:00.006-05:00

When the Miami Heat traded Shaquille O'Neal for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks last February, it was looked at as letting go of a future Hall-of-Famer to a championship contender as Miami, meanwhile, would rebuild its team.

Well, not many would have guessed that one-third of the way into the season, the two teams would have identical records.

But earlier today, Miami topped the Chicago Bulls in a 90-77 decision to give Miami its 16th win, a feat never accomplished by this same franchise a year ago. And the Heat and Suns each stand at 16-12, Miami within percentage points of Detroit's fifth seed in the Eastern Conference while Phoenix is barely holding on to the eighth seed out West.

It did not look very pretty for Miami, playing through three lackadaisical quarters to a 64-64 standoff at home. Fortunately for Miami, the Heat played tight defense as the Bulls only scored 13 points in the final stanza of play. However, it was the sensational offense of Dwyane Wade, Daequan Cook and Michael Beasley that pulled the game away from a Bulls team without Kirk Hinrich, Drew Gooden and Luol Deng, who got injured in the third quarter.

Beasley hit Miami's first two field goals in the fourth quarter while Wade sat on the bench. The rookie out of Kansas State then found Daequan Cook for a three before hitting both free throws after a hard foul by Andres Nocioni to stretch Miami's lead to 73-69. Cook hit a triple on two of Miami's next three offensive possessions before Wade's off-balance jump shot with two minutes and thirty-two seconds left iced the game for the Heat.

Wade shook off early foul trouble to finish with 28 points on 11-for-23 shooting, three rebounds, a steal and just one turnover. The star guard out of Marquette was just five-for-nine from the free-throw line, though. Wade, a 76 percent free-throw shooter, held his groin and grimaced in the second quarter. That injury may have affected the knees in Wade's free-throw attempts, as a lot of them were well short.

Beasley, who was rewarded playing time in the fourth quarter, played better than Derrick Rose. The second overall pick in last June's Draft had 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and two blocked shots. The first overall pick had just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting with three assists and five turnovers.

Beasley's offense was on full display, as he drove to the rim and hit jumpers in 24 minutes of action. More importantly, Beasley played well defensively. He stayed with Nocioni when he shifted to the three and played tough defense as a four, rejecting a potential shot from both Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.

Mario Chalmers also outplayed Rose. The second-round draftee who the Heat had to trade with Minnesota to acquire proved his worth again. Chalmers had 16 points on six-of-nine shooting, five rebounds, six assists and two steals on the night. The rookie out of Kansas played tough defense on Rose and even Ben Gordon, who went quiet in the second half after scoring 11 points on three-for-three shooting from beyond the arc in the first 24 minutes of play.

Cook was, well, cooking. The second-year guard out of Ohio State had three of his four triples in the fourth quarter. Shawn Marion, by contrast, spent most of the night around the rim. The four-time NBA All-Star had 10 rebounds and had a lot of garbage points, and could have finished with more than eight points. Marion, however, did find himself on the bench in the fourth quarter, as Coach Erik Spoelstra (rightly) decided to go with Beasley.

Another smart move by Spoelstra was to get Jamaal Magloire in the game. Joel Anthony had four blocks and five rebounds in 27 minutes, but Spoelstra needed to get some more size. While Anthony came over to block a shot, the 7-foot Aaron Gray would just get the rebound and put back an easy layup. Gray had 12 points and 11 rebounds, five of the them offensive, but when Magloire came in the game, Gray did not score another point.

Spoelstra continued to use Marcus Banks as the first point guard off the bench against the athleticism of Chicago's guards. Banks not only contributed to Rose's off night, he drove to the rim for a layup once he came into the game. When Wade is not on the court, Banks is one of the few guys that can keep Miami from being a jump-shooting team.

The Heat has not played East division leaders Boston, Cleveland or Orlando this season. That will change Sunday, when Miami and Cleveland will engage in a home-and-home sequence. The first of two will be at the Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavaliers have been a perfect 15-0.

Another Score

Dwyane Wade unwrapped a Christmas present for a Miami resident a little early. Wade's foundation, Wade's World, donated a fully furnished house, clothes and gifts to Dawn Smith after her house was accidentally burnt down by her nephew Christmas Eve. The NBA's leading scorer just scored again.

Heat Defeat Depleted Warriors

2008-12-23T22:20:00.003-05:00

Well, it came harder than it should have against a Golden State team without Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette. But the Miami Heat has now matched last season's 15-win total just 27 games into the season. Talk about being ahead of schedule.

Miami was down 21-24 after one quarter of play. The Warriors extended its lead to 11 by the eight minute mark of the second quarter. Fortunately for Miami, sophomore standout Daequan Cook hit two consecutive threes to cut the lead to five. But it was the seven consecutive field goals Miami made in the second quarter that helped the Heat always keep Oakland at bay. Cook, Haslem, Marion and Wade all chipped in to give Miami a lead it would never relinquish.
Cook finished with a season-high 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting and five-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc in just 27 minutes for Miami. The second-year guard out of Ohio State had 15 of his 20 points in the decisive second quarter to give the Heat its breathing room for the rest of the game. There is no question that Cook, shooting at 39.7 percent from three-point range, is a pleasant surprise this season.

Wade, meanwhile, was the explosive scorer tonight as he has been in seasons past. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Maquette had 32 points on 13-for-20 shooting from two-point range, eight assists, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Wade also turned the ball over two times, well below his season average of 3.96 mishaps. If a blemish in Wade's game tonight could have been found, it was his zero-for-five shooting from beyond the arc and his 60 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Udonis Haslem, who has struggled in recent games, seemed to have regained his shooting touch back. The fifth-year forward out of Florida had 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go along with eight boards and one block. Saturday night against New Jersey, Haslem hit a crucial jumper to ice the game for Miami. It appears as though that shot was a big confidence-booster for the 6-foot-8 forward.

Haslem's partner up front, Shawn Marion, had another nice game. On the offensive end, Marion was an uneven three-for-seven from the field. However, the veteran out of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas was a rebounding machine, leaping for 16 boards. Miami won the battle of the boards 48-41, and his rebounding was essential. Obtaining more rebounds helps a team get more shot attempts. But in this case for Miami, it helped compensate for the 21 turnovers. The Heat's point guard, Mario Chalmers, turned the ball over a shocking five times while Haslem and Marion combined for six mishaps.

With Chalmers struggling, Spoelstra went to Marcus Banks early on. Banks had one foul and one turnover before getting yanked back to the bench after three-and-a-half minutes of play. Chris Quinn was back against a Golden State point guard lineup that featured Anthony Morrow and DeMarcus Nelson, and had two assists and two rebounds in 10 minutes of action. Nonetheless, Spoelstra still went with Chalmers through 39 minutes of the game.

It would be an understatement to say that Michael Beasley has had a tough rookie season thus far for the Heat. It was no different tonight, with the 6-foot-9 forward out of Kansas State finishing with five points on two-for-seven shooting. For most of the time he was on the court, it seemed as if Beasley did not know if he wanted to score or get his teammates involved. You cannot put too much blame on the kid, partially because it is as if Coach Erik Spoelstra is giving him mixed signals. He has publicly applauded Beasley's aggressiveness, but also asked him to be aware of his teammates.

I guess the problem for Beasley is not that he can not score – he proved that he can time after time at Kansas State – but that he does not have many plays set for him like Wade does. I would suggest Spoelstra to give the rookie forward a little freedom and set some plays for him so that he can be a sidekick to Wade. Heat fans would like to forget about Wade's consistent struggles during the team's three-game losing streak, but the man is not perfect. He is going to have bad games and Spoelstra is going to need someone to step up if this team has a remote shot at winning. Beasley can be that guy.

Moreover, Beasley's post action and Cook's shooting could provide a young, dynamic duo off the bench for Miami. But it will only happen if Spoelstra is willing to invest in Beasley. And it is not a matter of balancing out the minutes of Beasley, Haslem and Marion. Both played over 37 minutes tonight while Beasley could only get 13 minutes of playing time.

The Heat will try to one-up last season's win total Friday against Chicago in a nationally-televised game.

Wade Propels Heat Past Nets

2008-12-20T23:28:00.005-05:00

Dwyane Wade continued to prove that he is back to the player he was during the 2006 NBA Finals, and arguably even better, with a 43-point performance to beat the New Jersey Nets in a 106-103 nail-biter.

This was Miami's first win on the second night of a back-to-back in six attempts, and the entire team looked upbeat to play against the highest-scoring backcourt in the league of Vince Carter and Devin Harris and the rest of the Nets. But it was Wade who was the answer, scoring 12 of Miami's last 14 points in a tight fourth quarter.

Miami's (14-12) big quarter was the second, as Wade scored 14 points to help Miami outscore the Nets 35-27 in the second period. Daequan Cook carried his hot game against the Lakers into tonight's game against New Jersey, scoring 12 points in the second. Miami led 62-56 at intermission, with both teams shooting above 58 percent from the field. But after a surge by the Nets in the third quarter, it would have to be a half-court game for the final stanza of play.

New Jersey took its first lead of the game since midway through the second quarter on a fade-away shot by Carter with eight minutes and 15 seconds to go. When Coach Erik Spoelstra put Wade into the game, he found Marion and Cook for a dunk and three, respectively, to put Miami back up. The Nets would take the lead with 2:16 left to go on a couple of free throws by Carter to make it a 97-96 game. But Wade made a reverse layup on the ensuing possession, and Mario Chalmers found an open Udonis Haslem for a wide open jumper with 14 seconds to go to ice the game for Miami.

Wade ended up tying his season high of 43 points, and did it on 13-for-22 shooting from the field and 16-for-18 from the free-throw line. Moreover, Wade also had four rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Wade went to the basket often, and that let his jump shot come easier to him after he had made a few shots.

Cook, Miami's second-leading scorer for the second consecutive night, finished with a season-high 17 points on four-of-five shooting from beyond the arc. Cook also spent a lot of time on Carter, who finished with a relatively quiet 21 points on 5-of-14 shooting, and did an admirable job. Teams are going to start to honoring Cook's jump shot; and when James Jones comes back, Miami will be deadly three-point threat off the bench.

The player who spent the most time on Carter, however, was Shawn Marion. The four-time NBA All-Star had another nice game with 10 points on five-of-nine shooting. Again, I like that Mario Chalmers and Wade found easy plays for him. Marion will make timely cuts to the basket if he is given a path. And the rest Wade gets for not having to guard the Kobe Bryants or Carters of the League gives the leading scorer plenty of energy for the offensive end. It is good to have a defensive presence at the three.

One of Marion's partners in the frontline, rookie Michael Beasley, had an efficient night. The 6-foot-9 forward out of Kansas State had 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting with five rebounds and a blocked shot. Beasley was very active around the rim, at one point tipping in a missed free-throw by Marcus Banks. But Miami's first-round pick only played 15 minutes tonight. He can continue to develop if Spoelstra is willing to invest in him.

It is not a usual sight to see Banks on the court. The most experienced point guard for Miami had only played in eight games leading up to tonight. But perhaps Jordan Farmar's smothering of Chris Quinn against L.A. made Spoelstra use the more defensive-oriented Banks. The 6-foot-2 guard out of UNLV did not disappoint. He played good on-the-ball defense and was able to pressure the likes of Devin Harris (who shot an uncharacteristic 5-for-15 from the field). and Keyon Dooling full-court. More importantly, however, Banks looked like a floor general. When Banks first came into the game, he found Beasley for a jump shot late in the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter, Banks drove to the rim for a nice layup before finding Beasley and Cook for field goals.

The advantage to having Quinn, who did not play tonight, off the bench is that he is a pass-first point guard who is a great shooter. Banks, by comparison, can give Miami defense and some nice drives to the basket. The seldom-used Banks had four assists in 10 minutes and did not turn the ball over tonight. He can crack the rotation if he can be a distributor for Miami.

Joel Anthony was again active for Miami. The 6-foot-9 Canadian center hit three consecutive field goals for the Heat in the first quarter and finished with eight points on four-of-five shooting, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Coming off of two nice wins, Miami will rest until Tuesday, when the Heat will host the Golden State Warriors in the highly-anticipated re-match after the first meeting between the two resulted in a 130-129 overtime Heat win.

Heat Burn Lakers

2008-12-19T23:10:00.003-05:00

Well, sort of.

The Miami Heat built a 12-point lead in the third quarter, only to have it evaporate to only one late in the fourth quarter, but managed to sneak by the Los Angeles Lakers in an 89-87 decision after Kobe Bryant missed a shot that would have sent the game into overtime.

That is not to downplay the importance of this win. Entering the game with a three-game losing streak, Miami showed toughness throughout the game and executed some key plays down the stretch. A team as talented as the Lakers would not have gone down without a fight, and this game is a big step in the right direction for the Heat.

The third quarter, the stanza that has not been nice to the Heat on its three-game losing streak, was pivotal for Miami. The Lakers were out-scored 17-29 in that quarter, and a huge L.A. surge came up just short. The Heat went on a 16-4 run to close out the third quarter, combining good execution with stifling defense. In the waning moments of the quarter, Dwyane Wade had the ball at the top of the circle. Trevor Ariza poked it away, but Wade got the ball back and heaved it right in the basket for the deep three to give Miami a 12-point lead entering the final stanza of basketball.

The fourth quarter started off with both teams turning the ball over, and no one scored until Andrew Bynum's hook shot with nine minutes and 12 seconds to go. L.A. proceeded to cut the lead to five before Daequan Cook hit a crucial three to give Miami an eight-point lead with seven minutes left. But the Lakers got it down to two after Bryant made a turnaround jumper with 41 seconds left. And when Wade missed a jumper at the other end, Miami would need a good defensive play.

The Heat got three.

After Bryant drove to the basket and dished it off to Odom, Joel Anthony blocked his short jumper. Odom got his own rebound and put it back up, only to have his shot blocked by Wade. Then the ball got into the hands of Pau Gasol. Gasol went up, but Wade was right there to block the ball as he brought the ball up for a layup. The ball went out of bonds, and the Lakers would have another chance with just nine seconds left.

Gasol got fouled and made one of two free throws to make it a one-point game. After the ball was in-bounded to Wade, Odom got a little over-aggressive and would send Wade to the line. Miami's star guard sank one of two before Bryant's shot to send the game into overtime went in-and-out.

What made Wade score 35 points on 13-for-25 shooting and two-for-four from beyond the arc, grab six rebounds and collect three steals? I just saw a player that got his offensive rhythm back. He has been double-teamed and triple-teamed before. Tonight, Wade managed to find the little cracks in the defense to get to the basket. And L.A. put some tough defense on the 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette. Bryant has been known for his defense for years and Ariza has long arms to use on Wade.

I have to give credit where credit is due. Shawn Marion had a great game for Miami. Gone were the times when he got the ball in the post and did not know what to do. Marion finished with 12 points on five-of-nine shooting and 11 rebounds for Miami. Tonight, Mario Chalmers recognized Marion's cuts to the basket and rewarded him. Marion got the ball from 15 feet out and drove to the rim and either got himself a bucket or found an open teammate. That is what I would like to see more of from Marion.

Marion spent much of his time guarding Bryant, with Wade taking him on occasionally. Marion did not slow down last year's season MVP, but made him take some tough shots and allowed Wade to rest on defense, guarding Ariza and Luke Walton for most of the game.

Chalmers and Cook played well for Miami. Both looked to initiate offense when Wade rested. Chalmers drove to the rim on occasions and Cook came off of screens and made big shots for Miami.

But the unsung hero for Miami was Joel Anthony. He was extremely active for Miami, with eight boards (four offensive), three steals, two blocks and four points. Anthony got Andrew Bynum into foul trouble and took him completely out of his game, but also set some nice screens for Wade to allow him to drive to the hoop.

I was disappointed with the play of Michael Beasley. Coach Erik Spoelstra gave him plenty of first-half minutes, checking into the game with 7:45 left in the first and not coming out until midway through the second quarter. The problem was that Beasley never looked to attack the rim and initiate offense. When Wade is on the court, Beasley should be aggressive and look to score for Miami.

Even with the Laker run in the fourth quarter, for Miami to beat the best-in-the-West Lakers was a good sign. Miami looked better on both sides of the court tonight, but will face a challenge tomorrow night. With the Heat and Nets deadlocked for the sixth seed in the East, the two teams will play in New Jersey at 8 p.m.

Injury Report

Friday was the fifth anniversary of former Heat center Alonzo Mourning's kidney transplant -- and the first anniversary since his season-ending knee injury against Atlanta. Mourning spoke with reporters before the game and reiterated his desire to rejoin Miami once he finishes with rehabilitation.

Was Beasley the Right Choice?

2008-12-17T17:24:00.003-05:00

I am really glad I do not have to write about the supposed "Shawn Marion for Anderson Varejao and Wally Szczerbiak" trade that was reported by Yahoo! Sports yesterday. Numerous sources for both Cleveland and Miami have denied such discussions. With a 20-4 record, the Cavaliers probably do not want to tinker with the roster too much. And that trade would leave Miami as evident losers from the deal. Instead, I want to write about Michael Beasley. Fresh with memories of when O.J. Mayo scorched Miami earlier this week, there are already grumblings that Heat President Pat Riley should have chosen Mayo.

The numbers give the edge to Mayo. Mayo averages 20.8 points per game while Beasley only averages 14.1. The guard out of Southern California has shot 47.2 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point range while the forward out of Kansas shot has shot 44.9 percent and 36 percent, respectively. The 6-foot-4 Mayo averages just nine-tenths of a rebound less than the 6-foot-9 Beasley.
But it is important to go beyond the statistics that everyone looks at. Mayo logged 38 minutes per game through 25 games. Beasley, by comparison, has averaged only 27 minutes per game. Naturally, Mayo would get more opportunities to score if he is on the court more often. Mayo shoots 16.52 shots per game. Beasley shoots 12.78 field goal attempts per game. Dwyane Wade's former workout buddy is not asked to be a second option on his team. In fact, Mayo is not even the point guard for Memphis. He usually plays the two alongside either Kyle Lowry or Mike Conley Jr. in the backcourt. Mayo would be asked to be a floor general on the floor and defer to Wade on the floor.

That is not to say that Mayo's offense is necessarily a bad thing. Miami has averaged 80.7 points per game over its current three-game losing streak, and Mayo's offense would evidently provide a high-octane offensive threat next to Wade. And we have not seen Mayo play next to Wade for one game, so it is premature to say that Mayo would be a bad fit with Wade. But Mayo is expected to do more for his team than Beasley, so the statistical disparity is to be expected.

Many people will tell you that it is too early in the season to make final verdicts on draft choices. It will take a season, if not several, to figure that out. But 24 games into the season for Miami, I feel that Pat Riley made the right decision when he selected Beasley as the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

There is no player who was better offensively than Beasley was in the NCAA last year. He put up dominant numbers of 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. He shot 53.2 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. Now, I realize that stardom in college does not necessarily translate into stardom in the pros. But the tiny, 2.3 field goal percentage disparity simply exists because Beasley does not get enough minutes.

I have advocated as recently as my latest post that Coach Erik Spoelstra should give Beasley more playing time. Because he and Wade are the only two players that can create their own shot for Miami, Spoelstra should always have Beasley and Wade on the court at all times when possible. I also would not mind seeing the product out of Kansas State and Miami's franchise player playing together. It would prevent other teams from clogging the driving lanes so Wade is forced into jump shots. It would give the opposition another threat to worry about. I am sure Mayo would be able to provide the same if he played for Miami. But because of his play in college and the two shooting roughly the same percentage from the field right now, I would still have made the same decision if I were Riley.

If Beasley does receive more playing time, he will develop. Spoelstra should know that no rookie develops from the bench. Dorell Wright taught him that.

Heat Slide Continues

2008-12-16T16:02:00.001-05:00

The Heat has been bad against Atlanta and bad against Memphis. But it all paled in comparison to how Miami was in the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks as the Heat lost its third straight game to fall back to the place it has been floating around all season long: the .500 mark.

These last three games have proven one thing. When Dwyane Wade struggles, the whole team struggles. Last night, Wade shot 5-for-16 from the field for 15 points, turned the ball over four times and committed four fouls. Moreover, Wade only made it to the free throw line six games and missed his second dunk in as many days. No one was able to step up offensively, and the Heat found itself down 56-36 by halftime.

It was here where Coach Erik Spoelstra made a huge mistake. He only played Michael Beasley 23 minutes last night. Beasley did not have a bad game. He shot 5-for-11 from the field for 13 points. The rookie out of Kansas State was the player who could put the ball in the basket the most out of all of the players in the NCAA. He and Wade are the only players who can create their own shot for Miami (12-12). Spoelstra should always try to have at least one of the two on the court at all times. And it is not an issue of foul trouble; the 6-foot-9 forward committed no fouls last night.
Do not let the boxscore fool you. Although five players scored in double figures for Miami, the Heat's offense was stymied for the better part of the game. The Heat's late surge, which included a 13-4 run to end the third quarter, was simply a classic case of too little, too late.

It's not just on offense that the Heat is out of sync. Miami has lost its identity of a scrappy defensive team that will force turnovers. Milwaukee only committed 10 turnovers last night and the patient style of the Bucks confused the Heat. And even with Udonis Haslem back, Miami lost the battle of the boards, 45-35. No player was able to grab more than seven boards. Miami's leading rebounder was Mario Chalmers, Miami's rookie point guard. Yes, you read that correctly.

Chalmers had a great game, but the loss overshadows his great play. The 6-foot-2 guard out of Kansas had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, the seven rebounds previously mentioned and eight assists. On the flip side, Chalmers did commit five personal fouls and five turnovers. But those turnovers were mostly in the early stages of the game. The second-round pick shot and executed better as the game went along.

Can Chalmers be a guy who can score off the dribble for Miami and be a legitimiate force offensively? Every player can have one good game. I see a lot of upside in Chalmers, but I would still like to see more of Beasley on the court. Beasley knows how to put the ball in the basket and he can do that consistently when he is given the minutes.

Shawn Marion, meanwhile, has been a very big disappointment for Miami. There were hopes of, with Marion and Wade going through training camp together, Wade would feed "The Matrix" with easy baskets and layups constantly. Instead, we have seen Marion aimlessly try to put a shot up in the air he has never become efficient at. He had a good game last night, but I know a lot of people who are expecting more out of the four-time All Star.

Keep in mind that Miami's last two losses were against teams with worse records than the Heat's. This was supposed to be a pick-me-up month for the Heat, with a pretty soft schedule in December. It even started to look like that with a 4-0 start to the last month of the year. But now Miami is back to where it was in the earlier. And this team better get back in its groove before it slides even farther.

Miami currently holds the seventh seed in the East, and will rest until Friday for its next game. The probably is, the next game is against the surging Los Angeles Lakers. L.A. leads the League in offense, with an average of 108 points per game. Spoelstra is going to need to get his players ready, and quick, or else they will find themselves embarrassed on national television.

Another Tale of Two Halves

2008-12-14T21:13:00.003-05:00

In a recent interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Dwyane Wade said that a lot of his teammates came into the 2006 training camp still celebrating the championship they attained just months before. Well, after Miami's first four-game winning streak since its title defense season, the 2006-07 campaign, it looks as if Miami is having another hangover of sorts. The Heat is now on a two-game losing streak, with a Sunday loss to the Memphis Grizzlies ending in a 102-86 defeat.

Like Friday's game against Atlanta, this was another tale of two halves in which the opposing team simply pulled away in the third quarter. Memphis scored the first seven points of the game, but Miami (12-11) quickly responded. Thanks to nine first-quarter points by Michael Beasley, who has back after battling the flu, the Heat pulled to within 22-25 by the end of the first quarter. Things stayed tight in the second quarter. Beasley continued his assault, with 15 points by intermission. Wade finished off the first half by taking rookie O.J. Mayo at the top of the circle, managing to break his ankles before sinking the wide open jump-shot to tie the game at 46 all.

But then the third quarter came. And just like against the Hawks, the Heat let the Grizzlies pull away. Memphis extended its lead to 10 by the eight-and-a-half mark of the third quarter. Wade's layup with 4:45 left to go made it a 64-69 game, but the Heat got no closer than that. By the end of the third quarter, Miami had all but thrown in the towel as the score was 81-66.

As crazy as this may sound, Mayo actually out-played Wade. Wade, who started off the game well, was again off with his jumpers this afternoon. The superstar guard out of Marquette seldom drove to the rim in the second half, something that has happened for the second consecutive game. Is this a sign of fatigue? Coming in just over 20 games into the season, it would not be a good sign. Coach Erik Spoelstra has tried to limit Wade's minutes to 36 or so a game. Spoelstra surely hopes this is just a small setback for his franchise player.

Mayo finished with 28 points, five rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers. What is more impressive is that Mayo shot a perfect four-for-four from downtown and eight-for-eight from the free-throw line. There was talk of Miami possibly selecting him in the days leading up to the Draft. Should Pat Riley have shocked the media and taken Mayo? I will have a post on that in the future.

The star of the first half for Miami, Beasley, cooled down in the second half. Beasley only managed to score five points in the last 24 minutes of basketball. For a 19-year-old, I am not going to get tough on the rookie. Who I am going to get tough on is Shawn Marion. The four-time NBA All-Star shot just 3-for-12 from the field, missing several shots in the paint. I do not think I would ever say this, but Marion is starting to remind me of Antoine Walker.

The 13 rebounds for Marion were good, especially with Udonis Haslem out to attend his grandmother's funeral. And Miami did win the battle of the boards, 47-38. But Marion has got to step it up offensively. Maybe he is not accustomed to a half-court setting, but he has got to get his act together. He is supposed to be a lethal force for opposing team. I doubt Marion is even one of the first three names opposing team's read when they pick up the scouting report.

To look at the good side of this game, Joel Anthony had a great game. The undrafted Canadian sophomore had his first double-double of his career. Anthony managed to score 12 points on a perfect five-for-five shooting, grab 13 boards and block five shots in 35 minutes. Anthony was easily Miami's most active player, and he is starting to remind me of a Haslem-type player who can block shots.

Again, in the third quarter, Memphis got everything it wanted and the Heat could not even buy a bucket. Wade shot 5-for-16 and his frustration led to the technical foul in the fourth quarter. Yakhouba Diawara, starting for the fourth time this season, shot two-for-six. Mario Chalmers shot three-for-eight. Chris Quinn shot 3-for-10 and Daequan Cook shot 3-for-12. It may have seemed like the Heat were within a half-game of attaining the fourth seed in the East, behind only Boston, Cleveland and Orlando just a few days ago. But this team still has a long way to go, and Spoelstra has his work cut out for him.

The thing is, the Atlanta loss was excusable. The Hawks pushed the Celtics to seven games in the 2008 playoffs and beat the Cavaliers just after defeating Miami. But the Grizzlies was, and still is, under the .500 mark. Memphis may have been on a three-game winning streak, but this is still a team that is very much in the developing stages. There is no excuse for allowing five Grizzlies to score in double figures.

The most pressing issue now for Miami is how the Heat can find its offense when Wade is not scoring 30 points for the Heat.

"We have to go back to the drawing board," Wade said.

Will Marion Move?

2008-12-13T15:06:00.003-05:00

This is not the ideal time to run an NBA team. Not only is attendance down because of the economic recession, it already looks like the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers are pulling away from the rest of the League. Of course, anything can happen in the final five months of the season. But it should not be a surprise that New Orleans and Phoenix -- two teams that would like to compete with the Lakers in the West -- made deals Wednesday.

This brings us to the possibility that Heat President Pat Riley may trade Shawn Marion. Marion trade rumors were heard ever since Marion did not sign a contract extension with Miami last summer. The four-time NBA All-Star has put up mediocre numbers of 12.7 points and 9.2 rebounds this season compared to what we have seen out of Marion. As I said in my previous post, Miami is a jump-shooting team right now, and with that comes inconsistency. The Heat has won four of its last five games, but Marion has not proven he can step up when things are not falling down for Dwyane Wade.

Do not expect Riley to trade his highest-paid player anytime soon.Pat Riley will not trade Marion before James Jones comes back from his injury. Jones is expected to return in mid-January, which is still well before the trade deadline in February. The 6-foot-8 forward out of Miami University has never been a full-time starter in his five-year career. It would be quite a leap to give him the starting duty after coming off of a serious injury. But even if Jones plays well for Miami once he comes back, I anticipate Riley will let Marion ride out his $17. 2 million contract in order to sign a big-name free agent in 2009. Carlos Boozer's name has been thrown around the most when it comes to that for Miami.

Why will Riley keep Marion? While an expiring contract is appealing to certain General Managers, it is not to others. There is always the prospect of renting Marion for the rest of the 2008-09 season before he can sign take off to another team next season. And trading one or two key cogs will probably lead to some buyer's remorse. Moreover, Marion's statistics are down across the board, and most GMs would agree that he is not worth the $17.2 million he will get at the end of the season. Nonetheless, there could also be some sign-and-trade options for Riley this summer.

That is not to say that a trade involving Marion is very unlikely. This season has not been good for Mark Blount and Marcus Banks. Riley would love to get rid of either of the two overpaid players, and if trading them requires Marion to sweeten the pot, I do not see why Riley would not jump on the deal.

Miami is not looking to compete with Boston, L.A., or Cleveland. The Heat is in the Eastern Conference. All teams except Boston, Cleveland and Orlando are nothing special. Even the Detroit Pistons have fallen out of the top-tier teams in the East after its Allen Iverson trade left more questions than answers. If Erik Spoelstra can get his team to get the fourth seed -- which is still conceivable -- then attendance will steadily go up and the Heat will be a resurgent team. Pat Riley will then have salary cap flexibility after Marion's contract expires to get a top-tier post presence. That may be, simply, as good as it gets for Miami.

Hawks Snap Streak

2008-12-12T22:03:00.005-05:00

The Miami Heat opened its match-up against the Atlanta Hawks on an 11-0 run, but seemingly did not have anything left as the Hawks cruised to an 87-73 win to snap Miami's four-game winning streak.

During Miami's 11-0 run to open the game, Shawn Marion had four points, Mario Chalmers hit a three, Udonis Haslem hit a jumper and Dwyane Wade capped it off with a jump-shot with eight minutes and 32 seconds left in the first period. That run was the complete opposite of what the Heat did the rest of the game. Marion's ugly shooting mechanic cost him a few easy shots in the paint, Haslem missed his open jumpers, Chalmers was riddled with foul trouble and Wade did not bail out Miami in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks closed to within five points by the end of the first quarter and had a 43-40 lead at intermission. In the third quarter, it seemed as if Atlanta was getting everything it wanted while the Heat could not buy a bucket. The only two players that shot above 50 percent from the field for Miami were Marion (five-for-nine shooting) and reserve center Jamaal Magloire (one-for-one shooting). Unfortunately, neither of the two stepped up to make this game even remotely competitive in the second half.

Miami's second leading scorer, Michael Beasley, had the flu and did not play tonight. His presence could have made a difference against the Hawks. Beasley is the only player on the Heat who can create his own shot whose last name is not Wade. As bad as this game looked, the Hawks did not play particularly well. Atlanta shot just 38 percent from the field. Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby shot a combined 12-for-33 from the field. The reason why the Atlanta won is because it made 32 trips to the free-throw line and out-rebounded Miami 53-37.

Beasley has had rough nights, but the Heat has still managed to pull a way with a victory. In that case, Wade would have a great game or Daequan Cook would have a nice shooting night from the field. Tonight, Wade shot a miserable 9-for-24 and made it to the free throw line just six times. Wade settled for too many jumpers, and with three days off leading into tonight's game, there is no excuse for settling. Cook, meanwhile, shot 5-for-14 from the field and committed five fouls in 30 minutes off of the bench.

Despite the rough night for Bibby, Miami's point guard rotation looked untested earlier tonight. Mario Chalmers got into early foul trouble and the Hawks took Chris Quinn apart on defense. Coach Erik Spoelstra decided to go with the longer, more athletic Marcus Banks. Banks could have done a lot more in his garbage minutes. The most experienced point guard on Miami's roster looked disinterested in playing defense and was non-existent offensively.

With the lack of slashes from Wade, Miami was purely a jump-shooting team earlier tonight. That is the problem when Spoelstra does not have a post presence to go to. And when you have a jump-shooting team, your team is going to be inconsistent. Against Atlanta, it seemed as though Wade made a domino effect on the rest of the team: he shot poorly, and so did everyone else.

Jamaal Magloire was active on the glass, with five rebounds in 13 minutes. In his last two games, Joel Anthony has had a combined one block. I know it is premature to label Anthony in a slump, but I am not completely sold on Anthony. Spoelstra knows how Miami's rebounding has cost them a few games, and may be willing to give more minutes to the 6-foot-11 Magloire rather than the 6-foot-9 Anthony. Spoelstra should still start Anthony, but the door is wide open for Magloire.

Nonetheless, the need for a post presence was highlighted tonight. Beasley drives to the rim and Wade drives to the rim, but Miami still needs that post presence who can get them those high-percentage shots consistently. As I said, when you are a jump-shooting team, you will be inconsistent. Throughout this season, Miami has been.

The Heat will fly to Memphis, Tenn., to face the Grizzlies Monday. The availability of Beasley against Memphis is unknown.

Wade Lifts Heat Past 'Cats

2008-12-09T16:30:00.004-05:00

Dwyane Wade was again called upon to rally the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter to a win, and did not disappoint.

After Charlotte point guard D.J. Augustin made a three-pointer to put the Bobcats up 84-79 with just under seven minutes to go, Wade turned it on and got the job done. Wade found Yakhouba Diawara in the corner for a three to make it 82-84. But a couple of minutes later, Wade decided to take it into his own hands.

After grabbing a defensive rebound and taking the ball up court, Wade used a screen from Shawn Marion and drove right into the lane and viciously dunked on Emeka Okafor. That dunk made the game was tied at 86 all with 4:02 remaining. The game was mostly free throws from then on, but that play helped Miami overcome what was as much as a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Jason Richardson missed two free throws that could have tied the game at 93 all, but Diawara, Udonis Haslem and Wade all made their free throws en route to a 100-96 victory. The crowd again serenaded Wade from the stands with chants of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" as he went to the line 19 times, with 15 connections.

Wade finished with 41 points on just 22 shot attempts. Wade also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Wade continued to stay true with his jump shot. Wade even shot four three-pointers last night, and connected on two. The turnovers (five) were a blemish, but the rest of the Heat only turned the ball over six times.

Wade's back-court mate, rookie Mario Chalmers, managed to out-play both Raymond Felton and Augustin. Chalmers had 15 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field and four-for-five from the free throw line to go along with three steals and three assists. Felton and Augustin, by comparison, shot a combined 6-for-25. Additionally, Chalmers was not the catch-and-shoot three-point shooter he has been all season long. He drove to the rim and took it off the dribble a lot.

Late in the game, Coach Erik Spoelstra went with a lineup of Chalmers, Wade, Diawara, Marion and Haslem. I expect Spoelstra to use that again, as going small was very effective against Charlotte. Diawara especially did his part defensively. After Charlotte guard Jason Richardson scored 13 points in the first quarter, Diawara guarded Richardson for most of the second and fourth quarters. Richardson went one-for-four during those quarters.

Other than Wade, Chalmers and Diawara, no one else played well for Miami. Marion shot just 5-for-13 from the field, missing several short shots. Haslem shot just one-for-five from the field, but did make his free throws down the stretch. Joel Anthony did have six rebounds, but did little to slow down Okafor, who finished with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds. Quinn shot decent from the field, but his lack of foot-speed was exploited against the quickness of Felton and Augustin. Michael Beasley had a rough shooting night, and is still not able to step up as a definitive second-scoring option.

The Heat barely beat the Gerald Wallace-less Bobcats at home. The underrated Wallace had to go to the funeral of his grandmother. The Heat simply cannot continue to rely on Wade to bail the team out. Marion has proven to be a third-scoring option at best, and Beasley still has not found consistency to be the second option on offense.

Miami, nonetheless, is just percentage points behind New Jersey and Detroit and within striking distance of the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. The players will get plenty of rest before taking on the fourth-seeded Atlanta Hawks Friday night.

Heat Complete Trifecta

2008-12-07T11:02:00.003-05:00

It was supposed to be a match-up between childhood buddies Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley, the last two Number 2 picks in the NBA Draft. Instead, it ended up as a match-up between Russell Westbrook and Dwyane Wade, with the NBA's leading scorer winning, 38-30.

The Heat also won three consecutive games for the first time since the 2006-07 season. This is a big step forward for this rebuilding team. Erik Spoelstra could not have asked for a better opponent last night, the Oklahoma City Thunder (2-19). The Heat (11-9) was able to withstand an uneven performance to come away with a 105-99 win.

Wade showed no signs of the migraine he suffered in Utah. In addition to scoring 38 points on 14-of-24 shooting and 10-of-15 from the free-throw line, the 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette had five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks in 35 minutes. Unfortunately, Wade turned the ball over four times, but no other player turned it over more than twice and the Heat kept its total to 14.

Wade had 15 points in the first quarter and 25 by intermission. In the third quarter, the Miami lead swelled to 15 on Wade's three-point play with 2.8 seconds left in the period. Wade got some chants of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" from the stands as he went to the line for his free-throw.

Should Wade be the 2008-09 MVP? Just a quarter into the season, it's too early to tell. But when the Thunder went on a 20-5 run in the fourth quarter when Wade was on the bench, it shows that he is very valuable to this team.

It ended up as a 90-90 game halfway through the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Thunder, Wade found Mario Chalmers for a three with 5:13 to go to make it a 93-90 game. Wade then made a fade-away jumper with 3:27 left to make it a 97-91 game. Shawn Marion then made six points in the final two minutes to ice the game for Miami.

Marion finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots on the night, hitting on all cylinders. Chalmers also added 15 on five-of-eight shooting from the field and three-of-six shooting from beyond the arc. The rookie out of Kansas struggled defensively against Westbrook and picked up three early fouls, but made the clutch shots in the fourth quarter.

Also adding 15 points for the Heat was Udonis Haslem. Haslem finished with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 14 rebounds. Haslem has been a consistent scorer and rebounder since he shifted over to his natural position. His three consecutive games of 13 rebounds or more was the first time a Heat player has done so since Shaquille O'Neal in the 2004-05 season.

Miami did not get much help off the bench, with Michael Beasley only scoring six points in 13 minutes. Beasley got poked in the eye and had to go to the locker room for further treatment. When Beasley stepped back on the court, he complained of blurry vision and had to sit back down. Daequan Cook, meanwhile, struggled with his shot, connecting on only one of his five attempted shots.

But Jamaal Magloire provided the most in his five minutes of action. The 6-foot-11 center got an offensive rebound in the second quarter, threw his elbows around a few times, and dunked the ball with authority over two Oklahoma City defenders. His aggressive play is not bad, considering this is a team is need of some bulk.

"He gives us a level of toughness and a defensive presence there," Spoelstra said. "No matter what happens, I know somebody’s going to get hit. It could be one of our guys or one of their guys, or maybe him hitting the floor, but I like that physicality."

On a more serious note, Magloire has a shot with this club. I like Joel Anthony's defense, but the door is wide open for Magloire. If he can be a defensive presence and get a few off second-chance points, he could end up starting for this team. However, this is a big if.

The Heat, a team that has won the battle of the boards against its past three opponents, will host the Charlotte Bobcats Monday, Dec. 8. In the standings, Miami is only one-half of a game behind New Jersey for the sixth seed.

Injury Report

Chris Quinn missed Saturday's game due to a sprained ankle. He is expected to play Monday night against Charlotte.

Shaun Livingston got 12 minutes of playing time last night, his longest stretch since suffering a devastating knee injury in Feb. 2007. Livingston finished with three points, one assist and zero turnovers for the Heat.

But in the most unexpected news, Spoelstra talked about the possible return of veteran Alonzo Mourning to the team.

"He’s still working every single day," he said. "It’ll probably be another three weeks or a month before he can come to his decision."

Heat Finds Consistency on Road

2008-12-05T15:41:00.004-05:00

The Miami Heat started its five-game road trip Nov. 26 and lost to the Portland Trail Blazers by 38 points. The Heat fell below .500 for the first time since Nov. 1 and it looked like Erik Spoelstra would have a long week ahead of himself.

But he did not. Spoelstra tweaked the starting lineup, moving Michael Beasley to the bench while inserting Joel Anthony at the five. This not only allowed Miami to have a defensive presence in Anthony, it let Udonis Haslem play in his natural position, the four. The Heat went 3-1 the rest of the road trip (and maybe 4-0 if that referee would have taken a step to the left or right) and managed to string two wins together for only the second time this season.

Miami (10-9) and New Jersey are currently deadlocked for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and the Heat's schedule looks soft. League lightweights Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Memphis and Milwaukee coming up. It is imperative that the Heat do not take these teams lightly. This team has already lost to the Bobcats and the Clippers. But if Miami takes it one game at a time, they could continue to climb in the standings. The Heat have begun to find some consistency after a month into the season. And it starts and ends with Dwyane Wade.

Wade has been playing at an otherworldly level since last summer's Olympics (no, he is not a cheater). He averaged 28 points, five rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks per game through 19 games. He is playing as well as he played in the 2006 playoffs, but this performance now may be more impressive. He is shooting at an astounding 49.1 percent from the field, just four-tenths off of his career-high of 49.5 percent shooting from the field in the 2005-06 season. He is developing much more consistency with his mid-range shot and has even gone out to the three-point line more often. The young man has been nothing more of spectacular -- and his numbers will only improve once three-point specialist James Jones comes back from injury.

It is not all Wade, though. Beasley, Shawn Marion and Haslem average double-digit scoring for Miami. Beasley is Miami's second-leading scorer with 14.5 points per game. He is the only player on the Heat who can create his own shot whose last name is not Wade. Beasley seems to be adjusting well to his new role off the bench, but the 6-foot-9 forward who averaged over 12 rebounds per game in his lone season at Kansas State is not attacking the boards enough.

Daequan Cook has also emerged as a bit of a surprise, highlighted with good games against Phoenix and Golden State. Sure, he has shot the ball when he should not have, but Cook has been solid. Him and Wade have such good chemistry together. Every time Wade drives to the rim, it seems like he knows where Cook is. Cook made clutch buckets against the Warriors and had a strong game off the bench against Phoenix. Cook and Beasley are proving to be a solid one-two punch off the bench.

More broadly, this team is finding its identity. On defense, the Heat is a scrappy team that will make opposing teams pay for their mistakes. Miami averages nine steals per game and Anthony has a knack for blocking shots. Offensively, Wade is the catalyst for everything. He can provide easy baskets for his teammates or take it to the rim himself. And when Wade is not on the court, Beasley has done a fine job as the second unit's offensive focal point. This can also give Wade more rest. As a player who has dealt with injury problems his whole career, Wade's rest is appreciated.

This team has a rookie coach, a nine-man rotation with no one taller than 6-foot-9, and six players in the rotation with less than three years of wearing an NBA uniform. It is not bad for that team to be floating around .500. But this is the Eastern Conference, and it already looks like Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando are pulling away from the rest of the pack. The Heat may be able to get the fifth seed in the East, a huge jump from winning just 15 games last season. Miami is two games behind Atlanta for the fifth seed. After going unbeaten through its first six games, the Hawks have been just as up-and-down as the Heat. The ball is in Miami's court. All they have to do is get the job done. A fairly successful road trip is a great place to start.

Heat Make Utah Sing Blues

2008-12-04T18:16:00.004-05:00

The Miami Heat finally broke its up-and-down pattern last night against the Utah Jazz with a 93-89 victory that gave Miami (10-9) a winning record on its five-game West swing.

Do not be fooled by the final score. The Heat did not almost lose to the Carlos Boozer-less, Andrei Kirilenko-less Jazz. Shawn Marion's steal with two minutes and 52 seconds left to play made it a 93-82 game. Utah just made a last-minute surge that ultimately came to no avail. Six players hit double figures in points for Miami, with migraine-riddled Dwyane Wade leading the way.

The game stayed close for the entire first half, and Miami led 47-45 at intermission. The Heat won this game in the third quarter. Wade, who started off cool, scored nine points in the third quarter, helping the Heat make a decisive 16-2 run. With three quarters in the books, Miami led 65-74. On the defensive end, Miami was able to shut Utah down with the help of center Joel Anthony. Anthony blocked four shots in the third quarter, but also altered a few more shots and made Utah's perimeter players settle for jump shots.

Miami's lead stayed around 10 or 12 points for the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. Mario Chalmers had two nice steals off of Jazz star Deron Williams in the final period, both leading to easy fast-break opportunities. Chalmers was eaten alive by Utah's pick-and-roll offense, but those two moments were highlights for the rookie point guard.

Chalmers finished with 10 points on five-of-five shooting from the free-throw line, five assists and three steals. On the other hand, Chalmers had five turnovers, not a good sign from your point guard. Chalmers' assist-to-turnover ratio last night was 1:1, something that cannot continue for the Miami Heat.

The player who one may expect to have the most turnovers on Miami is Dwyane Wade. This time, however, the 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette did not turn the ball over once. Wade was limited to 32 minutes of playing time due to foul trouble, but this is an encouraging sign from Miami's star guard. Wade also had 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, five rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots. And yes, he still leads the League in scoring.

Erik Spoelstra's forward duo of Marion and Udonis Haslem delivered again. Marion had 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting and eight rebounds while Haslem finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, eight of which were offensive boards. Marion and Haslem were also helped that they did not have to defend Andrei Kirilenko or Carlos Boozer, who were both out with injuries.

Rookie Michael Beasley had another solid offensive game off the bench with 12 points on six-for-nine shooting. Unfortunately, Beasley only got 18 minutes of playing time. That was probably because Beasley had two fouls in the first quarter and turned the ball over five times. I like the fact that Spoelstra is making Beasley earn his minutes. People have told me that Pat Riley should have drafted O.J. Mayo, but Mayo is playing 39 minutes per game. Beasley is only playing 28 minutes. And the fact that the star forward out of Kansas State is having to earn his minutes will make him a better player.

Last night, it was Daequan Cook, not Beasley, who did most of the damage for Miami off of the bench. Cook had 10 points in the first half before missing everything the rest of the way. But Cook's first-half contribution should not be understated. Wade and Beasley both got into early foul trouble, and Cook's shooting helped Miami to a two-point halftime lead before the third quarter run.

Not only were Boozer and Kirilenko out, Williams (who recently suffered a hip flextor) and All-Star Mehmet Okur also had off shooting nights. But this team is improving. After a blowout loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, this team won three of its next four games on the road trip. This team could be beginning to feel buoyant. Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Orlando and Atlanta are the only teams more than one game above .500 in the East. The door is wide open for the Heat to rise up in the standings.

After Heartbreak, A Heartbreaker

2008-12-02T17:31:00.004-05:00

A mere 48 hours after Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade offered up profanities after Miami's heartbreaking loss to the L.A. Clippers in a 96-97 loss, the leading scorer in the NBA embraced his teammates after a wild 130-129 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors.

The game was tight for the entire game, especially in the second half. Jamal Crawford, who finished with 40 points and seven assists, hit a three-pointer with just under five minutes to play in regulation to put Golden State up 105-101. But on Miami's ensuing possession, Daequan Cook answered with a three of his own. Cook, who finished with 11 points on three-of-four shooting from downtown, later made another triple with 1:59 left to tie the game at 111 all. Warriors center Andris Biedrins would make an and-one layup on Golden State's next possession, giving the Warriors another slight lead. Later a bucket from each team, it was a 115-113 game for the Warriors with a chance for Miami to tie it up or take the lead with just seven seconds left.

Wade drove to the rim and kicked it out to rookie Michael Beasley for a 10-footer. He missed, but Udonis Haslem grabbed the rebound with just 2.4 seconds to go and made the point-blank layup as the time expired to send the game into overtime. The late Monday night game wound up being a very thrilling meeting between two offensive fire powers. And it only got better in overtime.

Crawford remained red-hot in the extra period, connecting on a fade-away jumper to put Golden State up 125-123 with 1:35 left to play. With just seven seconds to play in overtime, Chris Quinn connected on a catch-and-shoot three that tied the ballgame at 129 all. The Warriors would then in-bound the ball, bringing back memories of Wade's steal off of Baron Davis' in-bounds pass and then resulting in an inadvertent whistle by one of the referees that could have tipped the game in the balance.

Somehow, Beasley managed to do what Wade could not. It was surprising, seeing as how Beasley celebrated and walked back on defense after Quinn's three. But right before Biedrins made the in-bounds pass, Beasley turned around and reached for the ball. He got it, and was not falling out of bounds. The game was in his hands.

Beasley's first baby-hook attempt was blocked by Biedrins, but he stayed with it and got fouled on his second attempt for the game-winning shot. Beasley made one of the two free-throws, but the Warriors would still have a ray of hope. There were 3.6 seconds in a one-point game and the Warriors' timeout advanced the ball to their three-point line.

Stephen Jackson got the ball to Crawford, the Heat-killer. The man who scored a career-high 52 points against Miami two seasons ago. The man who registered a season-high 40 points against the Heat last night. He drove to the paint and tried the jump-shot, but got the unlucky bounce. The game was over. After a heartbreaking loss to the Clippers, the Heat delivered a heartbreaking loss to the Warriors.

None of the plays I highlighted were on baskets connected by Wade. But if you just looked at the boxscore, you would probably think that Miami's heroics were delivered by Flash. Wade registered 37 points on 12-of-28 shooting to go along with 13 assists, five rebounds and three blocked shots. He forced a few shots and tried to do too much ball-handling in the late stages of the game, but had a spectacular game overall. Wade now leads his buddy LeBron James for the scoring title by .9 of a point.
Shawn Marion was very pedestrian in the Clippers game, but was alive and well last night. The four-time NBA All-Star had 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 15 rebounds and three steals. Unfortunately, Marion fouled out in the game, having to watch the last moments in the game on the bench.

Marion and his forward partner, Haslem made quite the duo. Haslem matched Marion's point total of 21 points and nearly evened him in rebounds with 13 boards. Haslem continues to appear more comfortable at the four, and this cannot be overstated. In his games starting at the four, Haslem has averaged 18 points on 62% shooting and 10 rebounds. The Miami native is playing at a star level.

Rookie Mario Chalmers had a solid game, with 12 points on four-of-eight shooting to go along with six assists. Chalmers was vulnerable on defense. Crawford was Golden State's "point guard" and stands at 6 feet and 5 inches. Miami ultimately went to a zone, which did not protect the rim for the Heat. This was why this game was so high-scoring and defense-less.

Beasley again provided instant offense off the bench. The 6-foot-9 rookie out of Kansas State had 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting and six rebounds in just 24 minutes. Beasley, however, continued with his poor decision-making on defense, and that will probably keep him on the bench at the start of games for the next string of games.

Cook and Quinn also provided sparks off the bench, finishing with 11 points and eight, respectively. Wade trusts Cook, and looks for him when he is driving to the rim. Quinn, meanwhile, also can connect on open shots. But Quinn's clutch three came off of an in-bounds pass. He came off of a screen, caught the ball in the corner and threw it up in the air while falling down. And it went in: no easy task.

Despite the nice win, one player performed poorly. Joel Anthony was not a defensive presence, and struggled against the athleticism of the Warriors. Anthony also failed to be a rebounding force, finishing with just two boards. Marion and Haslem did most of that work, and the Heat easily won the battle of the boards by a count of 51-36.

Erik Spoelstra had some fans scratching their heads when he inserted Marcus Banks in the game in the second quarter, who has been a walk-on for nearly the entire season. Banks committed two fouls in five minutes, and did not see playing time again. Was this an attempt to showcase the $4 million man to other General Managers or has Banks impressed Spoelstra during Miami's latest practices? Only time will tell.

Playing against the smaller Warriors, Spoelstra put Shaun Livingston on the active list and had Jamaal Magloire wear street clothes last night.

The Heat, back at .500 and in a three-team deadlock for the final two playoff seeds in the East, will finish up its road trip Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz at 9 p.m.

One Month Later...

2008-11-30T19:25:00.004-05:00

The first full month of the NBA season is virtually over, and the Miami Heat currently stands at 8-9. Miami has hovered around .500 for the entire month, but finds itself just out of the playoff picture if the season ended tonight.

First, a little perspective. The Heat won 15 games last season, and to be more than halfway towards last season's win total just one month in the season is a drastic improvement. Miami is playing better than the so-called experts thought them to be. Erik Spoelstra is a rookie coach and has a very young team. This team has also felt the absence of three-point specialist James Jones, a low-post presence and a veteran point guard.

With that being said, President Pat Riley made clear over the summer that anything less than a playoff run would be a disappointment for the Heat. This team cannot continue to trade wins and losses. Miami needs to string a few wins together, and it has only won two consecutive games once this season.

Things are looking up for the Heat, though. Dwyane Wade is playing as well as he has ever played. Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn have proven to be a nice one-two punch at the point guard position. Daequan Cook has been the inconsistent shooter he was a year ago, but has improved his game in defense and rebounding this season. And Udonis Haslem has been adequate at the five, but has seemed liberated in his past two games at the four with a defensive load lifted off of his shoulders.

Will we see Spoelstra's lineup of Chalmers, Wade, Shawn Marion, Haslem and Joel Anthony in the future? I expect so. This lineup gives Miami a defensive presence in Anthony, who has proven his worth this season. But the biggest benefactor of the new move may be Michael Beasley, the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Beasley has played two games off the bench thus far, one good game and one bad game. Therefore, it is difficult to get a gauge on how he will be as a reserve. In theory, this move looks to be very strong for the Miami Heat. Beasley will be playing alongside the second unit, with players like Quinn, Cook, Yahkouba Diawara and Jamaal Magloire. In other words, he will not be taking shots away from anyone. Moreover, he would be the go-to while Wade is on the bench, providing points where they would otherwise be scarce.

On the other hand, Beasley was arguably the most talented player in the Draft Class of '08. Spooelstra is looking for him to be more than a sixth man. Beasley may find himself as a starter later on this season, especially with Marion trade rumors heating up. The question for Spoelstra would then be whether Beasley is tailored for the small forward position. Is he quick enough to guard the likes of LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Tayshaun Prince and Rashard Lewis? It would be difficult for me to see Beasley guarding those threes, but I had difficulty seeing Antoine Walker guarding those players during Miami's championship run in 2006. Then-coach Riley used James Posey off the bench as a defensive stopper. Spoelstra, an heir to Riley, may try to emulate that with Beasley role-playing Walker and Jones role-playing Posey.

December should figure to be a pick-me-up month for the Heat. Spoelstra's team will rest 18 of the 31 days in the year's final month, and will only have two sets of back-to-backs. Miami plays Golden State (twice), Charlotte, Memphis, Milwaukee and Chicago in December, all of whom have identical or worse records than the Heat. With the possible return of Jones before we all have to buy a new calender, maybe Miami could find itself a few games above .500 going into 2009.

The Heat is still well in the playoff hunt, just a half-game behind New York for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. If Miami is able to stay healthy over the next few weeks, they could surprise a lot of teams. Marion may be traded, but I would not take anything with more than a grain of salt with any of these rumors until the trade is made official.

Iffy Call Overshadows Loss

2008-11-30T14:22:00.006-05:00

If you talked to Dwyane Wade after Miami's 97-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, he would not have talked about what his team did wrong. He would talk about an iffy call that may have tipped the game in the balance last night.

"It was [expletive]," Wade said of the controversial call.

With the Heat down by one with 7.6 seconds to go, Baron Davis made a desperation pass in fear of getting called for a five-second violation. Wade stole the ball in midair and threw the ball towards Udonis Haslem, who was in position for a wide-open dunk. Referee Courtney Kirkland inadvertently exhaled into his whistle as Wade fell into him and onto the scorers' table.

The Clipper crowd cheered when it appeared that Wade had stepped out of bounds after gaining possession. Ultimately, the officiating crew granted Wade with the steal and gave Miami the possession on an in-bounds pass. For Miami, the breakaway scoring opportunity was lost, and the win would have to come by harder.
The Clippers wisely used a foul the team had to give, giving Miami another in-bounds pass with just 2.9 seconds to play. The ball was given to Wade, and once the L.A. defense collapsed on him, he was forced to throw up a desperation three at the buzzer that did not even hit the rim.

"We won the game," Wade said. "And they took it away from us."

Under League rules, the Heat has no path to protest this call.

"Yeah, it's tough," Haslem added. "But there's a lot of things we could have done differently before that last play."

Haslem is right. The Heat once had a six-point lead in the final quarter, before letting L.A. go up by as many as eight just minutes later. Miami should not have lost to a 3-13 Clippers team without Chris Kaman. This should not have been a one-point game for Miami, it should have been a double-digit win for the Heat.

Shawn Marion did not look like the star he is. He looked like a ghost. The four-time NBA All-Star shot just one-for-six from the field for five points and turned the ball over five times. Marion did have nine rebounds, but Erik Spoelstra needs Marion to be more than a rebounding force.

Daequan Cook shot just 3-of-11 from the field in 21 minutes off the bench. Cook is a streaky shooter, so missing shots will be part of the game for him sometimes. However, Cook can drive to the rim as the defense is running towards him. If Cook just took a step or two closer to the basket, his percentages of making the shot would have gone up exponentially.

Miami's interior defense may have done enough to slow down Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal, but it let rookie Al Thornton and newcomer Zach Randolph do everything they wanted to last night. Thornton had 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. Randolph, meanwhile, also added 27 points with 13 rebounds. Marcus Camby added 12 points and 12 rebounds, a double-double.

Spoelstra went with his lineup from Friday's win against the Suns, with Joel Anthony starting at the five. Anthony had three rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes. Anthony was kept on the bench due to early foul trouble, a frequent obstacle for the 6-foot-9 center this season.

Michael Beasley played very well as a reserve last night, finishing with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and three-of-four shooting from downtown in 27 minutes. Beasley scored 17 points in the second-quarter, two shy of the franchise record shared by Tim Hardaway and Sherman Douglas. I would have liked to see more of Beasley in the second half, who only got 10 minutes of playing time after intermission. He had his foul trouble, but his scoring would have helped Miami in the fourth quarter.

Haslem continued to appear more comfortable as a power forward. The Miami native had 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 42 minutes for the Heat. Wade was sensational (again) with 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals. Mario Chalmers added 11 on four-of-nine shooting for the Heat, again one game below .500.

Miami starts the last month of 2008 Monday against the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 p.m. The Heat will then finish up its five-game West coast swing against the Utah Jazz Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Flash Blows By Superman

2008-11-29T12:04:00.005-05:00

It was the first time the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns met since the blockbuster trade that sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Miami in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal. But if you asked Dwyane Wade, that's not the reason he was motivated last night.

“We got beat by 40 points a couple nights ago,” Wade said during his halftime interview. “We didn't play with no heart, no tenacity. So it wasn't about us playing Shaq, it was about us getting a win.”

Wade and the young Heat took a tremendous step forward by handily defeating the Suns 107-92 after Portland blew out Miami only two nights earlier. After two poor shooting nights, Wade made a statement last night with a season-high 43 points on 15-of-24 shooting and 11-for-12 shooting from the free-throw line to go along with six assists and three rebounds. Steve Nash did not play for the Suns with a bruised thigh, but Phoenix was still the favorites without its star point guard.

The first quarter was decisive for Miami. Wade had 12 points on five-of-seven shooting for Miami in the first stanza of play to lead the Heat to a 32-19 advantage at the end of one. Miami's lead stayed around 13 for the rest of the game. A third-quarter run for the Heat put the lead up to 19, but the Suns was able to make it an 11-point game going into the final quarter of play. Fortunately for Miami, Dwyane Wade and Co. were able to close out the game in the fourth quarter.

Wade got to the rim at will and seemingly did everything he wanted to do against Raja Bell, one of the League's better defenders. But it wasn't the drives to the basket that surprised me. Wade also shot very well from mid-range and even went all the way out to the three-point line to score. I would have to strain to think of the last time I saw Wade shoot this well in his entire career. This young man is playing as good as anybody in the League and has been playing spectacular basketball since the Olympics.

A lot of credit has to go to Wade, but Erik Spoelstra also made some shrewd moves for Miami. He went with a lineup of Mario Chalmers, Wade, Marion, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony, a move to beef up Miami's front-line against Amare Stoudemire and O'Neal. Fortunately for Miami, Stoudemire was about as active as Mark Blount, with only six rebounds in 33 minutes. But this team was also able to hold O'Neal down.

Spoelstra had Anthony front O'Neal the entire game. The bad side of fronting a center is that if the pass into the post goes over Anthony's head, then that center will have an easy dunk every single time. However, the Suns could not get a pass into the post, which led to 14 turnovers for Phoenix in the first half alone. Moreover, O'Neal never got into an offensive rhythm, forced to score most of his points on offensive rebounds. Throughout the game, O'Neal never got to the free throw line nor had an assist.

Spoelstra was also able to minimize Stoudemire's and O'Neal's impact defensively. The Heat incessantly exploited Phoenix's poor pick-and-roll defense, which led to open lanes to the basket and open shots from the field. Coming off of a bad defensive night and a bad offensive night, Miami played as well as the could have against a strong team in the West.

Spoelstra's move to shift some of the heavy lifting over to Anthony also freed up Haslem. The 6-foot-8 Miami native looked more comfortable at the four, and had 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds.

Jamaal Magloire also returned briefly, playing a little over two minutes in his first game of the season. The 6-foot-11 Magloire will provide help in the future against the bigger centers, with the Heat's next game against the 7-foot Chris Kaman and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Could we see Beasley off the bench in the future? Yes. Spoelstra's move to start Anthony should have been enacted against the Rockets last week. With that being said, I am not sure I would only give Beasley 13 minutes of playing time. He could not have guarded Stoudemire, but what is wrong with him at the three, guarding Matt Barnes and Grant Hill? Beasley missed all of his five field goal attempts and ended up scoreless, but battled for rebounds last night, something we have not seen out of the kid in a while.

Five players scored in double figures for Miami. Marion had 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists against the team he played with for over eight seasons. Chalmers was a pest on both sides of the court. On the defensive end, the rookie point guard had five steals and even managed to rattle Bell a bit. Offensively, Chalmers had 13 points on five-of-seven shooting from the field and three-for-four from downtown. Daequan Cook was a big help off the bench for Miami, with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes.

The Heat, 1-1 on its five game West-coast swing, will visit the L.A. Clippers tonight at 10:30 p.m.

Pitiful Performance in Portland

2008-11-27T11:15:00.004-05:00

The NBA season is 82 games long. There are going to be nights when shots are just not falling down. That was the case for the Miami Heat last night, when Miami sunk below .500 for the first time since Nov. 1 in a 106-68 spanking.

What is understandable were the constant clanks at the rim for Miami. What is not understandable was its relaxed defense. Throughout the night, there were missed defensive assignments, uncontested cuts to the basket and wide open shots from beyond the arc. Portland shot nearly 50 percent from the field and had six players register in double figures. When a team is having an off night, it should rely on its defense to at least keep the game competitive.

This game was over before it even started. The Trail Blazers jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter. Portland had a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter, and the Miami Heat was never able to even bring it down to single digits. When a team is poor on the offensive end and pathetic on the defensive end, that team gets embarrassed. Last night was no different.

Channing Frye and LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for Portland, with 17 points and 16 points, respectively. Michael Beasley was no match for the bigger Frye or Aldridge, and ended up getting in early foul trouble (again). Shawn Marion, who missed the game to attend the funeral of his great uncle, would have been useful on defense.

A way to hide Beasley's defensive deficiencies would be to move him over to the three. In stead of starting Yakhouba Diawara in place of Marion, Coach Erik Spoelstra could have started Joel Anthony at the center position, moved Udonis Haslem over to the four and Beasley over to the small forward position. Small forward Nicolas Batum did score 15 points for Portland, but he is more of a three-point specialist than anything.

Beasley was the only rotation player who shot reasonably well from the field. The 6-foot-9 rookie out of Kansas State had 14 points on 7-of-18 shooting. Beasley attacked the basket and even soared for a highlight-reel dunk in the third quarter, but the same could not be said for attacking the glass. Beasley only had four rebounds in 30 minutes for Miami.

Miami's rebounding was a big problem again. The Blazers won the battle of the boards easily, with a 55-28 advantage. Haslem and Dwyane Wade had six rebounds apiece for Miami, but the lack of height was evident last night. Pat Riley cannot just sit back and hope that Jamaal Magloire will be the answer to his problems. He has to get someone in there who can defend and rebound.

Wade, who came off of a 7-for-23 shooting against Houston, was not much better last night. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette shot just 5-for-14 from the field to score 12 points. Wade did have six boards, six assists and five steals, but there is a reason why the Heat managed just 68 points: its go-to guy had another off night.

The only player who shot above 50 percent from the field for Miami was Marcus Banks. In 22 minutes, Banks shot five-of-six from the field for 11 points. Banks also had four rebounds and one steal, but Rudy Fernandez nailed him on a back-door cut for a layup. Spoelstra can not single out Banks for this, since virtually every Heat player played bad defense.

Still, Banks made the most of his garbage minutes. And it could not have come better at a time for the point guard when both Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn had poor shooting nights. But will this be enough for Spoelstra to put Banks back in the rotation? One game is not enough, but Miami's rookie coach may give Banks more playing time Friday against his former teammate Steve Nash and the rest of the Phoenix Suns.

On a lighter note, Shaun Livingston got his first minutes of action in nearly a month last night. The 6-foot-7 point guard scored two points on one-for-two shooting from the field in seven minutes.

The Heat is still in the playoff picture, tied with three other teams for the eighth seed in the East. However, Miami would face off against the Boston Celtics were the season to end today, due to the Heat's superior conference record against Philadelphia and New York. But after the worst loss of the season, the Heat are just going to have to put this loss behind them and focus on the Suns Friday night.

Heat Flame Out to Yao, Rockets

2008-11-25T15:34:00.003-05:00

The Miami Heat have traded wins and losses for its last nine games going into last night's meeting with Houston, and continued that trend last night in a 107-98 loss to the Rockets.

The Rockets stayed in control for the entire game, as Miami's only lead came on a Shawn Marion hook shot to start the game. Houston's lead stayed around 10 points for most of the game from then on. Michael Beasley's driving layup with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter made it a 56-58 game, but Houston then made 11 unanswered points to give Houston some breathing room again. It was a five-point game at the end of the third quarter and a five-point game with 4:23 left to go in the fourth quarter, but for every run the Heat made, Houston had an answer.

The 6-foot-8 Udonis Haslem was no match for the 7-foot-6 Yao Ming, in a match-up between the League's shortest center and its tallest center. Yao had 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 10-11 from the free-throw line. Additionally, Yao grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out four assists last night.
Erik Spoelstra knew that Yao was going to have a field day last night, regardless of whether he would be single- or double-teamed. A more effective defensive strategy against Yao would be to do what the Detroit Pistons did against Shaquille O'Neal in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 6-foot-9 Ben Wallace looked like a toothpick compared to O'Neal and he filled up the stat sheet. However, the Pistons stayed at home with the rest of the Lakers and were able to dust Los Angeles in five games. The Rockets shot 10-of-19 from beyond the arc, and a lot of those threes were due to Yao passing out of the double-team. If Spoelstra told his perimeter players to stay at home with Ron Artest, Rafer Alston and Aaron Brooks, it would have taken an option out of Houston's offensive arsenal.

Offensively, the evident choice would be to try to get Yao in foul trouble. The Heat attempted 24 three-pointers last night and Yao had three fouls in 35 minutes of action. Now, it was difficult for Dwyane Wade to drive to the rim with Ron Artest playing such good defense on him. The second leading scorer in the League never found his rhythm and missed 16 of his attempted 23 shots. I was surprised at the lack of screens given for Wade. The other players cannot just sit there and watch Wade. They have got to help him out with screens and cuts to the basket.

Marion and Beasley played very well. Marion had 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in 41 minutes. Beasley had 14 points on 7-of-16 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in 29 minutes. However, neither of them was able to step up and compensate for Wade's off night.

It was a great night for Mario Chalmers, who had a career-high 23 points last night on 7-of-13 shooting and 5-for-10 from downtown. Chalmers also grabbed four rebounds, dished out six assists and collected four steals. Fellow newcomer Yakhouba Diawara also had an impressive night, with 12 points on five-for-six shooting from the field and two steals in 23 minutes.

Haslem struggled with his offense against the imposing Yao, and seemed tired guarding the 7-foot-6 center from China. With Miami's three next games against the 7-foot Greg Oden and Portland, the 7-foot-1 O'Neal and Phoenix and the 7-foot-1 Chris Kaman and the Clippers, Haslem will be doing a lot of heavy lifting this Thanksgiving week.

Joel Anthony provided help off the bench for Haslem, and grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots in just 28 minutes of action. He probably would have played more if he had not committed five fouls last night. While Anthony's defense and rebounding is appreciated, he needs to work on his fouls. An effective game from him will especially be needed with the seven-footers coming up this week.

Erik Spoelstra will try to avoid a loss to drop his team below .500 for the first time since Nov. 1 with a road game against Portland Wednesday night.

Injury Notes

Shawn Marion will not play against Portland Wednesday due to the death of his great uncle. However, he plans to return with the team for Thursday's practice in Phoenix.

Dorell Wright was originally projected to come back Nov. 1, but the date kept getting pushed back. The date will be pushed back even more. The 6-foot-9 forward underwent arthroscopic surgery to clear up loose bodies out of his left knee. Wright had surgery March 3 to repair a meniscal tear in his left knee, but additional work was needed. No timetable has been announced for his arrival.

Six-foot-11 center Jamaal Magloire will travel with the rest of the Heat on its road trip. Magloire banged his left hand in pre-practice Sunday morning and did not practice with the team in the afternoon. Spoelstra said this was not a setback for Magloire, who completed his first full five-on-five practice last Friday. His availability for Wednesday night's game against Portland is unknown.

Heat Rally To Beat Pacers

2008-11-23T12:51:00.004-05:00

After going down by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Miami Heat went on the comeback trail and was able to defeat the Indiana Pacers in a 109-100 decision.

Miami found itself down by a score of 60-48 at intermission, and Dwyane Wade had 20 of those points. The Heat went on a 12-5 run to open the third quarter to make it a two-point game with just under eight minutes to go in the third. The game stayed close through the end of the quarter, and the Heat fans in the AmericanAirlines Arena found their team tied with Indiana, 79-79 when the buzzer sounded.

The Heat took its first lead of the night since the first quarter on a dunk by Joel Anthony to make it 83-82 with nine minutes and 46 seconds to go. The Pacers tied it up shortly thereafter at 87 all on an and-one by Marquis Daniels, but Wade's driving dunk on the ensuing Heat possession put Miami up for good. Danny Granger hit a three-point shot to make it 98-99 with 2:41 left to go, but the Heat went on a 10-2 run to finish up the game.

Wade finished with 38 points on 15-for-24 shooting from the field. Wade also grabbed four rebounds, dished out eight assists and blocked two shots. On the flip side, Wade missed five free-throws, committed four fouls and turned the ball over four times. This was a nice night by Wade, but he could have more than 40 points if he just made his free-throws and didn't give the ball away to the Pacers.

In the first half, Miami's offensive was seemingly all Wade. But Wade got plenty of help when he needed it most, in the second half during the Heat's late surge. After getting into early foul trouble, Michael Beasley had 17-points on 6-of-11 shooting and six rebounds in just 28 minutes. Beasley scored 10 of Miami's 31 points in the decisive third quarter. The fact that Erik Spoelstra had enough faith in Beasley for him to play in the fourth quarter was an encouraging sign from the rookie forward out of Kansas State.
Shawn Marion also stepped up. One thing I like about Marion is that he never looks for his shot; he just takes what he is given. Marion ended up as Miami's second-leading scorer last night, with 18 points, nine rebounds and a season-high six steals.

It must have been a good night for Udonis Haslem. The 6-foot-8 center not only out-jumped the 7-foot Rasho Nesterovic for the jump-ball, his first of the season, he also had 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.

This was another night that we saw Mario Chalmers struggle with his shot and Chris Quinn make up for him off the bench. Chalmers missed all four of his field goal attempts while Quinn made three of his six attempts for eight points. Chalmers, however, did collect three steals for Miami.

After the game, Wade spoke of his hopefulness for the team to pull a string of wins together. Miami is one game above .500 with one more home game against Houston before going on a five-game road tirp. I could not think of a better time than now when this young Heat team would begin to mature and gain some type of consistency.

Injury Notes

Miami's 6-foot-11 center, Jamaal Magloire could have his season debut Monday against Houston. Magloire has been riddled with a broken bone in his left hand he sustained in preseason, and could provide some size for the Heat Monday when Haslem is matched up against the 7-foot-5 Yao Ming.

Forward James Jones, Miami's prime off-season acquisition, had his cast removed from his right wrist after surgery during training camp. It was initially projected Jones would be back in the first month of the new year, but Jones thinks he'll be back before the turn of the calender.

"I'm pain free," Jones said. "This is the first time I've been pain free shooting in like three months. It's a weight off my shoulders."

McDyess Would Be Welcome Addition

2008-11-21T16:26:00.003-05:00

Heat President Pat Riley went on the record Sunday, saying that his organization has looked into the possibility of signing free agent Antonio McDyess. And while McDyess is a shadow of his former self, adding him would be a welcome addition.

Michael Beasley needs a mentor. This is not to say that he is immature. But throughout his rookie season, Beasley has had his moments and his rookie moments. An average of 15 points and six rebounds is good for any 19-year-old in the League. However, Beasley has shown laziness and confusion on defense. He has been foul-prone. He has not been taking advantage of his post game. In order for Beasley to became that 20 and 10 guy Heat fans want him to be, he will need some advice. McDyess can provide that advice.

McDyess was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1995 NBA Draft, the same position Beasley was selected 13 years later. McDyess was known for his explosiveness and averaged 17.8 points and and nearly nine rebounds per game in his first six seasons. Unfortunately, McDyess suffered a serious knee injury, a patellar tendon rupture, during the 2001-02 season. McDyess re-aggravated his injury numerous times before his knee was finally declared healthy in the summer of 2004, when he signed with the Detroit Pistons.

McDyess was a reliable sixth man for Detroit and developed a reputation as a hard-nosed defender who could cause damage from mid-range jumpers. He is now more of a finesse player and a voice in the locker-room. McDyess was once an excellent defender, and could counsel Beasley on man-to-man defense. Miami's last lottery pick, Dwyane Wade, was mentored by Eddie Jones and Caron Butler. Beasley should also be given that privilege to turn him into a better player.

Taking a more broad look at McDyess' effect on the team, the 6-foot-9 forward out of Alabama would help Miami in rebounding. He is 34, but McDyess averaged 8.5 rebounds per game last season, playing 29 minutes for Detroit. And despite his nagging knee injury, he has played 78 games or more in his last three seasons.

The Heat is already capped out at the League's maximum of 15 players per squad. Pat Riley would have to waive one player in order to sign McDyess. Alonzo Mourning's possible return complicates this even further. If Riley decides to sign McDyess and Mourning, he would have to bite the bullet and cut two of his players. Since Riley probably does not want to do that, he will have to make a decision. Mourning's defense and rebounding are superior to that of McDyess, but the 6-foot-10 center out of Georgetown has not said whether he plans to make a comeback. Riley will have to consult with Mourning before even offering McDyess a contract.

The best player for Riley to cut would be Yakhouba Diawara. I know his contract extends to next season, but basing roster decisions on money and not talent would be a mistake. Diawara has been pretty pedestrian throughout this season, despite getting the chance to start twice. With new progress made on James Jones' knee, Diawara may not be needed.

In addition to the four small forwards the Heat currently retains, Pat Riley also signed four point guards. The most cost-effective cut would be to wave goodbye to Shaun Livingston. I know that he has not even played a game for Miami, and I am not an advocate of cutting him. But Livingston will only receive a $400,000 paycheck at the end of the season, and his contract does not extend any further. Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn have been good options for Miami, and cutting Livingston would be understandable.

McDyess is not a big name. He would not turn the Heat from a .500 team to an elite team in the East. But he would improve Miami's rebounding and be a mentor for Beasley. And with the free agent and trade market as it is, this could be as a good as it gets.

Heat Blow Big Wade Performance

2008-11-20T16:58:00.004-05:00

Heat guard Dwyane Wade showed no signs of a sprained right ankle in Wednesday night's game against Toronto. Wade took complete control, scoring a season-high 40 points on 16-of-30 shooting to go along with 11 assists and five blocked shots.Wade's performance, however, was to no avail as Miami lost to the Raptors, 101-96.

After both teams see-sawed with the lead for the entire first half, the Raptors went on a big run in the third quarter. The score at intermission was 43-47 Toronto, but the Raptors built a 17-point lead by the 2:02 mark of the third stanza of play. Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker each made two three-pointers in the third quarter. Part of the Heat's problem was its rotation defense, but Coach Erik Spoelstra must share some of the blame. He put the 6-foot-5 Daequan Cook on the 7-foot Bargnani in Toronto and that did not work to well. Why would it work in a change of venue? Spoelstra should know better.

That is not to say the Heat showed a lack of effort. Miami showed great effort last night. Less than four minutes into the final period of play, the Heat took an 84-83 lead on a driving dunk by Wade. But that lead would be short-lived, as Parker hit a three-point shot to give Toronto a two-point lead. Miami then missed its next five shots, and the Toronto lead snowballed to four points with just under six minutes to play. There was still plenty of time, but the Heat had several chances to create and expand lead and came up short time after time.

Wade's layup with two minutes and 45 seconds left in the game made it 91-92. After a dunk by Jermaine O'Neal and a layup by Jose Calderon, Wade's turnaround jumper made it a 96-93 game with just 62 seconds to go. But Parker's three-pointer on Toronto's ensuing possession iced the game for the Raptors.

Watching the game, it felt like the Heat could have won this game. But they could have won this game with some comfort. Shawn Marion, who had 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting, and Wade scored 63% of Miami's points. Only that duo and Cook scored in double figures for Miami. Udonis Haslem missed those 15-foot shots he has been consistent on. Mario Chalmers sank back into his shooting slump and Chris Quinn took too few shots to compensate for Chalmers' off night. Michael Beasley was held to just 12 minutes of action after committing two fouls in the first 72 seconds of play. Beasley wasn't even put in during the critical fourth quarter. And Joel Anthony was not able to affect Miami's defense, committing four fouls in just 15 minutes of action.

To its credit, Miami did narrow the rebounding edge from Sunday's loss. The Raptors won the battle of the boards by just two rebounds. Marion and Haslem both grabbed double-figure rebounds. The Raptors just made the big shots when they counted and the Heat had a two-man show for its offense.

The Heat will host its next two games at home, first against Indiana Saturday and then against Houston Monday. Miami will then go on a five-game road trip. Spoelstra should be telling his young team that it cannot continue to trade wins and losses. The Heat has to get some consistency if it wants to be a resurgent team in the East.

Heat Escape With Road Win

2008-11-19T15:40:00.004-05:00

So far this season, Miami has been a one step forward, one step back type of team. The Heat was great at home, but awful on the road. And although the Washington Wizards did not have Gilbert Arenas, Miami played well against the Wizards to escape with a 94-87 road win.

The game stayed tight in the first half, but the Heat went on a run to build up an eight-point lead going into the final stanza of play. Miami had its breathing room for nine minutes of the third quarter before the Wizards went on a 6-0 run to close Miami's gap to 87-90 with just over two minutes to go with a layup from Antawn Jamison. However, that layup would be the last bucket for the Wizards. Shawn Marion and Dwyane Wade both iced the game for Miami in the final minutes of play with two points apiece.

Wade, playing despite suffering a sprained ankle, played very gingerly. He only shot 6-for-16 from the field, but made it to the free-throw line 10 times, grabbed six rebounds, dished out 10 assists, collected two steals and rejected two shots. As always, the turnovers were there for the 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette. Wade had five mishaps, but no one else had more than two as the entire team had 14 turnovers.
Wade had a quiet start, and Marion was able to step up in the first half. Marion, who logged a team-high 41 minutes of play, shot 5-of-11 from the field for 10 first-half points. Marion cooled down in the second half, but his hot shooting was needed in the first half. The 6-foot-7 forward for Miami finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. One can only speculate, however, whether Marion's role as the offensive focus was a showcase him to other General Managers around the League.

Another unexpected hero for Miami was Mario Chalmers. The rookie out of Kansas shot five-for-seven from the field and three-for-five from downtown en route to a 15 point, six assist performance. Chalmers' minutes at the point were again roughly balanced with Chris Quinn. Quinn scored 10 points on four-of-nine shooting.

While Chalmers finally found his shot, Miami's other rookie had a very rocky game. Second overall pick Michael Beasley played only 16 minutes and got into early foul trouble. Beasley had just two points at halftime and was benched again in the fourth quarter.

Beasley's front-line partner, Udonis Haslem, registered a double-double. The 6-foot-8 center out of Florida had 12 points on five-for-eight shooting and 11 rebounds. Joel Anthony was the first center to replace Haslem and did what he was signed on to do: defense and rebounding. Last night, Anthony had six rebounds and three blocks in just 20 minutes of action.

Daequan Cook provided 13 points off the bench for Miami. Not only did Cook shoot well from the field, he grabbed four rebounds and dished out five assists. In just one year, Cook has gone from a one-dimensional three-point threat to a multifaceted menace.

Erik Spoelstra's team will not get much time to celebrate the win. The Heat will finish the second night of a back-to-back at home against the Toronto Raptors tonight at 7:30 p.m. Miami came up close north of the border, but will have a chance at revenge tonight.

Same Problems, Another Loss

2008-11-17T17:29:00.005-05:00

The Miami Heat were not able to take advantage of the undermanned Raptors in a 107-96 matinee match-up Sunday. Will Solomon, starting in place of the injured Jose Calderon stepped up to put Miami back at .500.

Toronto pounded Miami on the boards and inside, reminiscent of the Heat's loss to the Portland Trailblazers last Wednesday. The Heat as a whole only grabbed 35 rebounds, and Udonis Haslem was the only player to get more than six. The Raptors, by contrast, were able to snatch 52 rebounds. Shawn Marion only grabbed four boards and Beasley finished with six. Haslem registered a double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Erik Spoelstra had a bit of a dilemma going into tonight's game. The Raptors start a lineup that features Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Bosh, both of whom are at least 6-foot-10. With the undersized Heat, Spoelstra knew he would have problems defensively. Beasley struggled against Toronto's height on both ends of the court, only scoring 13 points while missing 10 of his 14 attempted shots. For the Raptors, O'Neal did the damage on the defensive end while Bosh took care of the offense. O'Neal grabbed 18 rebounds while Bosh scored 27 points and got to the free-throw line 15 times.

And just like the Portland game, the Heat let this one get away. Toronto had a two-point lead at the end of three quarters of action before it ballooned to a 10-point lead by the 7:50 mark of the fourth quarter. Miami was able to make a mini-run to cut the lead to 93-98 with just over a minute to play, but the Raptors answered with a six-zero run that all but iced the game for Toronto.

That is what is so disappointing about this game. Spoelstra's team was coming with a height disadvantage, so the rebounding deficit is to be expected (although more out of Marion and Beasley would have been nice). But the Heat let its guard down defensively in the fourth quarter. Rotations were slow and there was little help defense during Toronto's decisive run. This is a young team. There are going to be growing pains, and that is what the Heat is going through right now. But Miami's young players cannot develop until they learn to address their mistakes. Turnovers weren't so much of a factor, but rebounding and defense were.

Dwyane Wade looked good on the stat sheet, and the stat sheet does not lie. Twenty-nine points with eight assists and four steals is nothing to be ashamed of. Shooting 13-for-31 from the field while making it to the free-throw line just four times is something to be ashamed of. But it's more than that. Chalmers could not run the offense and Wade was left to do much of the playmaking. Chris Quinn actually got more minutes of playing time yesterday than Chalmers. Could Quinn move up to the position as the starter? Chalmers has been in a bit of a slump, while Quinn has shown a certain level of calmness as the point guard while being a consistent threat from downtown.

Although Wade played until the end of the game, Miami's star guard sprained his ankle during the third quarter. He sat out Miami's practice earlier today and is listed as a game-time decision for Tuesday's road match-up against Washington. Wade has said that his participation is a priority this season, but it would be better to let this heal than risking a more serious injury. If the team trainer doesn't envision that as a possibility, Wade should play. But the Heat shouldn't risk too much this early in the season.

Dwyane Wade's backup, Daequan Cook, hit four triples yesterday against Toronto on his way to 16 points. But Cook's three first-half three-pointers made the team a little trigger happy. Miami attempted 24 shots from beyond the arc, converting on just eight. These players have to know that relying on the three-point shot does not win games.

Miami will visit the Wizards, as they get a shot at revenge for last week's blowout loss. But Wednesday, the Heat will host the Raptors, with a shot at revenge themselves.

Heat Outduel Wizards

2008-11-14T22:53:00.007-05:00

With Shawn Marion back from his two-game absence due to a groin injury, the Miami Heat cruised to a 97-77 win over the Washington Wizards, who are already one-third of the way towards last season's win total.

Marion started and got about 29 minutes of playing time. He played well and looked very fluid, on his way to 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 12 rebounds. He did a lot of things that do not show up on the stat sheet, though. His energy on both ends of the court was missed in Wednesday's loss to Portland.

The best player on the court for Miami was (as usual) Dwyane Wade. At the end of 24 minutes of action, Miami had a comfortable 12-point lead. But Wade's 12-point third-quarter performance effectively put the game away, as the third quarter concluded with Miami up by 23. Wade made his first four shots and ended up with 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Wade was also able to sit out the fourth quarter, some valuable rest for the player who has had to do a lot of the heavy lifting thus far.

Michael Beasley went away from the Antawn Jamison comparisons and more towards the Rasheed Wallace comparisons tonight. Beasley had a one-handed put-back dunk that got a roar from the crowd in the second quarter and drove past Caron Butler for a third-quarter jam. Beasley's six rebounds were underwhelming, so he'll have to do some more work to get closer to Wallace. However, Beasley displayed a certain level of willingness to get his hands dirty tonight on offense. He finished with 19 points on 9-of-17 shooting.

After letting Portland take them apart on the boards, the Heat were much better rebounding tonight. Miami won the battle of the boards handily, 52-33. In addition to Marion's 12 and Beasley's six, Udonis Haslem grabbed 13 boards and Daequan Cook continued to show his assertiveness on defense with six rebounds.

Haslem had 13 points to go along with his 13 rebounds. Haslem shot an efficient six-of-nine from the field and blocked two shots. There was no apparent height differential between Haslem and Etan Thomas, a plus for Miami. Haslem's new backup, Joel Anthony, struggled with his offense (one-for-four from the field to score just two points) and fouls (four), but will remain ahead of Mark Blount because of his rebounding. Tonight, Anthony grabbed four rebounds, all offensive.

Miami's other detriment in the loss to Portland was its point guard play and turnovers. Chalmers shot just three-of-nine from the field, but had a nice running dunk in the first quarter. The rookie out of Kansas also dished out seven assists and turned the ball over three times, not a stat to be proud of, but an improvement over his five mishaps Wednesday.

Chris Quinn continued to outshine Chalmers tonight. Quinn shot an uneven 4-of-10 from the field, but was manning the point during Miami's decisive third-quarter run. Moreover, Quinn had zero turnovers in 27 minutes of action.

Cook did not shoot well from the field with just three connections on 10 attempts, but has significantly improved his defense. Cook spent time on DeShawn Stevenson, who has a field day every time the Wizards have come down to Miami in recent years. Stevenson ended up with just eight points on two-of-six shooting. It has been a very pleasant surprise to see how much Cook has matured after just one season in the NBA this year.

As good as this win felt, this is a win the Heat was supposed to get. Miami played good team defense, shot well from the field, won the battle of the boards overwhelmingly and kept its turnovers to a relative minimum. Erik Spoelstra's team will have three of its next five games in South Beach before embarking on a five-game road-trip. The season is just starting, but Spoelstra is going to need his team to bolster its record before going on the road-trip.

Lack of Rebounding, Turnovers Plague Heat

2008-11-13T19:30:00.005-05:00

In its second game of a three game home-stand, the Miami Heat came up just short in a 104-96 loss to Portland, with rebounding and turnovers the main reasons the Heat lost.

In spite of its lack of size and offensive carelessness, Miami was able to keep it close for most of the game. Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook and Chris Quinn played well, but the Heat let this game slip away. Erik Spoelstra's team had a slim lead with just under 10 minutes to go before letting Rudy Fernandez take over the game.

The lack of size was evident early on. In the first quarter, the Heat had three turnovers combined. Lamarcus Aldridge exploited Miami's smallness with Beasley on him, so it was not surprising to see Portland take an eight-point lead into the second quarter. Miami was able to get Portland out of its inside game, and ended up losing the battle of the boards by just five rebounds. Udonis Haslem grabbed 11 boards, Wade had six rebounds and Cook leaped for five rebounds. But more out of Beasley would have been nice, and Shawn Marion, who missed his second consecutive game with a groin injury, would have been useful last night.

The Heat committed 19 turnovers on the night while forcing only 12 mishaps by the Blazers. Wade had four turnovers (that is not eyebrow-raising), but Mario Chalmers committed five turnovers (that is eyebrow-raising). Chalmers looked very erratic and did not make good decisions in transition. Spoelstra did notice that and balance Quinn's minutes with Chalmers' almost evenly, and Quinn did not commit a turnover in 30 minutes of action.

In spite of all of its mistakes, the Heat made it a ballgame. After Cook nailed a three-pointer to put the Heat up 81-79 with 9:43 to go, Portland went on an 11-2 run to make it a seven-point deficit for Miami with just over six minutes to go. Wade kept Miami close almost all of the way, highlighted by a vicious two-handed dunk over two Portland defenders to make it a four-point game with 40 seconds to go. But on the ensuing possession for the Trailblazers, Steve Blake hit an open three just as the shot-clock was about to expire, putting Miami down 101-94 with just 17 seconds to go.

New addition Yakhouba Diawara started again in the absence of Marion. Diawara did not offer much, and did not even slow down Brandon Roy. If this is all we can expect from Diawara, maybe Dorell Wright can get another chance. However, Spoelstra did not have that in mind. Wright could not get out of his street clothes last night.

Joel Anthony played well, grabbing five boards in 13 minutes off the bench. He guarded Greg Oden when he was put in, and did a good job of boxing him out on defensive possessions, although Oden did score the first points of his career after he grabbed an offensive rebound over Anthony (was that over the back?) and jammed it home.

For the better parts of Miami's season thus far, Chalmers and Quinn have been more than sufficient at point guard and Haslem has exceeded expectations at the pivot. But nowhere more was Miami's lack of sound decision-making and lack of size more apparent than last night.

Heat Come from Behind to Beat Nets

2008-11-11T11:59:00.012-05:00

Without his sidekick, Shawn Marion, Dwyane Wade took it up a notch to help his team come back from a 10-point deficit with under six minutes to defeat the Nets in a 99-94 decision.

Vince Carter's three-point shot with Wade right in his face made it an 83-73 game with 5:48 to go. On the Heat's next possession, Wade gave it up to Daequan Cook, who nailed a three. Wade then hit two other triples late in the game, a rarity for the six-foot-four guard out of Marquette to cut more into the lead. Wade's bank-shot made it all tied up at 88 apiece with 1:35 left to go. But it was Chris Quinn who hit six consecutive free-throws late in the game to ice the victory for Miami.

Wade finished with 33 points on 9-of-18 shooting, 11-for-12 from the free-throw line and four-for-seven from downtown. Wade also had five assists and four steals, but also committed six turnovers. However, the Heat as a whole only committed 13 turnovers. When Erik Spoelstra has a player who is going to commit several turnovers, the key for the team is to have other players surrounding Wade who take care of the basketball. The role players have struck the right accord so far this season.

Newcomer Yakhouba Diawara replaced Marion in the starting lineup, a move by Spoelstra to bulk up his defense against Carter. But Diawara was on the court for just 20 minutes, and Spoelstra went to a three-guard lineup, using Cook at the three. Cook shot very well from beyond the arc, scoring 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting. More importantly, however, Cook kept Carter honest on defense.

Carter finished with 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting and Keyon Dooling had 18 on the night. But Miami's biggest problem defensively was against Yi Jianlian. The seven-foot forward out of China was simply too lengthy for the six-foot-nine Michael Beasley. Yi finished with a double-double, registering 24 points and 10 rebounds while hitting five three-pointers from beyond the arc.

That is not to say that Beasley had a bad game. The rookie out of Kansas State finished with 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting and six rebounds. Fifteen of Beasley's 19 points came in the first half, as he showcased his mid-range ability and his low-post moves last night.

After six chances, Spoelstra has finally decided to take Mark Blount out of the center rotation. Blount, who averaged less than four points and not even two rebounds this season, was inactive last night. Joel Anthony, the sophomore center, got 16 minutes of playing time last night. Anthony had four rebounds in his first outing of the season, one shy of Blount's season high.

Guard Marcus Banks (hip injury) was active but did not play last night. Spoelstra has seemingly settled on his one-two point guard punch of Mario Chalmers and Quinn. It will be interesting to see how Spoelstra (or maybe Pat Riley, upstairs) will deal with point guards Chalmers and Shaun Livingston after Chalmers and Quinn have exceeded expectations.

Hoping to see forward Dorell Wright get some playing time with Marion out? Keep on hoping. Wright could not even get out of his street clothes last night. Spoelstra said that the reason Wright did not dress was to continue to get back in shape after last summer's knee surgery.

Miami (4-3) is now second in the Southeast Division and currently have the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat is 3-0 on its home-court, but will be tested Wednesday by the Portland Trailblazers at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Heat Host Nets

2008-11-10T18:06:00.003-05:00

Yeah, the Heat lost to the New Orleans Hornets, courtesy of an electrifying Chris Paul and an off Michael Beasley. But for a team that is already one-fifth of the way to last season's win total six games in the season, it is hard for a fan to complain.

Miami opens a three game home-stand tonight against the New Jersey Nets. New Jersey will be without Devin Harris, who was involved in the Jason Kidd trade last seasob. New Jersey (2-3) will field a new-look team that features Bobby Simmons, Yi Jianlian, Keyon Dooling, Brook Lopez and the familiar sight of Vince Carter.

Carter has averaged 21.8 points per game in his first five outings. The task of guarding him will be given to Shawn Marion. Marion should be able to keep up with Carter and make things difficult for him, but Carter can go all the way out to the three-point line to knock down a shot. Marion will have to honor that if he wants to keep Carter grounded.

The Heat already has an identity. It is a team with active hands, sneaky steals and an efficient offense. Dwyane Wade has played as well as anyone could have expected him to. Through six games, the Beijing gold-medalist has averaged 26.2 points, eight rebounds and six-and-a-half rebounds per game. Beasley is not as lucky, but has still had his moments. One cannot expect a 19-year-old to suddenly become a definitive second scoring option, but 16 points and six rebounds through six games are good numbers by any standard.

Miami's youthful exuberance has been able to conceal its small front-line against teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers. But it has been noticeable in the Heat's losses. With word coming out of Miami that Jamal Magloire is close to returning, it only provides more optimism for Heat fans. He was pretty pedestrian in his preseason appearances, but Mark Blount has been completely invisible.

James Jones is progressing nicely, as his return will surely be a welcome one. Chris Quinn has been able to score 14 points or more in his last two appearances, with consistent shooting from beyond the arc. Erik Spoelstra needed someone to step up in the absences of both Jones and Marcus Banks. Quinn has emerged as the unsung hero.

Miami has six of its next eight games in the AmericanAirlines Arena before going on a five-game road trip in the West. Spoelstra will undoubtedly be looking to polish his roster to sustain the potential unevenness on his road trip. Spoelstra can only hope that it will start tonight, against a depleted Nets team.

Heat Spur to Victory

2008-11-08T10:26:00.003-05:00

After Tony Parker scored a career-high 55 points, the former Finals MVP landed awkwardly after going up for a layup with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter and will miss the next two to four weeks of play.

That is bad news for the Spurs, who were already undermanned with Manu Ginobili out after his Olympic injury. But for the Miami Heat, it got above the .500 mark for the first time this season, snagged its first road win and beat the Spurs in San Antonio for the first time in over a decade.

Even before Parker sprained his ankle, Erik Spoelstra got his team to put together an 18-0 run in the first quarter that got Miami to jump to a 24-9 lead. The young Heat team never relinquished its lead, despite some mini-runs by San Antonio throughout the game.

Dwyane Wade was nothing short of spectacular. The Finals MVP for the Heat side is back. A few days ago, he said he was out of rhythm, but he seemed in a very good rhythm last night. The six-foot-four guard out of Marquette had 33 points on 14-of-25 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds, had nine assists, three steals with just one foul. Wade was also very active on defense, deflecting passes and contesting shots. Because of Wade's leadership, the rest of the team played active defense. That's a good sign from Miami's vocal leader. Wade's only blemish was his three turnovers, but the rest of his team only committed five. By comparison, the Spurs had 14 mishaps.

While Wade seized the spotlight on national television, Michael Beasley did not disappoint. The rookie out of Kansas State had 20 points, converted on all 10 of his free-throw attempts, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots. Beasley looked very mature and calm in his first nationally-televised game. The one particular moment that stood out to me was in the third quarter. After Mario Chalmers blocked a layup shot by forward Ime Udoka, Beasley got the ball in transition. He had Wade by his side. Instead of trying an alley-oop, Beasley just gave Wade a soft bounce pass for a dunk. You will not see many 19-year-old's doing that, but Spoelstra has sent the right message to this kid.
The other rookie in the starting lineup, Chalmers, also played well. Although he did not look for his shot, he did a good job as a facilitator. The rookie out of Kansas had seven assists on the night. But the most pleasant surprise for Chalmers was his active defense. Parker never got anything easily in the first quarter, and that was due in large part to Chalmers.

An average fan would not have been able to notice Miami's past woes at the point guard position. Chris Quinn came off the bench to score 15 points in just 17 minutes. Quinn made the San Antonio defense pay for leaving him open. Quinn connected on five three-pointers, which was especially helpful with the absence of James Jones. It will be interesting to see what Spoelstra will do with Marcus Banks, who missed last night's game with a hip injury. If Quinn and Chalmers continue to be a solid one-two punch, Spoelstra may be faced with a bit of a dilemma.

Udonis Haslem (again) over-preformed at the five. The 6'8" center registered a double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Haslem made the occasional mistake of fronting Tim Duncan, but Haslem had a very strong night overall. It seems as if Marion, though active, is looking out-of-place in this offense.

In addition to Quinn, another bench hero was Daequan Cook. Following a late San Antonio run that got the lead down to 89-80 with over two minutes to go, Wade drove into the lane and kicked it out to Cook for the nail in the coffin. Cook finished with 10 points on four-of-eight shooting in 28 minutes.

The Heat will have no time to savor this win, with another road game against Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets at 8 p.m. on NBATV.

A New Era

2008-11-06T17:31:00.004-05:00

40 years after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, a majority of the citizens of the United States of America elected a Black man to be the leader of its nation.

While there is still surely bigotry and racism in this country, we start everything on a whole different baseline. As much as people have said we have progressed to achieve a more perfect union, it could never truly be achieved until our country, predominantly white, could entrust a Black man to handle the highest office in the land.

President-elect Barack Obama did not get a majority of the White vote. No Democrat does. But he was able to ensure the support of 48% of Whites, higher than any Democrat has received since Jimmy Carter. This was truly a historic moment not just for Blacks, who have had their ancestors bleed and die for a greater cause, but a moment for all Americans to rejoice in a time of progress, no matter your political ideology.

I talked to a very good friend of mine the day after the election. He had always been cautious to declare Obama as the likely winner in this election, partly because there is still a significant amount of racists in this country. He told me that this represented a new period, a new era of this country. For a long time, he was told that people like him could only make it in life if there were dribbling a ball or rapping a lyric. Now, he can tell his daughters that they can become a president of the United States of America. And he assured to me that this not is progress for Blacks, it is progress for all Americans. When George W. Bush became president, people said, "His father was also president and his grandfather was a senator." With Obama, he literally came out of nowhere and came from nothing.

The 44th president will have the largest inbox of any president since Franklin Roosevelt's inaguration in 1933 at the most depressing time of the Great Depression. There are a multitude of duties on his plate. He has already started assembling his new administration, with Rahm Emmanual accepting Obama's offer as the new Chief of Staff. There will be no honeymoon for Obama, because he will have to get to work.

John McCain gave a very gracious concession speech late Tuesday night. He said he would help Obama win, and that Americans should come together. Yet I have seen several Republicans talk about the end of America and how the U.S. will soon turn into a socialist country. Every time I hear one of my conservative friends tell me this, I merely ask them to look at McCain's concession speech. I can not begin to fathom why anyone would not at least hope that Obama has a good presidency. We are in some very, very difficult perilous economic times. The Democrats did not reach a filibuster-proof majority, so the Republicans will still be able to filibuster.

This is a new era in America. The barrier has been broken, the glass cieling has been shattered. Let the reconstruction begin.

Redemption Day

2008-11-04T18:11:00.003-05:00

In less than one hour, the first statewide polls will close, and the counting will begin to determine the 44 President of the United States of America and the 111 Congress.

There is no one questioning the evident result of the Senatorial and Congressional races: the Democrats will increase its majority in both houses of Congress. The question will be if the Democrats can reach the threshold of 60 Senators in the Democratic caucus. There are currently 49 Democrats in the Congress, but Joe Liberman and Bernie Sanders caucus with the Democrats. Senate races in Alaska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia are slightly tilting blue. The Senate races in North Carolina and Minnesota are pure tossups -- both have gotten particularly nasty in recent weeks. The Democrats also have a chance to win seats in Kentucky, Georgia and Mississippi, as they would have 61 Senate seats in the best-case scenario. That would give Harry Reid the liberty to kick out McCain-backer Lieberman out of the Democratic caucus and still retain 60 seats in the Senate. It will take some luck for the Democrats to get to 60, but they will retain a big majority no matter what.

Everyone talks about a a 60-seat Senate for the Democrats "filibuster proof". While it is true 60 votes in the Senate is filibuster-proof, there are some socially conservative Democrats and some economically conservative Democrats. Therefore, Reid will need to try to bring some Republicans over on issues such as Iraq, the economy and healthcare in order to achieve a cloture vote to end a filibuster.

Now let's move on to the big race. Everybody will be watching this one, even people outside of the United States. This is the first time to sitting Senators are facing each other. This is the first time a Black man is the nominee of a major party. This is the first time both candidates were born outside of the continental United States -- John McCain in Panama Canal Zone and Barack Obama in Hawaii. Additionally, this is the second time a woman is running as the running mate of the presidential candidate. This is also the first time a Roman Catholic is running for vice-president.

There are two possibilities for America. One, John McCain wins. The next four years will look like the last eight, and it will be a disaster. Or two, Barack Obama will be elected president of the United States of America. That would be truly amazing. As I said, the entire world will have its eyes upon us today. Our standing in the world has gone down the drain these past eight years. This is America's chance to prove that George W. Bush was not the rule, he was the exception. This is America's chance to prove that we have progressed as a nation, that 40 years after Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death, these United States of America would elect a man of African heritage to be president of its nation. This is not only Election Day, it is Redemption Day.

It would be a big change. A seismic change. But we have had this before. In 1779, George Washington left office after eight years, and passing the baton to John Adams. This marked the first time in recorded human history in which a non-relative was transferred the authority of the highest office of a country without death, rebellion or violence being the cause. That was a big change. I hope we are in store for another one, Nov. 4, 2008, Redemption Day.

Heat Burn Out Kings

2008-10-31T22:10:00.003-04:00

Two days after allowing the New York Knicks to score 120 points, Erik Spoelstra apparently delivered the right message to his players. Miami's defense was scrappy and active, as they held Sacramento to just 38.2% shooting from the field in a 103-77 decision.

The Heat led this one from the start. Dwyane Wade was absolutely sensational. His first basket of the game was an and-one driving layup. He dished a nice pass to Udonis Haslem for a good and-one layup for the center. Wade put the exclamation point on this all with three dunks in the second quarter. By the time intermission began, Miami had already built up a big lead of 18 points.

Wade finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds, four rebounds, four steals, four blocked shots and just one personal foul after fouling out the previous game. However, the turnovers continue to be a concern for Wade, this time with five mishaps.

All eyes would be on Michael Beasley tonight, and he did not disappoint. The second overall pick registered 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and also grabbed nine rebounds. However, Beasley was pulled by Spoelstra twice in the first half after missing defensive assingments. But 17 and nine is a good night for anyone.

Shawn Marion had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Marion also made sure no entry passes were made to seven-footer Spencer Hawes with ease, adding four steals and three blocked shots. Spoelstra utilized a running game, which (obviously) ended up working very well for Marion.

Overall, it was a great team effort for Miami. Udonis Haslem was able to step up to the challenge of going against Hawes and earned all 14 of his points. Mario Chalmers was not the same Chalmers we saw against New York, but at least provided some energy for Miami. Daequan Cook, who played about as much as Miami's starters, has started the season strong. He shot three-of-six from beyond the arc and was especially useful when Sacramento went to a zone defense. Mark Blount provided some offense but could not grab more than one rebound in 15 minutes of action.

I would have liked to see more of Joel Anthony, but I have been very plesantly surprised by Udonis Haslem at center. He has more than held his own against people who are a good four inches taller than him. We are still going to have to see more of him at the pivot to make a final verdict on whether he is up for the job. But so far he has been nothing short of impressive.

The Heat definitely wanted to win this game more and showed heart and resilience in the win. Miami has not been able to call itself a .500 team in a while, but can now. They should be able to build on this win and try to emulate this formula against Charlotte Saturday night. But I think it's important to remember the Heat beat a rebuilding Sacramento team without Brad Miller. And the Heat won it exactly how they were supposed to win it.

Heat Hope to Regain Footing

2008-10-31T18:57:00.003-04:00

In its first game of the 2008-09 season, the Miami Heat lost to the New York Knicks. Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers and Daequan Cook all played well. In fact, Miami's offense was spot-on, scoring 115 points in 48 minutes is no easy task. The problem was the defense. The one-two punch of Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford was simply too much for the Heat.

The Heat face off again today against the Sacramento Kings in its' home opener. All eyes will be on Michael Beasley, who struggled in the loss to New York. Beasley attempted five three-pointers -- connecting on only one, and shot an additional three attempts from beyond the paint. Beasley may not be bulkier than David Lee, but can at least go hard to rim and get fouled. The second overall pick in 2008 did not even attempt a free throw.

Many eyes will also be on Mario Chalmers. Because of his outstanding performance Wednesday night, we should expect Spoelstra to start Chalmers again. But questions still surround this second-round draft pick. Sure, anyone can have a good game, but can be consistent to the point where he can be a starter for Miami? Every dog has his day. Now, two consecutive games of good play does not immediately constitute starting status, but it would be a step in the right direction.

The Kings will probably start sophomore Spencer Hawes tonight against the Miami Heat. Hawes was able to register 12 points and 14 rebounds in last Wednesday's loss to the Timberwolves. Hawes also stands at 7-feet tall, which could pose a problem with Udonis Haslem starting at center.

Mark Blount was the first center off the bench Wednesday night, and I expect that we'll see more of him tonight. But I would also like to see Joel Anthony get some playing time. He's got long arms and a nice vertical leap, which would help him defending a tall presence like Hawes.

It should be a nice game, and I am hoping it will put the Heat at .500, a feat the 2007-08 Heat team never even came close to. But a fan can merely hope.

Sink or Swim -- Heat Start Season Tonight!

2008-10-29T18:36:00.002-04:00

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.

Heat Show Heart in Win

2008-10-25T13:13:00.003-04:00

After its first win of the preseason since 2006, the Miami Heat were defeated in a humbling 100-80 loss to the New Orleans Hornets. The next day, the Heat faced the San Antonio Spurs without Dwyane Wade. And won.

Reminding Heat fans of his clutch three in the final moments of the National Championship Game against the Memphis Tigers, rookie Mario Chalmers hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win the game for Miami in a 96-93 decision. But it was more than his last-second shot that made this performance memorable for Chalmers. He registered his first double-double of this NBA career, with 11 points on four-of-five shooting including a perfect three-for-three from downtown coupled with 10 assists. He did not particularly shut down Tony Parker, but it was improvement over Chris Paul's clinic the night before. And Chalmers did collect four steals, nothing to be ashamed of.

Sophomore guard Daequan Cook started in place of Wade and had his best preseason effort yet. He had 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and hit four-of-six from downtown. I expect him to get minutes off the bench backing up Wade, but he also showed some chemistry with Chalmers. He and Chalmers combined for all seven of Miami's three-point field goals. When Erik Spoelstra does not have James Jones to go to, it helps having someone like Cook.

Spoelstra had previously mentioned that Wade would not overexert himself during exhibition play. On the second night of a back-to-back, this should not seem like a concern for Heat fans. But Spoelstra did mention that Wade felt "weak" in his right knee. Hm.

In a game that stayed tight most of the way, rookie Michael Beasley played well. The 6'9" forward nearly registered a double-double with 19 points on 9-of-17 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. The left-handed Beasley showed a level of craftiness with both hands and showcased chemistry with All-Star forward Shawn Marion. Some people are saying the Rookie of the Year contest is a three-man race between Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, and Beasley. Beasley certainly has the skill-set to win it, and he also has the luxury of not being the go-to guy in Miami.

Udonis Haslem started again at the pivot. He made his first six shots and finished 8-for-10 from the field. Haslem also grabbed seven boards. Fabricio Oberto shot well from the field as well, but he had some open looks. Haslem has had experience playing against Tim Duncan in the past, and Haslem held his own this time around.

Dorell Wright and Shaun Livingston both played last night, an encouraging sign for the two, who are coming off of knee surgeries. Livingston played well and shot four-of-eight from the field while Wright hardly made his presence felt. But the three-point concerns with both may lead to more time on the bench with Chris Quinn and Marcus Banks waiting in the wings at the point guard spot and Yakhouba Diawara waiting in the wings for the three.

The Miami Heat finished the preseason 2-5, but you could say they won two of their last three games. The Heat will have to cut two players before Monday, and my guess would be that the two odd men out are Jason Richards and David Padgett.

The Heat Won. So?

2008-10-23T17:05:00.004-04:00

Erik Spoelstra (finally) inserted Michael Beasley into the starting lineup and the Heat (finally) got its first win of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies. Beasley got into early foul trouble in the first half, but was a key contributor in the fourth quarter, scoring nine points in the final stanza of play to put the Grizzlies away.

The idea of a three-forward lineup was the right move by Spoelstra. Marc Gasol is not his brother and Darko Milicic isn't an imposing presence to have a big advantage over Haslem. Gasol might have grabbed 10 rebounds, but Haslem got 13. Milicic may have shot five-for-nine from the field for 12 points, but Haslem shot 6-of-11 for 14. This was a match-up in which going small was getting better.

Dwyane Wade played like himself again. In 35 minutes (I thought Spoelstra was trying to keep Wade's minutes low), Wade scored 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting, dished out six assists and blocked two shots. Despite logging heavy minutes, Wade seems to continue to be the energetic player he was in the Olympics. In the fourth quarter, Spoelstra even went as small as having Wade as the small forward next to Mario Chalmers and Marcus Banks. Again, going small can be advantageous in certain situations. Pat Riley used a three-guard lineup of Jason Williams, Gary Payton, and Dwyane Wade during his championship run in 2006 and it did work well.

Miami played very well on Tuesday. The Heat shot nearly 53% from the field and five players scored double-figure points. Chalmers had his best preseason game of the season by far. He had seven points, six rebounds and nine assists in 29 minutes. The foul trouble is a concern, but the positives greatly outnumbered the negatives in this performance. Banks scored 11 points and had six assists. Even Shawn Marion didn't look lost in Miami's offense.

But this win should be taken with a grain of salt. One game does not tell you much. Despite the efficient play of Chalmers, it does not suggest he is the point guard of the future. Despite the pass-first play of Banks, it does not mean he is ready to start for the Heat. And despite Haslem fitting in nicely in the middle, it does not mean he will do well in future contests.

I once argued that Chris Quinn should start for the Heat. After two games of starting, Quinn has offered less than inspiring basketball. His above-average shooting is a constant, but he does not do anything great. Banks made three of his four attempts from beyond the arc and Chalmers had nine assists in under 30 minutes, looking like a true point guard. As I said before, no one should take too much out of this one game, but I would experiment a little bit with Chalmers starting in the final three games of exhibition play. With Shaun Livingston progressing with his knee rehab, he can also be an option for Spoelstra.

In one of the rare poor performances from Tuesday night, backup swingman Yakhouba Diawara played 16 minutes off the bench and shot zero-for-four from the field. Meanwhile, Daequan Cook did not even get off the bench. The Heat connected on six triples against Memphis, and Banks had half of those. But now that James Jones will be out for the next three months, the three-point shooting is even more important for Spoelstra. I would have given Cook minutes off of the bench. Spoelstra is going to need his shooting in the future and he cannot afford to have his lethal shooter off the bench to have a cold night in a close game. No one can develop from the bench. Just ask Dorell Wright.

Another player who did not get off the bench was Joel Anthony. I know that Mark Blount scored a respectable eight points on the night, but if Spoelstra really wants Anthony to develop offensively, he would give him minutes. As I said, no one can develop from the bench. And considering we are still in the preseason, it gives Spoelstra more liberty to experiment with more lineups. One of the problems last season was the lack of definitive lineups to be used in certain situations. Erik Spoelstra should know which lineup to go when they need offense, defense, a half-court style or a full-court style. And he should know that better than most.

No Magic Here

2008-10-19T17:48:00.006-04:00

After three close losses, the Orlando Magic showed the true force of the more dominant team in Florida as they opened a 20-2 run in the second quarter to build a 15-point lead at halftime. Although the Heat staged a valiant comeback, it was to no avail in a 100-92 decision.

Is this season going to look awfully familiar to last season? I know this is a bit premature, but the last time the Heat emerged victorious in ONE preseason game was in 2006. Against Orlando, the Miami Heat was essentially Dwyane Wade. Wade registered 29 points, eight assists, six steals and seven rebounds. But only two other players even reached double digits in points. Orlando, meanwhile, had five such players do so, led by Dwight Howard's 26 points and 16 rebounds.

I was surprised by how little time Joel Anthony received last night. I don't mind starting someone 6'11" at center, but Mark Blount? He had one rebound the entire game. Anthony's long arms would help him grab rebounds and defend the post. He may be a raw, a second-year project, but he is probably the best defensive center the Heat have.

Udonis Haslem looked like his familiar, efficient self last night. Haslem finished with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting and grabbed 11 boards. Haslem played heavy minutes at center, which will be a challenge for him against dominant centers such as Howard.

I love Haslem's work ethic and his mentality, but I feel that Erik Spoelstra made the wrong call by starting him over Michael Beasley. The Heat need someone with Beasley's offensive arsenal to start games beside Wade. Beasley played well last night, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting and two-for-two from beyond the arc. As a college player, it was thought that the NBA three-point line would be out of Beasley's range. But last night, his stroke looked fine from 26 feet out. This will be a skill that can cause serious matchup problems for opposing power forwards.

Chris Quinn and Marcus Banks struggled from the field, while Mario Chalmers was rather pedestrian. Hopefully Spoelstra is able to find a point guard who can at least provide a steady eight or 10 points a game and do a good job of directing the offense, similar to Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics. But I heard that the Heat are looking at other options, such as Jamaal Tinsley. While I wouldn't exactly endorse a move for Tinsley, I like the fact that Pat Riley is attempting to get a proven point guard.

Something must be said of Shawn Marion's role on the team. Right now, Marion doesn't look like he has much of one. He seemed out-of-place last night. Marion finished with eight points and nine rebounds last night. The rebounds are fine, but Spoelstra is going to need more than eight points if Wade, Beasley and Marion can really become a Big Three.

All of what has been going on in the preseason has just reinforced what was known months ago. The Heat still does not have a steady point guard or even an existant center. Marion seems to be the most likely option for a trade, but the Heat are going to get his stock up first. Nobody wants to trade for a guy who looks lost in offense and can't create his own shot. But there are a lot of GMs who would want to trade for a guy who is athletic, a great defender, an explosive scorer and never gets tired.

James Jones Out for 3 Months

2008-10-18T11:01:00.003-04:00

A spokesperson for the Miami Heat announced Thursday that forward James Jones will miss the first three months of the season after rupturing a tendon in his right wrist. Surgery for him is scheduled today, as the Heat will play the Orlando Magic at 7:30 p.m.

The signing of Jones was a very smart move by Heat President Pat Riley. Last season, Jones finished third in three-point percentage, behind only Jason Kapono and Steve Nash. The injury to Jones is a blow to the Heat, but Erik Spoelstra's team may be able to weather this storm.

For one, this injury will not affect Miami's starting lineup. They can still start Shawn Marion at the three. Moreover, Marion has showcased his ability to shoot three-pointers, even with his ugly shooting mechanics. In my last post, I advocated that Chris Quinn should start. This injury provides more support for that claim. Mario Chalmers and Marcus Banks can hit threes, but Quinn can do it and be a steady, pass-first point guard. As I said, Banks is more of a scorer and Chalmers has simply not proven enough thus far.

Another option for Miami is Daequan Cook. He's in a slump thus far, but one thing I like about the kid is that his confidence never waivers. If Spoelstra has him as just a shooting guard, he can't expect to play more than 10 minutes a night behind Dwyane Wade. But Spoelstra can experiment a bit with Cook and Wade in the backcourt together. I know that it would provide more on the shoulders of Wade, but it would also give Wade some spacing on the floor with Cook by his side.

When Pat Riley signed Yakhouba Diawara, many people, including myself, thought it was a little excessive for him to sign all of these small forwards unless he was considering trading one of them. However, Diawara may play more minutes than expected this time around. Spoelstra has repeatedly praised Diawara's three-point shooting and defense, two things he has emphasized this training camp. If Diawara can translate his play from the practice court to the real court, he may end up being Marion's backup.

There is also Dorell Wright. At yesterday's practice, both Spoelstra and Wright said that the 6'9" forward should play in a handful of exhibitions, but not in today's meeting with Orlando. Has Wright been practicing his three-point shooting this entire summer? Don't count on it, because he had knee surgery this past summer. But Wright's range goes up to about 20 feet away from the rim. Wright has had his moments defensively, but he also looks lost at times.

At the end of the day, it'll be an open fight between Diawara and Wright for the backup small forward spot. It was once considered to be a lock for Jones, but this injury can be advantageous for either of these two.

Holes Remain for Heat

2008-10-15T13:46:00.003-04:00

After Sunday's close loss to the New Jersey Nets, the Heat does not take the court again until Saturday's meeting with the Orlando Magic. The Heat returned to practice earlier today, but no questions have been answered since the start of training camp.

Let's start with the center, Miami's deepest hole. Jamaal Magloire's hand fracture is not looking nearly as bad as it was predicted. Although coach Erik Spoelstra did not release a new timetable, but indicated it would not be as long as the six-to-eight-week timetable which was initially predicted. Nonetheless, Spoelstra does not expect to have Magloire ready for Oct. 29's season opener against New York.

The remaining options at center are: Mark Blount, Joel Anthony, and David Padgett. Despite the fact that none of the fives have been appreciatively better than any of the others, Anthony has made an impact. Because of his freakishly long arms and impeccable timing, he is able to compensate for standing at 6'9". He is still very raw offensively, but I would not worry about offense. With Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem, and James Jones all high-octane offensive threats, Spoelstra can mask Anthony's offensive shortcomings.

Still, we could expect to see Udonis Haslem spend time in the middle. Spoelstra only used the three-forward lineup of Marion, Beasley, and Haslem for a little over two minutes, so any concerns are a bit premature. Those three forwards are Miami's best rebounders, period. But Haslem, while effective defensively, has never been anything close to an imposing defensive force. I expect Spoelstra to use that lineup in certain situations. For example, Mike D'Antoni may start David Lee at center on Oct. 29. A three-forward lineup would be perfectly viable then. But against Dwight Howard and the Magic, it would be asinine for Spoelstra to use Haslem as Miami's center.

Now, I have long advocated for a trade involving Shawn Marion to get a center in return. Although the Antoine Walker trade last season was a (regrettable) exception, many teams do not make trades in the preseason. You do not hear the drums of trade in November or December. It usually happens close to mid-season. If Marion plays well these first few months of the season, Pat Riley may be able to swing a deal for him. I don't want to hear any more of his "we are taxed out" crap. I'm sure those empty seats at the Triple A are more hurtful financially than going a few million dollars into the luxury tax.

Now, Miami's other hole is (you guessed it) the point guard position. Chris Quinn remains an option for the Heat on Saturday. Mario Chalmers has not exceeded the expectations of a typical second-round draftee thus far. He's got some way to go before he can even get himself off the bench when Spoelstra's rotation is set. And Marcus Banks has shown some ability to slash and hit the occasional three, but he hasn't been a floor general. For now at least, it makes the most sense to start Quinn in the backcourt with Wade, and then have Banks as a scorer off the bench.

I would not object to a trade to get a point guard, but I feel the five should be priority number one. I feel the Heat can survive with Quinn as the starting point guard if you have Dwyane Wade next to him. I see many problems defensively and even offensively as far as second-chance points go with the lack of leadership at the center. But holes remain for the Heat. Unless one player for their respective positions shows true effectiveness, Pat Riley needs to call up another GM if he wants to fill up his seats.

Deja Vu? Heat Lose Again in OT

2008-10-09T19:13:00.003-04:00

When the Heat were in Miami, they lost to Detroit in a 95-91 overtime decision. When the Heat were in Paris, they lost to New Jersey in a 100-98 overtime decision.

The stars for Miami were Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley. Wade registered 21 points on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting from the field, seven-of-eight from the free-throw line, and two-for-two from downtown. Moreover, Wade grabbed five rebounds and collected three steals. In 28 minutes off the bench, Beasley shot 8-of-18 from the field and snatched seven rebounds. Not surprisingly, Erik Spoelstra's best offense came when either Wade or Beasley was creating.

In a way, that is the problem for Miami. If the preseason is any indicator, Miami's point guard problem isn't going to be fixed with what Spoelstra has. With Chris Quinn out with a sprained left ankle, Marcus Banks started. Banks had nine points on 4-of-10 shooting and dished out seven assists. That's not bad. But he turned the ball over six times. That is not something you want out of your point guard. In 26 minutes, Mario Chalmers was nothing like himself during the summer league. He had eight points on two-of-six shooting, dished out three assists, and turned the ball over three times. Shaun Livingston did not play.

I am not saying that Chalmers cannot be the future point guard for the Heat. But you can't expect him to just take over as a rookie. He is no LeBron James and he is no Dwyane Wade. Pat Riley is going to find himself at the very least, a stopgap at point guard for the Heat. Right now, the Heat only has backup point guards. These first two preseason games have only reinforced the need for another point guard.

Miami's other hole is at the five. Against Detroit, Mark Blount had a solid game. Against New Jersey, you could not notice Blount was on the floor. And Jamaal Magloire and David Padgett do not offer much reassurance as is, but they couldn't even get the attention of the statistician today. Joel Anthony had a solid game with five points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in just 13 minutes of action. But I would put him on the floor more because he gives Miami that defense and rebounding.

Before going into training camp, everyone knew that Miami had problems at the one and the five. Two games into the preseason, the same problems still exist. Daequan Cook had his moments, but the Heat still need to make a move. Shawn Marion is still a guy who cannot create his own shot, and it showed earlier today. As a guy who relies so much on his athleticism, the fact that he is on the wrong side of 30 does not help. Ben Wallace was a guy who relied a lot on his athleticism to block shots and get garbage points. But after he signed that huge deal with Chicago, they tried to trade him because they knew he was on the decline.

The problems at the point guard and center have an adverse effect on the Miami Heat. When the point guard position is vacant, it leaves too many responsibilities on the shoulders of Wade. I am sure Beasley will help, but there still will be a lot riding on Wade if the is not a guy setting up people to score. At the center, it leaves Miami vulnerable defensively in the paint. On the other end of the court, the lack of a center makes there be less high-percentage shots and second-chance opportunities. I would be putting Joel Anthony in because it looks like he can be a defensive-minded guy who can get some garbage points.

In addition to Quinn and Livingston, Udonis Haslem, James Jones, Dorell Wright, and Jason Richards all sat due to minor injuries.

Beasley Makes Strong Debut in Loss

2008-10-06T18:07:00.003-04:00

In a hard-fought exhibition opener, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Miami Heat in a 95-91 decision that went into overtime.

The Heat opened with a lineup of Chris Quinn, Dwyane Wade, Yakhouba Diawara, Shawn Marion, and Mark Blount. Coach Erik Spoelstra said he wouldn't read too much into this lineup.

Sophomore Rodney Stuckey was the one who put the nail in the coffin for Miami. Stuckey hit a 22-foot jumper that may have been off the backboard to inch Detroit within one with 8.8 seconds to go. After Daequan Cook connected on one of two free throws, Stuckey hit another jumper to force overtime. In the extra period, Detroit scored the first three field goals, essentially putting away the Heat.

Michael Beasley first checked into the game with 3:11 left to go in the first quarter to a loud standing ovation, despite the sparsity of the crowd. The rookie finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Beasley started the third quarter alongside fellow rookie Mario Chalmers, Wade, Marion, and Blount. Beasley thrived with Wade and Marion by his side. Early in the third quarter, Wade assisted Beasley on back-to-back field goals. Beasley scored 13 points in the third quarter alone.
Blount was another standout from the game. In 22 minutes, Blount scored 12 points on four-of-eight shooting from the field and four-of-five shooting from the free-throw line. Additionally, Blount grabbed five rebounds, but his four fouls may be a cause for concern.

Undrafted center David Padgett, who did not distinguish himself among the rest in the summer league, played surprisingly well. The rookie out of Louisville had 11 points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes. Meanwhile, centers Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire looked rather pedestrian. Despite the solid play of both Blount and Padgett, there is no definitive answer at the five.

The other position in which the Heat have no definitive answer is at the one. Last night, no questions were answered. Quinn shot an abysmal one-of-seven from the field. Chalmers had his moments, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first half. However, Chalmers also committed four turnovers in 24 minutes. And you could have forgotten Marcus Banks was on the Heat after his performance last night.

Wade shot an uneven three-of-nine from the field, but does not appear to have lost any steps since his impressive Olympic performance. The franchise player finished with 11 points, seven assists, and three steals. Marion had six points and seven rebounds, and looked comfortable in the up-tempo style Spoelstra utilized.

Diawara had nine points on a decent three-of-seven shooting from the field, but didn't do anything to make Spoelstra put him little bit higher on the depth chart. The trio of Wade, Marion, and Beasley looks promising. With Marion using up the majority of the minutes at the three, James Jones is the incumbent back-up. Jones did not play due to a wrist injury. It will be difficult for Diawara to find minutes at the small forward position.

I guess there could be minutes available for Diawara backing up Wade. But Daequan Cook showed some promise. Although he shot a sub-par four-of-15 from the field, he never put his head down and kept his confidence high. But who knows? Diawara certainly has the size over Cook, and he hit a three last night. If he can just come close to Cook's three-point accuracy, he may grab the second-string shooting guard spot.

In addition to Jones, Udonis Haslem, Shaun Livingston, Jason Richards, and Dorell Wright did not dress for Miami. The Heat left earlier today for France, as part of a NBA Europe Live tour.

Heat Brings in Shaun Livingston

2008-10-03T17:17:00.005-04:00

In an apparent move to boost its point guard position, the Miami Heat reportedly signed former lottery pick Shaun Livingston.

The signing, which was described as being "on the verge" earlier today, is essentially a two-year deal which amounts to nothing more than the $1.9 million lower-level salary cap exception. Livingston will join a crowd in the point guard position with journeyman Marcus Banks, second-round pick Mario Chalmers, and undrafted guard Chris Quinn. All four will be fighting for one starting position.

Livingston, standing at 6'7", can provide mismatches for opponents on both sides of the court. He has great vision of the court and has great passing skills. First-year coach Erik Spoelstra compared Livingston's passing ability and size to that of a young Penny Hardaway. That's not a bad comparison for the 23-year-old, but Livingston was never Hardaway when he first came into the League.

In his rookie season, Livingston only played in 30 games and started in half of them. He averaged seven points and five assists per game. The best season of his career was in 2006-07, which was the one that ended with a sour injury. Livingston averaged nine points while shooting 46.3% from the field. Again, he averaged roughly five assists and one steal.

In some ways, this is Pat Riley rolling the dice. But in some ways, it's not. This was a low-risk, high-reward type of signing. He has been injury-prone and weak before his injury, but he's also got some skills. A criticism of Banks is that he's a not a true floor general. A criticism of Chris Quinn is that he's not very athletic. Livingston can be your answer. I realize that Chalmers has potential, but he's got to prove he can play well against the elite of the NBA. Livingston has more experience in that regard, and I'd put him in front of Chalmers for now.

I have no idea where Livingston will fit among Banks, Chalmers and Quinn. Maybe Spoelstra thinks he still needs some more work before he can hit the court. But this was not a one-year deal, it was a two-year deal. Therefore, it shows a little bit of a commitment to Livingston. I have heard reports that Riles is trying to trade Dorell Wright and/or Daequan Cook just so he can get below the luxury tax. I don't believe it.

First of all, the luxury tax shouldn't be that big of a deal when Livingston is making less than the lower level exception. Now, I can somewhat understand why Riley might want to trade Wright. He tried to groom him as a point guard over the course of a few summer leagues, and he hasn't panned out. Now you have a tall point guard in Livingston. But I can't fathom why Riley would want to trade Cook. He's one of the few lethal three-point threats Riley has. He's a valuable back-up to Dwyane Wade. Right now, I wouldn't be ready to put all of my eggs in the Yakhouba Diawara basket.

Banks has three years left on his contract, each paying him more than $4 million. He's a guy who I could see get traded. Banks hasn't been able to seperate himself from Quinn and Chalmers, who are more inexperienced than him. As mentioned earlier, Banks is not the best ballhandler in the world. He also is turnover-prone. He's a good spot-up shooter, but he wouldn't do a lot to take pressure off of Wade. Livingston would. The only question now is who will take Banks.

A backcourt of Livingston and Wade can provide numerous mismatches. But the Heat still lack a solid big man. Dwight Howard is the only dominant center of the East, but Beasley is going to have his hands full at times. Rasheed Wallace, Chris Bosh, and Kevin Garnett can all provide problems for Beasley. It will be important to have a defensive-minded center who can take off some pressure off of Beasley.

What Really Matters

2008-10-01T18:50:00.003-04:00

Late Monday night, General Manager Randy Pfund announced that he had resigned from his position to pursue other business opportunities, a move that all but solidified Pat Riley's position as czar of the Heat.

There have been several reports that Pfund was forced out of the job. Pat Riley has vehemently denied that he was squeezed out. Was he? I don't know. I would not even guess. The facts in this case have not been revealed. Maybe Pfund was upset that Riley had too much of a voice in front office decisions. Maybe it was something different. But whichever side of the fence you're on, it doesn't really matter.

Let's be straight. Pat Riley's absolute control over the organization has been well-documented over the years. I know that Pfund pressed for Riley to pick Dwyane Wade in the 2003 NBA Draft, but notice it was not Riley pressing Pfund to draft Wade. It went through Riley. Pfund knew that.

What really matters is who the Heat put on the court. The quality of that team is what will lead to victories. I realize that quality upstairs can lead to quality on the court, but it's always been about Riley in the past. Now, it's only clearer.

Both coach Erik Spoelstra and Wade praised Joel Anthony's effort in training camp. Wade acknowledged that he enjoys having a shot-blocker behind him, which gives him more liberty to gamble on the defensive end. I find it perfectly conceivable that Anthony could get a lot of minutes. It's going to be an open field, with Mark Blount and Jamaal Magloire with Anthony on the center depth chart.

The problem is that Anthony is just 6'9". Now, just because he's 6'9" and can block shots does not make him Ben Wallace. Blount and Magloire both have the height advantage, but Blount has a tough time defensively and should grab many more rebounds. Magloire has the ability to block some shots, especially with his long wingspan. But if you're 6'11" and you can't even break the Mavericks rotation or the Nets rotation, something must be missing. Therefore, Anthony can be a center if he shows that he has the ability to defend people three or four inches taller than him.

Staying with the center position, Udonis Haslem has found himself playing the five in training camp. A three-forward lineup consisting of small forward Shawn Marion and power forwards Michael Beasley and Haslem is a viable option. In the East, the only dominant center is Dwight Howard. A three-forward lineup would certainly create a more up-tempo style of play. Moreover, Marion, Beasley and Haslem are all good rebounders, dispelling a conception that going small leads to less rebounds.

Don't forget that Riley can certainly trade one of his forwards away. The clear frontrunner is Shawn Marion. His contract is going to expire after this season and he's going to leave for another team. Additionally, Marion was clear in his opposition to his role as a third wheel behind Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire in Phoenix. Now, Marion finds himself behind Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley with a worse supporting cast. Marion has been saying all of the right things in interviews, but I still feel trading Marion for a pressing need would behoove the Heat.

In a tidbit, Wade has said that he is working on his outside shot in training camp. Does that mean we'll see the one thing Wade has been missing from his offensive arsenal showcased this season? Wade started to shoot (and make) some long-distance shots in the 2006 playoffs and Finals, but we didn't see him attempt many triples the next season. Still, there is still a possibility that Spoelstra wants to see Wade add to his offensive repertoire.

Why Defense Matters

2008-09-29T17:07:00.004-04:00

Newly-anointed coach Erik Spoelstra has made clear his focus will be on defense for the Heat. More than three hours after Miami's first practice, no offense whatsoever had been covered. With several new faces on his team, Spoelstra needs to get his team to develop chemistry defensively.

I could not agree more with what Spoelstra is doing. When you hear compliments about an NBA player, you never hear, "He loves to win." You always hear, "He hates to lose." Why? Because defense wins games. I'm not going to say I don't like watching the Golden State Warriors or the Phoenix Suns. But when an offensively-oriented team is having an off night, where do those teams go?

Miami's best perimeter defender is undoubtedly Shawn Marion. He's your lock-down defender. The thing that has people scratching their heads is Miami's interior defense. Dwyane Wade loves to gamble for steals -- you saw him do it in the Olympics. Fortunately, Wade had Dwight Howard behind him when he gambled. Now, who does he have? Jamaal Magloire has never been a shot-blocker, but he could impose some force on opponents. Udonis Haslem has never been a shot-blocker and is undersized for the four.

Therefore, Miami is going to need some great team defense. A defense that doesn't gamble for steals, that stays in front on his man, that seldom lets a shot go uncontested. Everyone is going to have to commit to this team defense. If Michael Beasley gets lazy, a player can get open and the whole system can fall apart. But one advantage to having an early training camp is that this team can develop a little bit more.

Sideline Reports

Second overall pick Michael Beasley strained his groin earlier today and watched most of Miami's practice session from the sidelines.It is unclear how much time he will miss.
Power forward Udonis Haslem's foot injury is virtually completely healed. He stayed after the practice to work out.
After a hand injury, training camp invitee Matt Walsh's X-rays came back negative. He came back to the court today.

A Team in Search...

2008-09-26T19:08:00.004-04:00

The Miami Heat's training camp opened with Media Day, in which several staff with the Heat spoke to reporters about the upcoming season.

Pat Riley was not confident that forward Dorell Wright will be able to participate in any of training camp's activities. Wright is recovering from a meniscal tear in his left knee which sidelined him for the final 24 games of the season. Wright had surgery to repair the damage.

When it was first announced that Wright would be back with the Heat, I didn't expect Shawn Marion to stay with Miami for long. Even at this point, I can't fathom why Pat Riley would sign Dorell Wright and keep all of his forwards. The Wright ship has sailed. The training camp will allow James Jones and Yakhouba Diawara to gel with this new-look team. Unless Marion is traded, then Riles just wasted money by re-signing Wright.

Riley also expressed concern with Udonis Haslem, who has been somewhat limited with a toe injury. I know that Haslem plays through pain frequently, but Riles may not want to raise the possibility of this injury augmenting into a more serious one. Haslem said all the right things in interviews, saying he embraces the challenge of his the starting spot he has retained for the past four season. However, this injury may give Michael Beasley a chance to unseat Haslem.

Riley said that he does not plan to sign another player, due to Miami's proximity to the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax. Hm. So does that mean Alonzo Mourning won't be re-signed when he is healthy? I think people are smart enough on this one. Riles also said that he will keep undrafted guard Jason Richards, who tore his ACL and will miss the entire season. Something tells me he'll be the one to go if Mourning comes back.

I said at the beginning of this off-season that it was the most important of the team's franchise. Just 27 months removed from being atop the basketball world, the Heat have fallen to futility. They still have Dwyane Wade and have drafted the versatile forward Michael Beasley. But even after a "C" off-season, Coach Erik Spoelstra does not know who he will even start. I felt that trading Marion would have only been common sense. His contract ends after this year, he's going to walk anyway, so why not receive from value from him while you can? He's also one of the few players who has getting interest from multiple teams. There's still time to trade. But it appears difficult to have a team with Marion, Beasley, Haslem, Wright, and Jones and keep them all satisfied. Besides, the Heat have more pressing needs (at the five).

If I had to guess, I'd say the starting lineup that will be announced at Madison Square Garden in a little over a month will be: Marcus Banks, Wade, Marion, Beasley, and Jamaal Magloire.

Miami Heat Season Preview

2008-09-21T11:03:00.003-04:00

Over the past week since I've posted on my blog, Michael Beasley has been fined for vague reasons, Dwyane Wade has publicly said he wouldn't mind playing for Mike D'Antoni, and Wade has added that he wouldn't have qualms if Stephon Marbury came to play for him in the backcourt. Why haven't I spoken on these? I'll take it point by point. The Beasley situation is still unclear, we can speculate all we want. I'm disappointed that Wade would say that he likes D'Antoni because he preaches "all offense." If he wants to add a ring to his collection, he has to know that you have to play defense. Look at all of the teams that have won it all up to this point. And I don't see Miami signing Marbury regardless of Wade says about him.

The Miami Heat's training camp will begin this Saturday in England, earlier than usual. It is, therefore, an appropriate time to preview Miami's upcoming season and how they have retooled their team over the summer.

Guards: We will see Dwyane Wade starting at the two guard, but questions remain about his partner in the backcourt. Erik Spoelstra currently has Marcus Banks, Mario Chalmers, and Chris Quinn as options. It'll be a fairly open field. Whoever makes the most impact in training camp will probably be starting at Madison Square Garden on October 29. If I had to guess, I'd say Banks will come out on top. He's got the experience, he's played under Steve Nash, and he can be a good three-point shooter and fiesty defender. Chalmers certainly has the potential, but he's going to have to prove his worth against the upper echelon of the point guards if he wants to start.

Backing up Wade, I expect to see Daequan Cook providing some three-point shooting off the bench. With a season under his belt, I expect Cook to become more consistent. We could also see free-agent signee Yakhouba Diawara playing some minutes behind Wade.

Forwards: The logjam is at the three. Shawn Marion, in his contract year, is the clear-cut starter. He can score if you set him up, he's versatile, athletic, and can rebound with the best of them. The sharp-shooting James Jones will be backing him up. Jones was a good signing because it gives Miami someone who can shoot from beyond the arc and is a long defender. He can develop into Miami's sixth man.

Miami re-signed Dorell Wright this year to a qualifying offer. It doesn't make much sense to me why Riles would take Wright and have him as a third-string small forward. I mean, can't Diawara do that? And he's making far less money than Wright is. I still can easily see Marion being traded to another team, possibly in mid-season. Jones can step into the starting lineup with ease and Wright can be a scrappy player off the bench.

Michael Beasley, Miami's first-round selection, is expected to start at the four. For now, I'd like to keep him there. Beasley will be able to make more mismatches at the four than he'll be able to do at the three. Udonis Haslem will be backing him up, although he could see some time at the five. I also anticipate seeing Mark Blount and Joel Anthony as options at the four.

Center: This is Miami's biggest problem. Pat Riley made a late signing to bring Jamal Magloire on board. Magloire, a former All-Star, has fallen from grace so quickly he couldn't even make the rotation of the Nets or the Mavs, and they were in desperate need of big bodies. Magloire's playing time is up to him. If he comes to camp motivated, he can start.

As I mentioned earlier, we could see Spoelstra go small and use the 6'8" Haslem in the middle. Going small can work sometimes, but Haslem is undersized for a power forward. The 7'0" Mark Blount is expected to get some backup minutes, as is the raw Joel Anthony. The franchise's favorite, Alonzo Mourning, has expressed interest in playing for one last season and could come back by the new year.

Final Offseason Grade: C Riley had a good start to his offseason with the drafting of Beasley and Mario Chalmers. He followed that up by signing a dead-eye shooter in James Jones. But from then on, Riley signed players who I've never heard of (Diawara) or players who I haven't heard of in a while (Magloire). Moreover, Riley has not traded Shawn Marion for the most pressing the Heat have, a center. He can still make things better. But right now I see Miami as a team that could squeak into the playoffs, but not go much farther.

Behind the Scenes...

2008-09-13T19:47:00.004-04:00

Today, Yahoo! reported two stories that would have otherwise gone under Heat fans' noses unnoticed, including a reported trade involving Ben Gordon and Shawn Marion.

Yahoo! reported that, although talks died last week, a deal consisting of Marion and Marcus Banks in exchange for Gordon, Larry Hughes, and Joakim Noah was discussed. The talks will probably not rekindle, but there are a few intriguing aspects of this trade.

For one, the Heat are willing to put Marion's name in trade talks. To me, it's only common sense for Pat Riley to do so. Shawn Marion wasn't shy about voicing his dissatisfaction as a third wheel behind Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. Now Marion finds himself as a third wheel behind Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley. Moreover, Marion will also have a worse supporting cast than the one he had in Phoenix. He won't complain this year because he knows he'll be getting a $17.2 million check next summer. But he'll go to another team, and the Heat should trade him when they can at least get something from him.

Pat Riley was apparently also fine with Marcus Banks as a trade chip. Does this mean that he feels comfortable with rookie Mario Chalmers and the undrafted Chris Quinn at the point? Or does it simply mean he felt that Gordon could play the point guard next to Dwyane Wade? I certainly hope it's the latter. It's always safe to have three players at each position. Besides, Chalmers and Quinn are both inexperienced. Chalmers did have a strong summer league outing, but so did Earl Barron.

The other Yahoo! story regarding Miami was that sources have said that Pat Riley is still interested in Shaun Livingston. However, the article did mention that Portland is the favorite to sign him. I don't understand why the Heat are trying to sign a point guard when they already have Chris Quinn, Mario Chalmers, and Marcus Banks at the spot. I don't see that much of a need for Livingston now.

I'm glad that the Heat are letting teams know that Marion is available. However, I would like to receive a center in return for the Matrix. Noah is a power forward and Gordon is a shooting guard. Larry Hughes is a swingman. The trade with the Bulls would not have worked out for Miami, and I'm glad it didn't come through. The Heat should make a trade involving Shawn Marion for a center, as I have said all along. It would be nice if it was before training camp, so that the new addition would be able to have some experience with the Heat's system before he goes up to Madison Square Garden.

Riley Re-Ups Quinny

2008-09-11T17:16:00.004-04:00

In a move in which Pat Riley has been talking about for a while, Chris Quinn re-signed with the Miami Heat, giving the team comfort with three men at the point.

Chris Quinn will join journeyman Marcus Banks and rookie Mario Chalmers in sharing duties at the one. Unlike most NBA teams, it is conceivable that we could see any three of those guys starting on October 29 in Madison Square Garden. Quinn showed great maturation towards the end of the season. He can shoot the three and has good play-making abilities. But it's difficult for me to see Quinn in the rotation by mid-season. Banks and Chalmers both play with more defensive toughness than Quinn. Moreover, they also can shoot from beyond the arc just as good as Quinn can.

I would expect Heat coach Erik Spoelstra giving all three a fairly equal amount of playing time in the October and November. Towards mid-season, I would guess that Spoelstra would settle on Chalmers and Banks as his two main point guards, with the starting position up for grabs.

That does not mean that this was a bad move. At the very least, Quinn is an effective point guard who knows his place on the team. If an injury was to occur, I would feel confident in Quinn stepping right in and doing his job. Although I predicted that Chalmers and Banks would leave Quinn as the odd man out, it is still an open field. If Quinn shows more dedication than the two others at the depth chart, he could end up with a prominent role on the Heat.

This leaves Miami with Shawn Marion, Dwyane Wade, Mark Blount, Udonis Haslem, Michael Beasley, Marcus Banks, James Jones, Dorell Wright, Daequan Cook, Jamaal Magloire, Yakhouba Diawara, Mario Chalmers, and now Chris Quinn. That's 13 guys. Also, Jason Richards (who is out for the year after he tore his ACL) and David Padgett were given partially-guaranteed contracts. Kasib Powell, who had a strong summer league showing, was also given a qualifying offer. Alonzo Mourning said he is aiming for a comeback as early as December. It's evident Riley is going to have to do some trimming. Last year, he was unreasonable when he waived Penny Hardaway to sign Luke Jackson. Hardaway may have been old, but he at least contributed to the Heat last year. Luke Jackson was a sour disappointment. I hope lessons have been learned and he re-tools his roster wisely.

Rookie Mistake? Mario Gets Fine

2008-09-10T15:49:00.002-04:00

A spokesperson for the NBA has told the Miami Heat organization that Mario Chalmers will not be suspended for his role in an incident which led to dismissal from the NBA's Rookie Transition Program.

Chalmers was fined $20,000 for his antics. There have been questions raised in recent days on whether there really was marijuana and reports that David Stern was infuriated at this circumstance. I'm sure the rookie guard just wants to put this behind him. It would be wise for him to get involved in his community. Chalmers' agent is attempting to appeal the fine. If Chalmers is able to show that his asinine occurrence was nothing more than a minor slip, the NBA may be nice and rescind the fine.

According to the Miami Herald, the Chicago Bulls reportedly spoke to Miami about restricted free agent Ben Gordon. Due to the big contract Gordon is holding out for, Pat Riley may not have interest in Gordon. He's a two-guard, and the Heat already have Dwyane Wade and the developing Daequan Cook to fill in that role. It's important to note that that Jon Paxson spoke to Pat Riley, not vice versa. Therefore, it could be safe to assume that Chicago is fielding offers for Gordon. I guess they thought after his "I'm not playing another game in a Bulls uniform" comment, Chicago is moving on. The problem is, they aren't finding a lot of interest.

What to make of the call about Ben Gordon? Nothing. Pat Riley has said that he plans to experiment with this team in October. With the silence of rumors, it's looking like Riley may not be lying to the media. I've said repeatedly that the Heat are still a quality big man away from being contenders; and I stand by that comment. Hopefully there will be a move by the trade deadline. But I don't see any more shake-ups before the September 26th start of training camp.

The Fallout

2008-09-07T13:48:00.003-04:00

In the midst of his induction into the Hall of Fame, Pat Riley addressed two pertinent issues about the Heat: the release of Stephane Lasme and the expulsion of rookie guard Mario Chalmers from the NBA's Rookie Transitional Program.

"We didn't know where we were going to head, as far as trades or whatever," Riley said, regarding the Lasme situation. "But we're really close to the tax, our roster's almost full, and we wanted to give him a chance, a real chance he could hook up with another team. He's got a lot of ability, and I think with the right team, he's going to hang in there. We have some other guys who probably are going to make the team in his spot."

Riley certainly has a point. Lasme is just 6'8", and Miami already has Udonis Haslem, Shawn Marion, and Michael Beasley. Barring an injury to any of those three guys, I never envisioned Lasme receiving much time on the court. But Lasme did have a strong summer league showing and appears to be fundamentally sound. I did not get the same impression when I saw David Padgett and Jason Richards two months ago. Padgett wouldn't have gotten a place on the rotation with Jamaal Magloire, Mark Blount, and Joel Anthony at the five. It would be difficult for Richards to find minutes with Marcus Banks, Mario Chalmers, and the plausible re-signing of Chris Quinn. Pat Riley, despite being in the Hall-of-Fame, is not infallible. He makes mistakes. This was one of them.

On to fallout with the Mario Chalmers incident. He released a statement through the team in which he stated he used bad judgment. He said he was embarrased by what happened and broke the rules; but denied smoking marijuana. Chalmers was very coy about the situation. So was the only rule he broke the fact that he invited women? Therefore, was Darrell Arthur the one who brought weed? Or maybe he brought weed but didn't smoke it? Regardless of what really happened, David Stern could end up giving Chalmers a brief suspension at the commencement of the season.

Will the Heat make a trade that could trigger a ripple effect in the NBA? I have no idea. Although Jamaal Magloire gives Miami some size in the middle, he is not a quality starting center. I still have a hard time seeing Marion in a Heat uniform beyond this season. The Heat have already signed James Jones, Dorell Wright, and Yakhouba Diawara to contracts this off-season, all small forwards. Hopefully something will happen. Because a few phone calls to fellow GMs could improve Miami from a .500 team to a contender.

Plenty of Happenings with Heat

2008-09-03T19:51:00.003-04:00

In the past few hours, reports have surfaced that Mario Chalmers was sent home from the NBA's mandatory rookie symposium after weed and women were found to be in his room, the Heat have waived Stephane Lasme, and are close to re-signing Chris Quinn.

The one that most people will be talking about is that Chalmers may not turn out to be Super Mario. Now, I don't want to be hard on the kid, but what Chalmers did was nothing short of idiotic. I'm not saying that weed is that big of a deal. But taking it to a rookie orientation program is just absurd. David Stern has installed programs such as NBA Cares to help with the League's image problem in the wake of the 2004 Pacers-Pistons brawl. Shouldn't he have players who are good examples?

Mario Chalmers could face a short League suspension, and I would not disagree. Even when he comes back, I would make him earn every minute of playing time. Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra have to send a strong message that this childish behavior should have been out the door the day he graduated from college. Some may call it a 22-year-old acting like a 22-year-old. I call it "Welcome to the world, Mario."

Staying within the point guard situation, the Heat are close to re-signing Chris Quinn. It's a solid move by Miami. At the very least, Quinn is a young point guard who is a good shooter, has a great vision of the court, and knows his place on the team. He doesn't have the foot-speed to keep up with an uptempo Miami team, especially as the point guard. His foot-speed is an even bigger liability on defense. However, I expect to see some more of Chris Quinn this season. Quinn was starting to come around towards the end of the season and showed great maturation. On a team with more than enough offensive firepower, Quinn isn't bad in a halfcourt setting.

To possibly make room for Quinn, Pat Riley has waived goodbye to power forward Stephane Lasme. This is a move in which I don't agree with Riles. Lasme showed good rebounding, defense, and pick-and-pop capabilities during Miami's summer league. I'm not saying that Lasme will make a name for himself in the NBA. But I would have been much more comfortable with Riles waiving someone who didn't impress during the summer league and only adds to a logjam of sorts at their respective positions. The first two names that come to my mind? Jason Richards and David Padgett.

Pat Riley has implied that this is the team he feels confident with going into training camp. I disagree, quite strongly. With a void at the five, I still feel as though Riles has not filled that hole. Shawn Marion is going to go to another team next summer anyways. Why doesn't he make something out of it and at least bring a legitimiate post-presence? But don't lose faith yet. Pat Riley made a significant move in October of last season, although it proved not be the smartest trade Riles has made in his Hall-of-Fame career.

Livingston an Option for Miami?

2008-08-31T18:16:00.004-04:00

With the signing of veteran center Jamaal Magloire, Pat Riley indicated that he expects his team to come into training camp with the nucleus he has tweaked this off-season.

Riley, however, did put an emphasis on "training camp." He will at least give the core of Marcus Banks, Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and Jamaal Magloire a test-run in late September.

"Anything can happen," Riley said after unveiling an Olympic banner in honor of gold-medal winning Dwyane Wade at AmericanAirlines Arena. "But I think this nucleus probably will go into training camp."

The Heat were represented in Chicago to look at free-agent point guard Shaun Livingston. Livingston, a former lottery pick, is attempting an NBA comeback after a horrific knee injury he sustained two years ago. Riley also added that his team is in talks with free-agent point guard Chris Quinn, whom the Heat extended a $1 million qualifying offer for one year.

Livingston has his pros and cons. He is 6'7", which means he will create a multitude of mismatches on both ends of the court. At 22, he has great vision of the court, takes care of the ball, and has good ball-handling skills. However, he has never been a great threat from beyond the arc; and he was weak before his terrible injury.

With Marcus Banks and Mario Chalmers under contract; as well as Chris Quinn in negotiations, Miami is already three-deep at the one. Livingston is not much of an upgrade of who the Heat already have, if at all. The potential to make a trade for Chris Kaman, which has been nothing more than an invention of the blogosphere, has never materialized. But maybe the Heat could work out a sign-and-trade with the Clippers.

I do not see a need for Shawn Marion on the Clippers. Mike Dunleavy already has a nice starter in Al Thornton. Thornton averaged 13 points and five rebounds a night last season and his productivity is only going to go up. Ricky Davis was signed as his backup. They also have Tim Thomas, who can play some of the three, who averaged similiar numbers to Thornton last season.

I could see a reason why Mike Dunleavy could want Udonis Haslem. While Tim Thomas has been a fine pickup for them, he's on the wrong side of 30 and making more than $6 million. Brian Skinner is a backup at best. DeAndre Jordan, who was thought to go much higher, slipped down to the second round for a reason: all of that "potential" everyone was talking about never translated into the college game.

The problem is that Chris Kaman will make $9.5 million this season and his contract doesn't expire until the summer of 2012. He could give Miami a double-double consistently and is young, but his contract situation could make Riles a little leery.

A trade of Marcus Banks and Udonis Haslem for Chris Kaman and Shaun Livingston (if the Clippers sign-and-trade him to a deal worth roughly $1.3 million) works. The problem is if you are the Clippers. I'm sure for them, Banks and Livingston would essentially cancel each other out. Chris Kaman clearly has the advantage over Haslem. Therefore, Miami would have to add some extra assets to the pot to appeal to the Clippers. The Heat don't have a first-round draft pick. I guess they could add a few million dollars. The ball is in the Clippers' court to make it happen, not in the Heat's.

Magloire Reaches Agreement With Heat

2008-08-30T10:47:00.004-04:00

Pat Riley and the Miami Heat have agreed to terms with former All-Star center Jamaal Magloire who has now become a journeyman whose career keeps on sinking.

Some people have already pounced on this decision. "He's this year's version of Smush Parker," "He may be 30, but he plays as if he's 38," etc. Jamaal Magloire signed for the veteran's minimum. He won't have the same financial impact of Parker. A year-and-a-half after the Heat waived him, and Smush Parker is still on Miami's payroll. He is a very low-risk pickup. If he comes into camp in shape and motivated to play, then he'll prove the naysayers wrong. If not, he's just making pocket change by NBA standards and the Heat can simply move on without him.

This year, the bar will be set very low for Magloire. If he can defend the paint, rebound the ball, and be an occasional post-presence on offense, he would have exceeded expectations. We should all just give Magloire a chance to prove his worth before making opinions about the signing. He's nearly seven-feet tall with long arms. I know some people would have been happy with DeSagana Diop coming to Miami. Diop isn't anything more than a space-eater. Magloire can certainly offer that.

Magloire did beat out Lorenzen Wright and DJ Mbenga for the job. Mbenga supposedly wanted an offer larger than the veteran's mimum. No word is out on why Lorenzen Wright was passed up, but maybe Magloire came into the workout in good conditioning. Then again, maybe Wright was asking for more money than the Heat could offer without reaching the luxury tax. Magloire couldn't offer help to the Nets or the Mavs when they were looking for help in their frontline. But as I said, we should give Magloire a chance.

Is this the Heat's last move? Possibly. Will Magloire be at the top of the depth chart come training camp time? Maybe. I still view Magloire, when conditioned well, as a backup center. I've said before that Shawn Marion could be on the trading block. After all, he'll sign with another team next summer. The Heat re-signed Dorell Wright, and I doubt it was for a third-string position. If that had been the case, Riles could have just rescinded the offer. They signed James Jones, who has the potential to be a starting three. They made a cost-effective move for Yakhouba Diawara, who Erik Spoelstra is touting as a defensive specialist. Sound familiar? Marion and Wright both have the athleticism. Marion and Jones both have the three-point prowess (although Jones has it without the ugly shooting mechanic). Marion and Diawara are both perimeter defenders. All signs indicate a trade. But I don't hear anything. Maybe I won't hear anything for the rest of the off-season.

Obama Lays Out A Vision

2008-08-29T16:49:00.003-04:00

On the 45th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, Senator Barack Obama accepted the nomination for the Presidency last night in front of 84,000 enthusiastic supporters in the Denver Broncos' stadium and laid out a vision to put this country on the right track after eight years of high unemployment, economic downturn, and dissatisfication with George W. Bush.

We all know Sen. Obama is a great orator. But he gave one of the best political speeches in decades. I can't fathom how Senator John McCain will even touch the level of exuberance and loftiness in his speech. It was full of soaring rhetoric, but laid out several policy details. Some people on the fence may not know that Obama means when he talks about change. After listening to this 47,000-word speech, they should know. His speech was packed with witty anecdotes, specific policies, and sharp attacks on McCain.

"I don't fit the typical pedigree and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington," Obama remarked in his speech. But he also made clear that he can relate to a large swath of the American people. He was raised by a single mom and his grandparents. His grandfather fought in World War II and his grandmother was a bank manager. His mother was on-and-off food stamps because she was in college while raising Barack. After becoming the President of the Harvard Law Review, he foregoed a high-paying job at a big law firm and chose to serve in the Illinois State Senate.

As I mentioned, the speech also had specifics. He said he would cut taxes for the overwhelming majority of working families and roll back the tax cuts of the rich during the Bush years. He said that everyone from Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki to even the Bush Administration is more than open to the idea of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He emphasized focusing on Afghanistan and renewing the fight against Osama bin Ladin. He created a Kennedy-esque promise of making the US energy independent in 10 years by investing $150 billion in alternative energy sources. He said that offshore drilling is a stopgap measure -- not a long-term solution. How can it be, if we consume 25% of the world's oil but only have three percent of its reserves?

What most impressed me was not his vision of post-partisanship, but his sharp attacks on Sen. McCain. Obama accused him of not being in touch with ordinary Americans. He mentioned McCain's gaffe that someone making less than $5 million is not rich, his big tax cuts for corporate America, his employer-paid health care plan, and his attempt of privatize Social Security. He also said that he too picks "Country First", McCain's campaign slogan. It was the most distinct attack on McCain thus far.

Polls have shown that Obama is in sync with most Americans when it comes to the big issues of today: the economy, the War in Iraq, and health care. After Obama's speech, his two young daughters played with confetti. That moment made him seem less like a politician and more like a father. His speech couldn't have been any better than it was.

HRC Hits It Out of the Park

2008-08-27T19:25:00.005-04:00

As I write this post, the Democrats have just nominated Barack Obama as their nominee for the President of the United States. Hillary Clinton called to stop the roll call vote and name Sen. Obama the nominee by acclimation. The crowd roared to "second" the proposition by Senator Clinton. You could hear a pin drop when Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked for those in opposition to the proposition. Either the party is unifed, or no one was brave enough to not take the lead of Hillary Clinton.

Late last night, Senator Clinton gave a heartfelt speech on the 88th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. She didn't spend as much time as I would have expected about women's rights. She gave a strong endorsement of Barack Obama. She said that both her and Senator Obama are fighting for the same goals. She also attacked Sen. John McCain. She quipped, "It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together in the Twin Cities because they're awfully hard to tell apart."

I know some are upset that Sen. Clinton did not say that Obama is ready to lead. I'm not worried about that. Former President Bill Clinton will speak tonight, and he may explicitly say that Obama is prepared to lead. The Republicans are already creating attack ads saying that Clinton said Obama was not ready to lead; and even today, Clinton hasn't said it. If you ask me, these unfortunate attacks are like throwing mud at a brick wall and seeing what sticks. If she said, "Obama is ready to lead," it would have been something else.

Senator Clinton was the headliner of Day 2 of the Convention. However, the Democratic National Convention also featured a multitude of good speakers. On Tuesday, Dennis Kucinich, Mark Warner, Janet Napolitano, and Brian Schweitzer, among others, gave very thorough speeches. I couldn't understand why these so-called "24-hour news channels" only showed one or two speeches a night. YouTube has given me the opportunity to see these speeches. From now on, I'll watch the DNC on the internet. Hearing prominent politicians speaking is more compelling than listening to a couple of talking heads blather.

I abhor how the mainstream media likes to sensationalize everything. Media Matters has a great article on how the press concocted a story after Sen. Clinton gave a strong endorsement of Barack Obama. She hit it out of the park. She could not have said it any better than she said it.

Tonight, Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, will speak. I expect him to be the "bad cop", throwing hard blows at John McCain. I know the Democrats have talked about McCain's house gaffe. But think about it if the flip was switched. If the Democrats nominated an older nominee with the Republicans nominating a middle-aged man, the Republicans would have said, "If he can't remember how many houses he has, how can he remember what happened in his last Cabinet meeting." The Democrats don't usually do that. It's just not in their blood. Maybe Joe Biden has it in his blood.

Biden is competing with Bill Clinton as the headliner of tonight at the DNC. It will be interesting to see what Clinton does in his speech. He has appeared to still have bitterness with coming to terms with the loss of Senator Clinton. He had a spokesperson give out his endorsement of Obama. He's been accused of racism. Clinton actually wants to come out for Barack. Not just because it will lead to a more unified party, but because he can redeem his legacy among the Democratic Party. It should be an interesting night.

Obama Settles on Biden

2008-08-23T16:08:00.003-04:00

Well, I didn't get the call right this time. In retrospect, I can see why Sen. Barack Obama chose his colleague, Sen. Joseph Biden, to be his running mate. For the past two election cycles, Al Gore and John Kerry have chosen weak running mates who did not go on the offensive against their opponent. Sen. Evan Bayh is not known to be an attack dog. Sen. Biden is.

Sen. John McCain has made countless gaffes. He doesn't know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. He's referred to the defunct country of Czechoslovakia. He thinks people making $4 million are middle class. He has so many houses he can't count them. Unfortunately, Sen. Obama has not hit back hard on these gaffes. Biden can and will hit hard on these gaffes. Earlier today, Biden spoke in Springfield, Illinois. He mentioned that regular people sit in front of their kitchen table and worry; McCain has to decide which kitchen sink to sit in front of.

The McCain campaign wasted no time today, and have already released an attack ad with footage of Joe Biden saying that Sen. Obama is not ready for the presidency. They will probably point to his plagiarized speech in his 1988 campaign. However, Biden can hit back just as hard. He can say, "What was I supposed to say? Vote for him and not me?" in response to the attack ad. With the plagiarized speech, Biden can say, "Fair enough. Let's also talk about McCain taking bribes from convicted felon Charles Keating also in the 1980s."

Biden's roots are of a quintessential American person, as are Barack Obama's. He was born in Scranton, PA to a working-class Catholic family. His father was a car salesman. He went to the University of Delaware and then to Syracuse University for his law degree. At the age of 29, he ran for Senate and won -- commencing a seemingly limitless career in politics.

Tragedy struck just a few months after his election. His wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident, his two sons badly injured. He was sworn in at a hospital, caring for his recovering sons. He decided to commute an hour and a half every day from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to the D.C. to maximize his time with them. Thirty-five years later, he continues this. He is currently the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In addition to his attack dog-style mentality, Biden is very strong on foreign policy. It makes it difficult for the Republicans to attack the Democrats on foreign policy when Biden has been in the Senate for 14 more years than Sen. McCain. John McCain has also never been the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

From an electoral point of view, Biden also helps. A son of Pennsylvania, Biden can easily go into suburbs and rural areas of Pennsylvania to lock in their 21 electoral votes. His working-class roots help Obama's chances in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and New Hampshire -- all states he wants to win. He will appeal to rural Catholics and is comfortable with being President. There are few, if any, with more experience than Biden.

Biden, like all choices would have some downsides. As mentioned above, he plagiarized a speech in his 1988 run for the Presidency. He also can let his mouth run longer than it should. That could be seen as a positive in that if he's blabbing about McCain, it could get Obama some votes. Biden, 65, will probably be too old to run for President in 2016. There could be a big primary battle. He also brings nothing to the table as far as economics, the biggest concern of voters. That was the main reason I endorsed Evan Bayh as VP.

Joe Biden is a strong pick. If I was Obama, I would have selected Bayh as the VP and encourage my donors to give to the attack dogs such as moveon.org. As I said above, I completely understand why Obama chose Biden. It's a solid pick and they both spoke well earlier today. It will be up to these two men to help put a Democrat back in the White House. I'm confident they'll win.

And In Corner Number...

2008-08-21T17:44:00.003-04:00

Pat Riley has apparently decided to hold a try-out session for centers Jamaal Magloire, DJ Mbenga, and Lorenzen Wright. The one that comes out on top is plausibly going to get a small contract offer from the Miami Heat. I don't necessarily have a preference over any of the three. They all are big bodies who can help Miami.

All three of these guys should not be looked at as the future of the Heat. Two of these guys are on the wrong side of 30. Lorenzen Wright had three straight double-digit scoring averages for the season, but at 33, does he still have something left in the tank? DJ Mbenga is very long and strong with his 7'0" frame, but he has no offensive game. Jamaal Magloire, like Wright, had three consecutive years of double-digit scoring, but conditioning is a concern.

Magloire, Mbenga, and Wright can all be adequate backup centers. Mark Blount is perimeter-oriented and never seems to make a solid defensive play. Joel Anthony can be developed more with Erik Spoelstra at the helm. But I anticipate Coach Spo' may develop Anthony at the four considering he is just 6'9".

The Heat still lack a starting center. After the Draft, Riles has signed James Jones, Yakhouba Diawara, and re-signed Dorell Wright. What does this all point to? That Riley plans to move Shawn Marion for a big name center and still have considerable depth at the three. I could be wrong, but it seems to be the most plausible explanation. In the past, Dwyane Wade has publicly lobbied for Riles to fetch him a point guard. He recently spoke on the record, saying, "I really believe in our point guard, Mario Chalmers. I think he can be great for us and surprise a lot of people." The center position appears to have moved to the forefront of Wade's concerns. "We haven't found a five-man," he added.

But what is perhaps the most clear-cut evidence that Pat Riley intends to make a move was another quote by Dwyane Wade. In a response to whether he expects Riles to make a move before training camp, Wade offered, "Of course I do." Riles clearly keeps D-Wade abreast with behind-the-scenes action during the summer. He knows something we don't.

As I have repeated, Shawn Marion can get Miami a very solid center. Riles should aim for nothing less than someone at least 6'10", a consistent double-double guy, someone who is a good passer, and runs the floor well. A young guy would be preferable, but not required.

Without Marion, James Jones would move up onto the top of the depth chart at the three. Another option is moving Michael Beasley over to the three and having Udonis Haslem at the four, similar to what Riley did with Antoine Walker and Haslem in Miami's championship season. I would like to see Coach Spo' experiment with different lineups with this youthfully exuberant team. This upcoming season should be about creating a positive chemistry with quality players. It is up to Pat Riley to give Spo' the tools required to do that.

The Wright Move(s)?

2008-08-20T21:14:00.004-04:00

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writer Ira Winderman, the Miami Heat have come to terms with forward Dorell Wright. The deal will reportedly last two years, starting at the $2.9 million qualifying offer the Heat extended to Wright shortly after the season ended. Wright was selected 19th overall by Miami in 2004, but has had an uneven NBA career. Over his four-year tenure with Miami, Wright has seen time as a starter to barely getting off the bench.

I know there are people who say that Dorell Wright has had his chances. He was given the starting job over Jason Kapono and James Posey. This past season, he was given the starting small forward position early on in the season and lost it to Penny Hardaway. But Riles didn't make this move to put Dorell on the trading block. By rule, he can't be dealt until December 15, so I doubt there is a trade attached to this deal. What this does is make Shawn Marion more expendable.

James Jones could fit as a nice complement to Dwyane Wade early on in games. Jason Kapono was able to make his way to the starting five by being a dead-eye shooter. I don't see why Jones can be any different. Wright's weak-side blocking and rebounding are positives right now. He needs to work on three-point shooting, defense, and finishing on the break. But Wright can play to his strengths and be a scrappy player off the bench. Pat Riley is also getting Wright very cheap, no more than the qualifying offer he extended to him earlier in the summer.

While the Heat do have a logjam at the three, they need help at the five. They may get it with the potential signing of center Jamaal Magloire. He was initially intended to meet with Miami today, but his plans were delayed one day due to the threat of Tropical Storm Fay. Magloire, who has been cut by teams such as New Jersey and Dallas, would most likely accept a minimum-level contract with the Heat. I have said that Magloire would give Miami some defensive toughness that is lacking. I just hope he would work hard to get in shape with a younger, up-tempo Heat team.

I know there are people who don't want to see Shawn Marion go after less than a season with Dwyane Wade. As I alluded to earlier, the Heat should be an up-tempo team. That would be them playing to their strengths. In the Olympics, Wade has flourished in that system. Dorell Wright is evidently suited for that style. Shooters such as Daequan Cook and James Jones would benefit off of all the open looks.

Shawn Marion cannot create his own shot. Dwyane Wade will be forced to do a lot of the heavy lifting again as an offensive catalyst. Michael Beasley may be able to do that, but he's only a rookie. Marion should be traded for a player who can create shots for others and himself. And I'm not necessarily talking about a point guard. A center who can catch the play in the post and operate to an easy field goal could fit the mold. If he was a good passer and could find cutters, that makes him the perfect fit.

If Pat Riley plans to do nothing else but sign Jamaal Magloire this summer, I don't understand the move to re-sign Dorell Wright. He would be fighting for the position of the third-string small forward with Yakhouba Diawara. Riles has already thrown guaranteed money at Diawara, so he is probably here to stay. But a move to sign Wright, to me at least, screams with "a trade brewing" overtones. I would be very surprised if Shawn Marion is in a Miami Heat uniform past the trade deadline.

Standing Pat ... Or Something More?

2008-08-18T13:52:00.003-04:00

On the front page of HoopsWorld.com today, a picture of Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade is accompanied by the title, "Morning Report: Miami Not A Player." The brief article states that Ben Gordon coming to Miami is unlikely (no surprise there). It goes on to mentioned unnamed sources that say Miami will stand pat unless a team is willing to take on Mark Blount's bloated contract. The article then goes on to state that the game plan for Miami to wait until next year and try to entice a top-tier free agent to Miami.

Whether this article is authentic or just a bunch of guessing is simply speculation. There may be a lot of talks behind the scenes. Miami was mentioned as a possible destination for Ron Artest, but reports never said anything more. It wasn't until yesterday's issue of The Miami Herald that revealed that the Heat had discussions with the Kings about Artest. Unfortunately, the Maloof brothers found Dorell Wright and other pieces "unappealing" (in just a few years, Wright has gone from the next T-Mac to unappealing).

One thing about the article on HoopsWorld that I agree with is that Miami will stand pat at the one. Marcus Banks, Mario Chalmers, and Chris Quinn would be adequate as a deep lineup of young point guards. The center position is a different story. Alonzo Mourning has played well despite his age and his rehab is progressing. His return will be inspiring, but the Heat will need to look into longer-term solutions. The Heat have been linked to Jake Voskuhl or Jamaal Magloire, both standing at 6'11". Voskuhl plays with intensity and runs the floor well. Magloire, by comparison, has a great wingspan and is very aggressive. The problem is that both of them won't do much in terms of the stat sheet. At this point, I'd take Magloire ahead of Voskuhl because he can block some shots and give Miami some interior defense.

Both Voskuhl and Magloire would be cheap options at the center position. Miami would be a very deep team with a starting five of Banks, Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley, and Magloire/Voskuhl. Quality players such as Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook, James Jones, and Udonis Haslem would be coming off the bench. As presently constructed, the Heat would sneak into the Eastern Conference off-season. But some tweaking could give them an actual run. But that's easier said than done.

Pivoting to the Center

2008-08-15T13:27:00.003-04:00

The Miami Heat requested waivers on the journeyman they signed a mere 10 days ago, Bobby Jones. The 6'7" swingman was supposed to get a guaranteed contract tomorrow, but Riles decided to let him ago. The signing of Jones was probably just an insurance move in case Miami did not sign Yakhouba Diawara. I'm glad Riley isn't wasting money on partially-guaranteed contracts these D-League players have gotten in the past couple of years. Some of them haven't even made it past training camp and they are still getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Miami's gaping hole is their center. The Heat have three excellent cogs in Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, and Shawn Marion. Moreover, they also have the "steal of the Draft" in Mario Chalmers and nice role players in James Jones and Udonis Haslem. One or two of the names I mentioned may not be with Miami when the season starts. One or two may not be in South Beach when the trade deadline comes around. If Pat Riley wants a decent center, he is going to have to give something in order to get something.

I e-mailed Ira Winderman, a beat reporter for the South Florida-based newspaper, The Sun-Sentinel, about options at the five that Riles may be looking at. The only name he mentioned was Brad Miller, the ten-year NBA veteran with the Kings. Sacramento clearly appears to be in rebuilding mode, especially with the Ron Artest deal officially going down yesterday. Miller could provide Miami with some rebounding and scoring, but is far from the ideal choice.

For starters, Miller, 32, faces the challenge of overcoming several injuries he sustained last season. In April, Miller had surgery to remove a bone chip from his right elbow. A stress fracture in his leg caused him to prematurely end his season (although about half of the Miami Heat players ended their season early). But even if Miller works hard as hell to get back in shape, he still won't be able to play in the first five games of the season.

On July 10, the NBA announced that Miller will be suspended for the first five games of the 2008-09 season due to failing the League's drug policy due to marijuana use near the end of the season.

Miller has roughly $23.63 million left on his contract for two seasons. Additionally, Miller has regressed defensively since the start of his career. He lacks athleticism and, as I mentioned earlier, he needs to get in better shape. But for all of the downsides of Miller in the Heat uniform, there are certainly positives to him as well.

Miller is a seven-footer with long arms and great size. There aren't many NBA players who can say that now. Miller is also good passer for a big man. His 3.7 assist-per-game average last season was a league-high for centers. That could be useful for Wade, Marion, or Beasley driving to the hoop or Jones, Daequan Cook, Chalmers, Marion, or Beasley spotting up beyond the arc.

Miller is a good rebounder. He averaged 9.5 boards a night last season. While the Heat have good rebounders in Marion, Beasley, and Haslem, it would help to have a good rebounder close to the basket. He also would bring an impressive mid-range game to the Heat. Dwyane Wade has thrived off of pick-and-roll situations with Haslem, Alonzo Mourning, Michael Doleac, and Shaquille O'Neal in the past. Having a big man occasionally hang around the perimeter also drags out his defender. Therefore, Wade will drive to the rim and may not be met with a seven-footer all of the time. If the defender meets Wade at the hoop, he has the strength to finish over him or he can simply pass it to an open Brad Miller for a shot.

Miller has already played with Dwyane Wade during the 2006 FIBA Tournament, although Miller seldom received playing time. His shooting and passing skills were probably the reasons Jerry Colangelo decided to give this guy a run. Despite his size, Miller is not a true center. But then again, there aren't many true big men in the League right now. With his contract expiring just prior to the 2010 free agent frenzy, Miller could be a starting center for Miami over the next two seasons.

I wouldn't complain at all if the Heat traded for Brad Miller. 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting at a 46.3% clip from the field and 84.8% from the line is more than adequate. I guess the question is who the Heat want to give up. They'll probably have to give up Udonis Haslem. Miller's stats are slightly better than Haslem's, but Haslem brings in hard-nosed defense and is young. I said before that the Heat are going to have to give up something to get something.

Mediocre As Usual?

2008-08-13T17:57:00.003-04:00

We are 13 days into August. There is no buzz around the NBA about a Miami Heat trade coming up. Some are concerned that James Jones, Bobby Jones, and Yakhouba Diawara is it when it comes to off-season acquisitions. Pat Riley dropped the ball last summer, but he has also pulled off some shrewd moves. And they have been relatively late in the off-season. In October of 2005, the Heat signed Jason Kapono. In September of that same year, Riley (and Shaq) lured Gary Payton to South Beach. In September 2004, the Heat signed ex-Duke star Christian Laettner, who proved to be a solid backup to Udonis Haslem. And in late August of 2003, Pat Riley acquired Lamar Odom.

Still, the memories of last summer seems to dampen hopes a little. These same arguments about how Riley likes to make trades late was said around this time in '07. What did Riles do? He may have gotten rid of Antoine Walker's contract, but the Heat still have Mark Blount. And the Heat won just 15 games that season. The excellent Draft helps make Miami's offseason more run-of-the-mill, more mediocre. But the Heat need more than mediocre if they can get back to the Eastern Conference elite.

It is important that the Heat do not rush into deals. The three-team deal that sent Mo Williams to Cleveland may look fine to the 'Cavs at face value. However, Williams' deal also goes through 2013. And while already making over $8 million, it will be harder for Cleveland to outbid other suitors for LeBron James in 2010. Meanwhile, the Heat have expressed interest in Delonte West earlier this summer. Will they try to go after him now that the Cleveland front office apparently wants to pair up James with Williams?

As I have said before, the Heat should not go for a point guard unless it is an upgrade over what they already have. I can't see anything that Delonte West can do that Marcus Banks, Mario Chalmers, and Chris Quinn can't. The Heat have a big hole at the center position. That is their biggest concern at the moment.

Some have said that the point guard position is the most important in basketball. I beg to differ. Miami got to the Eastern Conference Finals with Damon Jones. They won a championship with an injured Jason Williams. The Bulls dominated with a post-Cleveland Ron Harper. The center position is a different story. While Kendrick Perkins is nothing special, the Celtics do have a low-post presence and defender in Kevin Garnett. So far, Michael Beasley hasn't proven he can be either.

Udonis Haslem doesn't have the size nor the strength to be a center. Neither does Joel Anthony. Mark Blount can't rebound and doesn't play defense. Alonzo Mourning is still far away from recovery. Riley needs, at the very least, someone who can rebound, block shots, run the break, and have somewhat of an offensive game. There are a bunch of people who can do that. Whether Pat Riley will be as innovative as in summers past, or just as innovate as last summer, is a question that still goes unanswered.

Uh...What?

2008-08-07T23:48:00.003-04:00

Free agent Jason "White Chocolate" Williams signed with the L.A. Clippers earlier today. He will fill in the backup role to Baron Davis. I'm not surprised that J-Dub wanted to leave, especially after his "high-paid prostitutes" remark around mid-season. What I am surprised about is why the Clippers seem to be enamored with all of the Heat's leftovers. First Smush Parker, then Ricky Davis, and now Jason Williams. I wonder if we can get them to take Mark Blount.

I will be the first to admit, I am not the biggest J-Will fan out there. The one thing I can't get out of my mind whenever I remember Jason Williams in his Heat days was when Miami had a four-on-one break and J-Dub chucked up a three. It went out of bounds. Williams has not been known for making the right decisions. I'm sorry, but I don't think that his performance in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 (which was excellent) compensates for a multitude of bad decision-making. But his mishaps and ordeals with Miami is not all his fault. His knee tendinitis were a real nuisance for the team. It's unfortunate that his injuries got the best of him and he wasn't able to be the point guard Pat Riley wanted.

This now leaves Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem as the lone members of the 2006 NBA Championship under contract for Miami. I'm not upset about that. Because when the Heat brought back their entire championship team, they became complacent and got swept out of the playoffs.

Pat Riley has been making very odd moves. His latest infatuation is apparently with small forwards. Just three days after claiming Bobby Jones off waivers, the Heat signed free agent Yakhouba Diawara this afternoon. Diawara was a bencher for the Denver Nuggers last season, appearing in 54 games while averaging 10 minutes of playing time. Diawara has been known for his perimeter defense, like Bobby Jones.

What do I anticipate Diawara's future to be with the Heat? I expect him to compete with Bobby Jones for the position of an insurance option at the three during training camp.

Miami's small forwards are currently: Shawn Marion, James Jones, Bobby Jones, Yakhouba Diawara, Dorell Wright (whom the Heat have given a qualifying offer of $2.4 million), and free agent Kasib Powell. Riles has signed both Joneses and Diawara all in the past month. I'm thinking a few of Miami's forwards are going to be leaving via trade.

As I have said, I do not mind Williams leaving. What I am getting concerned about is that Pat Riley may do the same thing he did last off-season: waive goodbye to mediocre players, and sign D-League players. With the recent signing of Bobby Jones and Diawara, it is sure looking to be more like the 2007 summer by the minute. These moves have some Heat fans scratching their heads, saying "Diawara? Uh...What?" I know that was my first reaction when I heard this news.

While Miami has a glut of small forwards, they also have vacancies at the center position. Joel Anthony is still an unknown commodity at just 6'9", Alonzo Mourning is months away from full recovery, Mark Blount is a perimeter-oriented guy, and Udonis Haslem is not a center. Pat Riley does not need to get himself a star center, but at least someone who can rebound and block a couple shots.

I look to Oklahoma City, a team with seven players 6'10" or taller on their roster. Miami has mentioned interest in Luke Ridnour, and he could be a nice stopgap starting point guard for the next two seasons while Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn develop. He's not very cheap, but at least his contract ends before the 2010 free agent frenzy.

A trade consisting of Marcus Banks and Udonis Haslem in exchange for Ridnour, Johan Petro, and Mouhamed Sene works under the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Petro is a seven-footer who can rebound the ball and maybe get a block or two. He's similar to DeSagana Diop in that he won't do much on the stat sheet, but he's a big body that has great mobility.

Mouhamed Sene was the 10th overall pick in the 2006 Draft, but had microfracture surgery earlier this summer and will probably not play at all this season. The good thing is that he is still in his rookie contract. He could be a very low-risk guy with the potential for a lot of reward if the Heat are willing to develop this guy.

Luke Ridnour would fit nicely into a starting point guard next to Dwyane Wade. I know he lost his starting job to Earl Watson, but he still has that sweet shooting stroke and still can get teammates involved. A starting five of Ridnour, Wade, Marion, Beasley, Petro with Chalmers, Cook, James Jones, Blount, and Anthony off the bench is not bad. Chris Quinn, Bobby Jones, Kasib Powell, Stephane Lasme, and Alonzo Mourning filling in the obligatory third-string positions is a very deep team. That is a very solid squad that would probably get the Heat into the playoffs, maybe even get a fourth or third seed.

Mulling the Options...

2008-08-06T16:14:00.004-04:00

The Miami Heat's 82-game schedule was announced earlier today, with 10 nationally-televised appearances. Michael Beasley will make his debut on Madison Square Garden on October 29 against the New York Knicks. The Sacramento Kings will then visit Miami on Halloween, in the Heat's home opener. Down the road, Beasley and Rose will face off on December 26 on ABC and Shaq's lone visit to the AmericanAirlines Arena will come on March 4.

It is nearly certain that the Heat will win more than 15 games, the total amount of wins last season. Pat Riley and rookie coach Erik Spoelstra have consistently said that their goal this season would be to make the playoffs. As it stands right now, a trio of Beasley, Marion, and Wade could very well make it to the post-season. However, the Heat are still a few quality players away from being up there with Boston and Detroit in the East.

The most recent rumor for Heat fans to chew on is that Riles is reportedly interested in Luke Ridnour, Jannero Pargo, and Shaun Livingston to fill in their hole at the one. I know I haven't held this position earlier in the off-season, but Miami should not try to get another third-tier point guard. I wouldn't mind putting Marcus Banks as the starting point guard for now. His contract is ugly, but he could offer Miami some shooting and defense; and was mentored by Steve Nash. He could be a stopgap guy until Mario Chalmers is ready to take on the role as the starting point. Maybe Banks can prove himself enough that the Heat would be able to find a trading partner for him. I wouldn't object to a trade involving Banks that would get us some better pieces. But until that trade comes around, I'd stick with Banks.

Recently-claimed forward Bobby Jones cannot be traded for 30 days. I wouldn't mind keeping him, either. There won't be much competition for his services, as he's already bounced halfway around the League. Still, I would be very surprised if the Heat kept all of their forwards. Restricted free agent Dorell Wright may have interest in some teams. If Pat Riley plans to keep Marion, Udonis Haslem is also on the table. And vice versa.

More than anything, the Heat's most dire need is the center position. A point guard lineup of Banks, Chalmers, and Quinn (who started to come around towards the end of the season) is not the best in the world. But it is three young guys who can contribute. At Miami's center position, Alonzo Mourning is still months away from recovery, Mark Blount is perimeter-oriented, Joel Anthony is just 6'9", and Earl Barron is, well, Earl Barron. The Heat need a defensive-minded center who can eat up space.

I would still be open to a trade with Portland in an attempt to acquire LaMarcus Aldridge or Channing Frye. Nazr Mohammed of Charlotte could be available after Charlotte threw all of that money to Emeka Okafor and drafted the 7'0" Alexis Ajinca. Luke Ridnour of Oklahoma City keeps on popping up. Maybe a trade could be worked out. Keep in mind that Oklahoma City's roster features seven players 6'10" or above. The Heat could definitely use some of that size.

Heat Re-Welcome Bobby Jones

2008-08-05T19:37:00.002-04:00

Earlier today, the Miami Heat announced they have claimed forward Bobby Jones off waivers, essentially re-welcoming the 6'7", 215-pound journeyman.

This is a very subtle move that will go very much under the radar. I doubt it will even appear on SportsCenter's bottom line, much less devoting a few minutes to talk about the move. The move appears particularly odd, especially considering the logjam at the small forward position. Recently drafted Michael Beasley, recently signed James Jones, Shawn Marion, Dorell Wright (who has been offered a qualifying offer), and Kasib Powell (a free agent, but was impressive during Miami's summer league run) could all be back. There is certainly the possibility Pat Riley will use Jones as a third-string three and have Beasley play primarily the four, have Wright sign with another team, and wave goodbye to Kasib Powell. Or it could be a part of an imminent trade.

During his college career at the University of Washington and with his brief stint with Miami, Jones has established himself as a tough-as-nails defender who could hit the three from beyond the arc. It is a little too immature to compare him to Bruce Bowen, but he is definitely a Pat Riley-type of guy. It is important not to immediately assume that he will be part of a big trade.

Miami does have plenty of other holes to fill. However, Riley may want to go with a small forward lineup of Marion, James Jones, and Bobby Jones while having Beasley exclusively a power forward. That still leaves open the possibility of using Dorell Wright in a sign-and-trade. At 22 years old, there may be a team willing to sign Wright. At the very least, Jones has found his niche in the League: defense. Dorell Wright has been playing in the NBA for four years and we still don't know what he's best at.

With the 2008 Beijing Olympics right around the corner, Pat Riley may have a move up his sleeve that will not get the traction that some other big trades will get, but teams may realize they should have. I'll go out on a limb and say a big trade is coming. But I've been wrong before.

Who Obama Should Tap

2008-08-02T00:44:00.003-04:00

With the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Conventions coming quickly, it is time for the presumptive nominees of each party to pick their running mates. This is the most important pick the nominee will make. Presidents pick a vice president to get re-elected, but nominees pick a running mate to get elected. For Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, they should pick running mates who work well with them and can help them win.

For Sen. Obama, the three reported running mates on the short-list are: Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, and Senator Evan Bayh in Indiana. All have notable qualities. For Kaine, a Catholic, he could turn Virginia from a toss-up to leaning towards Obama, and he brings executive experience as a governor. Biden has loads of foreign policy credentials and has been in the Senate longer than McCain. Bayh was a former Clinton supporter and could quell some doubts the Clinton supports may have.

The three also have their downfalls. Kaine does little to help with the assertion that Obama is too inexperienced. Biden has spent a lot of time in Washington, which could undercut Obama's message. And Bayh is from a state that is next to Illinois, Obama's home state; not to mention the GOP could use the slogan "Obama Bye, Bye." There is no perfect choice. But if you ask me, the best choice is Evan Bayh.

Possibly the most important thing about Bayh is that he supported Senator Clinton during the primaries. Having Bayh as an olive tree could brings some disaffected Democrats to Obama's column in November. There are some who will never vote for Obama, even if Hillary is his running mate. It's unfortunate it was such a bitter campaign, but it's simply one of those "live and let die" moments.

Bayh was the governor of Indiana earlier in his career. As governor, Bayh issued a $1.6 billion tax cut -- the largest in state history. He did not raise taxes in his eight years in the governor's mansion. His welfare-to-work social programs led to the creation of 350,00 new jobs. There are some disaffected Republicans who could be undecided who to support. Having a tax-cutter on the ticket could bring some of them over and debunk the McCain ads that Obama will raise taxes. For the Republicans whose chief issue is abortion, gay rights, or guns, I doubt they'll vote for Obama even if he picks a Republican. But Bayh could bring over independents and moderate Republicans.

Going beyond our borders, Bayh may not have the credentials of Biden, but he isn't bad. Bayh outlined a resolution to deal with Iran's nuclear program over two years ago. With the recent missile tests, advertising Bayh's plan wouldn't be bad move. Moreover, Bayh holds a position on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Bayh was an early supporter of the War in Iraq and voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act in 2006. This will anger Obama's base to the left, which was confused when Obama voted for the FISA bill. But I can only speak for myself as someone who aligns himself to the left on his political views when I say that I trust Obama with upholding our civil liberties more than George W. Bush and John McCain. I do not agree with Obama on all of the issues, but I echo the words of former Congressman Ed Koch when he famously declared, "If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, you should vote for me; if you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, you should see a psychiatrist."

Bayh would have Indiana go from purple to light blue, attract fiscally conservative voters across the nation, potentially help Obama in Virginia (he was an alumnus of UVA), and dispel some fears about Obama's experience and foreign policy. He is from a state that is directly next to Illinois, but wasn't Al Gore's state directly adjacent to Bill Clinton's state? And didn't they spend eight years in the White House?

Months Leave, but Players Don't

2008-08-01T11:34:00.004-04:00

We now move from July to August. There is still plenty of time left in the offseason, but Pat Riley could be confident enough with his current squad to let Miami stand pat. I certainly hope Riles doesn't think that way. The Heat are still a few quality players away from becoming a quality playoff team.

I have caught those early-morning games of the USA Basketball team. Dwyane Wade is phenomenal. He is back to his explosive, athletic, amazing self. Yet whenever I see Wade throw down a windmill from an alley-oop pass or dunk it in transition with two guys on him, I always get this bitter taste in my mouth. I can't stop but think that Pat Riley is leaving Wade out to dry by not giving him a post presence. Shawn Marion also plays from the perimeter-inwards. Same with Michael Beasley.

Wade has also emphasized acquiring a point guard. It's been so nice to see how Wade can be when he doesn't handle the ball all the time. Mario Chalmers is certainly a quality point guard in the making, but Miami needs at least a stop-gap guy for a season or two. I wouldn't mind going after someone like Jannero Pargo, a cheap free agent who can give Miami some shooting.

As far as the options at big man -- I would like Riles to call up the Blazers and see if he can wheel in either LaMarcus Aldridge or Channing Frye. Both are 6'11" guys who could play center in the East. Dealing Shawn Marion should not be out of the question. Portland could use a defensive-minded small forward who can give you 15 points without taking many shots. They'll also have Oden, Przybilla, and either Aldridge or Frye (whomever Miami chooses not to trade for) to man the paint. I wouldn't have any qualms about taking on Raef LaFrentz's contract, with one year and $12 million left.

A starting lineup of Pargo, Wade, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and either Aldridge or Frye shows a great improvement over last year. The young nucleus would excite fans and give Miami financial flexibility in the years to come. However, more importantly, it would also excite Dwyane Wade.

Only Lukewarm Changes?

2008-07-27T13:27:00.003-04:00

In the eyes of some, Pat Riley should be sitting pretty right now. He shrewdly drafted Michael Beasley and later picked up a steal in Mario Chalmers. He then signed James Jones, a three-point specialist with some size. And to top it all off, Dwyane Wade looked very athletic and explosive in his recent game against Canada.

An off-season of these standards would be considered a success for a playoff team. The problem is that this team showed anything but the pedigree of a playoff team. They won 15 games last season. There are still a lot of holes that are needed to fill. Now, August and the Olympics are just around the corner. And the Heat haven't done anything in weeks.

Concern of this team just having lukewarm changes should be growing. The two most pressing needs are a center and a point guard. Pat Riley does have a quality point guard in the making in Mario Chalmers. However, Chalmers is going to have to prove himself among the upper echelon of point guards in the East. Anybody, including Dorell Wright and Earl Barron, can have a good summer-league showing.

Having a defensive-minded center who can rebound and be an occasional low-post threat is also vital for success in the East. Miami is going to have to go up against Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, and Jermaine O'Neal. Those faces will be even more familiar if the Heat make it to the playoffs. They are going to need an experienced big man with good size and skills in order to get back to prominence.

That seems simple enough. Having expendable trade chips such as Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem makes it even more expendable. The problem is that the top free agents have either already signed a new contract or don't have a chance to be with the Heat. A couple of weeks ago, I read an article that Pat Riley rejected a trade offer that would have sent Jamaal Tinsley to Miami in exchange for Haslem. I agree with Riley's decision. The problem is that he shouldn't be reacting to these trade proposals. He should be acting and making the trade proposals. Another team isn't going to want to help the Heat. He needs to do that.

When you have a 15-67 team, you don't want to keep many of those players. If Pat Riley does not make any more significant changes, it's difficult to see them back to the position they were in 2007, much less in 2006. I would take Sean Williams of the Nets if it meant having a starting center with some upside. It doesn't matter if he's going to be a sophomore in the League. He'd be better than Mark Blount and Joel Anthony.

A Large, Yet Unsatisfying Plate

2008-07-21T14:35:00.003-04:00

I haven't updated my website over the past few days. Part of it is because I have watched the best film of the year so far, The Dark Knight, twice in the past three days. Another part of it is that Pat Riley has seemed to be on vacation for the summer. Now, I've heard the rumors about Brian Skinner, and he'd be a good pick-up. Luol Deng is all but certain to return to Chi-town. Yet Miami needs to make some trades if they want to keep Dwyane Wade.

Miami currently has Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, James Jones, Daequan Cook, Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, and Alonzo Mourning under contract. That's ten names. Also, don't forget the qualifying offers given to Dorell Wright and Chris Quinn. Joel Anthony, Stephane Lasme, and Kasib Powell all have been praised for their strides. All in all, that is 15 names.

Evidently, the Heat need to make some major trades very soon. They only have the $1.9 bi-annual exception left to sign free agents. Pat Riley has apparently not lost interest in Ron Artest, and I have said that he could be a welcome addition to the team. The Heat have also expressed interest in the Warriors' Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins, but Riles is going to have to present Golden State with an offer they simply can't refuse.

Whether it's obtaining the volatile forward in Artest or the young talent of Ellis or Biedrins, the Heat would need to add a third team to the mix. However, I haven't heard much more than mere speculation out of the rumors. Pat Riley should stop worrying about what could happen if Carlos Boozer opts out of his contract and make moves for now.

It's late July. So far, the Heat have picked up Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers in the Draft; they also picked up a lengthy three-point specialist in James Jones. All of these are shrewd moves. However, it is not nearly enough for the Heat to compete with Boston, the team to beat in the East.

Brian Skinner's addition would only add to the logjam at forward for the Heat. It would increase speculation of Udonis Haslem's or Shawn Marion's trade possibilities. But Pat Riley should stop dropping hints as to what he might do and just do it. He can't sit around and make a last-minute trade in October and hope the pieces put themselves together. Look what happened then.

Ron-Ron Gone-Gone?

2008-07-16T22:36:00.004-04:00

In the latest advancement in Miami Heat rumors, Ron Artest's name has popped up. Sure, his name has come around for the past few years or so, but this year Pat Riley could find a deal to entice the Maloof Brothers. Why? Because the Heat now have Shawn Marion.

The Sacramento Bee first reported that the Heat would be interested in the volatile forward, and wouldn't have qualms about parting with Marion. There are the critics who say that trading Marion for Artest is like trading platinum for silver; or that Marion is supposed to be utilized in trading for a more pressing need -- such as point guard or center. I must disagree with both.

While Marion and Artest both have been heralded for their defense, there is one clear-cut winner. Marion has established himself as a great help defender. He can guard the opponent's best shooting guard or small forward, but seldom slows him down. Artest, by contrast, is a lock-down defender. Those kinds of players are hard to come by. Artest has superior physical skills and knows when to steal the ball. There is no question in my mind that every single player should be worried if Artest is guarding him. Defensively, I give the edge to Artest. And while Artest certainly doesn't have the leaping and rebounding skills, six rebounds is nothing to complain about from a small forward.

Artest, 28, has developed a refined offensive game over time. His jump-shot and three-point shooting has steadily improved to a solid 38% in 2007-08. Moreover, Artest does possess a very polished face-the-basket game. Without question, Artest could take tremendous pressure off of Dwyane Wade.

It is true that Miami does need to fill in their point guard and center situations. To be honest, I don't see Pat Riley taking Kenny Thomas or the Maloofs giving up Brad Miller. What I could see happening is bringing in a third team into the equation. Artest makes slightly more than half of the salary of the Matrix. With the NBA's trade rules, more players are going to have to be involved. The Artest-Marion swap would be exchanging expiring contracts. It is what Miami additionally gets that ultimately decides whether this trade was a win. And while Marion and Artest both are small forwards, that doesn't necessarily mean I would shy away from a trade involving the two.

With Orlando apparently losing interest in Jason Williams with their recent signing of Anthony Johnson, Pat Riley is going to have to act quick this off-season. He can't take his sweet little time on the Mo Williamses of the world so that what is left is Smush Parker.

Marion on the Block?

2008-07-13T19:03:00.003-04:00

As the Miami Herald reported today, several teams are interested in acquiring versatile forward Shawn Marion. Barry Jackson, the author of the article, specifically mentioned the Warriors and the L.A. Clippers as teams interested in Marion. Of the two, I appear Oakland appears more plausible. Now that Elton Brand left Clipper Nation, I don't see L.A. having many assets to trade.

Two players whom entice Miami's interest are Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins. Ellis, though not a pure point guard, could handle the ball a lot and take tremendous scoring pressure off of Dwyane Wade. Biedrins, meanwhile, is a lengthy center who is also a good rebounder. Both are restricted free agents, and booking them for a flight to Miami would have to be via a sign-and-trade.

Pat Riley has used the entire mid-level exception, splitting it between newly-acquired forward James Jones and second-round pick Mario Chalmers. What remains is the bi-annual exception, worth approximately $1.9 million. The Heat might be able to pick up someone with the bi-annual exception, but it won't be Ellis or Biedrins.

Shawn Marion is owed approximately $17.2 million next season. Due to Miami and Golden State being over the cap, the 25% trade rule is invoked. Therefore, Ellis and Biedrins would need to combine their contracts for this upcoming season to be nearly identical to that of Marion. An example would be Ellis signing a deal worth roughly $12 million for next season and Biedrins signing a contract worth $5 million.

Miami would fill in their needs for a point guard and center with Ellis and Biedrins on board, respectively. Golden State, meanwhile, would give fans something to cheer about with Maggette and Marion. This could also give them the flexibility to trade either Al Harrington or maybe even Stephen Jackson.

There are those who may view Ellis' lack of three-point accuracy as a reason to be leery of signing him. During Miami's championship run, Jason Williams was 37.2% from three-point land during the regular season and 27.4% in the playoffs. Antoine Walker shot 35.8% during the season and 32.4% in the playoffs. James Posey shot 40.3% during the season and 42.2% during the playoff run. Gary Payton shot 28.7% during the season and 29.3% during the playoffs on just 58 attempts.

That's all they had. Four players and one of them was a dead-eye shooter. In Miami's current roster, they have James Jones, Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, and Daequan Cook. Those are four guys also. Moreover, Ellis and Wade are at a young age, so they can develop a three-point shot over time. Say what you want about Monta Ellis' shooting, but I'd take him over Tyronn Lue any day of the week.

Summer League Review

2008-07-11T22:58:00.004-04:00

The five-games-in-five-days summer league ended earlier Friday, with Miami losing in a nail-biting game against the Orlando Magic. Several players were visibly fatigued from fighting the past week to make an NBA roster. But if the summer league was meant to get a gauge at who has pro potential, it was a week well spent. I have broken down each player on Miami's roster, and give them a standing on if they can make the final cut.

Michael Beasley: The second overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft had his ups and downs, but still managed to produce to a strong showing. He proved to be an excellent scorer and a strong rebounder. He needs to work on his defense, but at least the Heat now know where Beasley needs to improve. I expect him to start his rookie season and make a run for Rookie of the Year if not win it.

Mario Chalmers: This second-round pick was arguably Miami's steadiest player. Chalmers proved to be a tough defender and a quick guard who can get to the rim with ease. In addition, he also showed some three-point ability. If Miami does not make a trade for a veteran point guard, he could challenge Marcus Banks for the starting point guard spot.

Kasib Powell: The 6'7" forward has shown versatility to play the three. He has multiple ways to score in his arsenal, including taking the ball all by himself in the open court. He can hit the occasional three and rebounds well for a small forward. I expect he'll make the team and maybe become a rotation player down the road.

Stephane Lasme: Lasme has proven his worth in the little time alloted to him, unfortunately because he is Beasley's backup. Lasme can block shots on the defensive end, or can run the pick-and-pop perfectly on the offensive end. He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty and does all the little things. The Heat need someone like that. I expect he'll make the 15-man cut as well.

Anthony Morrow: The 6'6" guard can flat out shoot. He benefits off of defenders helping to guard Chalmers or Beasley. But as I've said before, Dwyane Wade is going to play 38-40 minutes, and Daequan Cook is going to be asked exactly what Morrow has been doing. Morrow could make the team as a third-string shooting guard, but I wouldn't bet my money that he'll make the team.

Antonio Graves: Graves was one of the quickest players in the Orlando summer league, especially in the open court. The problem is that if he gets the ball in a halfcourt setting, he'll chuck up a shot. Graves has to develop other facets of his game. I don't envision him making the team. Besides, can he pass the ball for once?

Anthony King: It's been easy to forget that King is even on the court. He hasn't done much to make himself stand out. I'd be surprised if he got an invite to Miami's summer league, much less make the final roster.
David Padgett: Padgett is very big and can rebound. He can set screens, but his productivity stops there. He has been foul-prone and has not offered much as far as scoring. I know Miami's center depth is only the perimeter-oriented Mark Blount, but I don't anticipate he'll make the squad.

Jason Richards: The leader in Division I assists is unfortunately backing up Chalmers. However, unlike Lasme, Richards hasn't made any of his performances memorable. He's shown an eye to get Beasley in some of his sweet spots, but has been somewhat prone to turnovers, is a liability on defense, and doesn't offer much on the offensive end of the court. He'll have to wait at least another year to play in the pros.

Marco Killingsworth: Keith Askins has never put in this guy for very long, but he has always been relatively anonymous every single game. He won't make the team.
Dion Dowell: See Marco Killingsworth.

Pat Calathes: Has he even played a game?

Marcus Campbell: Marcus who?

Josh Duncan: A poor-man's David Padgett. Won't make the team.

Heat Squander Oklahoma City

2008-07-10T21:53:00.003-04:00

After their first loss of the summer league, the Miami Heat (and Michael Beasley, especially) came back with fire in their eyes to spank the Oklahoma City (insert your own outlandish name) in a 101-76 blowout.

Michael Beasley scored the first points of the game on a jump shot. Then, he stole the ball and went the length of the court for a beastly jam. He then shot a turnaround, fade-away jumper. Swish. Beasley turned to Keith Askins -- he had six points in the first three minutes of the game.

Beasley finished with 19 points on eight-of-16 shooting from the field and two-for-four from downtown. Beasley also grabbed five rebounds and improved in the foul and turnover departments -- with two apiece. And he did it all in just 25 minutes. Beasley seemed to make everything look so smooth and effortless. The scoring machine in college has been challenged by summer league coach Keith Askins to develop other facets of his game. He has.

Russell Westbrook got out to a quick start for Oklahoma City. His crossover never failed, as he was able to get to the basket at will. The fourth overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft made it to the free-throw line 10 times and finished with 19 points on seven-of-12 shooting. Despite Westbrook's play, Mario Chalmers, Beasley, and Kasib Powell managed the Heat to hang in there for the entire first quarter. The game was tied at 23 at the end of the first stanza of play.

From then on, the Miami Heat ran away with it.

Michael Beasley continued to dominate in the second quarter, including connecting on a picture-perfect and-one. Chalmers had a quiet night, but still managed to score 11 points on just five field goal attempts. Super Mario wasn't as aggressive in games past, but did develop more chemistry with his teammates. That will be more along the lines of what Chalmers will be asked to do this upcoming season with Dwyane Wade. With Wade and Beasley scoring off the dribble, Chalmers could develop some nice pick-and-roll action with his teammates.

Outside of Beasley and Chalmers, there were other players who stood up to contribute to Miami's easy win. One of the players I have been most impressed with is Stephane Lasme. He has a great shot to make the team and may become a solid rotation player down the road. Lasme has shown he can defend by developing a nice shot-blocking game. Lasme's jump shot also looks very fluid. He is also a workhorse reminiscent of Udonis Haslem. The 6'8" forward scored 14 points on just five field goal attempts and made it to the charity stripe seven times in just 16 minutes of action.

Another player who has done well night-in and night-out of this summer league is Kasib Powell. The 6'7" forward has shown an ability to shoot three-pointers as well as cut to the basket. He never gets lazy on the floor, especially in the fast-break. Powell finished with 10 points on four-of-eight shooting. I expect him to make the cut as well.

Anthony Morrow can flat out shoot. Morrow connected on three triples on his way to 16 points. It's unfortunate Miami already has Dwyane Wade and Daequan Cook at that position. As I've said before, you have to give the edge to Cook right now because he's the one that has proved himself on legitimate NBA talent. I can't see Morrow anything more than a third-string shooting guard if he makes the team.

The 3-1 Heat will wrap up their summer league against the Magic at 7:00pm.

Heat Cool to Pacers

2008-07-09T21:50:00.003-04:00

The Miami Heat won't be undefeated for the summer league this year. They fell to the Indiana Pacers in a 95-84 contest that saw Shawne Williams score an impressive 25 points and made it to the charity stripe 10 times.

Mario Chalmers continued his superb play throughout the summer league in the first period. "Super Mario" registered 10 points on just two field goal attempts. He made to the the free-throw line seven times in the first quarter. He has made a name for himself in this summer league due to his offensive aggressiveness and unselfishness that could make him a nice steal for Miami. The Heat jumped out to a 25-19 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes of action.

Michael Beasley was better than yesterday, but still far from his dominant performance on Monday. The product out of Kansas St. was just two-for-six in the first half, and committed three fouls in the first 20 minutes of action. There were some questionable calls from referees, but Beasley needs to work on his defense. That could be the most vulnerable part of his game heading into the pros.

Despite the struggles of Beasley, Chalmers and forward Kasib Powell were able to carry the Heat towards a 42-41 lead heading into the locker-room at intermission.

Right out of the gate, Indiana decided to take the lead in the third quarter. They immediately took a nine-point lead in the third quarter. Shawne Williams, an athletic but raw youngster, hit all the right notes earlier today. He stretched the defense with some triples, and was aggressive in the offense. However, Beasley also stepped up in the third quarter. He scored seven points in the third period of play on two-of-four shooting from the field.

Williams made sure Miami did not come back. He scored 11 points in the first five minutes of the final period of play. From then on, Indiana never looked back.

Mario Chalmers continued to light up the summer league, by scoring 23 points and connecting on all of his 17 free-throw attempts. He also managed to dish out six assists. However, Chalmers was far from perfect. He committed seven turnovers and seven fouls. Beasley finished with 17 points on five-of-12 shooting. He was better than yesterday, but still not nearly as assertive as he was on Monday.

Kasib Powell gave Miami a double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He shot an above-average seven-of-12 from the field. With his strong showing in the summer league, I expect Powell to receive an invitation to the October training camp.

The Heat will try to regroup against Oklahoma City at 7:00 tomorrow.