Heat Outduel Wizards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.