Pitiful Performance in Portland

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.