The sky is falling! The Heat are a farce! Trade everyone! Call Allen Iverson now!!!
That's my normal reaction after every Heat loss. Now that the Heat have dropped 2 in a row for the first time in this very young season (and hearing the news about Ronnie Brown), it has not been the best 24 hours of my existence as a sports fan. But in time, sometimes in just a few hours, perspective starts to creep in and we can take a step back and give things a more rational assessment.
First of all, the Hawks are now 6-0 at home so it's not like anyone else has beat them there either. Is that the way you would want your players to look at it? No, Of course not. But just as the Heat were not as good as their start of the season led us to believe (or hoped) they are not as terrible as they have looked the past two nights either. As I have said before, there are holes in this Heat team. They are Pat Riley's incomplete rebuilding project. They are relying on very young, very raw talent, to develop and improve the team from within. When that's the blueprint you can expect some inconsistency.
But the biggest problem last night was not Michael Beasley, it was Dwyane Wade. He went 6-18 for a total of 15 points and only attempted 2 free throws. Some of that might come from Wade feeling like he has to win games all by himself (and too often that is the case) but that's part of the deal when you are the franchise guy. He knows that, he accepts that, and he'll be fine. But you are not going to beat a team like the Hawks at home when he's not at the top of his game.
Whenever things start to get bad for a team in any sport, the panic starts to set in and everyone wants the quick fix. There are already buzzings about Allen Iverson coming to Miami. I don't think it will happen, and I don't think the Heat are even considering it. It it was not a good idea before the season started and I don't know what would make them think it's a good idea now. One bad week of basketball has not changed the equation for this team.
Showing posts with label Game Recap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Recap. Show all posts
Heat - Thunder Game ReCrap
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
It got ugly quickly. The Thunder struck (doh ho ho! u c wut i did thar!?!?) early and rode the lightning... ok, I'll stop. Hey, after an apathetic performance like that by the Heat I'm surprised that I'm still awake at this point. But I have to admit, the Thunder are a fun team to watch. Kevin Durant is one of the premier attractions in the NBA in my opinion. And OKC's GM, Sam Presti has amassed a very impressive supporting cast around the Durantula.
Thabo Sefolosha did an outstanding job of defending Dwyane Wade tonight. D Wade was an inefficient 6-19 from the floor and was forced into 6 turnovers. His +/- was -12. Jermaine O'Neal was good, going 8-15 and finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The brightest spot for the Heat was Daequan Cook who finally showed up this season. Cook had 17 points and was 4-9 from 3 point range. Outside of Cook and O'Neal it was pretty awful for Miami. Michael Beasley (8 points 0 rebounds 0 assists) and Mario Chalmers (7 points 4 rebounds and 2 assists) were irrelevant. Quentin Richardson played somewhat limited minutes (17:48) and was also a non factor (2 points 1 rebound 1 assist). By comparason, the Thunder had 5 players (Durant, Green, Westbrook, Collison, and Kristic) go for double digits.
You can blame the loss on the Heat's lack of energy. You can blame it on them looking ahead to Atlanta tomorrow night. But sometimes the other team just plays better then you do. I think the truth is that all 3 of those factors came into play. And any team that overlooks the former Super Sonics is making a big mistake. It won't be long until that team is amongst the elite in the NBA. Keep in mind they gave it to the Magic in Orlando, beating them by 28 points and beat the Spurs in San Antonio. This isn't the same ol' shitty Sonics/Thunder.
We'll feel a lot better if the Heat can manage to do what nobody else in the NBA has done this season, and win in Atlanta tomorrow night. The Hawks are currently 5-0 at home. There won't be any overlooking Atlanta after they beat Miami last year in the absolute worst 7 game series in NBA playoff history. The Heat are a respectable 7-3 but there are definitely some warning signs that are starting to reveal themselves. Tomorrow nights game will tell us a lot more about what this Miami Heat team really is and what we can expect for the rest of the season.
Thabo Sefolosha did an outstanding job of defending Dwyane Wade tonight. D Wade was an inefficient 6-19 from the floor and was forced into 6 turnovers. His +/- was -12. Jermaine O'Neal was good, going 8-15 and finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The brightest spot for the Heat was Daequan Cook who finally showed up this season. Cook had 17 points and was 4-9 from 3 point range. Outside of Cook and O'Neal it was pretty awful for Miami. Michael Beasley (8 points 0 rebounds 0 assists) and Mario Chalmers (7 points 4 rebounds and 2 assists) were irrelevant. Quentin Richardson played somewhat limited minutes (17:48) and was also a non factor (2 points 1 rebound 1 assist). By comparason, the Thunder had 5 players (Durant, Green, Westbrook, Collison, and Kristic) go for double digits.
You can blame the loss on the Heat's lack of energy. You can blame it on them looking ahead to Atlanta tomorrow night. But sometimes the other team just plays better then you do. I think the truth is that all 3 of those factors came into play. And any team that overlooks the former Super Sonics is making a big mistake. It won't be long until that team is amongst the elite in the NBA. Keep in mind they gave it to the Magic in Orlando, beating them by 28 points and beat the Spurs in San Antonio. This isn't the same ol' shitty Sonics/Thunder.
We'll feel a lot better if the Heat can manage to do what nobody else in the NBA has done this season, and win in Atlanta tomorrow night. The Hawks are currently 5-0 at home. There won't be any overlooking Atlanta after they beat Miami last year in the absolute worst 7 game series in NBA playoff history. The Heat are a respectable 7-3 but there are definitely some warning signs that are starting to reveal themselves. Tomorrow nights game will tell us a lot more about what this Miami Heat team really is and what we can expect for the rest of the season.
Cavaliers - Heat Game Recap
Friday, November 13, 2009
Just some final thoughts about last nights game...
I guess you could say last nights loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers was frustrating for the Heat. But it was a lot of fun nonetheless. That game will be forgotten by everyone until the next time Miami and Cleveland face off on January 5th, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena. But nobody will ever forget Dwyane Wade's poster-izing of Anderson Varejao which can be seen here. Even LeBron James said "It could crack the top 10" dunks of all time.
Mo Williams abuse of Mario Chalmers was the difference last night. You could say that Beasley canceled out Williams's 25 points but Mo hit big shot after big shot last night and sealed the deal for Cleveland. Chalmers really struggles against the top tier point guards in the NBA. Mario still takes too many chances on defense and the Heat don't have a stopper in the middle to bail him out.
At the start of the 4th quarter, my initial impression was that Erik Spoelstra held out Wade for a little too long. But after thinking about it today, that call probably comes from up high. And by "up high" I mean Dwyane Wade. Its safe to assume to Spo and Wade have had a discussion or two about minutes, and rotations, and how Wade likes to get ready to close games. And Wade certainly knows his own body and knows when he needs to get rest. So upon further review, I don't think this is an area we can really second guess the coach.
The Heat play the Nets tomorrow night at home at 7:30pm. The Nets have not won a game this year and I expect that to continue for at least one more night.
I guess you could say last nights loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers was frustrating for the Heat. But it was a lot of fun nonetheless. That game will be forgotten by everyone until the next time Miami and Cleveland face off on January 5th, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena. But nobody will ever forget Dwyane Wade's poster-izing of Anderson Varejao which can be seen here. Even LeBron James said "It could crack the top 10" dunks of all time.
Mo Williams abuse of Mario Chalmers was the difference last night. You could say that Beasley canceled out Williams's 25 points but Mo hit big shot after big shot last night and sealed the deal for Cleveland. Chalmers really struggles against the top tier point guards in the NBA. Mario still takes too many chances on defense and the Heat don't have a stopper in the middle to bail him out.
At the start of the 4th quarter, my initial impression was that Erik Spoelstra held out Wade for a little too long. But after thinking about it today, that call probably comes from up high. And by "up high" I mean Dwyane Wade. Its safe to assume to Spo and Wade have had a discussion or two about minutes, and rotations, and how Wade likes to get ready to close games. And Wade certainly knows his own body and knows when he needs to get rest. So upon further review, I don't think this is an area we can really second guess the coach.
The Heat play the Nets tomorrow night at home at 7:30pm. The Nets have not won a game this year and I expect that to continue for at least one more night.
Six and One
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Outstanding start for the Miami Heat. Are there holes in this team? Of course. I still think the 4th seed in the East would be the absolute best case scenario but you have to give the Heat a lot of credit for how they have come out of the gates. Another nice test awaits on Thursday against the Cavs.
A few quick thoughts about the game:
- Quentin Richardson didn't exactly light up the stat line (0 points) but his defense and his knack for drawing charges has been a big part of the teams success tonight, and has been so far this season. He dropped a bunch of weight in the offseason and he's active all over the floor.
- Michael Beasley had a typical Beasley-ish night. Ok numbers (15 points, 6-17 shooting, only 5 boards). But his propensity to get his shots blocked when he goes to the rim is a concern. He did have a few nice finishes at the basket but we'd like to see some major improvement in that area.
- What is there to say about D-Wade? He struggled a bit early on but he was unreal down the stretch. 14-29 for 41 points and he added 5 assists and 5 rebounds. He remains the best ticket in town.
A few quick thoughts about the game:
- Quentin Richardson didn't exactly light up the stat line (0 points) but his defense and his knack for drawing charges has been a big part of the teams success tonight, and has been so far this season. He dropped a bunch of weight in the offseason and he's active all over the floor.
- Michael Beasley had a typical Beasley-ish night. Ok numbers (15 points, 6-17 shooting, only 5 boards). But his propensity to get his shots blocked when he goes to the rim is a concern. He did have a few nice finishes at the basket but we'd like to see some major improvement in that area.
- What is there to say about D-Wade? He struggled a bit early on but he was unreal down the stretch. 14-29 for 41 points and he added 5 assists and 5 rebounds. He remains the best ticket in town.
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