The Miami Heat's record stands at 7-5 and they find themselves in 3rd place in the South East Division and 6th overall in the Eastern Conference. Here's what 'they' are talking about around the Heatosphere:
-At one point in the second quarter, Shavlik Randolph pulled Beasley aside to explain a play. Let that marinate for a while. To his credit, Beasley continued to push through his uneven start.
-It took Dwyane Wade until the midpoint of the first quarter for his first basket, a driving layup. He was aggressive this time, attacking the rim.
-Slump? What slump? Wade is back, even if the shooting percentage still is off. - Sun-Sentinel
Despite being linked to a late round of negotiations with Allen Iverson, the Miami Heat denied a report in Thursday's New York Daily News that it had made a pitch for the recently released guard.
"The Iverson rumors are just that, rumors," a team spokesman said. "There's nothing to it." . - Sun-Sentinel
A Heat defense that once ranked among the league's stingiest teams surrendered 43 points in the second quarter and was outscored by 18 points. Toronto set the tone with its penetration and kick-outs to open shooters. The Raptors shot 79 percent in that quarter, including 67 percent from three-point rang. Seven Toronto players had at least four points in the quarter. - Miami Herald
``One thing you learn in this league is you don't get too high or too low,'' Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. ``It's a growing process for this team. We have to continue to get better and get back to being one of the best defensive teams in the league. But we have to stay together as a team.'' - Miami Herald
Miami played without Quentin Richardson, who left Wednesday's game with a sore back. Jones started in place of Udonis Haslem, who missed his second straight with a sore left shoulder.
"They both wanted to (play)," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game. "In fact, Udonis went through the walkthrough today but he's not 100 percent. There's still pain in his shoulder when it's up." - Palm Beach Post
“One thing you learn in this league is you don’t get too high, you don’t get too low,” Wade said. “When we were 6-1, if you’d asked me I’d say we’ve got to continue to get better. Now we’re 7-5 and we’ve got to continue to get better.” - Yahoo
Once again Beasley's inability to finish hurt Miami. Wade fed him with an open lane in front, but Beasley fumbled the ball, put up an airball and despite getting his own rebound, there were only a few ticks left on the shot clock and Miami couldn't get up an attempt in time. After the turnover, Jarrett Jack hit a huge three to put Toronto up by 7 with 1:42 left. A quick missed triple by Wade and the game was slipping away (again). Chris Bosh hit a jumper to put the Raptors up by 9, then after another miss from downtown by the Heat, Jarrett Jack hit another wide open corner trey to cap off a 10-0 run that put the game away for Toronto. - peninsulaismightier.com
nevr get 2 high. nevr get 2 low. That's how u have 2 b in life. We will bounce back. Growing pains isn't pretty but they R needed - Dwyane Wade on Twitter
Heat Loses It's Way
I just wanted to make a few very quick points about the state of the Heat right now.
Losing streaks happen in the NBA. Players go into slumps, you have injuries, you get a few bad breaks, and all of a sudden you drop a few games. But when a team begins to lose it's identity altogether it becomes a cause for serious concern. The Heat gave up 120 points to the Raptors on Friday night allowing Toronto to shoot 57.7% from the field as a team. Whats worse, the Raptors went 9 of 15 behind the 3 point line (60%). So for all of the progress that we thought the team had made with it's perimeter defense at the start of the season, it has quickly taken some major steps backward.
Heat opponents have scored 100 points or more in all 5 loses (Phoenix 104, Cleveland 111, Oklahoma City 100, Atlanta 105, Toronto 120). In Heat victories, nobody has scored more then 93 (New York in game 1 of the year). You can make stats say whatever you want sometimes but there is no getting around the importance of defense for this team. The Heat does not have the firepower to win high scoring games on a consistent basis.
Losing streaks happen in the NBA. Players go into slumps, you have injuries, you get a few bad breaks, and all of a sudden you drop a few games. But when a team begins to lose it's identity altogether it becomes a cause for serious concern. The Heat gave up 120 points to the Raptors on Friday night allowing Toronto to shoot 57.7% from the field as a team. Whats worse, the Raptors went 9 of 15 behind the 3 point line (60%). So for all of the progress that we thought the team had made with it's perimeter defense at the start of the season, it has quickly taken some major steps backward.
Heat opponents have scored 100 points or more in all 5 loses (Phoenix 104, Cleveland 111, Oklahoma City 100, Atlanta 105, Toronto 120). In Heat victories, nobody has scored more then 93 (New York in game 1 of the year). You can make stats say whatever you want sometimes but there is no getting around the importance of defense for this team. The Heat does not have the firepower to win high scoring games on a consistent basis.
Uh Oh! Hawks 105 - Heat 90
Thursday, November 19, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Durantula!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tomorrow night the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics will play the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. The game will not be a sellout. The AAA only fills up when Kobe, LeBron, the Celtics, or a big name opponent is in town on a Friday or Saturday. But the astute basketball fan in South Florida has had this game marked down on his calendar since the schedule came out. The astute basketball fan knows that the next Kobe, LeBron, Wade, type guy will be on the court Tuesday night. His name is Kevin Durant, but YOU already knew that. It won't be long until the casuals know his name as well.
The Durantula is averaging 28.1 PPG and 7.4 RPG in just his 3rd season in the league. That's up from the 25.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG that he was getting last season. And yeah, he's only 21 years old.
For a little perspective on how good his numbers are, here are the numbers for Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant at age 21.
MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kobe Bryant: 38.2 .468 .319 .821 6.3 4.9 1.6 0.9 22.5
LeBron James: 40.9 .476 .319 .698 6.7 6.0 1.6 0.7 27.3
Kevin Durant: 40.7 .443 .220 .886 7.4 2.4 1.6 0.7 28.1
The only numbers that are down right now for Durant are his 3P% (42.2% last season) which certainly has brought his overall FG% down (47.6% last year). He's not the ball handler that Bryant and James are but his overall numbers are outstanding for anyone, let alone someone his age.
Like a lot of great players around the league, he really is someone that you appreciate even more when you have the opportunity to see him live and in person. He can score from anywhere on the floor and he's freakishly athletic especially for someone who is 6'9". He looks even taller in person because of his skinny frame.
So if you have the opportunity to make it down to the AAA, do yourself a favor and go. Sometime in the very near future, tickets to see Kevin Durant play are going to be much harder to get.
The Durantula is averaging 28.1 PPG and 7.4 RPG in just his 3rd season in the league. That's up from the 25.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG that he was getting last season. And yeah, he's only 21 years old.
For a little perspective on how good his numbers are, here are the numbers for Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant at age 21.
MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kobe Bryant: 38.2 .468 .319 .821 6.3 4.9 1.6 0.9 22.5
LeBron James: 40.9 .476 .319 .698 6.7 6.0 1.6 0.7 27.3
Kevin Durant: 40.7 .443 .220 .886 7.4 2.4 1.6 0.7 28.1
The only numbers that are down right now for Durant are his 3P% (42.2% last season) which certainly has brought his overall FG% down (47.6% last year). He's not the ball handler that Bryant and James are but his overall numbers are outstanding for anyone, let alone someone his age.
Like a lot of great players around the league, he really is someone that you appreciate even more when you have the opportunity to see him live and in person. He can score from anywhere on the floor and he's freakishly athletic especially for someone who is 6'9". He looks even taller in person because of his skinny frame.
So if you have the opportunity to make it down to the AAA, do yourself a favor and go. Sometime in the very near future, tickets to see Kevin Durant play are going to be much harder to get.
It's Dwyane Wade's House. Because He Says it is.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Here's a very good quality YouTube clip of Dwyane Wade's game winning shot against New Jersey.
There is really nothing more that needs to be said. He's great. He's really, really, great.
There is really nothing more that needs to be said. He's great. He's really, really, great.
A Saturday Morning Roundup
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Whats going on in the Heat Universe? Here is some reading material to get you caught up.
Ethan Skolnick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says:
Ethan Skolnick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says:
Ten minutes. That's all it took. That's the world in which we now live.Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel has a take on Udonis Haslem at Small Forward:
Ten minutes, and it had spread like a pandemic, with NBA fans and players scrambling to type Twitter tweets and embed YouTube video and update Facebook pages, all so you could see what they couldn't believe they just saw.
He is a physical inside presence. He is a gritty hustler. He is an undersized power player with an oversized heart.Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald with thoughts on some non-LeBron moves:
But he is not a small forward, especially when cast as a perimeter defender.
Still, none of those situations are worth sacrificing Miami's flexibility next season to make a move this season. But there is a place that might prove ripe for the pilfering: New Orleans.Chad Ford of ESPN on "Dream Team Miami":
This past week I've been crunching salary cap numbers after a Heat source told me they were trying to find a way to lure both LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade this summer.Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post reflects on the Cavs-Heat game:
There was a palpable buzz in the place. There was a humming expectation. It was one of those exciting moments in professional basketball, and only an appetizer for what happened at the end of the quarter...Nyets in town tonight. I'm sure Brook Lopez is still pissed about this. Go Heat!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
