|
|
|
|
It's over.
The Champs have fallen.
The Miami Heat's season is over.
Last year's NBA Champs have been swept by the Chicago Bulls. The team that gave Miami the most trouble in the playoffs last year, and the team that blew the doors off the Heat in the first game of the season, is the same team that dominated the Heat from the beginning of Game 1 until the last second of Game 4.
Somehow I knew I would be writing this blog two weeks ago when the Bulls lost to the Nets and became the Heat's first round opponent. With a dinged up D-Wade, old Shaq and no back-up point guard, I knew the Heat had no chance.
Miami's downfall would be turnovers, free throw shooting and the inability to find the right starting lineup to match up with the steady Bulls.
Turnovers: You can thank Wade and Shaq. 37 in four games between the two of them.
Free throws: Once again, Wade and Shaq, you can throw Zo into the mix too. I'm not going to figure it out for all the games, but in Game 3 the Heat were 16-35, and in Game 4, Shaq was 0-7.
Starting lineup: Riley. Four games, four different lineups.
The Bulls are a solid team. They out husseled Miami, and killed them on the boards. They played great defense, and made shots when they needed to.
Still, Miami should have won this series just like they did last year. The problem for the Heat this year was they relied on D-Wade and Shaq too much. Jwil, Haslem and Posey/Kapono/Jones were completely removed the offense. When they did get shot opportunities, they were bailing out Wade or Shaq with the shot clock winding down. Riley rarely ran plays for Haslem, and ran even less for Jwil. Forcing the ball to Shaq and having Wade handle the ball instead of Jwil or even Payton, lead to all of those turnovers. Riley should have limited Wade's ball handling, especially if he's still hurt. Instead, he increased it. Not smart.
The free throw shooting was a joke for Miami. Shaq says he makes them when they count. Please. He never makes them, and last time I checked, THEY ALL COUNT! Wade got into the act in Game 3 by shooting only 40% from the line. There are no excuses for a team to be this bad from the line, especially from the two "superstars" on the team.
Riley takes a hit for the way he coached the Heat into this playoff disaster. He had Miami playing tight from the beginning of Game 1. The Heat had a lot of pressure on them coming into the series, and I doubt Riley did anything to eliviate any of that pressure. He probably added to it. Switching the lineup every game didn't help. Guys don't know their roll when the starting lineup represents a carousel, players start pressing and can't make a shot.
I really don't know yet how I feel about this season. It's still too early. Obviously, I'm disappointed. Injuries played a big part in this year's quick ending, but I'm not sure how much different things would have turned out. I do think Miami's season does prove one thing, you can't sleepwalk through the regular season, and then just turn it on in the playoffs. That definitely hurt them in the end.
The Miami Heat getting knocked out in the first round this year, once again makes me realize just how difficult repeating is in professional sports. It takes such a special team to win a championship, doing it two or more years in a row is close to impossible.
I'm still pretty pissed about this game, and it's a day later. Normally, I get over games the minute they end. I don't live and die with my teams like some fans do. I have more important things going on in my life than to worry about what happened in some stupid game played by million dollar athletes. There have only been two sporting events that have prevented me from sleeping; Roy Jones Jr. getting knocked out in the second round by Antonio Tarver, and Game 1 of Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs 2004 playoff series. Yeah, I'm sure that one kept you guys up too....
I didn't have a problem falling asleep last night, but after the game I was pretty upset. It's very annoying when you know more about a game than the head coach of the team you are rooting for. Yankee fans know what I'm talking about. Pat Riley blew that game yesterday when he convinced himself that the Heat couldn't win without Dwyane Wade and Shaq. Despite the fact that they actually played better without those two ballhogs.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't think the Heat are a better team with out their two superstars. I know they need them just as much as any team in the NBA needs its go-to guys. But yesterday, Shaq and Wade were turnover machines, and when they weren't turning the ball over they were picking up stupid fouls. Now Shaq and Wade will tell you that the Bulls had help from the officials, but seriously, how often have you seen Shaq try to take a charge, much less two in one game? Not smart.
Wade was no better. Riley has this idea that when Jwil is on the bench, Wade can play the point. The main reason for this is that Gary Payton has completely collapsed as a back-up point guard. Honestly, as bad as the Mitten is, he takes better care of the ball than Wade. D-Wade turned the ball over five times, constantly making bad decisions. Getting caught up in the air, making cross court passes, losing his dribble, it was frustrating. Meanwhile, Jwil had only one turnover, and it was on an alley-oop pass to Wade who couldn't get off the ground to get to it.
The turning point of this game was in the middle of the fourth quater when both Wade and Shaq went to the bench with five fouls each and the Heat down by 11. Finally, the Heat's other players were allowed to play together, and were not forced to get the ball to their two superstars. They rallyed and went on a 8-2 run, closing the gap and making it once again a game.
Once the "other" guys got the game close, Riley put Shaq and Wade back in the game. Almost immeditatly, Wade put up an aweful, forced shot, missed and the Bulls went down the court and scored. On the next Bulls possession, Shaq fouled out. The place went crazy, and the Heat's ship had sunk. Miami would get within three, but instead of drawing up a play for the three-point shooters on the team, like Jwil, Posey, Walker (yes, I said Walkler) or Jones, Riley gives the ball to Wade and asks him to jack up a three. It was a brick.
If the Heat want to have a chance in this series, they have to get the other players involved. I'm talking about the Jwil's, the Posey's, the Kapono's. Those guys. Stop force feeding Shaq. Stop giving Wade all the freedom in the world. And start playing like a team.
The Miami Heat got blown out on the road tonight, forcing me to channel surf when they emptied the bench in the middle of the third quarter. They lost to the Charlotte Bobcats, 92-82.
How bad were the Heat? Walker lead them in scoring (17 points) and rebounds (9).
The Heat have completely quit on the season, and are just resting up for the playoffs. Tonight Shaq, Payton and Haslem sat out the game. It was Haslem's first game missed all season. He had been the only starter to play in every game this year.
Wade started in this one, but he was still rusty as hell. He had four turnovers. Between Jwil, Wade and Walker, they combined for 11 turnovers. Not really playoff type numbers. If the Heat are going to continue to play like this, I might stop covering the games until the playoffs start. I'm not here to waste time.
Tomorrow the Heat take on the Washington Wizards. It was supposed to be a big game, but Washington is playing terribly right now. They miss Agent Zero and fell to the Nets tonight. You know you're bad when you lose to the Nets. I can't wait for them to go to Brooklyn.
On a side note, James Posey got arrested Monday night and charged with a DUI. He claims he's innocent. Riley said he won't take any action against Posey until he finds out all the facts. I doubt that Riley will suspend Posey for any games during the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Stay tuned.
Dwyane Wade returned from his shoulder injury, but he tried to do too much against the Bobcats and it wound up costing Miami the victory.
I only caught the second half of this game, so I wasn't as into it as I usually am. It was Easter, after all.
Miami trailed at halftime, 57-47. Charlotte opened the third quarter with a quick 6-0 run, causing the Heat to call a time out after 1:20 into the quarter. Miami got their act together, and after a Posey three, the lead was back to ten.
Things stayed that way for much of the third and fourth quarters. In the fourth, the line up of Wade, Payton, Kapono, Mourning and Walker got the Heat back in the game. With four minutes to play, they tied the score.
The Bobcats didn't run away and hide. They sacked up, and took whatever the Heat could give them. They played tough, and with less than three seconds left in the game, Gerald Wallace put his head down and drove to the rim. He forced up a shot that didn't count because time had expired. The two teams went into overtime.
In overtime, the Heat ran everything through D-Wade. Wade was tired by now, but had his confidence back that he lacked in the first couple of quarters. He hit a couple of jumpers, but also took some bad, forced shots. He was also horrible from the line, going 6-12. He finished with 12 points, eight assists and six turnovers.
The Heat were done in by some guy named Walter Herrmann. Who? Exactly. This guy drained three, three's in OT. I think they were in a row, too.
That was all she wrote for the Heat. Hopefully they'll get payback on Tuesday night when they play the Bobcats again in Charlotte.
Because in games like these, the Heat really need him.
I'm writing this as the Heat and Cavs play into overtime, and despite whatever the outcome is the Heat miss Dwyane Wade bigtime in games against good teams. They miss his ability to take the final shot, and his knack for getting to the line.
Miami squeaked out a win 94-90, and that's what matters, but once again they gave up their lead late and allowed Cleveland back into the game, then they were able to force overtime. Good defense, by of all people Jason Williams, and clutch free throw shooting, also by Jwil, gave Miami the win.
Williams had a horrible game. If it wasn't for his steal of a LeBron James pass late in OT, and his shots from the line, he wouldn't have even been mentioned in this blog entry. He was 1-8, for five points and only three assists. Pretty weak.
The real star for Miami was Number 8! That's right, Antoine Walker! This guy comes into the game shooting 26% from three. Horrible. So what does he do? He goes 6-8 from behind the arc, and finishes with 20 points and six rebounds. Gary Payton, the Mitten, also had a solid game. Four points, four rebounds and eight dimes in only 21 minutes. Overall, Miami's bench came up huge, and really helped the Heat keep their lead throughout the game.
The Cleveland Cavs came out dragging verses Miami and found themselves in the hole early. Shaq dominated the first half, quickly getting the Cleveland bigs in foul trouble. Miami controlled the tempo for most of the game, but in the fourth quarter, LeBron made some big shots and big passes. He finished with 35 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Impressive, but not enough for the win.
Don't blame Drew Gooden for the loss. It wasn't his fault. That guy is a monster. He was good for 14 points and 14 rebounds. Good thing Memphis traded him a couple of years ago. Someone should check Jerry West's pulse.
Miami is now a game and a half in front of Washington in the Southeast Division, and with Agent Zero going down with a knee injury, I don't see that lead getting any smaller. The Heat are currently the number four seed, a game behind the Raptors. The next couple of games are on the road, including tomorrow night's trap game against the Celtics. Hopefully, Miami can side step that landmine, and continue to prepare for the playoffs.
It was a big game, a "must win" according to Heat coach Pat Riley, and the Miami Heat held off the Toronto Raptors for a 92-89 victory. With the victory and Washington loss (122-102 to the Bobcats), Miami is now in first place and owns the tie breaker against the Raptors. So if the Raptors finish with the same record as the Heat, the Heat will get the higher seeding. This could be huge because chances are the Heat will be playing for the third seed, and if they lost tonight they would have wound up playing on the road in the first round of the playoffs, and possibly a second round match up with the Detroit Pistons. That still might happen, but hopefully the Heat can win enough games to stay right where they are.
Heat fans can thank James Pocket Fulla' Posey for this victory. The guy only had six points (four from the charity stripe), but his 13 rebounds were huge and his free throws were clutch. He sealed the game for Miami.
The Heat came out like gangbusters and nailed nine of their first ten shots, but weak defense kept the Raptors right on their heals. Jwil was hot, slicing and dicing his way to the rim for easy baskets and hitting a couple of early 3's. He had 12 at halftime, but for the second straight game stopped shooting the ball in the second half. He only had two points in the second half.
The Raptors were cleaning up on the glass all game, but really turned it on in the second half. Chris Bosh and Rasho Nesterovic had 20 rebounds between them and eight of them were offensive. Toronto started getting Shaq involved in pick-and-rolls and it was killing Miami. With Shaq out trying to guard T.J. Ford the Raptor's bigs were able to roam free under the rim for short jumpers and lay ins. It's nice to know that after being in the league 100 years, Shaq still doesn't know how to defend the pick-and-roll.
Toronto got close in the final minutes of the game, but the Heat and Posey held them off. Both teams had several oppertunities to give themselves some breathing room, but were unable to get a shot or in Miami's case, get a shot attempt. They turned the ball over a ton of times.
Thank God for Posey. Good thing Memphis traded him and Jwil for Eddie Jones two year ago. Now that Jones is on Miami, after Memphis bought out the final year of his contract, that trade makes even more sense.
Pat Riley wasted Jwil's 20+ point effort, and cost Miami a victory today in Detroit where they lost 94-88. There aren't many games you can blame a coach on during the season (unless we are talking Yankee baseball), but this one is squarely on Slick's head.
The Heat led most of the way in this one. In the first half, Miami was killing the Pistons on boards and in the paint. Their defense was stout, too. They held the Pistons to 13 points in the first quarter. The starters for Miami opened up a ten point lead in the second quarter, but the reserves came in and Pistons went on a 16 to 2 run to close the gap. You can thank Gary Payton and Antoine Walker for that. By halftime, Miami had a 46-41 advantage.
Jason Williams and Shaq both had 13 points for the Heat at the half. Jwil was having his way for the second straight game against Chauncey Billups. He was blowing by the Detroit guard at will, and finishing at the rim. Jwil was dominating Billups so badly that they switched him off Williams and had Rip Hamilton guard him. At the other end of the court, Williams was playing solid D on Billups. Mr. Big Shot finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three turnovers. Jwil finished with 21 points on 7 for 9 shooting and three assists.
As the game went on, the game got closer. Late in fourth quarter, the Pistons tied the game and then took the lead thanks to some Miami turnovers because Payton, Walker, Posey and Jones can't handle a full-court press.
Why wasn't Jwil bringing the ball up the court, you ask. Ask Riley.
For some reason, Jwil was sitting on the bench. After the second turnover, Slick put Jwil back in the game, where he was quickly pressured and turned the ball over on a questionable offensive foul call.
The three TO's weren't pretty, and cost the Heat the lead and probably the win, but the game wasn't over yet. The Heat kept it close, but wasted too many possessions dumping the ball down to Shaq. Meanwhile, Jwil didn't attempt a shot.
Questionable play calling? Wait to you hear this.
With the Heat down four with 30+ seconds left, the Heat call a timeout so that Riley can draw up a play. The Heat didn't need a three, a quick two would have been fine. The Heat come out of the timeout and the play that Pat Riley calls is for WALKER!! Are you kidding me? Walker gets the ball, fakes a three, than jacks one up. It's a horrible shot that's not even close. The long rebound finds Walker again. He tries to jack up another tippy-toe-three, but steps out of bounds, resulting in a turnover. With the Heat down six, and about six seconds left in the game Walker was able to turn the ball over one more time.
Game over.
The Miami Heat are back in first place in the Southwest division thanks to a clutch win in Minnesota, and a choke job in Washington.
The Heat played a focused game against the fading Timberwolves, and came away with a 92-77 victory. Miami was in desperate need of a road win that didn't take place in Atlanta, and the Wolves were happy to provide one.
Defense and fast break baskets were what enabled the Heat to lead in this one almost the entire way. The Heat players combined for eight steals (Posey, Jones and Williams all had two). Every steal seemed to lead to a Posey layup and Jwil assist. Shaq was very active on the defensive end of the floor. He altered several shots and had two blocks on the night. It's nice to see the Big Man move his size 22's on D, and not be afraid to pick up a foul. Too many times in recent games O'Neal has been careful on defense, and it has lead to easy baskets for the other team.
All five starters for Miami finished with double figures. Udonis Haslem lead the team with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Jwil also finished with a double-double, 15 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. He had four turnovers, but to his defense none of them were his fault. They all should have been assists.
The Heat are now in first place by half of a game because of the 123-118 loss by the Wizards to the Raptors. This was a game the Wiz had in the bag, but with four seconds left, Mo Peterson nailed a 30+ footer to tie the game at the buzzer forcing overtime where the Wiz caved.
Sunday at noon, Pistons vs. Heat on national television. Pretty much a must win for the Heat, who really need to win every game from here on in to ensure a home court advantage in the playoffs. The Pistons are coming off of a close game against the Nets where they squeeked out a win 110-105. The last time the Pistons and Heat met Miami came away with a home victory. Detroit chose to cover Shaq one-on-one and got burned because of it. It will be interesting to see if they use the same tactic.
My prediction, Heat in a blow out, 100-75.
Tonight in Miami the Heat bounced back from two devastating losses to the Pacers and Sixers, and got a win against the Atlanta Hawks 106-89.
It was a pretty easy win. The Hawks were competitive, but never in control of the game. Josh Smith had 20 points, but on 6 for 15 shooting. He had a couple of sweet dunks on fast breaks, but the Heat played some good D, unlike against the Sixers, and were able to limit Atlanta's fast break baskets.
It was a balanced attack for Miami. The Heat had four players in double figures. Shaq lead the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Pocket Fulla Posey had a nice game with 19 points and three steals. Jason Williams controlled the game and tempo for the Heat. He took care of the ball, unlike against the Sixers, and only had one turnover on five assists and 14 points.
The Heat really righted the ship tonight. They only took 13 3's, they got to the foul line 45 times and they scored countless points in the paint. Jwil stopped settling for bad 3's, and took the ball to rim for either the easy score or a dish to a cutting Posey/Jones. Shaq had good position all night in the post, and the Heat were going to him as much as possible. If there wasn't anything there right away, Shaq would make the pass out and then repost. The Heat players were dumping the ball back into him or making good decisions and not just jacking up shots.
The Heat will step up in competition on Wednesday when they take on the Toronto Raptors. A win against Toronto would put the Heat ahead of the Raptors in the playoff standings. If the Wizards lose tonight in Utah, the Heat will be ahalf of a game in first place in their division. It possible with a Wizards loss tonight, and a Heat win on Wednesday, that the Heat will be the third playoff seed with home court in the first round. Heat fans, we can only hope.
For a recap of tonight's brutal loss please go to depressedfan.com. I haven't read Brian's post yet, but what ever he says is 100% true. This was one of the worst losses for the Heat this year.
Every now and then every team in the NBA is going to have a game like this one. One where nothing works, offensively or defensively, and the other team comes out making every shot, dominating the glass and getting all the calls.
Unfortunately, the Heat wound up on the short end of the stick in tonight's game. I could have started this blog with four minutes left in the first quarter when the Heat were already down by 20 points. They finished the quarter with a total of nine points. Ouch.
The Indiana Pacers rocked the Heat for 48 minutes. Mike Dunleavy took it to Miami early and often. He finished with 20 points. He was hitting 3's, dunking, setting up guys for easy layups, basically the Heat's defense made him look like Larry Bird.
The Heat's offensive wasn't any better than their D. Jwil jacked a bunch of bad 3's, and turned the ball over three times. Eddie Jones and James Posey combined for 10 points on 4 for 13 shooting. Shaq lead the team with 13 points. How weak is that?
Pat Riley tried to shake up the line up early by plugging Dorrel Wright, Payton and Walker. It didn't work. No. 8 had four points in 20 minutes, on 0-8 shooting. Enough said.
I'm really not too upset about this loss. These things happen. What can't happen is for this team to make a habit of not showing up for games. Saturday night they take on the Sixers, who we all know blow. They can't afford a loss tomorrow night, not only because the 69ers' are an abortion of a team, but because Brian over at depressedfan.com will never let me live it down.
It's been almost a week since my last post and I have been getting thousands of emails wondering "what's up." Here is just a sample of some of the emails.
Yo B, where you been? What's up with the Heat? You still watchin'? -Jerome in Newark, NJ
Hey, I love the blog, but where has it been? You're starting to post as infrequently as that guy at greenpinstripes.com. By the way, are you ever going to talk hockey because I think the Devils have a good shot at the cup. -PJ in my parents' basement
Dude, your blog rules! Go Heat! Did you see Jwil win it for the Heat against the Hawks? Please do some more entries because I can't deal with those other losers at blogsbyfans.com. Some of those guys need to get a life! -J.H. Christ
Easy guys, I've been here and I've been watching. I did see both games over the weekend, I just decided to take a couple of days off to recharge the batteries.
Last night's game is a different story. Starting last week, I will not be posting on Wednesday night games anymore for the remainder of the season. I have started playing basketball again in Jersey City on Wednesday nights, so since I don't have TiVo and I refuse to post on games that I didn't actually watch, I will not be posting on the games. The good news is that there are only three games left in the regular season on Wednesdays.
Once the playoffs start, and the Heat are sitting pretty in the second seed, I will be sacrificing my health and jump shot to report on the Heat's romp towards another championship.
So keep you're shirts on kids, and don't be so hard on my co-workers at blogsbyfans.com. And no PJ, there will never be any hockey talk on this blog or (hopefully) any other blog on BBF.com. Go back to Russia!
The Miami Heat came to my home state of New Jersey and did in the Nets 93-86 to win their eighth game in a row. I would have been at the game if my wife and I didn't owe New Jersey over $700 in taxes (don't even ask how much we owe federal, we have our company to thank for that). Did you know that there is no state tax in Florida? So anyway, I have no money so I wasn't able to go to the swamp, and had to watch the TNT broadcast from home. At least it was in HD. Doesn't Nets coach Lawrence Frank look like Charlie Brown? He should be fired. The game was very competitive, but controlled by Miami. Even when the Nets had the lead, you knew the Heat were going to come back. Miami found themselves trialing at halftime 45-43. They busted through the door in third quarter, outscoring NJ 25-15. After taking a ten point lead, Miami used their defense to lock the Nets down and control the game until the final buzzer. How good was the Heat's defense? In the last 25 minutes of the game, Vince Carter scored one point. Udonis Haslem had the game of his life. New Jersey was so busy worring about how to guard Shaq that they completely forgot about Haslem. He was a one man wrecking crew, going for 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jason Willams also had a great game for the Heat. He outplayed the over-rated wife beater Jason Kidd. Jwil had 13 points, 12 asissts, 5 rebounds and zero turnovers. A quick look at Jason Kidd's stats might make you think he had a good game (10 rebounds, 14 assists and 8 points). But in reality, you can make the argument that he cost New Jersey the game. First of all, Kidd had three turnovers. All of which came when the Nets were on a run. All three TO's shifted the momentum back to the Heat. Also, with about a minute left and the Nets down only four, Kidd had a wide (and I mean w-i-d-e), open look at three. He put up an airball. The Sacromento Queens are next for Miami tomorrow night. I'm offically worried about this game. The Heat have to fly back to Miami tonight in the rain and possible snow storm, then get ready for team that has lost four in row. Back-to-back's are never easy in the NBA especially when you have to travel between them. Even if the win streak comes to end tomorrow night, the Heat have made up a lot of ground in the last two weeks and are now a serious contender in the East.
If you don't like it, you must love because right now the Miami Heat are the best team in the NBA. Forget about that Euro in Dallas, and the Suns have never won a thing. Spurs? Psssst. Please. The NBA Championship runs through Miami. Believe it! The Utah Jazz found that out the hard way. It takes more than being up by 17 points in the third to finish off this Heat team. The Jazz got punched in the mouth to the tune of 88-86. That's seven straight wins, and 13 in a row at home. Do you think the Wizards hear Miami knocking at the door? They are about to kick it in! The game started off slow for the Heat. Shaq quickly got in foul trouble along with James Posey. Coach Riley had to go to the bench early and that affected the offense. Jwil was the only starter holding his own. He kept the Heat above water for three quarters, and finished with a team high 15 points. Utah looked like they were in Miami to make a statement. They came out and dominated Miami on both ends of the floor. I think Carlos Boozer had 42 lay ups. Mehmet Okur hit 78 3's. They were icing the Heat. Slapping balls away from Miami's bigs, out rebounding the world and shooting at an impressive percent. This just in, Number 8 still makes baskets! That's right, good ole' Antoine Walker showed up and basically won this game for Miami. He scored all of his 13 point in the fourth quarter where Miami outscored Utah 28-12. Walker was making steals, dishing dimes, draining tre's (well, at least one of them) and taking it strong to the rim. Props to him. It's nice of the former all-star to make his first appearence 63 games into the season. The Heat will take it. Every night it's someone new stepping up to the plate and getting the game winning hit. Hey New Jersey! You're next! Net fans get ready to have your arena sold out for the first time all year. You're welcome.
The Miami Heat haters are really grasping at straws nowadays. It's hard to talk trash about the NBA Champs when they have won six games in a row, and 12 straight at home.
Their latest win came against the team they are chasing the Washington Wizards. The Heat sqeeked out a win 106-104. The win almost didn't happen, thanks to Gary Payton.
Early in the game, the Glove, was the Heat's best player. He scored 14 points in the first half. The second half the Glove went back to being the Mitten. He was held to three points, and with the game on the line he missed two free throws that would have sealed the game for the Heat.
The Wizards got the ball back with six seconds left on the clock. Antawn Jamison was called for an offensive foul. So the Heat got the ball back, and Payton seemed to be off the hook.
The Wiz fouled immediately. Jwil went to the line where he made one of two. With the Wizards down three, the only shot they had was going to be a three point attempt. All the Heat players had to do was challenge the shot, but most importantly, don't foul.
What does Payton do? He fouls Gilbert Arenas as he jacks up a three point prayer.
I almost shat my pants.
Arenas made all three free throw attempts. With the game tied at 104-104, Miami had three seconds left on the clock for a shot attempt. To the shock of everyone, Pat Riley drew up a play for Udonis Haslem. Jwil passed the ball in to U, he faked right, then dribbled left and hit a fade away jumper in the paint for the win.
You're a lucky man Mitten! This one would have been on you!
The win puts the Heat only one game behind the Southeast Division leading Wizards. They are playing their best basketball without their best player. All the guys have stepped up and made contributions. So by this time next week, the Heat will back on top, dominating, resting up for another run at the championship.
So for the haters out there, sorry guys. Maybe next year.
It's March. The NBA season is almost over, and the Miami Heat have officially flipped the switch. It took them long enough, but as long as they win the division no one will remember how long it took them to get to .500.
.500 is now a distant memory. Sure the Heat are only two games above the average mark, but believe, trust me, this team is anything but average. When the season ends, and the Heat are the second playoff seed (just like last year), the Eastern Conference is going to be shaking in their proverbial boots.
One of those Eastern Conference teams just got smoked in Miami. The Chicago Bulls got slaughtered 103-70. The main killers were Shaq (24 points, 9 rebounds and 8 dimes), and Old Man Eddie Jones (23 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks). Who knew Eddie still had it in him! He has been more than anyone could have expected since the Heat signed him a couple of weeks ago. The crowd loves this guy. He gets an "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie" chant every time he drills a three.
Miami clamped down on "D" holding the Bulls to only 27 second half points. Oh, and James Posey drew six offensive charges, if you need him. Zo had four blocks in only 11 minutes of playing time. Everyone was getting into the act. Jwil had two steals to go along with seven assists and five points. Even Walker showed some defense with two blocks. His 10 boards, 14 points and five assists weren't bad either.
Basically, the entire league is in serious trouble. If the Heat are going to play this well without their best player, just think about how deadly they are going to be when he returns. I can name about 15 teams who don't want to think about that right now.
For the first time since November, the Miami Heat have a winning record.
That's pretty pathetic.
But that's the way it has been for the NBA Champs. Injuries, lack of focus and uninspired play prevented Miami from looking anything like a championship team. Just when things started to turn for Heat, their best player, their "Superman", D-Wade went down with a dislocated shoulder. To some scribes and bloggers, the season was over. Finished.
The Heat had different ideas. Instead of packing it in, they decided to step up. Particularly, Shaq. He's looking more like the Shaq from the Lakers. The Shaq who won three championships. Not the 35-year-old Shaq who looks soft, fat and old. He's gone back to his ghetto game, and just at the right time.
Miami defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 88-81. The Heat were led by Eddie Jones, who had his coming out party since rejoining Miami a couple of weeks ago. He finished with 21 points, 4 for 7 from downtown. Shaq had another soild game, 14 points and 9 boards. On a side note, the Heat sustained another injury. This time it was Jason Kapono who suffered a high ankle sprain. Dorell Wright will be filling in for Kapono until he returns.
The win puts Miami (30-29) in the sixth playoff spot, and only 3 1/2 games out of first place in the Southeast Conference. The Heat are making their playoff push at the perfect time. The league is ripe for the taking. They have a favorable schedule with a ton of home games. Wade has decided to delay sugery, and is hoping to be back in a couple of weeks for the playoffs. If he is able to get anywhere near what he was before the injury, the Heat will be the team to beat all the way through the playoffs for the East.
Memo to sport hacks who hate Pat Riley, and Brian at delusionalfan.com: Not only are the Miami Heat going to be in the playoffs, they are going to win the Southeast Division. Who is going to stop them? The Wizards? The Magic? Please. Miami went to D.C. had lunch with the Prez, and then punched the Southeast Division leaders in the mouth, hand cuffing them to 83 points (22 points below their average) and holding Agent Zero to only 15 points (0 for 8 from 3). Jwil and Shaq led the Heat with 23 points each as Miami took it to Washington on offense and denied them on defense. The three-headed monster of Posey, Payton and Jones did a great job of frustrating Gilbert Arenas and forcing him into bad shots. Udonis Haslem came back from the dead to put up an impressive double/double, 12 points, 16 rebounds (7 were offensive). All in all, an excellent team effort. The Heat are currently in second place in the Southeast, and are only 3 1/2 games out of first. With the next five games at home (one of those against Washington), and the majority of the remaining games against sub-.500 teams, Miami is in excellent position to take back what's theirs. First place.
The Miami Heat traveled north to face the playoff hungry New York Knicks, and after a knock em' down, drag em' out game, the Knicks came out victorious with a 99-93 win. I was there along with Brian from depressedfan.com, in Section 344, Row E, which by the way, are great seats. Our pregame warm ups were just as impressive as the game itself. Combined we put away three foot-long hot dogs, one 24 oz Coke, one 32 oz Coke, two jumbo hot pretzels and one large bucket of French fries from Ranch 1. Now that's how you get ready for a Knicks/Heat game!!!! The first three quarters were a complete yawn. For the most part, the Knicks led. Jwil was keeping the Heat in the game with 3's, he finished with 15 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds. In the fourth, the Heat regained the lead led by Jason Kapono, who once again struggled in the first half. He hit some 3's, but did most of his damage with 12-foot jumpers. He finished with 24, but had three turnovers, all were costly and all led to points for the Knicks. Eddy Curry was taking it to Miami the entire game. Even Brian was impressed with his double/double. He finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds. The Heat couldn't stop him, and he lived at the line. Actually, the Knicks entire team lived at the line. They were 30-39, compared to Miami's 5-8. In the fourth, Starbury woke up and blew up the Heat. The Garden came alive with every basket he made. He hit some big 3's, scored on a couple of three-point plays and drove to the hole for easy lay-ups around Shaq's old, big body. Steph finished with 25. In the end, he and Crawford were too much for the Heat and the Knicks came away with the win. The Heat lost this game because of two things; they didn't finish at the end of quarters, and the Knicks proficiency from behind the arch. In both the first and second quarters, New York ended the quarter with an unanswered three. That's the difference in the game.
King James and his Cleveland Cavilers came to Miami and got dethroned 86-81. Miami stepped up its defense and controlled the tempo from the opening tip to the last inbounds pass of the game. The new look Heat were impressive and made fans believe that the season is not over. Pat Riley says that since Dwyane Wade is out with a dislocated shoulder, Miami has to become more of a defensive team. That's exactly what they were against the Cavs. They held them to only 38 points in the first half. They completely shut the Cavs bench down, and held Le Bron to only 29 points. The Wade-less Heat were methodical and deliberate on offensive. Walk the ball up the court, throw it into Shaq, if no double team comes, Shaq dribbles twice and puts up a shot. If the double comes, Shaq throws it out to the perimeter and the ball gets passed around until a open shooter is found. It's very boring to watch, but get used to it because that's how the rest of the season is going to be until Wade gets back. Through three quarters, Shaq was the only Heat player scoring consistently. Finally, in the fourth, other players started to contribute. Gary Payton and Walker chipped in with some nice assists, Alonzo Mourning had 15 points and Pocket Fulla Posey had some key baskets. Jason Kapono, who did his best impression of me through the first three quarters, going 1-11, started to hit some shots in the fourth. He hit a couple of deep jumpers and then nailed a deep three in the corner. He finished with 17 points. Tomorrow the Heat will be in New York to face the Knicks. I will be there, live and in person along with BBF owner and president, Brian. You know, for someone who hates the Knicks, Brian sure attends a lot of their games. This will be his second of the year. If anyone is interested, we will be signing autographs for 30 minutes before the game in front of Section 349.
A tired and wounded Miami Heat team limped into Dallas without Dwayne Wade, who was back in Miami considering options on his dislocated shoulder. They had to face the team they eliminated in the NBA Finals last year, the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs took the floor with a chip on their shoulders' and revenge on their minds. They got their revenge to the tune of 112-100. The Mavs have the best record in the league at 45-9, and when they took the floor against Miami they looked like the best team in the NBA. Both teams had a lot of energy in the first quarter, but in the second, Dallas blitzkrieged the Heat. They outscored Miami 39-21. Miami trailed at half time 65-42. It's the second night in a row the Heat allowed an opponent to score in the 60's in the first half. The Heat struggled to score without D-Wade. They dumped the ball into Shaq on almost every possession. Shaq did what he could, but he's still not in shape. He often fumbled the ball and settled for lay-up attempts instead of going to his ghetto game and dunking everything within five feet of the rim. He was active again though, for the second night in a row. He finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Jason Williams was back in the starting line up for the first time in weeks. He looked good running the team, but the Heat looked confused on offense. It's obvious they need a couple of practices to figure out how they are going to play without Wade. Williams finished with 13 points and four assists. A big problem for Miami in these last two games is the play from the power forward position. Udonis Haslem and Antoine Walker have given them nothing. Haslem had some points in garbage time, turned the ball over several times and missed several easy baskets. Walker was ejected late in the third quarter for a hard foul on Dirk Nowitzki. Walker finished with two points. The Heat will take on the Cavs on Sunday. Between now and then, they need to figure out where they are going to go on offense. Shaq's the number one option, but when he's doubled or not hitting his shots the Heat need to identify a second scorer. Their best options are either Kapono or Jwil. Both players need to take advantage of this opportunity, and show the league what they are capable of.
For the first time all year, the Miami Heat finally had their entire team dressed and ready to play. With about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets, Miami went right back to being down a man. This time it was Dwyane Wade. This time it's serious. Pat Riley made his return to the team after missing several weeks with hip and knee operations. The Heat came into the game with a .500 record and seemingly had momentum in their favor. Miami started the game slowly and their defense was non-existent. The Rockets came out looking more like the Suns. Everyone was getting in the act for the Rockets and they jumped out to a quick lead. Too much D-Wade in the first half for the Heat. He was 5-15 and turning the ball over every time he touched it. Udonis was absolutely invisible in the first half along with Kapono. Tracy McGrady started hot hitting his first four shots, but pulled his groin in the first quarter and left the game for a couple of minutes. He came back and continued to be effective. He finished with 32 points. Rockets led 63-48 at halftime. In the third, the Heat showed more defensive intensity. Wade was more under control and made some fantastic three point plays. There is no one better in the game at drawing the foul and making the basket. The Heat started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run cutting the deficit to nine, 89-80. Wade was starting to take over the game. He was feeling it. With about nine minutes left in the game, Wade reached in on Shane Battier trying to strip the ball and got his arm jammed. He doubled over in pain holding his left arm. He went to the bench and the training staff went to work on him. If you have seen enough Heat games, you know that Wade does this type of thing often. It's an act. He uses the opportunity to catch his breath and make the refs think that he's getting killed on floor. I thought Wade was faking it. The cameras showed Wade grimacing in pain and sitting on the bench not moving his arm. Then they got out the wheelchair. It was obvious that Wade was really hurt. Wade had X-rays taken at the Houston arena on his shoulder and they were inconclusive. So he was placed on a stretcher and taken to a local Houston hospital for more X-rays and diagnosis. He will not travel with the team to Dallas tonight. He is reported to have a dislocated shoulder. The diagnosis for the Heat is not good. Without Wade, they are going to be in serious trouble. They will still make the playoffs, but in order for them to even get out of the first round, they are going to need him.
I'm going to keep this short and sweet, and I'm not going to give any lame predictions like who's going to win the Sixth Man award. The Heat will repeat. Knicks will make the playoffs. (I have said it all year.) Sixers will get fifth pick in the draft. What else matters? Everything else is pretty straight forward. I can't wait to do the baseball predictions!
Miami Heat representing at the All-Star Weekend!!! The night started in Las Vegas with Dwyane Wade winning the Skills Competition. He beat out Kobe Bryant, who couldn't make a chest pass. I guess maybe he should have went to college to learn the basics of the game instead of going right into the NBA. King James and Chris Paul didn't even try in the competition and were knocked out in the first round. Wade is the first player to ever repeat in the Skills Competition. Jason Kapono won the 3-Point Shootout contest, tying a record set by Mark Price with 24 points in the final round. He beat out the other two qualifiers Gilbert Arenas and Dirk Nowitzki. Kapono shot first in both rounds of the contest. In the first round, he scored a strong 19 points. It put a lot of pressure on the other guys. Damon Jones, Mike Miller and Jason Terry quickly choked, falling far out of the competition. Gilbert Arenas went "hibachi" and lit up the basket and crowd with 21 points. Nowitizki followed with a score of 20. Kapono started again in the second round and was just killing it! He made 16 of his last 18 baskets. When his score of 24 was announced, Arenas and Dirk knew it was over. Dirk made a feeble attempt and finished with 10. After two racks, Arenas knew it was over and on his final rack, he started shooting one-handed. Both Kapono and Wade won $35,000 for their efforts. Money well earned.
Thank goodness the All-Star break is here. I need it... It's a big day in Miami. Not only did they finally reach the .500 mark, but also Pat Riley announced earlier today that he will be back as head coach after All-Star Weekend. The Heat put a show on in Miami tonight. It opened and closed with D-Wade dominating the first and fourth quarters. Flash led all scorers with 35 points. Defense also starred in the 104-85 victory over the Portland Trailblazers. The Heat set a season high record with 14 blocks. Shaq had five, Zo had four and Flash had three. The game wasn't a complete blowout. Give the Trailblazers credit. They played a very competitive game. The first three quarters were very close, but the Heat pulled away in the fourth and outscored the Blazers 31-15. The game opened with Wade picking up where he left off on Sunday against the Spurs. He came out firing and scored 15 in the first quarter. Brandon Roy not only kept the Blazers in the game, but on top. He practically matched Wade's 15 with 13 of his own in the first. Roy cooled off considerably after that, finishing the game with 15 points. The contest was back-and-forth from there with the Heat pulling away in the fourth. Wade got the team going with a number of jumpers. Zo energized the crowd with some amazing blocks that led to fast break baskets for guys like Posey, Walker and the Heat's newest addition, Eddie Jones. You could tell in the fourth, that the Heat were really enjoying themselves. They were making the extra pass, finishing on the break and playing tough D. Riley will be back next week, as well as, Jwil. Ron Rothstein has done an excellent in job in Riley's absence. He amassed a record of 13-9 during 22-game stretch. Riley will be coming back to a team that has turned the corner, and is ready to defend it's championship. Adding Jwil back to the starting lineup will free up Dwyane Wade and allow him to focus more on getting to the hoop and not worrying about setting up his teammates. I think I might be smelling another championship!
No, I don't only post when the Heat win... Friday night the Cavs snapped the Miami Heat's five game winning streak, preventing the Heat from reaching the .500 mark, and before the Heat had time to cry about it they had to deal with San Antonio Spurs. Shaq, Wade and Kapono stepped up and the Spurs were unable to flop their way to a victory. They lost 100-85. It was a nice win for the Heat, who came out with a lot of energy. Shaq got Miami going by scoring, pretty much at will, and holding his own on defense. Kapono was the man in the first half for the Heat on offense. He came out jab stepping, quick shooting and taking to the rim. He's really stepped up as a third scorer while Jwil's been out with a torn oblique. Wade struggled in the first half. He was trying to get himself going, but most of it resulted in foul shots. Miami went into halftime trailing by one 46-45. In the third, Miami got it going. With help from the bench, Miami was able to take the lead for good and take control of the game. Shaq was strong. He sat at the end of the third and wasn't needed for the rest of the game. He had 16 points and seven rebounds in only 25 minutes. This was Eddie Jones' break-out game with the Heat. He finished with 12 points and made some key plays offensively and defensively. He's going to be a bigger addition than I originally thought. He's basically the exact same player as James Posey. They even look alike! Walker had a nice game too, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds. The fourth quarter was all about D-Wade. He took over. It was very Jordan-like. He scored 18 in the quarter and absolutely dominated the Spurs. With about 6:30 left in the fourth, Wade had two blocks on Tony Parker that basically made my year. On the first block, Parker weaseled his way into the paint for a lay-up attempt. Wade, came out of nowhere and blocked his shot sending it to half court. The Heat blew a chance to capitalize on the fast break. They quickly turned it over and the Spurs quickly moved the ball up court giving Parker a one-on-one opportunity against Wade. After a quick move, the little Frenchman tried for another lay-up only to have it once again blocked! Wade got the ball, dribbled it up court, went up for a shot, and tried to make a quick pass that resulted in a turnover. It wasn't Wade's only one. He had six turnovers. Only one away from Friday night's stellar seven. You think this team misses Jwil? YES!
Do games like this really need a blog entry? Not really. Heat win 91-79. Not much more to report. The Celtics reek. I mean, they are a joke. Me and two of my friends could beat them. Al Jefferson is the only player on that team that has any kind of game. Boston has won 12 games this season and after watching them lose to the Heat tonight, I'm surprised they have won that many. The Boston Celtics have a ton of problems. Their team is full of pieces that don't fit the puzzle. Guys like Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair. Doc Rivers is an over-rated coach, who seems like a nice guy, but has never been able to win anything at the professional level. Captain of the Titanic, is ex-Celt Danny Ainge. He has made nothing but questionable moves ever since he has taken over the GM position. The once proud organization is about to hit rock bottom and everyone needs to go. The NBA should really consider contracting them. However, the biggest problem with the Celtics is their announcers. Hands down. If you have watched a Boston Celtics game you have had to deal with Mike Gorman, Tommy Heinsohn, and if you are lucky, Bob Cousy. The three worst announcers I have ever heard, at any level, for any sport. It's like watching a game and listening to Mr. Magoo and his two brothers call the game. Now I have nothing against old people, BUT these geezers have to go. They don't pay attention, Gorman and Heinsohn spend the game picking Cousy's brain, which there isn't much left of, listening to him wax poetical about the glory days, and cheer for the Celtics, making them the biggest homers in professional sports. It all just makes you hate Boston even more. I guess there isn't anything wrong with that.
Well, it took over a half a season, but finally the Heat look like NBA Champs. Granted, it was against one of the worst teams in basketball, the C | | |
