Miami Heat Blog and Heat Schedule with NBA News » friday http://www.theheatbeat.com Miami Heat NBA Blog with Heat news, commentary and general opinion on the Miami Heat Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:21:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 Comeback for Miami Heat’s Haslem is almost complete http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/comeback-for-miami-heat%e2%80%99s-haslem-is-almost-complete/ http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/comeback-for-miami-heat%e2%80%99s-haslem-is-almost-complete/#comments Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:26:36 +0000 wregreeNubs http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/comeback-for-miami-heat%e2%80%99s-haslem-is-almost-complete/

Forward Udonis Haslem dripped with sweat as he walked off the practice court Friday, the Heat’s final cram session before the playoffs start Saturday.

The comeback is almost complete.

As the postseason begins, Haslem, who was sidelined with a foot injury for most of the regular season, said that he is close to returning to action. He ruptured a tendon in his left foot Nov. 20 at Memphis. The injury required surgery and months of rehabilitation.

“My legs are there, but my timing is off,” Haslem said. “I’m going to be sore [Friday]; I’m going to be sore [Saturday]. The key is how fast can I get that soreness out and kind of get back to a situation where I can play again.”

Haslem said he believes he could play Saturday, but that seems unlikely. Coach Erik Spoelstra said Friday that Haslem will do “light work or nothing at all” Saturday and Sunday.

Although Haslem’s return isn’t eminent, Friday was a major milestone in his recovery. He participated in most of the Heat’s contact drills, and having the Heat’s co-captain on the court boosted the spirits of his teammates.

“He’s been building up to this,” Spoelstra said. “He wanted to be out here [Friday] for the first practice whatever the cost of that means in the next couple days.”

After Friday’s physical practice, Heat forward Chris Bosh seemed convinced that Haslem was ready for a return.

“You take it easy on U.D. then you’re going to get hurt because he’s not taking it easy,” Bosh said. “U.D., he’s a warrior.”

RILEY SPEAKS

Heat president Pat Riley has taken a behind-the-scenes approach this season, but he came out of hiding Friday to speak at length with Heat on-air personality Jason Jackson on WAXY 790.

Riley said he was pleased with the Heat’s 58-win season but noted that the difference between the Heat and the league’s best mark (the Bulls won 62 games) was Miami’s home record. The Heat lost 11 games at AmericanAirlines Arena whereas the Bulls lost only five at home.

“I look back at it, I try to figure out why don’t we have just this incredible home-court advantage and where we’re winning 36, 37 games a year at home, so that’s the difference,” Riley said during the radio interview.

Riley called Haslem’s foot injury “the tragedy of the season” and said if both Haslem and swingman Mike Miller were healthy throughout the season then “we would have had a much better record.”

During the interview, Riley compared Heat forward LeBron James to guard Jerry West of the Lakers’ ’71-’72 championship season. Riley was a reserve on that team.

“Jerry reminded me a lot of what LeBron did this year,” Riley said. “Jerry West was 25 points a game. He would average six rebounds, nine assists. He became more of an across-the-board-type player.”

Riley said Chicago’s Derrick Rose, the favorite to win the league MVP award, captured the imagination of the NBA this season and had “a great, great year,” but added that James and Dwyane Wade should have received more recognition.

“I’m biased and I watch [James] play all season long and whether it’s LeBron or whether it’s Dwyane, both of them at 25 or 26 points a game, you can’t deny both of them should have been in more contention,” Riley said.

“Hats off if it goes to Derrick, but I think our guy has an MVP season in himself, but he’s already won it twice so he wants to win a championship, and I hope that’s the only thing that counts.”

There is the quick update of the day.

]]> http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/comeback-for-miami-heat%e2%80%99s-haslem-is-almost-complete/feed/ 0 Wade’s Promise Started Playoff Drive http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wades-promise-started-playoff-drive/ http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wades-promise-started-playoff-drive/#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:58:41 +0000 Immewbife http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wades-promise-started-playoff-drive/

POSTED: Friday, April 15, 2011

UPDATED: 2:42 pm EDT April 15, 2011

MIAMI – Dwyane Wade started this Miami Heat postseason push a year ago.Not with The Decision. He made The Promise.When the Heat were bounced in the first round of the 2010 playoffs, Wade raised an eyebrow for emphasis and said, “This will be my last first-round exit for a while.”You know the rest. The roster was revamped. LeBron James and Chris Bosh arrived. The Heat won 58 games, all seeming meaningless since this season will be solely judged by playoff results, the first of those coming Saturday when the Philadelphia 76ers visit for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.”I’m always thinking about that,” Wade said Friday when asked to recall his mindset when delivering those words. “I meant it.”Motivation is not scarce around the Heat, with James still looking for his first championship, a slew of veterans with 10-plus seasons of experience seeking their first rings, and six months of jabs from doubters serving as fuel. Topping it off, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra dusted off the 2006 NBA championship trophy at a team meeting Thursday night.”Inspiration and motivation,” James said. “Two words that describe it for me.”Philadelphia coach Doug Collins understands. His team — 150-1 underdogs at some sports books in this series — is acutely aware that Miami has spent the last 82 games thinking about this moment, the start of a run that the Heat hope ends with them hoisting a trophy of their own.”When those three guys got together last summer, Saturday is what they were shooting for,” Collins said. “They did get through the regular season, but they’re pinning their hopes on starting Saturday, that they can make a championship run.”Miami swept the season series 3-0, with the winning margins between 9-12 points.The teams last played on March 25, a game in Miami where the 76ers led by as many as 16 in the first half and took a 82-77 lead into the fourth. Wade took over from there, outscoring Philadelphia 18-17 over the final 12 minutes and leading the Heat to a 111-99 victory.Wade averaged 30.7 points on 52 percent shooting against the 76ers this season, with James averaging 22.7 points and Bosh 17.7 points.”The whole team is good. They don’t have that record because of just three guys,” Philadelphia forward Thaddeus Young said. “This is really what they’re playing for is the playoffs. But we expect to be ready to try and stop them.”Miami got another boost at practice Friday, when power forward Udonis Haslem went through the workout. Haslem hasn’t played since November because of a ruptured foot ligament, and the team is still being cautious about his potential postseason availability.”I think the first day was a success,” Haslem said.Philadelphia had five players average double-digits against the Heat, led by Jodie Meeks (17.5) and Louis Williams (14.3).This Heat team was assembled for “multiple championships,” James insisted when Miami welcomed him, Wade and Bosh last July 9, one day after the two-time MVP went on television to announce he was leaving Cleveland in what’s known as The Decision.The start was rocky. Miami was 9-8. That’s been long forgotten: The Heat went 49-16 from there, the first sparks of promise seeming to come when the Heat returned to James’ old Cleveland home on Dec. 2 and won 118-90 in perhaps the most raucous regular-season atmosphere in league history.”Going back to Cleveland was the thing that got him jump-started,” Collins said. “When they played in Cleveland, it seemed like he and the team took off at that moment.”The 76ers had a jump-start, too.They played Miami twice in the season’s first month. Philadelphia lost its season-opener at home 97-87, then fell again Nov. 26 in Miami, 99-90. That one sent the 76ers to 3-13, which was then the NBA’s second-worst record.Much like Miami’s sputter from the gate, that seems long ago. Over the next four months, the 76ers won 37 of 60 games before losing five of six to end the season.So here they are, playing with absolutely no burden of expectation.”They’re dangerous, no question about it,” Wade said. “First two games are in Miami, we’ve got to come out and take care of business.”That’s been James’ mantra all season.He said sleep likely will be tough Friday night, with his emotions already soaring in playoff anticipation. James said he didn’t minimize the importance of the regular season, but it’s not exactly a state secret to know that everything means much more starting Saturday afternoon.”I’m ready,” James said.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

That’s all the news for today.

]]> http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wades-promise-started-playoff-drive/feed/ 0 Wade returns to Heat lineup http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wade-returns-to-heat-lineup/ http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wade-returns-to-heat-lineup/#comments Sat, 09 Apr 2011 08:02:03 +0000 iterestarma http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wade-returns-to-heat-lineup/

MIAMI (AP) — Heat guard Dwyane Wade is in the starting lineup for Miami’s game Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Wade has been battling a deeply bruised right thigh for nearly a week. He did not play in Miami’s 90-85 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday, then was able to do some on-court work Thursday and joined the Heat for their shootaround practice Friday morning.

Wade says he went through a strenuous workout, then pronounced himself fit to play later in the day.

Wade is the NBA’s No. 3 scorer this season at 25.7 points per game. Miami enters Friday tied with Boston for the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MIAMI (AP) — Heat guard Dwyane Wade is expected to play in Miami’s game Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Wade has been battling a deeply bruised right thigh for nearly a week. He did not play in Miami’s 90-85 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday, then was able to do some on-court work Thursday and joined the Heat for their shootaround practice Friday morning.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says Wade’s status will be evaluated again shortly before game time.

Wade is the NBA’s No. 3 scorer this season at 25.7 points per game. Miami enters Friday tied with Boston for the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference.

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]]> http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/wade-returns-to-heat-lineup/feed/ 0 Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade participates in shootaround, is probable for Friday night http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/miami-heat%e2%80%99s-dwyane-wade-participates-in-shootaround-is-probable-for-friday-night/ http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/miami-heat%e2%80%99s-dwyane-wade-participates-in-shootaround-is-probable-for-friday-night/#comments Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:32:54 +0000 FashionWomen http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/miami-heat%e2%80%99s-dwyane-wade-participates-in-shootaround-is-probable-for-friday-night/

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade participated in the team’s morning shootaround Friday. His status is probable for Friday night’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Wade bruised his right thigh Sunday when he collided with Nets reserve Travis Outlaw. The third-leading scorer in the NBA (25.7 points per game), Wade sat out the Heat’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

“I’m sore but I came in, got some good treatment, got some good work in before the shootaround, so I felt I could go,” Wade said.

Miami (54-24) is tied with Boston – which lost Thursday night to Chicago – for the No. 2 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, but Boston leads the season series 3-0. Miami can clinch the No. 2 seed if it wins its final four regular-season games, including a home game Sunday against the Celtics.

Wade said Friday morning that the Celtics’ loss Thursday night had nothing to do with his status for Friday night.

“Absolutely not,” Wade said. “It just felt better from the work I put in.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during the Heat’s shootaround that he wanted the team’s intensity level on Friday night to rival that of a playoff game.

“We have to get in playoff mode with our urgency,” Spoelstra said.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

]]> http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/miami-heat%e2%80%99s-dwyane-wade-participates-in-shootaround-is-probable-for-friday-night/feed/ 0 Injured Dwyane Wade not rushing back to Miami Heat http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/injured-dwyane-wade-not-rushing-back-to-miami-heat/ http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/injured-dwyane-wade-not-rushing-back-to-miami-heat/#comments Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:21:16 +0000 GopSoiteprees http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/injured-dwyane-wade-not-rushing-back-to-miami-heat/

Miami Heat Courtside: Looking ahead to playoffs

Israel Gutierrez takes a look at what might await the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

MIAMI HERALD STUDIOS

The Heat’s Dwyane Wade is fouled in the fourth quarter during the Miami Heat vs the 76ers at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Friday, March 25, 2011.

Al Diaz / Staff Photo

Friday: Bobcats at Heat

When/where: 7:30 p.m.; AmericanAirlines Arena.

TV/radio: Sun Sports; WHIM 1080, WQBA 1140 (Spanish).

The series: Heat leads 17-10.

Scouting report: Friday night is the second-to-last regular-season home game for the Heat, which is 3-0 against the Bobcats this season. A victory would mark the Heat’s 11th regular-season sweep of an opponent this season. … Heat guard Dwyane Wade (thigh bruise) is questionable.

The simple act of straightening his leg caused Heat guard Dwyane Wade severe pain Monday.

Discomfort persisted Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Wade watched as his team lost an important game to the Milwaukee Bucks.

On Thursday, Wade indicated he could have played against the Bucks but didn’t want to be a “liability” on the defensive end of the court.

The point is this: Days matter more than games at this point in the regular season. With the playoffs fast approaching, health means more than a loss, playoff seeding and potential home-court advantage in the second round of the postseason.

Four games — nine or 10 days — remain until the Heat begins the playoffs. Miami (54-24) plays the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena. It’s the Heat’s second-to-last home game of the regular season and Wade, who bruised his thigh Sunday against the Nets, didn’t know Thursday if he would be ready for a return to the court.

What Wade does know: He’s ready for the playoffs to start.

On Thursday inside the Heat’s practice facility at AmericanAirlines Arena, Wade jokingly asked reporters how many games were left in the regular season. In other words, he has playoff fever.

“How many games?” Wade said. “Four? Five? Please bring them on. Let’s get them over with and get to the playoffs.

“We’re ready.”

Wade didn’t practice with his team Thursday but did participate in a few exercises to test the strength of his leg, which he said has lacked “explosion” since colliding with Nets reserve Travis Outlaw. Wade injured his thigh in the first half against the Nets and returned to finish the game after being evaluated by the Heat’s training staff.

The next step in Wade’s return will take place Friday morning before the team’s shootaround. If the thigh bruise responds well overnight, then Wade might be available. If not, he will watch his team from the bench once again.

“Monday, I wasn’t positive at all about even Friday, that’s how much pain I was in,” Wade said. “But [Wednesday] was a good day treatment-wise and [Thursday] I woke up feeling even better, so it’s been progressing every day — it’s better and better. It’s just about when I feel I can get out there and do the things I do.”

The Heat struggled Wednesday without its star guard, who is third in the NBA in scoring (27.5 points a game). Miami shot 40.5 percent and, defensively, allowed the Bucks to gain confidence throughout the game with open driving lanes to the basket. Milwaukee finished with 42 points in the paint.

“Sometimes we take the hard way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “[Wednesday] night was the hard way. So we had to come back, watch some film, learn from our mistakes, get back together and get ready for a win.”

The Heat entered Thursday a half game behind the Celtics for second in the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics played the Bulls on Thursday night in an important game, but Wade said the game’s outcome would not have an impact on whether he returns against the Bobcats on Friday.

The Celtics, 3-0 against the Heat, hold a playoff tie-breaker if both teams have identical records at the end of the regular season.

“We’re just ready to get to the playoffs and ready to get to that time of the year — what we all came together for,” Wade said.

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]]> http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/injured-dwyane-wade-not-rushing-back-to-miami-heat/feed/ 0 Mike Miller again sidelined for Miami Heat http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/mike-miller-again-sidelined-for-miami-heat/ http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/mike-miller-again-sidelined-for-miami-heat/#comments Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:57:21 +0000 softeragowell http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/mike-miller-again-sidelined-for-miami-heat/
By Ira Winderman South Florida Sun Sentinel

3:17 p.m. EDT, April 1, 2011

sfl-miami-heat-mike-miller-s040111

MINNEAPOLIS—

Miami Heat forward Mike Miller will miss his third consecutive game Friday due to a bruised and strained left knee.

Miller was limited to light shooting during Friday morning’s shootaround in advance of Friday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.

“He’s getting better,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s shooting around a little today.”

Miller injured the knee in Sunday’s home victory against the Houston Rockets.



The Heat remain without guard Mario Chalmers (knee) and forward Udonis Haslem (foot).

Spoelstra said the absence of Chalmers has had an impact on the team’s uneven defensive performances in recent games.

“Mario gives us somebody who’s been around our system now for three years,” he said. “He’s become more disciplined within our system, and yet he is a (defensive) playmaker like Dwyane and LeBron. He can get deflections; he can get steals. And he can make plays when he’s on the help side of your defense.”

iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

]]> http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/mike-miller-again-sidelined-for-miami-heat/feed/ 0 Sixers vs. Heat: A playoff preview? http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/sixers-vs-heat-a-playoff-preview/ http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/sixers-vs-heat-a-playoff-preview/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:29:43 +0000 chuttbyncnone http://www.theheatbeat.com/miami-heat/sixers-vs-heat-a-playoff-preview/

Barring a surge by the Miami Heat or a tank by the Atlanta Hawks, the 76ers will play Miami in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.

If the season ended Friday, the sixth-seeded Sixers would face the third-seeded Heat in a first-round series more attractive than any Sixers series in recent memory. All of this makes Friday night’s game against the Heat, in Miami, a little more interesting than just another regular-season NBA game.

On Thursday, the Sixers practiced at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before flying to Miami.

“We definitely, among the team, we talk about playoff opponents and who are the teams we can possibly play,” said Sixers forward Thaddeus Young. “It’s definitely a game that we need and are going to go in there to get.”

Calling himself superstitious, Sixers coach Doug Collins danced around the question of whether additional meaning would be attached to Friday’s game because of the potential playoff matchup.

Collins said he’s “stayed away” from talking playoff matchups because the Sixers haven’t officially clinched a playoff berth. With 11 games remaining, the Sixers, 37-34, are 81/2 games from dropping out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

“I talked to our guys just about this game, and I said: ‘We’re coming off of a really good win,’ ” explained Collins, whose team defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 105-100, on Wednesday night. “We get a chance to go down there and see where we are with this group of guys. I think our guys feel confident playing against them.”

The Sixers haven’t played the Heat since losing, 99-90, at AmericanAirlines Arena on Nov. 26, the final loss of the team’s disastrous 3-13 start. The Sixers also lost to the Heat on the opening night of the season, 97-87.

“We’re much better now, just by going into all of the games we’ve played and getting together and getting our team camaraderie going,” Young said. “We’re playing with a high intensity.”

Collins said Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala would guard Miami star LeBron James, while the team would throw “multiple guys” at the team’s other two stars, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Despite not wanting to talk about the playoffs, Collins couldn’t help but leak a little bit of mental warfare entering Friday night’s game.

“We’re not going to have the home-court advantage if we do get in, so we’re going to have to go and win a game on the road against a team like [Miami],” Collins said. “I’ve always felt anytime you win a game on the road in a building, the next time you go back in there, there’s a comfort. You don’t want to go into a building where you’ve lost the last 11 in a row – you start thinking negative thoughts.”

 

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at kfagan@phillynews.com.

Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/DeepSixer3, and read her blog, Deep Sixer, on Philly.com.

 

Thanks for visiting our blog =).

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