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Storylines for Miami Heat game against the…

scemiaresiA — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:19:03 +0000

By Ethan J. Skolnick

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — The Heat better be awake Friday night.

For a change, the Minnesota Timberwolves feature some talent, including a lighter but no less relentless Kevin Love and two prized rookies, forward Derrick Williams (the No. 2 overall pick) and Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio, who already has shown court vision few in the NBA can match.

They have a proven offensive scheme, one being implemented by former Rockets, Blazers and Warriors head coach Rick Adelman. Oh, and they have old friend – and now close-cropped – Michael Beasley, who has struggled from the perimeter thus far.

Here’s what to zero in on Friday night while watching Miami (3-0) play the Wolves (0-2) at the Target Center:

What does a day of rest do for the Heat?

Miami looked weary Wednesday night in Charlotte while playing its third game in four days. That manifested itself mostly on the boards, where the Heat got beaten down. It was the first time in franchise history that Miami won with at least a 20-rebound deficit.

The Heat got into Minneapolis early Thursday morning but had a full day to recover, with Erik Spoelstra making practice optional. Most players participated, although Dwyane Wade (sore foot) skipped it. No worries. He’ll go tonight.

Can Udonis Haslem find his range?

The Heat forward has been active thus far, and appears fully healed from last season’s foot surgery. But his shooting stroke has been off the past two games. Haslem missed three of his four jumpers Wednesday, all from 15 to 20 feet. He now is 2-for-13 overall the past two games. He’ll play heavy minutes again Friday night, with Minnesota often using a small but agile front line. His primary job: Block out Love, who led the league in rebounding last season with 15.2 a game, including 4.5 on the offensive boards.

Will Wade or LeBron James finally hoist a three?

Understand, this is not to suggest that either should. Still, it’s been remarkable that both players have resisted the temptation to unleash a single shot from beyond the arc.

James’ offensive efficiency through three games has been staggering – he is shooting 59 percent from the field. And even though Wade struggled against Charlotte, shooting 5-for-13 from the field, 10 of those shots came from inside the paint.

How does Spoelstra manage the perimeter rotation?

If not for Wade’s minor foot injury, James Jones might not have played a minute Wednesday, and that’s after sinking six three-pointers in the first two contests. Instead, Spoelstra has been expanding Shane Battier’s workload.

In 20 minutes against the Bobcats, Battier didn’t score, but he blocked three shots and played a role in slowing the rotund but skilled Boris Diaw.

One of Battier’s contributions was even more subtle: He was camped out in the corner on Wade’s winning drive, and defenders were no more likely to leave him than if Jones had been in that spot.

Thanks for reading! .

Fans get early gift from Miami Heat

TaraTasthoats — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:48:50 +0000

MIAMI — Finally, about two months late, basketball was back inside AmericanAirlines Arena.

The result, unlike the last time we saw the Heat play on this court, was meaningless. The action was ragged.

But the excitement bouncing off the backboards, the rafters, the players and the fans in their red and orange seats tasted like a gulp of oxygen.

Just to hear the sound of ball swishing through net put a smile on everybody’s face.

’Tis the season to see Dwyane Wade gliding through the air. We missed him.

Instead of losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, Heat players were competing against each other in Thursday’s Red-White scrimmage for season-ticket holders.

After a lockout-prolonged offseason, LeBron James, Wade and just about everybody else was dunking like they hadn’t missed a beat.

James’ beard has grown Abraham Lincoln-like, Udonis Haslem has shed the cornrows, Chris Bosh has added upper body bulk. There were new faces among the reserves, including the very promising Norris Cole. The Heat will sport a new all-black uniform in its wardrobe.

But otherwise, there was a reassuring familiarity about the scene. The Heat is back to take care of unfinished business, having learned valuable lessons during the first crazy season of the Big 3 alliance. The pressure to win a title will be more intense, but the Heat should be more adept at coping with it, perhaps even thriving off it.

In this abbreviated 66-game season, the Heat’s continuity should serve it well. While other contenders scramble to fill roles and deal with trade permutations, the Heat’s core is intact and the bench has been enhanced with the addition of Shane Battier (who didn’t play because of a quadriceps strain).

During the Heat’s eighth workout of the week, there were already signs of an improved team.

The Heat wants to play faster. Cole, the rookie from Cleveland State, not only pushed the pace during the scrimmage but he is pushing starting point guard Mario Chalmers in practice.

“I don’t want him ever to take the pedal off the metal,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Cole, who scored 21 points. “He’s got young legs, quick legs. When we watched film of him he bounced off the screen with his speed and coast-to-coast ability.”

The rookie was asked what it was like guarding James and he responded with a smile and said, “Help defense.”

Big Dexter Pittman was all over the glass, grabbing eight rebounds and indicating he could be the space-eater the Heat needs.

“He’s been grinding away all week,” Spoelstra said. “He has been working to be an effort player.”

There is the quick update of the day.

Miami Heat finds harmony amid NBA discord

swelingsansas — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:22:44 +0000

Dwight Howard is divorcing Orlando.

Chris Paul is contemplating litigation to get out of New Orleans.

The defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks have been forced to make major changes to their starting lineup.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ initial attempt at a free-agency overhaul was thwarted by NBA commissioner David Stern.

All around the league, rosters are in flux, new faces are being introduced and new chemistry is being established with less than two weeks before the start of the season. The NBA’s lockout and truncated preseason, which coincides with a shortened period for free agency, has turned the league into a tempest of discord. While chaos swirls elsewhere, all is calm on the shores of Miami.

“Give it time,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said on Sunday. “I’m sure there will be something right around the corner.”

Spoelstra’s wry comment came as an answer to a question about the Heat’s relative calm amid the dizzying swap meet taking place throughout the league before the season begins.

Perhaps superstition prompted the Heat’s young coach to sidestep the question. Why jinx it?

Unless something drastic upsets the Heat’s training camp, the team and its ultra-talented roster will coast to Christmas Day while other teams arrive there in fits and starts.

“Time is of the essence and we do have the core of our guys back and it helps,” Spoelstra said.

House in order

The Heat endured its growing pains last season, which now, in hindsight, is playing out like a bit of managerial genius.

The Heat’s house is in order while other major contenders have been dealt a house of cards by the lockout.

Consider: With only two weeks to prepare for a hectic, 66-game season, the Heat’s biggest free-agent move was bringing in a player (Shane Battier) considered one of the league’s most valued “glue guys.”

“We’re going to go much quicker in camp,” Spoelstra said. “A little bit less teaching of some of the minutiae that we had to do last year because we had so many new players.”

Unprecedented for training camps of the past, the Heat held a five-on-five scrimmage on its first full day of practice. Meanwhile, several coaches around the league still don’t know exactly who will be on their rosters when the season begins Dec. 25. Under the circumstances, a veteran team returning mostly intact is priceless.

Instead of wasting valuable time teaching Chris Bosh the Heat’s sophisticated defense, Bosh arrived to training camp bulked up and ready to play center in a pinch.

Team chemistry

Instead of waiting for the on-court chemistry to click between LeBron James and Udonis Haslem, the two already have learned each others’ tendencies.

“OK, so we’ve had almost six months off, but that experience is invaluable and oftentimes experience is what it is — it takes time to fast track it and we went through a lot of those growing pains last year and really made tremendous strides,” Spoelstra said. “We’re hoping that we what learned we’ll be able to recognize much quicker here and I anticipate that.”

On Saturday, Spoelstra reviewed “big-picture” concepts that the Heat used during the NBA Finals.

On Sunday, the Heat held two practices — a light session in the morning and a more strenuous workout in the afternoon.

Big advantage

Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat’s opponent on Christmas Day, are waiting for disgruntled ex-Laker Lamar Odom to report to camp while offensive sparkplug J.J. Barea is likely headed out of town.

Advantage, Heat.

That’s all for today.

Miami Heat, which might be interested in Greg…

Nfqsn64 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:57:02 +0000

By Ethan J. Skolnick

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday marks another milestone in what has been one of the odder off-seasons in NBA history.

Team officials will finally be allowed to speak to their own players without fear of league punishment, no small thing after Heat employees needed to seek special permission this summer simply to attend Chris Bosh’s wedding.

Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Dexter Pittman, Joel Anthony and free agents James Jones and Juwan Howard were among those present on the Heat’s practice floor last week; now it won’t be a surprise if LeBron James and Dwyane Wade show up, too.

Further, team officials will finally be allowed to directly recruit new players, by phone or even in person.

The Heat already has reached out to the representatives of more than a dozen free agents since that became permissible Wednesday. Now, however, the club also will be able to extend invitations to visit. This will all lead up to Friday, scheduled to be the first day for free-agent signings as well as training camps.

So whom might the Heat add?

That depends in part on whether it decides to subtract Mike Miller, through the use of the new amnesty provision. Miller stands to earn $5.4 million this season but will be sidelined until at least Jan. 1 because of hernia surgery. If Miami keeps Miller, and is forced to give restricted free agent Mario Chalmers a significant raise, it might not have the option of using the full mid-level exception for non-tax teams (up to 4 years and $20 million total) on supplementary talent.

In that case, Miami might be left to dangle the taxpayer’s exception (maximum of 3 years, $9 million) or the veteran minimum ($1.4 million per season for those with 10 years of service). Neither figures to be enough to entice any of the top centers – Nene, Tyson Chandler or even Samuel Dalembert – and might make it a challenge to acquire swingman Shane Battier, a prime target.

The Heat has also made its interest known in unrestricted free agents Kwame Brown, Grant Hill, Caron Butler, Michael Redd, Maurice Evans and J.J. Barea.

Sunday, ESPN.com reported that team president Pat Riley was also considering extending an offer sheet to center Greg Oden, who has played just 82 of a possible 328 games since Portland drafted him first overall in 2007, none of them last season.

Signing Odom would not be a surprise given Riley’s fascination with skilled size, and he has gone this route before; during the 2003 off-season, he extended offer sheets to two L.A. Clippers forwards, Elton Brand and then Lamar Odom.

Still, it would be risky. First, Oden is not expected to return from his latest serious knee injury until January at the earliest. Second, Portland would have three days to match whatever the Heat offers. That’s down from seven days in the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement but, with the signing period expected to play out at a breakneck pace, it may be three days too many. The opportunity cost may prove too great, with viable options signing elsewhere while the Heat waits.

Leave your comments on the news below.

LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Haslem Worked Out Together for…

arrolostetums — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:31:47 +0000

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 at 9:30 am | 9 responses

Just because the Miami Heat can’t hold official team practices these days, doesn’t mean the squad’s biggest stars can’t work out together. The Sun-Sentinel looks into week-long workouts between LeBron, DWade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem: “Tuesday, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem completed a week of workouts at Nike’s Beaverton, Ore., campus. The four are expected to also participate at each of the four stops on the upcoming ‘Homecoming Tour’ of NBA lockout charity games that begins with an event hosted by James Dec. 1 at the University of Akron. The workouts came in the wake of James spending time in London, where he granted an interview with The Guardian that included his views on where he and the Miami Heat are headed after coming up two victories shy of a championship in last season’s NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. ‘I’ve got years left in my career to build, I guess, my individual legacy, if that’s what they want to call it,’ James, 26, said in the interview. ‘But, right now, it’s all about building my team’s legacy. How can we continue to get better and to approach the game in the right way during a championship playoff. One year in, we gave ourselves a chance and we’re looking forward to the next one. For me, I just want to give myself the best opportunity to win games.’”

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NBA’s vision runs counter to Pat Riley’s

graimitap — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:13:19 +0000

Pat Riley’s model for NBA success pushed the Miami Heat within two victories of last season’s NBA championship.

The NBA’s model for future success apparently is taking aim at pushing LeBron James or Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh out of South Florida.

Taking its social-media lockout campaign from Twitter to YouTube last week, the NBA posted a slideshow detailing the intended consequences from the proposal that led the union to instead pursue a resolution in the court system.

While most of the frames simply detailed the highlights of the league’s offer, the final frame detailed what the NBA termed a “sample team roster” for the third year (2013-14) of the proposal. The Year 3 model was utilized because the league had proposed a gradual move toward the new revenue approach, with 2011-12 and 2012-13 to have included some facets of the previous collective-bargaining agreement.

Under the league’s proposal, in order to avoid what would become an onerous luxury-tax that might even make Heat owner Micky Arison think twice about spending above the projected $75 million ceiling, the league proposed the following 2013-14 roster composition:

One “Superstar (max salary)”: $17 million.

One “All-Star”: $14 million.

One “Starter”: $10 million.

Two “Starters”: $8 million (apiece).

One “6th Man”: $5 million.

One “Rotation Player”: $4 million.

One “Rotation Player”: $3 million.

One “Rotation Player”: $2 million.

One “Rotation Player”: $1 million.

Five “Remaining Players”: $3 million (total, $600,000 average per player, essentially minimum scale).

Not only are the Heat not currently in position to fill out such a roster, but their top-heavy payroll would make such a hasty transition virtually impossible.

The Heat currently have six players under contract for 2013-14: James and Bosh at $19.1 million apiece; Wade at $18.7 million; Mike Miller at $6.2 million; Udonis Haslem at $4.3 million; and Joel Anthony at $3.8 million. Those salaries would put the Heat at $71 million in payroll. There also would be the salary of 2011 first-round NBA Draft pick Norris Cole, plus possibly the salary of at least one additional first-round pick.

Not only would the Heat have to release Miller under the NBA’s proposed amnesty program (which would remove his salary from the cap and tax, but still require actual payment) but it is possible Haslem and/or Anthony would have to be sacrificed just to be able to fill out the roster with minimum salaries and remain below the luxury tax.

The luxury tax under the NBA proposal not only would have increased severely above the previous dollar-for-dollar penalty payment for payroll above the tax floor, but in the NBA’s proposal would have banned teams from participating in sign-and-trade deals starting in 2013-14 and reduce by $2 million the amount such teams could have offered as a mid-level exception.

There is the quick update of the day.

Top Five Power Forwards in Miami Heat History

VigRx90gfL — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 11:56:00 +0000

Qualifier: players will be classified under one position even if they played at more than one.

P.J. Brown:

P.J. Brown was named to two All-Defensive teams playing alongside Alonzo Mourning(notes) and Tim Hardaway with the Miami Heat from 1996 to 2000. Over 284 games in Miami, Brown maintained averages of 9.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks as the Heat played .600-plus basketball every year and won three playoff series. He totaled 9,870 points and 8,409 rebounds in his 15-year NBA career.

Udonis Haslem(notes):

Current sixth man Udonis Haslem has been with the Miami Heat since 2003. Despite going undrafted, Haslem immediately established himself as a reliable role player and earned All-Rookie honors in 2004. He has been a solid contributor on both ends of the floor for 530 games in Miami, averaging 10.0 points and 8.1 rebounds overall. Haslem started for Miami’s 2006 NBA Championship team and he provided a spark off the bench in their run to the 2011 NBA Finals. He is one of six players with more than 40 win shares and one of three with 4,000 rebounds for the Heat.

Brian Grant:

Brian Grant was a tough interior defender and a great rebounder for the Heat from 2000 to 2004. Grant joined Miami as the team’s big offseason acquisition in 2000 and he responded with a career year in which he replaced an ailing Alonzo Mourning to lead the Heat to 50 wins. Over 312 games, Grant averaged 11.0 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Heat. After the 2003-04 campaign, he traveled west to the Los Angeles Lakers in the trade that brought Shaquille O’Neal(notes) to Miami.

Grant Long:

A charter member of the Miami Heat, Grant Long joined the team through their first draft as a second round pick in 1988. Less than a month into his NBA career, Long became a full-time starter for the young franchise. Over the next seven years, he recorded averages of 11.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals with the team. Long totaled 9,518 points and 6,154 rebounds in his 15-year career.

Chris Bosh(notes):

Six-time All-Star and current Heat power forward Chris Bosh serves as the third option for the latest Eastern Conference Champions. After seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors in which he established new franchise records for points, rebounds and blocks, Bosh signed with the Heat in the 2010 offseason. The slashing big man saw his numbers dip while sharing the ball with LeBron James(notes) and Dwyane Wade(notes), but he still averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as the Heat reached the Finals.

Sources:

Miami Heat Franchise Index, Basketball-Reference.com

Udonis Haslem: I’m moving closer to 100 percent

aababacacaba — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:13:30 +0000

MIAMI—

Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem continues to work himself back into playing shape after missing most of last season because of ligament damage in his left foot. He returned for the playoffs, but battled conditioning issues. The lockout is giving him opportunity to “get himself in shape” after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.

“That’s what I was lacking, conditioning,” said Haslem, speaking Tuesday at a charity event at Miami Northwestern High School. “I can pedal a bike all day, but it’s nothing like being out there on the floor and getting up and down and actually shooting and jumping.”

Haslem has yet to play competitively since the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks on June 12 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

“Just trying to condition myself,” Haslem said. “The last step will be competitive playing on the court. I just want to make sure I’m ready before I take that next step.”

Former Heat guard Keyon Dooling also participated in the event, which provided food and household and school supplies to the community. Dooling, who played with the Milwaukee Bucks last season, is likely the odd man out with them signing Beno Udrih and Shaun Livingston in the offseason.

Dooling said he can still contribute on a good team, possibly the Heat if the opportunity is presented.

“I could see that,” Dooling said. “But who wouldn’t jump at that opportunity?”

That’s all for today.

Udonis Haslem Opens Up About the NBA Lockout

Anararil — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:36:17 +0000

With labor talks resuming late last week in midtown Manhattan, there’s reason to hope that an end is in sight for the NBA lockout — and that the 2011-12 season might still happen. Instead of heading off on vacation until a deal is reached, Miami Heat star Udonis Haslem went to work at his 2nd Annual Restaurant Boat Run at Duffy’s Sports Grill North Miami Beach.

After spending some time on the water riding Seahunter boats with some of his foundation’s young clients, Haslem arrived under a police escort with about 30 kids in tow to sign autographs, meet with fans, and spend the afternoon playing water basketball in Duffy’s pool. But before the fun began, he sat down with NBCMiami to discuss everything from his charity, his nomination to the 2012 class of the University of Florida Hall of Fame, and, of course, his thoughts on the NBA lockout.

What inspired you to start the Udonis Haslem Children’s Foundation?
It all started out because I had no idea how to give in the right way. A family friend passed away and they had three kids, so I put them through school. Then, a couple of families at my mother’s church needed school supplies. Then at my stepmother’s church, more school supplies. And my stepmother suggested I do a children’s foundation because we just really wanted to help a lot of families. I wanted to touch different areas of Miami, not just people we knew.

Six years later, into what would you say your stepmother’s idea has evolved?
Back to school is really important. Christmas and toy giveaways, turkey and food at Thanksgiving are also really important, but the thing I think they need the most is school supplies. We do supplies, uniforms, backpacks, haircuts — whatever they need to start the year off on the right foot. If a kid doesn’t start off on the right, there is a good chance it won’t end on the right foot.

How does it feel like to be newly nominated to the UF Hall of Fame?
It’s a huge deal. When I signed a letter of intent, I never thought in a million years that I would be mentioned in the same conversation as the likes of Emmitt Smith and Danny Wuerffel. They are legendary. So, I never envisioned being on the same level as those guys once my career was over at UF. If I had to sum it up, I am just so blessed.

Speaking of basketball, what about the NBA lockout? Is there any hope?
I think so. I am confident that both sides are working to reach an agreement. Players are going to stick together. I am sure the way the season ended last year on such a high note with revenue going up and TV ratings through the roof, the story is already written for next season — for the Heat, especially. All those guys have to do is sit back and let the season take care of itself. Hopefully everything works out.

If there is a next season, what can Miami fans expect?
A very exciting season. A better Miami Heat team. Hard working. The pieces are there, but for whatever reason, it just wasn’t our time. I take my hat off to the Dallas Mavericks because they put in a lot of hard work. They had a lot of disappointing seasons. Losing to us, and going out to Golden State in the first round after having a perfect record, those guys have had heart-breaking seasons. That’s what people don’t understand. They didn’t just show up and win six games against the Miami Heat. They put in a lot of hard work.

Was it hard to hear so much criticism against the Heat last season, even though you made it to the finals?
At first it was, but it was only because growing up, you are taught teamwork, hard work, sacrifices and those are things as a team we implemented into our season for one common goal: to win a championship. We got close, but still for some reason, we were outcasts.

As a team, you all seem to get along on and off the court.
That is one thing I can say since being with the Miami Heat organization: they have done a good job of bringing in character people. We have never had locker room issues or anything that you hear behind the scenes that could eat a team up from the inside. We have had good guys, and it has all been pretty much smooth sailing.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Udonis-Haslem-Opens-Up-About-the-NBA-Lockout–129588163.html

There is the quick update of the day.

Miami Heat’s James Jones Launches Summer Camp…

jastreender — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:32:49 +0000

Photo By: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

MIAMI (CBS4) – Giving back to the community in a big way Miami Heat forward James Jones, along with several other celeb athletes including gymnast Shannon Miller and Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard, has launched a summer camp for foster kids.

Jones, a Miami native, said his work with children has always revolved around basketball, but he often came away wondering “how can I impact the youth, the community in a way that’s beyond the game. My desire is to do something that will have a lasting impact on them.”

Jones and DCF Secretary David Wilkins announced James Jones Camp on Thursday. It’s one of six camps around the state where foster children will learn leadership skills, team building, exercise and nutrition tips and get tutoring help.

“When you get the chance to interact with leaders like this and get the inspiration and insight from them personally, it changes your life,” said Wilkins.

The agency is looking to have more camps running next year to reach more children. There are nearly 40,000 foster kids in Florida.

Camps for Champions is an expansion of health, leadership, and wellness camps held in previous years for foster children by Tennessee Titan and former Florida State football All-American Myron Rolle and by the Dwight D. Howard Foundation.

The Heat’s Udonis Haslem and former Florida State Seminole greats Corey Simon and Derrick Brooks will also participate in the camps.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

NBA FINALS: Miami beginning to feel the Heat

SilaSaitleJam — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 10:17:52 +0000

MIAMI – If the Miami Heat are going to recover and win this NBA championship, they may want to put the Dallas Mavericks away before the final minutes.

Otherwise, they could be in more than a little trouble.

Five games into the NBA Finals, the Heat have had chances to win all five games. A case could be made that they should have won all five, especially after they held leads in every matchup in this series. But instead of having the title or being in the driver’s seat in the championship chase, the Heat are on the cusp of elimination heading into Game 6 at Miami on Sunday night.

“There’s obviously going to be some priorities in terms of closing out games, which we’ve been very good at the last two and a half months, and particularly during our playoff run,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the Game 5 loss gave the Mavs a 3-2 series lead. “We haven’t been able to do it consistently enough in this series, and that’s something we’ll address. That’s been a fabric all season long, being able to work and improve on things.”

Improvement is necessary, or else Dallas will hoist a trophy in Miami.

Weary from a week on the road, the Heat arrived home around 4:30 a.m. Friday. As expected, Spoelstra gave the team a day off, though many were expected at the team’s headquarters for some work and treatment. That includes Dwyane Wade, who bruised his left hip in the first quarter on Thursday and managed to score a team-best 23 points.

The score hurt worse than the hip after Game 5.

Miami led 99-95 after Wade hit a 3-pointer with 4:37 left, and it seemed like the Heat were poised to take a stranglehold on the series. Except they collapsed – again, following the script that doomed them in Games 2 and 4 as well.

“You go back and look at the film and see exactly what the breakdown was,” Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. “I don’t know how guys were getting open. It’s just one game, a couple of plays. We’re definitely capable of beating these guys and we’ll figure it out.”

Thing is, it’s not just one game or a couple of plays.

It’s an all-out trend in this series: Dallas is owning the final minutes.

Game 2, Dallas trailed 88-73 when Wade made a 3-pointer with 7:14 remaining. The Mavs outscored Miami 22-5 the rest of the way.

Game 4, Udonis Haslem’s jumper with 10:12 left gave Miami a 74-65 lead. From there, Dallas went on a game-ending 21-9 run.

Game 5, the 99-95 Heat lead after Wade’s 3 vanished quickly, with the Mavericks finishing with a 17-4 kick to move one victory from the title.

“It seems like every series up to this point, we’ve had those huge games where we’re able to get a lead and keep the momentum,” Mavs center Tyson Chandler said. “That’s a resilient team on the other side that we’re against. They do a great job of coming back and applying pressure. When you think you got them out, they come back. You have to give them a lot of credit for that.”

Some are giving credit. Others are giving the Heat, well, heat.

Dirk Nowitzki has 52 points in the fourth quarters of the finals, by far the most, doing it on 13 of 27 shooting from the field and an impressive 24-for-24 from the foul line. That’s more free throws than the Heat have combined in fourth quarters during this series (22).

More disturbing for Miami may be that LeBron James has only 11 points in fourth quarters, as many as Dallas’ Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea.

“We’ve had a few breakdowns late in games in this series that we didn’t have in the first three series,” James said. “So it’s something we know we can do. We just got to push through it. At this point we have no choice, honestly. We got two games left, and we worked hard all year to get home-court advantage. So we have to take advantage of it.”

True, what seemed like a meaningless regular-season finale at Toronto, a game where Wade, James and Chris Bosh sat out, turned out to have colossal importance.

Had Miami not won that night, it would not have the home-court edge over the Mavericks. Now the Heat play at home with the pressure of needing to win twice for the NBA title.

“By definition, this certainly is a series of mental and physical endurance, and that’s why it’s a seven-game series,” Spoelstra said Thursday night before the team left Dallas. “Each game is a possession game going down to the stretch. We were able to steal one here, and they did what they needed to do. They took care of the last two games going down the stretch. So we’re going back to Miami, and we have to do the same thing.”

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

Miami Heat lives up to promise to play more aggressive

unverifiablezz — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:48:41 +0000

DALLAS —
As promised, LeBron James attacked.

As promised, Dwyane Wade rallied the defense.

Promises, promises.

The Miami Heat has been living off promises since James made his now-famous vow to win everything from the Larry OBrien Trophy to the Cy Young Award.

But first, they had to pick their slithery, proud selves off the NBA Finals floor.

The fourth quarter meltdown in Game 2 would have fractured most teams. Instead, as promised, the Heat turned up the heat.

James attacked the free-throw paint as if on a mission. Wade poured in 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and stood out on both ends of the floor.

But as Wade said on ABC afterward, “We wanted to win a game on the defensive end of the floor, and it came down to getting a stop.”

One stop. A fortunate bounce, to be more accurate Udonis Haslem bothering the Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki just enough for Dirks last-second, off-balance, 18-foot jump shot to bounce awry.

Heat 88, Mavericks 86.

This time there were no Maverick miracles. You live and you learn. And sometimes, you live, you choke away the final minutes, and you realize there was a lesson in that Game 2 collapse.

“We want to play more to our identity,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had said before Game 3. “Were an aggressive, attacking team that tries to get into the paint, to the rim, to the free throw line.”

Miami, true enough, attacked from the start. With the Mavericks defense seemingly in retreat, James and the Heat charged the paint, scoring seven of their first nine baskets from there.

The calling card play of the first quarter came from James himself. Catching the basketball at the three-point arc, he stormed down the lane scattering Mavericks and slammed home a ferocious dunk.

Miami seized a 14-point lead. It clearly didnt look like a team that was still reeling from the Game 2 debacle.

Lost in the Heats aggressive first-half, though, was a fortuitous officiating oversight. Miamis Mario Chalmers appeared to sink a prayer from just inside the center circle as the first quarter buzzer sounded.

The TV replay showed that Chalmers heel was still on the line, however, as he received the pass from Haslem.

The three points certainly mattered at the end.

It took two quarters for the Mavericks to muster the manliness to defend the paint. Tyson Chandler, missing in action early, began to halt what had been Wades and James express lane to the bucket.

What followed were two enchanting quarters of physical basketball.

As Spoelstra said after the game, “This series is turning out to be an absolute series of endurance mental and physical. Our guys really competed.

“At times it was a little uneven. But we found ways to make plays at both ends of the court, to grind this game out.”

Grind they did.

For all their self-stirred fanfare, the Heat can grind an opponent into submission.

Like the Mavericks Jason Kidd. The wily veteran seemed to devote his night to stopping Wade, who might have scored 40 without Kidd on his heels.

And like Nowitzki, who had to work for every one of his game-high 34 points.

Again, though, Miami uncharacteristically found itself retreating to the perimeter once the Mavericks began to defend them on even terms. The Heat launched 19 3-point shots and made eight.

In the paint, by contrast, the Heat outscored the Mavericks 40-22.

They attacked. They played championship defense.

Just as they promised.

“Now we just have to move on,” Spoelstra said. “The tough part right now is amnesia.

“Both teams are highly competitive. We have to gather ourselves in 48 hours and get right back and do this again.”

It may not be nearly as hard, though, as Sundays Game 3 was.

Though the outcome came down to one shot one stop, one jump shot that bounced away the Heat showed that they had the right stuff to pick themselves off the floor.

They played with heart, much to their critics likely dismay.

Thanks for reading! .

Miami Heat Had ‘Mental Breakdown’ Late in Game 2

carey40jacobs — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:28:41 +0000

The Heat made a myriad of errors at the end of Game 2 of the NBA Finals last night, but the most glaring gaffe was not fouling Dirk Nowitzki prior to his game-winning layup, when they still had a foul to give. From the Palm Beach Post: “The Mavericks called timeout with 24.5 seconds left. The game was tied. Everyone knew who would get the ball. Erik Spoelstra, however, had options. He had the option of assignment. He assigned Chris Bosh, not Udonis Haslem, to Dirk Nowitzki. ‘Yeah, that’s a tough one,’ Spoelstra said. ‘I know UD probably is really wishing he had that opportunity to defend him. He had gotten a couple over the top, and the end of the game running it all the way down to the clock, could have gone with either guy. Both guys are good defenders.’ Spoelstra had the option of ordering a foul, before anyone shot. Apparently, he did something close. ‘We talked about it,’ Spoelstra said. ‘We’ve been in that situation before. We didn’t use the foul. Obviously, it looks like right now you could second-guess that, but we didn’t take it.’ ‘It was a mental breakdown on us,’ Dwyane Wade said. ‘We’ll take it. We all said in the huddle, our coaches said it. Sometimes when you’re in the moment — Dirk made a great move to get a little step on Chris. Obviously if we can go back and do it, we have grabbed him before he could get up.’ ‘He gave me a quick move, and at that point, I didn’t feel that I had leverage for the foul, because he was going into a shooting motion,’ Bosh said. ‘Like I say, it was just all bad defense for me.’”

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

Heat finishing strongly — and say they can improve

oaouwrkr — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:14:28 +0000

MIAMI – At the start, the Miami Heat couldn’t finish.

That’s apparently no longer the case.

Among the many trends that have popped up during Miami’s five-game postseason winning streak, maybe the most notable is that the Heat have outscored opponents in the fourth quarter in each of those contests.

That includes Game 1 of the NBA finals against Dallas. Game 2 of the series is Thursday night, when the Heat look to hold the home-court edge and move two wins away from a championship.

“We’ve been in a lot of these grind-out games and find a way just to stay in there, stay the course and find a way to win at the end,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday after practice. “Again, I think the more times you’re in those type of games, the less you panic or become distracted.”

The Heat have been in plenty of those games by now.

One of the major criticisms of the Heat in the regular season was how the team simply could not win one-possession games at the end. Even with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leading the way, Miami went 5-14 in games decided by five points or less in the regular season.

In the playoffs, it hasn’t been a problem. Miami has trailed at the half in each of its last three games, then outscored Chicago and Dallas by a combined 29 points after halftime to win all three of those contests. And to hear LeBron James tell it, the confidence for those wins comes — ironically — from losses.

“It comes from failure throughout the season,” James said. “Having games where we felt like we could or should have won games, late in games, and we just didn’t execute. I said (Tuesday) night, I was used to closing out games in the last seven years. C.B. was used to closing out games and D-Wade was used to closing out games. One thing was figuring out how to do it together. We were used to doing it individually, early on in the season.”

No more, they’re not.

When Dallas scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 51-43 lead, the Heat changed both their defensive disposition — the Mavs scored 18 points in the next 18 minutes — and their offensive tendencies. The balance was nearly perfect for Miami the rest of the way: Wade took nine shots in the final 22 minutes, Bosh took eight, James and Udonis Haslem each took seven.

The Heat didn’t ask one person to carry the scoring load, and that meant the Mavericks couldn’t overplay anyone.

It also meant that Bosh’s struggles — he was 1 for 9 in the second half, the lone make being a game-sealing dunk with about a minute left after an assist from Wade — went largely unnoticed. That was thanks in part to the Heat holding a 7-1 edge in offensive rebounds after halftime.

“They won the line of scrimmage, is really what it came down to,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “They were more physical inside. It led to 16 second-chance opportunities for them. And that just takes the ball out of our hands.”

Miami’s defensive numbers in Game 1 may not have been better. Against a high-powered team like the Mavs, the Heat limited them to 84 points and 37 percent shooting.

The stat sheet looked great. The film, not so much, Wade said.

“We’ve seen a lot of possessions on the film that we can get better defensively,” he said. “We can help each other out better and try to make it a little tougher. Some of the shots they missed were open. We can’t let that happen next time. We have to do a better job of contesting all of them, at least 75 percent of their shots.

“We can be way better,” he added. “It’s not saying the score is going to be 150-149. But there’s ways we can execute better. We can get better looks and better opportunities.”

Wade left practice Wednesday again insisting he was fine, and after he scored 15 of his 22 points of Game 1 in the second half, the Mavericks won’t argue that fact. Heat reserve Mike Miller insisted his aching left shoulder — he grabbed it and yelled in agony after reaching with his left arm for a fourth-quarter rebound in Game 1 — won’t keep him sidelined on Thursday. The stakes are simply too high to miss games now.

“Old age,” Miller said.

As the season wears down, the Heat look better at the end of games now than at any point in the campaign’s first 82 nights.

“We’re a really good team down the stretch now,” James said. “It has a lot to do with our team as far as trust, it has a lot to do with myself and D-Wade and just the position coach has put us in in late games to have us have an ability to come down the stretch and make shots for our team. I guess it’s a confidence of closing games out, but it’s also the trust you have for your teammates.”

___

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Mavericks Face The Heat Starting Tuesday Night

Gonaamofe — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:10:14 +0000

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Nearly ten months after the infamous “decision,” Miami Heat forward LeBron James and his teammates are set to start their NBA Finals pursuit of the 2010-2011 NBA Championship Tuesday night.

For the Heat, it’s been a season under the microscope like almost no other team in history has ever faced. From having ESPN dedicate an entire section to the team, to some of the most eye-opening comments ever written about an athlete’s decision to pursue a title, the Heat have dealt with it all.

Looking back at some of the comments about LeBron joining the Heat it doesn’t take long to see why King James is pushing so hard to win the NBA Championship this season. Here’s a few quotes from last year, courtesy of larrybrownsports.com.

“James goes to the Miami Heat, Cleveland goes into a basketball Hades, and LeBron’s legacy becomes that of a callous carpetbagger,” wrote Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

“The Big Two conceived this poorly constructed team. The Big Two gave in to their egos and assumed any group of stiffs would be enough support for the Big Three to compete against the NBA’s best teams,” wrote Jason Whitlock last year.

“Oh, and he (LeBron) can’t be Magic now. Or Bird. Or Michael. Or Isiah Thomas, Tim Duncan or Bill Russell or any NBA supernova who stuck around long enough to win championships for a town and its people,” wrote Washington Post columnist Mike Wise.

But perhaps no one has inspired LeBron like TNT analyst, and former NBA star Charles Barkley. From saying he was disappointed to calling the Heat a bunch of whiners; the Round Mound of Rebound has said it all about this year’s Heat team. He’s also endeared himself to Miami fans, as evidenced here.

With all of the negativity that’s been directed at the Heat from the media, and most especially from Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, the team has still made it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006.

For LeBron, he knew his decision would rub some people the wrong way; but he also understood that to get to the next level; he had to have better players around him.

“I know what this league is all about, about having multiple guys on the court that can dominate a game,” James said Monday. “With teaming up with these guys, I feel like we can compete for a lot of years to come. We’ve proven a lot of people wrong so far. We have a lot of work to do still.”

Now, the Dallas Mavericks stand in the way of the Heat and their goal of winning the NBA Championship. If you’re having déjà vu, there’s good reason since it’s a matchup of the 2005-2006 NBA Finals.

But, only two players on each squad remain from that series; Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem on the Heat, and Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd of the Mavericks.

Nowitzki will be the main focal point of the Heat’s defense and will be the highlight of the Mavericks offense. Nowitzki is arguably having the best playoff series of any player in the NBA. He’s averaging 28.4 points per game, 7.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game in the playoffs.

Nowitzki was especially lethal in the Conference Finals against Oklahoma City. He shot 56 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point land, and 97 percent from the free throw line in the Confernce Finals. He even went for 40 in Game 4 of the Conference Finals against the Thunder.

That’s the challenge that awaits the Heat’s defense, which to this point in the playoffs has been up to the challenge of shutting down some of the best players in the NBA. The Heat shut down a game 76ers team, eliminated the Big Three of the Boston Celtics, and disposed of the Bulls in just 5 games while completely shutting down league MVP Derrick Rose.

But Nowitzki is a different monster than the players the Heat have faced. He’s 7-feet tall and has one of the best jump shots in the NBA. He’s going to get his points, but the Heat has to slow him down some to hang with the Mavericks.

The Heat is likely to counter Nowitzki with a combination of Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony. Both players are long and can get physical with Nowitzki, while also having the foot speed to stay in front of him.

“You know, we’ve got a lot of flack this year, mostly because of myself. And we’ve tried to use that as motivation every day we get on the basketball court,” James said. “But just play the game of basketball. That’s all we can do is play the game of basketball at a high level. Play Miami Heat basketball.”

As good as Nowitzki has been, he’s not faced a team with a defense as good as the Heat. The Heat also has a few big weapons in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh the Mavericks have to deal with.

James and Wade will be asked to get to the free throw line by driving to the rim. So far in the playoffs, both James and Wade have done a great job pulling this off in the playoffs. Both players have been living at the free throw line and if the Mavericks choose to foul, they’ll have to do it carefully because Wade and James can win games at the line.

The key for Miami may be the play of Chris Bosh. He’s been deadly as a jump-shooter from between 15 and 20 feet in the playoffs. He scored 34 points twice against the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals and is a matchup nightmare for the Mavericks.

“We are facing a very tough team, a very good team with a bunch of closers and leaders. And so we’ve got to just go from there and bring our best game,” Nowitzki said. “But we as players, we’re not really worried about who are the good guys or the bad guys, what the fans want. That’s not going to matter to us, anyhow.”

And while the Heat’s Big Three want that ring; they understand that the Mavs still feel like they have unfinished business against the Heat from the 2006 NBA Finals.

The Heat have faced it all this season. They’re 0-2 against the Mavericks in the regular season, but both of those losses came far before the Heat ever got on the same page and began playing like a team destined to win a championship.

Wade summed it up like this, “only thing I care about is winning. That’s all I care about. Whatever you guys (the media) want to decide to put me or talk about me, that’s where I’ll be. The biggest thing is to be a champion.”

Miami’s pursuit of that championship begins Tuesday night at 9 p.m. in the American Airlines Arena.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.