Roast to the Heat

The only way to feel better after watching this team fall out of a playoff position tonight is to laugh about it. So I propose a roast towards your Miami Heat. I welcome the blog comedians to take their shots at their team and players in a fun/ribbing way as a way to vent our frustration and move forward... not in an annoying trolling kind of way, just as therapy... take your cheap shots and get it out of your system. I will get us started:

Carlos Arroyo...

The only time he showed his teeth on defense this year he was resisting arrest.

Udonis Haslem...

The only guy on the team that wears protective gear for his mouth... puts up average numbers, but is deemed by the club to be untouchable... people always say he is "willing to do the dirty work"... does he give great blowies or am I missing something?

Joel Anthony

His name is JOE - ELLE, which might explain his Jekyll and Hyde nature. Joe is a grown man who rejects anybody that dares come into the lane, and Elle is a little girl that is learning to catch the ball and make a lay up.

Dwyane Wade

He gets the award for the most retarded first name misspelling. I am all for creative ways to spell a common name, but the "y" ahead of the "a" in Dwayne? Have any of you ever stared at it and tried to pronounce it? Seriously just stop and look at his name for a while and it will confuse the hell out of you. No wonder he had academic problems growing up. It isn't your fault Dw-Yane!

Michael Beasley

Trash talking is not his thing. He says we shouldn't have any trouble beating Charlotte and they trounce us. He says that the team isn't a bunch of Tito Jackson's and they lose 4 straight. If he says one more thing this season, we miss the playoffs.

Mario Chalmers

When asked to compare himself to players past and present he mentioned Gary Payton, Chris Paul and Gilbert Arenas... that IS the punch line.

Pat Riley

The definition of a winner. He won't stand for losing. If he can't win, he quits.

Erik Spoelstra

The only guy who smokes more pot than Michael Beasley. Don't believe me? The guy grew up in Portland and plays Tupac during practice. Still don't believe me? Read the Energy Bus...

1) You're the Driver of the Bus.

2) Desire, Vision and Focus move your bus in the right direction.

3) Fuel your Ride with Positive Energy.

4) Invite People on Your Bus and Share your Vision for the Road Ahead.

5) Don't Waste Your Energy on those who don't get on your Bus.

6) Post a Sign That say "No Energy Vampires Allowed" on your Bus.

7) Enthusiasm attracts more Passangers and Energizes them during the Ride.

8) Love your Passengers.

9) Drive with Purpose.

10) Have Fun and Enjoy The Ride.

That's all I have, it is now past midnight and it is officially my birthday. Still feeling bummed out about the Heat. I hope they finish strong and more importantly, I hope they have a great off-season.

Wade is Back Tonight against Orlando

Help is on the way today as Miami clings on to the 8th seed in the East. Dwyane Wade has determined he is ready to go in this match up against the #2 team in the East. So far this season Miami has downed Orlando twice with Dwyane Wade leading the charge. They will need him to be at his best if they plan on winning a third time and remain the 8th seed at the end of the day.

2010 Salary Cap Question Marks

There are many 2010 question marks that have not clearly been addressed. Below I am detailing those questions and tried to get to the bottom of them by reading u on the rules at http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q50.

1) How does James Jones's contract affect the 2010 cap space?

We all know that James Jones has a partial guarantee for 2010. His limited production makes him look like a strong candidate to get released if he is not included in an off-season trade (it is possible that a team would want to acquire him in order to release him and his partial guarantee).

If a player with a guaranteed contract is released, any amount above the minimum that the player is paid by his next team gets divided by two and discounted from what the original team owes that player. Unless the Heat specifically waived this right in the contract, Miami should be able to set off (not pay) most of Jones's guarantee if he got around $4 million a season from his new team, which is a distinct possibility considering the shortage of pure shooters in this league, creating even more cap space. Impossible to know, without actually looking at that contract.

2) Is Chris Bosh most likely to leave the Raptors because of Canada's tax laws?

While an offer from a team that has no income tax, such as Florida, will be more lucrative than one that does have one, the impact on Chris Bosh's contract may be overstated. Every team is allowed to give a 20% bonus on a contract and the bonus is only taxed at 15% for American residents in Canada, which helps neutralize the tax advantage between the USA and Canada... according to question 65 from http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q50

3) Is the Heat able to go over the salary cap to re-sign its free agents?

"Bird Rights" are what allow the home team to sign a player to a big contract even if re-signing him means going over the cap. Miami cannot sign an outside free agent for anything beyond the mid-level exception without renouncing Bird Rights altogether. If you use cap space, you lose your bird rights.

So, if Miami fails to attract a free agent that is worth more than mid-level money, it may want to bring back some rotation players (Jermaine, Udonis and Wright being the most expensive pieces) and use the two first round draft picks, bi-annual and mid-level exceptions to go above the cap ($11 million value).

Simply plugging in two mid-first round talents and two or three mid-level or below talents won't get the job done, so it makes sense that Miami might have already began trade talks with Phoenix and Utah about sign and trade scenarios.

Empire State of Mind

Whenever I listen to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys's "Empire State of Mind" song, I find myself singing it because it is catchy and I actually like New York. However, after singing "If Jeezy's paying LeBron, I'm paying Dwyane Wade" one times too many I started to wonder what that meant and why this NBA owner is talking about the top two free agents in the 2010 free agent market in a song about how wonderful New York is?

Is this tampering I wonder, considering Jay-Z is a visible part owner of the New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets?

First things first, I found out what that Jeezy/LeBron/Dwyane Wade thing was about according http://rapgenius.com/3668 ...Young Jeezy has a song called 24/23 where he repeats "I used to pay Kobe now I pay LeBron" as code for he used to pay 24K for a kilo of cocaine and now he pays 23K using their jersey numbers. So Jigga man says if this guy pays 23K, I pay 3K... cute. However, I have to side with rapgenius.com on their next point that it is a "preposterous hyperbole" to say that he pays 1/8th the price and that using Carmelo's name (15) would make a more credible boast. The fact that the claim makes no sense points to the fact that this was just an excuse to name drop the top 2 2010 free agents in his attempt to recruit them to New York. He's saying to these guys and the rest of the 2010 free agents "think Brooklyn, not New Jersey".

I'll give Jay credit, he makes it sound fun to play for the Nets, he also raps:

Sitting courtside Knicks and Nets give me high fives

N*gga I be Spiked out, I can trip a referee

Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from

(Alicia Keys sings the hook) New York

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothing you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

Another tidbit of his genius recruiting:

Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game

Sh*t I made the Yankee cap more famous than a Yankee can

It is well known that LeBron is a huge Yankees fan, so that boast, which I believe to be true, should really help LeBron feel brand new. Leaving Cleveland behind and catching Yankee games with Jay-Z sounds great... more so probably than playing for the Knicks where he could be hanging out with Spike Lee?

So, in essence I believe that he is most definitely raping to LeBron and Dwyane about getting an "Empire State of Mind" and joining him in "Tribeca right next to DeNiro", but is there a case for tampering under league rules?

None whatsoever. Tampering is when a player or team directly or indirectly entices, induces or persuades anybody (player, general manager, etc.) who is under contract with another team to negotiate for their services.

Jay-Z speaks about paying Dwyane Wade, but it is a metaphor... he found a way to give a shout out to LeBron and Dwyane Wade without being reprimanded by the league - totally hip hopped around the rules.

The Lie That is David Stern....

Getty Images: Chris from the blog shows his
displeasure with his current Knicks team as Godson looks on.


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100224 (this is a great read)



I simply posted the link on this because it is too long too post, but it is a great read and something I have been saying for years. Stern wants to whine and complain his way into a lockout instead of pointing fingers at the real culprits for the NBA's money issues: the terrible GMs we have in this league.  From the new CBA, to the high school draft rule, everything this clown has done has been to protect GMs and make up for their horrible mistakes. All he has ever done was put rules in place to protect GMs from themselves. One team in particular I have been saying has been making stupid mistakes for years, the Wiz, Simmons uses them as an example. He basically said the same things I said when the Wiz gave Arenas that stupid 100mill contract and Jamison that horrible extension:

"For instance, let's say you root for the Wizards like my buddy House. Over the last two years, House watched his team overpay Arenas ($111 million; nobody else could have offered more than $85 million at the time) and Antawn Jamison (a $41 million extension for someone about to reach his mid-30s) in a bizarre attempt to keep together the nucleus of a noncontender. Those contracts forced the Wiz to package the No. 5 pick in the 2009 draft, along with a couple of lousy contracts, for immediate help (Randy Foye and Mike Miller). When that move backfired and Arenas went child actor on us, the team called an audible and dealt three of its four best players (Jamison, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood) for expiring contracts and the No. 30 pick in the 2010 draft.
Three unintentionally funny outcomes here. First, Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld was the one who overpaid everybody, then had to sacrifice Butler and a 2009 lottery pick just to undo his own horrendous mistakes. Basically, he created the same cap space that could have been attained two summers ago, only Washington fans lost a lottery pick in the process. Did he get fired for this? Of course not.

Second, the Wizards will have a ton of cap space this summer, only this summer's top free agents won't be saying, "Man, I'd love to play on a young team that's built around Gilbert Arenas." So it's a flawed business plan coming out of the gate. The Wizards shouldn't even mention the words "cap space" to their fans again. It's like promising your kids an ice cream at the end of a long drive when you know there's nothing in the fridge.
Third, they actually tried to sell their fans that one benefit of the Jamison trade was dipping the Wizards under the luxury tax threshold. As House hissed afterward, "What the [bleep] do I care if the Wiz aren't paying the tax? How does that affect me? Does that mean they're lowering ticket prices for the rest of the year then?"
Nope. Over the past five years, half the league's franchises crapped on their season-ticket holders at least once with mismanagement, salary dumping and/or tanking for lottery picks. Along with the Wizards, the following fan bases have reached a breaking point with their respective teams: Sixers, Pistons, Pacers, Nets, Knicks, Suns, Clippers, Warriors and Timberwolves. Depending on how the summer of 2010 works out, we could be adding Cavs, Heat, Raptors, Hawks and/or Grizzlies fans to that list. And four other teams have tried to put out a quality product but still hemorrhaged money this season: New Orleans, Milwaukee, Charlotte and San Antonio.
(Yes, I just mentioned 19 of the 30 NBA teams. You counted correctly.)"


Basically imo, the players , fans and agents all are about to suffer for the stupidity of these horrible GM's and the owners who refuse to fire them. Anybody disagree?

Timberwolves 91, Heat 88

Timberwolves 91, Heat 88


by: Ira Winderman February 23rd, 2010
9:58 PM

Observations from Tuesday’s 91-88 loss to the Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena:



This has to rank with the 39-point loss in Charlotte. Simply not acceptable

With 1.1 seconds to play, why do you have the player who is 6 of 7 on 3-pointers inbounding? Shouldn’t Dorell Wright have been the one set up for that final attempt taken by Daequan Cook? Wright was 6 of 7 on 3s, the rest of the team was 2 of 15 and he’s inbounding, with no chance to get a pass back to him in 1.1 seconds?

No, not the best day for the Heat to begin 2010-11 season-ticket sales.

The Michael Beasley experience summed up in one sequence: Early in third quarter, the second-year forward launches a quick and wayward 19-foot jumper that has point guard Carlos Arroyo glaring first at him, then at the bench. Then Beasley steals a Corey Brewer pass on the other end and streaks in for what becomes a 3-point play.

So young; so unrefined.

The start could not have been much uglier, with the Heat opening 4 of 12 from the field and falling behind 20-10 against an opponent that entered 4-24 on the road.

The Heat closed the first period down 24-15, at 6 of 18 from the field, even though Al Jefferson had only two points at that stage for the ‘Wolves.

It then got to 30-15 within the first two minutes of the second quarter.

It was ominous from the start, with Beasley’s first shot a 17-foot airball.

Then, about 10 minutes later, Darko Milicic (yes, he still is in the league) airballed the first of two free throws for Minnesota, before barely catching the front rim on the second.

Beasley didn’t do himself or the Heat any favors with his two first-quarter fouls. Without them, he could he returned earlier in the second period, when it was going south.





Michael Beasley reaches to block a pass from Jonny Flynn. (AP)

Beasley missed his first six shots, continuing his 3-of-11 struggles from Saturday’s loss in Dallas. He closed 5 of 18, never recognizing a bad shot.

Daequan Cook started at shooting guard in place of Wade, after Dorell Wright got the start Saturday in Dallas. He shot 4 of 13.

Wright, though, proved to be more of an impact player, with his energy reviving the Heat in the second quarter, with his 10 points in the quarter his high for any quarter this season.

Wright finished with his first career 20-point game off the bench, with a career-high 26 points.

Oh, and did we mention the Heat might not have the cap space to re-sign him this summer?

The zone was back, but, frankly, not that impressive, with Minnesota 5 of 7 on 3-pointers in the first half and 8 of 14 overall.

With his eighth point, Heat center Jermaine O’Neal went over 12,000 for his career. With his eighth point, Beasley went over 2,000.

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love delivered one of his trademark fullcourt passes to Brewer for a layup off a made Beasley free throw late in the second quarter, something Love built a reputation on during his time at UCLA.

Love somehow gets it done.

So you’re down 68-58 entering the fourth quarter and you open the period without either O’Neal or Beasley? Common sense finally ruled when O’Neal was reinserted with 10:45 to play,

The number of times the Heat refused to work all the way through a play was startling.

There is a 15th roster spot available and there is a need for a scorer, without any certainty of when Wade returns. Can the Heat afford to wait?

Mario Chalmers recorded the Heat’s second 4-point play of the season with 6:58 to go. The Heat’s other 4-point play was recorded by James Jones on Nov. 25 against Orlando.

Of course, the Heat came right back and fouled Love on a 3-point shot.

Ugh. Simply ugh.

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The Ming Dynasty

Earlier this season Wade had this to say about when asked who he would most like to play with in this league, "I've played with a dominant center before, and there's nothing like it. It changes the whole game."

The answer to the question was Orlando's Dwight Howard, one of his T-Mobile Fave Five. However, upon hearing those words I remembered yet another one of Wade's Fave Five buddies, who could become a free agent this off-season: Yao Ming. Check out their commercial for a quick laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSdh695ER04

The addition of Yao Ming is no joking matter, it is serious business - he is arguably the top center in the league. People are sleeping on this giant because his most recent injury crippled Houston's 2008-09 playoff run and then sidelined him for the entire 2009-10 season. However, there may not be a better time for the 30 year old center to cash in with 6 teams desperately seeking to add a "max" free agent.

The reality of the free agent situation is such that Dwyane, LeBron and Chris Bosh are worth the full 6 year max deal from their hometown making it likely that they stay put.

Yao falls nicely into the second tier of possible free agents with fellow All-Stars Amare Stoudamire and Joe Johnson. Opt out this year and he is a few work outs away from striking it rich somewhere on a five year deal. Opt in and he is one injury plagued or sub par season away from being seen as next year's T-Mac and JO (another oft-injured 31 year old free agent who will have to swallow his pride and sign a much smaller contract than his previous one).

Yes, Yao is a huge injury risk and as Heat fans we have suffered through the our fair share of missed games by our franchise centers, but you take the good with the bad and in this case the good heavily outweighs the bad. Why, you ask? Money.

Money makes the world go 'round and there is no basketball player in the world that makes money go 'round than Yao. Not LeBron, not Kobe, not D-Wade - Yao is the highest paid NBA athlete... the most marketable basketball player in the world. Yes, the only thing bigger than the 7'6" Yao is the Asian market that idolizes him.

Teaming up Yao and Wade would be a marketing genius move, and while I am at it I would also add Tracy McGrady who as you could tell by the All Star balloting is still one of Asia's favorite players.

I hear the grumblings about how that would be an injury prone team, but in due time the team would be able to go over the salary cap and not have to worry about any luxury tax because they will be making more than enough money to cover the expenses.

AFTER THE DUST SETTLES......

 Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, the focus turns away from the here and now, to the "soon to be". What that means is  with Riley standing pat, Beasley seemingly apart of the future, at least for now, we can examine what the transformation of this team could be like. In the upcoming days I am pretty sure we will have many discussions on what we need/ want added to this team. I will be writing my ideas on a blog soon to come and I hope others will do the same. In the words of Dwade "Its nice to dream". All that being said, props goes out to my  boy JGtruth on this one. Heres a look at the offseason menu( I think this is extremely helpful as it basically has a players worth in monetary value) that should get some of the blog gm juices flowing. I would just like you all to keep in mind what I said. Having ample cap space does not mean we will be adressing every need thru free agency. Cap space actually gives us more leverage to trade.What that means is when you look at this list, dont spend all your money in one place. ENJOY!!!

Unrestricted

Minimum Wage               $2-3 Mill                            $3-5 Mill                 $5-8 Mill                      

Jason Collins         Atl       Marquis Daniels  Bos  Joe Smith        Atl    Ray Allen            Bos     

Randolph Morris -Atl       Eddie House-      Bos    Brad Miller     Chi    Ray Felton           Cha   

JR Giddens -Bos           Brian Scalabrine-  Bos    Earl Watson   Ind   Shaq Oneal Clv

Shelden Williams- Bos      Theo Ratliff -     Cha   Steve Blake     Por   Brendan Haywood

Stephen Graham  -Cha       Joe Alexander-   Chi    Rasual Butler   Lac   Tracy Mcgrady   NY

Lindsey Hunter   -Chi        Devin Brown-     Chi    Drew Gooden  Lac   Travis Outlaw     Lac  

Jerome James       -Chi        Flip Murray-       Chi    Derek Fisher   Lal    Jermaine Oneal  Mia

Acie Law              -Chi         Hakim Warrick- Chi    Udonis HaslemMia   Al Harrington    NY

Jenero Pargo        -Chi         Kwame Brown-   Det    Quentin Richardso   Louis Amundson Pho

Tim Thomas        -Dal          Ben Wallace-      Det    Dorell Wright Mia  Marcus Camby    Por 

Malik Allen          -Den        Raja Bell-            GS     Luke Ridnour   Mil   Manu Ginobli     SA 

Anthony Carter   -Den       Steve Novak-      Lac   Larry Hughes   NY   Zydrunas Illgauskas

Johan Petro         -Den        Craig Smith-        Lac   Nate Robinson Bos  

Chucky Atkins    - Det       Josh Powell -       Lal   Etan Thomas   Okc

Devean George     -GS        Primoz Brezec-   Mil    Matt Bonner     SA

Anthony Tolliver -GS         Darko Milicic -   Min   Roger Mason    SA

Brian Cook           -Hou    Aleksandar  Pavlo- Min Kyle Korver     Uta

Travis Diener       -Ind         Damien Wilkins - Min  Mike Miller     Was

Luther Head         -Hou       Tony Battie-        NJ   

Brian Skinner       -Lac         Jarvis Hayes-        NJ 

DJ Mbenga           -Lal         Bobby Simmons-  NJ

Steven Hunter      Mem      Brian Cardinal-     NY

Jamaal Tinsley     Mem      Chris Duhon-        NY 

Marcus Williams  Mem     Anthony Johnson-Orl

Rafer Alston        Mia        Jason Williams-    Orl 

Carlos Arroyo      Mia       Rodney Carney-   Phi 

Yakhouba DiawaraMia      Allen Iverson-      Phi

Jamaal Magloire   Mia        Ime Udoka -         Sac

Royal Ivey           Mil         Kieth Bogans-      SA

Jerry Stackhouse  Mil         Michael Finley-    SA

Kurt Thomas       Mil         Amir Johnson-     Tor

Mark Blount        Min        Rash Nesterovic-  Tor

Trenton Hassell   NJ          Antoine Wright-   Tor 

Chris Quinn         Mia        Javaris Crittendon-Was 

Ike Diogu             NO        Fabricio Oberto-    Was

Sean Marks          NO        James Singleton-    Was

Jonathan Bender  Mil       

Jarron Collins      Pho

Juwan Howard      Por

Sean May             Sac

Earl Boykins        Was

Mike James          Was

8-13mill                                   13mill-max
David Lee   Ny                      Dirk Nowitski  Dal
Carlos Boozer   Utah           Chris Bosh     Tor
                                      Joe Johnson   Atl

Restricted

Minimum                            $2-3 Mill                         $3-5 Mill                      $5-8 Mill                                        
               

Chris Hunter      GS           Moe Evans    Atl         Anthony Morrow  GS   Luis Scola         Hou          

Bobby Brown    Lac         Jawaad Williams  Cle  CJ Watson            GS    Tyrus Thomas   Chi

Aaron Gray        NO         Will Bynum    Det        Kyle Lowry         Hou     JJ Redick

                                         Mardy Collins  Lac     Ronnie Brewer    Mem 

                        Sergio Rodriguez     Jordan Farmar    Lal           

                                          Adam Morrison    Lal  Hilton Armstrong  Sac

                                           Josh Boone           NJ  

                                           John Brockman    Sac

8-13mill                                           

Rudy Gay Mem                                          

                                          

Player options

   $2-3 Mill                         $3-5 Mill                            $5-8 Mill                                          

  Shannon Brown    Lal     Matt Barnes        Orl      Tyson Chandler Cha            

  Kris Humphries     NJ                                          John Salmons     Mil                     

 9-13mill                   13mill-Max                   


 Paul Pierce                Lebron   CLv
 Yao Ming                   Kobe      LA
                                 K. Mart  Den
                                 Dwade   Mia
                                Amare    Phx

JO's time has arrived

16.9 points, 10 Rebounds, 2 blocks in 31.7 minutes - these are Jermaine O'Neal's averages over the last seven games. It seems his production is on the upswing and it could not come at a better time.

Jermaine feels like he can continue to contribute now that he is finally healthy and has been lobbying to get more opportunities to establish an inside-outside game. I actually give Coach Spoelstra credit for limiting Jermaine's minutes - he averages 28.8 per game for the season - and keeping him fresh and healthy for the second half of the season + playoffs.

57 games into the season he is shooting a team leading and career best 54% from the field. The time has come to get his confidence going by featuring him in the offense the way Shaq and Alonzo were. We may yet have a 20-10-2 center down the stretch run of the season if given 35+ minutes. As a matter of fact, JO has gotten 35 minutes or more in 4 of the last 7 games and is averaging 20-12-2.

It is a small sample size, but we already gave up on one "washed up" O'Neal only to watch him make another All-Star game and help Cleveland become the NBA's top team, let's find out what we have in this O'Neal before we give up on him too.

Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks on NBATV @ 8:30 PM ET

Prediction: Miami wins by 33. Not really, Miami is a 10 1/2 point underdog in this road game against one of the Western Conference's elite team's, the Southwest Division leading Dallas Mavericks, but I never really know what to expect from the 2009-10 Miami Heat, so why not?

The easy answer to why not is Dwyane Wade will not be suiting up. Also out is starting point guard Rafer Alston of the Miami Heat and Dallas's starting Center Erick Dampier making your projected starting lineups:

Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks

C J. O'Neal B. Haywood

PF M. Beasley D. Nowitzki

SF Q. Richardson S. Marion

SG D. Cook C. Butler

PG C. Arroyo J. Kidd

On paper the Mavericks are better at every position, except Center where JO is a superior talent when his body permits it. This being the fourth game in 5 nights for both teams does not bode well for him in this match up.

Miami heads into this game having lost 11 straight to the Mavs including a 106-93 defeat in Miami in December, but still holds bragging rights in the rivalry thanks to that incredible NBA Finals come from behind victory.

I predict an unexpected victory like the one the 2003-04 (Thanks Kazam) team came up with in Dallas in route to claiming the 4th seed in East and advancing to the second round where they put a scare to the #1 seed Indiana Pacers.

Not sure how long they can keep up the winning streak, but I am thinking the energy bus rolls on today as the Mavericks will have a hard time getting up for this game while Miami continues to get production from unlikely sources.

Heat 100, Grizzlies 87

Five wins in a row. Given that we were coming off 5 losses in a row, it's surreal.

Even more so since #5 came on the road against a solid team without Dwyane Wade.

The bipolar nature of this team continues to confound. Without Wade, everyone picked their game up a bit to compensate. JO was again a presence with 18 big points and combating Memphis' size advantage. Q was everywhere; timely 3s, great assists, high energy on the glass, drawing crucial charges. Cook showed he wasn't allergic to defense. The newly returning Mario Chalmers made you alternatively cringe and cheer, but overall he was definitely a plus. A big one.

Michael Beasley functioned as the go-to guy and finally got over the 28 point hump, setting a career high with 30. Anyone watching him afterward knows the kid knew what he had done. He hit needed shots all game to keep the team in it. Would have like to seen him get a better look at that potential game winner, but with 2.8 seconds, I'm not going to complain ...much.

Udonis Haslem. Wow. After a rather uneventful 53 minutes, he unleashed the Caged Boozer. Haslem was a force late, no doubt. Feelings about Beasley's place on the team aside, UD is not a bad guy to have on your squad. The Grizzlies couldn't handle the grit.

I was even mostly pleased with Spo tonight. Good timeouts, good points of attack, good usage of switching man and zone defenses, rotations weren't as WTF as usual (could have been tighter in some spots; Beas in earlier in the 2nd and 4th, more Big Kat). Enough with the misnomer that Beasley can't play down the wire. Where was Dorell though? I'm not sure the Arroyo/Chalmers backcourt is something we need to really to feature. Hey, it worked tonight though.

Man, Memphis really can't shoot. Bitch all you want about the zone, Z-Bo. It's called 'making a shot'.

Taking on the new look Mavericks at the other building sponsored by American Airlines is tough enough in itself. On the tail end of a back-to-back after a 2OT endeavor is pushing it. Whatever. We've got our best winning streak in over two years. This stretch of games has been a success, but I certainly wouldn't mind if we got greedy. Go Heat!

What's next for the Heat?

Since the trade deadline came and past with no moves, it's safe to assume that the Heat as presently composed will remain that way for the rest of the season. The Stoudemire trade apparently did not offer Phoenix what they truly wanted. We found out that there were talks with Utah for Boozer, but that trade also fell through. I am very glad that the Heat did not sell off Dorrell to the Grizzlies just to avoid the luxury tax. He is just starting to round into form. These next few games with Wade will be critical. Since Wade is injured, we will get a chance to see if Michael Beasley can be the leading scorer for winning team. If he can, it may help Spoelstra realize how important Beasley can be for the Heat. Also, that may prove to Wade and another free agent that Beasley could be an option on the new-look team this fall.

Standing Pat?

We are a few hours away from another exciting trade deadline. The biggest name linked to Miami is still available, but after speaking with the Phoenix Suns team owner Robert Sarver Amar'e Stoudamire said "I think I'm pretty much safe," adding that "I feel good. But either way I was going to feel alright".

If Amar'e stays put, it might be great news for the Miami Heat. Yes, it would be nice to make a move so that this season does not have to end like last season's, but the team has hardly inspired confidence that they are one piece away from seriously challenging the East's top 4 teams this year even with Dwyane Wade leading the attack (let's hope he is OK, by the way, you never like to hear a player say he heard a pop). However, it is clear after watching the moves the Heat has made - Quentin Richardson for Mark Blount and Rafer Alston for Chris Quinn, a 2nd rounder and cash (yes, I consider the Rafer Alston move a trade, because there seemed to be a clear correlation with his release, signing and subsequent trade) - that Pat Riley cares about winning, turning the bottom of the roster into two starters/rotation players - neither player is more than a stop gap solution at the position, but that is the point. The moves you have not seen Riley make are moves that commit 2010 cap space to fringe All-Stars.

Of course Richard Jefferson, Stephen Jackson, Caron Butler, Josh Howard could have made the team much more competitive this season and beyond, but Riley has kept true to the vision so far. Everything he does has LeBron, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and Amar'e best interests in mind, possibly even Yao Ming, who would definitely benefit from playing with Wade. Yes, the argument could be made that the team is doing everything they can to retain Wade, but I believe Pat when he says they are not walking on egg shells with him. They know it is ultimately his decision anyway whether he wants to take a paycut and leave so they are not allowing themselves to go down that rabbit hole, instead they are focused on an off-season where they will stand at the front of the line.

While the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls are desperately trying to get into Miami's position, the Heat is in a place where they get to be really picky having already cleared tons of cap space. The player I most wanted to get cleared out was James Jones, but it just dawned on me that we may have time to trade him in the off-season if we determine he is not worth $5 million a year... which he might be worth as a 3 point specialist if we acquire a dominant big man like Bosh, Yao or Stoudamire.

The other bright side of standing pat is that we currently do have a lot of useful role players and none of them stand to get a hefty pay raise in free agency, so improving into the 50 win world by next year almost seems like a slam dunk.

HEAT 87 NETS 84

We came, we saw, got injured, and still conquered. What more do you want?

This game sure had the makings early on of another blowout, which would have done wonders for the  teams confidence, even against the lowly Nets.

Still you have to worry about Dwades calf and hopes its  not serious nor lengthy

Even more pressing than Wades calf, is the apparent head injury suffered by Spoelstra.

JO gets hurt, Humphries (who?) dominates the glass and you have to wonder.....why still no Magloire?

No matter what the circumstance, Joel/Haslem and Haslem/ Beasley  in tandem needs to stop.

Have to side with a few bloggers on the Lopez kid. Nice player, nice potential, but nowhere near as much a factor as his numbers indicate. Skilled, absurdley mobile, but lite in the ass. I think Vince Carter was right when he deemd him a PF playing Center. He more of a complimentary player than a buiding block. In todays NBA he will still be a top 10 center soon.

Devin Harris seems to be rounding into form. Worth taking a look at in the summer if the Nets land Wall?


His shot having abandoned, it still makes more sense to have Skip play in the 4th quarter than to run your backup into the ground.  If Arroyo isnt making taking and making that jumper, the other parts of his game arent worth having him on the floor.

I think Cook is on his way back. Q apparently is as well. Wright is progressing nicely.

You really have to wonder about the non interest in riding Beasley. I just dont get the elongated stretches without him on the floor, or the subsequent lack of touches.

On a 4 game win streak  that includes 3 blowouts, have we not learned anything? Why is this team still relegating its players to play isolation ball on the same side every trip down? The same exact set up? Is it that hard to run  a different play? Q in the post for a change would make a lot of sense to me.

Terrible game for Haslem.  He has to bring more to the table than just a menacing scowl and bone jarring screen.

As I check the stats, Brooks Lopez just got the softest and quietest 26 points and 10 rebounds I have ever seen. WOW. Nobody is trading Beasley for that guy. Where was he in the final 5 minutes?

Mid Season Report Card

Here are my mid-season grades on the team. Overall, I think we have NBA level talent top to bottom, capable of being a 50 win team if we could get 8 guys to play their role at an A or B level. Some guys are performing better than last year, but we are going to need some guys to break out if we are going to surpass last year's accomplishments - #5 seed and a first round series that lasted 7 games. The ship has sailed on winning 50 games and fighting for a top 4 seed, but the final grades will not be in the mail until the season ends... these guys all have some work to do:

Jermaine O'Neal, C

B-

His 54% shooting shows his growth as a basketball player as it is well above 5% higher than his previous career high. A 6'11" offensively gifted PF/C must shoot over 50% or he is displaying poor judgement... i.e. - forcing too many shots. Count me amongst those who was hoping for 17 points 8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game out of JO this season. In limited minutes he is providing 13-7-1.4. Coach Spoelstra has actually done a great job of keeping Jermaine healthy and fresh for a post season run... if you increase his minutes by 25% in the playoffs into the 36 minutes a game range without a decrease in productivity you could expect 16-9-1.8 out of your starting center.

Michael Beasley, PF

B

Mike is putting up 15.5 points and 6.6 rebounds a game in just over 30 minutes a game. I had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block as his target going into the season. His numbers per 36 minutes based on his current numbers are 18-7.5-o.6 -- pretty close to what you would expect. I don't like that his FG and 3 point percentages have dropped this season, but that can be attributed to his minutes as a backup small forward where he has not been nearly as efficient. He has done a solid job as a full time starter and for my liking has done enough to show that he has the ability to play Small Forward in a big lineup, something we may see as early as later this week if Pat Riley can swing a deal for Amar'e.

Quentin Richardson, SF

C+

Q won the starting position coming out of camp and was poised to have a great season, but has come down to earth after a hot start. He is averaging 8 points and 4.5 rebounds and playing solid defense. Call me crazy, but if Q is going to remain on the court I would like to see him be more aggressive offensively. Obviously, I love it when he posts up and takes it to the basket, but I actually miss the days when he would shoot 5 threes per game. Considering he has been our most dependable threat from deep at nearly 39% I think he should get the green light.

Dwyane Wade, SG

A

His numbers are slightly down across the board from last year's MVP-worthy performance. I have noticed that he no longer likes to shoot from 3/4 court because it kills his 3 point %, which is disappointing. He should not worry about proving the doubters wrong about his 3 point shot and should focus more on his free throw percentage, which at 75.5% is the lowest since his rookie year.

Rafer Alston, PG

C-

It's hard to believe Rafer has been on the team for 21 games now. Sad to say his 34% shooting is only 4% below his career average. He has been a solid addition, but like Q is more of a role player than a difference maker at this point in his career.

Udonis Haslem, PF

B-

He is what we thought he was! Has done a great job off of the bench with 10 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. When he shoots a wide open jump shot it is money and Wade loves him. Maybe he is worth keeping around beyond this season. I wonder what the going rate for grit and hustle will be?

Dorell Wright, SF

C+

Dorell has proven to be a better talent than Jamario Moon by providing all of the steals, blocks and rebounds but also bringing the playmaking ability. His jumpshot has finally reached the level of consistency necessary to play the Small Forward position on this team. He has earned the right to get the Udonis Haslem treatment - 28 minutes off the bench.

Mario Chalmers, PG

C- ...on second thought (thanks KB) D+

Mario has not improved since last year, but he also has not regressed. He hit the bench because he has a lot to learn. He is definitely an asset, but he is not the diamond in the rough we were hoping for. Finding a way to lose his starting position after having the starting position gifted to you for the second straight year automatically earns you a failing grade.

DaeQuan Cook, SG

D-

His 32% shooting makes Rafer look good. He seems to be snapping out of the slump and is earning minutes again. His regression/season-long slump has really let this team down. The gap between Miami and the elite teams in the East would not be as wide if the 3 point specialists could spread the floor.

James Jones, SF

C

In limited minutes he is hitting 43% of his 3 point shots. He seems to have put an end to the shooting woes that plagued him most of last season. He is not playing because he cannot defend as well as the guys ahead of him in the rotation. His signing has been a questionable because of his partial guarantees beyond this season. If he is not going to be in the rotation, he must be moved.

Carlos Arroyo, PG

C+

Our best PG by the numbers this season. Is doing an excellent job with the second unit. His 4-1 assist to turnover ratio and good shooting percentages have been a stabilizing force that has allowed the bench to flourish as of late.

Joel Anthony, C

C+

Below average at most basketball skills, however, he gives excellent screens offensively and provides fantastic help defense. He is a hustle guy making less than $1 million a year, he has proven to be a worthy piece of the puzzle when he is surrounded by talent. There is no way to hide his shortcomings when our entire second unit is struggling, however.

Jamaal Magloire, C

C+

Our secret weapon Jamaal only plays occasional minutes, but his presence is always felt. He is the most physical player on the roster and an excellent option as the #3 center, definitely good enough to be #2.

Yakhouba Diawara, SF

N/A

He has not played enough to be evaluated. He needs to jump on that energy bus AND hope for a multi-player trade or he won't play any minutes the rest of the way.

What are your thoughts on the second half? Will anybody do enough in the second half to improve their grades and the team's fortunes? If we stand pat at the deadline can these guys get hot and surprise people at the end? It seems so long ago that the team started the season hot, is it possible that they can end the season hot too?

Heat 105, 76ers 78

• Three W's in a row. How sweet it is.
• This is how you want to come out after the All-Star Break. .500 seemed so very long ago.
• After a bit of an off start, Flash soon rounded out into assassin form.
  
• Strangely enough, the second unit pushed the lead when Wade was out. Yes, you read that correctly.
  
• Christ, how bad is Philly?
• Great effort from JO. He was the key in creating the lead. Solid early work from Q, especially the sustained effort on the glass. UD gritting the place up, as usual. All very timely.
  
• Yes, James Jones gave us another victory cigar 3 once the game was far out of question. In all reality, that could have come around early second quarter.
  
• Christ, how bad is Philly (again, for emphasis)?
• I would have liked to have seen more energy on the glass from Beas (why did he miss essentially the entire second quarter?) He needs to drink some of whatever Q is drinking.
  
• A nice quick bundle of points came for B-Easy in the third to make the score that much more ridiculous. Maybe he didn't realize that brace was gone until halftime.
• Anyone miss Chalmers? Didn't think so.
• A blowout against a bad team. No real need to nitpick on the usual points. I'll take it.

Dare we dream of the team's first four game winning streak as we visit the lowly Nets tomorrow? Dare we dream of once again being over .500? Dare we dream of actually knowing what this team will look like in two days? Stay tuned, Heat fans.

Trying to Read the Heat's President on President's Day

Clever title; not obvious at all. I know.

Until Thursday, many of us will be chatting along, spinning our wheels, regarding whether or not Pat Riley is going to forsake (or at least alter) his plans to improve this team in the offseason, in favor of a sooner move.

• The train on bringing Caron home (possibly with Haywood as a tag along) has departed.
• Amar'e appears headed for Cleveland ...or to be staying in Phoenix.
• Bryan Colangelo is holding on to Chris Bosh like a hungry man with a Whopper.

What does this all mean for the good inhabitants of the AAA?

That's the thing. Regardless of your personal opinion on the matter, I think the one thing we can agree on is that when Riley does strike big via trade, you don't really see it coming. Who knows what the Man in Armani could have brewing. Who was predicting G-Money getting shipped out of town for Zo? The Shaq rumblings caught me entirely off guard. (Btw, thanks Anthony Carter). The 5 team-13 player deal that cemented the championship run? Shaq for Marion? All pretty much out of the blue to me. Even the regrettable Ricky Davis trade was a bombshell (largely because we figured there was no way in hell we could move Walker, but still).

Perhaps the move to be made in leading us back to prosperity is the one none of us see coming.

...or maybe Riles is going to wait it out until this summer. Enjoy the run of (often misleading) talk until this Thursday.

Sticking to the Plan

Pat Riley's 2009 Miami Heat leaves a lot to be desired. It is widely believed that the roster is filled with expiring contracts in order to enter the 2010 free agent bonanza in position to re-sign Wade and add another superstar player. This is, after all, what Pat Riley himself has told the world and it makes a lot of sense.

Miami is currently the only team in the NBA that can pair two max contracts this off-season. While it is hard to believe that any player will turn down a 6 year, $124 million deal to stay with their current team, I give Miami credit for giving James, Bosh and company something to think about.

However, I am not 100% convinced that the organization has placed all of their eggs on the 2010 basket. Anybody that has spent some time playing around on the NBA trade machine has noticed that we have expirings in all shapes and sizes: $23M (JO), $9M (Q-Rich), $7M (UD), $4M (Jones - partial guarantee), $3M (Wright).

Miami has enough pieces to make a solid offer for Amar'e without including Beasley... my offer would be UD, Jones, Wright, Cook, two first round draft picks and cash. Phoenix could take that offer straight up or use some of those pieces to go after Andre Igoudala, whom they are said to covet. The offer blows the rumored Cavaliers offer of JJ Hickson, Big Z (whom Phoenix would agree to buyout?) and a late first round pick out of the water and is reminiscent of the offer that landed Shaq in Miami years ago when the Heat sent every asset not named Dwayne Wade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

By trading Cook and Jones, Miami saves about $3 million in 2010 salary commitments. The two first round picks would also take home another $3 million or so in 2010. Mathematically speaking this trade clears nearly as much cap space as trading Beasley for Stoudamire as Ira had suggested.

With all this being said, it seems that Phoenix, like Toronto, would be better served holding onto their unhappy big man until the off-season as they could possibly negotiate better deals in an off-season sign and trade transaction even if they cannot ultimately convince them to stay.

Since Miami has not made a strong run after any of the available All-Star caliber Small Forwards that were traded in the last 12 months (Richard Jefferson, Stephen Jackson, Caron Butler, Josh Howard), I do not see them going after Igoudala. It is looking like Amar'e or bust.

East wins! Dwyane Wade wins MVP!

-28/11/6/5. Could this guy be any better? Riley, get him some NBA level players!

-Clutch free throws down the stretch and stripped Deron Williams. Nasty closer.

-Great games from LeBron, Bosh, Carmelo, and Dirk as well.

- And what an event. 108K people in an arena? JEEZ. They shattered the previous record. Great work by Jones and Cuban. The whole stadium and that giant jumbo tron was a visual orgy.

-Wade sinks the heart of Dallas once again. This game all but rescued this all star weekend from its doom after piss poor events, one after the other, culminating in that travesty of a slam dunk competition which pretty much put it in its coffin.

-Close ending. Both teams played like it was a real game down the stretch. It was intense, tightly contested, and a joy to watch. Bosh had the go ahead free throws in his home state. Cold blooded right there.

-Congratulations to Dwyane Wade and the Eastern Conference once again for making us proud.

Making CENTS Of This Beasley Mess..

So, here we are again. Another episode of "All My Beasley's". In one corner, u have fans who see the potential and note the production. In another corner, you have fans that want instant results, and denounce the production. Then you have Ira who insists the Heat would trade Beasley for so much a Brooks Lopez, and you have fans who would welcome an injury prone malcontent (Stoudamire), whos 28 and would be either the highest paid player on your team, yes more than Wade, or just as soon be gone in free agency, leaving us with nothing. So what gives?

   This is the cold hard truth on the Beasley situation.  Money is the first issue. The  heat are trying so hard to get under the tax, theres actually interest in getting rid of one of the best rotation players,Wright, whos pretty cheap by the way, for nothing more than  tax space. What happend to that spat about Riley wanting Wade's signature and Wade wanting a promise the Heat was trying to win? Have we truly become the Clippers East? The Marlins of the NBA? When did being cheap trump winning? Anyway, how does this relate to Beasley? Ira says that possibly moving Beasley is of interest simply because the Heat would be off the books for the remainder of his deal. Off the books? A guy thats around 17 and 7 making 5 mill a year is a salary burden I suppose.


   The second issue becomes building a winner,  which should always be first and foremost. Wade wants to win again. He has tasted success and wants more of it. Thats fair. He also has said he will not let this season determine his long term status with the heat. Isnt that what u want from your leader? Patience and understanding? Him being real with himself and this team and not pulling a Kobe Bryant, whom for some odd reason so many bloggers want him to emulate, should be all u can ask for. He has given that. So y the bum's rush with Beasley? Riley himself said nobody is walking around on eggshells for Dwade, and thats the way it should be. F*ck Dwade, Beasley, Spoelstra, and anybody else who would dare think they come before the organization. This franchise will be here long after they are gone.But maybe we are all jumping to conclusions about the Heat rushing Beasley out. I mean how many Pat Riley deals has anyone ever seen coming before hand?


The third issue goes back to winning. Can the heat win with Beasley? My question is why in the hell not? I hate when ppl say "hes not a championship player". Thats the dumbest statement in the world. Nobody is a championship player until they win a championship. Now saying if  a guy can be a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd option is a little different. Beasley is a scorer, an absurdly good one at that. The problem here is we dont believe in offense and dont know how to use him, or anybody else for that matter. The guy can score and score in bunches and in different ways. The problem for most Beasley detractors is the way he scores. Everyone is upset cause he doesnt have a post game. Thats senseless. First off, the easiest skill scoring wise to develop is probably a post game. It takes no real talent, u arent born with a post game. The majority of post play is all fundamental moves. The best players have a natural feel for it like Shaq or Hakeem. Not that Shaq had  a wide variety, but nobody had a better feel for the low post. Even guys without the feel for it, if they work on it, they become Alonzo Mourning. To a greater extent Tim Duncan. All fundamental and basic big man moves that they have perfected. There was nothing at all smooth or pretty about Zo in the low post but he sure was damn effective, one of the few centers u will ever see who can hook consistently with both hands. Boozer has a great feel down low and is very similar to Beasley in stature. What gives anybody the idea Beasley cant match that? He can get stronger, hes more agile, has better touch, bigger threat outside of the paint, and has more hops. Maybe if they didnt waste a summer trying to slim him into a position he cant play, we would see a developing post game. I recall everybody hyping up Speights over Beasley last year in stretches. Fans get caught up with watching espn and seeing them block shots, snag rebounds, and dunking. Guys like that, once you put a body on them night in and night out, they are useless until they figure out other skills, Beasley wont have that problem, Griffin just might. He has to add an away from the basket game, otherwise he will blow his knee out every year. How far along Beasley is in his development, at least offensively, is ridiculous for a 2nd year pf at 20-21. Detractors dont notice because hes not dunking every time he touches the ball.

Last but not least, cohesiveness and trust. The 2 most glaring issues. You cant trust a guy if you dont let him earn that trust. He has to be put out more often to sink or swim. This becomes an issue with the men in charge. You had 2 years to waste basically making Beasley a better player and letting him fight thru the rough patches...you didnt take the opportunity. So what happens when we go into year 3? More unanswered questions and that is just assbackwards. As far as cohesiveness goes, well, back to the men in charge again. Them being on the same page is all on the coach. Run a game plan that works to everyone's strengths, something we dont seem to know how to do.  About all this stuff about who likes playing with who, f*ck all that. They are professionals, go out there, win, and nobody would give a  f*ck.Jordan won 6 titles with 2 guys he didnt want in Pippen and Kukoc, Kobe and Shaq won 3 titles hating each other and I dont get the sense anybody on this team despises each other near as much. Everyone knows my stance is to replace the Sporon in charge with somebody who knows how to coach offense, sub correctly, and doesnt have a hard on for charges. Somebody who doesnt have an issue working with young players. You do that, and all is well. Theres just not a person who can convince me that Beasley is the problem going forward.


The bottom line for me is this.......Aside from what JB said about the Heat not knowing how to use him or whatever, you cant make sense of trading away a guy who has an undersized rookie put up 16 and 6, as a non starter, that only makes 5 mill or so for the next 3 years. JB has the only argument that makes any sense for trading him. Even if you go after Amare or whoever in the offseason, y in the hell would u not add them and just make Beasley your 6th man for  a year. then trade him the next year? In a world where dollars and cents rule supreme, cheap and underpaid labor makes the most sense(cents as well). There is no addition by subtraction in this case, we are not an Amare or Bosh away from contending. These other teams are not running a 2 man game anymore, those days are gone. You also dont spend or trade for the sake of just doing "something". So what if the PF market is the deepest market in the offseason, thats dumb to go after one when you already have  one, knowing you have 3 other positions on the floor that are weaker. You dont fix something thats not broken, you upgrade the things around it.

Rookies 140, Sophomores 128

First of all, congratulations Tyreke Evans. Well deserved. Without looking at the stat sheet he was the best player on the floor tonight, easily. He was efficient as hell, set the tempo of the game, and was unstoppable when he wanted to be. He got to the rim at will and always made the shot that stopped the Sophomore's run. His game went well beyond his numbers.

Disregard all statistics this game, none meant a thing.

Westbrook put up a lot of points, but man this guy shot 29 times compared to Evans' 15. He refused to get his teammates involved. Most selfish play from a PG I've seen in a while. I wont take too much away from Westbrook, he was the fastest player on the floor end to end and he got himself some easy layups. But you've gotta give the f*cking ball up once in a while. Oh and he took 8 3s, hit 2.

OJ Mayo 0-5 3pt shooting. He reminded me a lot of Stephon Marbury. Had 10 assists, set guys up well but really just took his team outta the game at times because the defense left him wide open and he couldn't hit the open shot.

Now down to Michael... He did a lot of things that you don't see him do on the Heat. Like taking it himself to the basket from the 3 pt line and he even took the ball coast to coast a few times for the easy hoops. Maybe it was the lack of defense I dunno. But he looked great in the full court. He'd do well on a more fast paced running team. I think the Heat's refusal to run is a mistake with players like Wade, Wright, and Beasley.

Sophomores badly needed Rose this game. We coulda used a PG with half a brain and I'm not saying this as a compliment to Rose. Our guards this game were that selfish and retarded.

Blair with a 20-20. LoL. Good job Love and Lopez.

Sorry about poor grammar and lack of detail. Just too pissed and disgusted with how the Sophomore guards played tonight.

Rookies vs Sophomores

What's up guys, I'm on your side today. Lets go Beasley!

Ok so Derrick Rose is not playing which kinda sucks for the NBA and TNT as he was the biggest draw among all the players stepping into the court tonight(top 5 in Jersey sales this year, DAMN). I'm not sure what the starting line ups are so I will go by best player at each position.

Sophomores:

PG: Russel Westbrook. From the Oklahoma City Thunder. Quickest player on the court tonight. He's the best perimeter defender for both teams as well

SG: OJ Mayo. The young and hyped shooting guard from the most surprising breakout team of the season, the Memphis Grizzlies.

SF: Danilo Gallinari. From "NEEEWWW YOORRKK! The streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you!" ooops sorry got carried away there. Anyway, he's the best shooter on both teams(He's in the 3pt shoot out actually, yay) and can surprise you with some good fakes and drives to the basket.

C: Brook Lopez. He's tall but slow and kind of robotic/stiff. Needs to work on his game because I see a bright future ahead of him.

And at forward from Kansas State, MIIIIICCCHHHHAEEEELLL BEEEEASSSSSLLLEEEYYYYY!!!!!! Ambidextrous, can drive with both hands. Has an overall smooth looking game. When his shot is falling he's kinda unstoppable.

Now for the Rookies.

PG: Stephen Curry. The Sophomore starters were easy to predict. Rookies are a little tough. I'm sure people would argue with me for Jennings as the starter here though. I'm curious to see how the coaches go with it. And some might say Evans but I think he should be the SG, since the alternatives at SG are not as good as the point guards. Anyway, I love this player. I really wanted this guy, I love his game, his attitude, and his skillset.

SF: Omri Casspi: Who else?

PF: Taj Gibson. Wow the frontcourt players this draft sucked. They badly needed Griffin.

C: Dejuan Blair. Believe it or not he's the only center listed on the roster for the rookies and he's 6'7". I could see Jerebko starting but he's listed as a forward.

And at shooting Guard. TYREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKE EVANS!!!!YEAH! I love this guy. He's an amazing closer, has deceptive handles, great creativity, and is overall by far the best player in the draft.

Edit: Rookies will win this game because Westbrook and Mayo are ball hogs.

The view from behind: Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself?????

Here the Miami heat stand, under .500, lost, seemingly at a crossroads and looking for a 2 game resurgence to turn things around. Fine, nobody expected great things out of this team right? Nobody expected the Grizz or OKC to play as well as they have, but that's a little off my point. The Cavs? Did anybody expect THIS? I must admit I did somewhat, even tho they got off to a rocky start, I stood behind the Shaq deal 100%. Seems like its paying dividends. The Lakers & Celtics? Ehh, about right especially with the Boston season so dependent on health, probably more than any other team. The Magic? The Carter deal I said would be hit big or miss horribly, the verdict has yet to be rendered.
The point I want to make is look at where the Heat stand, now look at whats in front of them. There are more teams in front of them but these are their main concerns when it comes to the future. So I ask you.....who's afraid of the big bad wolf? And exactly who is the wolf anyway? All of these teams the Heat has played....well. In some instances, very well. Yet and still, I hear so much chatter of how hard it will be to dethrone these teams, even tho the team that wears the crown, LA, was a few missed fts, layups, and bonehead decisions from being ran over in the title game by an upstart Magic team who's 2nd best player was coming back from injury. Lets examine exactly what we are dealing with here....

CLEVELAND: Lebron James is playing out of his mind. Fine and dandy, he won MVP LAST YEAR, so all this is nothing new. Let him sing and dance to another number 1 seed. No 1 person can win a ring. That should take the fear out of that one. Yes he has Shaq now, and that's some serious help even at this age, but what about the rest of his team? What makes his team so good is BALANCE, not talent. There's no real glut of talent there, but it is very well balanced. They have plenty of big men, shooters, scorers, facilitators and defenders. So wheres the weakness? Well, talent is one. If Mo "Scottie Pippen" Williams (as he seems to think he is), has to be depended on heavily, can he come thru? I doubt it. What about the bench vs the starters? Again, solid role players, but not much real talent. Cleveland's problem will be when it becomes a game of matchups. Will Lebron play pf? Can Moon actually do it? I ask these questions because the 4 spot is what will hurt them. Odom, KG, Shard, Sheed are all matchup nightmares. KG to a lesser extent because of his knee, but there's nobody u can double off of with a healthy Boston. If hes right, they have no matchup for him there. With Shard and Odom, unless LBJ comes to the rescue, it will be a nightmare. Aside from there, their starting back court is much to small, and their backups are much too limited on offense. Plus Mike Brown is retarded. I have never seen an NBA coach admit he doesn't run an offense.

BOSTON: This team is balanced and talented. Problem is, they are old. Absurdly old. Not by number, but the bodies are falling left and right. These guys have a very short window and wont be the Heats concern next season.


ORLANDO: EXTREMELY talented and deep team.....just as equally stupid and almost as equally unbalanced. They have everything you want talent wise. Size, shooting, penetration(no not that way Slledge),defense, depth, big men who shoot from outside, big men who score inside, big men who rebound, you name it. Two areas they needed improvement in, they went and got it. In JWill they added a player with a high bball IQ, and in Carter they got a deadly one on one scorer/finisher. The problem was, in the process they lost their only facilitator. They picked up one in Jwill, but there's only so much he, as your backup, can do. And at this stage, all he is , is a backup. If Jameer was having that magical season again, maybe they overcome it, but hes not having that. As it stands, they miss Turk even way more than I expected. Turk was a matchup problem and extremely underrated defender. He wasn't important stat wise, but he is what made that engine run. A passer and ball handler that could see over the top of anybody who was in front of him. Lets not underestimate his pension for taking and making the big step back three.

LAKERS: On to the big boys. This is the team everybody is gunning for....and they are extremly overhyped. Really good team, but not in the least bit unbeatable. The lakers have one clear advantage over whoever they play thats not named a healthy Boston team. And that's length to go with talent and athleticism. Bynum Gasol, and Odom coming at u is hard to handle. Boston is built to handle that team, and would do so with no doubt in my mind if they met in the finals. Gasol is a great player in today's nba, extremely smart, skilled, and scores in the paint. The problem is he is still very soft and plays no d. He makes up for it with his length and smarts. Get KG and Perkins to bitch him around, and he will disappear . How many teams can present that tho? CLV has, possibly what it takes to do that, but with Varajeo in the game, it makes it easier for PAU to be unexposed to any fouls, which allows him to help Bynum with Shaq, or be a deterrent at the rim. When Odom comes in, the ONLY answer is LBJ. Thats too much thinking for Mike brown. No need to even discuss what Odom did to Rashard, altho, with Bass they should be able to help Howard on the glass when Shard turns into a bitch. Wheres the Lakers weakness? Simple, its DEFENSE. They play very solid and smart, but Artest is the only defender that makes a difference. Fisher and Farmar can be abused and if u can get 2 productive bigs against that front court, that will leave Gasol exposed as the crappy defender he is.

All of this as it concerns the Heat is to show how flawed each "contender" is, and how any of them could take out the other. That being said, y is anyone afraid that we cant build a team to knock these guys out the box? Aside from Orlando, these teams have extremely weak benches when it comes to talent. What they do have tho is versatility. That's what makes a bench. LA Being able to have either Gasol or Bynum at center at all times, makes it easier to roll out Farmar and Sasha. Same thing with having Artest and Gasol both then being backed up by Odom. Clv has 4 guys that can be used at pg and sg, 3 guys that can be used at sg/sf, and 3 guys that can play center....all within its 8 man rotation. Boston pretty much has the same except with a deeper rotation at pf.

So while we are all concerned with what these teams have NOW ,what WE(the Heat) could do, even without adding Bosh or Amare, could sh*t on any lineup these teams will have next year. Bring us Joe Johnson, Camby, Kirk and Nate Robinson to what we have now. Bring us Kaman, Gay, and Felton. Bring us Haywood, Prince, and Baron. The possibilities are out there and are endless. Add any of those guys to the team we already have, in any combination thru free agency, trade or whatever, and watch how "deep" this team suddenly becomes to the basketball nation. Lead by a rejuvenated Wade, a more experienced Beasley, and hopefully a coach who likes offense, and I like our odds against ANY of these contenders next year.....I have spoken.

Beasley for Amare

Pros: Amare right now is a better basketball player than Beasley.

Cons: Amare is injury prone. He is almost on Tracy McGrady/Yao Ming level where an injury is not just probable, its expected.

He is not that good with the basketball in his hands. If he's your second best offensive option you are pretty much f*cked unless your point guard is Steve Nash, Deron Williams, or Chris Paul and your team is dedicated to the pick and roll and a fast paced offense. You're not winning a title with only one player who can make his own f*cking shot. Most title teams have at least 3.

Although the Heat do occasionally run pick and rolls, I wouldn't trust Spoelstra in particular to really commit to developing it beyond where it is now.

I mean how often do you see a Heat pick and roll actually work, unless its beyond the 3 pt line and Wade takes it himself to the hoop. He doesn't need Amare for that. Just anyone who can "Get the fukk outta the way"!

And to be truthful, how often do you see pick and roll teams win the title? The Celtics ran it but Garnett did not really do so much "rolling" he'd normally slide to the elbow after setting the pick and hit the midrange J. Their system was contingent on having four guys on the floor who can all make their own shots. The Heat would only have one guy who could be depended on to make their own shot if they trade for this guy.

Last but not least, if Amare does not opt in his contract, Wade will buy the next plane ticket to New York or Chicago and you wont have Beasley to build around when that happens. LeBron is not going to sign with Miami to play with James Jones, Mario Chalmers, and Daequan Cook.

I'd be happy to hear anyone's argument for why this trade should be made. The obvious would be that Amare's currently a better basketball player than Beasley. But a lot of other deals would have to be made in order for a team to be a contender with him as a 2nd option. And if those deals could be made to make your team a contender with Amare, I'm pretty sure they can also be made to do the same with Beasley.