SB Nation - Carlos Arroyo

Relax, Heat fans...things aren't as bad as they seem.

DolPhanDave — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:10:26 -0000

by J Pat Carter - AP

J-O is one of four Heat players shooting over 50% this season.

I feel there has been a lot of negativity surrounding the Heat lately, and understandably so. Over the past couple weeks the Heat have only won two of their last six games, barely scraping by in the two victories. Now I'm sure that most of us will agree that a major lapse in the team's defense is the reason for the sudden string of under .500 play. I thought that I'd try and spread a little sunshine on the situation because quite frankly, the ship can get righted just as quickly as things began going wrong.

You guys know how much I love stats, so I did some digging and found some offensive numbers that should have most of you seeing the growing bright side of the Heat's recent play. Before I get into it, I'll say this: I'm not trying to ignore the defensive problems that have emerged, but I believe that they will get fixed relatively quickly.

Getting Quentin Richardson and Udonis Haslem back into the mix will help a lot, but overall I think players were getting a little too content with how well were going on D. When that happens, the hustle gets a little less frequent and players start trying to defend with their hands instead of their feet. The defensive minded Heat coaching staff will make sure everyone gets back on track...just give them a few practices and film sessions.

Shifting our focus back to the offensive side of things, there are a few players who have been putting up some great numbers on a consistent level and I've got the stats to back it up. I was going to use our five starters, but its no secret that Quentin Richardson hasn't been the offensive force that he has been in years past, despite hitting some big shots already this season. Instead I'm going to focus on the other four starters and one bench player.

DWYANE WADE

He started the year struggling with his jumper, and then more recently has not gotten to the foul line as much as usual. I've also gotten on his case for taking way too many ill advised three-pointers. Looking at his numbers over the past week, the only thing that needs to get a little better are the free throw attempts.

Last 3 games: 28-of-63 from the field (44%), 6-of-14 from 3-point range (43%) and 14-of-19 from the foul line (74%). All three are big improvements on his early numbers, and just by watching him you can see that lately he has seemed much more comfortable shooting from the outside. He has also been contributing elsewhere, with 17 boards, 16 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks in the last 3 games.

MICHAEL BEASLEY

Sticking with the last 3 games, Beasley is another guy who has quietly been improving on all his early season numbers. I know I give him a lot of grief for not consistently being able to finish when he drives, but he has still been making a huge difference for Miami.

23-of-36 from the field (50%), 2-of-3 from beyond the arc (67%) and 11-of-12 from the foul line (92%) are all really good numbers. He is also averaging 10 rebounds/game over the last three. Slowly but surely, Beasley is maturing into a hell of a power forward, and his body is still growing, as is his knowledge of how to play and succeed in the NBA.

JERMAINE O'NEAL

For the next three players we're expanding our viewing range to the last four games, and starting things off with the big guy. Before getting to the stats, I could have probably taken a look at his offensive numbers from any four games this year and they still would be impressive, but the main thing I wanted to bring attention to here is his rebounding, which slowly has been decreasing.

26-of-46 from the field (57%) and 11-of-16 (69%) from the foul line. On the season he is shooting over 57% from the field, which is just awesome. Getting to the boards, he's got 25 over the last four games which is 6.3 per game, one below his season average of 7.3. Since he has played in 12 games, lets look at his rebounding in groups of four games at a time.

Over the first four games of the season O'Neal pulled down 33 boards, an 8.3 per/game average. The next four games he snared 29 boards; a 7.3 average over those four games, which moved his season average down to 7.8 a game. As I mentioned before, in his 4 most recent games J-O has only 25 rebounds, which is 6.3 per game. This moved his season average down to 7.3. While his shooting has been amazing, hopefully he'll catch himself before letting his rebounding numbers continue to decline.

MARIO CHALMERS

There hasn't really been much attention paid to Rio this season, be it positive or negative. I don't see this as a bad thing because last season Chalmers was focused on a lot when talking about defensive weaknesses on the team. While he still has a ways to go, he is no longer consistently getting beat off the dribble and his perimeter coverage has gotten significantly better.

Offensively he has just started to get more aggressive and the benefits are showing. He has a quick little first step and almost always finishes when he gets to the rim, often times dunking the ball. To the stats we go...

In the last four games he's gone 20-for-36 (56%) from the field, 8-of-19 (42%) from 3-point range but just 9-of-14 (64%) from the foul line. On the year he's shooting 53% from the field and 44% from beyond, but he takes just 6.9 shots/game. In the last four games however, he is taking 9 shots/game and making them at a slightly higher percentage.

And while he may be taking a few more shots per game, it hasn't effected his production in other areas. 12 rebounds, 18 assists and 5 steals in four games should have a lot of people happy with his all-around performance, and hopefully he'll continue to play as well all-around as he has over the past week or so.

DAEQUAN COOK

Dae-Dae is having a rough start to his season. While he missed five games due to a shoulder injury, I'd say that he played in another 3 games in which the injury was affecting his productivity. His minutes have been wavering over the last four games as Erik Spoelstra is likely waiting for his shooting stroke to get back to normal. Still, we take a look at numbers not as much to enjoy, but more to see his struggles because we all know what kind of shooting he is capable of.

10-of-29 (34%) from the field, 7-of-21 (33%) from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 (89%) from the charity stripe. Sure, he's the only player other then Beasley who has given us really good foul shooting numbers, his overall shooting is just atrocious. The worst part is that these numbers are actually better then his overall season stats. He's shooting just 28% from the field and 29% from 3-point range on the season.

While he really needs to get his shot going, it shouldn't be very difficult for him to improve on both his early season numbers from this year and his final stats from last year, when he shot 37% from the field and 38% from 3. The one bright side of Cook's play this year has been his rebounding. He is pulling down 3.3 boards a game this year which is almost a full rebound more then his average last year (2.5). He also has 5 or more rebounds in three of his eight games this season.

I hope that this first ‘stat blog' of the season has given you all a closer look into how despite the Heat have been falling in the standings, there are still some things that indicate why the Heat will get back to their winning ways as opposed to a continued slide.

Individually, Michael Beasley and Jermaine O'Neal are playing some great offensive basketball. Dwyane Wade is in the process of getting back to his 30+ ppg routine. Then there is Mario Chalmers, who is giving us very little to complain about in the early season. Daequan has a ways to go, but there isn't as much pressure on his this season as there was a year ago. Coming off a bench littered with good shooters (Haslem, Jones and Carlos Arroyo, who is shooting 51%) will allow Cook to find his rhythm and get his minutes back without hurting the teams overall performance.

Contributions from all over have Heat off to best start this decade

DolPhanDave — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:36 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Does it really matter who is starting...?

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I don't know if even the most optimistic Heat fan could've predicted the great start that they are off to. After an offseason that was less then thrilling, filled with Michael Beasley's antics and a lot of upset Heat fans at the lack of moves made by Pat Riley, the Heat went into training camp preaching mature youngsters and the same defensive principles that were instilled during the previous season.

The things that needed to happen in order for Miami to be playing at their best are in fact happening. While its still very early, there hasn't been anything significant that has gone wrong. I wanted to take a closer look at why the Heat have been doing so well and hopefully the reasons they'll continue to win and be the surprise team of the Eastern Conference.

Jermaine O'Neal

As we discussed throughout training camp and preseason, Jermaine was going to be the Heat's wild card. All he has done is look like the guy who made 6 straight all-star teams from 2002-2007. His only ‘bad' game was on the 2^nd night of a back-to-back in which he was playing with a broken nose (sustained the night before against the Suns).

He is shooting 60.7% from the field, hitting the long-range jumpers and running hooks that he has been known for. He's averaging 14.3 points and more importantly 7.8 boards; in six games this season, he grabbed at least 7 rebounds in all but one. The only thing down are his blocks. He usually averages about 2 per game, but this year he's a tad under 1 (0.9 per game)...but in the Heat's last game (that big win against Denver), Jermaine blocked 3 shots, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

Quentin Richardson

The Heat's lone off-season acquisition (technically, Carlos Arroyo came during the pre-season), ‘Q' is having perhaps the best all-around season of his career. After a relatively slow start to the season, he has become a major component in Erik Spoelstra's defensive minded system.

His D has been supreme all season, but his overall game has been kicked up a notch in the last three games. 18, 19 and 13 points to go along with 10, 9, and 9 rebounds are numbers that are pretty amazing, especially considering that he has also been arguably our best defender. Oh, and he's also shooting 43% from beyond the arc.

Overall Team Defense

From the inside to the perimeter, the Heat have been playing the best defense that I've seen from this team since the Timmy and Zo days. Just go through our roster and you can see improved defense across the board. Our centers, Jermaine and Joel, have been doing a great job of keeping opposing centers out of the paint and off of the glass. Remember last season, when getting out-rebounded was the norm? This year the Heat have only lost the rebounding total twice, and have grabbed 40 boards or more in each game but one.

Our perimeter D has been what I think is the most improved. If you remember, last season we would constantly get burned by outside shooting, but this year that is far from the case. Opposition teams are shooting just 41.6% against the Heat (2^nd best in the league behind Detroit's 41.4%) and a minuscule 25.4% from beyond the arc, which is good for tops in the NBA.

The Bench

Obviously we'll start with the guy who many are talking about as the (very) early favorite for 6^th man of the year, Udonis Haslem. Now nobody really knew how he would react to being demoted to the bench after starting for the Heat for the last five seasons, but the move has appeared to be a stroke of genius. Haslem is averaging a double double (11.8 points and 10.0 rebounds), still providing shutdown defense and doing it all in 32 minutes/game. Maybe more importantly, U-D is still a leader both on the court and in the locker room. He may not be starting anymore, but he has been soaking up almost all of the 2^nd half minutes at power forward, showing that he is still ‘the guy' at that position for the Heat.

This is not a knock on Michael Beasley, who I feel is still right where he should be as far as his progression goes. I think when people see guys like Brook Lopez, Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose they assume that any high draft pick who doesn't dominate out of college is 'struggling'. Beasley is still very young and has a lot of talent around him. He has always been a first option around players that he could dominate; now he is learning how do just that but at a much higher level. Where he was picked in the draft is irrelevant now. He is going to be playing for the Heat for at least the next four years and will mature and improve the same way that Dwyane Wade did, showing vast improvements each season and becoming one of the best at his position.

Getting back on topic, another bright spot from our bench has been Carlos Arroyo. Last season one of our biggest weaknesses was defensively at the point. Mario Chalmers has some very quick hands but he gets beat off the dribble a little too easily, and last year coming off the bench was Chris Quinn, who is just awful on D. Now this year, Rio has shown some improvement but just the fact that we get to bring Arroyo off the bench instead of Quinn is huge. Carlos can hold his own on D and provide an offensive spark if needed, but don't under appreciate how big of an upgrade he is at his back-up PG position.

Then there are guys like Joel Anthony and Dorell Wright, who very quietly have been adding depth on both ends of the floor in limited minutes off the bench. Anthony has improved by leaps and bounds offensively; his hands no longer look as though they are made of stone. This is something that he and coach Askins have been working very hard on, his finishing ability. We already knew that Joel was a good defender and that he'd be among the league leaders in blocks if he got any kind of significant minutes.

Dorell Wright is still far from reaching the extremely high expectations that come along with being a 1^st round pick in the NBA, but at this point I think that any kind of productivity is welcomed with open arms. What did we know about Dorell coming into this season? He can play excellent defense. His shooting has gotten better and better over the past 2+ years, although not many people would know it since for the most part he has worked on it during practice sessions with Erik Spoelstra. This year, all he's needed to do is play the defense that he can and hit the occasional shot. Throwing the expectations out the window, Wright has had a very productive season, although his role in the future is uncertain with guys like Daequan Cook and James Jones likely taking his minutes. Still, at this point he has been a very valuable bench player for the defense first Heat and should not be overlooked.

Sure, the Heat are already exceeding expectations...but nothing they are doing is above and beyond their capabilities. On the contrary, we still have not seen major contributions from Daequan Cook, who has been out with a shoulder injury, and James Jones, buried on the bench despite being one of our best outside shooters and usually a very reliable defensive player.

While I feel my list is pretty accurate, I'm sure there are things that some of you feel I missed as to why the Heat are off to such an amazing start. Please feel free to let us all know your thoughts in the comments, and hopefully this is all just scratching the surface on what could very well be one of the funnest seasons the Heat franchise has seen.

Waive Goodbye, Part 1

Jon L — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:35 -0000

by Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP

Paul Davis poses for trading card photo. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

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Here it is; the long-awaited (okay maybe not), oft-promised look at who got waived and who made an NBA roster. I'm breaking this up into three parts, and here's what they'll look like: for each team, there will be a list of who got cut and who got kept (and yes I know the grammar isn't great, but that's what I've decided to go with). To make it interesting, I'll look at one Eastern Conference team and one Western Conference team each day. I probably won't discuss every player, since at this point in his career Juan Dixon can do whatever as far as I'm concerned, but I'll try to hit most of the players who either previously spent time in the D-League or might be considering it as an option this season. I'm also operating under the assumption that the vast majority of guys that I talk about will be playing in Europe. The season's already started over there in a lot of places, but there's usually room for one more skilled American player. Nonetheless, I'll try to keep the D-League optimism up. Okay? Okay. So here we go. First up: the Southeast and Pacific Divisions, below the jump.

Atlanta Hawks

Who got cut: Juan Dixon, Mike Wilks, Courtney Sims, Garrett Siler, Mario West

Who got kept: No one.

Sims and Siler are the main guys to know here, as Dixon, Wilks and West are all veterans at this point who will jump into the pool of emergency guards for less thoughtful teams to sign in case, I dunno, Eric Gordon gets hurt or something. Sims has admirers around the team, and he's showed off his scoring in the preseason, but the rebounding that was so good in the D-League last year has been largely absent thus far. That kind of game (among other reasons) makes me think he's bound for overseas despite the fact that he intrigues front offices. If they really cared, he'd have a contract by now. Siler, on the other hand, is just coming onto the scene and has nice touch and solid rebounding ability. He's just, let's call it "large." If I had to guess I'd say he's a more likely candidate for the D-League, where getting "large" guys into shape seems to be the stock in trade. He's already pretty effective as it is, and he doesn't seem have the foul problems that plague other "large" gentlemen like Mike Sweetney or Kentrell Gransberry, so if he can shed the weight then he might start garnering more serious interest.

Charlotte Bobcats

Who got cut: Dontell Jefferson, Antonio Anderson

Who got kept: Stephen Graham

I was actually kind of shocked at this one. Jefferson is a great man defender (and an all-aaround good guy) who the Bobcats seemed to like (they called him up last year), plus one of their better (if not their best) perimeter defenders with a guaranteed contract just got hurt. So why wouldn't they keep him? Stephen Graham is fine as a player, and he's a D-League success story of sorts so I shouldn't knock him too hard, but while he's a better rebounder than Jefferson, he's not as good of a defender. Hopefully Jefferson comes to the D-League and gets called up quickly, but either of those happening is unlikely, let alone both of them.

Golden State Warriors

Who got cut: Diamon Simpson, Shaun Pruitt

Who got kept: No one

Simpson is raw. Really, really, really raw. But intriguing (at least to me). I thought so when he was on Washington's Summer League team, but he got cut before they played any games and I don't think he played any in the preseason for Golden State, either. It would behoove him to go to the D-League, but who knows if that will happen. He's a Dominic McGuire-type, if McGuire is good enough to have his own type, but it boils down to this: a lot of hustle, the tools to be a very good defender, a very good rebounder, undersized as a PF but no offensive game to make up for it. Who doesn't like that kind of player? Anyway, he'll need to learn some offense somewhere, so why not the D-League? ASSUMING he enters the draft, I could see Rio Grande Valley drafting him and developing him for the Rockets, who are enamored with 6'7" power forwards who rebound really, really well. But what I think should happen and what does happen are usually two different things. Example: Fernwood 2Nite is still not on DVD.

Los Angeles Clippers

Who got cut: Anthony Roberson, Taj Gray, Jerel McNeal

Who got kept: Kareem Rush

Sorry Mike Wilks, Juan Dixon and Mario West, your fellow Brotherhood of Mediocre Shooting Guards member Kareem Rush got this. Roberson is likely headed back to Europe, with all the rest of the good three-point shooters. So is Gray. Jerel McNeal could stick around this neck of the woods, because he's a.) younger and b.) still could use some work on his offensive game. His DraftExpress "best case" is supposedly Shannon Brown, so there's some D-League-to-NBA precedent for a guy like McNeal, and he's solid enough all-around that if he continues to cut down on his turnovers he could draw some real interest.

Los Angeles Lakers

Who got cut: Mickael Gelabale, David Monds, Tony Gaffney, Michael Fey, Thomas Kelati

Who got kept: No one

Somewhat off-topic, but at this point I'm wondering what the point of the Lakers having their own D-League affiliate is. I know I'm not supposed to say that, but...who was the last player they developed in-house? Jordan Farmar, I guess? Does Josh Powell count since he never plays? I know that they're in "win-now" mode as long as Kobe Bryant is on the team, but heck, trading for Adam Morrison? They could've found someone else, put him on the D-Fenders for two years, and still eventually have gotten more out of him than Morrison will end up giving them. And no, this isn't about cutting Sun Yue. Okay, maybe it's partially about cutting Sun Yue. But that was the plan with Mickael Gelabale, I assume, who has a lot of talent and a knack for scoring. But he couldn't earn a deal and DJ Mbenga could? Mbenga is good for something, right? I mean, he is, right? I could've sworn he did something well at some point. David Monds played very well for the Lakers' Summer League team, so that likely got him some attention even if his preseason didn't. I'm willing to bet that he comes back to the D-League, just not heavily.

Miami Heat

Who got cut: John Lucas, Alade Aminu, Andre Brown, Anthony Tolliver

Who got kept: Carlos Arroyo, Shavlik Randolph

Sigh. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. Not that Arroyo is still around, I guess, since he's not the worst option out there and can run the pick and roll adequately, but Lucas really can play, size notwithstanding. I'm pretty sure Lucas has had some problems with not being paid by his European employers in the past, so it could be that he's soured on the enterprise, and if he comes back to the D-League he'll join the Maine Red Claws, but my best guess is that he'll try going overseas again and hope to get his check on time. Aminu may try his hand at the D-League, since his younger (and more talented) brother is still in college. Aminu played some decent defense for Washington's Summer League team, and he's pretty athletic along with being a decent ball-handler for a 6'10" guy. He needs to work on not turning the ball over and acquiring some post moves, and the D-League is as good a place as any to do that.

Orlando Magic

Who got cut: Morris Almond

Who got kept: Linton Johnson

I'm a little surprised that Johnson is still around, although Adonal Foyle got hurt so there's room for another frontcourt player. Sort of. I mean with Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Vince Carter and Matt Barnes around I'm not really sure how much playing time Johnson will get, even in practice. Some of those guys can play guard, true, but this team is apparently committed to the Jason Williams Reclamation Project and not, you know, keeping a guard who can actually help the team out. It's a good question where Almond goes from here, as he's "done with the D-League." Maybe he joins Dixon, et al. or maybe he just cuts his losses and heads yonder, but either way I can't shake the feeling that he never really got a fair look this offseason.

Phoenix Suns

Who got cut: Carlos Powell, Dan Dickau, Raymond Sykes

Who got kept: No one.

Well, at least our long national Dan Dickau nightmare is over. Powell played very well in the preseason, and the team spoke well of him which should help combat some old on-court character issues. He's a strong call-up candidate this season should he go to the D-League, and he's been working hard to get to the NBA so he may go that route. I've already linked to it once, but for more on Powell's play I recommend this Bright Side of the Sun post.

Sacramento Kings

Who got cut: Lanny Smith, Melvin Ely

Who got kept: No one.

I would bet that Smith returns to the D-League. He's not that far removed from breaking his foot in college, and he was a backup in Idaho last year, so he still has a lot to show. He can play, though, and it shouldn't be too surprising if he becomes a top point guard in the D-League this year. That's assuming he goes there, however, and not overseas. He played for the "NBA Generations" team that played in Korea and the Philippines, so he's gotten some international exposure, and non-US teams could come calling.

Washington Wizards

Who got cut: Vincent Grier

Who got kept: Paul Davis

Grier never really played, so this isn't a shock. He's a pretty good combo guard and scorer, but the Wizards have a ton of shooting guards on the team so this was always going to be a longshot. Paul Davis is sticking around because Antawn Jamison will be out for at least a month, and the team was already thin up front. As in, Fabricio Oberto who was signed to be the end-of-bench veteran presence, is now the starting power forward. Davis is now the fifth big, and he's defied my expectations by playing pretty well this preseason, averaging about 18 points and nine rebounds per 36 minutes while staying out of foul trouble. He shot 5-10 from the floor, and I have no idea where those shots came from exactly, but one reason I was skeptical is that last season his eFG percentages were .333 on "close" shots and .344 on jump shots (as determined by 82games.com), which are pretty bad. As long as the Wizards don't expect much from Davis on the offensive end other than dunks and tip-ins, they should be fine.

NBA Blog Previews 2009: Miami Heat

DolPhanDave — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:39:36 -0000

"This is MY house" Good times, they are a-comin'.

CelticsBlog, SB Nation's Boston Celtics page, has been hosting a huge blogosphere NBA team preview series and the time has come for Peninsula Is Mightier to add its take.

Team Name: Miami Heat

Last Year's Record: 43-39

Key Losses: Jamario Moon

Key Additions: Quentin Richardson, Carlos Arroyo, Shavlik Randolph

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

With Pat Riley planning on attacking the free agent class of 2010, we knew that there would not be much going on this off-season. However, there was one move made that will greatly benefit the Heat this season. Miami was able to deal away Mark Blount, who did nothing but sit on the bench the majority of his tenure with the Heat yet made around $8 million a year, for swingman Quentin Richardson, who despite making slightly more then Blount, will play a significant role in the Heat's rotation. Richardson is also in the final year of his contract, meaning he won't be costing the Heat anything against their 2010 cap. More space to go after free agents with makes Pat Riley very happy.

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

Other then Dwyane Wade, who is obviously the best thing the Heat have to offer, I'd say out biggest strength this year will be our outside shooting. A couple guys who struggled a bit last year, Daequan Cook and James Jones, are shooting the lights out in the preseason and are poised for big years. Cook won last years All-Star 3-point Shootout and up until that point was having a great shooting season, but struggled in the 2^nd half. Jones suffered a wrist injury that required surgery just before the beginning of last season, and didn't start showing his true shooting skill until the Heat's first round playoff exit. Added to the mix is Quentin Richardson, who has shown that he can be a lethal shooter, so why not think the Heat will use these guys to stretch the court for Dwyane Wade.

3. What are the team's biggest weaknesses?

Defense. While we have some very good offensive players, nobody on the team can be considered a ‘defensive specialist'. In the Eastern Conference, there are several teams with superstars at their position, and then those teams play Miami, the Heat have their hands full. Luckily, they have that Wade guy who can score at will, so there have been and will be some very exciting shootouts. While the Heat will rack up steals and blocks, their half court defense is still a work in progress.

4. What are the goals for this team?

I think that question depends on who you ask. Obviously the main goal is to get as far as possible in the playoffs and compete for a championship. Personally I think the 2^nd round of the playoffs is a realistic goal. The problem is, for so many of us realistic Heat fans, we know that next season (2010-2011) is the year to look forward to.

I'd like to see our younger guys (Beasley, Chalmers, Cook) continue to improve, as they are the core of our team. Defense is a big issue with our coaching staff, so improving as a team defensively is a big goal.

5. Will Jermaine O'Neal remember that he is, in fact, a center?

We sure hope so...because never before has such a big guy created such a big hole at the position. He would consistently grab 2-3-4 rebounds a game and made look silly in the defensive paint. He worked with legendary trainer Tim Grover over the summer and looked good in the final two games of the preseason, but we'll see how that translates into the regular season. Jermaine is definitely a wild card for the Heat this season.

Projected Finish:

45-37 2^nd in Southeast Division. The Heat will likely make the playoffs with a 4-5-6 seed, hopefully avoiding a 1^st round exit.

Dwyane Wade dominates as Heat win again

DolPhanDave — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:41:28 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Flash is ready for an MVP season.

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Things are finally starting to come together for the Heat this preseason. After a more then questionable start, the team is beginning to get in stride while still adjusting to new faces and many many different lineups, getting their 2^nd straight win of the preseason, 99-93 over Memphis.

Despite Erik Spoelstra tossing out his 6^th different starting lineup in as many games, guys are working on their individual games in preparation for a season that will likely have several consistent lineups, as Heat coaches showed us last year that they will put out whichever 5 guys they feel match up the best with the opponent.

One lineup note to report is that all signs point to Michael Beasley starting the year at small forward. This is a move that I haven't been crazy about as I see Beasley as more of a power forward, but the more I think about it the more I realize that this move could work. First off, even if Beasley starts the game at power forward, I'm sure he'll get some minutes at the 4 when Udonis Haslem is off the court.

Also, when the Heat go with a small lineup, Haslem will be playing center and Beas will be power forward. With the improvements that Beasley has made defensively and his rapidly expanding offensive prowess, the mismatches that he'll be creating should greatly benefit everyone on the floor (other then the Heat's opponent, lol). Spoelstra will have his hands full trying to keep Beasley on the floor while getting minutes for guys like James Jones and Quentin Richardson, who are proving that they can be major outside threats that will stretch the defense even more for Beasley, Haslem and Jermaine O'Neal.

Beasley sat out last night's game still nursing his bruised left shoulder and will be a game time decision tonight in Jacksonville against the Hawks. With Beasley out of lineup and only 2 games left in the preseason, D-Wade decided that it was time to stretch his wings.

Wade played 30 minutes and looked to be in mid-season form, creating for himself off the dribble, driving the ball and getting to the foul line as well as creating turnovers which led to points for Miami. 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting for Dwyane, who got to the foul line 14 times, hitting 9. He added 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a team high 6 steals. With the improved supporting cast around him, we could be in store for another Jordan-like season from Wade, so prepare yourselves.

GAME NOTES

Another great game and hopefully a sign of things to come was by Jermaine O'Neal. He obviously came out last night with the intention of playing ‘big guy', attacking the glass and playing stout defense. Like Wade, O'Neal also played 30 minutes. He had 8 points, 8 boards and 4 blocks. I would love games like that from Jermaine every night, but it makes me wonder where that effort is on a gamely basis. It's not unreasonable to expect that he'll grab 3 boards in his next game...but lets hope that last night was a sign of things to come.

Udonis Haslem also brought his ‘A' game to the AAA, reminding everyone that he can still be a dominant presence in the Heat frontcourt. If you remember, last season it took Haslem until the spring before his jumper began falling with the consistency that makes his game so dangerous. He worked hard all summer to ensure that he'd have all his weapons at his disposal throughout the entire season. Last night he led the Heat with 35 minutes and 9 rebounds. He added 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and was equally good on defense.

Once again the Heat shot very well as a team (50.0%), but struggled from beyond the arc (22.2%) and from the foul line (60.7%). The free throw shooting could be a nuisance as it's something the Heat has struggled with for a while.

The poor 3-point shooting last night likely was due to James Jones being held out of the lineup and Daequan Cook having an off night. Cook went only 1-for-6 from beyond, Yakhouba Diawara went 1-for-5 and Quentin Richardson hit only 1-of-3.

Carlos Arroyo was the Heat's best point guard last night, continuing to improve while learning on the fly. In 26 minutes he scored 8 points on 4-of-6 and dished out 4 assists. Meanwhile, Mario Chalmers went scoreless in 21 minutes missing both of his shot attempts. On the plus side, he grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. With Wade having a dominant game and playing some minutes at the point, it isn't easy for these guys to get a rhythm going.

Dorell Wright finally had a good game this preseason, but you still have to wonder where he is going to fit into Miami's rotation when the regular season rolls around. Last night he played 24 minutes and shot 3-of-5, including a three pointer. Wright finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and no turnovers.

Tonight the Heat will look wrap up their preseason with three straight wins. Their opponent will be those same Atlanta Hawks that knocked us out of the playoffs last season. Tip off is at 7pm from Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

The Heat will be without guard John Lucas III who was released today, bringing the Heat roster down to the 15 player maximum that NBA teams are allowed. Miami is hanging on to power forward Shavlik Randolph, who also had a non-guaranteed contract, which I figured would happen with Beasley being used as a small forward.

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:01:11 -0000

More photos » by Hannah Foslien - AP

about 1 month ago: Chicago Bulls' Chris Richard (32) shoots against Minnesota Timberwolves' Oleksiy Pecherov (4) as Kevin Love (42) watches on during the second quarter of a NBA basketball game at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. Bulls defeated the Timberwolves 99-94. (AP Photo/Hannah Foslien)

Browse more photos »

Fair warning, the format of this thing may change a few times as I figure out how I want to write it. But for now, let's take a look at some former or future D-Leaguers/European players who played well (and in some cases not so well) last night on a game-by-game basis.

Phoenix Suns 110, Portland 104

The only "our guy" who played in this game was Carlos Powell, and he did very well. Starting and playing just over 22 minutes, Powell finished with 12 points on six shots, including 2-3 from long range, and three rebounds, along with zero turnovers and only one foul. The main thing holding him back so far has been his attitude rather than his talent, so if he keeps this up (including the improved outside shooting) either the Suns or some other team will take notice.

Washington Wizards 109, Cleveland Cavaliers 104

Jawad Williams hasn't had the best preseason so far, but he had a solid game last night for Cleveland. Getting the start in LeBron James's absence, Williams put up in 21 points on 12 shots, shot 4-6 on three-pointers and 5-7 on free throws, and grabbed five rebounds and passed out a pair of assists as well. Hey Cleveland, if you're really serious about making sure you have bench scoring, keep this guy around. The other standout of sorts for the Cavs was Andre Barrett, who outplayed his competition (Russell Robinson) by collecting eight assists in a little over 26 minutes and grabbing three rebounds, though he did need nine shots to score eight points. Paul Davis played just under nine minutes in this game, and while Mike Prada from BulletsForever may have a soft spot for the guy, I just don't see it. 0-2 shooting, one rebound, one assist, one block and one turnover...what am I missing? Luke Nevill, on the other hand, actually scored with four points in just under nine minutes, and he at least picked up three rebounds. 12-per-36 is a lot better than 4-per-36.

Boston Celtics 106, Toronto Raptors 90

Sonny Weems came back to earth a little bit, with 12 points on 10 shots and three turnovers, but he is banged up a little bit, and he's still getting a fair amount of playing time, which is encouraging. Holly MacKenzie thinks the team will find a place for him, and quotes Chris Bosh as saying

"if we continue to work with him and get him polished, I think he'll really help us out."

The J.R. Giddens Rebounding Machine is still working, with four in 13 and a half minutes, though he's still having a hard time scoring the ball. Lester Hudson wasn't, though, with 12 points on seven shots in the same amount of playing time as Giddens, and he picked up a pair of steals and a pair of rebounds as well. If Boston could just put those two together they might have something.

Oklahoma City 96, Miami Heat 91

I'm only mentioning Carlos Arroyo because Erik Spoelstra decided to sit both John Lucas and Chris Quinn to see what the team's newest point guard candidate can do, and he responded with, well, zero points, three rebounds, two assists, a turnover and four fouls in 16 minutes. Just stick with Lucas. Both Shaun Livingston and Kyle Weaver struggled a little bit for the Thunder, combining for five points, all of which came at the free-throw line. Weaver's calling card is his defense anyway, but he certainly hasn't been helping matters with his shooting so far.

LA Clippers 93, San Antonio Spurs 90

DeJuan Blair has been making Ian Mahinmi's job tougher by grabbing most of the rebounds in sight, but Mahinmi still managed to pull five down in 19 minutes, along with seven points on four shots and only one turnover. Speaking of turnovers (you see what I did there), Marcus Williams has struggled with them so far this preseason (and to a certain extent in Austin last season), and he had three last night in 18 minutes, which spoiled an otherwise solid night, 11 points on 4-8 shooting, two rebounds and two assists. Much better was Malik Hairston, who got the start and played 23 minutes, and finished with nine points on five shots, five assists and two steals. The assists are a nice bonus from him, as he's a decent passer but not a prolific one.

Chicago Bulls 99, Minnesota Timberwolves 94

The story of this game is Chris Richard, who led all scorers with 17 points on nine shots, made seven of his nine free throws and added 13 rebounds and two blocks, both of which also were game highs. Minnesota was the team that initially cut him, so there was probably some extra motivation (he's played pretty poorly so far), but maybe he can at least trick the Bulls into keeping him on, then show them that while he's not usually that spectacular, he's at least pretty solid. Mark from Sham Sports and Chicago Bulls Confidential is still skeptical that'll happen, though. Derrick Byars had a nice little game, with five points on three shots, three rebounds and a block in a little over 15 minutes.

Atlanta Hawks 111, Memphis Grizzlies 96

Like Jawad Williams and Chris Richard, Courtney Sims broke out last night after a rough preseason, scoring 12 points on 4-6 shooting in 13 minutes and blocking two shots. He only had three rebounds and added two turnovers, but he was one of the more talented players in the D-League last season and several NBA teams are known admirers, so anything he can do to help his case at this point would, well, help. Hamed Haddadi had three rebounds in six minutes, because that's what he does. And not really anything else.

Michael Beasley looks great and Heat continue to improve in late loss to Thunder

DolPhanDave — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:05:40 -0000

The positive progression continued for the Heat, and that is much more important then the final score. You'll have to forgive me if I'm paying more attention to the way our guys preformed then the results of the game, but quite frankly its just not that important. Sure, it'd be nice to win...but as long as our players keep progressing and appear to be improving, I'm happy.

The Heat dominated this game for 3 quarters thanks mostly to Michael Beasley, who keeps getting better as he gains confidence (which I think is key for Beas).

He started the game at small forward, but was moved to the 4 during the 1^st quarter. The Heat went with a small lineup several times which had Beasley at power forward and Haslem at center. Overall Beas played 38 minutes, scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He added 4 boards, 2 assists, a steal and a block, and also went 6-for-6 from the line.

Udonis Haslem played the 2^nd most minutes behind Beasley (35), and was productive without being flashy. 9 points and 9 rebounds for U-D, who was also perfect from the foul line (3-for-3) and had 2 blocks. Hopefully the Heat can go with the small lineup more then not until Jermaine O'Neal gets his stuff together. In 23 minutes for O'Neal, he scored 10 points but only registered 3 rebounds.

Those are numbers that are all too familiar for Jermaine. Last year in 32 games with the Heat he averaged 13.9 points/game but only 5.4 rebounds/game. Of those 32 games O'Neal only registered double digit rebounds in 3.

D-Wade may play tomorrow night in Kansas City against the Hornets, where hopefully we'll continue to see more progress from the team as a whole.

GAME NOTES

Quentin Richardson had a rough night shooting the ball, which is no shock to me. I think he will be at his best when playing with Dwyane Wade, who will allow Richardson a little more freedom and more open looks. ‘Q' finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 and added 3 boards, 2 of which were offensive.

James Jones was much more productive in fewer minutes. He played only 15 but showcased the sharp shooting that we'd been seeing from him throughout training camp. 3-for-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc for James, good for 8 points.

Carlos Arroyo played only 16 minutes and didn't stand out a whole lot, but that is ok. He wasn't burned on defense and made a couple nifty passes. He's still got some work to do in learning the Heat's system, but for now Arroyo should be fine.

Daequan Cook continues to provide offense and is creating for himself off the dribble with his much-improved ball handling skills. He had an ‘off' shooting night in his 30 minutes, but his 5-of-15 from the field doesn't seem as bad when you factor in his going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. His 15 points came with a rebound, an assist and a steal. So far in this very early part of the season, it seems that Daequan will be our breakout player. I think we all know how lethal this guy can be...so I'm kinda excited to see how this continues to develop.

As a team our shooting was by far the best of the preseason. The Heat shot 49% from the field and an awesome 94% from the foul line (17-of-18). I'd like to see about 10 more free throw attempts by Miami, but you can't complain a whole lot when they only miss one.

After shooting 4-of-7 (57%) from 3-land in the 1^st half, the Heat only hit 4-of-14 in the 2^nd half, many of which came in the final period.

For the 2^nd straight game Miami out-rebounded their opponent. Last night they won the battle 32-30, and on Sunday they out-grabbed the Spurs 40-37. The good thing is that the majority of those rebounds are coming from our regular guys, not the backups and guys just trying to make the roster.

Tomorrow night tipoff from Kansas City is set for 8:30pm. The Hornets are 1-3 in the preseason and are giving up 104 points/game. Hopefully the Heat's offense will continue to improve against a team which obviously struggles defensively.

Preseason Game 4: Heat @ Thunder GAMEDAY

DolPhanDave — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:53:47 -0000

As you can probably imagine, pretty much all of the attention surrounding the Heat has been dedicated to ‘the new guy', Carlos Arroyo. Since joining the team on Tuesday, he has been impressing in practice with his passing and overall offensive savvy. Anybody who has seen Arroyo play in the past knows that he can create for himself and his teammates, and I for one am really anxious to see how it looks with Carlos and D-Wade on the floor together.

Obviously, the most effected player is Mario Chalmers, who for the first time since joining the Heat has someone to push him at his position. Michael Beasley thinks that this is a great thing for Chalmers, as Beasley has had Udonis Haslem to push him, learn from and fight with for minutes. Said Beasley:

"Some of the guys who have been in here - not to downgrade guys, but - (Chalmers) has been a landslide better than them. Carlos can do it all. (Chalmers) not only has somebody to go head to head against, but somebody to look up to and to learn from."

The Heat now take their 0-3 preseason record into Oklahoma City for the first game of a back to back that will take them to Kansas City tomorrow to play the New Orleans Hornets.

The Thunder are expected to play starters Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green at least 30 minutes each, as this is the first time that they are playing in front of their home crowd.

As for the Heat, it's still unknown whether Dwyane Wade will play, but he has been practice the past few days (wearing a yellow ‘non contact' jersey) and made it seem that his injury was getting better.

"If it was that bad, I wouldn't even be out here," Wade said after practice on Tuesday. "I wouldn't even be trying to play."

Jermaine O'Neal expects to play in both games this week after missing the Heat's previous two with a foot injury. He really needs to get some NBA level conditioning under his belt in order to get his timing back, so hopefully we'll see him playing regularly all the way up until the home opener on October 26th.

Pacers Back In Indy And Back To Work

Tom Lewis — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:11:22 -0000

Jet lag? What jet lag?

After losing some valuable practice time with all of the travel and special events involved with the Asian trip, Jim O'Brien wasted little time re-setting his team's work out clockt. Less than a day after a 14-hour return flight from Beijing, the Pacers were getting after it in the Fieldhouse on Monday afternoon.

According to a tweet from Mike Wells, Danny Granger sat out the practice with a sore right foot. Sore right foot? Hmm, sure that wasn't a sleepy head. Seriously, considering the limited time Granger spent on the court, let's hope this is a minor issue. Since the Pacers' favored injury term 'sore' is in play we can only guess the injury is somewhere between a flight-induced cramp and a full right-foot amputation.

I'm sure the players had to drag themselves onto the court today, but a good shock to the system is often the best way to adjust back to a familiar time zone.

Expecting a sloppy practice would be reasonable, but heading into a workout with such low expectations can actually generate a strong effort when the body responds better than expected. Now tomorrow might be a mess, but regardless, JOB and the team have no time to fret about jet lag and need to take advantage of every minute of practice time left in camp.

A few links of interest after the jump, including a nice recap of the trip.

PACERS: One win, won loss, one unforgettable experience
Bruno recaps the Pacers' business trip to Asia. Despite the sight-seeing excursions and public appearances, Jim O'Brien maintained training camp mode.
"It was good getting a couple of games on film," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "It was a diagnostic experience from the standpoint of helping us understand what we have to work on offensively and defensively. It was a good cultural experience for the team."
ESPN Pacers Chat with David Thorpe at Eight Points, Nine Seconds
Jared Wade will be chatting with David Thorpe on Tuesday afternoon at 2:30PM EST. Get your questions ready and join the fray.
Larry Brown tossed in Hawks over Bobcats 107-90
More preseason replacement referee growing pains, this time in Atlanta where Larry Brown couldn't take it any more and snapped.
Heat sign Carlos Arroyo to 1-year deal - Peninsula is Mightier
Jamaal Tinsley's hopes of signing with the Miami Heat appear to have taken a death blow.

Heat sign Carlos Arroyo to 1-year deal

DolPhanDave — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:28:03 -0000

Arroyo entertains the fans by break dancing while playing the point

The Miami native and FIU alum has signed a 1-year $1.1 million deal (non guaranteed) with the Heat. He gets his whole salary if he is still on the Heat roster on January 10th.

Even more interesting, he is now the highest paid point guard on the Heat's roster. Makes you wonder if he'll in fact make it past that January 10th date unless he is a major contributor, as Pat Riley is all about saving money, and it's hard to imagine them taking a hit like that for depth and nothing more.

I think Heat fans will like Arroyo on the offensive side of the court, but he is hardly the defensive player that I'd have expected Miami to spend money on.

Thanks to kazam92 for his Fanshot!