SB Nation - Jermaine O`Neal

Heat kick-off homestand by getting shredded by Dallas

DolPhanDave — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:41:19 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Boan - AP

The Heat had no answers for Dirk and the Mavs

After a relatively long layoff for the Heat, and even longer for Heat fans waiting to see their team in person, this game was an absolute let down. I'm not sure which was harder for the Heat, scoring or defending. Either way, it was embarrassing at times for the home team and now Miami has lost 11 in a row to Dallas. If there ever was a game where you see how important Jermaine O'Neal is to this team...this was that game.

The Heat began this game like a team who hadn't played in a while, looking slow and uninspired. They didn't make a field goal until there was 6:24 left in the 1^st quarter, starting the game 0-for-10. That allowed Dallas to get out to a 13-1 lead, putting the Heat in a big hole before the game really got going. By the time the Heat reached double digits in scoring the Mavs already had 24 points. A late 11-4 run by Miami got them back to within 10 points late in the first quarter, but they still ended up trailing by 12 after 1.

The Heat kept their foot on the gas when the 2^nd quarter started, scoring the first 5 points and using a 9-3 run to close the gap to 6. Miami kept on pushing but their defense was a little suspect. More then once the Heat left men unattended in the paint resulting in easy points for Dallas. While he racks up the blocks, Joel Anthony just isn't the defender that Jermaine O'Neal is, mostly due to his positioning. Anthony did finish the first half with 4 blocks, but that would be the same amount he'd finish the game with.

The Heat were able to get the Mavs lead all the way down to 3, but were unable to get over that final hump. Instead, Dallas used a handful of late free throws to push their lead back up to 6 just in time for halftime. Still, after falling behind by 15 points in the 1^st quarter and being without their starting center, the Heat had to be somewhat pleased with where they were at after the opening half.

The 2^nd half got off to a real crappy start. Miami was taking and missing shots from the outside instead of driving with the ball. Dallas was doing what they wanted on offense and a lot of it had to do with Anthony and Beasley looking lost at times on defense. Dallas pushed their lead back up to 15 with 3:24 left in the quarter when Miami went on an 8-1 run and gained some momentum as the 3^rd quarter drew to a close, but a crucial 5-point swing would prove costly. Udonis Haslem missed a jumper that would've gotten the Heat within 6, then Jason Terry promptly hit a tree-pointer at the other end to put the Mavs up 11 heading into the final quarter.

The Mavs started the 4^th quarter the same way they did the 3^rd, outscoring the Heat early to expand their lead even more. 6 straight points with just under 8 minutes left got Miami back within 11, but their defense was playing so poorly that it was hard to imagine any kind of comeback. The telling stat that indicated the Mavs doing whatever they wanted on offense was that they were assisting on almost every basket.

The Heat never got close in the final period, dropping their record to 11-10 and sending a nice crowd at the AAA home very disappointed. I think this game would've been much different if the Heat had Jermaine O'Neal in the lineup. Erick Dampier absolutely dominated down low, scoring 20 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. He also had 2 blocks, but I was more impressed with his foul shooting. A center that can make free throws....what a concept!

GAME NOTES

Miami started the game just 1-of-14 form the field, then followed it up by making 14 of their next 18 to get back into the game.
Udonis Haslem had his best game in a while, going 6-for-6 for 13 points and 4 boards in the first half. His first miss would come on his 9^th shot, and he finished 9-of-10, good for 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Two other Heat players had double doubles, with Mike Beasley coming away with 16 and 11 and Dwyane Wade finishing with 28 and 11. You could tell at halftime that they would both probably end up with dub-dubs; Wade had 8 boards at the half and SuperCoolBeas had 7.
Wade went 0-for-2 from beyond the arc and has now missed 20 of his last 22 three-pointers.
Dorell Wright played 29 minutes but wasn't really a factor. He did miss another dunk though, which is becoming very annoying. I think he's missed a dunk in each of the past 3 or 4 games.
Dallas finished with 30 assists on 38 field goals. That is an amazing stat for the Mavs, and shows that A- the Mavericks are a great passing team with a lot of offensive chemistry and B- the Heat really let Dallas do whatever they wanted on offense.
The Mavericks have now won 6-srtaight games at the AAA. But hey...we've still got rings.
This loss dropped Miami to 6-6 at home this season after starting 4-0. Their last home win was on November 22^nd against the Hornets, 19 days ago.
Where was Jamaal Magloire? Anyone...? Anyone...? Bueller....?

The Heat get a day to think about this one, then they're back in action on Sunday. Memphis will be the opponent with the usual ‘early' tipoff time coming at 6pm.

Ron Artest Bored by On-Court Fighting

Josh Tucker — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:27:55 -0000

Those of you who watched the Suns-Lakers game on NBA League Pass Sunday night will recognize this as something the Suns' commentators pointed out during the game. The truth is, I've been planning on posting this since the moment it happened on the court — it's just been a bit busy around here, what with Kobe throwing rocks at telephone poles, and all.

Aaaaaaanyways... watch this video, in which Lamar Odom gets his second technical and is ejected from Friday's game against the Heat, and tell me what you see.

What do you notice, here? After the jump, I'll tell you the first thing I saw...

Okay, so the title of this post probably gave it away, already. But without my very obvious title, I'm guessing most of you would have seen one of the following:

Jermaine O'Neal was a jackass on that play. He deliberately hung on Odom, and he also threw the first shove.
Odom has reason to be upset. Jermaine clearly started this.
Still, Odom needs to know better. He needs to keep his cool when he's already got one technical — especially in a close game.

But what I saw was Ron Artest, infamous for basketball-related fighting, bored out of his mind by the entire situation.

Check it out: When the shoving begins, pretty much every player on the court immediately gravitates toward the fracas. Heat players run in to break it up. Lakers players run in to break it up. Even Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, who are fairly far away from the action when it breaks out, eventually walk over to make sure everything is taken care of. Or maybe just to see what the deal is, hear what guys are saying, etc.

But not Ron Ron. He's looking the other way, standing there bored with his hands on his hips. Then, he finally notices what's going on — and still doesn't move an inch. He just stands there. It's like he can't be bothered. Maybe the thoughts going through his head, completely unrelated to the event, were just that much more interesting?

Also, I'd just like to point this out: so far, the fighter on the team appears to be Lamar Odom. While he seemed justified here, though still foolish for not controlling his anger (justified or not), it seems that of all the Lakers, he gets into "tense situations" with guys from the other team more than anyone else in purple and gold. And a whole lot more than Ron Artest.

Also, Ron Ron is tied four only third-most technicals on the Lakers, with only two thus far. Kobe has five, Bynum has three, and Ron and Lamar both have two.

Maybe that sports psychologist is really working? If this mentality remains constant for Artest throughout the entire season, I think the jock shrink should raise his fees.

Lakers-Heat Preview

DexterFishmore — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:00:25 -0000

The Miami Heat look like a team that's ready to get owned. They arrived in Los Angeles early this morning having absorbed an 18-point nutshot in Denver last night. When they play at Staples this evening, it'll be their sixth game in 10 days. The six opponents they'll have faced in that stretch have a combined winning percentage of 0.694. Of the Heat's last four wins, three have come by a single point, including "victories" over NBA speedbags New Orleans and, ahem, New Jersey.

Also, their opponent tonight is the Lakers, who are rested and vibing on a streak of seven straight blowouts.

Other than that, this matchup looks great for Miami.

Tonight will be the first time this year the Lakers have seen the Heat up close, but their roster isn't much different than when we all last hung out. It's still Dwyane Wade, a couple respectable supporting players, and then trash all the way down. As you'll recall, team president Pat Riley tried to poach Lamar Odom over the summer. Tried, and failed.

It feels like Wade's been in the league a decade, but he's still only 28 and he remains a stellar talent. His production this year has, however, slipped from "unbelievably awesome" to merely excellent. From last season's MVP-caliber numbers, his assist rate is down and his shooting is way down. Wade's effective field-goal percentage has fallen from 52% last year to only 45% this year.

A look at his shot-location chart at HoopData reveals the problem: Wade isn't getting to the rim nearly as much. In 2008-09 he attempted 7.5 shots at the rim per game, a rate that's dropped to 6.1 per game - still good but not otherworldly. All those layups and dunks are being replaced by midrange looks out to 15 feet, where he (like most everyone else) isn't as proficient. He's also going through a serious three-point slump, having made only 2 of 18 over the past five games. Wade has remained highly productive because he gets to the free-throw line at an insane rate and does so many other things well aside from scoring, but he's not playing like a Jordanesque talent capable of plucking a road win from the Lakers.

Miami's second option on offense is highly decorated weed aficionado Michael Beasley. The Beez can score some, but his per-game average of 15+ overstates his value because he uses so many possessions to get there. For some reason he thinks he's a three-point shooter and will jack up a couple per game. This is great news for Heat opponents because he's been hitting less than 25%.

Starting point guard Mario Chalmers and center Jermaine O'Neal are decent role-players, nothing more. Chalmers doesn't use a lot of possessions, but he's an important cog in the Miami offense. With him on the floor, they've scored 14 points more per 100 possessions than when he's on the bench. O'Neal's enjoying a modest bounce-back season, and good on him for that. He's nonetheless likely to get worked by Andrew Bynum.

(Remember when the Lakers almost traded Bynum for O'Neal? Yikes.)

O'Neal is backed up by Udonis Haslem, who has his uses, but the rest of the Heat rotation is beyond feeble. Quentin Richardson or James Jones, neither of whom should be getting minutes in the NBA, will start at small forward. Somehow they make about $12 million combined. Q Rich has played almost 400 minutes this year and attempted only one free throw, which he missed. Daequan Cook plays 18 minutes a night but still finds time to jack up 4-5 threes every game. He makes less than a third of those attempts and shoots even worse on his twos. You have to admire his self-confidence, I guess.

(Seriously, the next time you're pissed off about the Lakers' bench, go look at the numbers for some other teams. There is a lot of nastiness out there. Bad benches are the rule in the NBA, not the exception.)

Miami will have to deal with at least two other problems that jump out at me from the numbers. One is that their defense is really starting to crack. In the table below, I've listed their points allowed per possession in each of their last five games. The league average, keep in mind, is slightly less than 1.07 PPP.

Opponent	PPP Allowed
Orlando	1.09
Washington	1.08
Boston	1.06
Portland	1.15
Denver	1.24
Weighted Average	1.12

Wade and Chalmers make up a pretty good defensive backcourt, but O'Neal isn't nearly the defender he once was, and Beasley is downright awful. As we've already seen in so many games this year, Bynum and Pau Gasol are going to get a ton of excellent looks. Miami can mitigate the problem by subbing in Haslem for Beasley, but that move comes at an obvious cost on offense. Against this Lakers team, there's just nowhere to hide a bad frontcourt defender.

The other big problem is that Miami is one of the jump-shootingest teams in the league, and they're going to be playing tonight on dead legs. Thanks again to HoopData, we know they take fewer shot attempts at the rim per game than any other squad. Having played at altitude yesterday and traveled overnight, the Heat could be in for a hugely sucky shooting performance.

If absolutely everything were clicking and Wade were in vintage form, I could imagine Miami giving the Lakers a game. At the moment, thought, the conditions just aren't right - quite the opposite, in fact. This looks to me like another tasty beatdown waiting to happen.

I can think of worse ways to start the weekend.

	Lakers	Heat
*RECORD*	14-3	10-8
*NET POINTS PER GAME*	+8.1 (3rd)	-0.3 (16th)
*PACE*	98.3 (6th)	93.2 (27th)
*OFFENSIVE RATING*	104.6 (14th)	103.7 (17th)
Turnover Rate (Off.)	13.3% (11th)	13.1% (7th)
FTA/FGA (Off.)	0.26 (25th)	0.33 (9th)
Free-Throw %	74.4 (19th)	75.4 (16th)
Effective FG% (Off.)	50.4 (13th)	49.2 (20th)
True Shooting% (Off.)	53.9 (15th)	53.8 (17th)
Off Rebounding Rate	27.1% (13th)	25.0% (23rd)
*DEFENSIVE RATING*	96.6 (2nd)	101.7 (10th)
Turnover Rate (Def.)	14.6% (11th)	13.4% (17th)
FTA/FGA (Def.)	0.26 (5th)	0.32 (21st)
Effective FG% (Def.)	45.7 (1st)	48.1 (7th)
True Shooting% (Def.)	50.2 (1st)	52.6 (11th)
Def Rebounding Rate	72.6 (19th)	73.7 (13th)

All statistical terms defined here. Parentheses indicate league rankings. Numbers are courtesy of Basketball Reference and HoopData and, except for record and net points per game, are through Wednesday night's action.

Wizards lose to Heat: Final wrap, including some questioning of Flip Saunders' in-game strategy

Mike Prada — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:36:55 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

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It's true that a large reason (okay, fine, very large reason) last night's game against the Miami Heat was so frustrating was the outcome. To lose in the final seconds because of two missed free throws and two poorly-executed late-game plays against a team that you should probably beat really hurts.

But the truth is, I don't think I would have felt so good about this game even if we had pulled it out. The way we started the game was so frustrating and should never happen at a home game. Even if we had managed to come back, we did it by once again abandoning a lot of our principles. Gilbert Arenas almost won the game by himself, but with the exception of the brief moments Mike Miller displayed his toughness after the shoulder injury, this was a team reverting back into a one-on-one approach. Too many players either didn't show up or didn't get a chance to show up (or both).

There are a lot of reasons for those problems, and it's tough to nail down exactly who deserves the lion share of the blame. We'll try to do so below the jump. But several people involved with the team took a questionable approach to tonight's game. That list, sadly, includes head coach Flip Saunders, as we'll discuss below.

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Four Factors: (Bold=very good | Italics=very bad)

Team	Pace	Off Eff	eFG%	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Miami	89	104.5	54.2%	20.8	22.2	19.1
Washington		100	40.9%	26.8	30.2	13.5

Snap reaction: This looks like a Four Factors chart we'd see a lot when Eddie Jordan was coaching. Terrible shooting defense, poor shooting offense, a lot of turnovers forced and not a lot of fouls committed on defense. It's the first time out shot defense has not been good, which I guess is a good sign. Overall, looking at this, it's a pretty big surprise that the Wizards were even as close as they were.

Lineup Details (via Popcorn Machine)

Highest individual plus/minus: JaVale McGee (+11 in 8:18)
Lowest individual plus/minus: Brendan Haywood (-18 in 36:00)
Best five-man unit: Randy Foye/Mike Miller/Caron Butler/Andray Blatche/JaVale McGee (+8 in the second quarter)
Worst five-man unit: Gilbert Arenas/Randy Foye/Caron Butler/Fabricio Oberto/Brendan Haywood (-12 in the first quarter)

Snap reaction: I was surprised to see Haywood's plus/minus so low, but he basically only played when Dwyane Wade played, so that explains a lot. That also explains a lot of why McGee's plus/minus was so good.

Let's start with Flip Saunders. After four games of nearly flawless in-game management, I thought Saunders made some decisions that can be questioned. Among them:

Starting out with Mike Miller guarding Dwyane Wade and Caron Butler guarding Quentin Richardson: I'm still scratching my head about this decision. I guess Saunders wanted Butler to focus on finding his offense, because he had been struggling, but that obviously didn't work out. Wade is an incredible player, no doubt, but Butler's ability to move laterally would have given him more trouble than Miller, who just can't slide his feet fast enough. Instead, Miller laid way off Wade, Wade got into a rhythm, Miller got into foul trouble and Wade couldn't be turned off. Meanwhile, Butler, who has always been prone to lapses off the ball, allowed Quentin Richardson too many open looks from three, and Richardson burned the Wizards every time.
Going to a zone in the second quarter: I get the logic here - nobody can stop Wade, so throw a different look at him and maybe it'll mess up his rhythm. But with a team this behind in basic defensive principles, I don't think it's a good idea to have them try to pick up an exceedingly complicated scheme to go along with their basic scheme. I'd like to see them master the basic scheme first.
Not going back to JaVale McGee after his boneheaded play in the second quarter: At the time, I also wanted McGee out for the game after he tried to go from the free throw line to the rim. But looking back, McGee did help the club when he was in the game, and Miami had trouble dealing with him. It might have been better to reward him for his energy and give him another chance.
Not giving Dominic McGuire a shot: I'm still wondering why McGuire isn't getting his chances. I'd think he could at least guard Wade for stretches, and with DeShawn Stevenson shooting so poorly, I'm less inclined to worry about McGuire's perimeter shooting problems.
Allowing Gilbert Arenas full freedom: A lot of this is on Gilbert, as we'll discuss below. But if you were watching ESPN, you heard that Saunders basically encouraged him to attack and call his own number. That might be wise in the fourth quarter, but in the third quarter, the emphasis should have been on getting some of the other players in the game. Yes, it's true Miami couldn't guard him, but the other guys have to stay involved.
Keeping Mike Miller in the game after he was initially hurt: Not sure how I can excuse this one. I mean, I'm sure Flip wanted him out of the game, but Miller insisted he come back, so this isn't all on the coaches. But once it was clear his shoulder was bothering him, I'm really surprised it took so long to get him back out of the game. It's game five, not game 65.

So, all those were decisions I didn't agree with. But let's be honest, tonight's loss is also on the players. The way they came out in that first quarter was pretty unacceptable. It is true that one of Flip's jobs is to get his team ready to play, but that's also the players' jobs. Caron Butler, in particular, came out so poorly last night. He wasn't shooting when he was open, which is a killer in a continuity offense. If he's not playing well, this team is in real trouble, as we saw last night.

It was around this point that Gilbert Arenas decided to take over. He hoisted 27 shots and had 15 free throws, but also only had three assists. The only time the offense really ran well, in fact, was when Arenas was not in the game (though, to be fair, neither was Wade). Obviously, in the long run, that's not a sustainable way to win. If I had to break the game down into stages, here's how I'd do it.

Quarter 1, first part: Everyone comes out flat, Gilbert defers most of the time.
Quarter 1, second part: Gilbert decides he's the only one who's in the game and tries to score every time down. His teammates remain flat.
Quarter 2, first part: Gilbert goes out, everyone else in the game realizes they need to step up and come to play, and they rise to the challenge.
Quarter 2, second part: Gilbert comes back in, still doesn't fully trust his teammates, but does pass a bit more. However, Wade hits some big shots and the Wizards fall back by 9.
Quarter 3: Gilbert gives up the ball a bit more, but still shoots a lot. The offense runs very well, led by Brendan Haywood early and Mike Miller late.
Quarter 4: Gilbert gets into a duel with Dwyane Wade, everyone else gets freezed out, Gilbert and the team lose.

It's hard for me to fully blame Arenas in Quarter 1. It was clear nobody was in the game, and Gilbert has every reason to think that he needs to carry more of the load himself until his teammates ido get into the game. But once the Wizards cut the lead down, Arenas should have committed himself more to stepping back a bit and playing more under control. Obviously, in the fourth quarter, he should get the ball, but there were too many times when he predetermined what he was going to do instead of trying to create for others.

When you do too much freezing out of your teammates, it has an effect. Butler never got back into the game after the beginning. Yes, a lot of that is on him, but he also didn't exactly get a ton of good chances in the second half. Randy Foye also didn't do much tonight, in large part because most of his shots came off the dribble when he was paired with Arenas. The Heat played him pretty well, but he still gets hurt when Arenas predetermines what he's going to do. It speaks to Arenas' incredible physical skill (he's officially back there) that he can score so many points when he predetermines like this, but it's still not good for the entire team. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Wizards' best lineup tonight didn't include Gilbert.

It's early, and his mental game still isn't there, but it should be noted that Arenas did not play particularly well despite his high point total.

More notes:

The unquestioned MVP of tonight's game was Brendan Haywood. He dominated Jermaine O'Neal, scoring 16 points and notching 11 rebounds while holding O'Neal to just four points. He also was absolutely flawless helping out on defense tonight, particularly in the fourth quarter. On offense, after a bit too much forcing early on, Haywood didn't do anything out of his comfort zone, and that made him a far more effective player. The Wizards don't come anywhere close to winning tonight without Haywood's contributions.
Lots of people are annoyed that DeShawn Stevenson was on the court at the end of the game. I don't really have a problem with it, because Stevenson was doing a good job on Wade in the fourth quarter. Wade did most of his scoring damage against other guys, not DeShawn. Now, DeShawn's play at the end to go one-on-three wasn't a smart one, for sure, but with Miller injured and Foye very incapable of guarding Wade, I'm not sure what else Flip could have done. Normally, I'd think Miller closes that game with Butler guarding Wade, but Miller was hurt, so Flip was stuck.
Gilbert is right about Caron Butler when he criticized him for taking too long to make decisions on the court. Caron can't be pump-faking and surveying the defense in this system. However, I would also like to see some different plays be run for Caron in order to empower him more. Maybe more post-ups like Tayshaun Prince used to run? I'm not sure.
I have to admit, I was impressed with how well-coached Miami is. They have little talent, but they execute extremely well. Credit Erik Spolestra for that. Then again, I am a bit confused as to why Michael Beasley didn't play very much.
Getting Antawn Jamison back will be such a big help. Right now, Fabricio Oberto is being completely ignored on offense. You can't do that with Jamison in the game.

All in all, considering where our team is at now, it's not terrible to be 2-3. I just wish I didn't have to feel so queasy about this game, win or lose. We should have taken this one.

IC Cold Links: Calling All Injured Pacers Players, We Need You Now

spstevenson — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:11:22 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

That can't feel good. Although Wade took a bad hit here from Pacers star Danny Granger, the Heat got the last laugh in their win in Indiana.

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Mike Dunleavy, consider this your wake-up call. The Indiana Pacers need you. We need you. I need you.

The shouting from the hilltops for the perennially wounded veteran to stand up, return to the lineup and take charge of this fallen team has already begun. After two losses to start the season, including a 96-83 loss to Heat at Conseco "Reggie Miller" Fieldhouse on Friday, it's apparent that something noticeable is lacking on this team, and the Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells knows the answer -- Dunleavy.

In his Pacers Insider blog post last evening, Wells cites the Dunleavy's ability to create offense by not having the ball, while also acting as a constant fluid movement through the post, perimeter and driving lanes which create havoc on the opposition. Wells writes,

"There's not one healthy player on the Pacers' roster that does that well. Right now, the Pacers have a group of players not playing in their element. There are guys trying to create off the dribble. That's not going to work."

I thought that was spot-on. Unfortunately, until the Pacers nab an early-season win, we're going to dismantle everything the team does because we haven't seen them do anything very well. The shooting has been off-the-mark, defense sporadic at best, post play invisible, a starting backcourt (T.J. Ford and Brandon Rush) that has been one of the worst in the league, the free-throw differential has been amazingly one-sided (in the wrong direction), and former Pacers franchise players are reincarnating themselves into blue and gold destroying machines. Seriously, Jermaine O'Neal scoring 22 points along with 12 rebounds was a sweet kick to the junk for Pacers fans. Thank goodness Jamaal Tinsley never found a team this offseason. He'd make Ford look like, well, T.J. Ford. Hmm, this is not good.

Well, we've got until Tuesday to soak in the first two losses. To help with the soaking process, after the jump are an abundance of links covering last night's game. Enjoy.

The IndyStar examines the Pacers faltering the home opener, while falling at the hands of Dwyane Wade and his reformed sidekick, JO. Looking for some hope? Wells quoted Dahntay Jones as saying, "In the fourth quarter, we could have broken the game open. We had segments where we played really good defense. It's unfortunate we have to come from behind and fight that battle." See, there is some hope there. Just some though.
Bob Kravitz tells Pacers fans to not get too worked up about the first two losses.
The Star also profiled the return of JO to the city of Indianapolis. Jeff Rabjohns caught the following exchange after the game between former Pacer Austin Croshere and O'Neal."You look athletic, man," Croshere told O'Neal after the game. "I worked hard as hell," O'Neal said.
Box score
AP story
As usual, Bruno has a top-notch postgame report over at NBA.com, along with his live blog from last night's game. Danny Granger, who was 6-for-20 from the field, gave Bruno the following quote:

"We're disappointed for ourselves as well as the fans that showed up tonight. They deserved better. You don't get behind early to a good team like this and come back to win. We have got to work harder. Four-of-23 from the three point line won't beat anybody. We've got to go back to the drawing board and get ready for the next game. I thing we're all disappointed in the game tonight."-- Granger

John Oehser of the Indiana Pacers Examiner noticed the Pacers did accomplish two things Friday night -- play better defense and limit their turnovers. There is some good news to take from this game.
Always Miller Time recaps the contest, and Eight Points, Nine Seconds shows a revamped Pacers logo that resembles a question mark. Definitely fits this team, doesn't it?
The Indy Channel reports on the Pacers organization trying to win back fans, while also reaching out to a new fan base.
For the Heat take on the game, here is SB Nation's Peninsula Is Mightier's game report, along with their live chat during the contest.
The Miami Herald reports on Wade's breakthrough of finally winning in Indy.
Finally, for some other news in the NBA this weekend, check out the Weekend Dime on ESPN.

Heat 115, Knicks 93

Seth — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:23:55 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

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So...uh...anybody else down to just forget that one entirely? I, for one, would be perfectly willing to strike that game from the record and never mention it again after tonight. Before we commence pretending, though, I'll quickly recap the evening's calamities.

The Knicks played pretty nicely through a quarter and a half. The team wasn't shooting well from downtown, but there was a concerted effort to push the action. David Lee and Al Harrington slashed and drove with gusto, and the squad as a whole had the pick-and-roll working nicely when they weren't fast breaking. In a peculiar turn of events, it was the bench squad that eased off the throttle a bit. The second unit came in mid-way through the first quarter and the ball movement immediately slowed. There was far too little off-the-ball action, which wasn't helped by the fact that shots continued to miss badly.

On the other end, New York did a decent job to start. They switched just about everything, which didn't work too badly, given the positional ambiguity of the starting five. Dwyane Wade was forced to either shoot jumpers or pass, which boded well for a team that's used to getting torched by #3.

The Knicks were down 4 after the first, despite shooting 1-13 from three. Things didn't look too bad...yet.

At some point in the mid- to late-second quarter, everything came crashing down. From that point forward, the offensive was awful and the defense was awfuler. There isn't much more to say. They didn't attack the basket or move the ball on offense. They didn't communicate or help on defense. Effort hit rock bottom, and this could very well have been a 30-point loss if it weren't for a late flurry of threes by Danilo Gallinari.

That's pretty much your game. 20 minutes of promise followed by 28 minutes of suck. A few player profiles, after the jump...

- David Lee simply couldn't defend Jermaine O'Neal, who appears to have re-grown some of the muscles in his legs and finished with 22 and 12 on 10-12 shooting. O'Neal repeatedly got clean looks at the rim despite Lee's efforts, and quickly forced the undersized Knick into 2 early fouls. This is going to continue to be a problem unless Lee suddenly sprouts up 3 inches or somebody else takes the burden of guarding the opposing big man. Defense aside, Dave probably had the most auspicious season-opener of any Knick. While the team was clicking, Lee's cuts were spot-on. He was able to catch and finish, even in traffic, and his 22 points (9-13) reflect a hard-nosed performance around the rim. Lee stepped out to shoot less than he did in preseason, but managed to can at least one mid-range jumper that I can remember.

- Chris Duhon did an excellent job running the pick-and-roll early, but completely fell asleep when the team started to slack a little. Du made it clear that he wanted to be more of a leader this season. I would've liked to see him show that.

- Wilson Chandler's second half wasn't bad, but he relied far too much on the three-pointer in the first half. There's no need for Wil to shoot 6 threes (1-6) in any game, but I doubt that will be the last time.

- I vaguely remember Al Harrington playing well, but his line (5-14, including 1-6 from downtown, for 15 points) disagrees.

- Danilo Gallinari spent the entire night hovering around the three-point line, which was a mixed blessing. Gallo started cold but eventually found his stroke in garbage time, and ended up shooting 7-13 from downtown. Props to Danilo for returning to form in the fourth quarter, but the man desperately needs to dribble now and then. The kid's got plenty of athletic talent, so being passive and shooting only once from inside the arc is inexcusable. I demand full-throttle Cock every night.( _ ).

- Tina Cervasio mentioned that Darko Milicic was "looking forward to playing with freedom" (Word.). Darko looked the part. He played pretty solid D, even when switched onto smaller players, and may have even surprised himself on offense. Darko followed a nice lefty finish with a spinning righty hook and stared quizzically at his non-dominant hand, much to the delight of the Knick bench. Darko scored just 4 points on 2-4 shooting, but pulled down 7 boards and snaggled 2 steals in 17 minutes. The big bro left the game after appearing to hurt his leg in the third quarter, but it didn't seem to be anything serious. I'll let you know if I hear anything abou tthat.

- Toney Douglas looked alright in garbage time, but didn't exactly DWTDD in his first-ever NBA minutes. He let Dwyane Wade burn him more than once, fouled Daequan Cook on a three-point attempt, then picked up a backcourt charge after steam-rolling Carlos Arroyo (I think). Toney only played 6 minutes on the night. He'll get 'em next time.

- Pretty sure that wasn't Nate Robinson out there, just some short guy they pulled off the street.

A few other things:

- Kenny Albert and the word "Jabbawockeez" were made for each other.

- I really hope a P&T citizen wins that pizza party with John Starks. I'm not gonna demand that the winner invite me to join, but I'd be pretty hurt otherwise.

- We learned that Wilson Chandler and Quentin Richardson ate dinner in Miami last night, and Q apparently gave Wil plenty of encouragement for the coming season. That's genuinely swell of him, and I'll add that Quentin is looking quite svelte.

Alright. My thoughts are in writing. I will now take an icepick to the part of my brain that remembers tonight's events. Seriously, though, tonight sucked, but that's just what Knicks basketball is like. It's a quirky, unpredictable team. There will be more games like tonight's. There will also be games in which New York looks like a playoff team. It wasn't a great start to the season, but it's also not the end of the world. There will be a new game and a clean slate on Friday, when the Knicks head to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats.

Identifying Potential Late Season Pickups

JakeTheSnake — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:00:40 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Though he didn't help them to a championship, Joe Smith was a great late season addition for the Cavs last season after having his contract bought out with the Thunder.

Browse more photos »

If you're looking for an evidence to support your claim that the NBA is a league where the rich get richer, look no further than the trend of veteran players signing with elite contenders after having their contracts bought out. Just last year we saw as Joe Smith, Drew Gooden, Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore among others sign with contenders after their cellar-dwelling teams bought out the end of their contracts.

With the cap going down and plenty of free agents hitting the open market, it's safe to assume that several teams will be looking to negotiate buyouts with players. Obviously, there won't be as many players available in the late-season market as there are right now, but there's a good chance that there will be some better talent available to sign for the veteran's minimum in February than there is right now to sign to the low level exemption. Of course, signing someone is contingent on being a contender before they sign. Otherwise, they'll just sign with a team that has a better chance of getting a ring.

After the jump, we'll narrow down the options and see what players could hit the open market later this season.

Beofre we begin, here's a list of all the free agents for the 2010. This is where the pool for our buyout candidates will come from, since there probably won't be any owners looking to buyout more than the last half of a season off of any player's contract. Just to be safe, we'll exclude restricted free agents and players who have options on their contracts. We'll also exclude guards and wings who might be nice additions, but don't address any critical needs in what's already a very deep backcourt.

Now that we've taken care of all the disclaimers, let's start paring down who's left to see what's available.

Step 1: Eliminate anyone on a contending team

Players already on contenders are already doing enough to make their teams good which gives the team no reason to want to get rid of him and the player no reason to hop ship for a team with a shot of winning it all. I'm only including Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, the Lakers, San Antonio, and Denver as true contenders at this point, though other teams could always insert their name into the discussion as the season goes along.

This eliminates: Brian Scalabrine, Shaquille O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Steven Hunter, Brian Cook, Chuck Hayes, DJ Mbenga, Josh Powell, and Matt Bonner.

Step 2: Eliminate anyone who wouldn't be desirable even if they become available

Needless to say, there would probably be some venom spewed if these players were brough in as the final piece of the puzzle.

This eliminates: Randolph Morris, Jerome James, Mark Blount, Francisco Elson, Malik Allen, Brian Cardinal, Mark Madsen, Etan Thomas, Mouhamed Sene, Kenny Thomas, Patrick O'Bryant

Step 3: Eliminate anyone who won't be bought out because they're just too good

Even if the player has a 100% chance of walking away in free agency, the negative PR backlash of buying out these players would just be too much to bear.

This eliminates: Carlos Boozer

Step 4: Eliminate all young players

You won't see any of these players bought out because their age still makes them valuable. Besides, do you think the veterans already on the team want to deal with another young player after last year's debacle?

This eliminates: Craig Smith, Amir Johnson, Louis Amundson

So who's left?

A mish-mash of veterans who can give the team something if they think the Wizards have a shot of giving them what they want: a championship. First, let's take a look at the guys with an outside chance of being buyout material if their respective team's find themselves in an unexpectedly down year.

Brad Miller
Kwame Brown (not that he'd come to D.C., but I had to throw it out there...)
Udonis Haslem
Jermaine O'Neal
Al Harrington
Darko Milicic

The chances of seeing any of these fine men bought out are extremely, extremely low. They'd have to be out of the playoff hunt very early and more than likely burn a few bridges with their current team. But in uncertain times, anything is possible so it would be premature to eliminate any of these possibilites.

Then there are the respectable players stuck on floundering teams who have the best shot of being buyout material. Since they have the most realistic shot of winding up on a contender, they deserve the most focus. So after a few hundred words of talking about who won't be bought out, let's take a look at the players with the best shots of being contributors to a contender one by one.

Marcus Camby: Camby is on tap to make nearly $10 million this season from one of the more tight-fisted owners in the league in Donald Sterling. On top of that, his presence (together with Chris Kaman's) creates a logjam in the low post where Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan need minutes to develop. He'll be beneficial at the start of the year as he helps the young guys to understand the league better, but the reality is that the team likely isn't going to go anywhere this season and Griffin & Jordan have to be given the chance to sprout their wings at some point.

The Spurs nearly made a deal for Camby at the deadline last season and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see teams inquire about making a trade for him this season as well. The Clippers will probably do all they can to boost his trade value in order to get something useful in return, but it's hard to see anyone giving up a prospect and swallowing the rest of Camby's contract for what amounts to a rental. If Camby doesn't get traded, it probably won't take long for both sides to start talking about a buyout.

Kurt Thomas: San Antonio saved Kurt from lottery land in 2008 when they traded Brent Barry's expiring contract to Seattle for his services. Of course, Barry ended up having the rest of his contract bought out and he returned to San Antonio just in time for their final push last year. Now Thomas finds himself on the other side of the deal, sent to Milwaukee as part of the Richard Jefferson deal. His contract isn't terrible, (he's due to make $3.8 million) which makes it much easier for Milwaukee for the Bucks to work out a buyout without breaking the bank, but it also makes him much easier to trade for than Camby.

Tony Battie: Like Thomas, Tony Battie went from a great situation with a contender to finding himself on a lottery team after being included as part of the Vince Carter deal. He'll be a nice addition to a shallow frontcourt, but I don't think anyone is kidding themselves into thinking that they'll be contenders next season or that the 33 year old Battie has any kind of long-term future with the team. As is the case with Camby and Thomas, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Nets do everything they can to boost his value and get prospect for a late season rental, but in this market, I don't see many teams looking to buy at Battie's price (just over $6 million). Of the thee players listed, Battie probably has the most buyout potential

It will be interesting to see if these players do get bought out where they will land. Camby seems like a natural fit for San Antonio and the Spurs have a knack of getting the players they want. If he hits the open market, I don't think it will take long at all for him to end up in the Alamo, but you never know who might make a push to sign him. Thomas and Battie are much more interesting. If the Spurs do end up getting Camby, his presence along with the addition of Antonio McDyess would eat up most, if not all of his minutes. Likewise, it would be hard to see Battie returning to Orlando now that they have Ryan Anderson, Brandon Bass at their disposal, and they still have Marcin Gortat.

If the Wizards can stay healthy and show that they're an elite Eastern Conference squad next season like they think they can be, it might make sense to wait and see who has their contract bought out after the trade deadline. Not only will the players available at that point likely be better than the ones available for the LLE right now, but they'll come at a cheaper price.

NBA Draft, Zo's Summer Groove and more

DolPhanDave — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:10:51 -0000

Wow, can you imagine? If only this could REALLY happen. Oh, wait...

Staying with the Draft lottery for a minute, I wanted to address how even though the Heat were not involved, there was still something good to take out of the final draft order. The Wizards, who were tied with the Clippers for 2nd worst record in the league at 19-63, fell the maximum of 3 draft spots in the lottery, dropping to the 5th overall pick in a very weak draft.

This is good for the Heat for the obvious reason; the Wizards will most likely not be able to insert their lottery pick right into the lineup, which is good considering how banged up the Wiz were this past season. They still have Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood and some guy named Gilbert…all of whom were out with injuries for significant time this season. So the non-addition of a Beasley-like lottery pick is a very good thing, as its likely the Wizards are much more competitive next season with all their stars healthy.

With the Clippers getting the 1st overall pick and their coach Mike Dunleavy coming right out and saying that they are going to take Blake Griffin, that leaves the Clips with a plethora of ‘bigs’. Remember how the Heat almost drafted Chris Kaman in 2003 ahead of D-Wade? Well now the opportunity could be there for the Heat to have both, is Los Angeles is looking to dump some long-term salary.

Of course, bringing in Kaman (say in a trade for the expiring contracts of Jermaine O’Neal or Mark Blount) would certainly put a damper on the 2010 plans. Kaman makes over $10 million a year for the next 3 seasons, so they would have to endure that cap hit. Would this be the kind of move the Heat would want to pull the trigger on, or should they stand pat and wait for next summer? There really is a lot to consider because we are now entering the time where Miami has to decide what direction they want to take their franchise.

Oh, and just a personal note….I am VERY excited to see what Ricky Rubio can do in the NBA. He impressed the crap out of me during the Olympics last year and I’ve been dying to see what he does with even better players around him.

Speaking of the Olympics, head of USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo is starting to look around with the intentions of fielding his next teams for the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Should Dwyane Wade choose to play along, he would be committing to playing basketball basically year-round for the next 2+ years. No summer break coming for D-Wade should he want to continue his international basketball career, so it’s something big for our superstar to consider:

"I haven't given any thought," Wade slyly insisted. "I have so many other things to think about, and when 2010 comes and it's time for me to think about it, then I will. Then you've got to sit down and think about: What is it that you're coming together for and this and that. Right now, that's not my main focus."

Now, should his buddies LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and co. tag along, Wade’s choice could be a lot easier for him to make. When asked if those guys playing would impact his decision to play:

"Of course it will," Wade said. "A lot of us, especially myself, LeBron, Carmelo, Chris Paul, guys that have been involved with it for a couple of years, and you've grown this relationship with them both on and off the court, it makes you want to be a part. But, at the same time, you see what they do. We'll talk about it. We all will talk about it when the time is right."

Alonzo Mourning is starting to gear up his 13th annual Summer Groove, and this year the venue has changed a bit. The game itself will still be at the AAA, but the comedy show, youth summit, dinner and other things will at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, FL.

This is a very good thing for the Groove, as the bigger and ‘snazzier’ venue should attract more talent and sponsors, and it also shows that even more then a decade later, the summer event is still going strong. Also having something to do with it could be his returning co-host, Dwyane Wade. For the 2nd straight year, D-Wade will be right there along side Zo, carrying on his amazingly great traditions of getting involved with the community of South Florida and being the great, charismatic, loveable guy that we all know and, well….love.

The new ‘official’ name is The Summer Groove hosted by Zo and D-Wade. Not only is it great that Zo is still doing A LOT to make a difference in young peoples lives after his playing career is over, its equally awesome that D-Wade is getting more and more involved and starting to follow in Zo’s footsteps. This is one of Alonzo’s favorite times, as he looks forward to his summer show every year.

“This time of year excites me more than any rebound or blocked shot or anything I’ve done on the court,” Mourning said.

Finally…I’m sure you herd earlier this week that former Heat player Brian Grant has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. One of the hardest working players to ever put on a Heat jersey (right up there with Zo), Grant will always be one of my favorite players. Something about big guys who, despite having the size to merit playing time, work their asses off day after day will always earn my respect and catch my eye.

I’ll most remember Brian from the 03-04 season. I was living in Jersey that year and went to the Heat’s season opener in Philly. Two things stood our for me that night: This quick, flashy rookie with a funny name and the multi-colored dreads of Brian Grant. He was good for a double double almost every night and really brought his game to another level when the Heat made the playoffs. He was a beast during the 1st round series against the Hornets, and you could see the pain in his face when Miami fell to the Pacers in Round 2.

Our collective thoughts and prayers will be with Brian and his family. #44 will always have a home in Miami.

Udonis on the move? Maybe.

DolPhanDave — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:14:28 -0000

Going to touch on a few things today. We’ll start with Udonis Haslem, who I feel could still be the focus of a lot of trade talk. Starting right now, all the way until he is traded, re-signed or signs with another team, he will be under the microscope of many teams, not only the Heat. He is definitely a high-level starting power forward, probably considered just under the ‘elite’ level of the Dirk Nowitzki’s and Tim Duncan’s. He’s a more ‘solid’ 4, but still better then half the league.

Udonis is going to make $7.1 million this season, after which his contract will expire. A relatively low price for someone who a an un-restricted free-agent after the season will be a very appealing target for many teams, and Pat Riley will be getting lots of phone calls regarding Udonis, that is a certain thing. Then you also have to remember that Riley is always looking to make moves to improve this team, which is something his players (including Udonis) like most about him. But, that raises the question ‘How secure does Udonis feel?’, and if it will effect his play. Most players find that deep inspiration to play as well as possible in the final year of an expiring contract, so that will likely be the case here as well.

You also have to take into account the impact that Udonis, as a team captain, has and will have on our youngsters. There were several times throughout the season that Udonis brought out the best in the Heat’s rookies by getting in their ear, and its well known that his heart and soul lies in Miami. At some point, the Heat is going to have to cut ties with Udonis. That is just life in the NBA now; its very tough to keep one player on one team for long. Now that the Heat have Michael Beasley (and the prospect of getting Chris Bosh is always there), there is only the sentiment to hang on to with U-D…but how long will that thread hold?

FUTURE EXPECTATIONS TAKING SHAPE

Now that the Cavaliers sweep of the Hawks is complete, the Heat have that nauseating closure knowing how far the team that beat them got to. It hurts knowing that the Hawks final win of their season game in a Game 7 against the Heat. And I could be mistaken, but did anybody hear anything about this series at any time? Any brawls? Josh Smith do ANYTHING worth hearing about? No?

The Heat can now start focusing on the same thing the Hawks were after this past season: home court advantage in the playoffs. Does anybody doubt that if Game 7 of the Hawks series was played in Miami that the Heat wouldn’t have won?

It also has to be considered that even at their current state, the Heat is not very far away. They have a lot of youth that is still in the maturation process. I think Daequan is going to have a big year, his 3rd in the NBA and 4th since high school. Spending the summer figuring out how to get his masterful stroke to be consistent will give him a lot of tools to fall back on when struggling during the season.

NO 2ND SURGERY FOR JAMES JONES

The same bigger year should be coming from James Jones, who will not be needing a follow-up surgery on a tendon in his right wrist. Jones had been thinking that a 2nd procedure would be necessary to enhance his range of motion, but the Heat trainers say its just going to take more rehab and strength building to get this wrist back to normal.

That being the case…a better, stronger version of Jones, similar to the guy we saw during the Playoffs, will be a welcome threat from the outside, something that the Heat will need badly to compliment Dwyane Wade. Just imagine for a second…at their best, Daequan and Jones…in between D-Wade and Beasley. Add a refreshed, stronger Jermaine O’Neal at center and you have the beginning of the high expectations we could see surrounding our Heat this coming season.

D-WADE MAKES ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

Dwyane Wade was one of three players selected from the Eastern Conference to the All-NBA first-team, along with LeBron James and Dwight Howard. From the Western Conference came Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant. Its no surprise that the All-Star candidate and NBA’s leading scorer was on the team, but it is a surprise that its D-Wade’s first selection. It surely wont be his last, and you have to think that Wade will be one of the MVP favorites going into next season. For reasons listed above (about supporting cast), Wade has an even better shot at taking the MVP trophy, and as we saw this year…even if his numbers dip a little, as long as the Heat is winning, he’ll win the vote.

HEAT DENY GOING GREEK

The Heat are denying rumors that they are going after Greek National center Yainis Bouroussis, but I’m taking that with a grain of salt. Miami only has Jermaine O’Neal and Mark Blount signed at center next year, with Joel Anthony an RFA and Jamaal Magloire a UFA. Bouroussis is young (25) and is a former all-euroleague first-teamer. He is big for 6’11”, and uses his wider frame to draw a lot of fouls in the paint. His free throw and outside shooting are both solid, as are his abilities to rebound on both sides of the floor, an attribution to his great hands. We’ll see if this story dies out…but I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear Yanis’ name again in the future.

Just another off-season Monday

DolPhanDave — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:35:08 -0000

All the talk is still the same. Is Dwyane Wade going to re-sign? Will Michael Beasley handle the conversion to small forward? What about Daequan Cook…is he going to get back to his pre-All Star Game form where he was hitting 4 treys every game (sure seemed that way). There are so many question marks surrounding the Heat…which means they have graduated from their 1-year of being terrible and are back in the mix of potential contenders. I know they have a ways to go, but the bottom line is that they have some solid pieces in place, but they have to play up to their potential.

I think that Daequan Cook could be a big key. The biggest thing escaping the Heat during their attempted playoff run was a consistent outside shooter. One night it was James Jones, then Dae-Dae had a good shooting night…but it can’t be like that on a contending team. You look at the top-teams in our conference and they all have that everyday shooting threat. Orlando- Rashard Lewis and even Hedo Turkoglu has put in some big shots. Cleveland- Mo Williams, that LeBron dude, and they also have this guy on the bench named Daniel Gibson who can be deadly from beyond, similar to Daequan. Boston has Ray Allen, Paul Pierce….need I go on? Put any of those guys, or similarly accurate shooters on the Heat roster along side D-Wade and we’ve got something. As of now the Heat’s best options for that outside shooting threat is Cook and James Jones. I’m sure that D-Wade will continue to work on his jumper and his game arsenal will grow, but he absolutely needs a wingman.

Moving on…I was reading Ira Winderman’s blog earlier today and he had posted some interesting Heat Draft tidbits after watching Glen Davis’ game-winner last night in Orlando. See, the Heat (and 14 other teams) passed on Davis in the 07 Draft, so Ira dug up some other mis-fires from recent Heat drafts.

2007 NBA Draft: Daequan Cook, No. 21, first round; Glen Davis, No. 35 pick, second round.
2006 NBA Draft: Jordan Farmer, No. 26 (pick acquired from Heat by Lakers in 2006 trade for Shaquille O'Neal).
2005 NBA Draft: Wayne Simien, No. 29, first round; Brandon Bass, Ronny Turiaf, Monta Ellis, Lou Williams, Ryan Gomes, thereafter
2004 NBA Draft: Dorell Wright, No. 19, first round; Jameer Nelson, Delonte West, Kevin Martin, Anderson Varejao, Chris Duhon, Trevor Ariza, thereafter.

This year the Heat has no 1st round picks, but have two in the 2nd round (numbers 42 and 60). They also have Pat Riley in the GM chair since the exit of Randy Pfund, so expect those ‘Riley-esque’ players to be coming in. There will also be an emphasis on bringing in guys that can possibly contribute right away, giving the Heat roster players who are cheap and wont hurt the team’s 2010 plans.

Getting back to D-Wade for a second, one of the main arguments I hear is whether getting more money (if he says with the Heat) is more important competing for a championship. I missed the part where the Heat weren’t amazingly wide open about their plans to bring in whatever it takes to win. They have even gone as far to say that despite saying for months how their plan is to be as good as possible while waiting for the 2010 free-agent class, the Heat is now willing to make a move now, this summer, if given the right opportunity. So openly contradicting themselves for the sole purpose of letting everyone (especially Dwyane Wade) know they will do whatever it takes to win…seems smart and desperate at the same time. The knee-jerk reaction of a franchise when their superstar gets pissed after losing a Game 7 in the playoffs.

CENTER UPGRADE…SORT OF

Jermaine O’Neal was solid at center for Miami, and intends to get better in the off-season. He kinda became the goat down here…which I thought was very undeserved. We knew coming in that he was banged up, but the expectations were still quite large. Then when the Heat lost in the playoffs, his name would constantly come up during the blame game. Why? It isn't his fault that the Heat acquired the hobbled center, and all he did was bust his ass trying to keep up with MVP candidate Dwyane Wade. I've got no ill feelings towards him; I've actually grown fond of the big guy.

Jermaine has mapped out a very long summer for himself, intending to come back to the Heat in the All-Star form many fans expected when we first acquired him. Here is what his off-season workout schedule looks like, starting this past week:

O'Neal's summer of rediscovery will go something like this: three weeks off, two weeks working out in Miami, four or five weeks with acclaimed trainer Tim Grover, who helped Wade rebuild himself last offseason, and a trip to Joe Abunassar's Impact Academy in Las Vegas.

In the same article, O’Neal says that for the first time in three years, he is able to walk up stairs without any problem. He wants to feel less like 40 and more like 30…I can understand that. I’ll be paying as close attention as possible to reports about his progress in these summer training camps, and I hope they aren’t over-positive accounts. Still, we can hope that they work out for Jermaine and he comes back ready to play 70+ games.