SB Nation - Dorell Wright

Game #25: Portland Trail Blazers (16-12) vs. Miami Heat (13-11)

DolPhanDave — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:28:38 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

D-Wade and Dorell Wright have been building an on-court chemistry since Wright began getting significant minutes

The main question that I'm pondering about tonight's Heat game is ‘which Heat team will show up?' While I'd like to sit here and show my full confidence that the squad that's won two straight games in convincing fashion is for real...unfortunately I'm just not at the point yet. It's absolutely possible, with the talent on this roster for the Heat to be just as scary to play as the Boston's and Orlando's. But those teams have both the talent and the consistency, the latter of which being the elusive factor for the Heat in their up and down season.

A lot of focus tonight will be on Dwyane Wade, but not for the usual ‘he's amazing' reasons. Wade has been battling through injuries for most of the season, with his recent wrist problems being added to by a now sore back. He was limited in practice yesterday after suffering from some upper back spasms, but despite everything Wade is still ranked 5^th in the NBA in scoring and is fully expected to be in the lineup tonight.

Portland is coming off of a 9-point loss in Orlando last night in which they battled hard for 3+ quarters, but in a surprising defensive battle against the offensive-minded Magic, the Blazers could only muster 18 4^th quarter points after the game was tied at 65 heading into the final period. Portland is having a tough time but it's understandable with several of their key players out with injuries; Greg Oden, Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez are all on the shelf.

GAME NOTES

In the last 5 games Dorell Wright has shot 58% and averaged 13.2 ppg.
Portland has lost 7 of their last 8 games away from home.
Michael Beasley led the way with 27 points in the 107-100 Heat win in Portland on 12/1/09, and Beas has averaged 25 points in his last two games.
LaMarcus Aldridge missed the first game between these teams, but he'll be in the lineup tonight.
Including Thursday's win over Orlando, the Heat have won 21-straight games when shooting 50% from the field.
This is the 5^th game of the Heat's 6-game homestand. After dropping the first 2 games, they have drawn even at 2-2.

For the second straight week the Heat will play a late afternoon game at home. Tipoff from the AAA is set for 6pm.

Heat get much needed win in convincing fashion, beating Toronto by 20

DolPhanDave — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:23:37 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

If he stays healthy, who knows how high Dorell Wright may rise this season.

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Imagine my shock...I come home, power up the DVR, and what do I see? Not only was Diawara back in the starting lineup, but Carlos Arroyo as well? I guess a lineup shakeup could be expected with the way the Heat have been playing lately, but it seemed that Chalmers in the starting lineup was a foregone conclusion despite his erratic play. Arroyo responded to his first start in a Heat uniform well, hitting his first two shots in the opening minutes of the game.

Miami played a pretty decent 1^st quarter, leading it most of the way...just not the very beginning or the very end. In what's becoming unfortunately normal, D-Wade continues to take outside jumpers and miss them badly. Every year of his career he seemed to improve his J, gradually moving further away from the bucket as his shot got better. This year, however, I feel like he's taken a step backwards. The worst part is that he keeps chucking them up when he is more then capable of driving with the ball and either scoring or dishing the ball off to an open teammate.

Michael Beasley had a great sequence with about four minutes left in the 2^nd quarter. He came down with a real nice block on Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozen, passed it up to D-Wade and ran to the other end just in time to catch and slam a lob pass from Dwyane. That bucket put the Heat up by 9, their largest lead of the game at that point. It was also part of an 11-2 run for Miami.

While it was Toronto that got off to the quick start, shooting 55% in the opening quarter, the Heat closed out the first half just as hot. Miami matched their highest point total for a half, scoring 60 on 54% shooting and took a 10-point lead into the locker room. Michael Beasley led the way for Miami with 18 points (on 6-of-8 shooting) and 8 rebounds.

Chris Bosh came out firing in the 3^rd quarter, scoring the first 11 points for the Raptors. He went 4-for-6 in the entire 1^st half, but was 5-for-5 in the first 3:30 of the 2^nd half. Hedo Turkoglu was the first non-Bosh to score for Toronto, hitting a pair of foul shots 5 minutes into the quarter. Meanwhile, Miami was on a 13-4 scoring run capped off by a rare D-Wade three-pointer, and the Heat held a nice 14-point lead.

It didn't matter much who was in the game for the Heat, as everybody was scoring in the 3^rd quarter. Dorell Wright and Mario Chalmers were joining the scoring party and as a whole, the Heat dropped in another 31 points and took a nice 17-point lead into the final period.

Miami coasted through the 4^th quarter led by Dorell Wright. He is slowly starting to become a consistent contributor in the Heat's offense. Last night he scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, grabbed 8 rebounds and added 3 assists, a block and a steal. Also scoring in the 4^th was Yakhouba Diawara, whose dunk with 2 minutes left accounted for his first points of the season.

I have no idea why this guy has started the last two games, but hopefully this game was the last time we see Diawara get any kind of significant minutes. The Heat have much more talented players on their roster who will do more with the minutes then Kooba. There were a couple occasions during the game where he was the recipient of a nice pass down low, but either dropped the ball or just couldn't finish, reminding me of the ‘stone-hands' of Joel Anthony.

GAME NOTES

Toronto hit their first 14 foul shots, most of which came in the 1^st quarter. While it took Miami a little longer, they also hit their first 14 foul shots and only missed two all night, finishing 20-of-22.
Michael Beasley had 8 rebounds in the 1^st half while Chris Bosh had none. Beasley finished with 11 and Bosh finished with 2.
The turning point of the game was the beginning of the 2^nd quarter. With D-Wade on the bench, Miami hit 6 of their first 7 shots and began building on the lead they'd keep all night.
Dwayne Wade took only one 3-pointer, and hit it! He had made just 3 of his previous 25 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Heat had Michael Beasley taking their technical free throws last night. Why not? He's shooting 85% from the charity stripe this season, by far the best percentage of any Heat regular.
Miami had 19 fast break points (they average 9) and 27 assists (they average 18). I love stats like that, and those were courtesy of ‘the coach' Tony Fiorentino during the Heat's post-game show.
Off the bench Mario Chalmers had 6 points, 8 assists, 2 steals and more importantly 0 turnovers in 27 minutes. After the game Coach Spoelstra said the reason for Rio not starting was that he was late for shootaround, and that ‘the point guard must be the example for the team'.
With the benching, Spoelstra snapped Chalmers' streak of 104 consecutive starts.
Carlos Arroyo did fine in his first start of the year, scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting (and 4-of-5 from the foul line), with 3 assists, a rebound and a steal in 21 minutes.

The Heat have very little time to catch their breath because coming in on Thursday night are our interstate rivals from O-Town. We can only hope that the Heat are able to keep up the good play, because I'm sure the Magic will be thinking about the last time these two teams played each other.

Game #23: Toronto Raptors (11-15) vs. Miami Heat (11-11)

DolPhanDave — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:41:31 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Yeah...this about sums it up

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It isn't often that I don't watch a game. Even when I know the results, and sometimes those results aren't pretty, I'll still watch. This time, however, I wasn't upset that I forgot to set my DVR before heading north to Jacksonville for the Dolphins game.

I kept track of the game for a while on my cell, and even without actually seeing any live game action, two free throws and six turnovers in the first quarter told me all I needed to know. I saw (or read) about Memphis getting to the foul line 17 times before the Heat took their first foul shot, which came with just seconds left in the 1^st quarter.

I had a bad feeling before the game even started though, as I first logged onto Twitter and saw that the Heat's starting small forward was going to be Yakhouba Diawara. Where the hell did that move come from? Spoelstra said after the game that he went with Kooba because he wanted to keep Dorell Wright within his role as the first perimeter guy off the bench, which I can understand.

But we have guys like James Jones and Daequan Cook who could use the minutes much more then Diawara. I think they need to give Cook as many minutes as they can spare because the only way he is going to get better and get out of this funk is by playing through it.

I'm hoping that the Heat use this game as some serious motivation. Immediately following the embarrassing home loss there was a team meeting that was about thirty minutes long. When asked about what was said in the meeting, D-Wade said that he kept quiet and only listened.

Udonis Haslem wasn't as quiet; talking to his teammates about the lack of effort they've put fourth of late, as well as the teams poor record at home. Bet you didn't realize that the Heat were under .500 at home (6-7) and over .500 on the road (5-4).

Looking at tonight's opponent, the Raptors are coming off of one of their better defensive efforts of the season, holding the Houston Rockets to just 88 points on 37% shooting in a 13-point victory. Keep an eye on Chris Bosh, Heat fans. We all know how much Pat Riley loves this guy, and more then likely is going to go after him more then any other free agent.

That being the case, just imagine what it will be like having this amazingly talented and athletic big guy dominating the post area and moving guys around in the paint, creating all kinds of space and lanes for Dwyane Wade to maneuver and score. Yea, I know that its way to early to assume anything...but if Bosh has any kind of inkling about playing in Miami with his boy D-Wade, you better believe that Pat Riley will make it happen.

GAME NOTES

After going 2-2 on a tough west coast road trip, the Heat are 0-2 so far on their 6-game homestand.
Toronto gives up the 2^nd most points in the league, allowing 108.0 points/game but are 6^th in the league in scoring, putting up 104.0 points/game.
On the other hand, Miami is right smack dab in the middle of the pack at points given up, surrendering 98.6. They aren't as good offensively, ranked 22^nd in the association by putting up 97.0.
The Raptors are a perfect 8-0 this season when holding their opponent under 100 points.
The 37 points surrendered by the Heat in the 1^st quarter against Memphis on Sunday was the second most points given up in a quarter this season by Miami. The most? So glad you asked...it was the 43 points scored in the second quarter of the Heat's visit to Toronto on November 20^th.
I wouldn't expect to see Quentin Richardson back in the lineup yet. He is officially listed as doubtful with his strained right hamstring.
For Toronto, guard Jose Calderon (hip) and forward Reggie Evans (foot) are both out.

Tuesday night tipoff from the AAA is set for 7:30.

Game #22: Memphis Grizzlies (9-13) vs. Miami Heat (11-10)

DolPhanDave — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:22:17 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Gross - Getty Images

Welcome back, Jermaine O'Neal.

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I wouldn't say the Heat are desperate for a win, but after the tough loss to Dallas on Friday, this is a team that really need to log a W. Memphis comes to town with a poor 3-9 road record, but they are facing a Miami team that has lost three straight on their home court. At this point, the Heat can't be looking at their opponents record or players, all that is irrelevant. Right now the one and only thing players should be worried about is getting wins. Plain and simple.

The timing is tough for Miami, with a couple starters banged up and playing hurt. Quentin Richardson tried to play through a hamstring injury on Friday but managed to play just six minutes against the Mavs. He'll miss the game tonight and its unknown how long he will have to rest his nagging hammy. It's also unknown who will start for Q. Dorell Wright has been gobbling up minutes of late, but he had a sub-par game against Dallas. It will be either Wright, James Jones (who has already started 5 games for an injured Richardson) or Daequan Cook.

Also injured for the Heat is D-Wade, who hurt his right (shooting) wrist breaking his fall after a failed reverse dunk attempt on Friday. Wade has been getting treatment for his wrist and both he and Coach Spoelstra expect Dwyane to play on Sunday. I see this as a possible blessing in disguise...as maybe Wade will shy away from the long jumpers and drive with the ball more for the ‘easier' looks at the basket.

GAME NOTES

The Heat are averaging just 88.7 points over their last 6 home games.

Memphis had won 3 straight before losing to the Thunder on Friday.

Jermaine O'Neal will be back in the lineup for Miami. He returned to practice with the team on Saturday after missing 2 games due to the passing of his uncle.

The guy to watch on the Grizz is Zach Randolph, who has 4 straight double doubles. In those games he is averaging 23.8 points and 14.8 rebounds.

Tipoff will be 6pm from the AAA, the usual Sunday start time. Hopefully there will be a decent crowd in the Heat's house...

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

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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.

Game #21: Dallas Mavericks (15-7) vs. Miami Heat (11-9)

DolPhanDave — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:13:26 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

D-Wade was visibly upset when reminded of the Mavs win streak against Miami.

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After a nice refreshing week off, the Heat will finally return to action tonight back at home against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are one of the best teams in the league and got even better in their last game when they welcomed back Josh Howard after the forward missed 13 games with a sore left ankle. The Mavs are playing back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow (@ Charlotte), and the Dallas Morning News is reporting that Howard will play in only one of the two games, but its unknown which he'll play and which he'll sit out.

On the Heat's side of things, they could be without two of their starters. Jermaine O'Neal could miss his second straight game while dealing with family issues in South Carolina. He attended the funeral of his uncle on Thursday and could be back in Miami in time to play tonight, but nobody is sure. Even if J-O does make it in time, his minutes could be limited due to him being away from working out with the team all week.

Another likely game-time decision will be Quentin Richardson, who strained his right hamstring at the end of the third quarter of the Heat's win in Sacramento on Sunday. While there is no tear, the Heat intend to keep it that way which is why they are treating Richardson with ‘kid gloves'. I can't say I disagree...I'd much rather be without Q for a game or two instead of a week or two.

A key matchup will be at the power forward position. Dirk Nowitzki is having another great season, averaging 27.0 points and 8.5 boards, and has been even hotter of late. He's cracked 30 points in his last two games (32, 33) and in one of those games had four blocks and a pair of treys. Guarding Dirk will be a great test for Michael Beasley, who has been showing lots of improvement on the defensive side of the floor but will certainly have his hands full with Nowitzki. Of course there is always Udonis Haslem on the bench as an insurance policy, but if we have to put U-D on Dirk it will seriously cut into Beasley's minutes.

GAME NOTES

Outside of the 06 NBA Finals, the Mavericks have really owned the Heat the past several years. Dallas has swept the 2-game season series with Miami in each of the past 5 years (10 straight wins), and have won 16 of 18 overall.

Doesn't it seem like a long time ago that Shawn Marion was playing for the Heat? Not quite; a year ago he was still playing for the Heat. Now...he starts for the Mavericks.

I can't remember ever thinking to myself the night before a Heat game ‘I can't wait to see what Dorell Wright does tonight', until now that is. I'm honestly quite anxious to see how the not so youngster responds after his best game in years.

Dallas has the 10^th ranked offense in the league averaging 101.7 ppg.

The Mavs are 8-4 on the road, averaging 101.1 ppg. The Heat are 6-5 at home and give up 93.3 ppg.

Tipoff from the AAA is set for 7:30 and that place should be rockin' on a Friday night. The Heat haven't played a home game in almost 2 weeks (12 days to be exact), so the fans should have a lot of built up cheering to let out. Lets Go Heat!!

Stats blog #3: Dorell Wright and Q-Rich heading in the right direction

DolPhanDave — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:28:07 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Yup, Dorell Wright can pass too...

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The last stats blog that I posted a couple days ago was mostly a positive one. Lots of good, encouraging numbers to look at while waiting for the Heat to kick off their nice, long home stand. This time around I've got four guys for us to look at. Two of them are making a big different since being put back in the lineup, and the other two have been struggling a little but not greatly hurting the team.

DORELL WRIGHT

Why am I starting with Dorell Wright? Well to be quite honest, yes he has been playing very well the past few games but that's all that it's been...a few games. It's no certainty that Wright will become an integral part in the Heat's rotation, although the way he has been playing of late may dictate otherwise.

With the Heat desperate to get back to the defensive dominance they showed over the first few weeks of the season, its no shock that Erik Spoelstra is giving D-Wright a shot, and he is making the most of it. Wright played more minutes in each of the last 3 games then any other game this season.

When I was interning with Sun Sports during the 15-win season, I was on and around the court a lot on game days. Something I got used to seeing was Dorell on the floor before anybody else, working on his jumpers. He got better and better, convincing me of his ability to be an unsuspectingly good jump shooter. That was two seasons ago...imagine how much more confident he is in his shot now after working on it that entire time then he was back when I was watching.

In his last three games, Wright has gone 14-of-23 from the field (61%) and hit 3-of-4 from beyond. 2-for-2 from the foul line to go with 11 rebounds (3.6/game), 6 assists (2/game), a steal, a block and some of the best hustle D we've seen in a while. I just hope that he doesn't get lost in the shuffle of players. As high as I've been on James Jones, I'm starting to lean more towards wanting to see Wright on the floor more. He has always been a good defender (long limbed guys usually are) but with the addition of offensive production he could finally begin to show us why he was a 1^st round pick all the way back in 2004. Better late then never? You better believe it!

QUENTIN RICHARDSON

A back injury kept Quentin out of uniform for four games, but he came back healthy and ready to re-claim his position in the starting lineup. I get the feeling that he is starting to understand the importance of being a bit more aggressive on offense, which is key for Q. If you have followed his career at all then you know that Richardson can score, and if we can get ‘offense Q' to merge with ‘defense Q' then we'd have some kind of all-star caliber player on our hands.

In his 4 games since re-claiming the starting SF position, Richardson has shown us that he can indeed be that outside presence most of us envisioned when we first acquired him. He's averaging 14 ppg on 48% shooting, and of his 42 field goals taken, 27 of them are of the three-point variety. 41% from beyond the arc isn't the best percentage, but that is still an average of almost 3 trey/game. Considering that in two of those four games Quentin took double digit three point attempts, it seems that he is starting to understand that getting open on the outside will be a big help for Miami.

Hopefully his good shooting continues beyond the scope of the past four games, as well as his 6.5 rebounds and 2 assists/game. And hey...it wouldn't hurt if he could have 5 steals and 3 blocks every four games as well.

DOWN PRODUCTIVITY

Now I'm not saying that these guys are in the doghouse or anything, but the following players aren't playing nearly as well as they once were this season.

Mario Chalmers- I'm looking at Rio's last four games, as that is when his minutes started going down. The reason for that is because of the lack of offensive production and defensive stinginess coming from the PG position of late, so much so that Dwyane Wade has been manning the point during important phases of the game.

After playing 30+ minutes in 13 of the first 16 games of the season, he has only cracked 30 minutes in 1 of his last 4 games. He is shooting just 9-for-21 in those games (43%) and 5-of-13 from 3-point range (38%). The rest of his numbers are also pretty low for a starting PG: 1.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists are low, as is the 6.8 ppg total. The only plus is the 1.3 steals/game. Chalmers is still young with a whole heap of potential, so I see this as nothing more then a speed bump in the sophomore's progression.

The other guy whose numbers are down is Udonis Haslem. I've got back 6 games on Udonis and everything other then his foul shooting and steals are down when compared to his season average. 8.2 points on 44% shooting and just 4.2 rebounds are nowhere near the numbers of U-D for the most part of the young season. If you recall, just last season it took Udonis several months to get his long-range jumper to fall with its normal consistency, so I have no doubt that he'll bounce back sooner then later.

Stats blog #2: Coming home on a hot streak

DolPhanDave — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:02:47 -0000

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

D-Wade has been getting to the foul line much more frequently of late, something that bodes well for the Heat.

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Here we go with stats blog #2. The Heat have been slacking defensively but picking it up on the offensive end. They have fallen out of the top-10 in both opponents scoring (97.3) and three-point shooting percentage (34.6%) but are still ranked 6^th in field goal percentage against (44.2%). Very slowly the Heat have been getting back to doing the right things on D, and I think the use of Wade at point guard in crucial minutes, as well as the return of Quentin Richardson and the re-emergence of Dorell Wright are serious contributing factors.

Switching back to offense, a few guys have been taking it up a notch the past couple weeks so naturally we'll take a look at their numbers. The first three guys are all starters, which is very good. I'd much rather have my starters, the guys getting the majority of the minutes, to be playing the best.

DWYANE WADE

Wade is having an interesting year, to say the least. A lot of criticism has fallen on Dwyane because of how many long-range jumpers he is taking instead of just driving with the ball and getting to the foul line, which has been his bread and butter for the past several years.

Looking at his last five games the thing that I must point out is that all of these numbers are improvements over the five previous games. Wade is shooting 46% from the field, averaging 26.8 ppg and while he's only shot 71% from the foul line, he is getting to the line 12.4 times/game in the last 5 and 15.7 times/game in the last 3. Compare that to just 7.4 free-throws/game in the 5 games leading up...

The rest of his stat line is impressive as well: 6.4 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1 steal and 1.4 blocks. All we can hope for is that the numbers remain steady and Wade keeps pushing.

MICHAEL BEASLEY

Beasley has been very good ever since back-to-back rough games against Oklahoma City and the Nets. Since then, Beasley has scored in double digits in 10 straight games, including two double doubles.

However, in his last five games Beas has looked even better, showing confidence with the ball in his hands and proving to be a formidable first scoring option when D-Wade is resting on the bench. His average points (18.8), field goal% (53%), free throw% (84%), rebounds (9.4) and assists (1.2) are all well above his season averages.

JERMAINE O'NEAL

Before the season began I tagged Jermaine O'Neal as the wild card for the Heat. From that standpoint, he has more then exceeded my expectations and has been a model for consistency for the Heat. The biggest knock on him from last year was the lack of rebounding, but that problem is now moot. Looking at his last six games, J-O has stayed hot from the field, shooting 55% but has struggled from the foul line. On the year his free-throw average has been 61%, but a much worse 46% of late.

His other numbers are all big improvements however, starting with his rebounding and assists. How about 11.6 rebounds/game and 2.0 assists/game to go along with 1.6 blocks/game, all higher then his season averages.

HOT HEAT SHOOTERS

In my last stats blog I mentioned that the Heat had four guys shooting over 50%. While the players are different, the statement remains the same....sort of. We'll start with the guy whose leading the pack. None other then the ‘big cat' Jamaal Magloire. That is, of course, if in order to be eligible for this honor you make the minimum amount of shots taken to be six. Magloire is 5-of-6 from the field on the season, in just three games.

Getting back to reality, Jermaine O'Neal still sits at the top of the list, shooting 56%. A nice surprise is right behind J-O, and while the sample size is small its still notable that Dorell Wright has hit 20 of his 36 shots, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. That's 56% and 60% to go with the great defense he's been opening a lot of eyes with.

Wright has always been known as a great defender, but while he's been hiding the past few seasons, he has been working extremely hard on his shot. Should he continue to hit them, you better believe that D-Wright will be stealing minutes away from James Jones and Quentin Richardson. Oh, and have you noticed the on-court chemistry between Wright and Dwyane Wade?

The final 50% shooter is none other then Mario Chalmers, who has hit 50.4% of his field goals this season. He's taken about 100 more shots then Dorell Wright, so obviously the consistency is there. The troubling thing is that Rio only takes 6.8 shots a game. When your point guard can shoot at or around 50%, it should be a priority to get him move involved in the offense.

Of course, there is only so much ball to go around. The Heat have several guys who are lethal with the ball in their hands and Chalmers isn't high on that list. Mario has to learn to get the offense going a bit quicker too; there have been too many times where I've seen the Heat just standing still on offense and not get a play going until the shot clock is in single digits.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at a couple guys who could be on the brink something big for both themselves and the Heat, as well as a pair of guys in need of a jolt.

Cavs outlast Heat after Wade and LeBron put on hell of a show

DolPhanDave — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:11:37 -0000

The result may not have been what Heat fans were hoping for, but the first Wade-LeBron match up of the season lived up to the expectations. The two superstars combined for 70 points, but it was James who got the last laugh. He shut the door on Miami himself, scoring the Cavs final 8 points over the last 2:42 of the game and keeping the Heat's comeback at bay.

As impressive as his offensive domination was LeBron's defense. He has such long arms and legs that, when combined with his supreme athleticism, make James one of the top man on men defenders in the NBA.

While on the subject of defense, Udonis Haslem has always been one of the Heat's best defenders but it may not have been such a good idea for Erik Spoelstra to put him on LeBron James. After Quentin Richardson was called for two early fouls, Spo put U-D on King James and two quick fouls later it was Dorell Wright coming off the bench to defend James. D-Wright did a good job on LeBron and on offense as well in his limited minutes.

Michael Beasley had a decent game, stretching the floor offensively by drilling a few outside jumpers and driving the ball when he could. My knock on Beasley is that he hasn't finished well when attacking the rim, often getting himself in a situation where he has two or three defenders around him. Too many bad looking forced shots from inside the paint for my liking...but we know that Beasley is a work-in-progress.

GAME NOTES

Beasley finished with 24 points and 6 rebounds. He hit 2-of-5 three-pointers and hit all four of his free throws.

How about the Cavs winning @ Orlando and @ Miami on back-to-back nights? I think its safe to say that Cleveland has gotten over their rough start to the season.

Moment of the night: Dwyane Wade's 1-handed posterization of Anderson Varejao in the 1^st quarter.

Daequan Cook returned to the court after missing five games with a sore shoulder. He started the 2^nd quarter, went 0-for-4 from the field (including two 3-pointers) and then sat out the entire 2^nd half.

Slowly but surely Dorell Wright is earning his minutes. Defensively he has been very sharp, and now he's starting to hit the few shots he takes.

Forgive the short post...I don't do well when feeling under the weather. Tomorrow night its Nets @ Heat, a nice way to bounce back after the tough loss to Cleveland.

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.