SB Nation - Joel Anthony

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

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

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

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.

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.

Preview: Heat at Kings

Ziller — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:00:16 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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THE OPPONENT

For all the worry about the toughness of this stretch (guilty!), Miami actually isn't that much better than the Kings. The Heat come in 10-9, with a points differential of -0.37 and an SRS of +0.34, 14th in the league. The Heat offense is ranked 18th, the Heat defense is ranked 18th. This has been a thoroughly average team so far.

Our Kings, of course, are 9-9, with a points differential of +0.11 and an SRS of -0.30, 15th in the league. Sacramento hosts the 6th-ranked offense and the 23rd-ranked defense. This match-up is really, really even. On paper, the Kings have the advantages: ARCO Arena is the site, and starting Heat center Jermaine O'Neal is out. O'Neal has had a bit of a renaissance season, playing 32 minutes a game, and contributing 14/8/1.2 for the Heat. His back-up is Joel Anthony, who is a great shotblocker but happens to do most other things quite poorly. Miami could also use a Udonis Haslem/Michael Beasley frontcourt, considering how strong a defender Haslem has been opposite 7-footers (like Dirk Nowitzki in the 2006 Finals, for one example) in the past. For what it's worth, Erik Spoelstra told the Miami Herald that Jamaal Magloire could get "a dose of extended action" in Sacramento. Like Anthony, Magloire is not very good these days. (The Kings have always been good at making "not very good" opposing big men look like All-Stars, of course).

The Heat are mediocre on the offensive glass and a bit above average on the defensive glass. I think the Kings can win the rebound percentages tonight. It could be a matter of hitting shots.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Dwyane Wade	19	38.4	8.7	20.7	42.2	0.9	3.8	24.7	8.3	10.9	75.5	1.1	4.2	5.2	5.8	3.3	1.8	1.2	2.6	26.7
Michael Beasley	19	31.8	5.9	13.4	44.5	0.4	1.9	21.6	2.8	3.3	85.7	2.1	4.7	6.8	0.9	1.7	0.8	0.6	2.9	15.2
Jermaine O`Neal	18	31.8	5.9	10.6	56.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	2.4	3.9	61.4	1.8	6.2	8.1	1.6	1.5	0.4	1.2	3.8	14.3
Udonis Haslem	17	29.1	4.1	9.0	45.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.1	2.9	71.4	2.6	5.2	7.8	0.9	1.1	0.3	0.4	2.2	10.3
Mario Chalmers	19	30.7	3.6	6.9	51.5	1.4	3.6	39.7	1.5	2.1	72.5	0.3	1.6	1.9	4.0	1.8	1.5	0.2	2.7	10.1
Quentin Richardson	15	28.7	3.1	6.6	46.5	1.6	3.9	41.4	0.3	0.3	80.0	0.8	4.2	5.0	1.3	1.1	0.7	0.2	2.7	8.0
Daequan Cook	12	17.6	2.0	6.7	30.0	1.2	3.7	31.8	1.2	1.3	87.5	0.2	2.3	2.5	1.1	0.7	0.3	0.2	1.0	6.3
James Jones	11	21.2	1.5	3.9	37.2	1.3	3.2	40.0	1.0	1.4	73.3	0.4	1.7	2.1	1.0	0.4	0.3	0.0	1.8	5.2
Carlos Arroyo	18	15.2	1.8	3.9	47.1	0.1	0.2	33.3	0.8	1.1	78.9	0.4	1.1	1.5	1.8	0.8	0.2	0.1	1.4	4.6
Jamaal Magloire	3	9.7	1.7	2.0	83.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.3	25.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.7	3.7
Dorell Wright	12	10.8	0.9	1.9	47.8	0.4	0.8	55.6	0.2	0.2	100.0	0.2	1.4	1.6	0.7	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.8	2.4
Joel Anthony	18	12.9	0.8	1.9	44.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.9	58.8	1.3	1.2	2.5	0.3	0.7	0.1	1.1	1.9	2.2
Shavlik Randolph	2	11.5	0.5	3.5	14.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	2.0	3.5	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	2.5	1.0
Yakhouba Diawara	1	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0

THE KEY BATTLE

Dwyane Wade vs. Tyreke Evans. No word on line-up adjustments from Paul Westphal -- in the backcourt, the Heat are a bit traditional with Mario Chalmers at the point. Quentin Richardson isn't terribly undersized at small forward (especially not against the Kings), and Wade creates problems for any defender or opposing offensive player. I figure that Evans and Wade will match up some, and it'd be a joy to see them go mano a mano down the stretch. Evans has to watch his dribble, or Wade will be darting the other way on repeat.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Dwyane Wade will hit the floor at some point.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Kings by 2.

DETAILS

The Sunday 6PM tip-off. KHTK 1140 AM on radio and Comcast SportsNet on TV. Game thread at 6, post-game thread at 8:45, recap blinking on a gutter.

Game #19: Miami Heat (10-9) vs. Sacramento Kings (9-9)

DolPhanDave — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:42:06 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

It's ok Jermaine, we'll see you back in the 305.

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Tonight the Heat will wrap up their 4-game western road trip (which has felt more like a 2-week marathon) in Sacramento. The Heat are in danger of moving to .500 for the first time this season, and this coming after a 6-1 start. Granted, it isn't unheard of for a good team to drop 5-games over the course of a couple weeks, but still it kinda sucks.

The Kings are fresh off a road loss last night in Phoenix, in which they we're outscored by 9 in the 4^th quarter and ended up losing by 8. Sound familiar? Maybe with the road game last night the Kings will be a bit more tired then the Heat. I know that some of the Heat players were ‘relaxing' last night because around 1-2am our time I was watching Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers on ustream.com. They were just chillin', watching Hannah Montana and answering some of the ridiculous questions being asked by the 115-or so viewers. It was funny for a while but when Beasley started singing I had to go...

Starting at center tonight for the Miami Heat...Joel Anthony! Nope, not a type-o. Jermaine O'Neal had to fly to South Carolina to deal with his ongoing family emergency, which I was under the impression was a very sick relative. Either way, it will be Anthony with a side of Magloire tonight in Sac Town.

Maybe a return to local T.V. is just what the Dr. ordered for the Heat. They have been on National broadcasts the past couple games, but tonight its just Sun Sports for us. Yes...I realize that this is pretty absurd to be suggesting, but apparently there have been several ridiculous comments on this page the past few days.

GAME NOTES

Sacramento is a very tough home team, winning 4 straight at Arco Arena and holding an 8-2 home record on the season.

However, the Kings are 1-2 on the second night of back-to-backs.

More record stats! The Heat have won 10 of 12 against Sacramento, and 4 of 5 at Arco.

The Kings will be without Kevin Martin, who is still about 6 weeks away from returning from a wrist injury, and forward Francisco Garcia, also dealing with wrist problems.

Remember Andres Nocioni? He drilled four 3-pointers last night for the Kings.

Canadian Content

rbala — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:00:20 -0000

Today we have the Be One newsletter from Canada Basketball, a video clip on Joel Anthony, the third installment of On the Brink, great reads on the Vermont Dynamic Duo, Rainmen and Kebs stuff and a whole lot of Canadian college news in this edition of Canadian Content.

First we have some news on the National Team front.

The Be One quarterly CB newsletter is out so take a look. You'll see that Raps HQ had a hand in the newsletter this time around. Canada Basketball | JOY TO THE WORLDS CB OUR GAME NEWSLETTER

Our collegue Sean Francois at Hoops Heads North posted a great clip on Miami Heat's Joel Anthony from Raptors TV. Mount Real stand up! Canadian Pride: Miami Heat & Canada Basketball's Joel Anthony

Some great reads on the two stars of the Vermont women's basketball team.

Another Day Near The "Sun" For Vermont's May Kotsopoulos - UCONN | Women's Basketball

Women's Basketball : University of Vermont

The third installment of The Score's series on basketball in Canada. On The Brink Episode 3 | Video | The Score

Another pair of Canuck high school players that have some skills. NEXT OF KIN | Crown Magazine

Mariner standout mixes basketball with education

Some news on two Premier Basketball League teams ...

Metro - Rainmen finalize training camp roster

Metro - Paperwork issues may deprive Rainmen of top pick

kebsdequebec.com: News

Some good reads on some of the CIS teams.

BCLocalNews.com - Women Clan still on a roll

Mars’ Hill Online " Slow start, inconsistent guard play undermining potential

Wesmen looking for Classic spark | Basketball | Sports | Winnipeg Sun

Hoops a family affair | Other Sports | Sports | Winnipeg Sun

And some reads on some CCAA teams.

Congrats to Fleming College for getting the All Star bids. Fleming College awarded all-star games - Peterborough Examiner - Ontario, CA

New coach hopes to put Sault College on the basketball Mapp - Sault This Week - Ontario, CA

Canadian Content

rbala — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:27:45 -0000

There is some big commitment news from some high profile Canuck ballers, Canada Basketball has new vintage tees, Andy Rautins goes 7-10 from arc in the Syracuse win, newest NBA Canadian Matt Bonner throws one down and some assorted news bites in today's Canadian Content.

First we have some National Program news ...

Canada Basketball has a new line of vintage tees just in time for the holiday season. Support the National Program and pick one up. Canada Basketball | CANADA BASKETBALL LAUNCHES CB CLASSIC COLLECTION TSHIRTS

National Team invitee will be heading out to Iowa to try to make the opening day Energy roster. Russell Hicks drafted to NBA D-League - Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA

Second we have some news on a few Canadians in the NBA ...

Of course Captain Canada get a look. SLAM ONLINE | " The Post Up: Nasty Nash

Some Joel Anthony news. Miami Heat bench strong, reliable - Miami Heat - MiamiHerald.com

Burn this into your mind - Bonner dunked a ball. YouTube - Matt Bonner Dunks over the Raptors

Some NCAA news ...

Rautins had a monster game going 7-10 from the three for 22 points. Syracuse University Athletics - Rautins Leads Orange to 100-60 Win Against Robert Morris

A profile look on Gonzaga's Olynyk. Player Preview: Kelly Olynyk

Now for some prep news that includes three NCAA commitments for the coming year ...

Ludovic Ndaiye to Cleveland State. Hoopstars Canada

Things Heating up: Nastic picking up offers from big time programs | Crown Magazine

Melvin Ejim Inks With Iowa State - Iowa State University Athletics Official Web Site - www.CYCLONES.com - The home of Iowa State Cyclone Sports

Men's Basketball signs Tristan Thompson to National Letter of Intent - TEXAS LONGHORNS Official Athletic Site

Some headlines from the last few days around the CIS:

Gee-Gees no match for Badgers - Sports

Men’s basketball opens season with two losses - Queen's Journal

Women’s basketball drop both weekend games - Queen's Journal

You win some, you lose some | theVARSITY.ca

Brock gets taste of top program - Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA

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.

Heat dominate Knicks on Opening/Tim Hardaway Night.

DolPhanDave — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:15:11 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

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Opening night could not have gone any better. It began with a wonderful ceremony for Tim Hardaway who got to watch his #10 jersey get lifted up into the American Airlines Arena rafters. It's very true that Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning made the Heat what they are now, a team with a winning history and dedicated, loyal fans.

Those fans were rewarded tonight, as the Heat dominated the Knicks on both ends of the floor, cruising to an easy 22-point victory. As we saw in the second half of the preseason, the Heat continued to shoot the lights out, shooting 56% from the field as a team, and 7-of-15 from 3.

Every player shot the ball well last night. The Heat's worst shooter was actually their leading scorer, as D-Wade shot 10-for-22 for 26 points. He still struggled with his jumper, missing his first 5 long-range shots, but found his stroke late and hit back-to-back 18-footers.

Jermaine O'Neal was definitely the player of the game for the Heat. He opened the game with turnaround jumper, then made a very nice pass to D-Wade for an easy layup. He was also the force we have been begging for on the glass, grabbing five 1^st half rebounds.

He wasn't done there, grabbing another 5 in the first six minutes of the 3^rd quarter. Jermaine was also scoring at ease, finishing the game 10-of-12 from the field and starting the season with a 22-12 double double. Games like this will be HUGE for the Heat if O'Neal can consistently bring this kind of effort.

GAME NOTES

-Mario Chalmers started out very aggressive, hitting 3 of his first 4 shots. He finished a solid 5-of-7 (11 points) and dished out 4 assists as well. He looked good running the point, and defensively his positioning was much improved, but that can be said for several of our young guys. Good job, coaches.

-Speaking of the Heat coaches, you know they were loving the two new guys (Richardson and Arroyo) drawing offensive fouls in the 1^st quarter. Richardson would take another charge in the 3^rd quarter.

-One cool moment was when Dwyane Wade stole a Knicks inbound pass, did a mid-air 360 to lay it in and put the Heat up by 22. In the first game of their 22^nd season the Heat had a 22-point lead. What could be cooler then that? How about winning by 22!

-I could really get used to Udonis Haslem coming off the bench and playing just like he always does. He was drilling his outside J's but was still getting dirty in the paint. 8 points and 9 boards along with his usual great defense; it seems for at least one night Erik Spoelstra looks like a genius.

-Quentin Richardson had a solid debut, despite not taking a shot until the 2^nd half. He drilled his first two jumpers, including a trey, and his D was up to par.

-Daequan Cook showed us a little bit of the improved ball handling that was advertised throughout training camp, but his shooting was just as good as ever. He was confident when putting the ball up and I thought he moved very well without the ball. We just have to hope that he keeps it going for an entire season, as opposed to the 2^nd half sputter of a year ago.

-The Heat must have played well if it's this late in the post and I'm just getting to Michael Beasley. Beas looked good playing both the 4 and the 3, but the best part of Beasley's game was his defense. His positioning and footwork made him look like an entire different player.

-Offensively, Beasley is such a natural scorer it's difficult for him to look bad. Now that he is driving the ball as much as shooting from the outside, he'll get that much more room to maneuver.

-Wasn't it nice to see someone other then Chris Quinn coming off the bench in relief of Mario Chalmers?

-James Jones only made it into the final 2 minutes of the game, but still drilled his first and only trey of the night. Spoelstra said after the game that guys like Jones will get more minutes, that tonight it was just the beast of the rotation.

-Joel Anthony: solid bench D. 2 blocks and 3 boards in 19 minutes don't do him justice.

Next game is Friday night when Jermaine O'Neal leads the Heat back into his old stomping ground, Conseco Fieldhouse, to face the Pacers.

Preseason Game Thread #3: San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat

Tim C. — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Manu eez not here today. Now who will I talk about Eva and zee other housewives with? (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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The Spurs have a game today in Miami and there's some good news and bad news. I'm going to get the bad news out of the way first: Tim Duncan and His Manuness aren't even at the game, and won't play. Don't worry, though... Pop is just being cautious, and wants them to stay in SA to work on their conditioning - it's preseason, after all. The good news? Miami is likely without their two best players, so maybe it's a wash. Preview after the jump.

San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat (Preseason)
Where: American Airlines Arena - Miami, FL
When: October 11, 2009, 5:00 PM Spurs time
Watch: This one might be airing on local TV in Texas, but the rest of us are out of luck.

How They Stack Up


0-0	Home	0-0
0-0	Road	0-0
0.0	Offense	0.0
0.0	Defense	0.0
0	FG%	0
0	3-pt%	0
0	FT%	0
0	Rebounds	0
0	TOs	0
0-0	Last 10	0-0
N/A	Streak	N/A


	PG
	SG
	SF
	PF
	C
	Bench
	Coach
	Intangibles
	Mojo
	Winner

Spurs
(0-0)

Vs

Heat
(0-0)

Matchups

Tony Parker

Mario Chalmers

Tony played in the last game, and we can expect him to be back again tonight, in full dominating form. Chalmers is no spring chicken, but he's also not anywhere close to being on Tony's level. We'll probably see a lot of Chris Quinn and George Hill battles tonight as well, with George winning that matchup pretty easily. Isn't depth a wonderful thing?
Advantage: Spurs

1337 Player

Good Player

Keith Bogans

Dorell Wright

Keith started the last game against Olympiacos, and one would assume Pop will repeat that today. He's very solid on defense, and we'll already have enough offense in the game with Tony, RJ, and Bonner/Ian. However, his defense may not be as neccessary, since Dwyane Wade is sitting this one out(I would assume this has something to do with Manu not being at the game as well). Dorell Wright is just a guess - they might also start Q-Rich in Wade's absence.
Advantage: Tied

Big Head

Err... who?

Richard Jefferson

Michael Beasley

RJ's had some trouble getting involved in the offense the first two games. With Manu out, Pop may have Tony force feed him or call more plays for him. Beasley is still an awesome player, despite the substance use. He's very tall for a SF, and there's no way RJ can post him up. And hey, at least we're not putting Finley up against him.
Advantage: Heat

Princess Peanut

Rehabbed & Ready

Ian Mahinmi

Udonis Haslem

Either Ian or DeJuan Blair should get the start tonight. I'm guessing it will be Ian, since he started our first preseason game. Hopefully we'll get to see Ian's good side tonight, as well as a lot of Blair rebounds/putbacks, since the Miami frontcourt is on the small side. The key difference here is that our guys are faster than theirs. If Ian and DeJuan are at their best, this is one matchup we have in our favor.
Advantage: Spurs

Jekyll... or Hyde?

Decent PF.

Matt Bonner

Joel Anthony

Matty and RJ are the only two players to start both preseason games so far. Joel Anthony might actually be worse than him. Keep in mind that the Heat will probably have Anthony guarding Timmeh, so Matt's likey to match up with Haslem. Our backups will destroy theirs, since Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff are likely to be coming in off the bench again. Who else has players like that on their bench?
Advantage: Spurs

New Hampshire's finest

Plumbing the Depths

George Hill

Bench

Jamaal Magloire

Magloire is the tallest player on Miami's roster, along with Jermaine O'Neal, who probably won't be playing tonight. That's not saying much, but "You can't teach height". George Hill will probably continue looking like he's good enough to be a starter on a lot of teams. In fact, I'm sure the Heat would love to have him. Let's just be glad he's ours.
Advantage: Spurs

OoeyPooey

No Emotion

Gregg Popovich

Coach

Erik Spoelstra

I don't feel the need to explain why Pop is better than Spoelstra, for some reason...
Advantage: Spurs

Nice Brain

Nice Hair

images via yahoo.com

Intangibles: The Spurs are the smartest team in the league, and they're essentially playing against scrubs. Advantage: Spurs

Mojo: A team that made no significant roster moves in the summer against the team that made the best roster change. Advantage: Spurs

Winner: It's preseason.. who cares? But the Spurs would win this in the regular season, so let's just go with that.

Keys To The Game

Avoid a letdown - Just because this should be an easy win doesn't mean the Spurs should treat it as one. But losing a preseason game isn't the end of the world.
Dominate the frontcourt - The biggest mismatches in this game will be in the frontcourt, and the Spurs need to take advantage by relentlessly feeding the ball to the bigs, and letting them bring down the hammer.
Bench Play - Miami has nobody that can match Hill or Blair off the bench, and our bench goes way deeper than just those two guys anyway. Most of these guys are fighting for minutes and/or a spot in the rotation, so they would be wise to make good things happen out there for the Spurs. Malik Hairston could be an X-factor again tonight.

Last Time They Met

The Spurs last played the Heat in Miami on January 5th, winning 91-84. I wonder if there were any interesting things that happened in that game involving players who won't be on the court tonight...

Some Other Reading

Heat

Peninsula is Mightier - Miami's SBN blog, with a lot of good information. Stop by and say hi, and let them know nicely which team is going to win. :)
Hot Hot Hoops - This is the TrueHoop network blog for the Heat. The more of the TrueHoop Network I see, the more thankful I am for Tim Varner and Graydon Gordian.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of Tim and Graydon, they're still doing their thing over at 48MoH. This is required reading for any Spurs fan... right after PtR, of course.
Project Spurs: This is a pretty slick fan blog, and they usually have good content about the Spurs.

The (sort of) Daily Twitter

manuginobili I won't be at the game tmrw. Just wanted to let u know. Had to stay in SA working out ... http://bit.ly/aOpcI

DeJuan45 Just woke up still tired getting ready 4 MIA

Some Other Viewing

Other things of possible interest

Addicting Things - This one is ~~not~~ more constructive, Mr. Beasley.
Playboy Covergirls - This is umm, different. But I promise you the link is safe.
Random Nostalgia comes out of nowhere.

Where to Tune In

TV

Spurs.com doesn't list anything, but since this is an away game, it might be on FSN. No blackouts for away games.

Online

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in this thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, but won't be working until the regular season. Bookmark it now, especially if you don't have the video league pass.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM). Yahoo might have an audio link at gametime, and we'll post that here if it becomes available.

Poll

Who will be the Spurs' biggest contributor tonight?

Tony Parker

14 votes

Richard Jefferson

15 votes

Antonio McDyess

0 votes

DeJuan Blair

103 votes

George Hill

29 votes

Ian Mahinmi

6 votes

Someone else (use comments section)

2 votes

169 votes | Poll has closed

Heat fall to 0-2 in preseason with another poor shooting effort

DolPhanDave — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:58:26 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

Michael Beasley rocking the cornrows.

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The effort may have been there but the result was still the same, as the Heat lost for the 2nd time in two tries this preseason. Orlando got out to an early lead and never looked back, once stretching the lead to 18 points. The Heat were outscored in every quarter but the 4th, where once again John Lucas III led a comeback attempt that fell short at the end.

We're going to take a look at tonight's loss in three categories. The good, the bad and the meh.

GOOD

One thing that I was absolutely ecstatic about was the play of James Jones and Quentin Richardson. They were two guys that we highlighted before the game, hoping that they would step up. Jones looked like the J-J of old, showing a sweet stroke and hitting 5-of-7 shots (and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc). He finished with 16 points in 24 minutes and also let the team with 3 steals.

Richardson played only 15:48 but was very effective, scoring 9 points on 3-of-6, but just like Jones, a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond. He also added 3 rebounds. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from both.

John Lucas III could be playing his way into a backup point guard job. In very limited minutes (7:57) he equaled his point total from the last game in half the time, going 3-for-5, hitting a 3 and adding 2 assists.

Shavlik Randolph has been providing solid minutes as a backup power forward. In just under 14 minutes over the two preseason games, he's grabbed 8 rebounds. He has also scored 6 points, all from the foul line where he has shot 6-of-8.

BAD

Our other two point guards. Mario Chalmers is looking very uneasy and uncomfortable shooting the ball. He was only 1-of-6 from the field last night and added 3 turnovers. There were also 3 turnovers courtesy of Rio. Quinn wasn't quite as bad, as he dished the ball fairly well and was rewarded with 3 assists. However, he only shot 1-for-7 and had 4 of his shots blocked.

Heat shooting overall has been very poor. As a team they shot 33% last night, and 35% in the two games. Not to be outdone, our reputation as a poor free throw shooting team continues; the Heat have only made 70% of their foul shots.

The replacement officials have been nothing short of terrible. We'll take the words of someone who saw it firsthand:

The officiating by the replacements was so atrocious that fill-in official Robbie Robinson could become the first referee to ever be fired twice by the NBA.

The foul trouble reached the point that after the Magic's Vince Carter was called for his fourth with 52.4 seconds to play in the second quarter, becoming the fourth player with as many, he blared to one of the replacement referees, "You're messing up a good game."

The officiating lockout is beginning to wear on nerves, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra exhorting at one stage "Pay attention!", after a goaltending call was changed to offensive interference.

Dorell Wright isn't living up to his pre-preseason hype. He shot 0-for-3 last night and 0-for-4 in Detroit. He's added only 5 rebounds in a combined 41:30 over the two games.

MEH

Udonis Haslem was held to only 15 minutes thanks to the wonderful officiating. He hit 2 of his 3 shots and had no rebounds. This once again led to Michael Beasley getting more minutes at power forward then small forward. You have to give him some credit, as the position he has been preparing more to play isn't where he has been playing. Either way, he is struggling. He shot only 3-of-13 last night with 4 boards while leading the Heat with 30:24 on the court. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

Dwyane Wade got off to a very slow start again, hitting only 1 of his first 6 shots. He finished the game 5-for-8 with 17 points. I have high expectations for D-Wade, so these kind of games aren't what I like to see from him. The fact that he led the team in scoring is irrelevant. I think he should be scoring 25 points every night; nobody in the NBA can score at will the way Wade can.

Jermaine O'Neal was held out of the game, and he said that it was due to being kicked in the foot last week by Joel Anthony, and nothing to do with his knees. Uh huh. Call me a cynic, but I don't buy that. He's been seen with his knees iced, and if he was kicked last week, then how come he is only suddenly sitting out.

The Heat aren't back in action until Sunday when they will host the San Antonio Spurs at the AAA. Tip off is 5pm...anybody going?