SB Nation User Blog: DolPhanDave

Game #8: Cleveland Cavaliers (5-3) vs. Miami Heat (6-1)

DolPhanDave — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:48:02 -0000

D-Wade and LeBron discuss carpooling should James sign with the Heat

Obviously much of the attention surrounding this game will have nothing to do with the actual outcome. In the last week there have been several articles, stories, etc. about the possibility of LeBron James signing with Miami as a free agent, teaming up with Dwyane Wade and forming a team that many are saying would rival the Bulls teams of the 90's.

Just thinking about the possibility of D-Wade, LeBron, Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook, (maybe) Quentin Richardson....wow. I'm sure there are plenty of good players who would be happy to play for a little less money if it meant joining a team like that. Look, I'm well aware that it's amazingly early to be thinking about this, and that there is still no guarantee that Wade will be staying. But as you know, I am a firm believer that Dwyane isn't going anywhere and that Pat Riley will be bringing in at least one superstar to play next to him.

After practice on Wednesday, Wade was asked several questions about King James and the possibility of the two playing together. Here is some of what he had to say:

On if he and LeBron have talked about playing together: "It's something that we've talked about, of course. He's one of my good friends and we both decided at the same time to sign the same contract to give ourselves the ability to be able to control our own destinies. You know, if we want to we could team up. If not, we could stay separate and compete against each other for years to come. "

On if he and LeBron can check their egos: "Not too many people can do it. It takes the right individuals to understand that at the end of the day success brings whatever anyone wants, and that's what makes a special team."

On what the odds are that he'll play with Lebron: "It's a long shot but at the end of the day it's still a shot."

Ok, back to the actual game...

Since losing their first two games of the season the Cavs have gone 5-1, but played their best game of the young season last night when they easily beat Orlando on the road. Defense will be a big key to victory for the Heat as Cleveland is 4-0 this year when scoring 100 points. The Heat have given up 100 points just one time this season, it just so happened to be their only loss.

The big defensive assignment of covering LeBron James will likely go to Quentin Richardson, who has proven to be the Heat's best man on man defender this year (other then Udonis of course). Don't be shocked if you see James covering D-Wade on the other end of the floor, as LeBron has become of the games premier defenders...you just don't hear too much about it because of how sick he is in general.

In a slightly less interesting storyline, this will be the second time that Shaq returns to the AAA as an opponent since playing for the Heat. He isn't nearly the force that he once was, and the big guy will be lined up against the Heat's new O'Neal, Jermaine. J-O has been turning up the defensive intensity of late; recording 3 blocks in each of his last two games. Comparing the two, Jermaine is averaging 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while Shaq is bringing in 11.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

Mario Chalmers is coming off of his best two offensive games this season, scoring 16 and 13 on 65% shooting. He also dropped in 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in those two games. Rio will be lined up against Mo Williams, who had been averaging only 12.7 points over his last three games before putting up a season high 28 in Orlando last night. Williams has been very good from three-point range this season (51%), but so has Super Mario (52%). The only difference is that Williams has attempted 14 more treys then Chalmers.

GAME NOTES

Dwyane Wade's 41-point game against the Wizards on Tuesday was his fourth game of 40 points or more against Washington, which tied them with Cleveland for the team(s) that Wade has the most games of 40 or more points against.

Another nice defensive stat...the Heat have forced 41 turnovers in their last two games.

Miami will be going for their best start in franchise history. Never before has a Heat team started a season 7-1.

The Cavs new backup center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas is in the middle of a very rough shooting slump. For a big guy, his outside shooting is what makes him so dangerous, but over his last four games he's shooting only 4-of-28.

Daequan Cook is officially listed as questionable for tonight's game, and it will likely be another game time decision. He dressed for Tuesday's game but never made it on the floor, so obviously he is very close. This early in the season there is no reason to take any chances with Cook, especially with the team playing so well.

Cleveland is the 2^nd best three point shooting team in the league (46.6%) and Miami is the best three point defending team in the league, holding opponents to just 25.7%.

Tipoff is at 8pm for the nationally televised game on TNT.

Dwyane Wade's 41 keep Heat rolling, Miami now 6-1

DolPhanDave — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:40:40 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

Dwyane Wade must REALLY like playing the Wizards. 81 points in two games....nice.

Browse more photos »

Could the game have started any better for Michael Beasley? He opened the scoring with a big dunk, and was very aggressive on both ends of the floor. He had 5 points in the games first four minutes, but still looks a little uneasy when trying to dictate the play on offense. It's nice to see him driving the ball though. We know he has the raw talent; it just has to be fine tuned to dominate in the NBA. He finished with 15 points and 5 rebounds.

Washington used a 12-2 run that spanned through the first and second quarter to go up by 10, but then (finally) starting missing some shots. The Heat took advantage of the Wizards cooling off and went on a 12-3 run that briefly brought them right back into the game. Another Wiz run would put them up by 8 at the half and 11 early in the 3^rd quarter.

After starting only 6-of-16 from the field, D-Wade scored 7 straight points to get the offense going, and the Heat used a 16-3 run to take their first lead since early in the 1^st quarter.

The Heat started the 4^th quarter up by 3 and with a very odd lineup. Anthony, Haslem, Beasley, Wright and Arroyo. Really...? The lead was gone in under two minutes as that lineup missed their first four shots. After that, both teams began scoring at will and there were six lead changes spanning just seven possessions.

With the game tied at 71 half way through the 4^th quarter, this game of runs was going to come down to which team could close with the better one. With Dwyane Wade leading the way, the Heat finished the game on a 19-3 run. Now the Heat are 6-1 for the first time since 1999.

GAME NOTES

At halftime Dwyane Wade told his teammates that losing this game would linger for the rest of the season. The Heat responded by holding the Wizards to only 27 2^nd half points, possibly their best defensive effort of the season.

D-Wade scored 29 points in the second half (2 more then the Wizards), finishing with 41 on 14-of-29 shooting. He also added 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block. For the first time this season, chants of MVP rang down on Dwyane late in the game.

The Wizards starting the game on fire, hitting 6 of their first 7 field goals and finishing the 1^st quarter shooting 69% (11-of-16).

It looked like Daequan Cook was going to make his comeback tonight, and despite dressing for the game, still sat on the bench with his shoulder wrapped up.

Dorell Wright gave the Heat some good minutes defending Gilbert Arenas. You've got to hand it to him....he is utilizing the little time he has and playing well.

Mario Chalmers was another guy who woke up in the 2^nd half, hitting a couple BIG treys. He continues to shoot the ball well while taking limited shots, finishing with 13 points on only 5-of-8 shooting. He hit three 3-pointers, had 5 assists and 4 steals.

Jermaine O'Neal had a rough game, finishing with only 6 points and 6 rebounds. I think the tough night had more to do with Brendan Haywood then anything he may have done wrong.

Quentin Richardson never got into the game offensively, but still had a significant impact on the game. He drew 3 offensive fouls (2 charges, his 6^th and 7^th of the year) and grabbed all 5 of his rebounds in the 3^rd quarter.

In just 15 minutes, Carlos Arroyo had10 points, 4 boards and 2 assists off the bench. Anybody not loving this guy?

Thursday night the AAA is going to be PACKED with LeBron James and his Cavaliers come to town. With the sudden speculation that James could end up in Miami next summer, there should be plenty of attention surrounding this game.

Open Game Thread: Wizards @ Heat

DolPhanDave — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:05:39 -0000

2-3		5-1
	@
American Airlines Arena
Blogging for the enemy: Bullets Forever
Game Time: 7:30pm
TV: Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Gilbert Arenas	PG	Mario Chalmers
Nick Young	SG	Dwyane Wade
Caron Butler	SF	Quentin Richardson
Fabricio Oberto	PF	Michael Beasley
Brendan Haywood	C	Jermaine O`Neal

Heat Tweet of the day: Mario Chalmers

mister6clutch: Tweet world it's that time again. Headed to the gym we got another one tonight vs the wizards. We on a mission to b great. Supports us. 6-1!

Game #7: Washington Wizards (2-5) vs. Miami Heat (5-1)

DolPhanDave — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:12:09 -0000

It sure feels like its been a while since the last time the Heat took the floor, but at the same time its been nice to just sit back and enjoy having one of the top teams in the NBA. Granted, the Heat aren't getting the respect that most of us feel they deserve, but it's still very early in the year. Should the Heat keep up their winning ways, the attention and respect will gradually shift to South Florida, so I'm not worrying myself with any of that garbage.

Tonight the Heat will go for their 6^th win of the season and their 6^th straight win against the Washington Wizards, who have lost 4 straight coming into tonight's contest. This will be the 2^nd game of the Heat's 5-game home stand, which they kicked off in a big way, beating previously undefeated Denver last Friday.

Leading up to the season, the Wizards we're probably the most popular choice for ‘comeback team of the year' among the wonderful national press, the same people that haven't yet started to see the Heat as a team to be reckoned with. After starting the year two wins in three games, Washington is now 2-5 and dealing with unhappy players adjusting to a new coach.

Flip Saunders wants his team to move the ball and get open looks, but the Wizards are used to free shooting, and it starts with their captain Gilbert Arenas. All of these passes from less then comfortable players could give the defensive minded Heat lots of lanes to steal the ball and draw offensive fouls.

GAME NOTES

Daequan Cook will return to the lineup after sitting out the last four with a sore right shoulder. Does this mean less minutes for Dorell?

On the other side, the Wiz will be without Mike Miller, who if you remember injured his shoulder during last weeks game between Miami and Washington. They will also be without forward Antawn Jamison for another week or two.

After a long layoff, I've got a feeling that we're going to see a big night from Jermaine O'Neal.

Mario Chalmers is coming off of his best game of the season, with highs in points, rebounds and threes. Obviously he'll have his hands full with Arenas, but Chalmers is learning how to be more aggressive on offense.

Tipoff is 7:30 from the AAA. LETS GO HEAT!!

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

DolPhanDave — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:56:44 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Does it really matter who is starting...?

Browse more photos »

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.

Great team effort by Heat hands Denver their first loss of the season

DolPhanDave — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:17:36 -0000

It seems that this Heat team cares nothing for the past. Losing streak in Indiana? Nah...not an issue. Eight straight losses to the Nuggets? We'll hold them to 27 points below their season average. While Denver was the team getting the big game from their superstar (30 points 8 boards for Melo, 22 points 5 assists for Wade), Miami played some of their best basketball of the season, outscoring the Nuggets 55-35 in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters.

One of the reasons Denver had such a hard time scoring was due to the Heat defenders away from the ball moving very well. The Nuggets are at their best when moving the ball and getting guys open, but tonight the Heat kept Denver off balance and taking shots they didn't like. Any time that the Nuggets are held to 10 assists its highly likely they wont be winning that night.

I'm not going to ignore the comeback attempt by Denver, but it was nice to see the starters clamping down before it got too scary. The overall defensive effort was impressive, but it's been a pretty constant thing over the first six games of the season. The Heat hold opponents to the 2^nd lowest shooting percentage (tied with Boston at 40.7%), and only six teams give up less points/game then the 91.2 that Miami surrenders.

GAME NOTES

It seems that every time I get down on Mario Chalmers he shuts me right up. He shot the ball very well, going 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond. Defensively Chalmers was ok, not getting caught in screens or leaving his man wide open, but his 5 rebounds and 4 assists were very helpful to the winning cause.

It helped that Kenyon Martin suffered a leg contusion after playing just 12 minutes, but its unfortunate that the injury will keep him out for a week or two.

Bad news is that Daequan Cook missed his 4^th straight game with a shoulder injury. Good news is that he should be back for the Heat's next game, Tuesday against the Wizards.

Not even a 1-for-7 night from 3-point range can get me to stop raving about Quentin Richardson. He still managed to score 13 points (on 6-of-15), and for the 3^rd straight game grabbed at least 9 rebounds.

Jermaine O'Neal gave the Heat's offensive some depth, drilling several J's and providing a presence in the post. I love the 18 and 7, but how about the 3 blocks?

Overall, it appears that we could have something brewing down here in Miami. FACT: Miami has an offense packed with guys who can shoot and score with the best in the league. FACT: They are playing defense above and beyond anyone's expectations (other then maybe Coach Spoelstra).

You could make the argument that they have only played 3 teams with records above .500, but if the Heat can go 2-1 in those games and then a perfect 3-0 against the teams under .500, I'd say that's exactly what any team would want.

The Heat now get 3 days off before the Washington Wizards come to town on Tuesday night. Between now and then, the Wiz get to host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon.

Open Game Thread: Nuggets @ Heat

DolPhanDave — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:30:17 -0000

5-0		4-1
	@
American Airlines Arena
Blogging for the enemy: Denver Stiffs
Game Time: 7:30pm
TV: Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Chauncey Billups	PG	Mario Chalmers
Anthony Carter	SG	Dwyane Wade
Carmelo Anthony	SF	Quentin Richardson
Kenyon Martin	PF	Michael Beasley
Nene Hilario	C	Jermaine O`Neal

Heat tweet(s) of the day: Dwyane Wade

dwadeofficial: Hey Tfam big game tonite against the hottest team & player in the league @carmeloanthony. Jordan brand in the building tonite.

dwadeofficial: I'm resting my legs in my pool. Miami is the best 4 relaxation

Game #6: Denver Nuggets (5-0) vs. Miami Heat (4-1)

DolPhanDave — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:32:32 -0000

The Heat will look for their first victory against the Nuggets since 2004 when Carmelo Anthony and co. come to Miami tonight. Denver has won eight straight games against the Heat, four at home and four on the road. Both teams have gotten their seasons off to great starts as Denver comes in at 5-0 and Miami is 4-1.

The Heat will probably need another big night by Dwyane Wade to keep pace with Carmelo Anthony, who has gotten off to perhaps the best start among all NBA players. He's averaging 32 points/game while shooting 46% from the field as well as from 3-point range.

Chauncey Billups is another guy who worries me, not only because of how good a player he is but also how inconsistent Mario Chalmers has been defensively. At times he has been able to hold his own, but overall I'd say that he still gets beat too easily off the dribble and gets caught down low too often.

What may be a slight advantage for Rio is that Billups sprained his left ankle in Indiana on Tuesday and still may be bothered by it. He played on Wednesday night in New Jersey but was relatively ineffective compared to the rest of his games, so we'll see how much he has healed this week.

Another guy to watch out for on Denver is rookie guard Ty Lawson. He is coming off his best game in the NBA (23 points on 9-of-10 shooting), and can be a real spark off the bench. We'll see how Erik Spoelstra handles his defensive matchups tonight, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Dorell Wright getting upwards of 15 minutes due to his defensive ability.

GAME NOTES

Daequan Cook is listed as doubtful, still nursing his sore right shoulder.

Denver is averaging 115.4 points/game on the season, good for most in the league, and has scored at least 110 points in 11 of their last 14 regular season games (dating back to last year).

Meanwhile, the Heat only give up 91.2 points/game, which is the 7^th fewest in the league.

Keep an eye on Quentin Richardson. He has been slowly getting more comfortable with the Heat's system, and the results have been wonderful. He went just 3-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first three games of the season, but in the last two games he's gone an awesome 9-of-16, scoring 18 and 19 points. He also has been playing superb defense and rebounding the ball very well, with 19 in the last two games.

For a Nugget-view preview, head over to Denver Stiffs and check out their head-to-head position matchups. Good stuff!

Hermida traded to the Red Sox!

DolPhanDave — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:29:18 -0000

Just thought I'd stop by and celebrate that we no longer have to deal with Jeremy Hermida anymore. He was traded to Boston for a couple minor league pitchers, one of which (Jose Alvarez) seems to be pretty good. For the full article on ESPN, click here.

The funniest part of all this is the quote by Red Sox GM Theo Epstein:

"We still think there's a good hitter in there," Epstein said.

Michael Beasley's bench time getting lots of attention

DolPhanDave — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:42:26 -0000

Less then 24 hours after the Heat moved to 4-1 on the young season, the hot topic is why hasn't Michael Beasley been involved more during the bigger minutes of the game. People are up in arms about their starting power forward barely being used during the 2^nd half of the last two games.

Take a good look at Beasley. He has shown some real flashes of greatness in many different ways, whether it be shooting, driving, rebounding...whatever. But the lack of consistency is what keeps him from playing big minutes. Show me the game where Beasley is on fire, scoring at will and rebounding well, and I'll show you the game where he's on the floor in the final minutes instead of watching from the bench.

I can't see blaming Erik Spoelstra for wanting to have more consistent players (Udonis Haslem and Quentin Richardson) in the game when one bad possession can really hurt you. It's just a little frustrating when your former 2nd overall pick plays under 10 minutes in the 2nd half of back-to-back games. He played 9:10 on Tuesday against the Suns and 9:45 Wednesday night in D.C, after which Coach Spoelstra explained why he left Beasley on the bench again.

"I struggled with it and I was thinking about it," Spoelstra said, "He's going to get his opportunity. We need him. We're going to need him to play an important role and tonight I just went a different direction with the guys that were in the game."

It appears that until Beasley can be count on as a guy who can deliver on both ends of the floor down the stretch, he'll continue to get minutes in the first three quarters so he can improve and further develop his game, but not when there is a premium of defense just as much as offense. But with guys like Haslem and Richardson playing so well, it seems we only have things to look forward to. The Heat are 4-1 and still getting better. Wait until Daequan Cook and James Jones are back in the rotation...