Bleacher Report - Miami Heat

Miami-Toronto: Heat Lose 120-113 to Raptors, But There's Hope Yet

Hotnuke — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:33:10 -0500

Call me an eternal optimist, but even after the heartbreaking 120-113 loss the Miami Heat just suffered to the Toronto Raptors, I still have hope for these boys from South Beach.

Alexander Pope once said, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.”

Nothing could be truer. Despite the fact Miami played defense last night as if they were a matador in a bullring, trying simply not to get gored by the bull that was Toronto, and even though Wade still hasn’t come out of his shooting slump, there are things to look at in the game that can, and do, give me hope.

Some in Miami media are already saying Dwyane Wade has finally gotten out of his shooting slump. They point to the fact he scored a game-high 30 points last night in the Heat’s heart-wrenching loss...

I’m not so sure.

Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely convinced Wade would come out of his shooting doldrums last night, and he did score those 30 points; twice as many as he poured in against the Atlanta Hawks. However, he did it on 10-of-24 shooting (41.6 percent), and I can’t see how that shows he’s found his stroke.

For the record, Wade’s overall game was pretty good, as along with the 30 points he poured in on that 10-of-24 shooting (9-of-10 from the FT-line), he also grabbed five rebounds, dished out eight assists, and had two steals in the game-high 41:40 minutes he was on the floor. However, shooting 1-of-5 from beyond the arc is anything but efficient and shows Wade still hasn’t found his shooting touch.

A good many of the rest of the Miami Heat players seem to have found theirs, though, and that’s part of what gives me hope.

Mario Chalmers poured in a career-high 30 points in the loss (tying Wade for the game-high in scoring) on a very efficient 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also added three assists and three steals in his 37:43 minutes on the court, but seemed supremely unsatisfied because of the lack of defense in the first half the Heat played.

“We can’t let teams jump out on us like that,” he said.

Chalmers' coach, Erik Spoelstra, seemed in complete agreement, coming across in the post-game interviews as absolutely incensed with his team’s defensive performance of late.

“We’ve worked too hard and fought too hard for our [defensive] identity to just surrender it,” said Spoelstra. “We have to prove that our identity actually means something deep to us. One way or another, we’re going to get back to that identity.”

While the Heat was without the services of reserve power forward and first option off the bench, Udonis Haslem, for a second straight game due to a shoulder injury, and without the help of small forward Quentin Richardson (one of the better defenders on the team), that is hardly an excuse for allowing the Raptors to shoot a stunning 79.2 percent from the floor in the second quarter en route to pouring in 43 points in the period.

Miami did mount a furious offensive comeback in the second half because of the efficient shooting of Chalmers and others that their coach was proud of, but felt came too late.

“That’s the type of energy we should be playing with, anyway,” Spoelstra said.

Michael Beasley wasn’t quite as efficient as his fellow second-year teammate, putting in 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting (4-of-4 from the FT-line), but he did that while also grabbing a season-high 12 rebounds along with two assists and a steal.

That kind of production on the glass was another thing that gave me hope, but it didn’t mean much to “Beas” because of the loss.

“I think I showed who I am,” Beasley said. “But I agree with coach 100 percent that it has to be for an entire game. I’ve got to start the game with that same focus.”

Jermaine O’Neal also shot well, draining 7-of-12 shots and going 3-of-3 from the charity stripe to end the night with 17 points. He wasn’t as prolific on the glass as Beasley, though, finishing the game with just four rebounds to go along with three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. All in all, JO showed he’s capable, but his defense of Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani left a lot to be desired.

James Jones, starting in place of the injured Richardson (who sat out the game with a lower-back strain but is expected to play this Sunday), wasn’t spectacular, scoring only five points on 2-of-7 from the floor (1-of-3 from the FT line), to go along with four rebounds and four assists. However, it wasn’t his lack of offensive production that hurt the Heat most.

Sure, the fact he went 0-of-5 from beyond the arc wasn’t helpful, but if he’d been able to hold Hedo Turkoglu to half the 19 points he scored last night Miami wins the game by one. No one will ever know whether Q-Rich’s presence on the floor would have made that much of a difference, but there’s no questioning he’s one of the Heat’s better defensive players, and as already pointed out, defense was sorely lacking for Miami last night.

It was especially lacking in the paint, as Miami saw Toronto’s Chris Bosh score 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting (9-13 from the FT-line) and snatch 12 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots. He was joined by the aforementioned Bargnani, who poured in 24 points of his own in a similarly efficient fashion, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor (4-of-5 from the FT-line) and clearing the glass of 10 boards himself to go along with two assists and two blocked shots.

Toronto’s starting small forward, Hedo Turkoglu and reserve guard Jarrett Jack rounded out the other two Raptors players scoring in double-figures, putting in 19 and 17 points respectively.

Turkoglu shot a decent 4-of-9 from the field (8-of-8 from the FT-line), including 3-of-4 from downtown, to go along with his five rebounds and eight assists, while Jack shot 5-of-9 from the floor (4-of-4 from the FT-line) and hit three of his four shots from beyond the arc as well, while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists.

The Raptors’ starting point guard, Jose Calderon, might not have had an amazing offensive night, scoring only five points on 2-of-6 shooting from the floor, as compared to Chalmers' 30 points on the night, but he was able to dish out a game-high 10 assists to his teammates and led a balanced charge at the Heat.

Simply put, this game didn’t come down to how well the Heat played offensively. They definitely could have gotten more efficient shooting out of Dwyane Wade, and if they had, they might actually have won the game. If Wade goes 3-of-5 from beyond the arc rather than 1-of-5, and hits another two-point jumper as well to finish the night 13-of-24 rather than his 10-of-24 performance, the Heat win the game, again by a point.

All of these “what if” scenarios bouncing around in my head are meaningless, though. Miami didn’t do the things defensively they needed to in order to win the game, and they certainly didn’t do the things they need to do in order to win games throughout the season.

Coach Spoelstra seems like he’s ready to really put his foot down and demand that his players focus throughout the entire game, rather than taking a half off. Fans of the club can only hope the players heed his words and direction before this Sunday’s game against the (5-8) New Orleans Hornets.

While the Hornets aren’t exactly the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, they have one of the most dynamic players in the league in Chris Paul, and Miami can’t afford to have any lapses. In order to get out of this current three-game losing streak, the Heat will have to return to those defensive ways we saw at the beginning of the year, when they held six of their first seven opponents to under 100 points.

Miami will certainly not win if they allow New Orleans to shoot anywhere near the 57.7 percent from the field and 60 percent from downtown they allowed the Raptors. Hopefully having Udonis Haslem and Quentin Richardson back (both of whom are slated to return Sunday) will allow Miami to do just that.

Q-Rich will need to close out quickly on his man, as will all of the Heat players, in order to keep the Hornets from giving Miami’s fans in the AmericanAirlines Arena a repeat “home” performance of what they watched on their televisions last night.

They’ll also need to control the boards and the paint a great deal more than they did against Toronto.

About the only thing one could take away from the game against the Raptors the Heat did really well, was take care of the rock, only having nine turnovers to Toronto’s 20. They’ll need to go forward with that as well as improve in other areas if they’re to beat the Hornets this Sunday.

Yet, while I’m beginning to get a little troubled by this current slump of the Heat’s and Wade’s, I still remain optimistic; I still have hope. I have every belief the Miami players will heed the scathing words of their coach I’m sure they’re being lambasted with as you read this article, and will come out with a fire and determination we haven’t even seen this year so far.

It definitely would be nice.

So, while it’s not with a happy face I write this piece, I will smile anyway, knowing that Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat will prove my loyalty worthy soon. I’m confident they’ll give me even more reason to hope and that all the naysayers will be left wondering how they could have ever doubted this Heat team.

Martin Luther once said, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.”

I agree, and will continue to hope this Miami team can do everything they’re capable of. If they do, I’m sure they’ll win this Sunday against the Hornets and many more games going forward.

Rather than tongue-lash them myself, I’ll say with all my strength, GO HEAT!

Quotes taken from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel recap of the game.

Read more Miami Heat news on BleacherReport.com

Miami-Toronto: Raptors Just the Tonic for What Ails Dwyane Wade and Heat

Hotnuke — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:33:15 -0500

I sometimes wonder if the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman even likes the Miami Heat. He’s one of that paper’s beat writers for the team, but the vast majority of the articles he writes about the boys from South Beach seem negative.

His latest adventure into negativity is a piece speculating on whether Miami’s recent two-game losing streak, and Dwyane Wade’s current mini-shooting slump is indicative of something larger; something more problematic.

He does make a few good points in the piece, however, noting that Quentin Richardson, despite starting every game the Heat have played this year, hasn’t gotten to the foul line one time this season. He also notes that Jermaine O’Neal takes an inordinate number of fadeaway jumpers and needs to be more of a force in the paint.

He points out with relative clarity that Mario Chalmers rarely attacks the paint when he’s coming off a pick-and-roll, and he expounds on how despite all of Michael Beasley’s potential he’s making himself an easy cover for opposing teams by not driving to the hoop enough and settling for jumpers.

Note to Ira: The Heat and Wade are just fine, buddy.

I think they’ll prove that tonight to the bellicose “would-be” journalist, too.

Dwyane Wade has certainly been in a funk of late, as I mentioned in my recap of the 105-90 loss to the Atlanta Hawks you can read here. However, if there ever was a tonic for what ails Wade, it’s Miami’s opponent tonight, the Toronto Raptors.

His coach, Erik Spoelstra, feels the same way.

“Some of my favorite moments as a coach are when he [Wade] gets sort of counted out after a tough couple of games. I treasure these moments, because you know he’s going to get it going and really respond to the adversity.”

It was just a year ago that those in the media, including Ira Winderman, were speculating in the same way they are now about Wade. He’d began the season shooting just 20-of-51, was 0-of-12 from beyond the arc, and looked dreadful.

He then went on a tear that shut those critics up quick, scoring at least 29 points in eight of the Heat’s next 10 games.

Just such a run might be about to kick off tonight at the Air Canada Center against the Raptors, who have traditionally seen Dwyane Wade use them as his own personal punching bag.

In the last two games, Wade and the Heat have played against the Raptors, Dwyane has scored a combined 82 points. He’s done so very efficiently, too, shooting 62.3 percent from the field. In 15 career starts against Toronto, he’s averaged 26.8 points per game and shot 53.1 percent from the floor; not really looking like the Raptors are going to have an easy time keeping Wade in that mini-slump, huh?

Although Quentin Richardson’s status is still unclear for the game tonight, Wade should get some help from his teammates as Udonis Haslem is slated to return after missing one game after being left off the roster for the game against the Hawks with a sore shoulder.

The fact that Daequan Cook is seemingly back to his old form also should help give Dwyane enough rest during the contest to keep him fresh for some fourth-quarter heroics if needed as Cook comes off the bench with Haslem to form a formidable one-two inside-out punch.

However, if the Heat are going to win this game tonight they’re going to need some real consistency from both Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, and Jermaine O’Neal. All three of them are capable of filling up the stat sheet on any given night, and it would be real nice if they do so all in the same game and keep Wade from being required to pour in 40-plus points.

That’s not to say it wouldn’t be nice if Dwyane did just that. I would love nothing better than to see Wade score 40-45 points while JO and “Beas” each dump in 20, with Mario getting 10-15 of his own. That kind of balanced scoring would spell real doom for the Raptors.

One thing that’s sure to be on the minds of many are the constant rumors that Toronto forward Chris Bosh is Pat Riley’s main target in the upcoming 2010 Free Agent Bonanza.

I’ve assured people numerous times that Bosh is the last player Riley is going after. I’m firmly of the belief Pat has his sights set on LeBron James; as does Wade. Yet, the baseless speculation that Bosh is at the top of Miami’s list of will almost certainly be a storyline for the media in tonight’s contest.

My advice? Simply ignore it.

Instead, concentrate on the game, and watch as Dwyane Wade once again plays like the superhero he’s nicknamed for, Flash .

My prediction? The Heat beat the Raptors by 20 on Nov. 20: Miami 108 Toronto 88

Read more Miami Heat news on BleacherReport.com

Miami-Atlanta: Heat Needed a Hero in 105-90 Loss to Hawks—Calling Wade

Hotnuke — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:19:15 -0500

Bonnie Tyler is famous for her song “Holding Out For a Hero.” In it, she sings that she needs a hero, and I know exactly how she feels, for I, and all Heat fans, need a hero badly.

Since 2004-05, the Miami Heat and its fans have had that hero, a man named Dwyane Wade, who’s reprised the role of Flash first held in DC comic books by characters Jay Garrick (1940—), then Barry Allen (1956-1985, 2008) and Wally West (1986-2006, 2007—), and finally Bart Allen (2006-2007).

For the past four games, three of which the Heat have lost, and the other they barely won, 81-80, against the worst team in the NBA (the 0-12 New Jersey Nets), Wade seems to have abdicated that role, as he’s shot a paltry 29-of-71 (40.8 percent).

For some reason he just doesn’t seem to be the same “Scarlet Speedster” who destroyed opponent’s hopes in helping the Heat to a 6-1 record to start the season.

In last night’s game against Atlanta, and for the second straight night, he looked even more abysmal, as he watched his franchise-record 23-game streak of 20-plus points end, scoring just 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the floor (33.3 percent), including only 1-of-2 from the FT-line in a 105-90 Miami Heat loss to the Hawks.

However, as much as Wade’s offensive struggles have kept Miami from rallying from late deficits in games they’ve lost, it’s their lack of defense that has been the real cause of their recent downfall.

Just a week ago, coming into the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Heat were one of the best defensive teams in the league. That dominance may have been an illusion, though, as many of the games they played during that stellar seven-game start were played in the comfortable climes of AmericanAirlines Arena.

Last night’s game was in Phillips Arena in Atlanta, and the Heat’s defense was as absent in that sold-out, pressure-packed venue as Miami fans sitting courtside.

While the Heat were without reserve forward Udonis Haslem for the first time this season (as he sat out with a shoulder injury he suffered the night before in a 100-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder) that is no excuse for how badly Miami has guarded their opponents.

Miami also suffered the loss in the third quarter of starting small forward Quentin Richardson, yet again, that’s no reason their reserves couldn’t play fundamental defense and clean up the boards against Atlanta.

Yes, there was a time during the contest last night where anyone watching had to be scratching their head at who the Heat had out on the court; with Carlos Arroyo, Daequan Cook, James Jones, Shavlik Randolph (Shavlik who?), and Joel Anthony getting playing time all at once.

Still, that’s not a justification for the heat being destroyed at times on the glass. It certainly doesn’t explain how the Hawks ended the game with a 15-9 edge in offensive rebounds, and in the final analysis it’s no reason the Heat lost.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra is aware of his team’s defensive struggles, saying, “We have to develop some real toughness and resolve when we play teams like this on the road. We’ve had a real home-heavy schedule, so we’re being tested right now.”

If that’s so, coach Spo, your Heat squad is failing that test miserably so far.

Michael Beasley was about the only bright spot in last night’s defeat, scoring a team-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting (5-of-6 from the FT-line) to go along with nine rebounds and a blocked shot in his 32:43 minutes of play.

Jermaine O’Neal didn’t put up bad numbers, scoring 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds, but he was badly overmatched in the game by Atlanta’s Al Horford and Josh Smith. There were times when Smith muscled into the paint against O’Neal as if he wasn’t even there.

No other player on the Heat reached double-figures as they watched another heartbreaking loss do damage to their franchise best start to the year. Mario Chalmers finished the night with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out four assists

His backup, Carlos Arroyo scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting to go along with his four rebounds and two assists; and Daequan Cook also nearly reached double-figures with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting (2-of-6 from downtown), grabbed five rebounds, and dealt out two dimes in 26:53 minutes of play.

Quentin Richardson had been playing well before his injury, and probably would have helped Miami to make the game closer in the final tally, as in limited playing time he put in six points on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc to go along with four rebounds and an assist.

None of the contributions from the Heat players, though, was sufficient to overcome the great play of the Hawks.

Joe Johnson led the Atlanta attack with 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field (3-of-3 from the FT-line) to go along with two rebounds and three assists. Most of his damage was done from beyond the arc as he went 5-of-11 from beyond the three-point line.

He was joined in double-figures by four other Hawks players; starters Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Marvin Williams, as well as reserve guard Jamal Crawford.

Horford finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field (4-of-4 from the FT-line), and was the absolute superior to Jermaine O’Neal in the paint as he ripped down 12 rebounds for a double-double to go along with two assists and a blocked shot.

Josh Smith also finished with a double-double, finishing the night with 16 points as well on 6-of-16 shooting (4-of-6 from the FT-line), terrorizing the glass and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with seven assists, two steals, and two blocked shots. Simply put, he was the most versatile weapon in the Atlanta arsenal even if not the most prolific in scoring.

Miami saw just that kind of attack from Atlanta last year, and had hoped the more explosive Jermaine O’Neal, along with the improved play of Michael Beasley and usual defense of Udonis Haslem could contain it. Without Haslem that duty fell to O’Neal and Beasley, along with reserve center Joel Anthony; none of them seemed up to the task last night.

Marvin Williams and Jamal Crawford scored 14 and 10 points respectively, and without Wade putting up even his usual numbers, let alone a heroic performance, those five players for the Hawks in double-figures were enough to hand the Heat their fourth loss of the year.

Miami will play Atlanta again this year, and when they do hopefully they’ll be a little healthier and a whole lot more hungry.

Now 7-4, the Heat are going to have to seriously regroup if they’re to stop this skid and return to their winning ways. Atlanta is now 10-2, and if Miami’s not careful they’ll watch the Hawks take a lead in the division that’s simply insurmountable. Orlando is also right there at 9-3, and if the Heat have any hopes of winning anything this year, they’ll have to play far better than they have.

That starts with Wade, but also includes everyone else on the team. Heat fans can only hope that the assurances by the coaching staff that Udonis Haslem and Quentin Richardson are likely to start against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night will prove true.

Toronto is another team with length and youth, and they play a very up-tempo game. Miami will need every player on the floor to assure their current losing streak stays at just two.

One thing I’m sure of is Dwyane Wade will soon get out of the offensive slump he’s been in. As he himself said about his recent shooting woes:

“Shooters go through shooting slumps, and that’s kind of what I’m in. I got some good shots, shots that I hit in my sleep.”

My only entreaty to Wade would be, WAKE UP! Miami and the Heat need a hero, and you’re it.

Quotes taken from AP and Miami Herald recaps of the game.

Read more Miami Heat news on BleacherReport.com

Miami-Oklahoma City: Kevin Durant and Thunder Trample Heat in 100-87 Win

Hotnuke — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:51:55 -0500

In a game where youth and length were on display, there was a lot of testiness between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder, with a scrum even exploding in the second quarter between the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook and the Heat’s Jermaine O’Neal—both drawing technical fouls in the exchange.

Yet, Miami found themselves unable to fight in the way needed to get a win against Oklahoma City; being handed their third loss of the season, as they were trampled by the Thunder, 100-87.

Miami came into last night’s game at AmericanAirlines Arena knowing the Thunder was young, talented, and hungry for a win. The Heat were said to be determined to prevent that, and the way they started off the game, going up 16-11 midway through the first quarter it appeared their words were anything but hollow.

After that, it seemed like Miami decided to forget those words and take the night off, as they allowed the Thunder to go on a 20-1 run that extended into the second quarter to take a 31-17 lead, with the 6-11 Kevin Durant doing most of the damage scoring 10 points during the run and looking like a two-guard.

Oklahoma would be up 37-26 in the second before Miami would temporarily show some moxie; fighting back for a three-point deficit at the half, 45-42.

That feistiness would end as soon as the halftime was over and the teams once again took to the court, with Oklahoma City easily outshooting the ice-cold Heat and using a 14-2 run to stretch their lead to 65-50. That 15-point edge would be the exact margin they’d have entering the final period, too, as they ended the third up 74-59.

Of course, Miami fans had to have been confident even then, right? The Heat had Flash .

I imagine every single fan in AmericanAirlines Arena felt that their superhero would once again pull off a great comeback, and while Wade played well, it was Daequan Cook who led the only attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of his 17 points in the period.

After Westbrook nailed a three-pointer with 6:40 left in the game to give the Thunder an 87-72 lead Cook scored five points and Wade added a three-pointer of his own to bring Miami within nine points. They would never get much closer, pulling to within eight once, but finally falling to the younger Thunder team.

Oklahoma City simply wanted the game more, and Kevin Durant played as if he were the MVP of the league.

“You’ve got to take your hat off to that kid,” Heat forward Quentin Richardson said. “He’s 6-foot-11 and playing like a two-guard. That’s a tough cover for anybody in the NBA, as tall as he is, as quick as he is, and he has an unbelievable jump shot.”

Michael Beasley, a childhood friend of Durant’s, was even more impressed. “He’s 6-11 with a seven-foot wingspan,” said Beasley. “There’s not a whole lot you can do. He looks over the defenders, moves like he’s 5-10. He’s just playing unbelievable right now.”

Durant finished the night with 32 points on 11-of-23 shooting (9-of-9 from the FT-line) to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a blocked shot, yet he wasn’t alone in doing the damage to the Heat. Russell Westbrook poured in 24 points himself on 9-of-13 shooting (4-of-4 from the FT-line) to go along with his seven assists.

Three other Thunder players finished in double-figures on the night, as Jeff Green scored 13, and Nenad Krstic, and Nick Collison each put in 10. Thabo Sefolosha only came up with 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting from the floor, but did tie Durant by ripping down a team-high 9 rebounds to go along with his four assists and four steals.

The Heat were once again led by their superstar guard, Dwyane Wade, who scored 22 points on 6-of-19 shooting (9-of-12 from the FT-line) to go along with six rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and two blocked shots.

Although he extended his franchise-record of consecutive games with at least 20 points to 23 games, he was harassed in this contest continuously, committing six turnovers and shooting just 25 percent from beyond the arc.

Miami also got pretty good production out of Jermaine O’Neal on the night, as he put in 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting while also ripping down 10 rebounds to notch a double-double on the night.

He was joined in double-figures for the Heat by the aforementioned Daequan Cook, who poured in 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-of-9 from downtown. Cook, who is slowly coming back from the shoulder injury he suffered against the Indiana Pacers looks to have found his stroke, which will help the Heat going forward.

What won’t help them is getting little or no production from Quentin Richardson, who scored only two points on 1-of-3 shooting, and the struggles of Miami’s two young players, Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, each of whom had a tough time dealing with the athletic players of the Thunder.

Beasley ended the night scoring only eight points on 3-of-9 shooting, but even more egregious, didn’t record a single rebound in the 23 minutes he was on the court.

Chalmers, while not playing horrendously, never established himself as a presence on the court, and was nearly as non-existent as Q-Rich, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and notching four rebounds and two assists.

Udonis Haslem had a workman-like night, putting in five points on 2-of-7 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds, while Carlos Arroyo also came off the bench to put in four points on 2-of-2 shooting to go along with his three rebounds and two assists.

No matter the stats, though, this game came down to a will to win, and the Oklahoma City Thunder showed that their youth has that burning desire to prevail. Miami has shown that fire as well in games this year, but other than the second quarter of last night’s game, I never witnessed it in the contest.

Considering Miami has escaped with some close wins over some of the worst competition in the NBA (New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards), perhaps some of the criticism John Lorge leveled at me and the Heat in the comments section of my recap of the victory over the Nets seen here might have been correct.

I’m still one to believe John is seriously underestimating Miami’s talent pool, but I have to admit that talent really wasn’t on display last night.

Miami won’t get much time to reflect on this loss, though, which could be a good or a bad thing; who knows.

Tonight they face off on the road against the team, the Atlanta Hawks, that knocked them out of the playoffs last year by winning Game 7 of their First-Round Playoff matchup, 91-78. In the Hawks, the Heat will find a similar group of talented young players eager to prove last year’s playoff win was indicative that they’re the better team.

One thing that might prevent the Heat from losing this contest is if they can get their own youth to live up to the potential everyone sees in them. Michael Beasley will have to come to play tonight and must score in double figures. More importantly, he will have to work hard on the boards and clean them up for the Heat. Zero rebounds by Michael will spell doom for the Heat.

Quentin Richardson will also need to get his act together. While he’s playing splendid defense most of the time, we are going to need him to contribute throughout the season on a more consistent basis. Scoring 20 points one night and zero the next just doesn’t cut it.

Mario Chalmers also needs to mature far more quickly than he has been. While his defensive ability is second to none, his lack of fundamentally sound defensive technique has gotten him into more trouble than I can talk about here.

Finally, and most importantly, if the Heat are to win against the very talented Atlanta team in their own home arena, they will need to continue to get great production from Jermaine O’Neal and Udonis Haslem. Both have been playing great ball this year, and if that continues, and the two youngsters can find their way, the Heat will not only have a great chance at winning tonight, but all throughout the year.

Wade will be Wade, and is likely to go off on the Hawks tonight, who he typically scores a great deal against, but he needs more from his teammates. Here’s hoping he gets it tonight.

Miami is 7-3 on the year so far, and while that’s good, I’d love nothing more than to be reporting a couple weeks from now that they’re 17-3. A 10-game winning streak isn’t beyond this talented young group, despite what John Lorge may think. Perhaps they’ll prove it to him.

Quotes taken from the AP and Miami Herald recaps of the game.

Read more Miami Heat news on BleacherReport.com

Miami-New Jersey: Wade Charbroils Nets With Last-Second Trey in Heat Win

Hotnuke — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:09:23 -0500

Look up the word winner in the dictionary and you’ll likely now find a picture of Dwyane Wade right there next to the definition.

In my recap of the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night, I quoted the legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi, “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”

There was no quit in Wade last night, and he and the Miami Heat found a way to win against the New Jersey Nets, 81-80, to capture their seventh win of the season.

Their record now stands at 7-2, and while they find themselves trailing the Atlanta Hawks (8-2) for the division lead, they’re on top of the world thanks to Wade.

Miami entered last night’s game against New Jersey after their disappointing loss to Cleveland, determined to return to their defensive ways.

The Heat had come into the game against the Cavaliers ranked third in the league in scoring defense, allowing their opponents only 88.6 PPG. They were also ranked second in the league in defensive field-goal percentage, allowing their foes to shoot just 41.5 percent from the field and a paltry 25.7 percent from beyond the arc.

They allowed the Cavs to shoot 48.0 percent from the field (including 47.4 percent from downtown), and score 111 points; definitely not the kind of numbers that add up to a winning formula.

They did hold the Nets to the second-lowest total of an opponent on the year, at 80 points, and kept them from shooting better than 42.9 percent from the field, but it was Dwyane Wade’s heroics that once again preserved a Heat victory.

In a furious back and forth affair in the fourth quarter, which saw 17 ties or lead changes, D-Wade once again showed why he may be the best player in the NBA, despite all the advocacy for Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

In the final moments of the game, Quentin Richardson’s banked-in trey with 25 seconds left on the clock had tied the game for the Heat at 78-78. The Net’s Brook Lopez then nearly stole the show by tipping in a Rafer Alston runner that just missed with 4.1 seconds left in the contest.

Plenty of time for the man they call Flash , as he caught the inbounds pass from Richardson, stepped back behind the arc and drained a three-pointer with just one-tenth of a second left on the clock to give the Heat a spectacular 81-80 victory over the winless (0-10) Nets.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra drew up a play for Wade to drive to the basket, possibly with the hopes of getting to the free throw line for a traditional three-point play: Wade had something else in mind.

“I was able to cut back for a split second and get to my comfort hand and shoot it,” said Wade after the game, adding sarcastically, “Just another day, another win.”

Wade’s three-pointer wasn’t something he took for granted, either. Although he is supremely confident in his abilities, he’s still the humble gentleman that has endeared him so much to his fans.

“God blessed me tonight with that one,” Wade said. “And I’ll take it. They’re going to beat somebody. We lucked up tonight that it wasn’t us.”

Considering how poorly the Heat played, Wade’s words were pretty accurate. Miami shot an atrocious 39.3 percent from the floor for the night, scoring just 17 points in the first quarter and 18 in the third.

Miami was without their starting center, Jermaine O’Neal, who sat out the game due to a bruised hip, and Mario Chalmers left the game early in the first quarter with a strained shoulder, but that certainly wasn’t a valid excuse for their poor play as New Jersey was without a number of players as well, including All-Star point guard Devin Harris, guard Courtney Lee, guard Keyon Dooling, and forward Yi JianLian.

Regardless of their poor play, the Heat still ended the night with a win, and Flash added to his legend.

Although he didn’t put up his usual scoring numbers, putting in just 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting (5-of-7 from the FT-line) to go along with eight rebounds, six assists, six steals, and two blocked shots, he did set a new franchise-record with his twenty-second consecutive game reaching the 20-point mark.

Udonis Haslem, playing more minutes than anyone else on the team due to the injury to O’Neal, and trying to back up his guarantee that he would be more offensively-minded this season, scored a season-high 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting (4-of-4 from the FT-line) to help Wade out. He also ripped down 12 rebounds to notch another double-double; his fifth on the year.

Quentin Richardson was the only other Heat player in double-figures as he scored 13 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from downtown in just 23:20 minutes of play.

Held scoreless against the Cavaliers, Q-Rich likely heard the grumblings from the media and fans, and decided to answer them. His three-pointer with 25 seconds left to play to tie the game had to have gone a long way in that regard.

Carlos Arroyo, logging plenty of minutes (37:10) because of the injury to Mario Chalmers, accounted himself well even if his shooting touch wasn’t there (3-of-10 from the field), scoring seven points to go along with three rebounds and four assists.

Michael Beasley struggled in the game, scoring just seven points himself on an atrocious 3-of-17 shooting performance, but did rip down eight rebounds to go along with three assists, two steals, and a blocked shot.

However, it was Wade’s heroics that saved the day once again. If not for Dwyane, the Heat would have been the first team this year to lose to the Nets, and that would have lingered even further than a loss to the Wizards would have.

New Jersey was led by forward Trenton Hassell and Center Brook Lopez, each of whom scored 17 points. Hassell put his in on 5-of-12 shooting, while Lopez shot 8-of-18 from the floor. Trenton was perfect from the FT-line as well, going 7-of-7 from the charity stripe to go along with his six rebounds. Lopez cleared the boards for a team-high nine rebounds on the night.

The Nets’ reserve guard, Chris Douglas-Roberts was his team’s third-leading scorer on the night, putting in 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go along with his three rebounds and two assists, and Sean Williams and Rafer Alston also finished in double-figures for New Jersey with 12 and 10 points respectively.

New Jersey wanted this game against Miami, too. When Lopez’ tip-in went through with just over four seconds left, they believed they had finally gotten off the snide.

Starting the season 0-9 coming into the game, the Nets had seen themselves lose three games already this year by less than three points; a two-point loss on opening night to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and two heartbreaking losses to the Philadelphia 76ers in just the last week by three points each.

“I feel terrible for our guys,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. “We lay it all out there and to get beat like that, I’m just sick to my heart for them. It hurts. I feel so bad because the effort was extraordinary. We just fell short.”

They fell short because of a cold-blooded man nicknamed Flash .

They fell short because he refuses to lose such games if he can help it. Yet, even though he was the hero in last night’s game, Wade never fails to give credit to his team-mates.

“It would have been a bad loss for us had we lost this game. We had a lot of guys step up, make plays to give me an opportunity to hit my shot.”

Yes, Dwyane, they did, but it’s you who hit the shot.

Fellow Featured Columnist Hadarii Jones wrote a piece listing the ten most cold-blooded players in the NBA you can read here . In it, he ranks Dwyane Wade as his No. 2 choice behind his hometown hero Kobe Bryant.

This morning, I’d probably jokingly say to him, “Perhaps you’ll want to redo those rankings, Hadarii, my friend.”

Miami plays the Oklahoma City Thunder next in their final contest of a five-game homestand this coming Tuesday night. They then head out on the road the following night for an unusual home-and-road back-to-back to take on their playoff nemesis, the Atlanta Hawks.

While those games will both be tough, especially the second game against the Hawks, if we have Wade on the floor, you can be assured we’ll have a shot at winning them both.

He and the Heat are simply winners .

Heat Note: Daequan Cook returned to action for the second game this season against the Nets, logging 26:49 minutes, scoring two points on 1-of-6 shooting to go along with his three rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot.

Quotes taken from Miami Herald and Associated Press recaps of the game.

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