Miami Heat Team Report Card: Grading LeBron James and Co. on the Past Week
Unless you were on another planet for the past week, you heard about the Christmas Day matchup between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 69 points and held Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant to just 34 points together.
While both teams downplayed the game as just another regular season meeting, this game had deeper meaning. First, the Los Angeles Lakers are the defending NBA Champions, and any time the challenger beats the champions on their home court, it is a statement game.
Secondly, the Heat have been questioned in their ability to beat the elite teams of the NBA. A road victory against the Lakers, especially in the fashion in which it occurred, demonstrates that this team is not the same team from November.
Although Miami lost to the Dallas Mavericks for the second time this season, the game was a close game that the Heat had several opportunities to win. The road game at Phoenix this week also illustrated that Miami can win comfortably without one of the Miami Thrice in the lineup.
Here are grades for each player for the past week.
Carlos Arroyo
1 of 9
Arroyo remains the starter; however, he has slowly been losing time to Mario Chalmers. Arroyo has been solid as the starting point guard, but he lacks in certain areas that are essential to playing with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Despite mostly open looks, Arroyo struggled from three-point land in the past week, shooting just 1-for-9. Overall, Arroyo hit just seven of 24 field goal attempts.
Defensively, Arroyo did not record a single steal. While his defense has not been below average, he does not have the speed to contribute in the same way that Mario Chalmers can.
Grade: C+
Dwyane Wade
2 of 9
Wade was hampered by a knee injury that forced him to miss Thursday's game against the Phoenix Suns. The knee clearly slowed him down against the Lakers as evidenced by a missed dunk and a couple of blown layups.
While Wade's offense was a little down this week, he deserves credit for effectively shutting down Kobe Bryant on Saturday. Wade forced Bryant into difficult shots and created turnovers that had Kobe frustrated throughout the game.
Wade's offensive performance displays how he will not always be consistently dominant; however, a superstar like Wade will always find a way to contribute, whether it is through distributing the basketball or playing tough defense.
Grade: B+
LeBron James
3 of 9
LeBron James continued his climb up the MVP ladder this week with some outstanding performances. Against the Lakers, James had his third triple-double of the 2010-2011 season. Moreover, James hit a season high five three-pointers in just six attempts.
The most important game of the week, however, was lost in all of the hype of the Christmas Day game. The road game against the Phoenix Suns illustrated how James can still put a team on his back and do it himself. Against the Suns, LeBron took on the scoring burden, dropping 36 points, his second-highest total of the season.
While the Dallas game was not LeBron's best shooting performance, he found other ways to contribute with 10 rebounds and seven assists. James is simply an incredible player and despite what analysts may claim, he is the best player in the NBA.
Grade: A
Chris Bosh
4 of 9
He may not be getting a ton of attention, but Chris Bosh continues to get the job done. In all four games of the past week, Bosh shot over 50 percent, and he averaged over 10 rebounds per game.
With Udonis Haslem out, Bosh has taken a larger role as a rebounder both offensively and defensively. He may not get the same credit as James or Wade, but Bosh has played just as an important role in Miami's resurgence as either of them.
Bosh certainly showed up against the Lakers, quietly putting up 24 points and 13 rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting from the field. With all the negative public sentiment towards the Heat, Bosh will likely be unfairly deprived of an All-Star reserve role, but that says nothing about Bosh's play this season.
Grade: A
Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Erick Dampier/Joel Anthony
5 of 9
Erik Spoelstra has decided to use a center-by-committee rotation with Ilgauskas starting; however, depending on the night, each of the three players share about equally in playing time.
Ilgauskas played fantastic defense against Pau Gasol on Saturday, but he did not get much playing time against the more limber Robin Lopez on Thursday against the Suns. Ilgauskas adds a different element to the Miami offense with his ability to hit the 20-foot jumper.
Dampier and Anthony are essentially the same player, although Anthony may be the more mobile of the two. Both centers provide strong shot-blocking ability and solid rebounding in the middle. Anthony does deserve some recognition this week for his solid effort in guarding Dirk Nowitzki.
Overall, all three have played the same role and none of them have really distanced themselves from the pack.
Grade: B
Mario Chalmers
6 of 9
Despite not starting, Chalmers is seeing the majority of the minutes at point guard. Coach Erik Spoelstra evidently trusts Chalmers more at the end of games.
Chalmers has been a little quick to launch some three pointers; however, he fits the needs of the Miami Heat much better than Carlos Arroyo.
Chalmers is faster, a better defender and a more confident three-point shooter. He is able to push the ball and allows Miami to play at a faster pace, which suits LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
This week, Chalmers had nine three-pointers in four games, albeit with 25 attempts. Still, his defensive effort and intensity more than made up for his cold shooting.
Grade: B+
James Jones
7 of 9
Jones actually started this week and played extended minutes in the absence of Dwayne Wade. His performance, however, was underwhelming with just seven points and two rebounds in 35 minutes.
In essence, Jones' sole job is to be a three-point specialist and perhaps play strong defense off the bench. This week, James truly struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 5-of-20.
While Jones supplemented his play with some good defense, including a nice charge against Kobe Bryant, he is likely to lose significant minutes to Mike Miller when Miller becomes more comfortable shooting with his injured thumb.
Grade: C
Mike Miller/Eddie House
8 of 9
Neither Miller nor House played enough this week to be graded fairly. House has rightfully found his place as a benchwarmer on this Heat team.
Miller, on the other hand, is slowly being introduced into the Miami system. Miller has yet to make a shot in three games, but that is likely due to the excitement and nerves of playing in his first game.
Perhaps most promising is how Miller finds a way to be in the right place for rebounds. Miller seems to have a nose for the ball and should contribute nicely both as a three-point specialist and a rebounder when he returns fully from his thumb injury.
Grade: N/A
Erik Spoelstra
9 of 9
Spoelstra seems to have a good handle on this team. It seems like a long time ago that rumors were swirling that Spoelstra would be replaced as Heat coach after a 9-8 start.
It will be a challenge for Spoelstra to fit Mike Miller into the Miami system, but so far he has done an excellent job of creating good rotations that amplify the strengths of players and minimize their weaknesses.
Spoelstra could do a better job of keeping his team motivated for every game. A near loss to Washington and the defeat against the Mavericks demonstrate how the Heat have not been focused for every game. Obviously, Miami can't keep up the intensity and energy that they had in the Lakers game for all 82 games, but it is Spoelstra's job to get enough from his team to win on every single night.
Grade: A-
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