dunkside

Pat Riley is probably one of the most underestimated GM’s in the NBA. He promised to bring a title to Miami when he moved there. He did some mistakes at first (giving large contracts to Eddie Jones and Brian Grant, for example). He was hit by back luck when his star player and the heart and soul of the team, Zo, was diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis. But he learned from his mistakes and rebuild the team around Wade and finally delivered the title he promised.

When he realized his team was rapidly breaking down, that Shaq had lost all his motivation and that there was no chance to contend again, he broke the team and set to rebuild it. He even managed to find a fool (thank you, Steve Kerr) to take Shaq’s seemingly untradeable contract. And now the Heat seem to be in a great position again to make some moves that would take them back into the elite of the league.

If they get Odom for the MLE, that would be a steal, an even bigger one than getting Haslem for the MLE (one of the few MLE signings that actually worked well; for failed MLE’s see: James, Jerome and Jeffries, Jared).

And there are rumors about the Heat looking to get Boozer. Getting Boozer would be done in two ways, and they’d both put the Heat into position to grab one of the major FA of 2010. Since the 2 major FA’s are Lebron and Bosh, and the Heat would already have 2 really good PF’s in Odom and Boozer, the target would obviously be Lebron. And while everyone has their eyes on the Knicks or the Nets as probable targets for Lebron, he might end up playing with his friend, Wade, in Miami.

The 2 ways to get Boozer would be:

1. Include JO’s contract. That would give the Jazz 23 mil in expiring salary, but they’d want the Heat to either send them some talent back, or take a bad salary off their hands (and their payroll). Does Kirilenko’s nearly 18 mil for 2010-2011 sound bad enough ?

JO + Haslem for Boozer + Kirilenko works under the rules and makes sense, too. The Jazz get rid of a huge salary and get a huge expiring + a good role player PF to back-up Millsap. The Heat get Boozer and a contract that becomes an 18 mil expiring in 2010, when they could package it in a S&T for a FA (where FA = Lebron).

2. Not include JO’s contract. That can be done if the Heat send Haslem + Blount or Blount + Wright for Boozer. The Jazz could use Haslem and Blount would be just an expiring. The Heat might send a pick and/or some cash, too. This would mean the Heat would still have JO’s expiring to offer around the trade deadline. And if by that time Lebron decides he wants to play with the Heat, he might tell the Cavs to trade them there, and they’d have to do it or risk losing him for nothing in the summer. JO + Beasley (again, with some picks and/or cash) works for Lebron + Z or, even better for the Cavs, for Lebron + Varejao + Gibson.

Actually these 2 scenarios can work with or without Odom, and in some cases having him would create a glut at PF, but having a trio of Wade, Odom and Boozer would surely make the Heat much more appealing to Lebron. And a team with Wade, Lebron, Odom, Boozer would be an instant contender and a possible dynasty.

With or without Lebron, Riley seems to be on his way to building a new team around Wade, and doing it with solid picks and trying to get talented players without breaking the bank and putting his team in salary cap hell, while also retaining flexibility so he can make a move for a superstar if the possibility arises. With Riles continuing to make such moves Miami will probably be back in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2-3 years, if not even in the Finals.

Team analysis Carlos Boozer, Dwyane Wade, Lamar Odom, Lebron James, Miami Heat, Pat Riley

Cavs @ Heat

• Not much to say about Wade vs Lebron. It was everything fans were expecting. There was scoring, there was dunking, there were blocks, 3 pointers and then some more dunking. It’s the second time Wade and Lebron put up 40 points each when playing against each other. It only makes you wonder if they can top it when they meet again this Saturday.

• Jamario Moon started again and played well. Can’t really blame him for not being able to do much against Lebron. When he plays like he did, especially when he’s hitting from long range (6-7 on 3 pointers), no one can stop the “new and improved Ron Artest” (I just can’t get enough of Ron Ron’s lunacy). Moon seems to have won the starting SF spot and neither James Jones nor Diawara look like they have a shot of taking it from him.

• Despite being down 11 points with less than 8 minutes remaining and the Heat seemingly rolling, the Cavs didn’t get fazed. They had a certain poise, showed maturity and got the job done. That’s the kind of attitude that could make the difference between winning and losing a playoff series.

• The Cavs are far from being at 100%. Ben Wallace is out with a broken foot (and he played much better for the Cavs than he ever did for the Bulls), Delonte West still has some problems with his injured wrist, Pavlovic just came back from injury. This thought should scare the crap out of the Celtics and Lakers, cause the Cavs just got Joe Smith to help with their depth in the front-court, and if they get everyone healthy they look to me like the favorites for the title.

• Moon and JO look like they have developed pretty good chemistry with Wade. The Heat don’t have enough weapons to compete with the big boys of the East, but they certainly can get to the 2nd round of the playoffs and throw a scare into the team they meet there.

• At the end of the game when the Cavs came storming back from 11 down by forcing the ball out of Wade’s hands, the Heat could have used the 3p shooting of one Cook, Daequan. It would have taken the pressure off Wade and helped to actually put some points on the board. However he has been reported missing since the All Star Weekend and has apparently been replaced with a version of Adam Morrison. Like, the new and improved Adam Morrison or something.

Game notes Cleveland Cavaliers, Daequan Cook, Dwyane Wade, Jamario Moon, Lebron James, Miami Heat

This trade is seen by many as sort of an undo of the Shaq for Marion and Banks trade a season ago. And the Heat even got an O’Neal back. In a sense, it might be true: the salaries of the 2 O’Neals are about the same and they both expire in 2010. Jermaine has 23 million in 2009-2010, which is 3 million more than Shaq, but that might be a good thing for Miami. If a team with a FA to be in 2010 thinks (or is told by the player) that he won’t resign, than it would surely try and package that player with maybe a bad contract and get back some combination of picks, young players and expiring contracts. With the likes of Lebron and Bosh making around 16 million in 2009-2010, the Heat could eat up at least 7  million in bad contracts which is not actually too big of a price to pay when trading for a superstar.

From a basketball point of view this helps the Heat. Marion didn’t seem to be a big part of what they were doing and they desperately needed some size in the front court. This might help them get that 4th seed and make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Keeping Shaq also wasn’t the answer as he had lost all his motivation and was just a 30 game fake injury waiting to happen. He wouldn’t have played in Miami the way he does now for Phoenix, as after winning his 4th title he lost his motivation. At least JO is just 30 years old, more motivated and his injuries are real. The biggest gain for Miami could be Jamario Moon, who’s a cheaper, younger version of Marion. He’s not as good as Marion, but he also costs Miami 17 million less, and they might be able to keep him with the MLE.

For the Raptors it gives them some financial relief at the end of this season. The JO experiment did not work so they at least save some money. They also need to do something to convince Bosh to stick around but bringing Marion is hardly the answer. I doubt they’ll be that much better with him (if they are any better, for which there’s no guarantee). And even if they are a little better, they’ll have to overpay him in the summer (he’ll probably ask for a max contract on which the “i”-s are dotted with little hearts to show him he’s loved and appreciated) which would kill all their flexibility, and if they don’t it might look as if they’re not making enough effort to win so Bosh might leave in 2010. Unless Colangelo pulls a miracle out of his sleeve, it seems that the Raptors will probably lose Bosh. But even if they do, if they get enough cap room to pursue another FA (Amare ?) and a bunch of picks, Colangelo might rebuild the team quick enough to keep the fans happy.

Trades Jamario Moon, Jermaine O'Neal, Miami Heat, Shawn Marion, Toronto Raptors

Now I know how Ric Bucher must have felt after guaranteeing that Kobe won’t play another game in a Lakers uniform only to watch him return to the Lakers and reach the finals.

After guaranteeing that Marion, Brand and pretty much everyone else except for Arenas and Maggette will NOT opt-out, Elton Brand and – surprise, surprise – Baron Davis decide to actually opt-out of their rich contracts. I gotta say that stings a little bit.

The question is why did they do this ? Why now ? Next summer a lot more teams (Hawks, Cavs, Warriors, Clippers, perhaps even the Lakers, Grizzlies, Heat, Wolves, Sixers, Sonics, Raptors) might have some or even lots of cap space. This summer is a buyer’s season. Unrestricted FA won’t find too many teams with cap space willing to go into a bidding war. Their best chance remains to either sign with their teams or force a S&T, but that is more complicated to do.

“It preserves options to make the team better,” Falk said. “Clearly, if Elton decided he wanted to simply max out the dollars, he would have stayed in the deal, had a monster year, and a lot more teams will have cap room next year.”

I guess Elton Brand is trying to have his cake and eat it too by not really losing money while forcing the Clippers to make some moves to become better. He clearly wasn’t paying attention in history class, cause if he was, he’d know that a) the Clippers suck; they always have and always will and b) if you want to play for a winner, you don’t opt-out, you ask for a trade; if necessary, you do it through the media. It worked for Kobe, it worked for McGrady, it worked for Garnett – even though technically Garnett didn’t ask for a trade, I think McHale finally traded him when he started fearing for his life after watching Garnett in the eyes at the end of the 3rd consecutive season in which the Wolves missed the playoffs.

Now that Elton Brand has opted-out, wouldn’t the Wizards have been better off not signing Jamison yet and offering him in a S&T for Brand ? I know Arenas said he wants Jamison back, but Elton Brand is much better than Jamison and his game would have fit the Wizards better, giving them an inside weapon and opening things up for Arenas’ 3p shot. Brand would have also helped their defense a lot.

Brand’s best option to win probably remains Miami. A post on TrueHoop suggested a trade (S&T Brand for Beasley, Haslem, Banks) to get Brand in Miami, but I think that would be too much from Miami’s point of view. Brand for Beasley, Banks and Blount would probably be enough for the Clippers. They are the Clippers after all. The Clippers would have to eat the bad contracts of Blount and Banks, but they need a PG anyway, and next summer Blount becomes an expiring. The main thing, though, is that they’d get a young stud back (some might say with superstar potential), who’ll be playing for cheap for the next 4 years. And Sterling likes cheap.

For the Heat this would turn them into contenders. Marion will be playing for a contract so he’ll be on his best behavior while busting his ass on the court, especially on D, Wade and Brand will open things up for each other and give opposing Ds fits. Haslem could be a nice 6th man. And we can figure the Heat will manage to round out their roster with veterans looking for a ring, just like Boston did last summer. For example Adonal Foyle would be a good pick-up as a defensive center, allowing the Heat not to play Zo that much. James Jones could be am option as a 3p shooter to spread the floor. And so on.

As for Baron Davis, despite being the same age as Elton Brand, and perhaps just as good, he was considered far less likely to opt-out because he might not draw the same interest as Brand and because he had to leave more money on the table. The reason Baron Davis might not draw the same interest is because he’s considered injury prone (after playing all 82 games in his first 3 years, he averaged 56 games for 5 seasons, before playing again all 82 games last season, compared to Elton Brand who averaged 76 games per season for his career), and as a general principle big men are more valued than guards.

Some reports claim he’s not getting along with Nellie, but Davis insists he wants to remain with the Warriors. In this case, I can only assume he must have figured out that after having a career year he was highly unlikely to repeat this performance, so he’d better milk it as much as he could. There really is no other explanation I can think of if he really wants to stay with the Warriors and he’s not pushing them to make moves to get better, like Elton Brand is trying to do with the Clippers.

Player analysis Baron Davis, Elton Brand, LA Clippers, Miami Heat

He’s not a star, but he can be a pretty good role player. He’s athletic and he’s still young, having recently turned 22. He surely would have benefited from more playtime, had Riley played him last season before Toine. After all, what’s the point of playing Toine as long as “there are no 4s” ?

Wright developed a nice jumper this season – he shoots 49.4% on FG. He’s been almost automatic on baseline jumpers from either side of the basket. Him making those jumpers has defenders staying close, and if they overplay him, he can use a back door cut for an alley oop pass, usually from Wade. He has extended his range and with some new found confidence he’s starting to take 3p shots. He only took 5 during the first 35 games and was 1-5. During his last 2 games, he was 3-4 on three pointers.

His rebounding is above average and he is a good shot blocker but his defense needs some more work. He is athletic enough to become a good defender if he works on it as much as he seems to have worked on his offense.

He may not be too visible, but Dorell Wright has been doing a good job

Dorell Wright may not get much respect (or attention) cause he’s playing for the worst team in the league, but he has quietly put together his best season yet and with some more experience he can become an important role player on a contender. This is his 3rd season in the league, but only the second in which he saw meaningful playing time. For most players the 3rd year in which they get significant playing time is the one where they make a big jump, so expect him to continue improving this season and have an even better season in 2008-09.

Player analysis Dorell Wright, Miami Heat

Nuggets @ Heat

• Shawn Marion is anything but affected by not playing with Steve Nash. His stats were good before Nash arrived in Phoenix, so they will be good (if not better) now with the Heat. Wade has been throwing him a lot of alley oop passes
• Miami’s defense is really poor. If they could get defensive big man they’d improve by leaps and bounds. Someone like a younger Zo or Mutombo would fit them well. Blount and Barron, Miami’s two 7-footers, combine for 0.3 blocked shots per game. Yeah, you read that right: 0.3. That is beyond pathetic. That is Jason Collins-esque.
• JR Smith was 8-14 from the 3p line. Shouldn’t John Paxson slap himself silly each time Duhon misses an open shot, thinking he gave this guy away ?
• the Nuggets’ length seemed to bother the Heat. Besides having 2 stiffs at C, Miami was also missing its 3rd best player, Udonis Haslem. The Nuggets had only a minor rebounding advantage (49 to 46), but there were lots of rebounds that should have been Miami’s that were tipped, usually by Camby, and ended up in the Nuggets’ hands. Despite being 6′7 tall, Ricky Davis only managed to grab one rebound in almost 32 minutes.
• speaking of rebounds, Marion pulled down 18 rebounds. With 32 rebounds in his 2 games for Miami so far, looks like there were a lot of rebounds up for grabs in Miami. How the hell did Shaq only average about 7 per game, is a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes. Well, maybe of Scooby Doo, rather then Sherlock Holmes. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that you can’t grab too many rebounds when you just stand and wait for the ball to come to you.
• Dorell Wright is a pretty good role player for the Heat. But more on him a little bit later
• Wade’s jumper is improved. I know everybody thinks he’s still the slasher with no jump shot, but they are wrong. He’s clearly better from the left side, especially just inside the 3p line (see below). And I think him shooting obviously worse from the right side compared to the left has something to do with his right knee now being anywhere close to 100%.

• Wade also seems to have improved his 3p shot. I know his 24.5% from behind the arc says different, but in the games I’ve seen him this year, he converted most of his 3p shots. He was 3-7 for this game and teams really can’t afford to leave him open behind the 3p line.
• Kenyon Martin is playing good basketball. Really didn’t expect that. Not after a microfracture surgery on each knee. He took advantage of Miami’s soft interior defense (if you can call that defense) and went for 24 points on 12-16 FG. After 2 really poor seasons (the last one he only played 2 games), he might be on the trail of a comeback. I’m not yet sold on him, but if he keeps playing like this for a couple more weeks, who knows ? He might become tradeable.
• Kleiza can throw down some nice dunks. He doesn’t seem to be a leaper, but he somehow manages to dunk the ball from impossible angles
• a few weeks ago, playing without Melo who was injured, Iverson said he felt like back in Phila, as he was the only offensive weapon and was continuously double and triple teamed. He made it sound like he didn’t like it, but against Miami Iverson didn’t mind turning back the clock again. And he did it by shooting 5-20 on FG, despite pretty much everyone else from the Nuggets shooting close to or above 50%. The rest of the team combined to shot 53.3%. With his 5-20 the team’s FG percentage was 47.4%.

Game notes Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets, Dorell Wright, Dwyane Wade, Kenyon Martin, Miami Heat, Shawn Marion

Apparently Shaq took part in his first practice with the Suns. Nothing special about that. It’s his job to practice with his team and from time to time, when he runs out of fake injuries, to actually play in a game. Speaking of fake injuries, ESPN says that:

“Shaquille O’Neal went through his first practice with the Phoenix Suns on Monday, showing no sign of the hip injury that has sidelined him since Jan. 21.“

Steve Nash may be half of Shaq’s size but he has twice more MVP trophies

Yeah, that’s right. Shaq shows no sign of injury. That’s probably why he passed his physical last week. He’s all but admitting he’s been faking an injury cause he had no interest of playing for a team sinking quicker than the Titanic. Now that he’s with the Suns and has another chance at a title, Shaq has miraculously healed.

If you don’t think the reason for Wade’s 9 TO against the Lakers on Sunday is that he’s been out drinking champagne with Riley on Saturday night, you’re crazy. They’ve been partying like crazy, celebrating the trade, cause I’m pretty sure they were both sick of Shaq’s “winning personality” and his fake injuries. But at least they’re trying to keep to themselves the joy of getting rid of the Big Contract .

Because with the Big Egomaniac, it’s only a matter of time before he goes out saying something bad about his former employer. After moving to Miami he took a shot at Phil Jackson by claiming Pat Riley was the best coach he ever played for and, of course, he said Micky Arison was a real owner, unlike Dr Buss. It’s only a matter of time before he professes his love for Robert Sarver and calls him the best owner ever, the irony of which could only be topped if anyone called Donald Sterling a generous man. But his first target will probably be Pat Riley. As soon as Shaq has a good game (a good game for him these days is a decent game for other good players) he will no doubt be in a hurry to remind Pat Riley what he lost. From Riley’s perspective though, he only lost a lot of dead weight.

Player analysis Miami Heat, Pat Riley, Phoenix Suns, Robert Sarver, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash

The last 52 seconds were to be replayed because Shaq was fouled out despite having only 5 fouls. Now, with no Shaq, will Marion be able to play ? Will the 5 fouls be attributed to him ? The NBA will make a ruling on that. But if the NBA rules Marion can’t play, then what’s the point in replaying those 52 seconds ? The replay was granted because Shaq should have been allowed to play. Now that Shaq was traded, if you keep Marion out, what’s the point of a replay ? The Heat would still be without Shaq and without the new player(s) they got in the trade, just like they were during those 52 seconds when they first played the game. This would make absolutely no sense, so I fully expect the NBA to continue its no sense making policy and not allow Marion to play.

Uncategorized Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, replay, rules, Shaquille O'Neal, Shawn Marion

The Heat just completed the trade of Shaquille O’Neal for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.

Pat Riley must be the happiest man on the face of the planet right now. He managed to trade for Shaq while he was still a serviceable player, squeeze enough for a run at a title and then dump his huge ass and his even bigger salary in the desert. The Heat were horrible this season, and, unlike last season when Wade went down, Shaq didn’t bother to try and drag the team to the playoffs. Now he was just content with faking injuries and collecting his paychecks.

It’s obvious why the Heat did the trade: they got a very good player that will actually play close to 82 games per season and who’s staying on the court instead of on the bench with foul trouble. And who has a smaller salary than Shaq. They also got Marcus Banks who never made it work in Phoenix, but might benefit from a change of scenery and from the fact that Williams, the Heat’s starting PG, is injured most of the time.

An artist’s rendition of Shaq playing in Phoenix

The big question is: why did the Suns do the trade ? It first looks like a rushed reaction to the Gasol trade pulled by the Lakers. A badly thought reaction. The Suns had their reasons to trade Marion away: he’s been a whining little bitch, complaining how he’s not appreciated (despite having the biggest salary on the team) and then asking for a trade. How retarded can you be to ask for a trade AWAY from a team ran by Steve Nash ? There were players across the league shaking their heads in disbelief when they heard that one. Especially players who played with Marbury for a few years. But having a reason to trade Marion is not a reason to trade for Shaq.

There are some valid concerns regarding how Shaq might adapt to playing with the Suns. That is if he will finally declare himself healthy enough to play.

• the Suns are a run and gun team, but at this stage, the only thing Shaq can run is his mouth. The Suns were practicing with a 7 second shotclock; welcome to the 7 minutes shotclock.
• Suns’ offense is based on the pick and roll, but Shaq is not the player to set high picks and then roll to the basket. You mention pick’n'roll to him, he’s probably thinking about how to “pick a roll”. A cake roll that is.
• Shaq’s D is lame. Marion was the Suns’ best defender. It may not be a great idea to replace him with a poor defender. Shaq never cared much about defense, but even if he suddenly started caring, he lacks the mobility.

There may be some answers to these questions and some pros to bringing Shaq:

• you don’t usually run the fast break with all 5 players. Shaq can stay behind while Nash runs with Amare, Hill, Bell or Barbosa.
• Shaq, despite being as old and out of shape as he is, still draws a double team in the low post and is a good passer, so he could benefit from the excellent 3p shooting of the Suns and the shooters could feed off him.
• Shaq could help against the Spurs (Amare had no answer for Duncan on defense) and the big front line of the Lakers.
• just by being a big body in the paint Shaq could help the Suns rebounding – especially help them give up fewer offensive rebounds

But in the end, a lot of problems and questions remain. First of all, this move was made with the Spurs (and new look Lakers) in mind. But this season the West is more open than ever. The Spurs may have finally entered their decline, and the Lakers will probably not have enough time to gel to be a real contender this season. The Suns may have to face the Jazz in the WCF. That would pose a completely different set of problems, cause Shaq won’t be chasing Okur out to the 3p line, and if Amare is put on Okur and Shaq on Boozer, Boozer has a mid range shot and the quickness to go past Shaq. From this point of view, this move is probably a year too late. And even if the Spurs put together one more run, can Shaq really help on Duncan ? With the Heat he was in constant foul trouble and couldn’t stay on the floor.

All these issues and we didn’t even touch the fact that this was hardly the best possible deal the Suns could get for Marion. If this was the best deal the Suns could get for Marion, someone *cough*Sarver*cough* needs to give Bryan Colangelo a call and go all the way from Phoenix to Toronto on his knees to beg him to come back. The main apparent reasoning for the deal was to get a player that can defend Duncan. But, because of luxury tax concerns, the Suns wasted 2 first round picks to convince the Sonics to get Kurt Thomas. Thomas did a good job on Duncan in the 2007 playoffs. If it wasn’t for Tim Donaghy’s fixing games and NBA’s decision to reward Horry’s thuggish play and suspend Amare and Diaw, the Suns might have won the title.

Wouldn’t it have been smarter to keep Thomas and trade Marion to a team with cap space and players on rookie contracts who could offer a nice player and absorb Marion’s contract ? Atlanta is the 1st that comes to mind. That would have helped trim the payroll while getting something in return for Marion and keeping the guy who could help on Tim Duncan.

The Suns could have probably done a Marion for Kirilenko trade. Both were unhappy, both were similar in what they provided, both could have used a change in scenery. Then they could have made an agreement with the Sonics to waive Kurt Thomas so he can sign back with the Suns for the minimum. Or they might have tried to sign PJ Brown who, if is not already pushing daisies, could have also helped on Tim Duncan. He did a decent job on Duncan while with the Bulls last year during their regular season meetings. He might like the idea of playing for a title with the Suns and agree to do it for the minimum.

Maybe if the Suns didn’t sell their picks during the last few years in order to save some pennies, they could have sent Marion to a team with cap space and got back less salary and still have enough to contend. For example, if they didn’t sell their #7 pick to the Bulls in the 2004 draft, they could have drafted Biedrins (to have someone to guard Duncan), Josh Smith (can take Marion’s place as he’s a similar type of player), Iguodala, Deng or Al Jefferson. Any of them would have been a nice addition to the Suns roster.

In the end, they picked the wrong time to be cheap, and the wrong time to trade for a huge salary. The only way this deal is not a complete disaster is if the Suns win a title this season. They had a window that was slowly closing with the aging of Steve Nash. But with this move the window is not closing slowly anymore, and is about to drop on their fingers. Shaq will probably be motivated by the perceived disrespect shown to him by Riley and will be looking to make a point this year. If they don’t make it this year, I seriously doubt Shaq will find the motivation to play well for next season. He will just be a 20 million contract hanging like a millstone on the neck of the Suns’ organization, strangling their cap space. Or perhaps “eating up their cap space” would be a better way to put it.

As for Miami, what will they do with Marion ? Well, hopefully for them, they won’t give him that 20 million per year extension he’s been crying for. If they do that, they negate any good to come out of this trade. If Marion threatens to opt-out, let him do it. Then, as he barely gets 10-12 million as a FA, laugh in his face and start thinking about how to spend all the newly created cap-space. Don’t you think Riley will go “Hmmm …. Lebron James will be an unrestricted FA soon. I wonder … ” ?

Trades Kurt Thomas, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Shaquille O'Neal, Shawn Marion, Tim Duncan

Despite not being fully recovered from knee and shoulder surgeries, Wade has been playing out of his mind in an attempt to stop Riley from taking another in-season vacation the Heat from setting a new franchise record for consecutive losses. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the Heat were playing Indiana who was missing Jermaine O’Neal. Wade was all over the floor, shooting 3s, taking the ball to the hoop, making all kinds of shots against the Pacers defense. Truth be told, the same “defense” allowed Kirk Hinrich (who sucked so much this year he’s been getting offers to star in gay porn movies) to match his career high.

Wade finished with 35 points (12-20 FG, 2-5 from the 3p line), 8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk and 3 TO. He was helped by Haslem (12 p on 6-11, 9 reb) and Dorell Wright (14 p on 7-11, 10 reb). Not helping much were Jason Williams (4 points on 2-9 in 36 minutes) and Ricky Davis (2 points on 1-7 in 27 minutes). At least Williams contributed 8 ast and 6 stl with just 1 TO. Ricky only contributed with some bad defense.

What is surprising is that Miami has been sucking so bad recently despite excellent play from Wade. He isn’t anywhere near 100% (and in fact Riley should sit him till he’s recovered and “fight” for a higher pick in the draft) and you can see that especially on D where he’s not as active. He’s also a step slow on offense too, but his talent enables him to still be able to score at a high rate. So if Wade is playing great even if injured, why is Miami so bad ?

Well, even if Wade has been spectacular on the offensive end, he had little help. Jason Williams is only making 38.3% of his FGA (and that isn’t even his worst season shooting percentage-wise). Williams manages to have a career worst in points scored at 9.1 per game. And that is despite playing over 31 minutes per game and Miami not having too many scorers on the team. And what would be a “who sucks” list without Ricky Davis ? It would be an incomplete list, that’s what it would be. Ricky is shooting only 43.4% from the floor, but that doesn’t seem to bother him or maybe make him pass the ball more often. He actually averages 2 assists LESS than he did last season. After all, he has a shooter’s mentality. Too bad he’s not really a shooter. With such contributors, no wonder the Heat are 3rd last in the league in point differential and last in points scored per game.

Unfortunately for them, is not only the offense that sucks. The defense is just as bad. There are very few teams that allow more points per 100 possessions than the Heat: Warriors (tied at 109), Grizzlies, Bucks, Wolves, Knicks and Kings (tied). The rebounding is also bad, as Miami is 5th worse in the league in rebounding differential and dead last in rebounds per game. The problems with defense and rebounding can be partially explained by the injury to Zo and Shaq taking his annual 30 games break. That left Mark Blount as the starting C, and he responded by not letting his height (7 feet) stand in his way to averaging 2.8 rebounds in almost 17 minutes per game. I think that statistically there are more chances of one person getting hit by lightning AND a meteor at the same time then Blount getting a rebound.

Looking at the bunch of misfits Riley has assembled you almost understand Shaq’s lack of interest in playing during the regular season. After all, he’s saving himself for the playoffs.

Player analysis, Team analysis Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat