In anticipation of tonight’s rematch between the Wizards and the Heat, I decided to get in touch with Greg from the Peninsula is Mightier (a Miami Heat blog of course) to see if he could answer a couple questions I had about his team. Read on…….
1) The Heat are making due at the 5 spot with Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem, and Mark Blount. How much help do you think Jamaal Magloire can really provide? Do you think the Canadian is motivated enough to shed the “washed-up” stigma? What did you think of his signing in the first place…..low risk or act of desperation?
I don’t expect much of anything from Magloire. He certainly won’t supplant Haslem, and I don’t know that he offers an upgrade over Anthony or Blount either. I was among the few who thought he could help when Miami signed him, but after a glimpse of him in preseason, I think he’s finished. The signing was low risk, but it also took a roster spot away from a prospect like David Padgett, an undrafted rookie out of Louisville who gave Miami some decent minutes in preseason and obviously has a much higher ceiling than Magloire. Unless a legit center becomes available in trade, I’ll stick with Anthony spelling Haslem and Blount getting spot minutes.
2) Some will still attest that Chris Quinn should not be receiving significant time on the court for an NBA team. Do you think his play will change opinions? The guy rarely commits a turnover and knocks down open threes…..what more could one expect? What should his role be for the Heat going forward?
Quinn’s a good player, and I think he’s right when he says that perception becomes reality when people evaluate him. He was one of two or three bright spots last year, but spent the summer in restricted free-agent purgatory, came back on a low-end contract and opened the season third on the depth chart, so there’s something Miami doesn’t like. And I don’t think Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra are hung up on appearances if the guy could help them win, so I’m left to assume that Quinn has a fatal flaw I’m overlooking. My guesses are defense (unremarkable), shot selection (he likes the early 3) or just general upside (Mario Chalmers was drafted as a long-term starter). Still, I think Miami is a better team when he gets regular minutes, and I predict he’ll craft a long career out of defying expectations. Hope that happens in Miami.
3) The Heat are positioning themselves to have some money to play with in the future. Who do you want to see on this team in two years? Do you think Shawn Marion has a future role in Miami? Or are you ready to trade him ASAP?
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Yes, it was not pretty the last time DC took a visit to Toronto. Game 44 against the Raptors was the worst loss of the season for the Wizards….to date. 122-83 was the final. The Raps were up 10-0 in the game before I knew it; from there, they didn’t look back, aided by a 21-5 2nd quarter run.
In the previous Wizards game (#43) against the Raptors, which happened to be at home in DC the night before the above game, we were treated to this quote by Steve Buckhantz, except much louder: “Noooo!!!! It’s not possible!!!!!”
Why? Well, just watch below:
Hey, at least the Wiz won that one, thus, preventing horrible, horrible nightmares about the Raptors for the rest of my life. This clip expands on the reasoning.
Before that, the Wiz beat a Chris Bosh-less Raptors in game 17.
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The breaking news is that Caron Butler is out tonight with a hip, and perhaps tomorrow night as well.
No one cares and neither should you.
Wizards fans did not care the last time Washington played Toronto in the 17th game of the season, when Chris Bosh was out with a groin.
And I did not give a damn that Michael Redd was out on Sunday.
But how to feel if you’re a Wizards fan? If myths such as the “Curse O’ Les Boulez” are not said out loud or typed on message boards, then they are most likely thought.
But it is an easy out to get all fatalistic up in this piece. Some on Bullets Forever, myself included, were unsure about this game even before the news about Tuff Juice dropped.
But always wanting to be that guy who focuses on the positives, here is what we should look for in this game:
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Everyone is gushing over Chris Bosh’s All-Star campaign videos. It started with attention from bloggers, then ESPN, and now media markets all over are jumping on the band-wagon. But should Bosh really be an All-Star this year? And will the fans ever get it right?
According to common sense (and working within the current flawed voting system for starter — that’s for another post), here is how it should go in the East for the 2008 NBA All-Star game.
Let’s start with the givens, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James will be the starting forwards. KG leads all players with 1,527,963 votes and LBJ is second overall with 1,294,019.
The fans are right here, Garnett and James are putting up great numbers for great teams and they should both start at forward. No arguments.
At center, Dwight Howard is also a lock to start. He’s more than doubled up Shaq’s 2nd place 466,292 votes. Thumbs up to the fans on Howard, thumbs down for Shaq being number two. (Thank god, it’s about time Shaq missed an All-Star game — there is no way the coaches can select him, is there?)
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