Posts for category ‘miami heat’

In early mid-April (the 12th to be exact), when asked as part of an ESPN.com 5-on-5 roundtable which NBA star would have his legacy enhanced the most in the 2011 Playoffs, I wrote:

“The health of Andrew Bynum won’t affect Dirk Nowitzki’s hunger, but Nowitzki’s stomach did just growl. One could argue that Dirk’s legacy has the deepest hole from which to climb. Since blowing a 2-0 series lead on Miami in the 2006 Finals, the Mavericks have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. A championship isn’t wholly necessary to repair Dirk’s playoff legacy, but if Dallas fails to make the Finals, he may have to live with the label of a regular-season MVP who can’t come through in the postseason.”

Now, I’m not here to exactly toot my own horn as a prognosticator of all things basketball — seeing as I predicted last year’s Wizards to achieve 34 wins (only off by 11 wins), and the bastardly 2009-10 Wizards to achieve 55 wins (yes, I was off by a whole 29 wins here… like I said, “bastardly”) — however, in the same ESPN poll, in reponse to a query on the most surprising thing that would happen in the Western Conference playoffs, I wrote:

“It won’t be surprising when each of the top four seeds in the West move into the second round with relative ease. Nor will it be surprising when the conference semifinals and finals all get pushed to seven games. What will be surprising is when the Dallas Mavericks come out on top in the West and Mark Cuban holds a party for all his friends in the media.”

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{image via Internet/Aaron Josefczyk – Reuters}

The Miami Heat may very well win the 2011 NBA Finals, but regardless of triumph or defeat, LeBron will still be the villain. It’s OK.

Washington Wizards fans almost like to gloat that they were amongst the first to whom LeBron exposed himself to — the epitome of privilege that always asks for more and will resort to less-than-savory tactics to get what it wants. So what.

LeBron is a villain, and I’ve spent a lot of pixels communicating this. And I will continue to do so. LeBron is a fact of life.

Of course he’s making you love him as a basketball player, passing exuberantly, rebounding above all, defending with no restraint, astounding with power that compresses rim paint to the point of cracking. He’s no basketball dummy. The only thing that really dwarfs his instinct for the game is what he can do with that freak of a Karl Malone-sized body that he’s in.

Yes, we know LeBron seemingly “checked out” of game four, according to DeShawn Stevenson at least, but does that mean all other memories of amazing are stricken from the record? In a contribution regarding LeBron on HoopSpeak.com (last entry at the bottom), I essentially opined that the hubbub over game four might be a tad premature. But if the Heat don’t win the championship, memories of LeBron’s basketball excellence will certainly be vastly muted.

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["What he did? Told them he cut his eye ... in sparring." -Wu-Tang Clan, Bells of War]

I kept telling myself, even Tweeting, when Miami was looking like unstoppable beasts for all but about seven minutes of NBA Finals game two, “Is Dallas the type of team you don’t want to let hang around?”

Of course they are. The Mavs are a unit well-versed in veteran composure, lest they would have had a seven game series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Miami isn’t Oklahoma, in so many senses.

Late in the game, after countless amazing dunks with little defensive resistance, Miami finally pulled away and took an 88-73 lead on a Dwayne Wade three. After nailing the shot near Dallas’ bench, Wade held his follow through and slowly walked toward his own bench, as Mavs coach Rick Carlisle had called a timeout. LeBron came over to give Wade celebratory chest jabs.

At that point, we all thought it was just about over… and I’m taking the entire series, not just the game. I wasn’t quite traveling toward the doomsday scenario of the Heat shutting down league competition (lockout and team parity be damned) with unforeseen future domination, but figured that they were the scariest, most unimaginable basketball animals alive and the Mavericks were simply prey in their territory.

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When LeBron James complains about fouls, it’s not about his size, as he would gladly have you believe. Neither is it about there being a presumed double-standard from imposing basketball specimens like himself and Dwight Howard. Sure, there are reasons to take notice, but let’s be honest, it’s about politicking through the gladly willing media.

Said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after Wednesday night’s game versus the Wizards:

“He absorbs a lot more contact than people realize. He’s big and tough enough that he shrugs it off. But you go in there and see him in the locker room, and he’s got ice on pretty much every part of his body.”

So do 5’11″ guards who live in the lane. So do a lot of NBA players. It’s a tough game. And when someone like LeBron, who has the sixth highest usage rate in the NBA at 31.4-percent, gladly uses his abnormal physique to gain an advantage, it certainly is going to feel like he’s being handled more physically, at least to him. But it’s all relative.

It’s hard not to take whining for what it is, whining, but LeBron is doing more. He (and Spolestra) are preparing for the playoffs. He’s peppering the subconscious of referees and league officials. He’s doing the same thing superstars who feel entitled have been doing for years. LeBron and Spolestra want whistles in their favor, simple as that. It’s no different from the incites of Phil Jackson every season, except Jackson can be funny.

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{photo: K. Weidie}

On Tuesday night, the Miami Heat went to Cleveland and were soundly defeated by the Cavaliers, 102-90.  LeBron James had a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Dwyane Wade had 24 points and Mike Bibby chipped-in 23 points–his most as a member of the Heat. Unfortunately, Chris Bosh (10 points, four rebounds and a team-worst plus/minus of minus-24) was a non-factor, and the Heat allowed the Cavs to shoot 55-percent from the field and 52-percent behind the arc.

After the game, Heat coach Erik Spolestra was not at all pleased.

“The majority of time in this league you get what you deserve and we got exactly what we deserved,” Spoelstra said. “They played harder than us. They came out with much more desperation and sense of urgency. This pattern started two games ago, and we’re a little confused what our identity is.”

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First, JaVale McGee blocks.

We (I/you/us/them) have found cause to critique JaVale McGee to a high degree this season. It’s just when you combine immense talent and potential with a seeming unwillingness to learn and/or an inability to grow in basketball IQ, the way of the world is done an injustice without an honest assessment.

So, when McGee finally does “put it together,” also known as when he stops doing stupid things (like JaVale’s dribbles), you’ll appreciate how much he’s grown even more. All of this could be a bunch of bull to make myself feel better about my criticism. It also could be an “it is what it is” situation*.

The Wizards want JaVale McGee on that line, they need him on that line. They need him to get better because in totality, his improvement this season has been a slight disappointment. But rebuilding time is time afforded to go through these frustrations. So it’s all good … as long as McGee kicks butt this summer.

He’s done a lot better lately. One day he could be consistently amazing to watch. Oh the day dreams. Although, his mere five rebounds in 36 minutes against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night stands out from the 15.3 boards he averaged in the previous four games (on the road against the LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz). The quality of the opponent should be considered, but McGee still made his presence felt against the Heat, in the form of sweet, sweet blocks.

He’s not going to back down from trying to swat any shot, most of the time. Great teams need that, intelligently. Let’s tell some stories about McGee versus Miami with the help of pictures.

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There were times last night when it seemed like the torso and arms of recent Wizards D-League call up Othyus Jeffers formed into a mouth to gobble up missed shots in mid-flight. I imagined the ball clenched by massive teeth, unable to be relinquished, but somehow spit out cleanly to continue play, Wizards possession. I wasn’t hallucinating.

My mind was curious about the perception. How exactly was the unassuming stature of Jeffers — listed at a very generous 6’5” and weighing in at a 200 lbs. that unfairly masks his strength — able to gulp down rebounds so commandingly against the juggernaut Miami Heat?

DVR has made me selfish against real-life action. I wished I was at home watching the Wizards play the Heat on television and not sitting baseline taking photographs. No, I wouldn’t really give up one of the best seats in the house, but that didn’t keep me from wanting to quench instant gratification with a film study in the art of rebounding.

Jeffers finished with 15 points on 6-7 shooting and eight rebounds, both career highs, in 29 minutes off the bench against Miami. The bad guys, or bandwagon drivers, beat the Wizards 123-107, but the game was much more competitive than the score indicates.

“O. Jeffers,” Flip Saunders called him in his post-game media session. “Just by playing hard, the success that you can have,” the coach trailed off, likely thinking like a mad scientist with plans to transplant the heart and will of Jeffers to another player with more size and natural talent.

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[Editor's note: Ryan Gracia is majoring in sports communication and journalism at George Mason University and freelances for local sites of Patch.com. Some of his previous work for TAI can be found here. Below, he recaps the Dwyane Wade vs. Nick Young battle on Friday night.]

It was the second time that the Wizards faced the Miami Heat SuperFriends this season following a trade, and the Wiz put up quite a struggle in both contests — so great that one may even have been so inclined to commit themselves to predicting a win from the bottom-feeding Wizards at some point late in the game. But on both occasions the Heat finished the way a top team should, while the Wizards finished the way a bad team does. So Friday night’s loss in Miami wasn’t unexpected. Still, it was the way the Wizards put themselves in the situation to come away with their second road win this month was unexpected. They fought. Specifically, Nick Young fought.

Against the Heat, Flip Saunders must have shown part “deux” of The Battle at Kruger video that he showed the team before they came out blazing to beat the Nets at home by 20 points on January 7. Clearly, Young understood the concept of that video:

“It was like a lion chasing a bull, and how about how all the bulls came back and rallied as a team and helped them out, so it kind of got us going. Everyone came out and played hard.”

Well, I suppose he did. My guess is that if there was a pregame video in Miami, it may have looked something like this:

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I was in the midst of watching the Washington Wizards put on an impressive display of first quarter basketball against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday when Tweet Deck displayed a new tweet from ESPN’s Ric Bucher.  Given that the trading deadline was less than 24 hours away, and given that Bucher is one of the few NBA insiders who is really plugged into what could be happening, I figured I should check it out right away.

I clicked on his tweet and discovered no upcoming trade information, nor were unnamed sources tipping him off.  Instead, Bucher offered some insight as to what fans, writers and even other players could expect over the remainder of the NBA regular season:

“NBA comp going up another notch, as it always does, post-All Star weekend. Separation of men from boys, pros from pretenders, begins now.”

I closed out of his tweet, mentally processed what he said and then went back to watching the Sixers/Wizards tilt.  By that time, the Wizards’ first-quarter dominance had morphed into second quarter incompetence (and third, and fourth), and they were eventually blown out 117-94, just one night after being blown out by the Indiana Pacers at home 113-96.  Afterward, John Wall was upset about the lack of effort his teammates displayed — further evidence that the Wizards are in the boys/pretenders group of NBA teams:

“I haven’t lost this many games, and it ain’t just about the losing, I’m listening to my coaching and development, and they don’t want me to get in no losing mind set. But it’s just so frustrating to see that certain guys seem like they don’t have the effort to be out there, like they don’t care. That’s the toughest thing for me … no matter if I’m having a bad game or good game, I might show frustration in my face, but I’m going to compete. That’s one thing I’ve always did my whole life is compete, and that’s all we asking for from everybody.”

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Saturday night’s loss to the Miami Heat followed a script all too familiar to Wizards fans, and in a sense, begrudgingly emulated the now defunct tenure of Gilbert Arenas in Washington, D.C.

Against all odds, the Wizards competed with the Heat. It wasn’t a situation where Miami was just cold and Washington was making unbelievable shots like it just happened to be their night. No, the Wizards got by on their own merit — thanks to hustle, footwork and inspired play that’s been infrequent beyond acceptable means this season.

Agent Zero was created through an “against all odds” persona. Arenas’ flair and passion that once-upon-a-time injected energy into a re-inspired D.C. professional basketball team now faintly seems like decades ago. The Verizon Center hasn’t rocked like it did on Saturday in a long, long time, especially without Arenas.

But in the end, the Wizards caused their own downfall. They had the game all but in the bag after the returning Josh Howard hit a runner in the paint to put Washington up 91-86 with 32 seconds left … just don’t do anything stupid and make free-throws. Neither of those things happened and those commonplace jaws of defeat rose up out of the waters and snatched a prey that thought it had escaped victoriously.

Arenas’ reign in the District followed a similar course. Robbed by uncontrollable fate in the form of injury, and snatched from reason with guns in the locker room, the Washington Wizards franchise is once again left as the loser. The last glimpse of the happy times of yore snatched away by the  uncertainty of rebuilding on the shoulders of a 20-year old with uncertain knees. Arenas may claim that he was docile during his last days in Washington because he was no longer the man, but that wasn’t really going to spark sympathy for the situation he had hand in creating.

In another sense, Flip Saunders likes to convey the idea that when crunch time gets tough, and when the game is on the line, that’s when players revert back to their old, poor habits that put their team in difficult situations. Usually Flip is referring to JaVale McGee in such instances, but it can be applied to young players in general … young players such as the 24-year old, 6-year NBA veteran Andray Blatche. Blatche returned from missing four of the previous five games due to knee injury with better effort, focus and composure, but resorted to bad habits and old mistakes as the Wizards team made several gaffes so aptly described by the Washington Post’s Michael Lee to give the game away.

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{flickr/Keith Allison}

I managed to catch up with LeBron James in the visitor’s locker room before tonight’s Wizards-Heat game. He had plenty to say, on topics ranging from the Orlando Magic, to Justin Bieber, and even Yao Ming.

His most interesting answer was just one word — two letters. When asked if winning games will ultimately change people’s perceptions of both LeBron and the Miami Heat, LeBron responded:

“No.”

Well, I guess not everybody loves a winner. What can he do? What should he do?

Here are more sound bites from the King himself…. Read more »

[UPDATE: Or not ... seems like the President won't be in attendance now, and Arenas has likely been traded to Orlando for Rashad Lewis. "Great."]

The Miami Heat make their way down to D.C. from New York to play the Wizards tonight. I imagine the atmosphere will be slightly different from Madison Square Garden, in terms of expressed fan affection for the home team. Surely many will be showing up more so to boo LeBron James, the energy from which, however, could certainly lead to more cheers for the Wizards. Then again, I will be curious to see how many adoring screams there are for LeBron and Dwyane Wade reigning down from the rafters. Seems like there will be plenty in this city of transient sports fans.

Actually, I imagine the scene at the Phone Booth will be crazier than MSG. Ted Leonsis has already warned that “lots of dignitaries and VIPS” will be in the building, and that means President Obama, as evidently the Secret Service has been making security preparations at the Verizon Center this morning. Oh, and with all the trade rumors swirling, it could be Gilbert Arenas’ last game in a Wizards uniform. Right now, according to the Washington Post’s Michael Lee, he’s still expected to suit up for Washington this evening.

To describe the buzz of emotion that will be going on in the Verizon Center as a circus doesn’t really do it justice — it certainly takes all the attention away from Josh Howard’s potential season debut, in the least. But to get a bearing on the incoming team that will actually be playing basketball against the Wizards, I turned to ESPN TrueHoop’s Kevin Arnovitz, who has been embedded covering Miami for ESPN.com’s Heat Index. And away we go…

Kyle Weidie: The Heat are on quite a streak and we all hear enough about so-and-so, but what about the other guys? Who’s filling in best when the team is working? Read more »

The Wizards take on the Raptors in Toronto tonight, still aiming to win their first road game of the year … and they’ll be doing it without Hilton Armstrong.

In a November 24 poll, when the Wizards were 0-6 on the road instead of the current 0-8, 33-percent of voters said the Wizards would notch their first road win tonight against the Raps. My dad recently told me that he thought the Wiz would get their first roadie in Sacramento — in that case, you’ll have to wait until December 8, when the Wizards would face the Kings with an 0-11 record on the road. The NBA: Where Amazing Happens.

Anyway…

Let’s look back and break down the play of the night from Monday’s game versus the Miami Heat. This one involves none other than Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche running a pick-and-roll, one where Blatche actually rolls to the basket. Imagine that.

Also imagine something else for a second … the Orlando Magic discussing a Vince Carter for Arenas swap with the Wizards, at least this is what’s being reported by the Orlando Pinstripped Post (h/t: Bullets Forever), also indicating that the trade could involve Blatche, Rashard Lewis and Daniel Orton as well. Read more »

[Juwan Howard gets roasted by several Andray Blatche head shakes.]

Monday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards could have easily been dubbed the “something-has-to-give” game. The Heat front-court (Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony, Zydrunas Illgauskas, the now-injured Udonis Haslem, the recently-added Erick Dampier, and to a much less extent, Juwan Howard) have developed a reputation of being soft, and with good reason.

Emeka Okafor went for 26 points and 13 rebounds; Amir Johnson, who has been a major disappointment this year despite the 5-year, $34 million contract, went for 14 points; Zach Randolph had 21 points and 13 rebounds; Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 17 rebounds; and first prize in the “I-torched-the-Heat” contest went to Paul Millsap, who had 46 points and 19 rebounds in an overtime loss.  The point here is that dealing with semi-skilled to skilled big men is clearly not the strength of Miami.

On the flip side, the Washington Wizards are not exactly known for the play of their big men.  Andray Blatche is the only big averaging in double figures (16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game), although JaVale McGee is close (9.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game).  Sixty-percent of the Wizards’ scoring comes from John Wall (18 points per game), Gilbert Arenas (18 points per game), the red-hot Nick Young (12 points per game), and Kirk Hinrich (10.9 per game).  When you throw in the fact that McGee came into the first match-up against Miami with a bad back, which meant more time for Hilton Armstrong (two points and three rebounds per game) and Kevin Seraphin (averaging two points and two rebounds in the five games he’s appeared in), it figured to be challenging game.

In the first quarter, Blatche played as if he was hell-bent on taking advantage of the scouting report. Fifteen seconds into the game, he hit a short jumper over Illgauskas, and even though he missed his next couple of shots, he did not stop attacking.  All of the patented moves that Blatche attempts with varying degrees of success (the behind-the-back move, the up and under, the hard drives off the dribble) were on display, and they seemed to be working.  Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony and Juwan Howard all tried to contain Blatche, but to no avail.  He had 10 points and two rebounds after one quarter of play.

Hilton Armstrong took one shot in the 6:54 he played in the first, and McGee did nothing but pick up a foul in the other 5:56.  The score at the end of the quarter was 24-21 in Miami’s favor.

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