The Official Miami Heat Return to the Playoffs Thread.

Haslem has been absolute crap tonight, but his defensive responsibility is unfair. Blame management for not getting a big with half-decent to contribute a single minute.

Miami cannot beat teams like this; they won't be able to. It's the reason why Toronto (pretty bad team right now) dominated us twice already. We're going to be borderline playoffs all year; we have GOT to add some size to the front court. Wish LAC was dumb enough to swing a Kaman/Mobley for Marion/Banks deal.

I know we're young and blah, blah, blah, but having to sit here watching Udonis Haslem attempt to hold ground against Yao Ming........yeah.

 

i'm surprised yao didn't have a wilt chamberlinesque proformance tonight. I mean he just needs to turn around and drop the ball in the hoop, its not like haslem's going to be able to effect the shot.

 

i was at the game and the height difference looked really bad. i thought yao would take more advantage. i guess he's just too soft.

 

Yao Ming is the real reason why Tracy McGrady hasn't made it out of the first round of the playoffs.

 

While I think he can shoot it pretty well, I think he shoots face up too much. He needs to get tougher, start banging bodies down low and putting the ball in the basket right next to the hoop. Teams will respect him more that way and I think it will further open up the Rockets offense as more shots from the perimeter, etc. Thinking about it, many Europeans and Asian basketball players seem to be on the soft side.

 

almost went to the game tonight but decided not too....portland should win, we're undefeated at home

 

Must be nice to be "undeleted" at home....

 

what a beating, tough start of to a 5 game road trip

 

Not sure about the lengths of your bad contracts, but I imagine you could get a player like Bosh in 2010. You'll have to spend some time unloading some contracts perhaps, and accept not being very good while you wait for 2010 like the Knicks are though. Seems like a risk to clear cap space, and hold out on paying for a free agent. How happy will that make Wade, and what happens if you cant sign one of the big 2010 targets?

Found this breakdown of your cap. Looks like a lot of your bad contracts expire in 2010, so you guys should be in good shape.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/miami.htm

 

I dont know the NBA cap all that well either. It seems possible to me, but some of the more knowledgeable NBA fans would have to verify it.

 

Great performance by Wade tonight, but it worries me that we're so reliant on him to win games. If Nash had played, we'd be toast.

This team needs to find consistency. We should never need more than, say, 25 points from Wade in order to win games.

 

If it isn't an injury then its probably something with his defensive play. I read somewhere that they were surprised at how raw he is on defense.

 

Spoelstra went big to counter Phoenix's size. It's not a statement on Beasley, just a concession that Haslem on Shaq would have been an embarrassment.

It worked. We won. Though I really wish we could win without Wade needing to put up Jordan-like point totals every night.

 

Ok you have to lay off the weed.

 

Sometimes I fail to realize that Shawn Marion is even on the team.

He's non-existent half the time without D'Antoni's system which catered to him.

 

Noticed that too, but he's playing great tonight. 17 points and 5 boards all in the second quarter. 7/11 shooting, 2/3 from three.

 

Al Thornton is a guy I'd grow to hate if the Clippers were good enough to watch more often. He flops, he pushes off with every offensive move he makes, he elbows players in the face, etc. All consistently, too.

 

And he jacks up like 20 shots a game.

 

FT's:

LAC - 21/33
MIA - 7/9

Dwyane Wade's got 2 FT attempts on 17 shots.

Yeah, right.

If we win, I'll still be happy. But that's B.S.

 

Worst. Officiating. In. NBA. History.

Where the **** is Tim Donaghy? He'd do a better job.

 

^ This is why I've watched a total of maybe two or three NBA games this year outside of the Heat. I usually watch basketball every night. I'm pretty through with it aside from the Playoffs. They're still betting.

 

One last annoying comment to make:

Shawn Marion is overrated trash. Either bring in Steve Nash to make him look amazing, or get rid of him.

Sit Marion; Start Beasley. Please do it.

 

WTF? They just screwed the Heat out of a potential win with the inverted whistle. That's BS!

 

Miami got ripped off. Wade steals the in bound pass, passes it out to Marion for a wide open layup. BUT NO. Refs stop the play and say Wade's feet were out, then they CHANGE the call and give Miami the ball. So we're stuck chucking up a jumper with 2 seconds left instead of a wide open fastbreak layup.. Unbelievable. This is exactly why I'm watching this league less and less every day.

**** the NBA. **** the garbage *** Clippers. They don't deserve the win.

 

lol@the Clipper hate.

 

So how much did the Clippers pay the refs??

 

Heat Shopping Shawn Marion

 

Who would take him? He hasnt done ****.

 

Someone looking for an expiring contract going into the 2010 season.

That is to say, the other 29 teams.

 

Only thing disappointing is how Spoelstra has handled the line-up's. Sometimes I question whether or not he knows his own team. Here we are in a close game with Miami down 6, pushing back up to tie. The dumb mother****er waits until the 6 minute mark in the 4th Q to sub Wade in? All while Michael Beasley is on the bench. We've got Diawara and Anthony out there doing absolutely nothing.

Wade and Beasley should rarely ever be on the bench at the same time in a close game. There isn't a single player on this team aside from those two who can create their own shot. I think Spoelstra has confidence on Diawara waking up one morning and becoming a half-decent player. Not going to happen. He sucks.

 

Also, Miami getting crushed in FT disparity two consecutive games by two garbage shot-chucking teams is puzzling to me. NBA refs still gambling?

 

IMO,

1. LeBron to New Jersey, Wade to New York.
2. 2009 FA the earliest; I don't see anyone giving up a decent center via trade.
3. Nope. I don't see much attraction.

 

And this is what I mean about this stupid (er, inexperienced?) coach...

Michael Beasley is NEVER on the floor in the final 5-8 minutes.

Never.

It's puzzling. It really is.

At least he stuck behind Daequan through his major drought.

 

He gets a get out of jail card for being a rook coach...but it goes away quickly.

 

Disgusting officiating, man. Like they make it so hard to watch.

I actually feel bad for Dallas fans now. They must have really suffered in 06.