Where has Heat ‘Finishing Five’ gone

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 22-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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ASK IRA: Where has Heat ‘Finishing Five’ gone?

Q: How come we aren’t seeing the Dream Team anymore (Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem)? You would think that when points are getting tough to come by that Erik Spoelstra would go with this team to have them continue to work together and gel. — Paul, Fort Lauderdale.

A: But points hardly have been tough to come by and LeBron and Wade are barely playing in fourth quarters because of the recent routs. The Heat have gotten away from the lineup I call the “Finishing Five” because they have been finishing off opponents much earlier. But I do think it would be helpful to find minutes together for those five, considering the cohesion they showed before the recent run of routs.

Q: Funny, whenever members of the Heat are asked about Jeremy Lin there’s not much to say. I get the feeling that the Heat are just waiting and itching to shut Lin-drama down! — Ronnie T. Coral Springs

A: I think you’re right. These Heat players enjoy nothing more than the big stage, and there simply haven’t been many challenges in recent games, but putting a stop to Lin-Bron comparisons figure to get the juices flowing.

Q: Ira, when Erik Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade speak of going to another gear or two (which I think they could reach), what are the different gears attainable? — Nick, Coral Springs.

A: Better execution in the halfcourt and better defense at the 3-point arc.

Q: Why did Spoelstra not use Eddy Curry against Dwight Howard in Sunday’s game? How can he be ready against the other big guys during the playoffs? — Yeoj, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A: I think we all may have been guilty of overstating the Eddy Curry experience, or at least where it currently does or does not stand.

Q: Does it seem like Spo keeps Bosh in the game during the fourth quarter when the Heat have a big lead so that he can pad his stats? — David.

A: Yes. (And it’s a smart approach. Coaching stars means learning how to keep everyone happy.)

By Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel

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The Miami Heat And OKC Thunder Are Untouchable

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 22-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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The Miami Heat And OKC Thunder Are Untouchable

No matter what happened later in the day, it would have been next to impossible to top Jeremy Lin and the Knicks on Sunday. Lin is already the biggest story in sports, and as we said last week, what makes him so incredible is that he keeps exceeding the hype.

Next to New York we had two known quantities playing: The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat.

We know what to expect from those two, at least for now. Any hype they get can’t be answered until playoff time, and even then, if they don’t win a title their season will be looked at as a failure.

But while everyone waits for May and June and looks toward Lin in February, the Heat and Thunder have quietly been blowing the doors off the rest of the league.

Miami’s won nine of 11 games in February and only one of those wins has been closer than 10 points. Sunday, Orlando that felt the wrath of the Heat, to the tune of a 12-point loss that was a 20-point game late in the fourth quarter.

LeBron James had an effortless 25 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, and Dwyane Wade added 27 points. Udonis Haslem had 10 points off the bench. And from the second quarter on, the game was never close.

That’s how most of their season has gone. Save for the occasional aberration, the Heat haven’t just beaten people, they’ve run them off the court.

They lead the league in offensive efficiency (107.4) and they’re tied for first in point differential (+9.1). They’ve got the deadliest fast break in the NBA, Wade and LeBron have been dominant all year, and even Chris Bosh is chipping in whenever they need it.

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By Andrew Sharp – Featured Contributor

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Mario Chalmers: Miami Heat Game Changer

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 22-02-2012

Category : Mario Chalmers

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Mario Chalmers: Miami Heat Game Changer

Obviously the Miami Heat wouldn’t be where they are right now without the Big 3, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Outside of those superstars, the Heat have been getting a steady dose of contributions from point guard Mario Chalmers, and he is who we are looking at as our Playstation #GameChanger.

Chalmers is having the best season of his career, especially when it comes to shooting the ball. Rio is hitting 51.5% of his field goals and averaging 10.9 points per game, both career highs. It’s been well over a year that he has been practicing and playing with the Heat’s lethal lineup, and the familiarity is really starting to show.

The impressive shooting doesn’t stop there, as Chalmers is also hitting a career best 46.2% of his three-point shots. That has gotten him attention from the NBA, who chose Chalmers to participate in their 3-point Shootout that takes place during the NBA All-Star Weekend’s Saturday night.

The bid is even more impressive when you take in account that Rio’s teammate James Jones is also participating in the event, as he is the defending champion having won last season in Los Angeles.

With the Miami Heat playing some of the best basketball that NBA fans have seen in a while, it’s certainly worth taking into account the solid play of Chalmers. Defensively he has shown improvement in his footwork and ability to not be beaten off the dribble, as well as getting in his opponents passing lanes and picking up steals.

The major value has come with his three-point shooting though. When you have a team with the stars that Miami has, a guy like Chalmers is going to a get a lot of open shots. Now that he is hitting those shots at such a high percentage, it’s easy to say that Rio is the exact kind of player that the Heat should be surrounding their Big 3 with.

by David Dwork

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Heat streak at 7 after beating Kings 120-108

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 22-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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Heat streak at 7 after beating Kings 120-108

MIAMI (AP) – The Miami Heat knew what was coming from Sacramento. Eventually, they handled the Kings’ challenge.

Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 10 assists, Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh each scored 20 points and the NBA-leading Heat stretched their winning streak to seven games with a 120-108 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.

“It was a good game for me, just trying to be aggressive and was able to get my teammates some shots,” said Wade, who shot 11 for 16 and has tied his career-best with 11 straight games of shooting 50 percent or better, matching a run from his rookie season.

“And I was also able to continue do what I’ve been doing the last couple games, just taking high-percentage shots and making them.”

LeBron James scored 18 points, Norris Cole had 12 and Udonis Haslem added 10 for Miami (26-7), which has won each of its games during this streak by at least 12 points.

Next up for Miami: The New York Knicks and Jeremy Lin come to town Thursday.

“It’s going to be fun,” James said. “It’s going to be electrifying. … It could be one of the most-watched games that we’ve had in a long time.”

Isaiah Thomas scored 20 of his 24 points in the third quarter for Sacramento, which dropped its sixth straight. Marcus Thornton scored 23, Tyreke Evans finished with 21 points and 10 assists, and Jason Thompson had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings.

The Kings were without guard John Salmons, a late scratch with a sore right hip.

“You needed to play a perfect game to win this game against this team and we were pretty close to the perfect game,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “We had moments, but when you give up 25 points off turnovers, you’re not going to beat many teams.”

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By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer

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Heat’s Big 3 merging into something special

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 22-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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Heat’s Big 3 merging into something special

MIAMI – It was D-Wade Corp., LeBron Inc. and Bosh Ltd. Or something like that.

Two years ago, the three guys who now star on the Miami Heat were doing their own things with different teams. Dwyane Wade was with the Heat, LeBron James in Cleveland and Chris Bosh in Toronto.

Then they had a merger.

Well, not all consolidations are immediately smooth. And when Wade, James and Bosh all joined forces last season, there was no title.

“They were good players on three different teams (in 2009-10), and they finally came together,” said Sacramento coach Keith Smart.

“They were three individual corporations in one building (last season) because they were good players. They weren’t a team yet. But they’ve had a chance to grow. . . . They’re at a different level (now).”

The Heat sure are. Armed with the NBA’s best record at 25-7 and with an impressive six-game winning streak, Smart says “no question” the Heat are playing their best since the three stars arrived in Miami.

Then again, who isn’t saying that? With the Heat trying to win a seventh straight game by double digits against Smart’s Kings on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, all the card-carrying members of the Big Three say Miami has not looked this good at any point during the previous 1½ years.

“I think that’s obvious,” Bosh said. “I think we’re playing our best ball since we’ve been together. Things are just clicking.”

During their six-game streak, the Heat have outscored foes by an average of 17.7 points. They’ve won 17 of their past 20 since a surprising three-game losing streak in January.

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Miami Heat aren’t crunch-time tested this year, but confidence is high they can win the close ones

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 22-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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Miami Heat aren’t crunch-time tested this year, but confidence is high they can win the close ones

MIAMI – These are tough times at Heat headquarters.

“It’s always fun when you can get a close game,” LeBron James said Monday, with a smile. “I’m getting tired of sitting down in the fourth quarter, personally. It’s messing up my averages.”

His averages, on the whole, haven’t been damaged too much – otherwise, he couldn’t have won his fourth Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

James and the Heat, primed to finish the first half of its season tonight against Sacramento, have answered plenty of questions already, with better synergy between its stars, and a much better bench.

Still, there’s one issue that the team hasn’t had much opportunity to address, one that’s largely been due to its own success.

Miami is 9-2 in February, with an average margin of victory of 16.4 points, with only Toronto (6) coming closer than 12. Nor were the two defeats – to Milwaukee and Orlando – especially competitive, with the Heat losing by eight and 13. In the 11 total games this month, only three times did a team enter the fourth quarter leading by single digits.

For the season, the Heat is 4-1 in games decided by five points or less, and 9-5 in games decided by 10 points or less, each such a small sample size that it’s hard to draw many conclusions.

Compare that to 2010-11, when Miami was 6-14 in games decided by five points or less, and 25-18 in games decided by 10 points or less.

Then, in the playoffs, the Heat then went 2-3 in games decided by five points or less, and 11-5 in games decided by 10 points or less.

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By ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

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Preview: Sacramento (10-21) at Miami (25-7)

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 21-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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Preview: Sacramento (10-21) at Miami (25-7)

MIAMI (AP) – Dwyane Wade finished his workout Monday and approached about a dozen reporters, one of the smallest media turnouts at a Miami Heat practice this season.

These days, the team with the NBA’s best record almost seems like an afterthought.

“If it was packed in here right now, it would mean we were losing,” Wade said. “When we look over and see a lot of people in here, we’re not playing well.”

And that certainly isn’t the case.

Winners of six straight, all by at least 12 points, the Heat are in their best stretch of the season. The midpoint of the regular-season schedule awaits Tuesday when Miami (25-7) hosts Sacramento (10-21), losers of five straight.

Here’s one example of how wildly different things have gone for those clubs: Miami has led by at least 20 points in each of its last six games, while the Kings have only enjoyed that margin once this season – for all of 37 seconds.

If the spotlight is going to shine elsewhere these days, the Heat are fine with that arrangement.

“It’s quiet as hell around here and we’re doing pretty good,” forward Chris Bosh said.

“But that’s to be expected. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s just the name of the game. That’s the business. That’s how it’s always going to be. You’re more of a story when you have controversy.”

Or a phenomenon.

Already in Miami – and to the team’s chagrin, given that Sacramento is next on the schedule and therefore supposed to be the focus – there’s no shortage of talk about Thursday night’s home game against the New York Knicks, and none of that buzz is surrounding the years-old rivalry between the teams.

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2012 NBA Standings: Miami Heat Take Best Record

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 21-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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2012 NBA Standings: Miami Heat Take Best Record

In the updated 2012 NBA standings, the Miami Heat took over the best record in the league.

A Chicago Bulls loss, combined with a Heat win allowed LeBron James’ team to take over at the top of the NBA standings. Miami beat the Orlando Magic 90-78 on Sunday (Feb. 19), allowing the team to improve to 25-7 in the 2011-12 NBA season.

The mark by the Heat is just ahead of the Bulls at 25-8, the Oklahoma City Thunder at 24-7 and the San Antonio Spurs at 22-9.

Things could change, but Miami is clearly the best team in the NBA at the moment. The team is just blowing away opponents and is winning on the road as often at home.

Through the games on Feb. 19, Miami is 13-2 at home, 12-5 on the road and 20-4 against Eastern Conference opponents.

There are some interesting games coming up on the schedule for the Heat though, like the Feb. 23 match-up against Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks and a Mar. 4 game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

There are also two games against Oklahoma City in the second half of the schedule, with the first taking place on the road (Mar. 25) and then the second one at home on Apr. 4.

Those head-to-head games may actually end up determining which team gets home court advantage should they make it all the way to the 2012 NBA Finals.

Do you think that the Miami Heat can finish with the best record in the NBA? Is an Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami finals too easy of a prediction?

Gather

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Miami Heat fine with playing out of the spotlight

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 21-02-2012

Category : Miami Heat

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Miami Heat fine with playing out of the spotlight

MIAMI – Last year, every move by the Miami Heat was front-page news.

Whether it was the star player accidentally bumping the coach or tears in the locker room after a loss, the Heat were sure to grab headlines.

How things have changed.

With the league captivated by the rise of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, the Heat have taken a back seat despite playing perhaps their best basketball of the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh era.

The Heat have won 17 of 20 since Jan. 17, and quietly own the NBA’s best record. They’re fine with living out of the spotlight. No problem being in the shadows for once.

“We’re comfortable in our world now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“It could be a lot of noise, or it can be relatively minimal noise. … You can get sidetracked in this league so quickly if you get caught up in all the story lines. Right now, there happens to be other story lines around the league, but we know how quickly things can change and turn on us.”

The Heat, who face the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, are no longer the league’s best story.

Miami a year ago was easily the most-scrutinized team, drawing mostly criticism because of loading up with the additions of All-Stars James and Bosh.

Now, they barely draw a blip because of Lin, the former D-Leagueplayer-turned-NBA sensation who has once again made Knicks basketball relevant.

An example was when both teams played at the Washington Wizards two weeks ago. The Knicks, sub .500 at the time, drew twice the amount of reporters two days before the defending Eastern Conference champions faced the Wizards.

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By Shandel Richardson, Sun Sentinel
srichardson@tribune.com.

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Anthony, Davis join the Linsanity

Posted by Spoelstra Heat | Posted on 21-02-2012

Category : Online Basketball

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Anthony, Davis join the Linsanity

NEW YORK (AP) – Carmelo Anthony rejoined the Knicks’ starting lineup Monday night and was part of the Linsanity for the first time since it began sweeping New York.

Anthony missed the previous seven games with a groin injury. The All-Star forward was greeted by a huge ovation at Madison Square Garden during introductions for New York’s game against the New Jersey Nets, then scored the Knicks’ second basket.

Baron Davis also made his season and Knicks debut against the Nets, wearing No. 85.

Anthony hadn’t played since Feb. 6, the first game Jeremy Lin became a starter with the Knicks. Anthony played six minutes against Utah, but Lin scored 28 points and the Knicks won their second of what turned out to be seven straight victories.

Anthony came in averaging 22 points per game, but while Knicks fans have been swooning over their new point guard, they also have been fretting about how Anthony and Lin will mix.

“He was pretty good without him so I imagine he’ll be pretty good with him,” D’Antoni said of Anthony before the game. “Everybody will benefit from a good point guard.”

Lin’s emergence as the point guard the Knicks have been searching for has been a boon to the pick-and-roll offense. But that’s not Anthony’s game.

“We’ll run our offense,” D’Antoni said before the game. “Jeremy’s going to run the pick-and-roll. Melo will get the ball and do his thing. We’ll see if it’s balanced. If it’s not we’ll have to balance it and all that.”

D’Antoni figures Anthony and Lin will need some time to figure out what works best for each other.

“Any player wants a point guard that gets him easy shots and Jeremy can do that,” the coach said.

Davis has been recovering from a herniated disk in his back and an infection in his elbow, which delayed his Knicks debut. New York signed him to eventually be its starting point guard, but Lin changed those plans.

The 32-year-old former All-Star will be a much-needed backup to Lin, who has played at least 36 minutes in eight of the nine games in which he has had a major role, topping 40 minutes four times. D’Antoni said Davis also could slide over to shooting guard and play with Lin.

By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP Sports Writer

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