6 Thoughts
1) Second best win of the season for the Heat, behind only the victory at home over the Lakers. A little easier to win the return game of a home and home matchup like tonight's, and the Laker game was a Friday night national tv game that felt bigger. But most importantly: "I really, really hate Kobe," asserted Mami Minutos in ranking this win just behind that one.
2) Emcee Chalmers and Daequan Cook shot the snap out of the nylon. Chalmers 6-7 on threes and Cook 5-7 on threes. Chalmers had his best game of the year: 21 points, 8 assists, and three steals,with no turnovers, against one of the best defensive teams in basketball. Extraordinary. Sideline reporter Jason Jackson asked him after the game whether he was more proud of the six threes or the zero turnovers. "I think the zero turnovers," offered Mario. Good answer - for the coach to hear. There is approximately a zero percent chance he leads with the zero turnovers over the six threes on South Beach tonight. If girls in South Beach wanted to hang out with guys who had zero turnovers, Chris Quinn would be T.I. There are certain girls in South Beach who are under the impression that Mike Beasley has scored 25 points in every game this season - lead with the 21 points, Emcee, trust us...
3) LeBron was dynamite tonight - a word Heat color commentator and head cheerleader Tony Fiorentino got into his head tonight and couldn't get out. The Heat's focus was dynamite. LeBron's long threes were dynamite. How does Delonte West's jailhouse art all up his neck look:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2353/2186535719_855403f644.jpg? Dynamite, according to Tony. But LeBron truly was dynamite for the second game in a row against the Heat. Shot approximately one hundred free throws in the first half, frustrating the Heat who felt they were being called too tightly. In the second half LeBron did it on his own, exploding to the basket, finding open shooters, and drilling long threes on his way to 38 points and 7 assists on his 24th birthday, singlehandedly keeping the Cavs in a game in which they appeared to have a severe case of South Beach-itis. Dwyane Wade confirmed after the game he had been out with his friend LeBron the night before for a birthday party. "He can have his party in our city, but he can't get a win," laughed Wade cheerfully after the game, in a rare unguarded moment.
4) For the second game in a row a Cavalier exploded on a blatantly incorrect call by a referee and was assessed a technical foul, only to see the call changed by another official, but not get the technical rescinded (Note to Thor, and all our Australian readers: a technical foul is like a yellow card). Not really important, just frustrating for the player - he is penalized for arguing something that he is right about - and highly unusual. We are still checking the Dos archives for the last time we have seen a play like that - and it has now happened two games in a row. Dynamite!
5) Bad Santa Marion was all over the court, for better and worse. Ended up with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Were he capable of making a layup, it could have been 20. "It's amazing how many times he is around the basket with the ball and it just pops out," observed Tony Fiorentino in the closest thing to demonstrable frustration with a Heat player that he will ever display. "It's dynamite!"
6) Lost in all the heroics were the somewhat brief, but encouraging, contributions of Mike Beasley. This team is long for him to go against, and they collapse on the ball effectively. At one point, with LeBron checking him on the defensive end, he twice put the ball on the floor, went by LeBron, and took a body check to no call - were the positions reversed, that's two quick fouls on Mike Beasley. Such is life in the NBA for a rookie against a superstar. But he stayed with it, put his head down, and headed to the rim a couple more times. In 13 minutes he made 6-6 free throws, and finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds. That is gritty, effective work, and a smart game plan on his part, surpassed only by his plans for New Year's Eve: going to Wet Willie's on Ocean Drive and telling girls he is Mike Beasley.
Feliz New Years, everybody!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Cavs 93 Heat 86
6 Thoughts
1) Heat's first look at Dos' projected champions this year went well for three quarters before falling apart over the last 8 minutes. Miami, overwhelmed size-wise on the front line, used its quickness to defend and hold the Cavs to 41% for the game. However, old friend Bennett Salvatore was on hand to officiate - the last time Miami saw him the Golden State Warriors set a record for free throws in a a game against Miami. Let's just say Bennett loves blowing his whistle. As much as the 35-20 free throw disparity hurt Miami, the game's most bizarre call went their way late. After a Daequan Cook three cut the Cavs lead to 4 with 20 seconds to go, Cleveland immediately inbounded the ball and both Wade and Chalmers ran to the recipient to foul him on purpose, to stop the clock. After the third or fourth whack went uncalled by Salvatore, standing about 4 feet from the play, the ball was jarred loose and Miami retrieved it for an open look at a 3 that would have thrown the outcome in to jeopardy. It didn't go, and Cleveland survived another bizarre Bennett moment.
2) Both coaches treated the game like a big one - LeBron played 43 minutes, 7 above his average, and Wade played 40, 4 above his. That, plus a raucous sellout Cleveland crowd, and some physical play, gave the game an almost-playoff like atmosphere down the stretch. Coach Spo even took a rare swipe at the referrees, citing two non-calls that helped turn the game Cleveland's way early in the 4th quarter. It is a big game when Spo complains about officiating - I don't believe that I have heard him do it before. Bennett Salvatore - bringing out out the worst in people. The Cavs are 16-0 at home after the win. That is what championship teams do - find a way to win on the home court, even on an off night, even when the other team comes after you hard.
3) Nice halftime piece on Shawn Marion's efforts to spread Christmas cheer amongst less fortunate Miami families. Highlight of the segment involved Marion getting up in to an obviously terrified two year old, shoving a gift in his chest, and repeatedly ordering him to "open it up," as the kid cowered in fear. Marion wearing a fairly clean 'Connery' t-shirt and a Santa hat perched somewhat askew on his head. Arguably had dipped in to the "egg nog" before visiting homes. A Christmas that youngster will never forget, unfortunately.
4) Mike Beasley showed that, yes, he can actually jump on a ridiculous 4th quarter tomahawk dunk over Ilgauskas, on which he switched hands going to the rim. He, at times, lacks deciveness, still, and is a better athlete than he shows. He often gets caught standing around and lightly hops off the ground instead of gathering himself and exploding. On this evening, though, went to the basket hard several times, and got frustrated when he felt he wasn't rewarded with free throws a couple times. Still, his increased agressiveness will serve him well - certainly didn't seem out of place against one of the best teams in basketball.
5) LeBron James is ridiculous. Shot 12-19 for 33 points. Made innumerable tough jumpers over Shawn "Bad Santa" Marion, who played him about as tough as is possible. Also had 9 assists, often driving, drawing defenders, and firing passes out to the perimeter for open 3s. It is impossible to stop because his size allows him to throw those passes over the top, easily. Generally, Wade is his equal in many ways, and played well tonight with 29 points and 8 assists of his own. But beyond the fact that LeBron is the more physically imposing of the two - probably 5" inches taller and 40 pounds heavier, is the fact that he is three years younger. Wade is about to turn 27 in January - in a couple of days LeBron will turn 24. That is unfathomable. How can he be 24? I am not even going for the "he looks..." joke, or anything - just marveling at it. How can he be 24? Michael Jordan wasn't this good when he was 24. He was a better scorer, but he wasn't this good a player. LeBron is efficient, something Jordan didn't develop until later on. Wow. If LeBron wins this title, how many does he win? With a group roughly as good as the one he has now, he has to be favored every year, seemingly...We could be watching the player who actually eclipses Jordan...
6) Restaurant review: Forte di Asprinio in downtown West Palm Beach. First of all, Steven Asprinio is reknowned for his participation on Bravo's Top Chef show, which I have never seen. I prefer the far gay-er Food Network. Second, it is a travesty that on a Saturday night in West Palm Beach during the holiday season, there are approximately 400,000 people in Cityplace watching fake snow/soap suds being blown out of a palm tree and stuffing themselves at the Cheesecake Factory when they could be easing back on Clematis Street at one of several ultra-cool restaurants, Asprinio's included. All purple-y neon lighting, and modern, stark white furniture give it a South Beach hipster vibe, while the deconstructed dishes and emphasis on foam emulsion put it in the 'foodie' category. But it totally delivers. Summer squash raviolis with crystallized marshmellows and a feather-light vinagrette was sweet, as was the Atlantic Char with tart apples and pork belly. Also, both the waitress and the bus boy were drawn in to the table's Tom Petty debate, still raging over the "Mudcrutch incident" from several days previous. Mami Minutos, originally contending that she does not like, and never did like, Petty - before finally conceding that much of her trepidation is over the fact that his fans "seem like they would be racist." Waitress seemed slightly taken aback at this premise when it was posited to her by Dos. Still, an enjoyable evening, made all the better as we left humming "American Girl." Or, at least I did.
1) Heat's first look at Dos' projected champions this year went well for three quarters before falling apart over the last 8 minutes. Miami, overwhelmed size-wise on the front line, used its quickness to defend and hold the Cavs to 41% for the game. However, old friend Bennett Salvatore was on hand to officiate - the last time Miami saw him the Golden State Warriors set a record for free throws in a a game against Miami. Let's just say Bennett loves blowing his whistle. As much as the 35-20 free throw disparity hurt Miami, the game's most bizarre call went their way late. After a Daequan Cook three cut the Cavs lead to 4 with 20 seconds to go, Cleveland immediately inbounded the ball and both Wade and Chalmers ran to the recipient to foul him on purpose, to stop the clock. After the third or fourth whack went uncalled by Salvatore, standing about 4 feet from the play, the ball was jarred loose and Miami retrieved it for an open look at a 3 that would have thrown the outcome in to jeopardy. It didn't go, and Cleveland survived another bizarre Bennett moment.
2) Both coaches treated the game like a big one - LeBron played 43 minutes, 7 above his average, and Wade played 40, 4 above his. That, plus a raucous sellout Cleveland crowd, and some physical play, gave the game an almost-playoff like atmosphere down the stretch. Coach Spo even took a rare swipe at the referrees, citing two non-calls that helped turn the game Cleveland's way early in the 4th quarter. It is a big game when Spo complains about officiating - I don't believe that I have heard him do it before. Bennett Salvatore - bringing out out the worst in people. The Cavs are 16-0 at home after the win. That is what championship teams do - find a way to win on the home court, even on an off night, even when the other team comes after you hard.
3) Nice halftime piece on Shawn Marion's efforts to spread Christmas cheer amongst less fortunate Miami families. Highlight of the segment involved Marion getting up in to an obviously terrified two year old, shoving a gift in his chest, and repeatedly ordering him to "open it up," as the kid cowered in fear. Marion wearing a fairly clean 'Connery' t-shirt and a Santa hat perched somewhat askew on his head. Arguably had dipped in to the "egg nog" before visiting homes. A Christmas that youngster will never forget, unfortunately.
4) Mike Beasley showed that, yes, he can actually jump on a ridiculous 4th quarter tomahawk dunk over Ilgauskas, on which he switched hands going to the rim. He, at times, lacks deciveness, still, and is a better athlete than he shows. He often gets caught standing around and lightly hops off the ground instead of gathering himself and exploding. On this evening, though, went to the basket hard several times, and got frustrated when he felt he wasn't rewarded with free throws a couple times. Still, his increased agressiveness will serve him well - certainly didn't seem out of place against one of the best teams in basketball.
5) LeBron James is ridiculous. Shot 12-19 for 33 points. Made innumerable tough jumpers over Shawn "Bad Santa" Marion, who played him about as tough as is possible. Also had 9 assists, often driving, drawing defenders, and firing passes out to the perimeter for open 3s. It is impossible to stop because his size allows him to throw those passes over the top, easily. Generally, Wade is his equal in many ways, and played well tonight with 29 points and 8 assists of his own. But beyond the fact that LeBron is the more physically imposing of the two - probably 5" inches taller and 40 pounds heavier, is the fact that he is three years younger. Wade is about to turn 27 in January - in a couple of days LeBron will turn 24. That is unfathomable. How can he be 24? I am not even going for the "he looks..." joke, or anything - just marveling at it. How can he be 24? Michael Jordan wasn't this good when he was 24. He was a better scorer, but he wasn't this good a player. LeBron is efficient, something Jordan didn't develop until later on. Wow. If LeBron wins this title, how many does he win? With a group roughly as good as the one he has now, he has to be favored every year, seemingly...We could be watching the player who actually eclipses Jordan...
6) Restaurant review: Forte di Asprinio in downtown West Palm Beach. First of all, Steven Asprinio is reknowned for his participation on Bravo's Top Chef show, which I have never seen. I prefer the far gay-er Food Network. Second, it is a travesty that on a Saturday night in West Palm Beach during the holiday season, there are approximately 400,000 people in Cityplace watching fake snow/soap suds being blown out of a palm tree and stuffing themselves at the Cheesecake Factory when they could be easing back on Clematis Street at one of several ultra-cool restaurants, Asprinio's included. All purple-y neon lighting, and modern, stark white furniture give it a South Beach hipster vibe, while the deconstructed dishes and emphasis on foam emulsion put it in the 'foodie' category. But it totally delivers. Summer squash raviolis with crystallized marshmellows and a feather-light vinagrette was sweet, as was the Atlantic Char with tart apples and pork belly. Also, both the waitress and the bus boy were drawn in to the table's Tom Petty debate, still raging over the "Mudcrutch incident" from several days previous. Mami Minutos, originally contending that she does not like, and never did like, Petty - before finally conceding that much of her trepidation is over the fact that his fans "seem like they would be racist." Waitress seemed slightly taken aback at this premise when it was posited to her by Dos. Still, an enjoyable evening, made all the better as we left humming "American Girl." Or, at least I did.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Heat 90 Bulls 77
6 Thoughts
1) Another good peer win over a middling Eastern Conference team. Miami goes to a season high 4 games over .500 (16-12) while the Bulls drop to 13-16. The heroes of this game were the kids - Beasley and Cook ignited a run at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Wade on the bench and the game tied after three. Beasley had 8 of his 14 in the quarter and Cook made 3 threes, pushing the Heat out to a comfortable lead that they cruised home with. Good thing, too - the schedule gets brutal over the next month. The next 3 are Cleveland, Cleveland, Orlando, followed a week later by a looong trip out west. Statistically Miami has played the easiest schedule in basketball thus far - this next month will tell if they can stay up in the playoff race for good.
2) Derrick Rose vs. Mario Chalmers. A battle of rookie point guards. Nobody here at Dos Minutos is going to make the argument that Emcee Chalmers is a better rookie point guard than Derrick Rose. Rose, who went first in the draft - just before Miami selected Beasley - is incredibly talented. I would trade Beasley and Chalmers for him in a heartbeat. But on this night, Chalmers outplayed him. Stayed in front of him and forced Rose in to a 3-14 shooting night with 5 turnovers, while Emcee scored 16 of his own on 6-9, and added 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Rose is going to be an all-star, and he has little productive help on this Bulls team - they ask him, as a rookie, to do far, far too much. But Chalmers is improving as the season goes on, and showing that he, too, has a productive future in this league. It looked like he took his draft night slide personally tonight, matched up against the # 1 pick, and he delivered.
3) Tonight's game was on ESPN, which meant no Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino - instead ESPN broadcaster Dan Shulman and color commentator Doris Burke. Doris, generally as charismatic as an ironing board, spent several minutes trying to force a joke about Barack Obama's basketball ability: "I've seen the video - he's got no game," droned Doris. For his part, Shulman was hyper aware of injuries, though oddly non-committal. After a Dwyane Wade-Ty Thomas collision left Wade grimacing and clutching his ornaments on the way back up court, Shulman announced, "Wade seems to be a little banged up and he may be reaching for his groin, but it's hard to tell." A quarter later, Bull Andreas Nocioni arose from one of his frequent collisions holding the back of his neck: "He hurt his head in practice yesterday, had an MRI. This may be related to that, but I don't want to speculate," reported Shulman. Shulman is pretty sure Miami won the game, but he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions.
4) Nice feature on Dwyane Wade buying a new house for a woman whose young nephew burned down her old house. However, Mami Minutos was alarmed by video of the presentation: "They are letting the kid right back in the new house!" Get the fire extinguishers ready.
5) If this is the best that former Florida Gator, high lottery draft pick, and pre-op tranny Joakim Noah can play, it is extremely troubling. He looks underfed, tentative, and confused out there. I mean, this is a guy who had a tremendous amount of fire and success in college, and I would have used a high selection on him myself. You should have seen the way my face would light up when I had the opportunity to watch him play. But he is losing minutes to large blanco stiff Aaron Gray and co-lottery bust Tyrus Thomas, seems dispirited, and is one of the reasons the future of the Chicago franchise appears so murky right now...and, of course, he's also a dear, dear friend. In all seriousness, he shouldn't be this bad, neither should Ty Thomas, and their offense consists of Derrick Rose going one-on-one while everyone else watches. They have drafted poorly; their best scorer, Ben Gordon, has been alienated by the franchise and barely touched the ball in the second half; and they seem to lack any direction at all. Only because of Rose' brilliance have they won 13 so far this season. This is a team that needs a big shakeup - badly.
6) Great post-game analysis of the rookie class by former player and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose. The one thing that he really likes about Blazer rookie Rudy Fernandez is that "he has a moxie." Still, when pressed to name the one rookie that he likes more than all the others, he choose "Rose and Mayo." Dos' all-time favorite Jalen moment was recounted in the book Fab Five, the story of the University of Michigan college hoops team, of which Jalen was a prominent member. On a trip to Hawaii for a tournament, upon arriving at their beachfront hotel, Jalen promptly went to his room, threw open the windows, and plugged in his Sega. "Nothing like the cool ocean breeze blowing over you while you are playing your Madden to make you feel like the man," crowed Motor City native Rose...
------------
Time for a new feature called "Reviewing White Music for Eric."
Today's reviewed album: Tom Petty's new/old band Mudcrutch, with the album Mudcrutch. It is fine, but I didn't like it. I like Tom Petty as much as any other white person from the northeast, but not as much as someone from any state where the public school system is ranked in the bottom third nationally. On a whim I downloaded it during my recent vacation on the theory that it was going to be super cool, sludgy, fuzzy, funk-country slop, with Petty snarling and howling over the top. I mean, that's what "mudcrutch" sounds like, to me. But, it was more like a Byrds album - which is to say, like a jangly country folk album, which is not at all what I was hoping for. For me, it is a pass, but more importantly, for Eric, not worth turning the Billy Joel off for.
1) Another good peer win over a middling Eastern Conference team. Miami goes to a season high 4 games over .500 (16-12) while the Bulls drop to 13-16. The heroes of this game were the kids - Beasley and Cook ignited a run at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Wade on the bench and the game tied after three. Beasley had 8 of his 14 in the quarter and Cook made 3 threes, pushing the Heat out to a comfortable lead that they cruised home with. Good thing, too - the schedule gets brutal over the next month. The next 3 are Cleveland, Cleveland, Orlando, followed a week later by a looong trip out west. Statistically Miami has played the easiest schedule in basketball thus far - this next month will tell if they can stay up in the playoff race for good.
2) Derrick Rose vs. Mario Chalmers. A battle of rookie point guards. Nobody here at Dos Minutos is going to make the argument that Emcee Chalmers is a better rookie point guard than Derrick Rose. Rose, who went first in the draft - just before Miami selected Beasley - is incredibly talented. I would trade Beasley and Chalmers for him in a heartbeat. But on this night, Chalmers outplayed him. Stayed in front of him and forced Rose in to a 3-14 shooting night with 5 turnovers, while Emcee scored 16 of his own on 6-9, and added 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Rose is going to be an all-star, and he has little productive help on this Bulls team - they ask him, as a rookie, to do far, far too much. But Chalmers is improving as the season goes on, and showing that he, too, has a productive future in this league. It looked like he took his draft night slide personally tonight, matched up against the # 1 pick, and he delivered.
3) Tonight's game was on ESPN, which meant no Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino - instead ESPN broadcaster Dan Shulman and color commentator Doris Burke. Doris, generally as charismatic as an ironing board, spent several minutes trying to force a joke about Barack Obama's basketball ability: "I've seen the video - he's got no game," droned Doris. For his part, Shulman was hyper aware of injuries, though oddly non-committal. After a Dwyane Wade-Ty Thomas collision left Wade grimacing and clutching his ornaments on the way back up court, Shulman announced, "Wade seems to be a little banged up and he may be reaching for his groin, but it's hard to tell." A quarter later, Bull Andreas Nocioni arose from one of his frequent collisions holding the back of his neck: "He hurt his head in practice yesterday, had an MRI. This may be related to that, but I don't want to speculate," reported Shulman. Shulman is pretty sure Miami won the game, but he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions.
4) Nice feature on Dwyane Wade buying a new house for a woman whose young nephew burned down her old house. However, Mami Minutos was alarmed by video of the presentation: "They are letting the kid right back in the new house!" Get the fire extinguishers ready.
5) If this is the best that former Florida Gator, high lottery draft pick, and pre-op tranny Joakim Noah can play, it is extremely troubling. He looks underfed, tentative, and confused out there. I mean, this is a guy who had a tremendous amount of fire and success in college, and I would have used a high selection on him myself. You should have seen the way my face would light up when I had the opportunity to watch him play. But he is losing minutes to large blanco stiff Aaron Gray and co-lottery bust Tyrus Thomas, seems dispirited, and is one of the reasons the future of the Chicago franchise appears so murky right now...and, of course, he's also a dear, dear friend. In all seriousness, he shouldn't be this bad, neither should Ty Thomas, and their offense consists of Derrick Rose going one-on-one while everyone else watches. They have drafted poorly; their best scorer, Ben Gordon, has been alienated by the franchise and barely touched the ball in the second half; and they seem to lack any direction at all. Only because of Rose' brilliance have they won 13 so far this season. This is a team that needs a big shakeup - badly.
6) Great post-game analysis of the rookie class by former player and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose. The one thing that he really likes about Blazer rookie Rudy Fernandez is that "he has a moxie." Still, when pressed to name the one rookie that he likes more than all the others, he choose "Rose and Mayo." Dos' all-time favorite Jalen moment was recounted in the book Fab Five, the story of the University of Michigan college hoops team, of which Jalen was a prominent member. On a trip to Hawaii for a tournament, upon arriving at their beachfront hotel, Jalen promptly went to his room, threw open the windows, and plugged in his Sega. "Nothing like the cool ocean breeze blowing over you while you are playing your Madden to make you feel like the man," crowed Motor City native Rose...
------------
Time for a new feature called "Reviewing White Music for Eric."
Today's reviewed album: Tom Petty's new/old band Mudcrutch, with the album Mudcrutch. It is fine, but I didn't like it. I like Tom Petty as much as any other white person from the northeast, but not as much as someone from any state where the public school system is ranked in the bottom third nationally. On a whim I downloaded it during my recent vacation on the theory that it was going to be super cool, sludgy, fuzzy, funk-country slop, with Petty snarling and howling over the top. I mean, that's what "mudcrutch" sounds like, to me. But, it was more like a Byrds album - which is to say, like a jangly country folk album, which is not at all what I was hoping for. For me, it is a pass, but more importantly, for Eric, not worth turning the Billy Joel off for.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Heat 96 Warriors 88
6 Thoughts
1) Well, the streak had to end sometime. It was long anticipated that a tivo malfunction would be the eventual killer, but it wasn't. Young P. Minutos deeply gashed his forehead open pretending to be a ghost with a blanket over his head, then crashing headlong into a bookcase, and requiring a trip to the emergency room. Warriors led 6-4 at that point. Screams from the bedroom, Mami Minutos checked it out and called for help - I arrived to find a scene out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. "The great thing about head wounds," the doctor at JFK Memorial told me hours later, "is that they bleed so much that they can't really get infected." Yes, that is great. In any case, I believe that 26 straight games is the longest streak in Dos history, passing 23 games during the 96-97 season. In that season, Dos watched 77 of 82 regular season games. I like to think that record is within reach this season, as long as the kids can stay out of the ER...
2) EMT's showed up on the scene after a quick 911 call. Patched up the little guy and advised us to bring him over to the hospital for a little stitch work. On the way out, noticed the hanging photos of the Dos Minutos trip to Belize. "Where is that," one of them asked? "Belize," I told him, "it's just south of Mexico and east of Guatemala." "I know where it is," intoned the EMT flatly, as though I had insulted him. Sometimes I forget that other people actually know where things are - I had never even heard of Belize before last year. It is a sheltered life in the barrio.
3) In the first couple of minutes of the game that I did see, play-by-play announcer Eric Reid told us that Warrior forward Kelenna Azubuike had an unusual childhood: he was born in London, but was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Dear Dad - every day I thank my lucky stars that you had the foresight to relocate the family from London to Tulsa. What a masterstroke! As soon as my contract with the Warriors expires, I am getting out of the San Franciso Bay area and relocating to either New Jersey, Oklahoma City, or Utah...Love, Kelenna"
4) At JFK hospital while waiting for the doctor, read several chapters of The Great Gatsby. I can identify with Nick Carraway because he is acutely self-aware. I am exclusively self-aware.
5) DWade poured in another 32 points to go with 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. He is on an absurd run again. Daequan Cook, for the third game in a row, was the primary sidekick, scoring 20 points, including a 15 point 2nd quarter. 6 games in a row now with 3 threes or more for Daequan - 5 of 7 tonight. Now above 40% for the year from three. If he is maturing in to an NBA court spacer, it is like they found a free player late in last year's draft when they took a flyer on him after one season at Ohio State.
6) The Heat, now at 15-12, have matched their win total from last year when they went 15-67. Unless they lose 55 straight, they will exceed that mark. Of course, as women's hoops great Nancy Lieberman pointed out a couple of games ago, it was to be expected that - maybe - they would be improved with Wade back healthy. Still, it bears mentioning that they are the second youngest team in the NBA, and that 4 of their top 7 players by minutes played are either in their first or second seasons. Wade has carried the load, certainly - but the kids have helped. They are, still, one legitimate big guy from being a formidable team. At times they look like the kiddie corps up front, waving frantcially at grown men in an attempt to deter them from laying the ball in the hoop. The one true intimidator they have is Wade. who tries to lurk around the baseline to challenge shots with his incredible leaping ability - over the weekend he blocked a Gasol potential game-tying layup in the waning moments, and the next night, blocked a Brook Lopez dunk try. They don't need a scorer, just a long goaltender who can be a menace inside, rebound, and get up and down the floor a little with the kids. Actually, two would be nice - most teams have at least two, and usually three guys with some size who can play a little - Miami has none. I don't know how they find one - but if they can find one for next season, it could be an even more fun year than this one is turning out to be.
Feliz Navidad, everyone, from our Minutos family to yours.
1) Well, the streak had to end sometime. It was long anticipated that a tivo malfunction would be the eventual killer, but it wasn't. Young P. Minutos deeply gashed his forehead open pretending to be a ghost with a blanket over his head, then crashing headlong into a bookcase, and requiring a trip to the emergency room. Warriors led 6-4 at that point. Screams from the bedroom, Mami Minutos checked it out and called for help - I arrived to find a scene out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. "The great thing about head wounds," the doctor at JFK Memorial told me hours later, "is that they bleed so much that they can't really get infected." Yes, that is great. In any case, I believe that 26 straight games is the longest streak in Dos history, passing 23 games during the 96-97 season. In that season, Dos watched 77 of 82 regular season games. I like to think that record is within reach this season, as long as the kids can stay out of the ER...
2) EMT's showed up on the scene after a quick 911 call. Patched up the little guy and advised us to bring him over to the hospital for a little stitch work. On the way out, noticed the hanging photos of the Dos Minutos trip to Belize. "Where is that," one of them asked? "Belize," I told him, "it's just south of Mexico and east of Guatemala." "I know where it is," intoned the EMT flatly, as though I had insulted him. Sometimes I forget that other people actually know where things are - I had never even heard of Belize before last year. It is a sheltered life in the barrio.
3) In the first couple of minutes of the game that I did see, play-by-play announcer Eric Reid told us that Warrior forward Kelenna Azubuike had an unusual childhood: he was born in London, but was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Dear Dad - every day I thank my lucky stars that you had the foresight to relocate the family from London to Tulsa. What a masterstroke! As soon as my contract with the Warriors expires, I am getting out of the San Franciso Bay area and relocating to either New Jersey, Oklahoma City, or Utah...Love, Kelenna"
4) At JFK hospital while waiting for the doctor, read several chapters of The Great Gatsby. I can identify with Nick Carraway because he is acutely self-aware. I am exclusively self-aware.
5) DWade poured in another 32 points to go with 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. He is on an absurd run again. Daequan Cook, for the third game in a row, was the primary sidekick, scoring 20 points, including a 15 point 2nd quarter. 6 games in a row now with 3 threes or more for Daequan - 5 of 7 tonight. Now above 40% for the year from three. If he is maturing in to an NBA court spacer, it is like they found a free player late in last year's draft when they took a flyer on him after one season at Ohio State.
6) The Heat, now at 15-12, have matched their win total from last year when they went 15-67. Unless they lose 55 straight, they will exceed that mark. Of course, as women's hoops great Nancy Lieberman pointed out a couple of games ago, it was to be expected that - maybe - they would be improved with Wade back healthy. Still, it bears mentioning that they are the second youngest team in the NBA, and that 4 of their top 7 players by minutes played are either in their first or second seasons. Wade has carried the load, certainly - but the kids have helped. They are, still, one legitimate big guy from being a formidable team. At times they look like the kiddie corps up front, waving frantcially at grown men in an attempt to deter them from laying the ball in the hoop. The one true intimidator they have is Wade. who tries to lurk around the baseline to challenge shots with his incredible leaping ability - over the weekend he blocked a Gasol potential game-tying layup in the waning moments, and the next night, blocked a Brook Lopez dunk try. They don't need a scorer, just a long goaltender who can be a menace inside, rebound, and get up and down the floor a little with the kids. Actually, two would be nice - most teams have at least two, and usually three guys with some size who can play a little - Miami has none. I don't know how they find one - but if they can find one for next season, it could be an even more fun year than this one is turning out to be.
Feliz Navidad, everyone, from our Minutos family to yours.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Heat 106 Nets 103
6 Thoughts
1) Solid peer group win on a tough night for both teams, each coming off an emotional win the night before. Both teams looked fatigued by the end, but Miami endured to post its first, second night, back-to-back win of the season in five tries - on the road, no less. Wade capping a ridiculous weekend with 43 points on only 22 shots. That's 78 points in back-to-back wins if you are keeping track. Home win against the Lakers, road win against New Jersey - good weekend of work. We'll go a little Nets heavy for The Plumber's benefit tonight...
2) But first - Emcee Chalmers! On a night where he struggled mightily with his shot, he stood in against new league "It" boy Devin Harris and played him tough. Limited Harris to 21 points - 4 below his average, and held him to 5-14 shooting. A chunk of Harris' production came in transition, as well; in the halfcourt, Chalmers used his quick feet to mostly stay in front of Harris, often deny him the ball, and generally keep him under control. We have said it before - Chalmers came to Miami with NBA level defensive skills, and tonight was one of the better examples of this.
3) Tremendous game by rookie big man Brook Lopez who was the best non-Wade player on the court. Looked like Gulliver with the Lilliputians swarming him, trying to tie him down, but to no avail - Miami surrounded him on the boards but couldn't keep him from rebounds, or from finishing plays around the rim. Impressive performance. However, did go in to bizarre "tilt-mode" defensively at the end when he started chasing Dwyane Wade all over the court and fouling him 30 feet from the basket. Hard to believe that was coach Lawrence Frank's plan - get your slow-footed rookie big guy as far away from the basket as possible in space against Dwyane Wade. Hard to believe, but, Plumber might opine, possibly true! Still, overall, loved how he played tonight. The kid is a player - he doesn't explode off the floor, he isn't particularly quick, but he is pretty physical, a nice shooter, and he is going to be in the league for a long, long time. I am out on the developing Henley-esque Jew-fro, though - as is Mami Minutos who wondered why guys who are "aesthetically challenged" often seem to intentionally make it worse. Here's a look: http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/owlive/img/may04/idol_justin_060204_big.jpg
4) On the opposite end of the spectrum: Yi. The Chairman. China's own. Goodness gracious. He is tall, he can shoot, he can jump a little. But he looks incredibly awkward, is mechanical, doesn't defend, and committed a couple of horrific turnovers, before L Frank "rested" him much of the second half...he's also, of course, a dear, dear friend. It doesn't look like he thinks quickly out there, or reacts instinctively enough. Listed at 21, but commonly believed to be about 24, so it is hard to believe that he is ever going to be a starter level NBA player. It seems like he is losing minutes to Ryan Anderson lately, and I can see why. Anderson also has a nice stroke and looks to have a much better feel for the game - if I am picking between those two, I am picking Anderson without giving it a second thought.
5) The Nets are a hard to team to prepare for - lots of motion offensively, some decent edge shooters, tall, and they work hard to get Devin Harris the ball on the move where his quickness makes him impossible to defend. Still, I thought on this night, against a quick, small team, New Jersey would have been well-served to pound the ball to Lopez on the block far more frequently than they did. I don't think Miami stopped him once - he was 11-16 - but he had to do most of his damage on putbacks. Hard to know whether to blame that on the coach or the point guard - I am guessing I know where The Plumber falls on that.
6) Before the season Dos offered Shawn Marion and his expiring contract many times to The Plumber in exchange for Vince Carter. Today, 26 games in to the season, I wouldn't make that trade. The initial premise was that the Heat couldn't suffer through another dreadful season and keep Dwyane Wade happy - and the minute he became unhappy, it was going to be big, big trouble for the franchise - he interned under Shaq, don't forget. Carter would provide a little offensive help for Wade, and allow them to be more competitive than they were a season ago. However, with a mix-and-match approach - tonight it was Daequan Cook for the second game in a row giving perimeter help with 4 of 5 threes - Miami has shown they can be competitive without locking into Carter contract for the next couple of seasons. Marion's expiring deal can be used to attract a better player than Carter at the deadline, or allowed to expire at the end of the year to allow cap space in free agency. I like VC but he looks like a guy who has legs every other game at this point - and acquiring him would only be a stopgap for Miami, not part of a long-term solution.
-------------------------
Cleaning up some business: The Captain would like to advise Giselle's husband to take the pot smoking and Billy Joel listening to the back patio, where the ventilation is better. The Captain clearly has an absolute passion for getting high on his porch while listening to "Captain Jack." Though I am pretty sure the the lack of ventilation is the whole point...
On this topic, for Eric's potential benefit - as a black dude just starting to experience the, umm, wonders, of white-boy classic rock - here are the top three white-boy albums I have listened to in an `altered' state of mind:
1) Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. This is what stoner heaven sounds like. If you got stoned enough listening to this album, you could feel like you were dead, and it seemed pretty good.
2) Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones. Because it is the gulliest Stones album by far..It is the sound of drug abuse.
3) The Final Cut by Pink Floyd. Dark Side was played out as a stoner album by 10th grade. The Final Cut is quieter, more disturbing, Roger Waters alternately choking back emotion and spitting venom:
Floating down through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now.
In the space between the heavens and in the corner of some foreign field I had a dream. I had a dream.
Good-bye Max. Good-bye Ma.
After the service when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel
And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream.
That is real - I would hear that and need to get more stoned. Who wants to face mortality straight up?
1) Solid peer group win on a tough night for both teams, each coming off an emotional win the night before. Both teams looked fatigued by the end, but Miami endured to post its first, second night, back-to-back win of the season in five tries - on the road, no less. Wade capping a ridiculous weekend with 43 points on only 22 shots. That's 78 points in back-to-back wins if you are keeping track. Home win against the Lakers, road win against New Jersey - good weekend of work. We'll go a little Nets heavy for The Plumber's benefit tonight...
2) But first - Emcee Chalmers! On a night where he struggled mightily with his shot, he stood in against new league "It" boy Devin Harris and played him tough. Limited Harris to 21 points - 4 below his average, and held him to 5-14 shooting. A chunk of Harris' production came in transition, as well; in the halfcourt, Chalmers used his quick feet to mostly stay in front of Harris, often deny him the ball, and generally keep him under control. We have said it before - Chalmers came to Miami with NBA level defensive skills, and tonight was one of the better examples of this.
3) Tremendous game by rookie big man Brook Lopez who was the best non-Wade player on the court. Looked like Gulliver with the Lilliputians swarming him, trying to tie him down, but to no avail - Miami surrounded him on the boards but couldn't keep him from rebounds, or from finishing plays around the rim. Impressive performance. However, did go in to bizarre "tilt-mode" defensively at the end when he started chasing Dwyane Wade all over the court and fouling him 30 feet from the basket. Hard to believe that was coach Lawrence Frank's plan - get your slow-footed rookie big guy as far away from the basket as possible in space against Dwyane Wade. Hard to believe, but, Plumber might opine, possibly true! Still, overall, loved how he played tonight. The kid is a player - he doesn't explode off the floor, he isn't particularly quick, but he is pretty physical, a nice shooter, and he is going to be in the league for a long, long time. I am out on the developing Henley-esque Jew-fro, though - as is Mami Minutos who wondered why guys who are "aesthetically challenged" often seem to intentionally make it worse. Here's a look: http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/owlive/img/may04/idol_justin_060204_big.jpg
4) On the opposite end of the spectrum: Yi. The Chairman. China's own. Goodness gracious. He is tall, he can shoot, he can jump a little. But he looks incredibly awkward, is mechanical, doesn't defend, and committed a couple of horrific turnovers, before L Frank "rested" him much of the second half...he's also, of course, a dear, dear friend. It doesn't look like he thinks quickly out there, or reacts instinctively enough. Listed at 21, but commonly believed to be about 24, so it is hard to believe that he is ever going to be a starter level NBA player. It seems like he is losing minutes to Ryan Anderson lately, and I can see why. Anderson also has a nice stroke and looks to have a much better feel for the game - if I am picking between those two, I am picking Anderson without giving it a second thought.
5) The Nets are a hard to team to prepare for - lots of motion offensively, some decent edge shooters, tall, and they work hard to get Devin Harris the ball on the move where his quickness makes him impossible to defend. Still, I thought on this night, against a quick, small team, New Jersey would have been well-served to pound the ball to Lopez on the block far more frequently than they did. I don't think Miami stopped him once - he was 11-16 - but he had to do most of his damage on putbacks. Hard to know whether to blame that on the coach or the point guard - I am guessing I know where The Plumber falls on that.
6) Before the season Dos offered Shawn Marion and his expiring contract many times to The Plumber in exchange for Vince Carter. Today, 26 games in to the season, I wouldn't make that trade. The initial premise was that the Heat couldn't suffer through another dreadful season and keep Dwyane Wade happy - and the minute he became unhappy, it was going to be big, big trouble for the franchise - he interned under Shaq, don't forget. Carter would provide a little offensive help for Wade, and allow them to be more competitive than they were a season ago. However, with a mix-and-match approach - tonight it was Daequan Cook for the second game in a row giving perimeter help with 4 of 5 threes - Miami has shown they can be competitive without locking into Carter contract for the next couple of seasons. Marion's expiring deal can be used to attract a better player than Carter at the deadline, or allowed to expire at the end of the year to allow cap space in free agency. I like VC but he looks like a guy who has legs every other game at this point - and acquiring him would only be a stopgap for Miami, not part of a long-term solution.
-------------------------
Cleaning up some business: The Captain would like to advise Giselle's husband to take the pot smoking and Billy Joel listening to the back patio, where the ventilation is better. The Captain clearly has an absolute passion for getting high on his porch while listening to "Captain Jack." Though I am pretty sure the the lack of ventilation is the whole point...
On this topic, for Eric's potential benefit - as a black dude just starting to experience the, umm, wonders, of white-boy classic rock - here are the top three white-boy albums I have listened to in an `altered' state of mind:
1) Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. This is what stoner heaven sounds like. If you got stoned enough listening to this album, you could feel like you were dead, and it seemed pretty good.
2) Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones. Because it is the gulliest Stones album by far..It is the sound of drug abuse.
3) The Final Cut by Pink Floyd. Dark Side was played out as a stoner album by 10th grade. The Final Cut is quieter, more disturbing, Roger Waters alternately choking back emotion and spitting venom:
Floating down through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now.
In the space between the heavens and in the corner of some foreign field I had a dream. I had a dream.
Good-bye Max. Good-bye Ma.
After the service when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel
And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream.
That is real - I would hear that and need to get more stoned. Who wants to face mortality straight up?
Friday, December 19, 2008
Heat 89 Lakers 87
6 Thoughts
1) Best win of the season for Miami, breaking a 3 game losing streak to deal the Lakers just their fourth loss (21-4) and holding them to their lowest point total of the season. Wade had a dynamic 35 and made a couple plays more down the stretch than Kobe, whose 12 foot fallaway over Marion rimmed out as time expired. Sideline reporter Nancy Lieberman noted that Miami was 12-12 entering the game, and last year did not win their 12th game until March: "Maybe the difference is a healthy Dwyane Wade," she theorized. Good point - maybe.
2) The game was won with defensive energy. Miami forced 21 turnovers, and worked hard to scramble the game, often picking up fullcourt to disrupt the Laker offense. Joel Anthony was especially stellar defensively, with 3 steals and 2 blocks to go with his 8 rebounds, and Miami made Kobe work hard for his 28. Even when the Lakers handled the pressure, they often ended up with shots from lesser scorers in less-than-ideal areas of the court. It will be interesting to see if they can sustain this level of effectiveness against New Jersey tomorrow night, who possess a far superior and more aggressive point guard in Devin Harris. I will have to go back and check, but it seems to me that Miami has beaten teams with poorer point guard play, and had trouble against better point guards, because they rely so heavily on forcing turnovers and keeping the ball out of the paint - far more so than other teams.
3) The other hero of the game was Daequan Cook - he made 4-6 three pointers, and shot the ball especially well in the third quarter when Miami pushed out to a 12 point lead. When Daequan takes good shots, they go in. He needs to be relaxed and let the shots come to him - when he chases them aggressively he is far less successful. Each time he seems in danger of falling out of the rotation, he seems to flash his potential and earn himself a stay.
4) While the Lakers, obviously, have been great this year, when you watch them they are a tiny bit under athletic. They have a very long frontline, and excellent depth, but maybe lack explosive athletes a little bit. They don't start anyone with "plus" quickness at his position - and only Ariza, off the bench, strikes me as a superior athlete. Against Miami, one of the quicker teams in the league, this was magnified. Miami was a little quicker off the floor, a little quicker to loose balls. For the Lakers to beat Miami, they need to get the ball to the paint to Bynum, Odom, and Gasol and use their size. On this night, Miami's ability to pressure the entry passes, and help on the weak side, gave them them a chance against a more talented team.
5) Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire . Outstanding movie by Danny Boyle, who also made Trainspotting and Twentyeight Days Later. He makes good movies - this one is a coming of age story about poor kids in India. You should see this in a movie theater on the big screen because both the look and sound of the film are vivid, and are enhanced by immersing yourself in the darkness of the theater with the squalid sprawl of Mumbai on top of you. We don't want to give anything away, just try to see it - if you don't support good movies, eventually every movie will star Will Smith, not just 2/3 of them. I suspect this is the best movie playing in theaters right now: Dos gives it a "Jason Kidd." Tough, scrappy, admirable attention to detail - maybe not the most talented, maybe not quite championship level, but certainly creative, outstanding, and entertaining in every respect. Also noted - a long trailer of The Wrestler before the movie. I mean, Mickey Rourke couldn't be more disturbing at this point, which is what I suppose will make that movie good. Hard to imagine a whole hour and a half of that, though - even the four minute trailer was tough to watch.
6) Reaction to the last post of Mash It Upped leftover blog ideas was strong. Let us clear up some misconceptions right now:
1) Best win of the season for Miami, breaking a 3 game losing streak to deal the Lakers just their fourth loss (21-4) and holding them to their lowest point total of the season. Wade had a dynamic 35 and made a couple plays more down the stretch than Kobe, whose 12 foot fallaway over Marion rimmed out as time expired. Sideline reporter Nancy Lieberman noted that Miami was 12-12 entering the game, and last year did not win their 12th game until March: "Maybe the difference is a healthy Dwyane Wade," she theorized. Good point - maybe.
2) The game was won with defensive energy. Miami forced 21 turnovers, and worked hard to scramble the game, often picking up fullcourt to disrupt the Laker offense. Joel Anthony was especially stellar defensively, with 3 steals and 2 blocks to go with his 8 rebounds, and Miami made Kobe work hard for his 28. Even when the Lakers handled the pressure, they often ended up with shots from lesser scorers in less-than-ideal areas of the court. It will be interesting to see if they can sustain this level of effectiveness against New Jersey tomorrow night, who possess a far superior and more aggressive point guard in Devin Harris. I will have to go back and check, but it seems to me that Miami has beaten teams with poorer point guard play, and had trouble against better point guards, because they rely so heavily on forcing turnovers and keeping the ball out of the paint - far more so than other teams.
3) The other hero of the game was Daequan Cook - he made 4-6 three pointers, and shot the ball especially well in the third quarter when Miami pushed out to a 12 point lead. When Daequan takes good shots, they go in. He needs to be relaxed and let the shots come to him - when he chases them aggressively he is far less successful. Each time he seems in danger of falling out of the rotation, he seems to flash his potential and earn himself a stay.
4) While the Lakers, obviously, have been great this year, when you watch them they are a tiny bit under athletic. They have a very long frontline, and excellent depth, but maybe lack explosive athletes a little bit. They don't start anyone with "plus" quickness at his position - and only Ariza, off the bench, strikes me as a superior athlete. Against Miami, one of the quicker teams in the league, this was magnified. Miami was a little quicker off the floor, a little quicker to loose balls. For the Lakers to beat Miami, they need to get the ball to the paint to Bynum, Odom, and Gasol and use their size. On this night, Miami's ability to pressure the entry passes, and help on the weak side, gave them them a chance against a more talented team.
5) Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire . Outstanding movie by Danny Boyle, who also made Trainspotting and Twentyeight Days Later. He makes good movies - this one is a coming of age story about poor kids in India. You should see this in a movie theater on the big screen because both the look and sound of the film are vivid, and are enhanced by immersing yourself in the darkness of the theater with the squalid sprawl of Mumbai on top of you. We don't want to give anything away, just try to see it - if you don't support good movies, eventually every movie will star Will Smith, not just 2/3 of them. I suspect this is the best movie playing in theaters right now: Dos gives it a "Jason Kidd." Tough, scrappy, admirable attention to detail - maybe not the most talented, maybe not quite championship level, but certainly creative, outstanding, and entertaining in every respect. Also noted - a long trailer of The Wrestler before the movie. I mean, Mickey Rourke couldn't be more disturbing at this point, which is what I suppose will make that movie good. Hard to imagine a whole hour and a half of that, though - even the four minute trailer was tough to watch.
6) Reaction to the last post of Mash It Upped leftover blog ideas was strong. Let us clear up some misconceptions right now:
- Dos Minutos does not advocate any kind of totalitarian dictatorship in America, unless perhaps, it is run by University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun. However, the Dos staff will be amongst the first in line to watch Steven Soderburgh's four and a half hour epic entitled Che. Not the split half and half version, either - we are going for the full-on one-time sitting. Benicio Del Toro, right on.
- Nor do we actually advocate punching anyone - especially women - in the face.
- To the person who suggested that it is only transplanted New Yorkers who are actually rude, that is factually incorrect. They may, however, seem more rude outside of New York because they are out of context and amongst less rude people.
- To the person who suggested that we are gay because of our fixation with Paul Rudd, we suggest that you youtube the "you know how I know you're gay" scene with he and Seth Rogen, and dare you not to fall in love with him.
- To spunky new reader Giselle, who offered a virtual point-by-point response to our blog post, we would like to offer her a permanent staff position. Anything you want, as long or short as you want - we know your boss at work won't mind if you take a couple of hours to craft something, and then email it to us for posting. Contact us for our submission guidelines - we look forward to being in business with what we consider your rising "Giselle" brand.
- In response to our item on "what black people do," Giselle offered that her black husband sits in the garage, gets high, and listens to Billy Joel albums. She also professed to identify with Dos' editor, who is in an interracial marriage, because she is in an interracial marriage, if you consider a black-hispanic union as interracial, which Dos Minutos does not. Close call, but we have to draw the line somewhere.
- To the person who was offended that we linked Antoine Walker to socialism - that was hard to believe. We don't think you are serious - clearly Antoine Walker is a socialist.
- No - The Captain and I don't watch porn together. Very funny, though, sir.
Next game - Saturday night vs. Plumber's Nets.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Mash It Ups
This is the part of the blog where we list topics that were written down as possible blog topics, but never explored. Often, perhaps, with good reason.
- How Brendan Fraser always plays a man out of time in his movies. He is either going back to see mummies, or frozen for centuries only to wake up in Encino with Pauly Shore, or a football playing Jew in the 1940s - he is never in the right place and time.
- I think this made it into a blog - when The Captain spent an afternoon raving about how good-looking a young Robert Wagner was. But what didn't was the list of "Dos Minutos' Current Top Hollywood Dreamboats." We only got to one - Paul Rudd - and then something more interesting, or less gay, pulled our attention away.
- An acquaintance of Dos is trying to raise money to start the National Hero Hall of Fame, which would honor regular American heroes like firefighters, and policemen. He wants to buy an abandoned train station in Buffalo to build the museum. Sweet idea. We voted in the Dos Minutos office for three nominees: former Red Sox Manny Ramirez, Jack Black, and Billy Corgan. Alternate: again, Paul Rudd (I think it was the same day). All were rejected by the director of the hall as too famous.
- This was a good idea by The Plumber but now I don't remember exactly what the premise was. Something about how the Japanese Americans handled their WWII experience differently than other minority groups have handled the discrimination they have faced. Note to Plumber: a friend of mine started a similar research topic not long after you suggested it, but abandoned it because he had trouble finding enough primary source material. Since he lives in Florida, though, he couldn't possibly be less well-located to do that research, so I think that the topic stands as a good one, though I don't remember exactly what it was. Note to all Dos Minutos readers: just because The Plumber overvalues every New Jersey Net by approximately fifteen to seventy percent doesn't mean he isn't super smart in all other areas.
- Oh, I was going to write a whole blog post about how I played a game of Skins (a gambling golf game) against Sammy Davis Jr. I didn't - I was just going to make it up. I still may do that one.
- Oh, one day at the office The Captain and I talked about how every time you transfer your porn files from one medium to another, like flash drive to cd-r, a little bit is lost in the copy. The Captain said that, over time, "that takes all the romance right out of them."
- If you knew that your favorite sports team would probably win the title by doing it, would you sign Bin Laden to a one year contract and give him immunity from prosecution? Then, after the year you have to return him to Pakistan safely. Someone pointed out that you probably wouldn't win the title because he would adversely affect your chemistry, but whoever that person was totally misunderstood the premise of the question. Like, that's the major logistical problem with putting Bin Laden on your basketball team - he is going to adversely affect chemistry? How about the immediate international outrage, and the violent homicidal mobs every single city your team went to? This whole idea started when I realized that Bin Laden looked like former Chicago Bull Scottie Pippen in disguise: http://z.about.com/d/crime/1/0/w/S/pippen_s.jpg. You think about it, they would probably have about the same game: lanky shutdown perimeter defenders who could rebound and finish in transition. Anyways...
- I think I mentioned this to people but never posted it: remember when that lady called Obama a terrorist, then McCain snatched the mic out of her hand to correct her? That type of behavior - grabbing the mic - could literally get you killed in a rap battle, my friends...
- Speaking of that, I had a whole list of NBA preseason predictions based on the campaign but I killed it because they were all making fun of how McCain was about to get smoked. Dos Minutos is to the left of Frederick Engels, generally, but we welcome and celebrate all viewpoints. Even The Captain, who wouldn't bend over to help a union member out of a collapsed mine shaft, is starting to be swayed over to Dos' official motto: "Socialisme o muerte, by Antoine Walker!" Welcome to the dark side, Captain - you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Incidentally, the only thing that I remember from the Election-NBA preview was: The CNN's John King Award (for hugest head) - for the 8th straight year, Memhet Okur of the Utah Jazz.
- Someone had the idea to research a write a history of Cuban athletes defecting to the US. Good idea, honestly, but I don't speak Spanish so I can't really do that.
- Oh, when former Heat point guard Jason Williams, from rural West Virgina, considered signing with an Israeli team this offseason I was going to write a blog post about how a lot of people aren't aware of the rich Yiddish heritage that exists in West Virginia.
- I don't remember who said it first, but one day in the Dos offices we decided that a lot of our political divisiveness in this country could be traced back to Susan B. Anthony, and someone said that "if she were here right now, I'd punch her in the face."
- There was an idea to write a post about what black dudes do, or, more specifically, what black dudes on tv look like they do. Like, if you saw Hill Harper on an episode of ER, what types of things do you think he would do in his spare time, based solely on how he looks? Mami Minutos and I spend approximately 90% of our tv watching time discussing this topic - the other 10% is the same topic, but about white dudes.
- The Captain got a new boat and I wanted him to name it The Tiramisu, but he wouldn't.
- Oh, I was going to write a post about how I have no respect for James Earl Jones. He takes advantage of people thinking he knows stuff because his voice is deep, and profits off it, while we all buy some stupid product just because he makes it sound good. Shame on you, James Earl.
- The cowboy from the Village People? Oh, no, I wrote that one, forget it...
- Big debate one day at Dos which spilled over to our satellite office in Broward: the best container to drink a soda in. I am going to my grave claiming it is the bottle. Thor claims it is the fountain pull - that's nuts. Too risky: you may get flat and too syrupy, you may get bad water, or bad ice - plus, I don't think the perfect fountain pull is better than a bottle anyways - the bottle condenses the flavor perfectly in the glass, then funnels it out through the neck in to your taste buds.
- We were going to rank all two guards in order of athleticism because Plumber thinks that Manu Ginobilli is not an elite athlete. He is.
- I read something that a historian named Alice Kessler-Harris wrote in which she claimed that she was engrossed in studying "relationships between mechanisms of order and those of protest." Well put.
- Oh, a post about New Yorkers positing the premise that they have crossed the threshold of reversal with their rudeness. Like, how if we don't start to reverse global warming now, in a couple of years its effects might be irreversible. Are we past that point with New Yorkers and their behavior? They can never go back, right? Its like throwing a shuttlecock at the Great Wall of China to try to knock it down. In a related topic, as a person of partial Jewish heritage, it is frustrating when people claim someone is being annoyingly Jewish, when what they really mean is that they person is from, and/or acting like someone from, New York.
- Oh, I just read another note that elaborated on the McCain "grabbing the mic" incident in which I compared a rap battle to a town hall meeting. I forgot the details, though.
- Does anyone know that song by UB-40 "Rat in the Kitchen?" Who even knew they had a song besides the utterly horrific "Red, Red Wine" As I listened to the rat song I was thinking "this is bizarrely awful," then I looked down at the scroll on my radio, saw it was UB-40, and was, like, "oh, okay."
- A study of Jock Jams. Evaluating what is and what isn't, what are the best and worst of the bunch. This is still totally valid, this needs to be done.
- Here is a note that reads "eyeballs and evolution." I don't remember the premise - I think maybe it was something about why haven't our eyeballs developed to be more protected, but I am not sure. I guess, compared to frogs' eyeballs, they are.
- Oh yeah - why isn't American Olympic basketball coach an elected position? That's ridiculous, we just get this fascist organization which selects whomever they want - we should get to vote. I am voting for Rick Majerus, but you know Craig Robinson is going to have an inside track.
- The two greatest competitors I have ever seen: Michael Jordan, and Wes from the Real World-Road Rules challenges. I am not kidding. Not only that, those challenges are amongst the most grueling petri dishes of human competitiveness that exist. There is not one ounce of empathy in any of those kids. Even Michael Jordan would help a guy who fell down up once in a while. Not these Real World kids - you can't, you would get crushed. Jordan could hang with them, but most NBA players could not.
That's all for now. Back Friday for the Lakers game.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Bucks 98 Heat 83
6 Thoughts
1) Miami followed up its worst game of the year with an even worse performance, losing at home to Milwaukee. Got down 20 early in the second quarter, and never seriously threatened. First 3 game losing streak of the season. 20-3 Lakers in town Friday night. Difficult times for this unit. This isn't much of an opening statement, I recognize, but it was a terrible game, it is 12:30 am, I endured a lengthy Christmas party earlier this evening, and I don't have the mojo right now. Not to make excuses, but - let's just try to wrap these next five points efficiently and move on with our lives...
2) Dwyane Wade also followed up his worst game of the season with an even worse performance of his own, a 5-16, 15 point stink bomb. Teams are crowding him on the perimeter, then collapsing on him with length. Of course, this is nothing new for Wade, who usually can finish or get to the line, or find open shooters. However, he has done none of the three for the past three games. He is getting uncharacteristically frustrated, and has drawn technical fouls for arguing each of the past two games. Believe me, I just spent 3 hours on a Monday night at a Christmas party where I had to sing The Twelve Days of Christmas (in "round" style), and won an origami set - I can appreciate frustration. If the bartender had been a referee, I would have been ejected long before the fourth quarter...
3) If there is any bright spot over the last week, it is Emcee Mario Chalmers, who had 20 points on 8-13, to go with 8 assists and 7 rebounds. He is energetic, athletic, and competes with vigor. Most impressively, though, was a play that he made midway through the second half. Guarded by Australian behemoth Andrew Bogut on a switch, Chalmers demonstrated exactly what a point guard should do when he is picked up by a big guy. He patiently waited for his teammates to spread the floor, putting Bogut out in space against him. Probed with the dribble, then made an aggressive move in to the lane. As his Bucks teammates rushed to assist the outquicked Bogut, Chalmers found a cutting Shawn Marion for an easy dunk. It is this type of thought and organization which promises such good things for Chalmers. He already possesses the raw athleticism to compete at a high level - but there is a certain level of savvy that he flashes which may allow him to be a long term impact player at this level.
4) Speaking of Oz' Bogut, the undersized Miami frontline turned him in to Wilt Chamberlain for the evening: 20 points and 11 rebounds. He, quite impressively, made jump hooks with both hands. Along with Dos Minutos favorite Charlie Villanueva, they were able to dominate this game in the paint on both ends. With their success inside, it seemed like a game that Heat coach Eric Spoelstra might have done well to unleash the Big Cat, Jamal Magloire, in attempt to slow the tandem down a little, or if not slow them down, perhaps injure them beyond the point of being able to continue. However, perhaps fearing another headbutting incident, Spoelstra declined to play Magloire, save a brief couple minute first half cameo. In retrospect, probably a good decision.
5) His reluctance to play the Big Cat aside, Eric Spoelstra has done a fine job this season. He has limited options, and when Dwyane Wade does not play, at the minimum, a very good game, the Heat often have no real chance to win. Still, if one was to nitpick, I would like to see Spoelstra run more plays for Mike Beasley where the rookie gets a chance to catch the ball on the move with an advantage on the defender. He is, easily, Miami's second best offensive player. But while Dwyane Wade both makes plays for himself, and has plays run for him, virtually everything Beasley is asked to do comes from him receiving the ball in a neutral spot on the court. It is a testimony to him, especially as a 19 year old, that he is able to create so many good opportunities for himself. But, since he struggles defensively, while he is out there, I think the Heat needs to maximize his offensive skills to even greater advantage...In a related story, the very left-handed Beasley claims that he must have caught the flu that kept him out of this past Friday's game vs. Atlanta "from my dogs." Okay, look, I'm no veterinarian, I'll buy that. But it strikes me that if I were a 19 year old multimillionaire # 2 draft pick playing for the Heat a few steps from South Beach, the last thing I would be spending my time and money on would be dogs. I would play basketball, play video games, and go to clubs. That's it. Who needs the hassle of having to make sure the dog gets let out to do its business? Especially considering that he probably lives in a Miami high rise condo. I suppose, in his defense, it is better for him to be accumulating dogs rather than kids, although either way he is probably just going to end up paying somebody to take care of them...
6) Dos Minutos would like to take a moment to recognize a new subscriber, Jamie Granger. A few thoughts about Jamie. First, he is one-third renaissance man, one-third bon vivant, and one-third cagey. Second, he is an extremely talented writer, and has a classic intellectual's dry wit. Third, for the entire first year and a half that I knew him, I thought his name was Phil. Though we have now straightened that out, even at this late juncture it is unclear to me whether he knows anything about basketball. Even if he does not, it is never too late to begin to learn. Thus, in true Dos Minutos spirit, we not only welcome Jamie, but we celebrate him...
1) Miami followed up its worst game of the year with an even worse performance, losing at home to Milwaukee. Got down 20 early in the second quarter, and never seriously threatened. First 3 game losing streak of the season. 20-3 Lakers in town Friday night. Difficult times for this unit. This isn't much of an opening statement, I recognize, but it was a terrible game, it is 12:30 am, I endured a lengthy Christmas party earlier this evening, and I don't have the mojo right now. Not to make excuses, but - let's just try to wrap these next five points efficiently and move on with our lives...
2) Dwyane Wade also followed up his worst game of the season with an even worse performance of his own, a 5-16, 15 point stink bomb. Teams are crowding him on the perimeter, then collapsing on him with length. Of course, this is nothing new for Wade, who usually can finish or get to the line, or find open shooters. However, he has done none of the three for the past three games. He is getting uncharacteristically frustrated, and has drawn technical fouls for arguing each of the past two games. Believe me, I just spent 3 hours on a Monday night at a Christmas party where I had to sing The Twelve Days of Christmas (in "round" style), and won an origami set - I can appreciate frustration. If the bartender had been a referee, I would have been ejected long before the fourth quarter...
3) If there is any bright spot over the last week, it is Emcee Mario Chalmers, who had 20 points on 8-13, to go with 8 assists and 7 rebounds. He is energetic, athletic, and competes with vigor. Most impressively, though, was a play that he made midway through the second half. Guarded by Australian behemoth Andrew Bogut on a switch, Chalmers demonstrated exactly what a point guard should do when he is picked up by a big guy. He patiently waited for his teammates to spread the floor, putting Bogut out in space against him. Probed with the dribble, then made an aggressive move in to the lane. As his Bucks teammates rushed to assist the outquicked Bogut, Chalmers found a cutting Shawn Marion for an easy dunk. It is this type of thought and organization which promises such good things for Chalmers. He already possesses the raw athleticism to compete at a high level - but there is a certain level of savvy that he flashes which may allow him to be a long term impact player at this level.
4) Speaking of Oz' Bogut, the undersized Miami frontline turned him in to Wilt Chamberlain for the evening: 20 points and 11 rebounds. He, quite impressively, made jump hooks with both hands. Along with Dos Minutos favorite Charlie Villanueva, they were able to dominate this game in the paint on both ends. With their success inside, it seemed like a game that Heat coach Eric Spoelstra might have done well to unleash the Big Cat, Jamal Magloire, in attempt to slow the tandem down a little, or if not slow them down, perhaps injure them beyond the point of being able to continue. However, perhaps fearing another headbutting incident, Spoelstra declined to play Magloire, save a brief couple minute first half cameo. In retrospect, probably a good decision.
5) His reluctance to play the Big Cat aside, Eric Spoelstra has done a fine job this season. He has limited options, and when Dwyane Wade does not play, at the minimum, a very good game, the Heat often have no real chance to win. Still, if one was to nitpick, I would like to see Spoelstra run more plays for Mike Beasley where the rookie gets a chance to catch the ball on the move with an advantage on the defender. He is, easily, Miami's second best offensive player. But while Dwyane Wade both makes plays for himself, and has plays run for him, virtually everything Beasley is asked to do comes from him receiving the ball in a neutral spot on the court. It is a testimony to him, especially as a 19 year old, that he is able to create so many good opportunities for himself. But, since he struggles defensively, while he is out there, I think the Heat needs to maximize his offensive skills to even greater advantage...In a related story, the very left-handed Beasley claims that he must have caught the flu that kept him out of this past Friday's game vs. Atlanta "from my dogs." Okay, look, I'm no veterinarian, I'll buy that. But it strikes me that if I were a 19 year old multimillionaire # 2 draft pick playing for the Heat a few steps from South Beach, the last thing I would be spending my time and money on would be dogs. I would play basketball, play video games, and go to clubs. That's it. Who needs the hassle of having to make sure the dog gets let out to do its business? Especially considering that he probably lives in a Miami high rise condo. I suppose, in his defense, it is better for him to be accumulating dogs rather than kids, although either way he is probably just going to end up paying somebody to take care of them...
6) Dos Minutos would like to take a moment to recognize a new subscriber, Jamie Granger. A few thoughts about Jamie. First, he is one-third renaissance man, one-third bon vivant, and one-third cagey. Second, he is an extremely talented writer, and has a classic intellectual's dry wit. Third, for the entire first year and a half that I knew him, I thought his name was Phil. Though we have now straightened that out, even at this late juncture it is unclear to me whether he knows anything about basketball. Even if he does not, it is never too late to begin to learn. Thus, in true Dos Minutos spirit, we not only welcome Jamie, but we celebrate him...
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Memphis 102 Miami 86
6 Thoughts
1) Bad performance. Memphis has quietly played well after a dreadful start - they have won 4 straight and 5 of 6. There is talent there - it is no shame to lose to them in Memphis. But Miami played dreadfully. Dwyane Wade had his second subpar game of the weekend - he was awful, actually, 17 points on 5-16. No Udonis - out for a family funeral, and the unusual combinations on the floor didn't help a struggling young team. When you are as inexperienced as Miami, there are going to be ebbs and flows to the season. This is an ebb, right now. Milwaukee comes to town tomorrow night - maybe a good chance to get right back on the court.
2) Great to see OJ Mayo play. It was rumoured that Pat Riley preferred him to Beasley in the draft, but got talked out of it by everyone in the organization. Has been off to a great start, averaging 20 points a game on 47% from the floor, 40% on 3s. Still, he has been the subject of skepticism in the press. Amongst the criticisms of Mayo are that: 1) he is just posting numbers on a bad team 2) he doesn't get to the free throw line 3) he doesn't get others involved 4) he doesn't beat guys off the dribble. I thought he was terrific tonight, and I like him as a player. To some degree, I understand the criticisms after watching him play. His weakness are that his handle is a little shaky, and that he is not an elite athlete - he doesn't explode off the floor. However, for a 21 year old, he is an extremely polished offensive player - though he may be an average athlete, he creates shots with his savvy, and most importantly, the fact that he is a fantastic jump shooter, with deep range, and he must be crowded. Beautiful stroke, made 4-4 on 3s tonight on his way to 28 points. Mayo has always had a bad rap from the media, he was essentially a basketball nomad by the age of 17, traveling to different high schools in various states, going out to LA for a quick year of college, basically being famous before he had done anything, which the stodgy sportswriter clique hates - but none of that makes him a bad kid, and none of that means he can't play. He can play. It is nitpicking to find flaws in his game. Not only that, he outplayed Dwyane Wade head-to-head, and was still going hard with 3 minutes to go in a blowout. And they aren't awful: they are 9-15, after a 4-14 start. Loved his night. Would I prefer him over Beasley? I don't know. Beasley is a little more uniquely gifted, and probably has a higher ceiling. Plus, Mayo is not a point guard by any means, and it would be tough to play him and Wade together. But I could make the argument for Mayo, sure. I think Miami could not have gone wrong with either one - after Rose, from what I have seen, they were easily the two most talented guys available.
3) Shawn Marion reached - I hope - some kind of offensive nadir with a 3-12, all on shots within 6 feet. He played as hard as ever, and had 13 rebounds, but it was tough to watch him with the ball out there.
4) The Heat's best player on this night was Joel Anthony, who had 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. For an undersized player who has never before played at this level, he tries his hardest every night. I felt good for him tonight - it was the best game he has played, and for a guy who was a minor factor in college, he had to be proud of himself. Still, it is important not to get caught up in thinking he is the answer up front for Miami - just because he is outperforming Joel Anthony from three weeks ago, doesn't mean he is going to outperform actual NBA big guys.
5) Nor is the answer upfront Jamal Magloire. Let's just say the Big Cat got ejected for headbutting Darko Milic with 3 minutes to go, the last blow in an ongoing dispute they had running for a couple of minutes. In fairness, even on replay it was tough to see a headbutt. On completely the opposite side of the fence vis-a-vis Darko was Mike Beasley, who returned from a one game flu absence to drop 20 points and grab 8 rebounds in only 24 minutes. He alone kept Miami in the game in the first half. Not only that, he actually shared several lighthearted conversations with Darko during dead balls and free throw situations which resulted in the first on court smiles of the year by Beasley. Hard to imagine what Darko may have said to the rookie, but it would be great if Darko, knowing it was too late to save himself, was trying to turn around the attitude of the youngster.
6) Old friend Antoine Walker was inactive for Memphis tonight as he has been all season. Heat play-by-play lifer Eric Reid said that Antoine told him before the game that he expects to have his contract bought out soon, and that "it may be a while before I sign with someone else" because he wants to make sure he gets on a good team that will play meaningful games down the stretch. Yes, it may be awhile...
1) Bad performance. Memphis has quietly played well after a dreadful start - they have won 4 straight and 5 of 6. There is talent there - it is no shame to lose to them in Memphis. But Miami played dreadfully. Dwyane Wade had his second subpar game of the weekend - he was awful, actually, 17 points on 5-16. No Udonis - out for a family funeral, and the unusual combinations on the floor didn't help a struggling young team. When you are as inexperienced as Miami, there are going to be ebbs and flows to the season. This is an ebb, right now. Milwaukee comes to town tomorrow night - maybe a good chance to get right back on the court.
2) Great to see OJ Mayo play. It was rumoured that Pat Riley preferred him to Beasley in the draft, but got talked out of it by everyone in the organization. Has been off to a great start, averaging 20 points a game on 47% from the floor, 40% on 3s. Still, he has been the subject of skepticism in the press. Amongst the criticisms of Mayo are that: 1) he is just posting numbers on a bad team 2) he doesn't get to the free throw line 3) he doesn't get others involved 4) he doesn't beat guys off the dribble. I thought he was terrific tonight, and I like him as a player. To some degree, I understand the criticisms after watching him play. His weakness are that his handle is a little shaky, and that he is not an elite athlete - he doesn't explode off the floor. However, for a 21 year old, he is an extremely polished offensive player - though he may be an average athlete, he creates shots with his savvy, and most importantly, the fact that he is a fantastic jump shooter, with deep range, and he must be crowded. Beautiful stroke, made 4-4 on 3s tonight on his way to 28 points. Mayo has always had a bad rap from the media, he was essentially a basketball nomad by the age of 17, traveling to different high schools in various states, going out to LA for a quick year of college, basically being famous before he had done anything, which the stodgy sportswriter clique hates - but none of that makes him a bad kid, and none of that means he can't play. He can play. It is nitpicking to find flaws in his game. Not only that, he outplayed Dwyane Wade head-to-head, and was still going hard with 3 minutes to go in a blowout. And they aren't awful: they are 9-15, after a 4-14 start. Loved his night. Would I prefer him over Beasley? I don't know. Beasley is a little more uniquely gifted, and probably has a higher ceiling. Plus, Mayo is not a point guard by any means, and it would be tough to play him and Wade together. But I could make the argument for Mayo, sure. I think Miami could not have gone wrong with either one - after Rose, from what I have seen, they were easily the two most talented guys available.
3) Shawn Marion reached - I hope - some kind of offensive nadir with a 3-12, all on shots within 6 feet. He played as hard as ever, and had 13 rebounds, but it was tough to watch him with the ball out there.
4) The Heat's best player on this night was Joel Anthony, who had 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. For an undersized player who has never before played at this level, he tries his hardest every night. I felt good for him tonight - it was the best game he has played, and for a guy who was a minor factor in college, he had to be proud of himself. Still, it is important not to get caught up in thinking he is the answer up front for Miami - just because he is outperforming Joel Anthony from three weeks ago, doesn't mean he is going to outperform actual NBA big guys.
5) Nor is the answer upfront Jamal Magloire. Let's just say the Big Cat got ejected for headbutting Darko Milic with 3 minutes to go, the last blow in an ongoing dispute they had running for a couple of minutes. In fairness, even on replay it was tough to see a headbutt. On completely the opposite side of the fence vis-a-vis Darko was Mike Beasley, who returned from a one game flu absence to drop 20 points and grab 8 rebounds in only 24 minutes. He alone kept Miami in the game in the first half. Not only that, he actually shared several lighthearted conversations with Darko during dead balls and free throw situations which resulted in the first on court smiles of the year by Beasley. Hard to imagine what Darko may have said to the rookie, but it would be great if Darko, knowing it was too late to save himself, was trying to turn around the attitude of the youngster.
6) Old friend Antoine Walker was inactive for Memphis tonight as he has been all season. Heat play-by-play lifer Eric Reid said that Antoine told him before the game that he expects to have his contract bought out soon, and that "it may be a while before I sign with someone else" because he wants to make sure he gets on a good team that will play meaningful games down the stretch. Yes, it may be awhile...
Friday, December 12, 2008
Hawks 87 Miami 73
6 Thoughts
1) Ground out at home by a taller, deeper team. Miami jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, but that was as good as it got. As often happens when they play a long team like Atlanta, got killed on the boards (53-37), and at the line (32 free throws to 10). Atlanta did a great job on Wade, making his catches tough, and bringing long help while still playing passing lanes. Limited him to 21 on 9-24 shooting. The only Heat with spring in his step was Emcee Chalmers, and he was limited to 28 minutes with foul trouble.
2) Mike Beasley missed the game with the flu. Play-by-play man Eric Reid pointed out Beasley "had symptoms so bad that he missed shootaround this morning!" Hypothetically, after a night spent at, say, Bed, on South Beach, what symptoms would Mike Beasley have to have to determine that he couldn't make it to practice the next morning? A sneeze? A runny nose? He was hungry? It was a Friday? At least the Heat copped to him having the flu. It is one of Mrs. Minutos' pet peeves when a player misses a game with "flu-like symptoms." Teams are very reluctant to label illnesses the actual flu -Hey, we're the Miami Heat, not the Mayo Clinic...
3) Jamal Magloire has shaved his beard. He looks more Canadian than ever, not that there is anything wrong with that. Also, a very eventful 13 minutes tonight in which he: got a dunk after shouldering Zaza Pachulia 10 feet backwards; went a loud 1-4 from the free throw line; horsecollared the aforementioned Pachulia on his way to basket, a borderline flagrant foul which was not called, then pushed him after the play for a borderline technical foul which was called; and, became hopelessly entangled with a member of the Hawks under one basket or the other approximately 40 times. Also, grabbed not one, but two rebounds one-handed! Not like he went up, swooped the ball, and cradled it to his body - he actually reached up, grabbed the ball with one hand, and just held it there, like you or I would hold a tennis ball. Quite a night for the Big Cat.
4) Quiet night for Shawn Marion - 10 points and 4 rebounds. He has actually played quite well the last couple of weeks. He has rebounded and defended very well, and has made some shots. Assuming he doesn't get traded for an asset, the Heat have only two chances to improve their roster a little bit. Tonight, a game where Wade was only human, demonstrated why they need to do that. They have to have ways to be competitive even when he is not at his absolute best...Both Dorell Wright and James Jones could be back at some point over the next month from injuries. James Jones is a professional NBA shooter, and a competent defender, and long enough to grab a rebound. Dorell Wright is an athletic 6'9" wing who is a legitimate NBA rebounder. It isn't so much that either is a dynamic NBA game changer. But both are upgrades at the Heat wing off the bench. Thunder Yak Diawara has had his moments, but the reality is he would be behind both of those guys in the rotation for the minutes that he has played. And Jones, especially, will jeopardize Daequan Cook's minutes. Daequan just has not shot the ball well enough to merit rotation minutes. A lot of it is still his shot selection - but at a certain point when a guy is making only 35% from the floor, it would be nice to have another option. He shoots 3s at the same rate, but his inability to make other plays is limiting him. Although his defense has been good, Dorell Wright is also a strong defender. Are either of those two guys going to win a game like tonight? No. But they are an upgrade, perhaps, nearing on the horizon.
5) Noticed an ugly 0-13 from Vince Carter tonight in New Jersey's loss at home to Toronto. Haven't seen the Nets play much, but they are off to a pleasantly surprising 11-10 start (although not surprising to the Plumber, who, if I recall correctly, predicted an 82-0 season for the 12th straight year - or, rather, surprising to him in that they haven't won more). However, they have one of the oddest home-road splits in the league. They have been competitive and tough on the road, going 7-3, but are only 4-7 at home, and seem to get blown out there far more than a .500 team should - tonight's loss by 22 to a below .500 Toronto team which only can seem to beat Miami isn't the first time that has happened to NJ. Always something strange going on up there in the Swamp.
6) Finally, a Dos Minutos favorite, Syracuse University guard Eric Devendorf, has been accused of hitting a woman in the face: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3760958. No, it isn't the best thing to do, but as Syracuse native The Captain points out, "How do we know she didn't have it coming?" Good point - we don't. Not yet. We have to let due process take its course here before we can definitively assume that. One thing we do know at this point: if hitting a woman in the face were grounds for some kind of limited participation in general society, we probably wouldn't even have James Bond, there would have been no Extraordinary League of Gentlemen, and The Untouchables would have featured even more Kevin Costner than it already did, which, by the way, is far more than anybody ever wanted...
1) Ground out at home by a taller, deeper team. Miami jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, but that was as good as it got. As often happens when they play a long team like Atlanta, got killed on the boards (53-37), and at the line (32 free throws to 10). Atlanta did a great job on Wade, making his catches tough, and bringing long help while still playing passing lanes. Limited him to 21 on 9-24 shooting. The only Heat with spring in his step was Emcee Chalmers, and he was limited to 28 minutes with foul trouble.
2) Mike Beasley missed the game with the flu. Play-by-play man Eric Reid pointed out Beasley "had symptoms so bad that he missed shootaround this morning!" Hypothetically, after a night spent at, say, Bed, on South Beach, what symptoms would Mike Beasley have to have to determine that he couldn't make it to practice the next morning? A sneeze? A runny nose? He was hungry? It was a Friday? At least the Heat copped to him having the flu. It is one of Mrs. Minutos' pet peeves when a player misses a game with "flu-like symptoms." Teams are very reluctant to label illnesses the actual flu -Hey, we're the Miami Heat, not the Mayo Clinic...
3) Jamal Magloire has shaved his beard. He looks more Canadian than ever, not that there is anything wrong with that. Also, a very eventful 13 minutes tonight in which he: got a dunk after shouldering Zaza Pachulia 10 feet backwards; went a loud 1-4 from the free throw line; horsecollared the aforementioned Pachulia on his way to basket, a borderline flagrant foul which was not called, then pushed him after the play for a borderline technical foul which was called; and, became hopelessly entangled with a member of the Hawks under one basket or the other approximately 40 times. Also, grabbed not one, but two rebounds one-handed! Not like he went up, swooped the ball, and cradled it to his body - he actually reached up, grabbed the ball with one hand, and just held it there, like you or I would hold a tennis ball. Quite a night for the Big Cat.
4) Quiet night for Shawn Marion - 10 points and 4 rebounds. He has actually played quite well the last couple of weeks. He has rebounded and defended very well, and has made some shots. Assuming he doesn't get traded for an asset, the Heat have only two chances to improve their roster a little bit. Tonight, a game where Wade was only human, demonstrated why they need to do that. They have to have ways to be competitive even when he is not at his absolute best...Both Dorell Wright and James Jones could be back at some point over the next month from injuries. James Jones is a professional NBA shooter, and a competent defender, and long enough to grab a rebound. Dorell Wright is an athletic 6'9" wing who is a legitimate NBA rebounder. It isn't so much that either is a dynamic NBA game changer. But both are upgrades at the Heat wing off the bench. Thunder Yak Diawara has had his moments, but the reality is he would be behind both of those guys in the rotation for the minutes that he has played. And Jones, especially, will jeopardize Daequan Cook's minutes. Daequan just has not shot the ball well enough to merit rotation minutes. A lot of it is still his shot selection - but at a certain point when a guy is making only 35% from the floor, it would be nice to have another option. He shoots 3s at the same rate, but his inability to make other plays is limiting him. Although his defense has been good, Dorell Wright is also a strong defender. Are either of those two guys going to win a game like tonight? No. But they are an upgrade, perhaps, nearing on the horizon.
5) Noticed an ugly 0-13 from Vince Carter tonight in New Jersey's loss at home to Toronto. Haven't seen the Nets play much, but they are off to a pleasantly surprising 11-10 start (although not surprising to the Plumber, who, if I recall correctly, predicted an 82-0 season for the 12th straight year - or, rather, surprising to him in that they haven't won more). However, they have one of the oddest home-road splits in the league. They have been competitive and tough on the road, going 7-3, but are only 4-7 at home, and seem to get blown out there far more than a .500 team should - tonight's loss by 22 to a below .500 Toronto team which only can seem to beat Miami isn't the first time that has happened to NJ. Always something strange going on up there in the Swamp.
6) Finally, a Dos Minutos favorite, Syracuse University guard Eric Devendorf, has been accused of hitting a woman in the face: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3760958. No, it isn't the best thing to do, but as Syracuse native The Captain points out, "How do we know she didn't have it coming?" Good point - we don't. Not yet. We have to let due process take its course here before we can definitively assume that. One thing we do know at this point: if hitting a woman in the face were grounds for some kind of limited participation in general society, we probably wouldn't even have James Bond, there would have been no Extraordinary League of Gentlemen, and The Untouchables would have featured even more Kevin Costner than it already did, which, by the way, is far more than anybody ever wanted...
Monday, December 8, 2008
Heat 100 Bobcats 96
6 Thoughts
1) Typical NBA Monday night type of grind, led by another retarded Wade performance, 41 points and 8 rebounds. Squeaked out a win against one of the more depressing teams in the NBA. As if the Bobcats' existence wasn't tough enough, what with relying on a 6'7" 310 pound power forward with bad knees, rapidly following drafting a lottery point guard by drafting another lottery point guard (so that neither guy is happy), and a shooting guard who looks like Michael Irvin - oh, and of course, Adam Morrison - this year they have brought in 69 year old agitator Larry Brown to drive them crazy. Still, for most of the game Brown showed his savvy by mostly playing both point guards -Raymond Felton and DJ Augustin - together. While this is a smallish backcourt, and somewhat offensively challenged, it served to control the ball and stop Miami from being able to turn them over, and made Miami play slow, which is not their forte.
2) With six minutes to go, though, down 6, M.C. Chalmers made three big defensive plays in rapid succession and changed the game. Stole an inbounds pass while he was guarding the inbounder, immediately stole another pass on the next defensive possession, and then moments later rode Raymond Felton in to a Udonis Haslem charge. Turned the momentum with his athleticism and anticipation. Also had a ridiculous first half dunk. The most pleasant of surprises this season - to find a point guard this effective in the middle of the second round is nice.
3) The other rookie, Mike Beasley, is struggling right now. Failed in his, seemingly, 100th straight attempt to draw a charge tonight - late, caught under the basket. Struggled to a 4-13 from the floor. Missed a couple of bunnies inside, and 3 free throws. Dribbled in to bad shots. I still think Miami needs to figure out how to get him the ball on the move a little more, rather than always asking him to create his own offense. That's not quite fair to him. Still, I think his body language on the court is unacceptable. Shuffles around as if exhausted - always - in between plays. That's not a crime - but when you miss a layup inside, when you could have finished with force - then it is fair to question your focus. Yes, he is a 19 year old kid playing against men, and asked to create shots and points, but I think his approach, in terms of his on court demeanor, needs to be more professional. He needs to play with more force and he can start by adjusting his energy level, in general. Made one terrific play at the beginning of the fourth quarter: took Jared Dudley off the dribble, and met by Okafor at the block, he found a wide open Chris Quinn at the top for a drilled 3. Few power forwards in the league can make that play - that is why The Spo needs to be tough on him.
4) Yakhouba Diawara! Thunder Yak! A week after being improbably compared by his college coach to former Heat stopper Thunder Dan Majerle, Thunder Yak actually played like Thunder Dan, playing the key minutes down the stretch on Bobcat leading scorer Jason Richardson, goading him in to several tough shots. Also nailed a corner 3, and with 20 seconds to go, stepped to the line 2-7 for the year and drilled both to put the Heat up 4. Big night for the Frenchmen whom Heat announcers Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino have dubbed, also improbably - and completely lamely - The Rainbow Man. Why? "Because his 3's are like high arcing rainbows, Eric," cheered Tony after Yak's late fourth quarter triple. Except for rainbows usually have a pot of gold at the end; a Yak 3, usually just a hard crash in to a metal rim. Actually, to be fair, shooting a reasonable 35% on 3's. God bless the kid - he's French.
5) Early fourth quarter clash of the titans: meeting above the rim! - okay, at the rim - okay, below the rim, between Heat backup point guard Christopher Quinn and "Ammo," Adam Morrison. There is no player in the league whom Chris Quinn can finish over. Okay, there is one player in the league Chris Quinn can finish over. And the foul - three point play. No one is more embarrassing to white people than Adam Morrison - when they push a guy like him out there, or a J.J. Redick, in to the draft lottery, it makes us all look bad. We are sorry, black people, for the media claiming these guys can play. Most of us know that they can't. While Ammo shot it pretty well tonight - 5-8, which should push his season percentage somewhere just north of an ice cold 38% percent - and also somehow stumbled in to 6 rebounds, he is a defensive liability, no threat off the dribble, and a reluctant passer. And, a dear, dear friend.
6) Great to see rapper extraordinaire L'il Wayne at the game (along with Bow Wow). Sideline reporter Jason Jackson swooped in for the exclusive: "L'il - I heard you are a neighbor of Dwyane's, and that your real name is actually Dwayne, so I am guessing you are probably a big fan of his?" "Yes, I do," asserted L'il. Wait - what? What was the question again? It was mostly more riveting stuff from there...
1) Typical NBA Monday night type of grind, led by another retarded Wade performance, 41 points and 8 rebounds. Squeaked out a win against one of the more depressing teams in the NBA. As if the Bobcats' existence wasn't tough enough, what with relying on a 6'7" 310 pound power forward with bad knees, rapidly following drafting a lottery point guard by drafting another lottery point guard (so that neither guy is happy), and a shooting guard who looks like Michael Irvin - oh, and of course, Adam Morrison - this year they have brought in 69 year old agitator Larry Brown to drive them crazy. Still, for most of the game Brown showed his savvy by mostly playing both point guards -Raymond Felton and DJ Augustin - together. While this is a smallish backcourt, and somewhat offensively challenged, it served to control the ball and stop Miami from being able to turn them over, and made Miami play slow, which is not their forte.
2) With six minutes to go, though, down 6, M.C. Chalmers made three big defensive plays in rapid succession and changed the game. Stole an inbounds pass while he was guarding the inbounder, immediately stole another pass on the next defensive possession, and then moments later rode Raymond Felton in to a Udonis Haslem charge. Turned the momentum with his athleticism and anticipation. Also had a ridiculous first half dunk. The most pleasant of surprises this season - to find a point guard this effective in the middle of the second round is nice.
3) The other rookie, Mike Beasley, is struggling right now. Failed in his, seemingly, 100th straight attempt to draw a charge tonight - late, caught under the basket. Struggled to a 4-13 from the floor. Missed a couple of bunnies inside, and 3 free throws. Dribbled in to bad shots. I still think Miami needs to figure out how to get him the ball on the move a little more, rather than always asking him to create his own offense. That's not quite fair to him. Still, I think his body language on the court is unacceptable. Shuffles around as if exhausted - always - in between plays. That's not a crime - but when you miss a layup inside, when you could have finished with force - then it is fair to question your focus. Yes, he is a 19 year old kid playing against men, and asked to create shots and points, but I think his approach, in terms of his on court demeanor, needs to be more professional. He needs to play with more force and he can start by adjusting his energy level, in general. Made one terrific play at the beginning of the fourth quarter: took Jared Dudley off the dribble, and met by Okafor at the block, he found a wide open Chris Quinn at the top for a drilled 3. Few power forwards in the league can make that play - that is why The Spo needs to be tough on him.
4) Yakhouba Diawara! Thunder Yak! A week after being improbably compared by his college coach to former Heat stopper Thunder Dan Majerle, Thunder Yak actually played like Thunder Dan, playing the key minutes down the stretch on Bobcat leading scorer Jason Richardson, goading him in to several tough shots. Also nailed a corner 3, and with 20 seconds to go, stepped to the line 2-7 for the year and drilled both to put the Heat up 4. Big night for the Frenchmen whom Heat announcers Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino have dubbed, also improbably - and completely lamely - The Rainbow Man. Why? "Because his 3's are like high arcing rainbows, Eric," cheered Tony after Yak's late fourth quarter triple. Except for rainbows usually have a pot of gold at the end; a Yak 3, usually just a hard crash in to a metal rim. Actually, to be fair, shooting a reasonable 35% on 3's. God bless the kid - he's French.
5) Early fourth quarter clash of the titans: meeting above the rim! - okay, at the rim - okay, below the rim, between Heat backup point guard Christopher Quinn and "Ammo," Adam Morrison. There is no player in the league whom Chris Quinn can finish over. Okay, there is one player in the league Chris Quinn can finish over. And the foul - three point play. No one is more embarrassing to white people than Adam Morrison - when they push a guy like him out there, or a J.J. Redick, in to the draft lottery, it makes us all look bad. We are sorry, black people, for the media claiming these guys can play. Most of us know that they can't. While Ammo shot it pretty well tonight - 5-8, which should push his season percentage somewhere just north of an ice cold 38% percent - and also somehow stumbled in to 6 rebounds, he is a defensive liability, no threat off the dribble, and a reluctant passer. And, a dear, dear friend.
6) Great to see rapper extraordinaire L'il Wayne at the game (along with Bow Wow). Sideline reporter Jason Jackson swooped in for the exclusive: "L'il - I heard you are a neighbor of Dwyane's, and that your real name is actually Dwayne, so I am guessing you are probably a big fan of his?" "Yes, I do," asserted L'il. Wait - what? What was the question again? It was mostly more riveting stuff from there...
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Heat 105 Oklahoma 99
6 Thoughts
1) Pedestrian win against the worst team in the league. Led by 15 through 3 quarters before a 20-5 Oklahoma run tied it with six minutes to go. The Spo was steadfast in not re-inserting Wade during the run. Wade plays roughly the same 36 minutes every night at the same time, sitting out the first 6 of the second and fourth quarters. In the 4th quarter the second unit was hampered by Beasley's absence after nearly having his eye poked out of his skull on a second quarter layup. Wade's reinsertion was enough for the Heat to ease by with a run-of-the-mill NBA home win. Finish the first twenty games of the season at 11-9. Along with Plumber's Nets, they have been the two nice surprises in the East so far this season.
2) Worth mentioning that the backcourt of Wade and Emcee Chalmers lead the league in most backcourt assists, and steals. There is certainly not a more active defensive pairing than these two. Chalmers continues to improve his shooting: 3-6 on threes tonight nudging his season three point percentage up to a respectable 36.5%.
3) As good as Chalmers has been defensively - certainly light years ahead of most rookies - he had trouble tonight with Thunder rookie Russell Westbrook, who went in, around, and over the Heat defense for a career high 30. An electric athlete. Still learning how to play the game - the box score shows him with two assists - I don't remember him passing the ball even one time all night. But definitely a keeper as figures out how to play basketball and pairs it with his elite physical abilities.
4) Kevin Durant struggled with Shawn Marion pestering him in to a 6-17 night - and two of the six came in the 4th quarter as soon as Marion left the game for a rest. Spent most of the night spotting up on the perimeter watching Westbrook drive. He is so long that he has to figure out a way to create a play here and there in the paint. Tough to do, though, when you are 20, the other team is geared to stop you, and your teammates are weak.
5) Durant got some pre-game advice from Heat play-by-play announcer Eric Reid, who told the audience that he told Durant "to forget about all the losses, and just focus on getting better." What are the odds that Kevin Durant had any idea who the trim, white man with the moustache who was yammering at him before the game as he tried to make his way to the layup line to warm up was? Approximately 0%?
6) Dos Minutos spent an enjoyable afternoon with Dos Minutos reader Riverman Thor -who, we should point out, is a loyal reader despite knowing nothing about basketball. One could make the case that as an Australian he isn't expected to know anything about basketball - but Australia has an electric track record for producing middling big men such as Luc Longley, Andrew Bogut, and former UConn center Justin Brown, so one would hope Australians would latch on to, and support, that kind of success. Worth mentioning - Thor objected this summer to announcers during the Olympics who portayed female Australian swimmers as major stars in Oz, and claiming that swimming was at the forefront of every Australian's mind 24/7 - "it's like the fifth most popular sport, and even then no one cares except for every four years at the Olympics," claimed the Riverman. One thing Thor clearly knows about: urine. At the West Palm Beach Science Museum (Owen and Parker Minutos, and Jr. Riverman Finn were also along, along with non-Minutos readers Eric, Giselle, and Roman), Thor demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge about the components of urine when he easily registered the high score on the videogame, "Urine! The Game." I scored 1,500, Eric 8,500, but Thor went over 11,000 to post the high score of the day. No one in West Palm Beach - and perhaps, the world - knew more about urine on this day than Thor...Quick note: if anyone from the WPB Science Museum reads this blog, they might want to check the minature golf and fossil digging areas for damage. I'm not saying that I know how it got there, I am just saying that it might be worth checking out. Oh, and Giselle stole one of your golf balls - check her purse.
1) Pedestrian win against the worst team in the league. Led by 15 through 3 quarters before a 20-5 Oklahoma run tied it with six minutes to go. The Spo was steadfast in not re-inserting Wade during the run. Wade plays roughly the same 36 minutes every night at the same time, sitting out the first 6 of the second and fourth quarters. In the 4th quarter the second unit was hampered by Beasley's absence after nearly having his eye poked out of his skull on a second quarter layup. Wade's reinsertion was enough for the Heat to ease by with a run-of-the-mill NBA home win. Finish the first twenty games of the season at 11-9. Along with Plumber's Nets, they have been the two nice surprises in the East so far this season.
2) Worth mentioning that the backcourt of Wade and Emcee Chalmers lead the league in most backcourt assists, and steals. There is certainly not a more active defensive pairing than these two. Chalmers continues to improve his shooting: 3-6 on threes tonight nudging his season three point percentage up to a respectable 36.5%.
3) As good as Chalmers has been defensively - certainly light years ahead of most rookies - he had trouble tonight with Thunder rookie Russell Westbrook, who went in, around, and over the Heat defense for a career high 30. An electric athlete. Still learning how to play the game - the box score shows him with two assists - I don't remember him passing the ball even one time all night. But definitely a keeper as figures out how to play basketball and pairs it with his elite physical abilities.
4) Kevin Durant struggled with Shawn Marion pestering him in to a 6-17 night - and two of the six came in the 4th quarter as soon as Marion left the game for a rest. Spent most of the night spotting up on the perimeter watching Westbrook drive. He is so long that he has to figure out a way to create a play here and there in the paint. Tough to do, though, when you are 20, the other team is geared to stop you, and your teammates are weak.
5) Durant got some pre-game advice from Heat play-by-play announcer Eric Reid, who told the audience that he told Durant "to forget about all the losses, and just focus on getting better." What are the odds that Kevin Durant had any idea who the trim, white man with the moustache who was yammering at him before the game as he tried to make his way to the layup line to warm up was? Approximately 0%?
6) Dos Minutos spent an enjoyable afternoon with Dos Minutos reader Riverman Thor -who, we should point out, is a loyal reader despite knowing nothing about basketball. One could make the case that as an Australian he isn't expected to know anything about basketball - but Australia has an electric track record for producing middling big men such as Luc Longley, Andrew Bogut, and former UConn center Justin Brown, so one would hope Australians would latch on to, and support, that kind of success. Worth mentioning - Thor objected this summer to announcers during the Olympics who portayed female Australian swimmers as major stars in Oz, and claiming that swimming was at the forefront of every Australian's mind 24/7 - "it's like the fifth most popular sport, and even then no one cares except for every four years at the Olympics," claimed the Riverman. One thing Thor clearly knows about: urine. At the West Palm Beach Science Museum (Owen and Parker Minutos, and Jr. Riverman Finn were also along, along with non-Minutos readers Eric, Giselle, and Roman), Thor demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge about the components of urine when he easily registered the high score on the videogame, "Urine! The Game." I scored 1,500, Eric 8,500, but Thor went over 11,000 to post the high score of the day. No one in West Palm Beach - and perhaps, the world - knew more about urine on this day than Thor...Quick note: if anyone from the WPB Science Museum reads this blog, they might want to check the minature golf and fossil digging areas for damage. I'm not saying that I know how it got there, I am just saying that it might be worth checking out. Oh, and Giselle stole one of your golf balls - check her purse.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Ask Dos Minutos: Wade Theory
Our favorite international Dos Minutos reader, Scott from Scotland, asks about his "Wade Theory":
Hi. Do you reckon there is any weight to the view that the fact he's using a jump shot perhaps more than before is one key to Wade's return to superstar status?
Excellent question. We are hoping you didn't ask it just to get your name in Dos Minutos again.
I think you are probably correct. I think he is shooting the long jump shot more than he has in previous years, and with greater success. The numbers wouldn't necessarily indicate much difference - if you throw out last year, when he was injured - the previous two seasons he shot 49% from the floor, and this year he right on that number. He shoots one less free throw per game than he did those years, however, and takes one more shot per game than he did in those seasons, so statistically there is some evidence of slight movement in that direction.
Factor in, though, that he doesn't have Shaq, he doesn't have Jason Williams, he doesn't have Damon Jones, or Posey, or Eddie Jones, or Kapono, or any established postup players or perimeter shooters or scorers - except, I suppose, Beasley, who is a tremendous shooter, but lacks a little savvy at this point. Watching the games, the defenses are packed in more than ever. He still gets to rim with frequency; but, what he has eliminated is a lot of his middle game, a lot of the plays where he drives past the first guy and pulls up for the 15 footer. If he drives this season, he is looking to get all the way to the rim. Otherwise, he is looking to stick the 20 footer, and occasionally stepping back and shooting a three. I think he is staying away from the middle game because his longer jumper has improved and he can save a little energy this way.
Two other thoughts:
1) It is not as if his game has taken a quantum leap upwards. This is how good he was before he got hurt - it is easy to forget. I had forgotten myself. If you watch the 2006 Finals (which you are welcome to do next time you are in town - I have all the games on my Ipod), he was playing at this level, and made innumerable huge jumpers in that series. And before getting hurt, he was equally good starting the next season.
2) Not only is he healthy right now, he is bigger and stronger than he was before the injury.
Great question, Scott, feel free to ask away any time, and we can't wait for your next appearance at Dos Minutos headquarters. I am working diligently to improve my billiards game in anticipation of your next visit, and by "working diligently to improve" I mean that I watched five minutes of the Speed Billiards Championships a few nights ago on ESPN at about 2am, where the guys have to clear the table as quickly as possible and the quickest cumulative time over several rounds wins. You don't even have to wait for the balls to stop rolling, although most guys do.
Cheers!
Hi. Do you reckon there is any weight to the view that the fact he's using a jump shot perhaps more than before is one key to Wade's return to superstar status?
Excellent question. We are hoping you didn't ask it just to get your name in Dos Minutos again.
I think you are probably correct. I think he is shooting the long jump shot more than he has in previous years, and with greater success. The numbers wouldn't necessarily indicate much difference - if you throw out last year, when he was injured - the previous two seasons he shot 49% from the floor, and this year he right on that number. He shoots one less free throw per game than he did those years, however, and takes one more shot per game than he did in those seasons, so statistically there is some evidence of slight movement in that direction.
Factor in, though, that he doesn't have Shaq, he doesn't have Jason Williams, he doesn't have Damon Jones, or Posey, or Eddie Jones, or Kapono, or any established postup players or perimeter shooters or scorers - except, I suppose, Beasley, who is a tremendous shooter, but lacks a little savvy at this point. Watching the games, the defenses are packed in more than ever. He still gets to rim with frequency; but, what he has eliminated is a lot of his middle game, a lot of the plays where he drives past the first guy and pulls up for the 15 footer. If he drives this season, he is looking to get all the way to the rim. Otherwise, he is looking to stick the 20 footer, and occasionally stepping back and shooting a three. I think he is staying away from the middle game because his longer jumper has improved and he can save a little energy this way.
Two other thoughts:
1) It is not as if his game has taken a quantum leap upwards. This is how good he was before he got hurt - it is easy to forget. I had forgotten myself. If you watch the 2006 Finals (which you are welcome to do next time you are in town - I have all the games on my Ipod), he was playing at this level, and made innumerable huge jumpers in that series. And before getting hurt, he was equally good starting the next season.
2) Not only is he healthy right now, he is bigger and stronger than he was before the injury.
Great question, Scott, feel free to ask away any time, and we can't wait for your next appearance at Dos Minutos headquarters. I am working diligently to improve my billiards game in anticipation of your next visit, and by "working diligently to improve" I mean that I watched five minutes of the Speed Billiards Championships a few nights ago on ESPN at about 2am, where the guys have to clear the table as quickly as possible and the quickest cumulative time over several rounds wins. You don't even have to wait for the balls to stop rolling, although most guys do.
Cheers!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Heat 93 Jazz 89
6 Thoughts
1) An easy win to end the road trip, this game was never in much doubt in the second half - a late Utah run made the final score closer than the game itself. Utah is struggling with injuries right now: Boozer out, Kirilenko out, Harpring out, and Deron Williams still clearly very seriously hampered by his ankle injury. With all the injuries, it was the first game of the year where the Heat actually had a physical advantage inside and they outrebounded Utah 45-38. A very successful Pacific coast road trip for the young group, going 3-2. Didn't necessarily play the better teams out west, but for a team with so many inexperienced rotation guys, any road win is a good road win. Although, to be honest, Dwyane Wade won the games. The kids helped, certainly are improving - but Dwyane Wade won the games. Tonight had 4 steals and 2 blocks (to go with an efficient 23 points), and they all seemed to lead to layups on the other end. He is 11th in the league in blocks right now. He is maybe 6'4" - that's ridiculous. He physically dominates games with his athleticism.
2) It was a night where Joel Anthony starred. That is probably the first time that sentence has ever been written. Blocked 4 shots in the first three minutes of the second half as the Heat blew open a close game with an initial 17-2 burst to start the half, which essentially decided the game. Still has the worst hands I have ever seen: early in the first quarter he secured a rebound and waited for everyone to clear. After they did, and Chalmers started walking over to get it, without any discernible motion at all the ball suddenly dislodged from Joel's grasp, upwards, where he struggled with it for a long moment before re-securing it and shoveling it over to a concerned Chalmers. "It's like he has natural butterfingers," observed Mami.
3) Good to see that Memo Okur has lost 15 pounds and grown a pointy goatee. Now looks approximately like a Dutch gingerbread house maker.
4) Utah - we all agree, a completely annoying place to play. They are physical, refs fear for their lives because, well, they are in Utah, and Jerry Sloan and the entire Church of the LDS are screaming at them, and it is usually just an all-around bad experience. Still, perhaps the most annoying thing is the new bell that they sound after every basket. It is a shrill, old-timey bell, like the bell that goes off when you get the duck to the top of the watergun race at the county fair. Every basket. One more reason to hate Utah.
5) A slowed Deron Williams tried to get to the basket late in the game and drew a charge, plowing over the perfectly positioned Udonis Haslem. "It's like he has radar to know where that charge line is, Eric," crowed color commentator extraordinaire Tony Fiorentino. "Yes, radar - or he just looks down," opined Mami. On a related note - it seems so easy to take a charge. See the guy coming, stand out in front of the line, let the guy run in to you. Udonis, the best charge taker on the Heat, draws 50 or so a year, and is always amongst the league leaders. Mike Beasley hasn't drawn one this year, and not for a lack of trying. He has tried maybe 12 times in their 19 games and every time the foul, rightfully, has gone against him. Usually the problem is that he doesn't above the line, but sometimes he is sliding, sometimes he turns and doesn't quite take it square. It just goes to show that it is a skill and, perhaps, not as easy as it appears - let's hope it is a learnable skill, for Mike Beasley's sake.
6) Good to see the Senator, Michael Doleac, at the game. He has a championship ring from the '06 squad, and is one of the most likable guys ever to lace them up for the Heat. Said he has changed his mind about going to medical school and now is going to get his master's degree and do some coaching. Said he is enjoying life away from the game, spending more time with his family, and that he keeps in close - almost constant - contact with his good, good friend Antoine Walker...
1) An easy win to end the road trip, this game was never in much doubt in the second half - a late Utah run made the final score closer than the game itself. Utah is struggling with injuries right now: Boozer out, Kirilenko out, Harpring out, and Deron Williams still clearly very seriously hampered by his ankle injury. With all the injuries, it was the first game of the year where the Heat actually had a physical advantage inside and they outrebounded Utah 45-38. A very successful Pacific coast road trip for the young group, going 3-2. Didn't necessarily play the better teams out west, but for a team with so many inexperienced rotation guys, any road win is a good road win. Although, to be honest, Dwyane Wade won the games. The kids helped, certainly are improving - but Dwyane Wade won the games. Tonight had 4 steals and 2 blocks (to go with an efficient 23 points), and they all seemed to lead to layups on the other end. He is 11th in the league in blocks right now. He is maybe 6'4" - that's ridiculous. He physically dominates games with his athleticism.
2) It was a night where Joel Anthony starred. That is probably the first time that sentence has ever been written. Blocked 4 shots in the first three minutes of the second half as the Heat blew open a close game with an initial 17-2 burst to start the half, which essentially decided the game. Still has the worst hands I have ever seen: early in the first quarter he secured a rebound and waited for everyone to clear. After they did, and Chalmers started walking over to get it, without any discernible motion at all the ball suddenly dislodged from Joel's grasp, upwards, where he struggled with it for a long moment before re-securing it and shoveling it over to a concerned Chalmers. "It's like he has natural butterfingers," observed Mami.
3) Good to see that Memo Okur has lost 15 pounds and grown a pointy goatee. Now looks approximately like a Dutch gingerbread house maker.
4) Utah - we all agree, a completely annoying place to play. They are physical, refs fear for their lives because, well, they are in Utah, and Jerry Sloan and the entire Church of the LDS are screaming at them, and it is usually just an all-around bad experience. Still, perhaps the most annoying thing is the new bell that they sound after every basket. It is a shrill, old-timey bell, like the bell that goes off when you get the duck to the top of the watergun race at the county fair. Every basket. One more reason to hate Utah.
5) A slowed Deron Williams tried to get to the basket late in the game and drew a charge, plowing over the perfectly positioned Udonis Haslem. "It's like he has radar to know where that charge line is, Eric," crowed color commentator extraordinaire Tony Fiorentino. "Yes, radar - or he just looks down," opined Mami. On a related note - it seems so easy to take a charge. See the guy coming, stand out in front of the line, let the guy run in to you. Udonis, the best charge taker on the Heat, draws 50 or so a year, and is always amongst the league leaders. Mike Beasley hasn't drawn one this year, and not for a lack of trying. He has tried maybe 12 times in their 19 games and every time the foul, rightfully, has gone against him. Usually the problem is that he doesn't above the line, but sometimes he is sliding, sometimes he turns and doesn't quite take it square. It just goes to show that it is a skill and, perhaps, not as easy as it appears - let's hope it is a learnable skill, for Mike Beasley's sake.
6) Good to see the Senator, Michael Doleac, at the game. He has a championship ring from the '06 squad, and is one of the most likable guys ever to lace them up for the Heat. Said he has changed his mind about going to medical school and now is going to get his master's degree and do some coaching. Said he is enjoying life away from the game, spending more time with his family, and that he keeps in close - almost constant - contact with his good, good friend Antoine Walker...
Monday, December 1, 2008
Heat 130 Warriors 129 (ot)
6 Thoughts
1) Look, Bennett Salvatore referred the game -seemingly by himself. The Warriors shot 46 free throws in regulations, and 52 for for the game, including several huge touch calls on the perimeter down the stretch. Approximately 48 of the 52 were called by Bennett. Does it seem like a lot? Maybe it is, because in 20 years of playing a minimum of 82 games a year, no team has ever made more free throws in a game against the Heat. Then, Udonis was nearly beheaded on a putback to tie the game at the buzzer - could the Heat get just one call to win the game> No, no call. Wade stared at half court and stared at Salvatore for a good 15 seconds before retreating to the bench to prepare for overtime. Salvatore gave him a palms up "what?" Wade just shook his head, and left him standing there - what can you do? - it's Bennett Salvatore. As Dos Minutos icon John Hollinger points out often, he is the worst referee in basketball, and it isn't even close.
2) Survived Heat Killa Jamal Crawford's normal 40. Incredibly, missed a 8 foot runner that would have won it at the overtime buzzer. Understandably frustrated at Bennett Salvatore that no free throws were forthcoming.
3) Even beyond this, a ridiculous game to win. Down 3 with 15 seconds left in overtime, Wade got knocked down on a fall away 3 by Steffan Jackson to no call. In the ensuing scramble for the rebound, CJ Watson fell out of bounds with the ball with 8 seconds to go. With no timeouts left, Miami inbounded the ball to Quinn, who hit a fallaway 3 from the corner. The Warriors had a timeout, but tried to inbound the ball. Beasley slipped back, a la Posey, and stepped in front of the pass, took a dribble to the rim where he was knocked down by Biedrins and, incredibly, drew a foul. Made one of two, Miami survived the Crawford runner. Ball game. Weird two nights in California - good to leave.
4) Why was Heat Assistant Coach Keith Askins wearing 0range ear plugs?
5) This says more about me than the place, but what is Oakland? It's a city, right? Is it right next to San Francisco - it's across the bay, or something, right? Is it also a big city, or do you drive over from San Francisco to see the game? I have been there, one time, visiting lost Minutoer The Web - he lived in the Oakland Hills. But we always went to San Francisco, which seemed to be right there. So what is Oakland? It seems to have its own teams, but do you ever hear anything else about the city except those teams?
6) In the second quarter, previewing a half time piece on Heat small forward Yakhouba Diawara, Heat play-by-play announcer Eric Reid pointed out to sidekick Tony Fiorentino that both Diawara and Warrior forward Ronny Turiaf grew up in France. And, Eric asked Tony, what would you say if I told you that Turiaf played on a high school team in Paris that featured him, Sonic forward Johan Petro, Spur backup Ian Mahinmi, and Tony Parker? What do I think? I think Thank God that team had Tony Parker, because they sound pretty terrible without him... Also, during the halftime piece Diawara revealed that his college coach Paul Westphal compared him to former Heat tough guy Dan Majerle. Dan Majerle? Really? Who does Chris Quinn remind him of, Tiny Archibald?
1) Look, Bennett Salvatore referred the game -seemingly by himself. The Warriors shot 46 free throws in regulations, and 52 for for the game, including several huge touch calls on the perimeter down the stretch. Approximately 48 of the 52 were called by Bennett. Does it seem like a lot? Maybe it is, because in 20 years of playing a minimum of 82 games a year, no team has ever made more free throws in a game against the Heat. Then, Udonis was nearly beheaded on a putback to tie the game at the buzzer - could the Heat get just one call to win the game> No, no call. Wade stared at half court and stared at Salvatore for a good 15 seconds before retreating to the bench to prepare for overtime. Salvatore gave him a palms up "what?" Wade just shook his head, and left him standing there - what can you do? - it's Bennett Salvatore. As Dos Minutos icon John Hollinger points out often, he is the worst referee in basketball, and it isn't even close.
2) Survived Heat Killa Jamal Crawford's normal 40. Incredibly, missed a 8 foot runner that would have won it at the overtime buzzer. Understandably frustrated at Bennett Salvatore that no free throws were forthcoming.
3) Even beyond this, a ridiculous game to win. Down 3 with 15 seconds left in overtime, Wade got knocked down on a fall away 3 by Steffan Jackson to no call. In the ensuing scramble for the rebound, CJ Watson fell out of bounds with the ball with 8 seconds to go. With no timeouts left, Miami inbounded the ball to Quinn, who hit a fallaway 3 from the corner. The Warriors had a timeout, but tried to inbound the ball. Beasley slipped back, a la Posey, and stepped in front of the pass, took a dribble to the rim where he was knocked down by Biedrins and, incredibly, drew a foul. Made one of two, Miami survived the Crawford runner. Ball game. Weird two nights in California - good to leave.
4) Why was Heat Assistant Coach Keith Askins wearing 0range ear plugs?
5) This says more about me than the place, but what is Oakland? It's a city, right? Is it right next to San Francisco - it's across the bay, or something, right? Is it also a big city, or do you drive over from San Francisco to see the game? I have been there, one time, visiting lost Minutoer The Web - he lived in the Oakland Hills. But we always went to San Francisco, which seemed to be right there. So what is Oakland? It seems to have its own teams, but do you ever hear anything else about the city except those teams?
6) In the second quarter, previewing a half time piece on Heat small forward Yakhouba Diawara, Heat play-by-play announcer Eric Reid pointed out to sidekick Tony Fiorentino that both Diawara and Warrior forward Ronny Turiaf grew up in France. And, Eric asked Tony, what would you say if I told you that Turiaf played on a high school team in Paris that featured him, Sonic forward Johan Petro, Spur backup Ian Mahinmi, and Tony Parker? What do I think? I think Thank God that team had Tony Parker, because they sound pretty terrible without him... Also, during the halftime piece Diawara revealed that his college coach Paul Westphal compared him to former Heat tough guy Dan Majerle. Dan Majerle? Really? Who does Chris Quinn remind him of, Tiny Archibald?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thoughts on the Phoenix Suns
Some thoughts on the Phoenix Suns.
-They lost games at home this weekend to Miami and New Jersey.
-Dwyane Wade and Devin Harris each went over 40 - Devin Harris for a mind-boggling 47.
(Props, by the way, to Plumber's Nets for jumping out to a 9-7 start, and especially to Harris who is playing at a level with the best players in the league right now. I am guessing Lawrence Frank will get no credit from Plumber, though.)
-I am guessing we can retire Raja Bell's rep as a defensive stopper after Wade and Harris' performances.
-Shaq was a minor factor both nights. Against Miami he didn't even play down the stretch. Not sure about the NJ game. Still, he insists everything will be okay as soon as they get the new offense down. I've heard that type of rationalizing from him before, right before he went out and kept having the same lukewarm performances game after game after game. Look - just watch him. He can't finish plays inside. Who trades for a guy who can't finish plays inside, when his only true skill is finishing plays inside?
-Amare Stoudamire is already complaining about his limited role in the offense as they slow the ball down and try to force feed Shaq.
-Steve Nash's numbers are down.
- The are, to be fair, 11-7, which is very respectable, but lack quality wins on the resume, and the losses at home to .500ish teams are troubling.
-The trade for Shaq, somehow, was made, according to the Suns organization, to improve the defense. That an unfathomable, indefensible notion. So far this season, anchored by Shawn Marion, Miami leads the NBA in forcing turnovers, and is in the top ten in defensive efficiency without a rotation player over 6'8". The Suns are languishing in the low 20s, which actually represents a drop for them. Even watching them play it is obvious it is difficult to defend with Shaq on the court because opponents will put him in space on pick and rolls, etc.
-Last year, before the season started, Dos Minutos went on record as claiming that "this will not end well" (the Shaq situation). Specifically, we asked the question "when it turns out that the team functions more efficiently with Mark Blount on the court, what are you prepared to do? Are you prepared to trade Shaq? Because you can't sit him on the bench behind Mark Blount. And if they aren't winning, and they aren't going to win because Dwyane Wade is still hurt and Shaq can't play anymore, it is going to get ugly faster than anyone imagines."
As it turned out, the team did not function more efficiently with Mark Blount on the court. However, they did not function efficiently with Shaq on the court either, and they didn't win because Dywane Wade was still injured and Shaq can't play anymore. It got ugly even earlier than Dos Minutos expected. As it turns out, they were willing to move Shaq, and somehow found a willing trade partner in Phoenix.
-All of this is a long way of asking the question: what is Phoenix going to do? The run of the past few years is over. Nash and Stoudamire are both free agents after next season (along with LeBron, Wade, et al). Shaq's contract is up after that season as well. Are you going to keep putting Shaq out there, play a slow bump and grind game which doesn't cater to Nash or Stoudmire's strengths, and probably won't be that successful in the standings? The risk is that you continue to alienate Stoudmire - he is already upset, and he is the only youngish building block on the team. Are you going to see if someone else will take Shaq from you? Do you try to move Nash to a contender to get younger, since he will bring more than Shaq? Do you just blow the whole thing up and try to move Stoudamire and rebuild all over? Tough to answer, especially when you factor in that ownership, generally, seems loathe to do anything but cut costs - which made the Shaq trade even odder, because they absorbed an extra year at 20 million per. It will get ugly, and it will get ugly before February. Dos Minutos' prediction is that Nash and Stoudamire don't both survive the trading deadline - one gets moved to a contender for draft picks and expiring contracts. I can't see them finding a place to move Shaq, so they are on their own there...Godspeed, Steve Kerr!
-They lost games at home this weekend to Miami and New Jersey.
-Dwyane Wade and Devin Harris each went over 40 - Devin Harris for a mind-boggling 47.
(Props, by the way, to Plumber's Nets for jumping out to a 9-7 start, and especially to Harris who is playing at a level with the best players in the league right now. I am guessing Lawrence Frank will get no credit from Plumber, though.)
-I am guessing we can retire Raja Bell's rep as a defensive stopper after Wade and Harris' performances.
-Shaq was a minor factor both nights. Against Miami he didn't even play down the stretch. Not sure about the NJ game. Still, he insists everything will be okay as soon as they get the new offense down. I've heard that type of rationalizing from him before, right before he went out and kept having the same lukewarm performances game after game after game. Look - just watch him. He can't finish plays inside. Who trades for a guy who can't finish plays inside, when his only true skill is finishing plays inside?
-Amare Stoudamire is already complaining about his limited role in the offense as they slow the ball down and try to force feed Shaq.
-Steve Nash's numbers are down.
- The are, to be fair, 11-7, which is very respectable, but lack quality wins on the resume, and the losses at home to .500ish teams are troubling.
-The trade for Shaq, somehow, was made, according to the Suns organization, to improve the defense. That an unfathomable, indefensible notion. So far this season, anchored by Shawn Marion, Miami leads the NBA in forcing turnovers, and is in the top ten in defensive efficiency without a rotation player over 6'8". The Suns are languishing in the low 20s, which actually represents a drop for them. Even watching them play it is obvious it is difficult to defend with Shaq on the court because opponents will put him in space on pick and rolls, etc.
-Last year, before the season started, Dos Minutos went on record as claiming that "this will not end well" (the Shaq situation). Specifically, we asked the question "when it turns out that the team functions more efficiently with Mark Blount on the court, what are you prepared to do? Are you prepared to trade Shaq? Because you can't sit him on the bench behind Mark Blount. And if they aren't winning, and they aren't going to win because Dwyane Wade is still hurt and Shaq can't play anymore, it is going to get ugly faster than anyone imagines."
As it turned out, the team did not function more efficiently with Mark Blount on the court. However, they did not function efficiently with Shaq on the court either, and they didn't win because Dywane Wade was still injured and Shaq can't play anymore. It got ugly even earlier than Dos Minutos expected. As it turns out, they were willing to move Shaq, and somehow found a willing trade partner in Phoenix.
-All of this is a long way of asking the question: what is Phoenix going to do? The run of the past few years is over. Nash and Stoudamire are both free agents after next season (along with LeBron, Wade, et al). Shaq's contract is up after that season as well. Are you going to keep putting Shaq out there, play a slow bump and grind game which doesn't cater to Nash or Stoudmire's strengths, and probably won't be that successful in the standings? The risk is that you continue to alienate Stoudmire - he is already upset, and he is the only youngish building block on the team. Are you going to see if someone else will take Shaq from you? Do you try to move Nash to a contender to get younger, since he will bring more than Shaq? Do you just blow the whole thing up and try to move Stoudamire and rebuild all over? Tough to answer, especially when you factor in that ownership, generally, seems loathe to do anything but cut costs - which made the Shaq trade even odder, because they absorbed an extra year at 20 million per. It will get ugly, and it will get ugly before February. Dos Minutos' prediction is that Nash and Stoudamire don't both survive the trading deadline - one gets moved to a contender for draft picks and expiring contracts. I can't see them finding a place to move Shaq, so they are on their own there...Godspeed, Steve Kerr!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Clippers 97 Heat 96
6 Thoughts
1) Tough loss on the road to a struggling Clippers team. It was the first true close game Miami has played this year - they hadn't had a game decided by 4 points or less to date.
2) It was also the first game of the season in which refereeing was a huge factor. The Clippers, especially Al Thornton and Zach Randolph, were allowed to be very physical inside on the boards, which led to a +8 Clipper rebounding edge. However, the perimeter was called very closely. A bad combination for Miami as the Clippers had 35 free throws to Miami's 11, and Miami only forced 13 turnovers. Miami shot only 2 free throws in the second half. Any game in which Miami is not allowed to be handsy on drivers is difficult for them - they can only get stops by being allowed to be physical before the ball gets to the lane - once it's there, it's too late for them.
3) The refereeing problems were compounded in the last seven seconds of the game on one the oddest sequences of events in recent memory. With 7.2 seconds to go and Miami down one, the Clippers were attempting to inbound the ball from their frontcourt. Nearing (or exceeding) 5 seconds and having a tough time getting it in , the inbounder tried to slither one back up the sideline towards the Clipper backcourt. Dwyane Wade shot the gap, intercepted the pass, and as he leaped up to avoid falling out of bounds, threw the ball up the court to Shawn Marion who went in alone for an uncontested score. Wade landed on official Courtney Kirkland who blew his whistle as they crashed in to the scorer's table. Marion stopped short of the rim. Kirkland called Wade out of bounds and signaled Clipper ball. This happened roughly in front of the Miami bench which exploded into Kirkland's face. He then seemed to admit that he hadn't seen the play (which was likely since it happened literally on top of him), and waved over the other two officials. They huddled for a long minute, then emerged and declared it Clipper ball. The Spo went bananas - Kirkland came over to him and explained that he hadn't seen the play, but that one of the other officials had called Wade out of bounds. At this, that official, Ron Elesiak, came over to the discussion and Wade started screaming at him that he was "way the hell over there" - across the court - when the play had occurred (which was true). Spoelstra demanded that they go to replay, which the officials started to do before getting intercepted by Dunleavy, who pointed out that was not a reviewable play by rule, which is also true. So the officials huddled again, and re-emerged declaring it now Heat ball, inexplicably. The Clipper bench rightfully went bananas. Though that was actually the correct call (Wade was clearly not out of bounds), it is impossible to imagine what was said in the second officials' huddle that wasn't said in the first. The only thing I can imagine is that they halved the difference - Miami got penalized by the inadvertent whistle because it took away an uncontested dunk which would have put them up 1 with a couple of seconds to go. I'm guessing in the first huddle, though, they made the argument that Wade really didn't have possession of the ball when the inadvertent whistle blew, so possession reverted to the Clippers. In the second huddle I suppose they reconsidered and decided that they didn't want to penalize the Heat twice by denying them the go ahead score, and giving the Clippers the ball. Seemed somewhat fair, but incredibly inefficient, and unsatisfactory to both teams.
4) You think it would be done there, but it wasn't. After a protracted timeout in which Dunleavy, rightfully, complained the entire time, Miami came out with 7.2 to go. The Clippers, much to Heat color commentator Tony Fiorentino's chagrin, had a foul to give. I knew I shouldn't have made fun of him last game. In any case, the ball is inbounded to Wade who immediately drives on Baron Davis, who gives the foul with a right forearm shiver to Wade's hip which sent him stumbling to the right wing. Everyone stopped, waiting for the whistle, which didn't come. As Wade stood in place with the ball, semi-stunned, Clippers guard Mike Taylor ran over and tackled him with 2.9 to go, which was called. The Heat took time out, and the bench went bananas again arguing that they should have about 6 seconds to go, not 2.9. Incredibly, the officials huddled to consider this notion, then ruled that, no, they hadn't called the Baron Davis foul (which was true), so 2.9 was correct. If the officials made any mistake, it was not realizing that the Clippers had a foul to give. They clearly were tying to let the players make the last play, which would be fine, except all the players knew that a foul was coming and stopped when it happened. Judging from their reaction, the officials couldn't have realized that there was one to give. While that is somewhat egregious on their part, they had just come off a traumatic 5 minute stretch of huddles, messing up an inbounds play to both teams' dissatisfaction, and were probably a little shell shocked. It happens. In any case, the Heat's 2.9 play went awry and Wade ended up with a bad look three that he missed. They got their shot, which is all you can ask for on the road, and missed it. Bizarre night.
5) Left over from last night's game against Phoenix. I meant to mention that now that Cleveland's Eric Snow has retired, the mantle of "Dirtiest Player in the League" has been assumed by Phoenix's Raja Bell. The guy only stays in the league by being feisty, but often takes it over the line. Somehow he had back-to-back plays in the Heat game which involved him turning his back to a Dwyane Wade drive and belting him to the floor with a shoulder, and punching Mario Chalmers, intentionally, in the face on a leap for a loose ball, without getting ejected, or even a flagrant foul, on either one. Some would argue for Bruce Bowen, but Bowen is more of an irritant than he is dirty. Still probably the only player who has ever made Vince Carter when he tripped him on purpose and Carter chased him all over the court trying to grab and throttle him. Snow's raison d'etre, of course, was the late slide in front of a perimeter dribbler in which he would slide in from the side, and then fall backwards in front of the guy, who would then trip down on top of him. It rarely was called a charge - usually a block on Snow - but it was used more as a intimidation tactic, planting the notion in the opponent's mind that at any moment his defender might suddenly insanely lunge in front of him and fall down, causing him to trip - and thus measure his steps carefully. It worked to greatest effect in the year the Sixers beat the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, when, in Game 7, Snow pulled it on Ray Allen, injuring him on the fall, and knocking him out of the game early in the second half of a game the Sixers squeaked out. Also, worth a mention that there was always the threat that Snow might miss his line drive jumper off the bottom of the rim and injure a potential rebounder in the lane. We'll miss you, tough guy!
6) Rookie report: Mike Beasley snapped back from a week of lethargy to drop 17 in the second quarter on his way to a 24 point night. And Chalmers battled Baron Davis admirably. The last couple of nights The Spo has been changing his point guard rotation. Whereas Emcee and Quinn had been roughly splitting minutes, now Chalmers is playing 30+ (37 tonight), and Quinn has been ratcheted back to backup minutes 11 tonight). Chalmers, who is improving his jump shooting (4-9, 3-7 on 3's tonight), has earned the extra time. The Clippers Eric Gordon started and looked heavy, but springy, like a 2 guard version of Charles Barkley. Only made one jumper, but flipped it effortlessly from 3 point range. Was relatively ineffective (7 pts 2 assists and a board) in 30 minutes. Tough to tell whether he is a player or not based on tonight.
Next game, Monday in Golden State
1) Tough loss on the road to a struggling Clippers team. It was the first true close game Miami has played this year - they hadn't had a game decided by 4 points or less to date.
2) It was also the first game of the season in which refereeing was a huge factor. The Clippers, especially Al Thornton and Zach Randolph, were allowed to be very physical inside on the boards, which led to a +8 Clipper rebounding edge. However, the perimeter was called very closely. A bad combination for Miami as the Clippers had 35 free throws to Miami's 11, and Miami only forced 13 turnovers. Miami shot only 2 free throws in the second half. Any game in which Miami is not allowed to be handsy on drivers is difficult for them - they can only get stops by being allowed to be physical before the ball gets to the lane - once it's there, it's too late for them.
3) The refereeing problems were compounded in the last seven seconds of the game on one the oddest sequences of events in recent memory. With 7.2 seconds to go and Miami down one, the Clippers were attempting to inbound the ball from their frontcourt. Nearing (or exceeding) 5 seconds and having a tough time getting it in , the inbounder tried to slither one back up the sideline towards the Clipper backcourt. Dwyane Wade shot the gap, intercepted the pass, and as he leaped up to avoid falling out of bounds, threw the ball up the court to Shawn Marion who went in alone for an uncontested score. Wade landed on official Courtney Kirkland who blew his whistle as they crashed in to the scorer's table. Marion stopped short of the rim. Kirkland called Wade out of bounds and signaled Clipper ball. This happened roughly in front of the Miami bench which exploded into Kirkland's face. He then seemed to admit that he hadn't seen the play (which was likely since it happened literally on top of him), and waved over the other two officials. They huddled for a long minute, then emerged and declared it Clipper ball. The Spo went bananas - Kirkland came over to him and explained that he hadn't seen the play, but that one of the other officials had called Wade out of bounds. At this, that official, Ron Elesiak, came over to the discussion and Wade started screaming at him that he was "way the hell over there" - across the court - when the play had occurred (which was true). Spoelstra demanded that they go to replay, which the officials started to do before getting intercepted by Dunleavy, who pointed out that was not a reviewable play by rule, which is also true. So the officials huddled again, and re-emerged declaring it now Heat ball, inexplicably. The Clipper bench rightfully went bananas. Though that was actually the correct call (Wade was clearly not out of bounds), it is impossible to imagine what was said in the second officials' huddle that wasn't said in the first. The only thing I can imagine is that they halved the difference - Miami got penalized by the inadvertent whistle because it took away an uncontested dunk which would have put them up 1 with a couple of seconds to go. I'm guessing in the first huddle, though, they made the argument that Wade really didn't have possession of the ball when the inadvertent whistle blew, so possession reverted to the Clippers. In the second huddle I suppose they reconsidered and decided that they didn't want to penalize the Heat twice by denying them the go ahead score, and giving the Clippers the ball. Seemed somewhat fair, but incredibly inefficient, and unsatisfactory to both teams.
4) You think it would be done there, but it wasn't. After a protracted timeout in which Dunleavy, rightfully, complained the entire time, Miami came out with 7.2 to go. The Clippers, much to Heat color commentator Tony Fiorentino's chagrin, had a foul to give. I knew I shouldn't have made fun of him last game. In any case, the ball is inbounded to Wade who immediately drives on Baron Davis, who gives the foul with a right forearm shiver to Wade's hip which sent him stumbling to the right wing. Everyone stopped, waiting for the whistle, which didn't come. As Wade stood in place with the ball, semi-stunned, Clippers guard Mike Taylor ran over and tackled him with 2.9 to go, which was called. The Heat took time out, and the bench went bananas again arguing that they should have about 6 seconds to go, not 2.9. Incredibly, the officials huddled to consider this notion, then ruled that, no, they hadn't called the Baron Davis foul (which was true), so 2.9 was correct. If the officials made any mistake, it was not realizing that the Clippers had a foul to give. They clearly were tying to let the players make the last play, which would be fine, except all the players knew that a foul was coming and stopped when it happened. Judging from their reaction, the officials couldn't have realized that there was one to give. While that is somewhat egregious on their part, they had just come off a traumatic 5 minute stretch of huddles, messing up an inbounds play to both teams' dissatisfaction, and were probably a little shell shocked. It happens. In any case, the Heat's 2.9 play went awry and Wade ended up with a bad look three that he missed. They got their shot, which is all you can ask for on the road, and missed it. Bizarre night.
5) Left over from last night's game against Phoenix. I meant to mention that now that Cleveland's Eric Snow has retired, the mantle of "Dirtiest Player in the League" has been assumed by Phoenix's Raja Bell. The guy only stays in the league by being feisty, but often takes it over the line. Somehow he had back-to-back plays in the Heat game which involved him turning his back to a Dwyane Wade drive and belting him to the floor with a shoulder, and punching Mario Chalmers, intentionally, in the face on a leap for a loose ball, without getting ejected, or even a flagrant foul, on either one. Some would argue for Bruce Bowen, but Bowen is more of an irritant than he is dirty. Still probably the only player who has ever made Vince Carter when he tripped him on purpose and Carter chased him all over the court trying to grab and throttle him. Snow's raison d'etre, of course, was the late slide in front of a perimeter dribbler in which he would slide in from the side, and then fall backwards in front of the guy, who would then trip down on top of him. It rarely was called a charge - usually a block on Snow - but it was used more as a intimidation tactic, planting the notion in the opponent's mind that at any moment his defender might suddenly insanely lunge in front of him and fall down, causing him to trip - and thus measure his steps carefully. It worked to greatest effect in the year the Sixers beat the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, when, in Game 7, Snow pulled it on Ray Allen, injuring him on the fall, and knocking him out of the game early in the second half of a game the Sixers squeaked out. Also, worth a mention that there was always the threat that Snow might miss his line drive jumper off the bottom of the rim and injure a potential rebounder in the lane. We'll miss you, tough guy!
6) Rookie report: Mike Beasley snapped back from a week of lethargy to drop 17 in the second quarter on his way to a 24 point night. And Chalmers battled Baron Davis admirably. The last couple of nights The Spo has been changing his point guard rotation. Whereas Emcee and Quinn had been roughly splitting minutes, now Chalmers is playing 30+ (37 tonight), and Quinn has been ratcheted back to backup minutes 11 tonight). Chalmers, who is improving his jump shooting (4-9, 3-7 on 3's tonight), has earned the extra time. The Clippers Eric Gordon started and looked heavy, but springy, like a 2 guard version of Charles Barkley. Only made one jumper, but flipped it effortlessly from 3 point range. Was relatively ineffective (7 pts 2 assists and a board) in 30 minutes. Tough to tell whether he is a player or not based on tonight.
Next game, Monday in Golden State
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