6 Thoughts
1) After the season opening loss in New York, if you had told me the Heat would lead any game by 38 points, at any point during the season, against any team, I probably wouldn't have believed you. But there they were up 38 last night in the 3rd quarter, albeit against a bad, bad Sacramento roster. The more encouraging thing, though, was you could see the defensive template - try to use pressure to keep the ball from getting below the free throw line, because once it does, they can't stop it at the rim. They tried to jam all pick and rolls, and tried to use rotations to take away the next pass. Sacramento lacks ballhandlers, so on this night it worked well.
2) Wade and Marion played extremely hard defensively. Wade had 4 steals and 4 blocks, including a vicious rejection of a Spencer Hawes' turnaround. Marion had 4 steals and 3 blocks, and was usually sitting in the paint trying to play as a free safety. When Wade plays hard defensively, you know you at least ensure effort on that end from the younger guys.
3) Beasley had a nice 17 point 9 rebound game. He needs to learn how to take contact at the rim, though, so that he can get to the line. He is such a skilled shot maker that he is looking to avoid all contact in the belief that he can make any shot no matter where he is - as he plays more, he'll learn to initiate and absorb contact and walk to the line.
4) Mark Blount had 1 rebound in 15 minutes. One of his problems in rebounding is that he generally just reaches up with one hand and bats at the ball, instead of going up with two hands and trying to catch it.
5) Heat color commentator Tony Fiorentino has been reading a copy of Alonzo Mourning's new autobiography "Resilience." There is almost no basketball lesson, almost no life lesson that Tony Fiorentino is not going to be able to apply one of Zo's anecdotes to help resolve. How did the Heat bounce back from the opening night loss to Knicks? "It is like Zo's book: resilience," said Tony. How do young players improve? "It is like Zo said in his book - hard work," said Tony. How would Mike Beasley celebrate his first NBA win? "Like Zo said in his book: white women at Bed on South Beach," said Tony.
6) Loved Kings rookie big guy Jason Thompson who looked big, athletic, and agile. Note to the Captain: Donte Green was mostly quiet in 10 minutes, although he did take one classic Donte Green pullup three in transition which smashed off the backboard at about 30 miles an hour.
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Watched a few moments of Boston and Chicago after the Heat. Breen, Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were working the game. Breen pointed out that they show old clips of American Bandstand on the video screens during timeouts in the Fleet Center. Van Gundy commented that he didn't watch American Bandstand as a kid. "Where did you get your dance moves, then," asked Mark Jackson? "On the streets," claimed Van Gundy.
