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.
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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?
