6 Thoughts
1) Some nights in the NBA are, as retired Heat center Alonzo Mourning liked to point out, a dogfight. Then, on some other nights, one team just doesn't show up. The Atlanta Hawks turned in a stunningly bad performance tonight, going 13 first half minutes without a basket, fell behind by 20+, and never seriously challenged. "We just weren't playing hard," explained Hawk star Joe Johnson. Well, there you have it. Exceeding all preseason expectations, except those of Dos Minutos' most prominent Scottish reader, Miami has now crept to 5 games above .500 for the first time all season, and are closer to the 4th spot than the 9th spot. Can they keep it up? I don't know - how many more games against the Hawks do they have?
2) We've officially stepped through to the other side of the looking glass: Jamal Magloire made his first start as a member of the Miami Heat. He earned his way in to that spot with solid play over the past month, plus, you know, Miami doesn't have a competent player over 6'8". In fact, Coach Erik Spoelstra has just thrown caution to the wind at the center spot and is now rotating Magloire, Joel Anthony, and the heavily, heavily mothballed Mark Blount, depending on matchups, and which one appears to be awake at any given moment. On this night, for the second game in a row, it was almost disconcertingly effective: Magloire had 6 points, 6 boards and 2 blocks in 17 minutes, Anthony 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in 9 minutes, and Blount 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 19 minutes. That's six blocks out of the center spot. With Shawn Marion, Miami's most effective defender, out for the third straight game, they have needed some backline defense and, against all odds, they have received it from this unlikely trio.
3) Not that it matters, and we love him regardless, but someone ought to tell Heat color commentator Tony Fiorentino that Atlanta center Zaza Pachulia's first name is pronounced exactly like it looks, "za-za," and not "Zsa Zsa," like the Gabor sister.
4) Mike Beasley bumped knees with Josh Smith in the first half and never returned to action. Spent the second half on the bench with an ice bag approximately four and a half feet in circumference wrapped around his knee. I haven't seen that much ice on a large black man since Patrick Ewing retired. M. Minutos was distressed: "haven't we come any farther in ice technology since the late 90s? That's still our best solution - dump 30 pounds of ice cubes in a garbage bag and strap it to the guy's leg with an ace bandage?" After the game, Erik Spoelstra claimed he has been telling Beasley to wear knee pads in the games but that Beasley refuses to do so because "eighty percent of the league doesn't wear them because they don't look aesthetically pleasing. Enough already." I have a feeling Coach Spo and The Beas might have had this conversation on more than one occasion.
5) Dwyane Wade, on the surface, had a somewhat disinterested performance, but ended up with 35 points on 13-19 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in only 34 minutes. "We just weren't playing hard," explained Hawks star Joe Johnson.
6) Finally, Dos reader Rachel had the following comment in response to Dos' post about stoner albums post-1975:
As someone who knew people who smoked after the mid 90's, I nominate Sublime's 40 oz. to Freedom for one of the best stoner albums of all time. That's just what I heard...
I haven't really listened to a lot of Sublime, but I think it warrants a listen based on your recommendation. Also, this seems like a good time to point out that girls who like to get high to Sublime, or bands of any era, are always very welcome at Dos Minutos. If we can be of any further service to you, please let us know...
