6 Thoughts
1) Heat absolutely crushed in Indiana, where they have now lost 13 consecutive games, dating back to, approximately, the Eisenhower Administration. Already missing their best defender, Shawn Marion, out for the 4th straight game with a pulled groin, their second best defender, Udonis Haslem, was ejected 9 minutes into the first quarter. Haslem, recently cited by Dos Minutos as the most sensible-seeming Heat player ever (# 2 - Michael Doleac), got into a mild argument with long-time official Sean Corbin, who gave him a technical foul as Haslem was walking away from the dispute. Haslem turned back, and from 20 feet away made a sarcastic-looking comment to Corbin, who calmly ejected him. The Heat's third best defender, Mario Chalmers, managed only 13 minutes before fouling out. Bad times, all around.
2) Uh-oh - the Indiana Pacers, as a show of team solidarity, have all decided to grow moustaches. This is even more of a problem than it seems: they start three dorky-looking white guys to begin with. Mike Dunleavy, in particular, looks like a very thin, very, very gay Josh Brolin with his. Still, he and Troy Murphy combined for 9-14 threes, 49 points, and 18 rebounds. Dunleavy was fantastic, scoring 23 in the first half as the Pacers ripped off 66 points and a 17 point halftime lead.
3) Pacer coach Jim O'Brien, suffering through a tough-luck start to this season, and always a testy sort of fellow, looked absolutely angry on the sidelines moments before the game started. "Preemptive anger," according to M. Minutos.
4) New Heat forward, and Miami-native (like Udonis - and, also - sensible seeming), James Jones is back from his offseason wrist surgery and just starting to work his way in to the lineup after missing the first half of the season. Jones is a professional NBA shooter and defender still looking to catch his rhythm after such a late start. Drew a charge immediately upon entering tonight's game, giving him one more than Dwyane Wade in his entire NBA career. Dos Minutos' research staff has yet to identify a charge drawn by Wade, who eschews trying to slide in front of drivers to draw contact, preferring to try to use his athleticism to block, or at least intimidate, shots. Plus, he takes enough blows on the offensive end that it would be foolish for him to put himself in contact's way defensively. It is a great research project for a stat-head to tackle: how much defensive energy from an offensive superstar is too much - at what point will the team realize diminishing returns from a drop in offensive production? Wade does give up points defensively throughout the course of the game by failing to expend the energy to always attempt to stay in front of his man. Because of his athleticism, he is often able to make up for it with steals, and blocks, and late in games he becomes an excellent on the ball defender. Plumber and I have discussed this regarding emerging Nets star Devin Harris, who has increased his offensive output prodigiously this season, but has also transformed from a ferocious on-the-ball defender to someone who is now being criticised for his lack of effort defensively. There is a happy medium somewhere in between - superstars like Wade find it.
5) The Heat are back in Miami Saturday for a home game versus Dallas. Dos will be making an appearance in person with young O. Minutos, left-handed push point guard who recently led his 6 year old team, also called the Mavericks, to a 6-2 record. Heat announcer Eric Reid pointed out that Dallas last played Wednesday, and is already in Miami waiting for the Heat, and probably watching tonight's game on television in their hotel. Yes, I'm very sure. In Miami, in January, with a night off, loads of money, and South Beach at their disposal. What are the odds any Mavs player saw any of tonight's Heat game on tv? Approximately zero percent? Lower?
6) Checking the mail: an anonymous Dos Minutos reader wrote in earlier in the week to ask, "How much of your blog is just made-up crap?" Umm - pretty much all of it?
