6 Thoughts
1) Miami slides by in a classic, grinding Eastern conference game in Miami against a Sixers team that is tall, athletic, and also fighting for a playoff spot. Miami improves to 29-25, Sixers fall back a little to 27-27. With a quick turnaround game in Orlando tomorrow, and having lost two in a row at home, it was an important win. Wade did everything that he always does: 25 efficient points on only 14 shots, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 (!) blocks, and 2 steals. But it wasn't only Wade. There were: New Guys!
2) New guy # 1: Jermaine O'Neal. Jermaino delivered his second straight competent night in the offensive low and mid-post, 17 points on 8-12 shooting, and 10 rebounds. Look, he has a lot of miles on the tires, and he lacks lift around the rim - several times he struggled against the livelier Sixer bodies of Marresse Speights, Andre Iguodala, and South Florida Haitian community favorite Sam Dalembert. However, he has several offensive qualities that none of the other 3 Heat centers (Anthony, Magloire, Blount) can offer: 1) he can make a mid-range jump shot; 2) he can create his own shot with back-to-the-basket low post moves; 3) other teams double team him if he catches the ball low in the post; 4) on a pick and roll, when he rolls, he can catch the pass, and then concievably might be able to finish at the rim; 5) he is a good passer; 6) he has a quality sense of how to play NBA-style offense, and rarely does anything that makes you shake your head and say, "well, that was retarded." It is night and day - you could see Dwyane Wade seeking him out to run pick and rolls throughout the game. Wade may already have a higher level of trust with O'Neal than he does with any other Heat offensive player. And the feeling is mutual - after the game Jermaino told sideline reporter Jason Jackson "in all my years in the NBA, I have played against a lot of great players, but I have never played with a player like Dwyane Wade. I know if I get to the right spot, he distorts the defense so much, I will have easy plays at the cup, like tonight." If he can stay on the court, this guy can Miami better, at least in the short term.
3) New guy # 2: Jamario Moon. Essentially has the exact same game as the man he and O'Neal were traded for, Shawn Marion. However, in one week he has figured out what Bad Santa never did: if I just run up and down along the baseline, eventually Dwyane Wade will get middle, flip the ball up in the air to me, and I will dunk it. Moon had 12 points on 4 dunks, an alley-oop layup, and 2 free throws when he was fouled on an alley oop dunk. Missed 4 jumpers, displaying a lack of touch from a small forward unseen in these parts since, well, last week...when Shawn Marion was still on the team. Moon played the entire 4th quarter, assigned much of the time to try to calm down...
4) ...Andre Miller. My goodness, he just keeps trucking along at 33, with the herky-jerky YMCA game of a 43 year old, which, tonight, was incredibly effective - his 30 points kept the Sixers around all evening. Spent much of the game dribbling the ball with a forearm planted in Emcee Chalmers' chest - anytime Chalmers would try to push up through it, Miller would rock back, pick up his dribble, and just stumble backwards, drawing a foul. Frustrating night for Mario, who couldn't stay on the court for extended stretches, and a great night for the wily veteran Miller.
5) Mike Beasley looks like he is dragging a little. Some rookies come in to the league already men - he isn't one of them. He still has a little baby fat to his body, and maybe to his brain - he doesn't always push through in tough moments. Tonight's 8 points and 3 rebounds in 25 minutes was a little soft. It was "Kid's Night" at the arena, and one of the features was that we learned a little bit about the childhood of each Heat player. Mike's favorite player growing up? Vince Carter. A couple of thoughts on that: 1) How old is Vince Carter? 2) How old am I? 3) That explains the occasional lack of focus and toughness on Mike's part. 4) I am pretty sure that earlier this season, Mike cited his favorite player growing up as Darius Miles which was, in retrospect, probably a joke.
6) Had arguably the most frustrating experience of my life today - at a minimum, the most frustrating experience of my life featuring bagpipes. Finally downloaded what I thought would be a classic bagpipe album to blare when...well, anytime. It was by a band called The Caledonians, and the name of the album was The Essential Bagpipe Collection. Bagpipe gold, right? No, not bagpipe gold. Far, far from it. For about 40 seconds all was well - the snare drums rolled and snapped, the bagpipes kicked in with a wailing lament, and I felt transported to the Scottish Highlands. Then, as if inserted specifically to ruin the song, a bass, keyboards, and acoustic guitar suddenly kicked in, turning the sober march in to a Holiday Inn lounge fest. Every song was the same way. Back to the drawing board on the bagpipe music.
