6 Thoughts
1) Getting it done on the road against a bad team. 21 games to go, and only 8 more home games - winning on the road against inferior teams is essential, especially with a road game Saturday night in Cleveland that is a likely loss. Now 33-28. Creeping ever closer to the 40 wins that it should take to get in the playoffs, but a brutal remaining schedule makes it less than a sure thing...
2) Jumper. Jumper. Jumper. Jumper. Jumper. Jumper. Jumper. Layup. Jumper. Jumper. Jumper. Dwyane Wade was unconscious. That is as hot as he can get with the jumper. It is as hot as anyone can get with the jumper. Scored 42 more points on 17-23 from the field, mostly jump shots. Two of the misses were shot clock, dribble out heaves in the last 40 seconds when the game was over. Over the last nine games he is averaging 36.5 points, 10 assists, and has shot over 50% in every game. The last four are 46, 41, 35, 42. It is the best stretch of his career - save the '06 Finals, where only the magnitude of the situation made it better. You watch basketball your whole life - and there is always something else that can amaze you. This stretch is amazing.
3) Homecoming for Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon. Jermaino was somewhat less than great, 8 points and 8 rebounds, although he was his usual solid defensive presence. Didn't play down the stretch - banged his bad knee in the first half and felt sore in the second half. Jamario was quiet, only 5 points and 5 boards. He, too, made his usual plus contribution on the defensive end. At a minimum, both guys are professional and efficient basketball players who make the correct plays more often than not. It is one thing to make physical errors - the presence of these two has made Miami a smarter basketball team.
4) Speaking of smart basketball players, it was nice to see old friend Shawn Marion, the man for whom O'Neal and Moon were acquired. Shawn played exactly like he did down here - grabbed a few rebounds, played hard, finished a couple of scrambles inside with buckets, took approximately 3-5 ridiculously ill-conceived, unmakeable shots. The mental aspect of the game is not exactly Shawn's forte. I am ready to say it: Jamario Moon is a better basketball player than Shawn Marion right now. Moon passes a minimum standard of jump shooting for an NBA small forward, which Marion falls well below, and defends at the same level as Marion. His rebounding is slightly less impressive. However, the negative plays that Marion "creates" by overdribbling, and forcing odd-angle runners, and Moon's relative efficiency, make Moon the more valuable player. Even without Jermaine O'Neal, even without the cap benefit of dumping Marcus Banks' salary, a straight up Shawn Marion for Jamario Moon deal would have improved the Heat.
5) Mike Beasley, efficient night, and one monstrous block at the rim of Toronto star Chris Bosh, the man he will be traded for at the deadline next year...
6) Quite a debate in the Dos offices today. Who would win a battle to the death, Montecore, the tiger who attacked Roy, of Siegfield and Roy, or Travis, the chimpanzee who recently attacked his owner who had raised him since he was a baby? Most of the early money came in on Montecore, but I contend that there is at least a chance that Travis gets up in to a tree, waits until Montecore falls asleep, then climbs down and slits his nemesis' throat with a knife. Opposable thumbs...
