6 Thoughts
1) Close, entertaining game, ending in a loss at home to one of the best teams in the league on Alonzo Mourning Jersey Retirement Night. Now 8 games left, Heat at 39-35. Still clinging to the 5th playoff spot and a potential first round date with Atlanta.
2) Wade with a somewhat ragged 42 - it took him 34 shots. Averaging just around 30 points a game, leads LeBron James by about a point and a half. Wade is probably going to win his first scoring title. That doesn't really mean anything - but it is fun to watch a guy pour in 2200 or so points through 73 games.
3) Zo's jersey was raised to the rafters at halftime. Highlights of the approximately 3.5 hour ceremony: fat Pat Ewing; Georgetown coach John Thompson's hurried speech - apparently he had somewhere else to be; and Zo's tears. Also, the size of the jersey that actually was raised to the rafters - it was about 10 feet tall. I have seen a million retired jerseys in a million arenas - it never occured to me that they were giant jerseys, I just thought they were normal sized. Who knew?
4) Even better than the ceremony, though - the in-game 3rd quarter on-air interview with Zo's teenage AAU coach, Virgina basketball legend Boo Williams. Boo apparently attended Shawn Marion's School of Non-Elocution, plus he is approximately 100 years old - I didn't understand a word the guy said. When Heat play by play announcer Eric Reid asked him if he had any up and coming players on his current AAU team, I am pretty sure he said "Dave Matthews," who is, you know, from Virginia. Hike your skirt up a little more, Boo Williams, and show the world to me...
5) Even on Zo's night, the highlight, for me, was that backup "point guard," and dribbling fanatic, Luther Head, somehow, broke his hand, and is out four to six weeks - that is likely the rest of the year for Miami, which is unlikely to extend its season past the first round of the playoffs. In fact, I will gladly lose in the first round just so I don't have to watch Luther Head play again this season. That means DWade will handle the ball more than ever, Daequan Cook will be force fed some minutes, and maybe even The Captain favorite Chris Quinn will see the light of day.
6) Worth mentioning on Zo night that M.Minutos and I came up together in our early 20s spending many, many a night watching Zo in the mid and late 90s. It was a pleasure, just us two kids -and Zo - against the world. It was simpler times: the economy was solid, we weren't fighting irrational wars all over the globe, and gas was a nickel a gallon. On a personal level, we didn't have children yet, and so we had loads of discretionary time and income. We, happily, spent a good portion of both of those on Zo's Heat squads...and, copious, copious amounts of cocaine...
