6 Thoughts
1) Another tough, close loss on the road to a good team. Miami and Dallas traded leads all 4th quarter - Miami is right there, they just can't close one. 39-36, 7 games to go, tied for 6th.
2) Coach Spo went back to an early-season closing group: 3 perimeter players, Wade, Chalmers, and Cook, with two forward, Haslem and Beasley. No big guy down the stretch. It is tough to try to win a road game against a good team with two rookies and a second year guy on the floor. Both rookies struggled in the closing moments. Beasley missed two free throws (although he made two moments later with 33 seconds to go to keep Miami in it), made a bad-decision goaltend, and took a bad shot standing on the three point line. Look, if you are going to shoot a long jumper, expend the effort to back up the extra 3 inches so that you get three points if it goes in. Chalmers, down one with 6 seconds to go, took an outlet pass from Daequan Cook off a rebound, charged up court, eschewed calling timeout, eschewed passing to DWade, eschewed an open 20 footer, and barreled headlong into Josh Howard, drawing an offensive foul with two seconds to play, effectively ending the game. You know what, though? With a playoff spot almost certainly secured, this is the time to let the kids play at the end - it's good for them, and for the future of the franchise...
3) Backup point guard Luther Head, as reported here last game, is most probably done for the season with a broken hand. Head claims he banged it on Dwight Howard's hip when double-teaming the Orlando big man, but I know it had to be broken by his seemingly endless dribbling...
4) Daequan Cook, force fed minutes due to Head's injury, responded by making 3-6 threes for 13 points in 32 minutes. He needs minutes, and he needs to continue to shoot his way out of his recent slump.
5) Wade was quiet tonight, content to let the kids try to steal one. He had a relaxed 23, with 6 assists, as Cook (13), Chalmers (18), and Beasley (17) all contributed buckets.
6) If there is any silver lining in tonight's loss, it is that it allowed Dallas to solidfy its hold on the 8th and final playoff spot in the West with 7 games to play. 9th in the West? Mr. Shaquille O'Neal, and the Phoenix Suns...It's going to be an extra loooong summer for Shaq in his Orlando backyard dubbed "Shaqapulco." Shaq vowed to bring a title to Phoenix - it looks like that's not going to happen this year, but at least he is on the books for 20 million more dollars next year. That's a great situation in Phoenix. Can they still apply for TARP money?
