6 Thoughts
1) The last time Miami won in Indiana, we still had the Twin Towers standing - that's all over, W! Miami grinds out a win in Indiana to get to 2-0, in a positively delightful homecoming for Jermaine O'Neal, who spent the eight most productive years of his career here...
2)...and he was awesome! Second straight game of 22 and 12 for Jermaino. Good looking first step, rebounding in traffic and winning 50-50 balls. The Heat don't need 22 and 12 from J.O. to win games - but on the nights they get it, they are going to be tough to beat. Throughout the pre-season skeptics worried about Jermaino's rebounding: non-existent last year, and still missing in the practice games. After the game with sideline reporter Jason Jackson, Jermaino acknowledged he had heard the critics, but was merely pacing himself: "One thing all veterans know is that the regular season is when the popcorn starts popping." Exactly.
3) It was a little sad when Udonis Haslem was relegated to the bench to start the season, in favor of Mike Beasley's development. But thus far, the slight reduction in UD's minutes seem to have energized him. He battled - battled - his way to 10 points and 10 boards in 29 minutes tonight. After years of playing big minutes against larger players, UD is coming in on the second unit energized and spry. He and Mike are a handful at that spot - Mike had an effort-laden 12 and 9 in 29 minutes of his own. That's a lot of production from the front line.
4) So all of a sudden, Miami is a little deeper than they looked heading in to the season. If J.O. stays upright for a while, everyone else slides down one spot, which makes it easier on them. Everyone except for Dwyane Wade, who shot 19 free throws on the way to 32 points. He's looking relaxed and happy to have help. Things can't stay this easy - let's keep that popcorn popping as long as possible, though.
Bonus look into life at Casa Dos: Just heard an insane rattling outside. Got my hurricane-ready flashlight, went and checked it out. Mangled mouse in the outside a.c. unit. Right on.
5) Alright, when you hire a pair of bike-riding daredevils as halftime entertainment for your NBA game, make sure both guys can land all their jumps. Start of the second half was delayed a good ten minutes while the janitorial crew in Indianapolis' Conseco Field House scraped some Dave Mirra wannabee off the floor after he under-rotated a back flip and augered in hard to center court. Looked like a dislocated shoulder, or a broken collarbone, or both. Jason Jackson showed the replay in his halftime "highlights." Unseemly.
6) Finally, we will get accused of being gayer than we already are, but the soundtrack from the new Twilight movie is really, really good. I swear I don't know anything about the Twilight movies, although Robert Pattinson is so much hotter than Taylor Lautner, obviously. The new soundtrack has cool bands like Band of Skulls, Muse, and Thom Yorke signing dark, poppy songs, mostly about the troubled contradictions hiding in the darkest chambers of our hearts. The best song on the album is "Monsters," by Hurricane Bells, a coy, fuzz-boxed, come-on to a girl containing a certain-to-be-ignored warning about the dangers of stepping into the singer's world. The album is a little edgy in a fun way, and is perfect for those late night, slightly-buzzed drives home when you debate whether to turn on to your street, or to try to find something a little more exciting to keep the night going. Or, if you want to have sex with the undead.
Next game Sunday vs. Chicago, first game of the season against a playoff team...
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