6 Thoughts
1) Well, that was bizarre...Miami came out against a horrendous 0-9 Nets team at home, dialed up the intensity to approximately zero, got one basket from Dwyane Wade in the entire second half...and won. Now 7-2, albeit against a soft schedule, with a lot of home games in there...It's tough times for these Nets, who were bad last year, traded their best player, Vince Carter, in the offseason, and are now playing with half their roster injured. Even I felt bad for them tonight, because they played hard, and should have won. Okay, I didn't feel bad. But they should have won.
2) Dwyane Wade's one second half basket? A game-winning three off an inbounds pass, down 2, with 4 seconds to go when the play began. Wade received the ball, took a step back, making it obvious he was going to try to line up a three to win instead of driving for a tie, bobbled the ball, picked it up off the floor, and drilled it with Net defender Trenton Hassell up in his airspace. .1 seconds left on the clock - ballgame. DWade was passive most of the second half as the Nets trapped him at every opportunity, and he was a willing passer, but mostly took the night off. If you can't take a night off against the Nets, when are you going to get any rest? Filled the stat line with 8 rebounds, 6 steals, 6 assists, and 2 blocks to go with his 22 points.
3) DWade's shot never would have been possible without an even more unlikely three pointer a couple of possessions earlier, a pivot-and-fake-three-times-without-moving-the-defender-oops-the-shot-clock-is-running-down-so-I-had-better-heave-it-up-there...and bank it in off the glass to tie the game by...who else - The President, Quentin Richardson. Q made 3-4 triples for 13 points, quite an explosion considering he hadn't scored a basket in two games. Also made the decisive inbounds pass to Wade - showing Coach Spo's confidence in his decision making - and looked like the happiest person in the building when Wade's three ended the game. He was the first person downcourt to leap-bump Wade - he is always the first person to Wade to congratulate him on anything. Hey, they are long-time friends, but Q's no dope - keep the superstar happy. Also, good moment in the post-game interview with Q when he referred to Nets second year player Chris Douglas-Roberts as "Douglas Robertson." Twice.
4) Okay, so our man Plumber - the biggest Nets fan we know...okay, the only Nets fan we know...okay, the only Nets fan - hates Nets coach Lawrence Frank with the intensity of a thousand suns. He has an absolute passion for breaking down every Frank move like a Christian fundamentalist taking apart the Qu-ran. Our take on L.Frank - at least on this night: mixed. Defensively, the Nets were great, they junked up their defenses by mixing zone with man-to-man, and containment presses to milk the Heat's shot clock on almost every possession. When you are undermanned like the Nets, you want as few possessions as possible in the game. They crowded Wade, and made him give the ball up. They are tough to play against because no other team in the league plays as much zone. While it isn't a recipe for long-term success, it does give them a chance to win. Offensively, not so great. Brooks Lopez, the tall, tall second year Nets center, looked great on postups all night long. Jermaine O'Neal missed the game with a bruised hip, so Lopez was guarded most of the night by Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony - neither is more than 6'8", and Lopez was very successful inside against them. But he posted up so infrequently - he spent the majority of his night on the perimeter 20 feet from the basket. He is a nice shooter - but he's 7'2". Get him down in the post, make Miami double team him, let him kick out to shooters - let him make the other players on his team better. He ended up 8-18 from the floor, and I would guess he has 4 or 5 baskets right around the rim, which means he was like 3-13 from everywhere else. It didn't look like a well thought out offense. And they only scored 80 with Jermaino - Miami's best defender - out, so you know...
5) Udonis Haslem, out of his mind again. 28 points, 12 rebounds. 28 points tied a career high, set against...well, the New Jersey Nets. Miami native UD also pointed out after the game that although the Triple A arena is Dwyane's house, "it's my town." Love that UD.
6) Faither's not going to like this, but Mike Beasley: 3-17. How many times can one person receive a pass, dribble in to the paint where all the tall guys are, get a little off-balance and out of control, and twist some ridiculous shot with a minimal chance of going in up at the rim? 17 times - that's how many.
Next game: Tuesday against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City, ummm, Thunder? They're relatively new, I'm not too sure...Still shocked there is an NBA team in Oklahoma City, but glad because I am thinking West Palm could be next.
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