6 Thoughts
1) I don't know how it's going elsewhere around the league, but all the people who claimed that the NBA suffered irreparable damage from the lockout, and that it would take fans a looong time to come back, were spot on. In Miami, they only had nine thousand people on a week night for a intersquad scrimmage, and then had a full house at tonight's exhibition game. So, it took, well, maybe about ten days for everyone to come back. A quick Dos tonight, just trying to get some rhythm going, get my sweat on, get some shots up. Don't want to go too hard, too early - (let's go).
2) Actually, I know one place where it's not going real well, and thaaaat's Orlando. Not. Real. Well! Their best player, Dwight Howard, wants to be traded to...well, pretty much anywhere that's not Orlando. We've done this here before, but let's list the positives and negatives about Orlando as a place to live. Positives: none. Negatives: everything. Why wouldn't he want to be traded? I'm tired of it - he's whining that he wants to be traded, Orlando's whining that they want to keep him (especially their obnoxious GM Otis Smith, who constantly takes shots at the Heat). Trade him anywhere. He's a great player, wherever he is, Miami, or anyone else, will have to beat him to win a title. It's not, like, the end of everything if he gets traded. Oh, I mean, it's not the end of everything, except for Otis Smith and the entire Orlando franchise! Sorry dudes! See you in the lottery!
3) There was a game tonight, kind of. Both teams played their starters three quarters - Miami led by 20 or so after three. Then Miami put in its roster camp invitees, most of whom have no chance to make the team, Orlando left its starters in, sans Howard, and the lead suddenly ballooned to 37! Is that it? Is it over? Are we the champs? No? Oh, that was just a practice game. Damn -- thought we had wrapped the title up early...
4) LeBron, sort of, worked on his post game. But he still doesn't seem to understand the fundamental point of being down on the block. One, you can try to score from in close. Two, you can make the other team double team you, then find open people. Too often, he catches it, gives one shimmy, then fades away for a tough jumper that he can make because he is a freak. But there are better, more rhythmic, options. He has to be willing to hold the ball, and start to back people down. Overall, it was a positive development that he even went down there with some frequency - at a minimum, it changes the angle of attack somewhat, and gives the defense something else to think about. He made a couple of nice passes, including one sweet flip to a cutting Udonis Haslem, who missed the layup. We'll see how dedicated to it LeBron is when the real games start - can't hurt to practice it. They aren't going to play a game that truly matters until the playoffs, anyways...
5) Rookie point guard and flavor du jour Norris Cole looked pretty good. He spent a lot of time matched up against butterball-ish Magic backup point guard Chris Duhon, and was able to get up into Duhon's dribble defensively. Like that. Against Magic starter Jameer Nelson, he showed a little inability to get off of screens, but that's to be expected for a young player. I think his best skill is that he pushes the ball up the court, with his head up. He's a really nice ballhandler, unlike Mario Chalmers who treats the ball like a live hand grenade. He's going to get a chance to play. Also, Dexter Pittman went in there and threw his weight around a little - he still looks pretty fat, and slow, but he's fairly good at holding his spot on both ends of the court, and he has nice hands. He's going to get a chance, also. Because the season is going to have so many games, in so few days, everyone is going to get a chance to play. It will be fun to see if either of these two can take advantage of that, and craft a little role for himself.
6) I was planning to answer a question from good friend of the blog Thor down here in #6, but I have misplaced the list of questions he sent me a couple of weeks ago. And by "misplaced," I mean, "deleted the email." Instead, I will make one up for him, then answer it.
"Dear Dos, your last post was all about how the Heat franchise, and this season, is all about family. However, you hate people, are called "mysterious" by me and everyone else who knows you, and you dread going up north to be with your actual family...What gives?"
Dos: "What? That's totally different..."
We play Orlando again later this week in another exhibition game, not sure what day. Then, the real games start on Xmas, in Dallas! Suh-weet! If you need me before then, I'll be watching a porn I've been dying to see, which my friend MM burned and delivered to me over Greek omelettes at the O.P. today. And by "porn," I mean, Ryan Gosling's "Drive." Later!
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