6 Thoughts
1) This game was over early in the second quarter when KJ James posted up twice in a row at the elbow and found Shane Battier for back-to-back hoops: the first when Battier came up off a staggered screen and hit an open 15 footer; the second when Indiana overplayed the same set, Battier slipped backdoor, and KJ hit him in stride with a fastball for a layup. On the ensuing Pacers possession, KJ swooped into the paint to steal an entry pass, pushed it up court at approximately 90 miles an hour, and found Mike Mil-lar all alone for a wing triple: 40-20 Miami, timeout Indiana, game over. To win three games in a row, on three consecutive nights, against three pretty good teams (and Indiana had two days rest before this one), and they are all blow outs? Happy Valentines Day, Coach Spo - this was the woman of your dreams! Or dude, by the way. Either way is fine!
2) KJ James didn't even look tired. If anything, he looked raring to go - on the first few defensive possessions of the game he got down lowww into his defensive stance, and he stayed there all game long. He was flying all over the court on the defensive end, denying entry passes, jamming cutters, jumping in front of passes like a free safety: he had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in the first half, and Miami led 68-39 at the break. He dominated this game in every way a game can be dominated on both ends. Dwyane Wade (again had to play only 24 minutes!) had a fairly spectacular first half himself, 16 points on 6-8 (Wade's three first half point totals on the b-t-b-t-b: 21, 16, 16!), but you barely even noticed him. It's not possible to play every game with as much intensity and focus as KJ did tonight - Michael Jordan couldn't; Magic Johnson couldn't...ahhh, maybe - maybe - Jon Barry could, but he's the only one, he's the only guy who could do that. You just hope that KJ is going to be able to play at this level consistently when it matters most - if he does, no one is going to beat this team, not four out of seven times. There are probably only two questions left in Miami's season, actually: one, how healthy will they be at playoff time? Other teams' health won't matter if Miami is healthy. Two: will KJ play this well consistently in the biggest of games. Last playoffs, sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't. To win for sure, he has to be a little more consistent with that.
3) The stats won't really show it, not really, but Joel Anthony was also everywhere on the defensive end tonight. He took a guy a good five or six inches taller than him, Roy Hibbert (Ribbert), and took him away from Indiana: 5-12 for 10 points. He helped hold David West to a 4-10. He contested innumerable shots at the rim, finishing with two blocks (and several alters). He grabbed 5 boards in 28 minutes, but more importantly, held Ribbert to 5. He also drew a charge when Dahntay Jones careened down the lane out of control, elevated, and hit a perfectly positioned Joel knee-to-upper chest. On offense, he caught the ball effectively around the rim, flipped in both shots he took, and made 3-4 free throws for 7 points. I love you, Butter. Happy Valentines Day to you, too!
4) Shane Battier's shot is coming around. He was 3-3 tonight for 8 points, and also had 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 23 productive minutes. He is sort of learning where his opportunities can come from when playing with KJ James, especially, and Coach Spo pointed out after the game that since Dwyane has come back healthy and become acclimated to the new post-up heavy offense, the ball movement has improved dramatically, and that Battier, along with Mil-lar and Chalmers, can benefit greatly from this...Also, did Shane Battier recognize that the Heat had a foul to give on the last Pacers possession of the third quarter, under ten seconds to go, with the Heat leading by 34 points, and then give that foul? Of course he did - he's Shane Battier! Why wouldn't he?
5) For the third straight night, Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino had a lottt of time to fill, because none of the three games were even remotely competitive after halftime. I have to be honest with you, I don't have any idea what the heck they talked about for most of the fourth quarter - I was monitoring Pacers backup forward, hatchet-man Jeff Foster, praying he didn't intentionally injure anyone on Miami (he tried). At one point, I am pretty sure they spent like five minutes talking about former Miami fringe-y backup forward Mark Strickland, who, if I remember correctly, last played for the Heat sometime in the late eighteenth century. Strickland, who was an athletic, bouncy power forward with absolutely no discernible basketball skills whatsoever, also had the misfortune of being the beneficiary of one of the worst Eric-and-Tony-bestowed nicknames in Heat annals, The Pogo Man, probably surpassed only in sheer dorkiness by the time that they incorrectly judged that a professional basketball player, or in this case, Yahkouba Diawara, would like the nickname, Rainbow Man, after his high-arcing, but generally inaccurate, jumper (Casa Dos nickname for Diawara: Thunder Yak, after Dan Majerle, whom Eric and Tony often bizarely compared him to. Greatest similarity? Both human.) Eric mentioned that Strickland still lives in South Florida. "I always enjoy running into him, and every other former Heat player," Eric advised Tony, "except for Ricky Davis!"
6) Okay, okay, okay, I know you want to know what life is like in Casa Dos on Valentines Day. I actually have a nice little evening planned. First, I watch the Heat game, then I write this stupid blog as fast as I can. Then, I eat some cold fried chicken, and drink a glass of inexpensive port (I can only afford domestic). Next, when I have a little buzz on, I am going to watch this Alex Morgan in bodypaint video - yes, Alex Morgan in bodypaint!!! - a few dozen times, then I'm going to crawl into bed, poke at M.Minutos unsuccessfully for a few minutes, then come back out into the kitchen to eat the last of the girl scout cookies: thin mints! Then bed, for some rest, so I can get up and do it all again tomorrow. Man, the life of a blogging nerd!!! So sweet!!!
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Two days off! Back Friday for a game in Cleveland. If you need me before then, I think you know where I will be. Alex Morgan. Bodypaint. You know.
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