1) Well, that was incredibly boring! M.Minutos fell asleep! Just a run o' the mill home win. Cavs kept it close for a while, Miami had it dialed up to about 3 out of 10 on the effort meter, then halfway through the fourth quarter, went to the Wade-KJ James-UD-Miller-Bosh closing unit and blew Cleveland out. No one is overly satisfied with how Miami is playing - you wouldn't exactly say they are completely focused, or even strongly focused. I would say they are somewhat focused. But you can't win anything in February, and 19-6 is 19-6, the best start in franchise history. Let's go.
2) Twins: Dwyane 9-17, 8-9 free throws, 26 points and 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals; KJ James 9-16, 6-7 free throws, 24 points and 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals. Mario Chalmers: every other point! I guess, that's, umm...57!!!
3) Nah, but Emcee did survive the jinx - we praised his shooting here last game, and figured he'd break a backboard or concuss a fan with an errant jumper tonight. But he stuck 4-9 triples, missing his last two on a late possession where he heat-checked himself - twice! - after making two in a row. 5-11 for 14 points for Chalmers overall. Not even too many super-retarded fouls - the game was so boring he didn't even bother to foul people.
4) Play of the game: in the 4th quarter, with Miami starting to stretch it out, very white and plodding Cavs forward Luke Harangody, formerly of Notre Dame, missed his third shot inside of one inch en route to a 1-9 shooting night. Mike Mil-lar, who had a season high 9 rebounds, grabbed the ball in traffic, waved it over his head, and though he was surrounded by Cavaliers, decided he was going to try to hail mary the ball all the way down the court to a basket-hanging Shane Battier. Miller couldn't get any oomphfff on the pass, and it careened crazily down the court as the Cavs chased after it. Battier waited and waited for it to get there, pleadingly. Finally the ball and two Cavaliers all arrived at Battier at the same time - Battier caught the ball, slowly spun around as he was enveloped by the two Cavs players, and tried to flip it in the basket. Remember, Battier can't jump, so he was literally flipping it through a crowd of arms. The ball spun around the rim, teetered on the edge, and then suddenly, KJ James came thundering down the lane going about 190 miles an hour, leaped, appeared to hang in midair for an extra beat until the ball cleared the rim, then reached out with a giant right hand and tomahawked the ball back through the basket with extreme force! Holy Moly! Goodness Gracious. Next time, Shane Battier, do that!
5) West Palm Beach native, and Dwyer grad, Alonzo Gee started for the Cavs tonight at guard, and played a nice, aggressive game. 17 points for Alonzo. He usually comes off the bench for Cleveland. Did Cavalier coach, Byron Scott, decide to start him as a treat for Gee and his hometown fans? Not exactly: "We didn't have nobody else." Okay! Still - nice game, Alonzo!
6) Well, it's time for one of our favorite features, Mr. Tommy Wade's Video Corner! Take it away, Tommy Wade.
My heart stops every time that Bosh dunks or whenever mario tosses an uncatchable ball to Wade or KJ.
Since when did dunking or oop-dee-doops become such dangerous activities? Only in miami.
In the following video, is an example of bosh dunking the ball w reckless abandon. It was a, "Yeahhhh....OMG NOOooooo" moment. I thought he was injured from the way he landed. Wade and KJ were on the same page as well. They rushed to the scene as if Chris snapped in half like a gingerbread man...
Anyways, i have an idea. I know bosh hasn't been playing well recently. Instead of making fun of chris bosh in #5 of your column. Maybe we could pull a "Pat Riley motivational tactic":
I've deliberately chosen a suitable motivational speaker
Maybe you could pass this email along to your Dad.
Cheers.
Your biggest fan.
Tommy Wade.
Dos says: "As always, you killed it, Tommy Wade! This kid's speech is no lamer than 'Fifteen Strong!' I'll pass it along to my dad!"
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Tonight's game was the first of 6 in 8 nights, the next 5 on the road, including a road back-to-back-to-back. Ugh. We play tomorrow in Orlando. If you need me before then, I'll be showing this video to my little neighbor B, who is 9 years old, but still can't ride a bike: "B, if you believe in yourself, you will know how to ride a bike!"
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