1) The alleged defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks - I still haven't seen solid evidence that they beat us - came to Miami tonight, seeking revenge for a savage opening night beatdown the Heat gave them in Dallas, ohhh, about a hundred years ago, got a hot shooting start, scooted out to an early lead...and then got systematically ground out of the game by Miami's balanced scoring, defensive activity, aggressive rebounding...and Ronny Turiaf? Yeah, yeah, boy, we're gonna tell you the truth about Ronny in #2, talk about KJ's physical state in #3, Shane Battier's f.u.in #4, and DeeDub's new haircut in #5. Then, in #6, a feature we like to call "Dos Minutos Gives GFOB Tommy Wade Life Advice." If you believe in Ronny and all that he can do for you, then keep reading. Let's go!
2) The truth about Ronny (to non-basketball GFOBs, by the way, it's "Rown-e," like rhymes with "own-e") is that he's the sweetest little NBA rotation big. Is he a starter? No. Is he what you would call "good?" No. Is he better than Dexter Pittman? Oh, yes, he's a million times better. He's an actual, legitimate, NBA rotation big man. He is high energy, pretty quick, a good jumper, and plays hard. He's the anti-Chris Bosh; he's the opposite of a statue! Came in for a short stint in the second quarter, caught the ball in the mid-post, blatantly hooked Maverick stiff Brandon Wright, and whirled in for a basket - that's one more time than Joel Anthony has done that in his entire career. Then, after a Mavs miss that Matrix Marion was about to tip in, went up from behind and cleverly slapped the ball off out his hand, off the backboard, saving two points - that's one more time than Chris Bosh has done that in his entire career. Came in again in the third quarter, and husssstttllled down the court in transition from well behind a runout, and when Wade missed a layup (missed blatant foul on Jet Terry), and KJ missed a tip follow, Turiaf was there to grab the ball, get shoved in the back, and make two free throws to put the Heat up 12. Moments later, he blocked a Maverick layup, leading to another runout extending the lead further, and then in the fourth quarter, made a brilliant defensive play by showing hard on a pick and roll, forcing Mavs guard Rodrique Beaubois almost back to midcourt, from where he tried to throw a 40 foot pass while going backwards, which KJ picked off, and the Heat again turned into points on the other end. Turiaf was active: finished his 18 minutes with 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 (!) blocks, and was aggressive on both ends in a positive way. In the NBA playoffs, you can never - never - have too many competent bigs. It's not possible. And so the truth about Ronny is that he's a special kind of player that makes his dad feel proud; you know, the kind of player who stands out in a crowd. Make it official, Heat fans: give him your love!
3) Yo, du, KJ is not feeling it, du (that's my new "thing": I've shortened "dude" to "du" - getting older, don't have a lot of time to waste on unnecessary sounds). He, apparently, had some horrific collision with Grant Hill last week, which I missed while away, which gave him a concussion and a sore elbow; he dislocated his finger earlier this week; and he is probably suffering from general fatigue. He passed up open jumpers all night, and made a concerted effort to get to the rim and to post up. As always, didn't get any calls on drives, and the Mavs doubled him immediately any time he posted. But his attention to detail and effort opened up the offense for Miami, and his defense, as usual, was rock solid. For a normal human, his 19 points (on 8-16), with 9 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals would be 'cause celebre,' but for KJ, it felt more like, "Let's give this du a night or two off." Miami has a ton of games left against good teams in their last 17: 2 with Chicago, another with OKC, 3 with a surging Celtics club. And there is no stretch from now until the playoffs when Miami does not play at least every other night - that's crazy. The only thing that matters is being as healthy and rested as possible when the playoffs start. Why wouldn't you sit KJ tomorrow night against Toronto?
4) I didn't feel like Shane Battier was sharp tonight. Early in the game, he failed to close out on Vince Carter, let him line up a triple, which he drained. Moments later, he forced Lamar Odom - who is left-handed - left, and Odom swished an easy jumper. "What the hell are you doing, Shane," I complained, who responded by instantly hitting a triple of his own. In the second half, upon entering, he immediately threw a pass to Udonis Haslem (productive 16 point night) which nearly was intercepted - "Jeez, Shane, can you wake up," I groaned, whereupon he immediately drilled another three. You're welcome.
5) Dwyane Wade has recently gone to a classic, old-school black du "side part." Here's a picture of it.
It's a good look for him, and he has been promoting it on twitter, advising young kids everywhere to rock this "new" old style. But, still, the best side part ever? Ol' Fred Douglass! You know, this du:
Mr Minutos,
This is your fan, Tommy Wade again.
I had a question that you could possibly enlighten me.
I went to the very first Heat game in my life this past monday vs the Pacers. Although we lost and had negative 10 style points, I had the greatest time in my life. I finally got to see up close how physical the forwards play. How smooth Wade is on the court. I saw how much respect Wade commands. During the 3rd quarter, wade flat out started yelling at Lebron, before shooting his free throws. The whole crowd was silent. Lebron in a failed attempt to explain himself: "but...but...*silence*"
Anyways, I also found out that Lebron and Wade constantly sneer/stare at Mario. And when Mario feels dissed, he makes a point to PROVE himself by fouling someone or turning the ball over again. I def get frustrated w mario, but maybe that kid needs a hug more than anything. His dad is a coach, so he definitely gets sick of all the coach talk in his ear. Have u noticed that mario facial expression is priceless when teammates tell him what to do? He's like a kid who just got yelled at for running around next to a pool..."Imma walk away and act like i don't hear y'all....but once u turn ur back imma start running again and do my thing"
What are your thoughts?
Oh. The real question is. I always thought i didn't need money to be happy. But after sitting in the front row monday. I found out that money provides options.
And now that I've seen a real game up close. Nose bleeds seats will no longer do it for me anymore. It's like if i watch everything in blue ray, DVD won't do it.
Am i corrupted or spoiled by the seats?
I recall that you often times take ur kids to see the games. Do you think we should reserve front row seats for kids when they grow older, so that they appreciate it more?
Should we be allowed to indulge or constantly remind ourselves of humble beginnings?
Cuz the cycle will never end if we follow a path of luxury..look how bored beyonce is in her front row seats at Jersey. jk. But u get my point
Would love to hear your thoughts
Cheers.
Tommy
First of all, Tommy Wade, I am a fan of yours, and thank you for writing and for placing your trust in us here at Dos Minutos. Smart move. Second of all, I loved your email. It showed your love of the game, and you brought us right into the action with the way your cousin Dwyane and KJ James were constantly yelling at Mario "Emcee" Chalmers. Then it took a turn to the more contemplative as you wrestled with the age-old question of how much happiness wealth can buy. Then you finished up with a random shot at either Beyonce, or GFOB Plumber's Nets - or both. It was pretty much the ideal Dos Minutos email - if we received more like this one, we'd occasionally publish a mailbag, or something. Most emails we get are, like, "Why don't we trade James Jones for Kobe?" And, because I liked your email so much, I am going to try to give you an actual sincere answer, which most people do not think I am capable of...Okay, here goes: I find that as I get older, I don't enjoy going to the games the way I once did. The luxury of being at home on my couch, with the ability to fast-forward through timeouts, pause the game so that M.Minutos and I can yell at Emcee Chalmers ourselves, or make deli sandwiches on a whim, outweighs the visceral excitement of being at the game live for me, for the most part. But an even greater factor: when I am at the games live nowadays, I always get the sensation of "these are just guys playing basketball - why the hell did I just pay $350 to watch this? This is utterly retarded." I don't want Dwyane and KJ and Emcee Chalmers and Mike Mil-lar and Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant and all the other players to be, like, real people. No! I want them to be on tv! Be tv stars! The whole tv show is better than the game anyways. You get Eric Reid tracking the minutiae of Heat statistical achievement; you get "Hot Seconds with Jax" game shows, and Jax overlaughing at KJ's corny post-game jokes; you root for home game telecasts to feature Johanna Gomez instead of the (still quite lovely - just not quite as, ummm, lovely) white gal (whatever her name is); and you get the Sunsports "Crotch-Dunk Cam," where they violently switch to a low, under-the-basket angle on every breakaway so that you can't really see what is going on, except for giant crotches landing right in your grill. And, of course, the actual game, with instant replays, and statistics. It's a lot for the money, considering that it's free...All that being said - that's just me. If you like the games down close, definitely spend the money for it - you only live once, kid, and you should never feel bad about splashing the cash if you worked hard for it, and you aren't hurting anyone. You said you loved it, so keep going, if you can. Trust your instincts. You were smart enough to write in to this blog for life advice - to me, that means you're probably smart enough to figure out what works for you. As always, you killed it, Tommy Wade. And I would sit in the front row with you anytime...
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Well, we're right back at it tomorrow night against Toronto. I have to be honest with you - I don't even know who is on Toronto these days. They still got Mo Pete? If you need me before then, I'll be killing it with Tommy Wade. Later, dus...
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