6 Thoughts
1) How bad was this blowout, pt. 1: Miami's two greatest offensive strengths are transition offense, and getting to the free throw line. At halftime, they had zero fastbreak points, and had shot only one free throw, and led by 27. The halftime media battle of Hot Seconds with Jax between Ira Winderman and Chris Perkins ended up in a 2-2 tie, and that was farrr more scintillating than this game. Let's go!
2) How bad was this blowout, pt. 2: Wade, Bosh, and KJ James combined to play zero minutes in the fourth quarter; the Heat started with a group consisting of Dexter Pittman, Norris Cole, Mike Miller, James Jones, and Udonis Haslem, and instantly extended the lead from 32 to 40. If Dexter Pittman could play against this Nets team every night, he'd be Moses Malone.
3) Chris Bosh was back from a three game absence to be with his family after the death of his grandmother and, I have to admit, it was kind of nice to see him again. We were robbed of the usual "soft-off" we get in Nets games because Nets big man Brooks Lopez is out with a foot injury, but Bosh filled in admirably by ripping down 2 rebounds in 24 minutes. To be fair, he scored 20 points on 9-14, and probably could have scored 40 if he wanted to because the Nets made absolutely no effort to defend the rim, the perimeter, or anywhere else. Chris Bosh - it is good to have you back, best wishes to your family.
4) Play of the game: Obviously, in the first quarter when Dexter Pittman caught a ball with his back to the basket late in the shot clock, spun baseline, lofted a turnaround, and watched in amazement as it softly plopped off the top of the backboard and dropped down through the hoop! Is that only 2 points? That has to be worth more than two points! After career highs of 10 points and 6 boards in 15 minutes, Pitt visited Jax in the Sunsport Lounge and told him, "That's my shot!"
5) Okay, okay, okay. The New Jersey Nets aren't a great team, we know that, they have a great point guard in Deron Williams, but their second best player, Brooks Lopez, has missed almost all the season. In fairness, wins aren't their focus this season - the only thing that matters is acquiring Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic, a trade that seems like it should have been completed months ago. If the Magic opt not to trade Howard to New Jersey, there is an excellent chance he will join them as a free agent in the offseason anyways, when they move to their new arena in Brooklyn. Is this a good move for Howard? Let's do the math. Three of the most popular destinations in the NBA are Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. Is Brooklyn as attractive a location as any of those three cities? Of course not! Don't be absurd! Los Angeles has great weather, is close to Hollywood, and a legacy of championships! Chicago is a supercool city and has an incredibly hard-working defensive core of young players who would absolutely win multiple titles with Howard aboard. Miami has beautiful beaches, the nightlife, spicy Latin women, and my dad, Pat Riley! Brooklyn seems like a town for hipster doofi who can't cut it in Manhattan, and the Nets will always be second-class citizens behind the Knicks. It's not even remotely as attractive as any of these locations! No premier free agent would ever want to go there, not ever, not in a hundred million years. Nev-ver...What? How about just staying in Orlando? Oh, no - that would be insane. Go to Brooklyn, Dwight Howard, that's a no-brainer. RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN, RUN!!!
6) Dos Minutos email exchange of the day:
Thor: Don't you think Ron Artest looks like Karl Malone?
Dos: What? You're from Australia, you don't like basketball, and you've never even heard of Dwight Howard. How do you know who Ron Artest and Karl Malone are?
Thor: I saw them on Piers Morgan.
Dos: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I don't want to blame anything on anybody, but I should mention that GFOB (Great Friend of the Blog) SF was visiting America (from Scotland) this past week while the Heat lost two games in a row. Last time he was here during basketball season, last season, they lost five in a row. He leaves yesterday, the Heat instantly win tonight by about 100 points. Just sayin'...We're back at it tomorrow night against Atlanta, we'll be on a bit of a late start at Casa Dos because M.Minutos is playing tennis in the evening. She could definitely be the next Zina Garrison. If you need me before then, I'll be out buying a new ipod - mine crapped out after only about 8 years - and you know what is going right on the new one before anything else? Do you? Do you, Jax? Drake!!! Yeah. Yeah. Uhhhnnnn.
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