What Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did Monday night is called coaching. Or was it overcoaching? That’s where the debate lies with his risky and somewhat questionable maneuver. Spoelstra benched All-Star guard Dwyane Wade for the entire fourth quarter of the Heat’s 104-97 loss at Utah. He kept All-Star forward Chris Bosh on the bench for all but the final 40 seconds, when the game was pretty much decided. And he kept starting power forward Udonis Haslem on the bench. [Read more…]
MIAMI – HeatNation is worried again. Yes, the Heat (23-9) have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-best record in the NBA. And, yes, they still have LeBron James, whose 26.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists allow him to maintain his title as Best Player on the Planet. But there’ is grave concern among fans that their defending champion Heat are playing subpar, non-championship basketball. We’ll see if the six-game road trip that starts tonight at Indiana does
MIAMI – You look at LeBron James’ statistics – 25.4 points per game and a career-best 8.6 rebounds — and you begin to wonder … Is it possible James, the Miami Heat’s superstar small forward, could be a 20-10 guy? Could James, a perimeter player, average 10 rebounds per game? For the NBA’s 29th-best rebounding team, no less? [Read more…]
MIAMI – When is it appropriate to sound the alarm of concern during the regular season? The Miami Heat are struggling with that question right now. [Read more…]
MIAMI – LeBron James. Carmelo Anthony. Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks. The NBA’s next big Thursday Night game is right around the corner. Forget about San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and his $250,000 act of defiance. That’s sooooo last week. The Knicks are coming to South Beach. And this game has meaning. It will give us another chance to consider how much New York needs Amar’e Stoudemire, and in what role. [Read more…]
MIAMI – Those weren’t the San Antonio Spurs that visited AmericanAirlines Arena and lost to the Miami Heat, 105-100, on Thursday. But that doesn’t give you reason to hate. We all know those weren’t the real Spurs, not the team that’s won four titles with its Big Three of forward Tim Duncan and guards Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. They were all in San Antonio, chillin’, relaxin’. [Read more…]
MIAMI – During last season’s playoffs, at a time when Heat guard Dwyane Wade was struggling in the Eastern Conference finals, I wrote that I’d rather have Celtics guard Rajon Rondo than Wade. Nothing has happened to change that opinion. [Read more…]
MIAMI – LeBron James is averaging 23.9 points, 10 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. And all things considered, this might end up being the best statistical year of his career. James, the undisputed leader of the Miami Heat’s Big Three, has averaged more points and dished out more assists per game (it’d be a career-best in rebounds). He’s looking like a better player this season. The thing is, it’s tough to say for sure why he’s so good right now. Is