Portland Hands Heat 12th Straight Loss

It actually looked like we might win a game for once. DWade was on fire, scoring 20 points in the 3rd quarter. The team was in sync, the D was stepping up, and the crowd was electric. Then came the 4th quarter and a whopping 6 points through 8 minutes. The result was another disappointing defeat as the Heat fell short to the Portland Trail Blazers 98-91.

Wade returned to top form tonight, after struggling in recent games with a myriad of injuries. He finished the game with 37 points and yes, 2 3- pointers. I've been critical of his hesitation to launch the 3s in the past, so it's nice to see him make a pair. He also kept his turnovers to a minimum. It's a shame his excellent performance was wasted yet again, especially because of how well the team played in the 3rd. I agree with Wade's assessment that this was the best basketball seen in Miami since the '05-'06 season.

Shaq had his 2nd straight 20/10 game coming off a hip bursitis injury. I have to say he looks pretty good out there . However, he really isn't effective for 4 quarters a game anymore. I would consider playing him only 3-4 minutes in the 1st and 3rd quarters and then playing him extensively in the 4th to maximize his effectiveness at the end of the game. Too often he just fades away.

The reason the Heat lost was basically the same reason why this team is 8-31. There's nobody else out there to help Dwyane and Shaquille (and I say Shaq only when he is actually useful). Ricky Davis usually scores in double digits but he misses so many bad shots that I wonder where all the points came from. Cook got some playing time, but only was able to drop a pair of buckets (although one was a late 3, man that kid is clutch).

The season is somehow only about halfway over. To me it seems like it has dragged on for month after painful month. All that's left to look forward to is February's trade deadline and then the NBA lottery.