Wade Frustrated With Losing

Yet another loss, this time a 114-82 blowout at home to the Toronto Raptors. There's not much to note from this game aside from a nice performance by Dorell Wright, so I'll focus on something more important.

I didn't catch the game or the deplorable play on defense (60% shooting!?), but I did see Dwyane Wade's postgame comments. I really feel for the guy. He sounded like a beaten man, like a guy who has lost his direction.

All this losing is good for the short term in that we can land a talent like Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley. However, if we do this poorly and fall short of getting one of the elite guys in this draft, or god forbid pick one and they bust, then things will really go down the tubes.

In that doomsday scenario, I wouldn't expect Wade to want to stick around very long. This team is awful and is in one of the worst cap situations in the NBA to boot. He has clearly become frustrated with losing and though he defended the fans' lack of support this season, I thought I detected a tiny bit of disappointment in his voice. He can't be happy with the bandwagoning tendencies of this city's sports fans.

Concern Over Wade's Health

Recently Pat Riley revealed to us the extremity of the shoulder injury Dwyane Wade suffered last season. Apparently, it was a rare reverse dislocation that caused some nerve damage. This is definitely more severe than we had previously been made aware of. In addition, Wade has soreness and bruising in his other shoulder, soreness in his knee, a jammed finger, and an injured shin.

Basically, Wade is the walking wounded. Remarkably, he still goes out there for 40 minutes and produces at an all-world level. However, now that the season is lost and a lottery pick is inevitable, I would consider limiting Wade's minutes to an extent. The problem is that this would be a ripoff to the season ticket holders who paid good money to see a competitive ballclub and now whose only consolation is to get to watch Dwyane Wade in his prime. That's why you can't shut him down entirely.

He does need to get rest though. This team isn't crawling back into the playoffs, and if they do, they won't make it very far. There's no point in risking the future of this team on a lost season. What Riley needs to do is give Wade 30 minutes tops a game, with an occasional night off on the 2nd game of a back-to-back. Put Daequan Cook in at point guard as much as possible to see if there can potentially be some chemistry there with Wade and Cook in the backcourt. Both play the 2, so unless one were to move over to the point, we will only see Cook coming off the bench his entire career. That would be a tremendous waste.

Keep playing Dorell and Barron. Let Quinn run the show. Might as well. If you can grab a solid player for one of the expiring contracts, do it. Likewise, if someone wants Haslem and is offering expiring contracts, make them take Blount as well and pull the trigger. Make sure you get cap space as soon as possible and make use of the current expiring contracts you have now to acquire unwanted talent that may be of use for the next few years here.

Heat Loses First Game of New Year

The spiral towards the bottom of the standings continues. Unfortunately, as the losses pile up, so do the injuries. Dwyane Wade was just getting into his game before colliding with a Buck defender and bruising his already sore right shoulder. This came after scoring 10 straight points for the Heat in the 3rd.

Without Wade for much of the 4th, the Heat didn't stand a chance and Milwaukee pulled away for a 103-98 win. Though he wasn't seriously injured in the collision, Dwyane nicked his hand a bit at the end.

Mark Blount started tonight in place of the injured Shaquille O'Neal, and had a decent first half. Ricky Davis had a very nice game with 23 points, though unless he plays like this every game, expect him to be on his way out at some point in the not too distant future.

Luke Jackson is god-awful. Somebody please send that guy back to Idaho. No offense to him, but he launched up several bricks and airballs when he would have been better off passing to a teammate to help create an actual open shot, not some prayer.

I'd like to see Cook take over the offense when Wade is out or not on his game. It's clear the kid has confidence and ice water running in his veins. Let him loose. Free Eddie House? How about Free Daequan Cook. Luke Jackson should be giving all of his minutes to the rookie at this point. The problem is that this roster is so depleted, Riley is almost forced to let Jackson play.

It's a sad day when Chris Quinn's return is refreshing and you prefer him in the lineup over Jason Williams. At this point it's pretty evident that JWill is going through the motions until the impending day when he is traded out of here. At least he will have a ring with him.

I have to wonder how much more Wade can take of this losing. He didn't take his 4th shot until late into the 3rd quarter. Sometimes I want him to just take over and chuck 30 shots, but then he tries too hard and turns the ball over. Either way, we lose. My only request of him is to not burn himself out this year.

Actually, scratch that. I want him to start working on that 3 point shot. He is often open for that shot and fakes it but then passes to a teammate. Just take it. If you can make a 20 footer consistently, you can make a 23 footer. He will never be the best player in the league if he is only taking 30 3s a season.

Finally, tonight we faced two Bucks who were close to signing with the Heat this offseason. Mo Williams, who rejected Miami's offer in favor of a $20million richer offer from the Bucks, had a very nice game with 25 points and 9 assists. Rumors were he had been bragging about how he played the Heat and never took us seriously, though announcers tonight said he was heading here had the money been equal. Regardless, he would have looked real good on this team.

Charlie Bell, who actually signed an offer sheet with us, unsurprisingly broke out of a recent slump against Miami. We seem to be the solution to everyone's problems.

Wizards Dismantle Heat

Can't say I didn't expect this one. A night after blowing a near legendary performance by Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat had to travel to Washington to face an Arenas-less Wizards team. Nonetheless, this game was over by halftime as the Heat lost 96-74.

Things got so bad that an exhausted Wade, who finished with more turnovers than field goals made, basically sat out the second half. Dorell Wright exited early with an injured ankle, though preliminary reports don't have it being a serious injury.

There isn't much else to say about last night's game, I didn't watch it in favor of the Patriots game. Ricky Davis had a nice scoring night, but contributed to the barrage of turnovers that pretty much doomed this effort from the start. If you want to know just how bad the situation has become, Luke Jackson got 29 minutes of playing time. At least former Heat player Caron Butler is having a great season.

I think it's safe to say this season is done. There's no way the Heat can suddenly turn things around barring a trade and with the way our guys are performing out there, I don't see why anyone would want any of our potential trade chips. From now on I'm hoping for entertaining ball games. I'd like to see some small ball with the young guns out there. A lineup featuring Wade, Cook and Wright on the floor at the same time is fun to watch and at this point that's all we have to look forward to.

Enjoy Wade's play for the rest of the season, and appreciate the effort he puts forth. That's because we are witnessing a great player in his prime wasting his energy on a lost cause. Nonetheless, when he is on his game, it's a thing of beauty and we are all blessed to have the chance to see it.

Career Night by Wade in Loss to Magic

A shorthanded Miami Heat lost to the Orlando Magic 121-114 in OT. First off, let's get this clear: Dwyane Wade alone nearly beat the Orlando Magic tonight. His performance made him look like the best player in the NBA right now, even if it hasn't looked like it this past month.

Wade scored 48 points (20 in the 4th quarter), nearly shot a ridiculous 80% from the field (16/21) and also had 22 FT attempts. All this in regulation as he didn't get a shot off in OT. Without him, this game isn't even close.

An interesting stat that Sunsports provided was that Wade averages 19 points a 2nd half, which would extrapolate to a ridiculous 38PPG. No surprise there as Dwyane usually turns it on in the 2nd half. Luckily, tonight he got some help offensively from what was left of this roster. Dorell contributed all over the floor and Haslem and Davis both put in 17 points.

However, Davis rushed a bad shot with the lead late in the 4th and the Heat simply collapsed towards the end in every way imaginable. This team really does find new ways to lose. It can't continue because you are not only wasting a great Wade performance, but also making him expend a tremendous amount of energy to no avail.

If this game proves anything it proves that this team is still not good. They needed an otherworldly performance by Dwyane Wade to stay in the game, something you simply can't count on every night. Somehow their defense fell apart after an early start to the season where they were in the top 5. I'm beginning to wonder if Wade's presence isn't at fault and that the players relax a bit knowing that he is on the floor. Wade himself isn't the best on the ball defender and takes too many chances, but overall team defense needs to improve.

By the way... 1) Dwight Howard is a monster with 29 points and 21 boards, and 2) Daequan Cook never went to college. I'm going to have to ignore that this kid went to Ohio State cause he is just too good. An absolute clutch 3 to tie in regulation and 5 more points in the overtime to tie it with about a minute left. He's got confidence, I'll tell you that.

Just another demoralizing loss for the Heat. I'd rather get blown out than lose a seesaw game like this. Wade played another 51 minutes and has to play tomorrow night as well. I don't like the way we are running up the mileage on his career for a season that is all but lost at this point.

Heat Lose Another Close One

Yet another magnificent performance from Dwyane Wade, who is looking more and more like his old self, leading this team as far as he can with 41 points. However, it was Udonis Haslem this time with an unorthodox, yet clutch jumper to tie in regulation.

Sadly it wasn't enough as the Heat lost again in overtime, this time to the New Jersey Nets 107-103. The Heat got no help from the refs who blew a call that should have given us the ball back down 2 with 18 seconds to go. Instead the Heat were forced to foul and ended up with another home loss.

This was yet another deflating loss as the Heat led through much of this game and lost another player to injury. This time it was young point guard Chris Quinn, who left the game in the 3rd quarter with an ankle injury.

Dorell Wright had an incredible first half, scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 boards, 5 on the offensive glass. His energy is something this team desperately needs, but for the most part he disappeared in the 2nd half as Riley inexplicably turned to Ricky Davis.

The aforementioned Davis had another poor showing from the field, but it wasn't out of lack of effort. And yes, that was an Earl Barron sighting. Barron playing some of his first meaningful minutes of the season and made a couple of nice buckets, but also forced a shot or two. Shaq's performance was typical of the season and he fouled out in overtime without making much of an impact.

The story of the night was the play of Dwyane Wade, who has played back to back nights of extended minutes. Sadly, his efforts have been for naught as the Heat continue to find ways to lose. Now they consistently allow over 100 points and are getting beaten on the boards all the time. Tonight they got out-rebounded by terrible rebounding team in the Nets. Somehow Pat Riley has to find a way to upgrade this roster because it's simply not working.

Retiring Numbers

Last night's injury to Alonzo Mourning probably spells the end of his career. In all likelihood, Zo's #33 will be hung from the rafters at the AAA as the first Heat player to have his jersey retired by the franchise. Many of you may know that he won't be the first NBA player to have his jersey retired by the Heat, as Michael Jordan owns that distinction.

My question is, after Alonzo's number is retired for good, what next for the Miami Heat? Is there anyone on this roster who will have that same opportunity? I believe franchises build their image through consistent rosters of good players who stick around for several years. Miami has been unfortunate in that most of the players we've celebrated around here haven't stayed very long. Rice, Smith, Caron, Odom, etc.

Shaquille O'Neal only has 3 years left on his contract and likely his career. Barring some major injury or a trade that we just can't turn down, he will have finished his last 6 years of his career with the Miami Heat. Considering he has been past his prime, it is unlikely he will do anything notable other than have helped bring us a title in 05-06. When he retires, will he have done enough to earn his #32 being retired from this team? I'd say not, but it's a difficult decision that the organization must make. I don't think you ever want to burn a bridge with a guy like Shaq, though obviously by then the impact of a rocky relationship with him won't be as big as it would be now.

Finally, we've got the future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade leading our team. There is no doubt that if he sticks around for his entire career, or at least most of it, Dwyane will get his number retired. He is clearly the best player the franchise has ever had and has brought us one title and with the right moves, has the potential to bring us a couple more. However, it is not a sure bet that he will stay after his contract is up. This team is a mess and is strapped for cap space with O'Neal's massive contract hindering us from making any moves to help Wade out. Hopefully this draft can provide some talent and maybe Riles can swindle someone into taking our trash.

Heat Wastes Wade's Performance

The Heat gave us a nice showing tonight after Zo's injury, but lost 117-111 to the Hawks in Atlanta. Wade dominated in the 4th and overtime, and again benefited from a slew of FTs (topping the most made by any player this season with 20). His final stat line showed a near triple double with 36 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds, but even that didn't take his clutch defense in the 4th and OT into account. Brilliant close to the game by Wade.

However, Ricky Davis missed the open 3 to win it in regulation and was generally anti-clutch the entire end of the game, allowing the Hawks to stay in it and eventually win. Tough to blame a loss on any one player but he certainly didn't do much to help our cause. Absolutely deflating night overall.

Shaq had another OK game considering his main backup was out. Too many turnovers and again a disappointing lack of lift on what few shots he took. He did have a rare good game from the charity stripe though. Daequan provided a nice clutch shot in the 4th when the game seemed to be slipping away, and Haslem had another nice performance. The Heat were without J-Will who sat out the game with a hyper-extended knee.

Now that they have to play without Zo, it'll be interesting to see what the rotation will look like, specifically at the 4 and 5 positions. Blount theoretically should be more effective in an offense that leaves him open, so maybe he'll take advantage of his extended minutes. Regardless, the team needs production from other players now with Zo going down. They won't be getting 50 FTs too often.

Ugly Win for Wade and the Heat

It wasn't pretty, but it was a W. However, nobody can feel good about a life or death game against the team with the worst record in the NBA. Wade had a horrible shooting night but did well from the line and had a productive 4th quarter to help assist Miami to a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves 91-87, only its 3rd home win of the year. Wade's turnover count was only 3 tonight thankfully.

Haslem had another monster night with 18 points and 16 boards; I really hope that if the Heat make any trades soon, he isn't involved. He has been a bright spot this season. Shaq had a decent game, about as much as we should expect from him nowadays. Dorell played a lot tonight, but his offense was non existent. Thankfully he was active elsewhere, bringing down a few boards and blocking 4 shots. Pat Riley's promise to play Daequan Cook more isn't fulfilled tonight as he doesn't even get into the game. Baffling.

Ricky Davis' reputation as a selfish player doesn't live up tonight as he led the team with 6 assists and is doing a nice job for us this season. He is another name being involved in trade talks thanks to his expiring contract. Sam Smith, the rumor monger at the Chicago Tribune, says that he and Williams are in a package that the Heat are offering the Kings for Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. If that were possible, which it's not, it would be a coup. For now, we have to work with what we've got, and thats not too much.

Disappointing Loss for the Heat (104-91)

For some reason, the Heat simply can't seem to get on track. After a brutal 6-game 9 day West Coast trip where they showed some signs of life, they come home to face an extremely beatable Washington Wizards team and lay a huge egg. Our leading scorer was Chris Quinn for Christ's sake! I mean, gotta give it up to the guy for a great performance from the 3 point line, but might someone tell me why Wade is only taking 11 shots and Shaq taking only 6?

I know Shaq is a crybaby when it comes to getting his touches, but seriously, 6? He's past his prime and probably is closer to a 3rd option and a 2nd option right now, but he still needs to be taking 12-15 shots a game. To do this he needs to stay out of foul trouble, a seemingly impossible task these days.

Dwyane Wade worries me with his turnovers. He is averaging a career high in that category and had 8 tonight. Either he is being reckless or is trying to do too much. This is where the jumpshot needs to come into play. We all know his skills are defined by his driving ability, but he won't be able to do this forever. Sooner or later he will need to develop a consistent long-range shot and incorporate a 3 point shot into his game. Otherwise he will flame out by age 30.

Finally, I'm baffled by the disappearance of Dorell Wright and Daequan Cook. Cook is a rookie and is bound to be inconsistent. However, usually he has proven he is not afraid to take the shot so why only one attempt in 11 minutes? Dorell started but did not do much and the majority of the minutes were given to Ricky Davis who had a nice game. Luke Jackson made an appearance in his first game as a member of the Heat and missed all of his 3-point shot attempts despite his ability to hit those being the reason he is on the team. It's a forgivable performance though. Jason Williams had a disappointing night, but that too is forgivable. However, it is pretty clear to anyone at this point that he is probably going to be traded, as is Smush Parker.