Marketing
RUMOR MILL: Mike Bibby pored Flasha Wadea, Lenny Wilkens novi trener Seattlea??
The Flash Factor
MIAMI – For three quarters on Thursday night, the Miami Heat's play against the Cleveland Cavaliers "was like pulling molars," according to Miami interim coach Ron Rothstein.
Even with Shaquille O'Neal back in the lineup, the Heat couldn't get anything going offensively, missing shots and throwing the ball all over AmericanAirlines Arena. Their star, Dwyane Wade, fumbled the ball so many times that the numerous NFL stars in attendance looked away in embarrassment.
NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (05/01/07)..
The Heat couldn't find an effective lineup, rotating players in and out but never finding a groove. And they failed to excite the home fans, who groaned with each mistake as their team fell behind by as many as 12 points. In essence, Miami's play in the first 36 minutes of the game served as a microcosm of its entire season: The Heat looked like a team heading for the lottery rather than a franchise ready to defend its NBA title.
But if that was the case, then the final 12 minutes of the game served as a reminder of why Miami is still a championship contender despite its 21-25 record.
That "reminder" is named Dwyane Wade.
NAJBOLJE AKCIJE MJESECA SIJEČNJA..
The Heat superstar shook off what had been one of the worst performances of his career to that point – he had already committed 10 turnovers by the end of the third period – and completely took over the game. Miami abandoned its offense, instead opting to hand the ball to Wade, spread the floor and and let him attack from the top of the key.
The results were spectacular, as Wade set a team record with 24 fourth-quarter points to finish with 41. He scored at will by taking the ball hard to the rim, hitting pull-up jumpers and drawing fouls. Combined with the fact that the Heat turned up their defense and shut down the Cavs down the stretch, Wade's efforts were enough for Miami to pull out a 92-89 win.
The Heat still have an uphill climb ahead. They're currently a half-game behind eighth-seeded New Jersey in the Eastern Conference and have yet to build any momentum this season. The players and coaches acknowledge that now is the time for the team to mount a charge if it is serious about repeating. For that to happen, Miami needs to get healthy.
DA SE NE OSJEĆATE ZAKINUTO: Jason Williams "Excitando"..
Jason Williams didn't play Thursday due to an abdominal strain – the 14th game he's missed this season – and his absence puts a lot of pressure at the point on Wade, who committed a career-high 12 turnovers (also a team record) against Cleveland. Both Williams and O'Neal are critical to the Heat's success, and Shaq will have to regain his health and conditioning, too.
O'Neal played relatively well against Cleveland, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight boards in 28 minutes, but he's clearly not the same player he once was. And at his age, he can't count on consistent health anymore. (After missing 39 games following knee surgery, O'Neal returned to action and promptly strained a calf muscle last week, sending him back to the bench.) Still, if Shaq can find a way to stay in the lineup, Miami can at least play a consistent rotation and find the groove that's been missing all season.
The ingredients are there if everyone is healthy. The Heat are good defensively and they rebound well. Shaq still draws double teams, which opens up the floor, and Miami has even improved its outside shooting thanks to the emergence of Jason Kapono, the league's top three-point shooter. But most of all, the Heat are feared because of the presence of Wade. As long as he is around, Miami has a chance to win every game. He proved that against Dallas a year ago in the NBA finals, he proved it Thursday against Cleveland and you can bet he's itching to prove it come playoff time this spring.
Now the Heat have to take care of business and give him that opportunity.
By Steve Kerr
Yahoo! Sports
Post je objavljen 05.02.2007. u 08:02 sati.