khandor’s sports blog

Yesterday’s addition of the lone-NBA-surviving-member-of-the-original-Fab Five-of-hoop, means that the roster is now almost complete for the Axis of Evil [aka, The SuperFriends of South Beach]:

1 Mario Chalmers, PG

2 Dwyane Wade, OG/PG

3 LeBron James, SF/PF/OG/PG

4 Udonis Haslem, PF

5 Chris Bosh, C/PF

6 ? [Carlos Arroyo, PG]

7 Joel Anthony, PF

8 Mike Miller, OG/SF

9 James Jones, SF

10 Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C 

11 Juwan Howard, PF/C

12 Jamaal Magloire, C

13 Dexter Pittman, C

With a first-class owner providing the bankroll, i.e. Micky Arison, a terrific young coach at-the-helm, i.e. Erik Spoelstra … and the legendary Pat Riley pulling the strings behind the curtain … it is going to be very difficult indeed for any other outfit in the Eastern Conference to stop the Miami Heat from returning to the NBA Finals next season [and, for the foreseeable future].

Señores, enciendan sus motores!

There are several reasons why yours truly is a fan of Udonis Haslem; both, the player and the person …

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Season’s doubters become fuel in Miami Heat’s final stretch

Heat co-captain Udonis Haslem has collected various criticisms of his team this season in much the same way he has hauled in rebounds.

There’s relentlessness with his approach in both areas. So don’t even bother reminding Haslem of some of the questions that faced the Heat at the start of the season — or the skeptics who posed them.

He knows them all.

With the Heat (43-34) peaking as it heads toward the playoffs and carrying the league’s longest active victory streak into Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia, Haslem is among several Miami players who remain motivated by the doubters.

“They didn’t give us a chance at all,” Haslem said, referring to several NBA season-preview articles, analyst and websites. “So don’t soften it up now by saying that they weren’t sure what we’d do. They flat-out said we wouldn’t make the playoffs. Get it right. I remember seeing all of it.”

The Heat has won eight in a row and 14 of its past 17 games. Miami clinched a playoff spot for the sixth time in seven seasons with Toronto’s loss to Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Several Heat players have revisited some of the 2009-10 season projections.

In ESPN.com’s season preview, four of 10 “expert” analysts picked Miami to miss the playoffs and only two had it finishing as high as fifth, a spot the Heat holds with five games remaining.

An NBA.com preview projected Miami to finish 41-41 as the eighth and final seed in the East, and to lose to Cleveland in the first round. Most previews raised concerns about the lack of upgrades last summer and questioned how much veterans such as Jermaine O’Neal and Quentin Richardson had left.

Although Miami can finish no higher than fifth in the East, where it ended last season, the team already has matched last season’s victory total.

Proving some naysayers wrong has been all about resolve, Haslem said.

“One thing we can say is, through the good and bad this year, we stayed together,” Haslem said. “Through all the trade rumors, all the free agents we’ve got, all the pieces they said we didn’t have, through who should start and between me and Mike [Beasley], we always stayed together. We never had none of those issues in-house. All that talk was on the outside. It wasn’t in here.”

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… not the least of which are related to:

1. His unrelenting, spirit, willingness and ability to rebound the basketball;

2. The personal discipline he showed while losing 60+ lbs between his first season of professional basketball in Europe [after a 4-yr stint at the the University of Florida] and his first year with the Miami Heat;

and,

3. The series of quotations listed here;

each of which speaks directly to his level of toughness … i.e. mental, emotional, and physical … and commitment to succeed in life.

Unlike plenty of other so-called NBA experts …

Miami fails to build on Flash [Sep 16 2009]

Break up the Heat [Nov 11 2009]

this corner had the Miami Heat pencilled in for a guaranteed spot in this year’s Eastern Conference playoffs … along with Orlando, Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta … from as far back as last summer, with the only proviso being that Dwyane Wade can, in fact, stay relatively healthy for the entire season. 

8 months later, this is precisely what has happened.

When certain individuals in the on-line hoops community ask for the presentation of “tangible evidence” in support of an opinion-based perspective on a specific topic, proffered in advance, it should simply be a given that:

“The proof of the pudding is always in the eating.” 
- khandor

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PS. Those who thought the Heat’s player roster this season would simply be too weak, overall, to maintain their position from last year, relative to the other quality teams in the Eastern Conference, simply do not understand how the NBA game actually works … to the extent they think they do. 

1. Top Notch “leadership” is crucial to the success of a NBA franchise.

The Heat have this … in spades … in the form of Micky Arison, Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade.

2. Individual pieces which actually fit together well … such that the whole is greater than the sum of the isolated parts … is crucial to the success of a NBA franchise.

The Heat have this … in hearts … in the form of:

3. Already knowing what it takes to win big in the NBA … e.g. winning the league championship, or reaching the Finals … is crucial to the success of a franchise.

The Heat have this … in diamonds … in the form of their 2005-2006 NBA championship.

4. Quality Depth throughout the roster … with, at least, 1 “superstar” player, plus several other “star” players [i.e. up-and-coming, current or former], plus a plethora of highly serviceable ”role” players … is crucial to the success of a NBA franchise. 

The Heat have this … in clubs … in the form of:

Superstar Player
1. Dwyane Wade, OG [current]

Star Players
1. Jermaine O’Neal, PF-C [former]
2. Michael Beasley, PF [up-and-coming]
3. Mario Chalmers, PG [up-and-coming]
4. Dorell Wright, G-F [up-and-coming ... whose individual development this year has keyed Miami's success]

Role Players
1. Udonis Haslem, PF [multi-dimensional]
2. Carlos Arroyo, PG 
3. Quentin Richardson, G-F 
4. Joel Anthony, PF-C 
5. James Jones, G-F
6. Jamaal Magloire, C
7. Daequan Cook, G
8. Yakhouba Diawara, F

In general, individual player “production levels” in basic game-stat categories …

e.g. Points Scored, FG%, 3FG%, FT%, TS%, eFG%, Rebounds, Reb%, Ast, Ast%, Steals, Blocked Shots, Def, and Usg, etc. …

although certainly useful, simply does not present an accurate picture when it comes to assessing, in advance, the real life strengths [and weaknesses] of a specific NBA team, relative to the other franchises in the league. 

Toronto used a “new” Starting 5, on Friday night, against Denver:

Jose Calderon, PG [same as before]
Sonny Weems, OG [new]
Antoine Wright, SF [new]
Chris Bosh, PF [same as before]
Andrea Bargnani, C [same as before]

The same day, Jermaine O’Neal/C hyperextended his right knee in Miami’s road win at Milwaukee and is not expected to play in this evening’s home game against the Raptors.

If the Raptors decide to use a slightly different version of their ”new” Starting 5 and insert a healthy Hedo Turkoglu into the SF position, in place of Antoine Wright, it will create the following set of individual match-ups:

Option 1 - Currently Expected Rotations

and, in all likelihood mean that Toronto will lose their 3rd game in a row.

On the other hand, if the Raptors decide to go with Option 2:

Option 2 - Should Be Rotations, from Toronto’s POV

… there’s a fairly good chance they will be able to put a stop to their 2-game losing streak and stay 1.5 games ahead of the 9th place Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings.

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Contrary to popular belief …

Andrea Bargnani is a long ways away from being a useless NBA player, provided that he is actually used properly, i.e. as a Back-up Center, who becomes THE focal point of the Raptors’ offense each time Chris Bosh is taken off the floor.

For the benefit of both Raptors and Heat fans:

Enjoy! … what should prove to be a highly entertaining game.

PS. Is there any doubt, however, that the Heat have the “coolest” [baby, baby, baby] roster web page in the NBA today?

This past off season, when this corner consistently rated Miami as one of the few sure-fire playoff teams in the Eastern Conference this year … provided the Heat get a full season from D-Wade … there were many in the blogosphere who took exception and asked, incredulously,

“Huh? How come? … Their overall roster simply isn’t good enough to be put into THAT category. Is it?”

Well …

At this moment, there are only 5 undefeated teams in the NBA:

Boston [3-0], Orlando [3-0], Denver [3-0], Phoenix [3-0] and Miami [3-0].

Reasons Why the Miami Heat Will Succeed This Season 

A. Pat Riley [GM] really does know what he’s doing … and, “all things Heat” spring forth from him.

B. When all is said and done, several years from now, Erik Spoelstra is going to be recognized as a very solid NBA coach; see “A”, above, for further reference.

C. The late additions of Carlos Arroyo and Quentin Richardson are ”good fits” for what Miami needed this season to successfully bridge the gap until the 2010 off season arrives … when they will become significant players in the free agent marketplace; see “A”, above, for further reference. 

D.-Man is a legit MVP candidate, this year … as The Best Guard in the NBA not named Kobe Bryant.

E. The players on their roster this season, although NOT as “talented” overall as the other top squads in the Association, actually DO “fit together” in a way that should/will allow them to remain in the playoff race the whole year, and eventually earn 1 of the 8 coveted berths into the post-season, i.e. With the team culture in Miami, “The whole is usually greater than the sum of the parts,” see “A”, above, for further reference.

Building a championship calibre organization in the NBA isn’t always about performing “radical surgery” on your roster in the summer months.

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“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” - Anonymous

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

Game 13 – vs Mia [Fri Nov 20]

The first home game following a WC road trip can be a dangerous situation in the NBA. That said … the Raptors might be in dire need of winning this specific contest, given their poor early season W-L record. Miami, on the other hand, might be a few games above .500, on the strength of several home games early in the schedule, and coming into this one off a road loss at Atlanta, a Southwest Division rival. Although there is no defensive match-up on the Raptors roster capable of handling D-Wade effectively … who might well go for 40+ in this encounter … the front-court tandem of Bosh & Bargnani should be able to off-set this single major disadvantage. If the Dinos are going to remain in the playoff hunt this season, they will need to win games like this one, i.e. at home; without an individual match-up disadvantage. 

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 5-8