Heat Continue To Seperate Themselves From Competition With Win In Houston

If you watch the highlight from last nights game, you do not see LeBron James at all which is saying something about the chemistry that is getting created on the court as Dwayne Wade dropped 45 points to notch his second consecutive game of 40+ points.

Houston certainly put a great effort on the court as well which made for an entertaining contest as they kept the game relatively close the majority of the game. "This was a tough game for us," Wade said. "We gave up 119 points, and that's not Miami ball. Houston played unbelievable."

 However, Wade's focus on the game was unquestionable as he missed a couple of minutes of the game because he took an elbow to the jaw that required stitches. With the stitches in his mouth he continued to drive the lane and split defenses with a ferocity in which the stitches may have added to his contributions to the night.

"For the majority of athletes, when they get angry, they lose their focus, composure and poise," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But he's one of the few that the exact opposite happens. He was angry after that hit, and he was bleeding. But you could see, after that point, an absolute laser focus and poise, and he didn't let his anger get the best of him."

One shot that signified the night was Wade's shot from the top of the key that bounced around like a roulette ball on the rim that eventually went in.

With the win, the Heat's final record for the month of December is 15-1 which nearly came close to matching the 1978 Lakers mark of 16 wins in the month of December.

"We're just a different team now," James said. "We go out and understand that no matter what the course of the game may bring, we can always will ourselves to win, get enough stops, and make enough plays to win a basketball game."

The Heat will attempt to continue their winning ways against the Golden State Warriors on New Years Day at the American Airlines Arena at 7:30.

Wade's 40 Enough to Roll Past Knicks

In a the second match up of the season, the Miami Heat rolled past the New York Knicks for their 24th win of the season and their 15th of December.

This time it was not LeBron James leading the way but Wade who dropped a season high 40 points on the Knicks who put up a good fight, but in the end were overwhelmed by the star talent on the court that produces not only on the offensive side but on the defensive side as well. Within in this 15-1 streak the Heat have held every opponent under 100 points, in fact a good amound of teams have struggled to hit 90. This is the type of stat that certainly puts the Heat back into the conversation of the best team in the league, although there are many within the conversation including the Dallas Mavericks who gave the Heat their lone loss of the month. This also puts the Heat right on track on LeBron James schedule who said the team will be playing their best ball entering January.

The Knicks just did not seem to have an answer for Wade as he entered the fourth quarter with 25 points and scored 15 in the final frame. This was big because the Heat led by 22 at one point  I think most importantly of Wade's 40 points were James's 18 points. This shows that they are starting to gel as a team and teammates. James took a step back tonight and let Wade go off. That is what this team needs to do to continue to be successful and it appears that they are starting to operate on all cylinders.

The greatest show on court next takes its talents to Houston where they will face the Rockets at 8:30. The Rockets are coming off a win against the Washington Wizards and have an extra day of rest in between games. This is going to be challenging for the Heat as they traveled last night and have to play today. However, if they continue to produce at the level they are currently operating at, then it should not be an obstacle to overcome.

Retraction A Good Thing? LeBron Thinks So

Yesterday, LeBron James stirred the tabloid pot once again yesterday as he suggested that contratraction would be a good thing for the NBA. "Hopefully the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the '80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team. The league was great. It wasn't as watered down as it is [now]," James said. This statement comes at an odd time for me as I once disdained the NBA for their sub-par product. What started as a reason to think the NBA was sub-par talent to college basketball was reaffirmed with the search for talent and marquee names to replace Michael Jordan seemed like a lost cause. The San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Piston championship low rated championship runs also reaffirmed that the NBA was producing a sub par form of entertainment.

Fast forward to the present where the NBA is currently producing their finest form of entertainment since Micheal Jordon retired led by none other than LeBron James. With James opting to take his talents to South Beach, the interest NBA skyrocketed and sell outs proceeded to pop up all over the country; an instant jolt to the NBA just as LeBron entered his prime. With this jolt, the talk of 'trio's' begun, more specifically three superstars on one team is the best chance a team can have to win a championship with reference to the superstar teams of the Celtics and Lakers in the 1980's and the 1990's Bulls, Rockets as well as the Detroit Pistons, San Antionio Spurs and the current day Los Angeles Lakers all used this formula to win numerous championships.

For whatever reason, LeBron James was criticized for tryng to follow this formula, but that is not the case. The case is if Carmelo Anthony goes to the Knicks, the NBA's product is going to continue to skyrocket and follow the trend of more superstars on one team in order to win a championship. If this is the case, this would support LeBron James's comments in support of  contraction of NBA teams in order to make a better product on the court. However, I do not know if this is an issue of the product on the court or the dollars in the owners pockets.

I feel that the NBA is currently putting its best product on the court since Micheal Jordon and is not in need of retraction. Teams can get better, just look at what the Atlanta Hawks have been able to do over the five years with proper free agent spending accompanied with home grown talent has produced one of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference. However, I do not know the financial dealings of the NBA and do not know what is truly the best route for the NBA to take. These are uncertain economic times and it appears that the NBA is no different than many of the corporations facing difficult economic times. They would like to lower their work force to save money. With contraction comes serious layoffs such as what will the front office of the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves do if their team is disbanded. Would it make for a better product? Perhaps, but I do not think it should happen as the interest of the NBA has recovered since MJ retired and they can thank one person: LeBron James.

No Dwayne, No Problem. Heat Roll Past Suns

With Dwayne Wade sitting out due to a stiff hamstring, LeBron James and Chris Bosh had a chance to really let loose within the offense. James finished with a game high 36 points while Bosh contributed 23 in a 95-83 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

"We played the majority of our offense through LeBron and Chris, and they really carried us at times and make the game easier for our other guys," Head Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We got enough games from them and ball movement at key times to close out the win."

The win comes after the Dallas Mavericks snapped a 12 game winning streak that got the Heat back on track  for the season bringing them the second best record in the Eastern Conference; second only to the Boston Celtics who are currently riding a 14 game winning streak. The win is the Heats 8th straight on the road and they look to make it 9 against the Lakers on Saturday as they travel to Los Angeles to take on the Kobe Bryant in a Christmas Day match up.

Mavericks Snap Heat Streak at 12

From the opening tip off, it did not seem like it was going to be the Miami Heat's night. The Mavericks came out hot by building a 14-2 lead and eventually won the game 98-96. For the score to be this close on an off night is not that bad, but at the end of the day, the Celtics are riding a 13 game winning streak and do not seem to be slowing down. Symbolically this has ramifications, but with the new year still a week away, it is not detrimental.

For whatever reason, the Miami Heat were out of sync from the gecko. LeBron James developed a bad habit of leaving his feet while trying to find an open teammate. Throughout the night LeBron tried to drive the lane, leave his feet and try to find an open man. At times it worked, but at times would roll out of bounds. The Heat closed out the first quarter strong and actually gained a one point lead going into the second quarter led by James. This habit could have been a facet of unselfish play as late in the game with 30 seconds left, Dwayne Wade had an opportunity to take an open 15 footer but opted to pass it out to Mario Chalmers whose only option with 5 seconds left on the shot clock was to pass to an open Chris Bosh who missed a three pointer; this is not overly surprising as Bosh hit a big three Saturday night against the Wizards. In any event, the Heat did not resemble the team that was riding a 12 game win streak into the game.

The effort seemed lack luster which led to numerous loose balls not going the Heats way. Was there something that was happening behind the scenes that led to two of the three superstars not producing 20 points (Bosh and James both had 19) with Wade finishing with 22. Could there have been an effort to spread the ball out more to other teammates which resulted in James Jones and Mario Chalmers finishing with more than 10 points each?  There could have been, but the Mavericks just seemed to be the more motivated team on the court tonight; perhaps even the more talented team. They have an all-star line up in Dirk Nowitzski, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Caron Butler with Jason Kidd leading them. They all played well and it turned out to be to big of a test for the Heat to meet tonight.

The Heat travel west tonight as they will take on the Phoenix Suns Thursday night and travel to Los Angeles in on of the most anticipated match ups of the NBA season. Not only will LeBron (or Wade) be taking on Kobe, but it will be on Christmas day with the nation watching. The Heat fall to 21-9 on the season and 12-4 at the American Airlines Arena.

Wade Seals 12th Straight Win at the Line

The Miami Heat passed the character test tonight as the Washington Wizards held a two possession lead with less than 30 seconds to plays, but the Heat were able to pull out a thrilling 95-94 victory.

Chris Bosh hit a big three pointer with 28 seconds left to breathe some life into the Heat as they completed the victory. What was important about this shot was that it set up Bosh pump faked his way to three free throw shots with 12 seconds left and his team down by three. Unfortunately Bosh did not make the three shots, but James Jones came up big on the next round of free throws for the Heat to tie the game up. After Kirk Hienrich failed to hit two free throws after being fouled, Dwyane Wade proceeded to take the ball up the court, drive the lane and hit both shots to put the Heat up by one. In Washington's final possession Heinrich drove the lane, put up a lay up, tried to sell a foul, but a foul was not called with Wade gaining possession and throwing it up in the air as time expired.

This was exactly what the Heat needed and certainly serves as one of those wins that you can look back on and realize how important a win like this is. It showed that the Heat can perform when the pressure is on. The Heat have passed alot of tests during this 12 game win streak, but the biggest test will be against the Celtics in which they have two more opportunities this season to get wins against them; one on February 13th and another on April 10th. However, the Heat's next test will come Monday night as they host the Dallas Mavericks Monday night at the American Airlines Arena.

James Triple Double Leads Heat Past Knicks at Garden

In LeBron's 'Return' to Madison Square Garden, home to one of his pursuers in the previous off season, he did not disappoint as he usually does not when he visits New York.

Whenever LeBron visits the Garden, it usually turns out to be a spectacle. In the end, LeBron dropped 32 points 10 assists and 11 rebounds while his teammates Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh did the rest each dropping 26 points.

"This is a great building," James said. "Myself and D-Wade talk about it all the time. Certain buildings in this league that you just thrive on and you're excited about, and this being the mecca of basketball as a kid you always envision not only playing in the NBA but also having a chance to play in Madison Square Garden."


James was obviously booed as many fans in attendance thought that they would be rooting for him this season instead of against him. One such incident was when James was resting in between plays and got an ear full from Spike Lee who was obviously in attendance. James performance not only left Lee going home disappointed, but also the sold out crowd of Madison Square Garden. James and Co. return to action tomorrow night as they travel to Washington to take on the Wizards.

New York Knicks-Miami Heat Make Me Think of Oooonne Thing

A Little Late, but Just Found This Video

The Heat Make It 10 In A Row Against Cleveland!

In the much less anticipated match up between the Cleveland Cavilers and the Miami Heat, the Heat walked away with their 10th straight win to solidify their position in second place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The game obviously received less hype because it was just LeBron going against his former team, not LeBron returning to Cleveland. In this match-up he did not score as many points and did not play with the fierce attitude that he played in Cleveland just a couple weeks ago. He only scored 21 points as opposed to his 35 he dropped on the Cavilers the last time they faced each other. The story of this game however, was Dwayne Wade as he came alive in the forth quarter to score 18 of his 28 points.

The Cavilers kept it close for the majority of the game and even had it within four with one minute to play. The Heat kept off their last run to close out the game for their tenth straight victory. What as propelled the Heat to 10 straight victories as certainly been the play of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, but every so often a bench player will come onto the court and be a factor. That person for this game was Mario Chalmers, who certainly has the potential to be a good scorer in the NBA, but has not found his consistent stroke yet. Chalmers finished with 14 points on the night. James Jones has also been that player in previous games and was that person again as he contributed 14 points.

The winning streak is tied for forth longest in team history and certainly the longest of the season. The Heat will look to continue their winning streak as they travel to Indiana to face the Pacers on Friday night. They quickly return home to host New York and Utah Saturday and Monday night.

I Think This is When LeBron Really Made His Decision On Who He Wanted As A Teammate

Heat Prep For Hornets, Look for Ninth Straight

The Miami Heat are in for redemption tonight as they finish up their four game road trip tonight as they travel to New Orleans to take on Chris Paul and the Hornets.

The Heat look to avenge an early season loss against the Hornets which saw Dwayne Wade pass up an opportunity to win the game with an open three at the top of the key and pass it to Eddie House who missed. House has seen little playing time and even less shots since that game; not saying that one moment is the reason why he has not, its probably just his overall lack of production.

The Heat have fared better since they abandoned their unselfish ways, well I should not say Heat, but rather Dwayne Wade and LeBron games have abandoned their unselfish way but for the better of the team. Since the start of this eight game winning streak, Wade and James production have sky rocketed as they find their identity as a running team. Another strong point that has come around in this winning streak has been the third installment of the three superstars, that being Chris Bosh. Bosh has found a balance, and realizing the importance, of his presence down low as a rebounder as well as the third option on the offense. Together, it is not far fetched that this trio can average 70 points a night collectively as been the case during this winning streak. They will be tested on the defensive side of the ball as well as the New Orleans Hornets come in boasting one of the best point guards in the NBA in Chris Paul.

Heat Make it Seven in a Row

The fastest show on earth tooks its talents to the west coast this past week where they rallied off their seventh straight victory last night and look for their eighth tonight against the Sacramento Kings.

With the short road trip and the way the Heat have been playing during this win streak does not look to be slowing down anytime soon. Check that, I should say the way Dwayne Wade and LeBron James have been playing during this win streak. The Dyamanic Duo have been leaving defenses straight baffled on the fast break. The two's combine speed in transition is sheerly mesmerizing as they put the installed their latest transition highlight last night.



The commentators reaction, or lack their of I should say, says it all: nothing, just silence for 10 seconds after they let out a wow. With the two gelling on the level that they are right now, it is hard press to see the Heat post a loss tonight. LeBron is also visiting the first place he ever stepped foot on an NBA court.

LeBron and Dwayne are Gellin' Heat Win 6th Straight

The wonders of winning rears its head yet again as just a week and a half ago, the media was flooded with talks of Head Coach Erik Spolestras losing his job. After a players only meeting in the middle of those floods, the Heat have come out to win their sixth straight game.

The main reason for the recent show of excellence as been a showing of selfish play; not that I am saying that that is a bad thing, especially when LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are splitting the court running a transition offense. The duo is starting to reach a cerebral level as was shown last night as with each turnover or defensive rebound, the two were off to the races splitting the court, leaving Utah's defense at a stand still. They also left the crowd and the commentators standing still as well as with each alley-oop, each perfectly run fast break possession, the crowd was silent and the commentators just simply said "Wow."

All in all the duo combined an astonishing 64 points, with Chris Bosh pitching in 14. As stated earlier, this type of selfish play can be a good thing when you have LeBron James and Dwayne Wade on the court at the same time. A couple of stories ago, I said that the Heat did not have a style that would be their crutch in tough times, but I think throughout the this win streak, you are beginning to see what type of style works for them. Some stats that jump out: LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are 1 and 2 in the league in points scored in transition, there are only 3 others in the league with that same amount of production. Perhaps the most important stat of the game was the Miami Heat outscoring the Utah Jazz 34-20 in the forth quarter. Another significant stat was Big Z's double-double (16 pts, 10 rebounds).

"It was kind of pick your poison," Utah guard Deron Williams said. "It was just tough to defend." It was a tough lesson to learn for Williams, but he will not be the only guard in the league scratching his head after a match-up with these two. Up next for the Heat is a match up with the Golden State Warriors Saturday night, they round out their road trip in Sacramento on Sunday night before they come home on Tuesday night and host the New Orleans Hornets.

Bosh Breaks Out, Heat Defeat Hawks

In what could be a potential playoff match up against the Atlanta Hawks, the Miami Heat earned their fourth straight victory as they defeated the Hawks 89-77. This is the second consecutive game that the Heat have kept their opponent below 80 points which is certainly a sign of relief as they should never be short on offense.

Chris Bosh had his best game of the year as he finally put his rebounding game and offensive attack together as he registered 27 points and 10 rebounds; his first double-double of the year. The offensive stats are astounding for this game as their was only 14 points scored by three players not named LeBron James, Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh. This could mark a turning point for the team from going to an unselfish group of individuals to a selfish group; which is not necessary a bad thing.

In the past, both Wade and James looked as if they were forcing the ball to teammates to avoid speculation of being selfish players. In one instance earlier this year, Wade passed up a perfectly open shot at the top of the key to pass the ball to Eddie House for a game winner, but House missed it and the Heat lost. Now over the past four game stretch where the Heat have won, it seems that the Miami Thrice is turning into the Miami Heat. But that is why Pat Riley brought three of the best players in the NBA to one team for instances like this. He did not bring them onto get role players involved, he brought them on to dominate the court which is certainly what they did last night.

They will take this momentum to the road for a four game road trip which will have stops in Milwaukee, Utah, Golden State and Sacramento. They will not be home again until they host the New Orleans Hornets on December 13th.

24 Points in One Quarter, LeBron Wins in 'The Return'

In one of the most anticipated games that Cleveland has seen in the past seven years, outside of his LeBron James debut, the Miami Heat walked out of the Quicken Loans Center (probably one of the worst names for an arena) with an easy 118-90 victory. More importantly though, LeBron left the arena with a sense of vindication.

I am not going to waste your time with how much this game met to the city of Cleveland because if you have paid any attention to the sports world over the past 6 months, you should have a pretty good gist of it. As for the on-court performance, James certainly shined and put all the negative energy that was aimed at him from Cleveland, right back in their face. James was so efficient that he did not even play the fourth quarter but was still able to score 38 points on the night, accompanied with 8 assists and 5 rebounds. What may have motivated him to this performance was the boos he received in pre-game introductions. Ironically, following the boos of James was the cheers for Zydrunas Ilgauskas who was also making his return to Cleveland as well.

The reasons why LeBron left Cleveland are shown in the box score of the Cavilers. The only player to register more than 20 points was by backup point guard Daniel Gibson. The man that was LeBron's running mate in Cleveland, Moe Williams, only accounted for 11 points. LeBron's running mate in Miami however, Dwayne Wade, provided a second level of offense for the Heat as he registered 22 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. James outscored Clevelands starting lineup by 10.

As for reactions from the game they were as expected, business like. James said that "so many things went through my mind, I have nothing bad to say about these fans at all. We grew from the year before I got here, a 17-win season to the last two years I was here, we had the best team in the league in the regular season. I understand their frustration. I was frustrated also because we didn't accomplish what we wanted to. I wish this organization and these fans, who are great, the best."

Now that this game has come and gone, the Heat can get back to business as they host the Atlanta Hawks tomorrow night before they hit the road on a four game road trip. With the win, the Heat improve to 12-8 and win their third straight which as certainly quieted the critics calling for Head Coach's Erik Spolestra's job. "It felt like a playoff game for us," Spoelstra said. Ahh, the wonders that winning will do for an organization.

Heat Roll Past Pistons, Last Tune Up Before 'The Return'

The Miami Heat's big three, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, led a balanced attack en route to tonight's 97-72 win at the American Airlines Arena.

Although it was a balanced attack, it was not the balanced attack that led them to victory Monday night against the Washington Wizards that had the three accumulate 70 points. Tonight the three players only provided 50 points, but that is all they needed too as their defensive performance was more than this team needed tonight as they only allowed 72 points. Tonight's performance actually gave Miami's big three something that they have not collectively had all season; a break. Each player has been averaging close to 35 minutes a game, especially LeBron James who registered a season low 31 minutes tonight. Wade, who has been nursing a wrist injury for the past week, only registered 18 minutes while Bosh registered 29.

This accumulated rest has a unit, created new opportunities for other players outside of Miami Thrice. One player that I have been very high on this season who came in with low expectations is Juwan Howard. Howard registered 12 points tonight along with 4 rebounds and continues to be a productive veteran as he came to the aid of a flagrant foul against the Wizards which resulted in an ejection. This was possibly the most balanced scoring the Heat have shown this season as the only two players who did not score was Joel Anthony and Eric Dampier.

This game is exactly what the Miami Heat needed as they are coming off a streak where they lost 4 of 5. This is the Heat's second win in a row as they look to make it 3 in a row as they travel to Cleveland tomorrow night. I do not have to say how anticipated this game is as if you have had any type of ear to the sports world over the past five months, you would realize that this marks LeBron James first game in Cleveland since he packed his bags for South Beach. I have to say that Cleveland is certainly more excited for this game than any other city in the country. After the voodoo curses by radio dj's, the absurd reactions by the owner and fans of Cleveland; their inability to let go of LeBron's decision to leave certainly will add to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the only choice for these fans is to boo him relentlessly. If they do not, they would just be as much of cowards as they perceive LeBron; no matter how false their pretense is. I really have only one statement for Cleveland: "You SHOULD get over it"