Miami Heat Analysis: Pistons/Heat Recap

Alright: here's my first post of the year. I'm looking forward to this NBA season, and seeing whether the NBA Champion Miami Heat can repeat this year.

First off, the new NBA basketball has angered many players. LeBron James perhaps summed up the majority opinion of the ball. "You can shorten our shorts, tell us how to wear wristbands, things like that. Change the dress code. But the one thing we care about is the basketball. When you start changing the thing we play with every single day, it doesn't make sense to me at all". ESPN Insider John Hollinger writes about how the NBA has not changed from a statistical point of view in this informative article. However Celtics coach Doc Rivers really identifies the situation. "I think there's a resistance to change in all of us. Whether it's cheerleaders, a dress code, a new ball, whatever. People don't like change. I just think that's the way life is."

In more recent news, Miami has posted a dismal 6-8 record as of November 30th. 6-8? That's a .429 win percentage. Is it because of an injury to a certain 34 year old all star? I've heard a lot of talk that the 2006 NBA Finals proved Dwyane Wade could win a title without Shaquille O'Neal. It's amazing that people can say that. O'Neal was injured on November 12th during a regular season game against the Houston Rockets. According to the associated press, O'Neal will be out through December 23rd. How have the Heat fared without Shaq? They've posted an embarrassing 4-6 record with the "Big Fella". {I'm sorry, but Wade has not yet proved he can win without Shaq. O'Neal's stats have never adequately shown how much of an impact he can make on the floor. When a 7'1'', 325 lbs. man like O'Neal posts up, he demands a double team. When O'Neal gets the double team, he often kicks the ball out to the open guard which creates open shots. Even Shaq's "three-peat" Lakers (the Lakers team that won NBA titles from 2000-2002) utilized Phil Jackson's triangle offense, anchored around none other than O'Neal himself. Shaq's presence is what is key for Miami, not his stats during a game. He himself noted that his injury is not at all any sign that he is diminishing as a force in the league. "They've been saying that the last ten years. I'm going to stick to my formula. I know what I've been doing, and nobody does it better, even at the tender age of thirty-four."

Then again, I don't mean to downplay Dwyane Wade's presence either. Wade's development has been phenomenal since he has come to the league. He often makes seemingly impossible shots through the use of his accurate bank shot. He has also improved his shooting range, which forces players to guard him at the perimeter, also giving him the option to display his amazing driving game.The most notable change for him this season has been his point guard qualities. With Jason Williams unable to play at 100% due to his knee, Wade has had to step up and make the passes that Williams made constantly during the 2005-2006 season. From averaging 6.7 assists per game during the 2005-2006 season, he now has been putting up 8.4 assists per game.

With the Detroit/Heat game now over (televised on TNT's Thursday double-headers) I'd like to reflect on what I saw through 48 minutes of action. Early on in the game, the Heat uncharacteristically ran the fast break as much as possible. The Heat usually like slowing the ball down due to the presence of older players such as Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning, but nonetheless were successful in attaining a small lead. However, Detroit made up with great runs near the end of each quarter. They ended the first quarter with a 7-3 run, the second quarter with a 9-2 run and the third quarter with a 14-7 run. Once again, Miami's age may play a role in their late quarter play as fatigue becomes an issue. Not only are the veterans affected by an extreme fatigue effect, but Dwyane Wade may be affected the most. Through the 2005-2006 season, Wade played 75 games and 2892 minutes. During the playoffs, Wade added another 23 games and 959 minutes. Ordinarily, most players would then be able to take a rest during the off season, but instead Wade played for team USA in 14 games and 264 minutes of action. In the end, Detroit was able to scrape away a 87-85 win. With the score at 86-85, Chauncy Billups had an attempt to take a 3 point lead, but Wade swatted the ball away and ran down the shot clock. Wade's final shot with less than 4 seconds remaining seemed a bit flat if not just a bad shot attempt. Detroit used a 1-3-1 zone against Wade in the final possession aiming to stop any dribble penetration. Head coach Flip Saunders had preached throughout the game that the Pistons had to keep defensive pressure on Wade and wear him down. Throughout the game, Wade was unable to score near the basket and finished with only 4 points in the paint. The ball went out of bounds off Wade's final shot, leading to a Detroit inbounds play. Tayshaun Prince, unable to get the ball in, called a time-out before Richard Hamilton received the ball on the final possession and was fouled with 0.2 seconds left in the game. Hamilton sank the 1st free throw, but then purposely missed the second free throw, and shot an air-ball. Through a controversial call, referee Joey Crawford called for the free throw to be retaken. Hamilton's last free throw bounced off the rim, and time expired, ending the game. Hamilton was the high point man for Detroit with 24 points off of 9 for 17 shooting. Billups scored 11 points and tallied 7 assists in 38 minutes of play. For Miami, Wade shot a terrible shot a terrible 5 of 23 FG, but managed to score 21 points and dish out 8 assists. Udonis Haslem had a strong game with 20 points (9 of 12 FG for the game). James Posey scored 9 points and hit all 3 of the 3 pointers he attempted in the game, including a key shot down the stretch. Personally, I believe the Heat have disgraced their loyal fans with their horrible home play. They have seen losses during home games by huge margins, including a 42 point loss to the Chicago Bulls (on opening night), a 24 point loss to the lowly New York Knicks, and a 22 point loss to the Houston Rockets. Other home game blunders include a loss to the Denver Nuggets (by 7 points) and the Orlando Magic (by 3 points). TNT's broadcasting will be continued with the Utah Jazz playing the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz have impressed nearly every NBA analyst and I look forward to seeing their match up against the Lakers. More on my opinion of the game soon...