The King and His Court
The LeBron/Dwyane Wade matchup started off well, didn’t it? Despite the fact that ‘Bron came out doing his Kobe “facilitator” thing for most of the first quarter (he started at PG because Daniel Gibson missed the beginning of the game to be with his pregnant fiancée at the hospital), he and Wade both locked in and got down to attacking the hoop. James finished the first half with 19, Wade with 18, and it looked like the second half would be a shootout … Not so much. Wade couldn’t by a bucket ‘til late in the fourth, and by then Miami was down double-digits. The game turned into a yawner and the Cavs rolled to an easy 102-86 win. James finished with what felt like an easy 36 points, seven boards and eight assists, and Wade ended up with 24 and nine dimes … With the guys who were being trotted out to the slaughter by being assigned to guard LeBron - guys like Dorrell Wright and Quentin Richardson – LeBron could’ve probably gone for 50 or 60 if he wanted to. Those guys had absolutely nothing for James and if he was in straight attack mode, it could have gotten ugly … You know the game is pretty much a wrap when Marv, The Czar and Reggie spend 15 minutes talking about how terrible Wade’s supporting cast is and what it’s going to take to keep him in Miami … Wade going 0-fer from the field for most of the second half wasn’t even the strangest part of his night. Did you see Dwyane try to block J.J. Hickson’s fast break dunk in the first half? Hickson had a head of steam and went up with two hands – Dwyane had no chance of blocking the dunk. But he went after it anyway and helped to provide Hickson with the highlight of his life. It’s all downhill from here, J.J. … Reggie pointed out in the first half that Michael Beasley does work when defenders let him drive left, to his strong hand. It always amazes us when it seems like teams don’t A) have any kind of scouting report or B) just choose not acknowledge the scouting report. Beasley would rather lose a digit than put the ball on the floor going to his right in much the same way as someone like Manu Ginobili never drives right. Yet teams consistently let guys go to their dominant hand … Somehow, in the second game of the TNT double-header, Portland beat San Antonio 96-93 even though LaMarcus Aldridge was the only Blazer to show up through three and a half quarters. LA finished with 28 and 13 and was pretty much was Portland’s only source of offense and rebounding for most of the game, until Martell Webster (21 points, 5-5 from three) started raining murder from deep … The basketball world in general has been waiting for the Clippers to end Mike Dunleavy’s reign as head coach and GM for years now. The Clips have been consistently terrible with him in charge, its been understood that the players hate playing for him because of his restrictive style and have long tuned him out, and Dunleavy’s personnel moves haven’t exactly set the world on fire. So why did the decision for him to step down as head coach come yesterday afternoon? It was pretty much assumed that Clippers owner Donald Sterling had been keeping Dunleavy on the sidelines because he realized that even if Red Auerbach was coaching this roster they’d still be mediocre at best – why keep paying Dunleavy’s contract and a new coach’s contract if the team is going to stink no matter what? So, as per usual, nothing the Clippers do makes any sense … We’re out like Mike.
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February 5th, 2010 at 2:04 am
weezy f says:
super early smack..not even 11pm here on the west
February 5th, 2010 at 2:15 am
alf (from melmak) says:
Surprise! A very early Smack.
By mentioning Red, Dime do you mean that he was and still is the coaching standard in the league? Better than Jackson, Sloan, Popovich, and Brown? Just asking.
I am keeping my meal allowance for tomorrow. Need to lose a few pounds.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:39 am
John says:
3 things from a Heat fan :
A – Lebron is better than Wade
B – Beasley must be traded for instance help
C – Do something Riley, if we miss the playoffs I think that D-Wade will go to Chicago.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:12 am
Sambuu says:
agree with John, prediction: Heat miss the playoffs, Wade goes back to Chi…
February 5th, 2010 at 3:40 am
BRUCE says:
I am a fan of Flash, where he is going, I am going. Just the jersey not the team!
I like Manu — Dude can hurt you in so many ways!
February 5th, 2010 at 4:55 am
BUFFALO BRAVE says:
I give Wade a lot of blame for the heats struggles
Its clear that he hates Treesley and thus is terribly stunting his growth by not even really trying to help develop him.
On top of it he just makes some TERRIBLE decisions and is generally wildly out of control. That’s on him.
Riley still needs to do something though
February 5th, 2010 at 6:21 am
fLaVa says:
its about damn time he quit cuz there was no way in hell he’d get fired cuz hes the fu*king GM…
How does a guy have a 215-325 record in 6.5 seasons.. thats a 0.398% winning percentage… 39.8% thats just unheard of for 6.5 years… any coach with that awful record would be booted after 2 yrs MAX… Clippers arent that bad with the talent (or lack of) they had.
whats worse hes the WINNINGEST COACH IN FRANCHISE HISTORY at 39.8% and allowed him to coach for 540 games… thats just retarded… hes prob one of the worse coaches ever in the history of the nba… even chris ford is better than him…
glad hes finally gone… go hughes! clippers making a playoff push after the all star break IF they stay healthy…
February 5th, 2010 at 6:55 am
sans says:
Treesly! hahaha I love my treesly me alone about it.
Mike Dunleavy is so bad that his kid has a trade clause in every contract barring a trade to the Clippers, the only team…Yes, Red is still the standard…and DIME you are wrong, JJ’s block on DWade was way nastier than his dunk…Wade gave up midair on Hickson’s block and received the superstar no call in mid air…if he were Damon Jones, the refs would have called it…
February 5th, 2010 at 7:01 am
ab_40 says:
how does a semi healthy san antonio lose to a semi injured portland? The Spurs used to be one of my favorite teams they played a kind of basketball I realy liked to see from a tactical standpoint and to see 2 inch vert Tim Duncan kill everybody who guarded him. Manu is nice this year but he isn’t where he was.
I alway believed in em but I realy think this is their last year with this core intact. Tim Duncan isn’t going anywhere and manu will probably stay in san antonio as well. Mister Longoria is a great trading chip next summer.
And for the clips to wait this long with letting dunleavy go. he is an ok gm though but the team needs something new. oh and john lucas is not the answer
February 5th, 2010 at 7:05 am
QQ says:
Epic first half between Wade and Bron.
I have rant bout Beasley, though:
Aren’t he supposed to be the next great PF? Had tons of hype coming outta college, the number two pick, etc. But you see him now, and 90% percent of the time, you see him jack 20 footers like he’s name is Richard Kevin Hamilton Martin. Dammit. When he gets the ball, it’s almost inevitable: face up, hold the ball for 3 seconds, then shoot. He might be a solid scorer in the future (if he isn’t now), but dammit, he’s supposed to dominate the L, right? By the look of things, he is nowhere near dominating. STEP UP, KID.
February 5th, 2010 at 7:46 am
92021SpurMD says:
What is it with my Spurs and them having AT LEAST one LONG period of shooting ineptness per game? This year, it just so happens that most of those periods happen in the 4th quarter, as evidenced by the loss to Portland. SA always goes cold at some point (still don’t understand how this happens ALL THE TIME), but it is out of control this year with the 4th quarter collapses. If – another if – they somehow stop hitting these cold spells, then I think we truely have a formidable opponent for the Lakers…
February 5th, 2010 at 7:51 am
that dude says:
Name me one player that can develop with Dwade as a teammate he passes only when he has no choice he pouts when u make a mistake but u better not get mad at him when he messes up, and he comes off as ” i dont give a sh%% im outta here anyway next year”. He sucks as a team leader just look at his face during games he thinking about what club he gonna hit.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:11 am
That's What's Up says:
Wade got the Heat a chip and then the franchise cashed in their chips.
Have you seen their fans? yeah, me neither.. probably 2000 a game show up. why stay?
…another thing is NO team wants to pay stars their worth anymore, but they can’t just be upfront about it. It’s like when you want to break up with your girlfriend but don’t have the guts to do it, so you just start treating her like crap until she can’t take anymore and then she wants out
February 5th, 2010 at 8:18 am
BC says:
Someone needs to trade for Beasley, McGrady, Jamario Moon, Oden, and Hedo.
Then you’d have the all-sleepy-eyed team.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Rafa23 says:
@ Alf
did you just mention mike brown in the same breath as jackson, sloan and popovich? I hope its just too early for me and I’m wrong and you mean somebody different.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:30 am
that dude says:
The stars get overpayed hell even guys who are not stars get overpayed, i.e. rashard lewis, sideshow bob in cleveland, And as far as the chip goes for the heat Dwade did ball out but let’s b real no Shaq no chip, Someone once said that having Shaq on your team let’s u play one on one with ur man becuz they cant’t double u and Shaq, ask penny how ez it was with Shaq as opposed to without him, ask Kobe im not talking about the off the court beefing im talking about success as a player, yeah Kobe got his chip last year w/o him but three in a row speaks volumes doesn’t it. bottom line Dwade is for self always has been.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:36 am
ToAn says:
@Rafa23….i guess he means Larry Brown…i hope
February 5th, 2010 at 9:14 am
ShowKase says:
So….is D-Wade the new AI? hmmmmm……
February 5th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Chicagorilla says:
I loved the Play where DWades steals Lebrons Round’da’back pass on the break. Mainly because how Wade laughed after stealing it. That just shows the level of competitiveness that Wade has. It’s almost as if he was saying
“Who’d you think you were playing again? the Knicks, you better step yo game up”.
Of course that was the end of MIA’s highlights as LBJ and Shaq turned the lights out on the cats in the 3rd.
Beasley is talented, but he ain’t got it. Everytime I see that dude, I thank the man upstairs that the Bulls wasn’t dumb enough to draft him over Rose. I’m sure Pat Riley would much rather have Mayo or Westbrook. This is one area where Pat f^ked up. That’s what he gets for stealing DWade from the Bulls in 03′.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:42 am
sh!tfaced says:
Beasley looking like a bust. Not really a surprise. Except for guys like Durantula and Aldridge, most Number Two picks have a nasty habit of turning out to become busts. Darko, Thabeet, Stro, Jay Will…
February 5th, 2010 at 9:43 am
GABRIEL BROGDEN says:
@ DOUBLE Qs ::
Uhhhh, did you see the game??
Heat aint do squat in the 2nd half but BEASLY was BALLIN’ —
21 Pts, 12 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk
I think this is the definition of STEP UP, qqid.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:07 am
kfb says:
“kobe facilitator thing?” are you serious…since when would Lebron be copying Kobe by being a facilitator?
February 5th, 2010 at 10:11 am
QQ says:
@ brogden:
Beasley was supposed to dominate the L, not ONE GAME. Yeah I watched the game, and all I saw was jumper after jumper after jumper. Where was the slashing, posting-up, inside monster that we thought we would get? Just admit it man, when you hear Beasley’s name, you think ‘jumpshooting big man’, not ‘dynamic power player’.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Sho-Nuff says:
@Dime,
Wade probably couldn’t “buy” as basket either….
Kidding….I’ll leave the grammatical corrections to BRUCE.
True Thugs Can Spell.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:58 am
GABRIEL BROGDEN says:
@ qq -
He looks like a real deal ball player everytime I see him.
I cringe more when I see Wade turn the rock over on some stupid sh** as opposed to Beasley makin’ a questionable decision on the court.
Wade’s been doin’ the reckess thang. Beasley is just doing the young buck thing, meaning he’ll probably grow out of it.
Let’s face it, the Heat have no one other than those two so of course they get more attention and criticism.
And last night, like many nights, beez got bizz.
He had the J on SILKY last night.
But dude’s a flat-out scorer.
He can give you buckets, slashing and bogarting cats down low.
Or he can wet them mid-range joints.
The HEAT got Wade and Beaze and no one else.
A dynamic perimeter player and 2nd year big.
Yeah, that’s ONE and a HALF stars.
You don’t survive in the NBA if you’re team only has 1.5 stars.
C’mon, on pure basketball merits – besides Wade, Beasley has the MOST value (trade value and team value, not moral value) on that squad.
February 5th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Chicagorilla says:
@Sho-Nuff, before you do a “grammar” check and post it, you should probably check your grammar. Read your post again, I’m just saying son…
@QQ
I agree with your assesment on SuperBees (Why didn’t he call himself Killer Bees, Tatoo would have looked cooler). I was thinking Bees would go down as Derrick Coleman 2010. Now I’m thinking Anthony Mason, maybe. He still has a chance, i don’t want to write him off yet. I mean, I’d take him in a trade for Tyrus Thomas or Jaokim Noah anyday. Who knows, maybe he explodes on the scene when Wade leaves. He seems comfortable deferring to Wade most nights.
February 5th, 2010 at 11:31 am
LakeShow84 says:
“Hickson had a head of steam and went up with two hands – Dwyane had no chance of blocking the dunk. But he went after it anyway and helped to provide Hickson with the highlight of his life”
If you dont try you dont know what happens..
I think Dwade is trying to take LAST YEARS performance up a notch but the only problem that was probably his ceiling as far as offense goes.. Hes been doing too much lately that aint even neccessary..
Lebron looks so unstoppable when his J is falling..
And the EASY 36 was probably cuz he shot 20+ FT’s.. Just saying..
February 5th, 2010 at 11:32 am
bsteezy3 says:
Didn’t know Boobie Gibson was knockin’ off Keysha Cole though…lol
February 5th, 2010 at 11:37 am
LakeShow84 says:
You guys should give credit to Beez for being where hes at at THAT AGE.. he aint Bron, Durant or Howard.. thats why the Bulls took Rose.. i imagine they could tell it was going to take Beez time to come around..
He should be a Soph in college tho right?? give him 3-4 years to mature MENTALLY and he’ll bubble.. hes too talented not to IMO.. but who knows..
His twitter rant after everyone pointed out the herb was an example of troubled youngsta..
February 5th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Dave says:
that dude is dead on about Shaq. If you have three shooters and one is a star and Shaq you can win if you move the ball to the open guy and take a lot of the pressure off of the star.
Shaq is the catalyst in both his teams that won it all….
if Shaq were in Utah they would win a chip, and Cleveland is going to be a tough out with the Shaqtus on the court.
February 6th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
alf (from melmak) says:
Very late reply. It was Larry Brown not the infamous Mike Brown.