Lakers-Heat was Hollywood at its finest. The Heat’s 99-90 win had leading men, a duel as its storyline and a big budget (the Lakers’ payroll). Generally in a big game like Miami-Lakers the question after the game becomes was Team X that impressive or Team Y that bad? Miami’s first four field goals — all huge dunks off sloppy Laker turnovers from Miami’s wing pressure — left no doubt that Miami was just that spectacular at the start — and the finish, too. Read More »

Shaquille O’Neal‘s movies make us want to wince (did you know he’s been in seven films?) but it doesn’t mean the big screen is out of his future. And we’re not talking about his cameo in “Grown Ups 2″ he’s got coming up. The Big Aristotle became The Big Projector on Friday when his newly renovated movie theater, the CityPlex 12, he co-owns in downtown Newark opened. Read More »

We’re not sure if we’ve ever seen so many old stars stay relevant past their primes. Steve Nash is seriously better at 38 than he was at 28. Tim Duncan is still reliable, and still consistently averages 15 and nine. Nas and Jay-Z haven’t fell off yet, and are somehow still popular in this age of terrible dances and forgettable rappers. And even Kobe Bryant is sort of like the Darth Vader of the NBA. Basically, the history books are being re-written before our eyes, and old records are dropping off faster than Green Bay’s bandwagon. Read More »

It was never a secret U.S. vs. Nigeria was never going to be close. The betting line grew to 42 points before the game, which seemed like it could be high even for a mismatch like this, the best team in the world against the team making its Olympic debut. First, the Team USA was totally off-mark shooting from the short international three-point line, a trend that looked worse with a pretty sluggish start to the first quarter against Tunisia. Then, you figured Nigeria was going to play inspired in its Olympic debut against the U.S. It turns out the line was ridiculous Read More »

Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals was won by a scorching fourth quarter from Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, who scored 17 of in the final frame. He had his way in that quarter, but don’t forget about what he did to Miami in the second quarter. Joel Anthony won’t for a while. Read More »

The second round did not start well for Miami. The Pacers looked to be more game for an East semifinal than Miami, the team with the MVP (LeBron) who’d just accepted the award before the game from David Stern. The building was loud, even by TV — and South Beach — standards. But it was like Indiana came out with Bose headphones on, with Roy Hibbert (17 points) and David West (17 points, 12 boards) knocking out all the noise and knocking down all the shots in the early going. Well, every drama needs three acts, and the second, an abdominal injury to Chris Bosh, beget a third, where James and Dwyane Wade took over and stole Game 1 in the process. Read More »

Mike Miller took a beating last night. Tyson Chandler used him as a ladder on one putback dunk, and then on this Carmelo Anthony facial, Miller nearly got faked out of his ACLs. In the end, Joel Anthony couldn’t do anything about it either, catching the slam right on his forehead. Read More »

If you’re a fan of Jackie Moon and Semi-Pro, then you’re going to love this. The Miami Heat will pay tribute to the ABA this season as part of the NBA’s “Hardwood Classics Nights” by hosting a series of 1970′s retro-themed games. Leave your Heat jerseys at home this weekend, because starting tomorrow night the Miami Floridians will take the hardwood at AmericanAirlines Arena against the Philadelphia 76ers. Read More »

The Miami Heat’s shortcomings last season were well-documented. That said, it should do nothing to diminish the fact that this time has some serious fantasy firepower. Aside from the Big Three, there is some residual value to be had on this squad. Whenever the NBA starts up again, fantasy owners would do well to keep a close eye on which players the Heat adds to its roster, and which of its free agents it chooses to re-sign. It’s very possible that this team will have a whole new batch of role players once its retooling is over with. Read More »

There’s not much to the Miami Heat roster. While they have a lot of movement going on, Pat Riley and company don’t have the flexibility to be too picky in the free agent market. With three sure-fire pieces on the roster in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, add in some nice role players like Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony, and you’ve got some continuity going into next season. After that, however, things are pretty open. Read More »