February 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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First things first. In Monday's follow-up to the Heat's winless three-game trip, when addressing Dwyane Wade's postgame comments Saturday in Chicago, it was mentioned at the top of that story that the Heat guard had "taken issue with the approach of Erik Spoelstra." Because he did. Not with Spoelstra. Not with Spoelstra's body of work, personality, career. But with the need "to find a way also to mix it up, stop being a team that everybody knows exactly what we're going to do."To use Erik's parlance, the moments after a game are when things can get "raw." Monday, the "raw" had given way to reasoned. Fine. Most NBA teams tend to run the same plays over and over and over, whether the coach ..."
February 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Two days after complaining the Heat's offense is too predictable and saying the team should be doing better, guard Dwyane Wade said he doesn't have an issue with coach Erik Spoelstra. Wade said if anyone thinks he does have a problem with Spoelstra they misconstrued his postgame words after Saturday's 95-91 loss at Chicago. "I don't have a problem with coach at all," Wade said after Monday's practice. "Me and him are on one page with each other." Wade, a six-time All-Star, also said he doesn't put himself above his teammates. "It says 'Heat' on the front," he said of the team's jerseys. "It doesn't say 'Dwyane Wade.' " Wade said when a team is performing poorly -- Miami has a disappointing ..."
February 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Think the five-game losing streak is the toughest conundrum the Heat has to deal with? Think Dwyane Wade's words of concern with the team's offense are ominous? Think again. What's chilling, truly alarming, practically apocalyptic, is what might happen in the NBA's next collective-bargaining agreement:Dwyane Wade Feb. 6 vs. Bulls Wade may have practically no financial incentive to remain with the Heat when he hits free agency this summer. Until now, with the Heat able to offer a sixth year on a new deal, instead of the five from an outside team, and with the Heat able to offer larger annual raises than an outside suitor, the difference between Wade re-signing with the Heat or heading ..."
February 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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For the first time in their marriage as superstar player and neophyte head coach, Dwyane Wade has publicly and pointedly taken issue with the approach of Erik Spoelstra. In the wake of Saturday's 95-91 loss in Chicago, a loss that extended the Heat's losing streak to five, the longest in Spoelstra's two seasons as coach, Wade said predictability has contributed to the team's series of late-game struggles. "We've got to find a way also to mix it up, stop being a team that everybody knows exactly what we're going to do and they just play us the same way," the seventh-year guard said. While this season never has been cast as one of championship contention, it has been cast as a bridge to this ..."
February 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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How do you make the best of a bad situation? Example A could be the New Jersey Nets. Even as New Jersey chases infamy with its inglorious record, a case could be made that no team could stand better positioned for 2010 free agency. Depending, of course, on how the ball bounces. In a draft lottery that sets up as all-or-nothing as when the Chicago Bulls landed their point guard of the future in Derrick Rose in 2008, walking away from their home-state lottery in Secaucus with Kentucky guard John Wall could change everything for the Nets. While Miami Heat President Pat Riley has been touting his team as the only major player in free agency with both space for a max player and a max talent ..."
February 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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With the Miami Heat now fighting simply to remain among the playoff seeds, coach Erik Spoelstra said it is only natural there is a certain amount of standings watching. But he said that also might be counterproductive. "We've been spending a lot of time with the standings for the last couple of weeks and it hasn't brought the best result," he said. "We need to stay focused on the process." That doesn't mean Spoelstra wants his players to ignore the reality."
February 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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This not only should not have been this difficult, it can't be. Not with a night off the day before and two days off to follow. Now with the Chicago Bulls not only lacking sidelined center Joakim Noah, but also suspending forward Tyrus Thomas for one game for conduct detrimental to the team And not with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra vowing before the opening tip, "I think we'll have energy for tonight." On a three-game trip that opened against the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, this was the red-circle game, the one the Heat had to have if it wanted any chance of going into the All-Star break with a winning record. Now that can't happen, with Saturday's 95-91 loss at the United ..."
February 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Rafer Alston experience has grown eerily similar to the Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo experiences. It's simply not getting it done. And no, at this stage, you can't just keep cycling through every point guard who used to be somebody or thought he could be somebody. But there is someone available to provide a working solution. Even if it's not a solution the coach believes can work full-time. Some of the Heat's best play in recent games has come with Dwyane Wade at point guard, including Thursday's loss in Cleveland. That, of course, hardly is surprising, since Wade also is the Heat's best shooting guard and, arguably, its best small forward. What is surprising is how Erik Spoelstra ..."
February 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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A year ago, Daequan Cook lost his outside shot after winning the 3-point Shootout during All-Star Weekend. This year, the third-year Miami Heat guard will return to the event in hopes of regaining it. Cook was one of six 3-point specialists named Friday by the NBA to compete in the Feb. 13 competition in Dallas. He is joined in the field by New York Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari, Phoenix Suns center Channing Frye, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups. Cook is shooting .300 on 3-pointers this season, more than 100 percent points below any of the other five competitors selected, ranked 205th overall in the ..."
February 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dwyane Wade is not seething, even as his team is sliding. The star guard does not rant, even as his team reels. Instead, amid this season-worst four-game skid his Miami Heat carries into Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls, there merely is frustration, as his team falters. "The only thing I can do is go out there and play the game," he told a national audience during TNT's coverage of Thursday's 102-86 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. "Outside of basketball, I really have some great guys on my team who are really trying to do everything they can every night." Such is what this 2009-10 holding pattern has delivered, as Heat President Pat Riley holds off on any move that would impact ..."
February 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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As rumors linking everyone from Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire to Dalas Mavericks forward Josh Howard swirl around the Miami Heat, it is undeniable that this is the time of year when the Heat often gets caught up in the trade whirl. On Feb. 6, 2008, the Heat traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns for Shawn Marion. Last year, the Heat not only traded Marion to the Toronto Raptors for center Jermaine O'Neal on Feb. 15, but already was deep into negotiations with Toronto about that trade during the first week of February, including administering a physical on O'Neal. Against that backdrop, Erik Spoelstra finds himself trying to coach a team loaded with expiring contracts. "It seems like ..."
February 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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One day, but certainly not these days, Dwyane Wade will not have to feel like he has to do it all. That's when the Miami Heat guard will stop running all over the court on defense chasing steals (and courting foul trouble) and when he won't continue to try to dribble through double- and triple-teams. But that day won't come with this lineup, not when three fellow starters are combining for two total points in the first half. So, instead, the frustration will grow, as it did with Thursday's 102-86 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that left the Heat 0-3 against Cleveland and two games below .500. "The competition's been better than us," Wade said. "It's realistic. You've got to be realistic. ..."
February 5
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Dwyane Wade's latest homecoming was hardly a happy one. The Milwaukee Bucks made sure of that Saturday night, frustrating the Miami Heat guard and former Marquette University star at every turn. A strong defensive effort translated into a 95-84 victory for the Bucks in the first of back-to-back games against the Heat, with a rematch scheduled for Monday night in Miami. Wade picked up five fouls by the middle of the third quarter and finished with 21 points on 6-of-20 shooting. "We tried to get up and pressure him as much as we could and get the help there and make him a passer," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "He's such a great player; we were just trying to make it difficult on him. "We ..."
February 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Udonis Haslem is on the verge of being solely second to one. With his appearance in Wednesday night's game against the Boston Celtics, the seventh-year power forward has now made 486 appearances with the Miami Heat, tying him with current assistant coach Keith Askins for second place on the franchise's all-time list. "Obviously I take pride in my city and playing for the Heat and putting on this uniform," the Miami native said. "Now that I've been around that long to catch a guy like Keith Askins, I'm just thankful." Askins said he takes pride in sharing a spot in team record book with Haslem, if only for a night, with the Heat to play Thursday in Cleveland. "He's a guy that's been ..."
February 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Based on its play against the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat well might provide some postseason theater. That is, of course, if it finds a way to advance to the postseason. Despite playing the Celtics competitively to the finish for a third time in as many meetings, the Heat was left with a third loss to Boston, as the season series concluded with a 107-102 setback Wednesday at TD Garden. "Right now, for us," coach Erik Spoelstra said, "the fight has to be unconditional." Just as it has in its two losses to the Cavaliers and its two victories over the Magic, as well as those two previous games against the Celtics, the Heat forced the opposition to ..."
February 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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Yes, the Heat left on a jet plane yet again Tuesday, again talking about coming together on the road. Nothing wrong with that, considering how much of a mess this team is at home, already with five double-digit losses at AmericanAirlines Arena. But enough with overstating road resilience, standing up to adversity. This team doesn't do that. The last trip included ugly losses in Toronto and Milwaukee, with 1-2 salvaged by a victory in Detroit. The two-game trip before that featured the worst outing of the season, the 104-65 loss in Charlotte. As for as much as was made of 3-3 on the Western Conference trip at the start of January, the victories in Phoenix and Houston, based on the recent ..."
February 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Heat guard Rafer Alston digested the opponents on this rugged three-game road trip -- the Boston Celtics (Wednesday), the Cleveland Cavaliers (Thursday) and the Chicago Bulls (Saturday) -- and came to an undeniable conclusion. "It's a grown man's trip," he said. It could be that and more. With the Heat struggling mightily to stay above the .500 mark and hold off surging Milwaukee for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics, Cavaliers and Bulls aren't a welcome trio. It's among the toughest three-game stretch any team will face this season. "I saw this in August when we got the schedule," coach Erik Spoelstra said. Some see this as a defining moment in ..."
February 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Michael Beasley returned to the Miami Heat starting lineup Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks after a two-game absence, but center Jermaine O'Neal replaced him on the team's inactive list. After missing two games with a hyperextended right knee sustained in Wednesday's loss to the Toronto Raptors, Beasley returned after being fitted with a bulky knee brace. He was approved to return after working during Monday's pregame session at AmericanAirlines Arena under the eye of trainer Jay Sabol."
February 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat's schedule only gets tougher, as it begins a three-game trip with a Wednesday night game against the Boston Celtics and Thursday night game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat lost all four home games to those teams this season, despite leading each in the fourth quarter. "Games like that put us in a position where we are today," guard Dwyane Wade said. "We played well enough in games against Boston and in the games against Cleveland, and at our home court, to win them, to not be in a position where we're fighting for fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth right now, and we didn't."
February 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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In a season that has been about buying time until 2010 free agency, time might be running out. Falling for the second consecutive game to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat returned to .500 for the third time this season with Monday's 97-81 loss. The previous two times the Heat fell to .500, it was able to right itself. This time, at 24-24, the task might prove overwhelming for a team teetering on the brink of falling out of a playoff seed. "Needless to say," coach Erik Spoelstra said, "that was a very tough evening for us. We're going through a little bit of a funk as a team. It is a trying time for us." Not only are eight of the Heat's next nine on the road, but its next two games are a ..."
February 2
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Milwaukee Bucks guard Charlie Bell will be the first to tell you there are certain times that rookies should be seen and not heard in the National Basketball Association. Take, for instance, the past couple days after Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings referred to Bell as a "D-Wade Stopper" when Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade had an off night in Milwaukee's victory over the Heat last Friday night at the Bradley Center. All's well that ends well as the Bucks' completed a home-and-home sweep of the Heat with an impressive 97-81 victory Monday night at American Airlines Arena, but there were a few anxious moments leading up to the game when it became obvious that Jennings' comment had found its way ..."
February 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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Yes, eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Do the math. While the Heat and Bulls technically are tied for seventh, go beyond three places in the percentages and Chicago has the edge. Not only has the Heat fallen behind the Raptors and Bobcats, but it now stands behind a team coached by Vinny Del Negro. Perhaps it should not come as a surprise. This essentially set up as a .500 season, and who would have thought that the NBA's lesser half actually could field eight teams with winning records? Then again, that could turn into seven soon enough, considering after Monday's home game against the Bucks, the Heat heads out for a three-game trip to Boston, Cleveland and Chicago."
February 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Two seasons ago, Charlie Bell was targeted by the Miami Heat as a free agent. Monday night, the Milwaukee Bucks guard well could wind up a marked man. Receiving perhaps a bit too much credit, Bell was praised by Milwaukee teammate Brandon Jennings for helping limit Dwyane Wade to 6-of-20 shooting in Saturday's 95-84 Heat loss at the Bradley Center. "I guess we got the D-Wade stopper on the team right now," Jennings said. Payback could come Monday night, when the teams meet at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I'm sure everybody feels the way I feel, that they want to make sure that they do their part to help us get that victory," Wade said. How Wade feels figures to go a long way toward determining ..."
February 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat received mixed results from MRIs taken Sunday on ailing forward Michael Beasley and sidelined guard Mario Chalmers. The test on Beasley's hyperextended right knee came back negative, with the starting power forward possibly to return as soon as Monday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks at AmericanAirlines Arena. The MRI on Chalmers, however, showed a partial tear in his sprained left thumb, putting the backup point guard out indefinitely, quite possibly through the NBA All-Star break, which ends Feb. 15. Beasley was injured during the first quarter of Wednesday night's road loss to the Toronto Raptors, missing Friday night's road victory over the Detroit Pistons and ..."
January 31
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Even when questions mounted about his ability, there never was a question about Mario Chalmers' availability. That changed Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, with the second-year point guard sitting out for the first time in the 129 games he has spent with the Miami Heat since being selected out of Kansas in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft. Chalmers, who had started the first 104 games of his career before being demoted to second string on Dec. 15, was held out of Saturday's game at the Bradley Center due to the sprained left thumb he sustained in the second quarter of Friday's 92-65 victory over the Detroit Pistons. "It swelled up a little more today," he said shortly ..."
January 31
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Milwaukee Bucks didn't exactly bring the pain Saturday. That already was in place for the Miami Heat. Scott Skiles' team merely exacerbated it. Lacking starting power forward Michael Beasley for a second consecutive game, and with backup point guard Mario Chalmers sidelined for the first time in his two seasons with the team, the Heat fell behind by 18 at halftime and lost 95-84 in an effort as shaky as Dwyane Wade's back. "Obviously a tough night for us," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They jumped us." Grimacing from the spasms that kicked in during Wednesday's loss to the Toronto Raptors, Wade struggled to 21 points on 6-of-20 shooting, as the Heat fell to 2-7 on the second nights ..."
January 31
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Dwyane Wade's latest homecoming was hardly a happy one. The Milwaukee Bucks made sure of that Saturday night, frustrating the Miami Heat guard and former Marquette University star at every turn. A strong defensive effort translated into a 95-84 victory for the Bucks in the first of back-to-back games against the Heat, with a rematch scheduled for Monday night in Miami. Wade picked up five fouls by the middle of the third quarter and finished with 21 points on 6-of-20 shooting. "We tried to get up and pressure him as much as we could and get the help there and make him a passer," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "He's such a great player; we were just trying to make it difficult on him. "We ..."