November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The next stop on the Miami Heat's 2010 free-agency tour might just have an interested applicant, after all. In advance of the Heat's Friday's game in Toronto, Raptors power forward Chris Bosh, an impending free agent, was ask by AOL's Fanhouse about the possibilities of playing alongside Dwyane Wade next season in South Florida. "Anything is possible, I guess," Bosh said. "I guess that seems to be an attractive place, you know, playing with Dwyane and playing in Miami and everything. I guess if they had the right chemistry, the right guys, that they could persuade guys to get there. But we'll see.""
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Despite being linked to a late round of negotiations with Allen Iverson, the Miami Heat denied a report in Thursday's New York Daily News that it had made a pitch for the recently released guard. "The Iverson rumors are just that, rumors," a team spokesman said. "There's nothing to it." . . . The Heat is listing power forward Udonis Haslem and small forward Quentin Richardson as "day-to-day" for Friday night's game against the Raptors."
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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You agree with Dwyane Wade, that this is merely a shooting slump, because it is difficult to consider the alternative. You accept the fact that the Hawks are unique in their ability to "build a wall" around Wade, because Atlanta's unique mix of length and athleticism hardly is the rule in the NBA. But you also have to consider the alternative. Or, to be more accurate, the alternatives. Put yourself in the shoes of opposing coaches. Do you really need to take measured steps in your closeouts on Quentin Richardson at the 3-point line, when he has not attempted a single foul shot all season, despite starting every game? Do you have to cover the lane when Mario Chalmers comes off the ..."
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The defensive approaches have varied; the results have been the same. Dwyane Wade is in a slump. A team that only goes as far as its leader can take it, the Miami Heat has seen its star shooting guard stymied by a variety of tactics over the past three games. Saturday against the New Jersey Nets, it was a zone defense that helped hold Wade without a basket for more than 25 minutes. Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was the grit of defensive nemesis Thabo Sefolosha that helped limit Wade to 6-of-19 shooting. Wednesday, in Atlanta, the Hawks packed the paint and watched Wade mostly miss from the perimeter in a 6-of-18 performance, with his 15 points marking the first time in 24 ..."
November 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem was held out of Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks after aggravating a shoulder strain during the latter stages of Tuesday night's home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Haslem has been dealing with a troublesome left shoulder for more than a week. He aggravated the injury in Saturday's victory over the New Jersey Nets and went for an MRI Sunday, which came back negative. But he left for the locker room Tuesday before the conclusion of the loss to the Thunder. "I took a pretty hard fall last night on the same shoulder, late in the game, when I went for the shot fake on Nick Collison and I came down right on my shoulder," Haslem said. ..."
November 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The stakes weren't the same. But everything else seemingly was Wednesday night. Each team had its moments of utter control. The Atlanta Hawks flashed their athletic brilliance. And, in the end, the Miami Heat came up short. Meeting for the first time at Philips Arena since last season's Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs, the two teams picked up where they left off last May, in a punishing contest that, in the end, drained the Heat's spirit. This time it was a 105-90 Hawks decision, decided by keeping Dwyane Wade under control and daring anyone else to seize control. "We just have to be a little sharper," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, after his team fell for the third time in its ..."
November 19
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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At some point, the Hawks will cool off. But that point wasn't Wednesday night. It was Miami's turn to be fed into the Hawks' threshing machine, which chewed up the Heat with a determined defense on All-NBA guard Dwyane Wade and a furious second quarter that helped secure the Hawks' sixth win in a row, 105-90 over the Heat. Over that span, the Hawks have won by 11 or more points five times and have held their opponent under 100 points in the past four games. "I can't ask for anything better," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys that made a commitment when they came into camp this year." Using what has become a familiar pattern -- solid defense, a ..."
November 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The last time the Miami Heat visited Atlanta, it walked off the court for the final time in the 2008-09 season, defeated 91-78 May 3 by the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Wednesday night, the rivalry resumes at Philips Arena. Then again, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is not sure "rivalry" is necessarily the right word. "I mean, any time you play somebody in the playoffs, obviously everything gets heightened, and it went seven games and it was a very physical, intense series," Spoelstra said before Tuesday night's 100-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "But I don't think it's really a rivalry until that happens two or three times in a row in the playoffs." ..."
November 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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On the face of it, 7-3 through 10 games would appear to put the Miami Heat ahead of the curve. But considering eight of those 10 were home games, there hardly is a feeling of satisfaction as Erik Spoelstra's team prepares to play three of its next four on the road. There certainly wasn't much of a good vibe Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, as the Heat was pounded 100-87 by the emerging Oklahoma City Thunder. "We didn't come about to play and I didn't come out to play," Heat forward Michael Beasley said, after he went 23 minutes without grabbing a single rebound. An opponent flush with young talent, the Thunder smothered Heat guard Dwyane Wade into 6-of-19 shooting and found there ..."
November 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The wait was excruciating. No, not the time the ball was in the air before Dwyane Wade's game-winning 3-pointer cleared the rim with one-tenth of a second remaining in Saturday's 81-80 victory over the New Jersey Nets. But rather how long it had been since the Miami Heat guard last scored a basket. With the Nets putting almost their entire defensive focus on Wade in the second half, through the use of traps, double-teams and a zone, Wade had gone since 1:21 remained in the second quarter without a basket until converting his game winner. "Some games, they're going to try to do that, make anyone else beat them," Wade said, after shooting 1 of 6 in the second half. "Some games, I have to let ..."
November 15
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra knew he'd have a fight on his hands Saturday night. He was, however, thinking in terms of Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto, with his passion for Pacquiao fueled by his Filipino roots. Instead, he wound up having to wait for a Dwyane Wade knockout punch to hold off the counter-punching New Jersey Nets 81-80 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. "Whew," Spoelstra began his postgame comments. "Well, thank you Dwyane for burying that three. "Sometimes that's what the great ones do, they bail you out of a competitive but sometimes frustating game." Against a woefully shorthanded opponent, the Heat survived only because with the Heat down two, Wade nailed a ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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Ten minutes. That's all it took. That's the world in which we now live. Ten minutes, and it had spread like a pandemic, with NBA fans and players scrambling to type Twitter tweets and embed YouTube video and update Facebook pages, all so you could see what they couldn't believe they just saw. They had just seen the soles of Anderson Varejao's shoes. That was caused by Dwyane Wade dribbling down the right side, veering into the lane, shifting from right to left and back to right, taking off, kicking out, climbing, climbing, climbing, slamming, sending Varejao sliding back into the stanchion, heels over curly-permed head. Wade then stepped over his victim and stormed off, first silent and ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Slippage. It is a staple of the Miami Heat's vernacular, especially when it comes to defense. No matter the won-loss record or place in the standings, or, for that matter, even the final score, it is something that is not tolerated. So for all the drama involved in Thursday night's Dwyane Wade-LeBron James shootout, what the Heat was most left to lament after the 111-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers was the falloff of its defense at several crucial junctures. "During the course of the game, we had a lot of slippage," second-year forward Michael Beasley said, showing an evolving grasp of the company line. Indeed, the slippage was tangible. The Heat went into the game ranked third in the ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Udonis Haslem is many things. He is a physical inside presence. He is a gritty hustler. He is an undersized power player with an oversized heart. But he is not a small forward, especially when cast as a perimeter defender. Thursday's loss to Cleveland left the Heat somewhat exposed when coach Erik Spoelstra went to his big lineup midway through the first quarter, the one that puts Haslem at power forward and, in theory, Michael Beasley at small forward. Except when Haslem entered with 5:15 to play in that opening period, after foul trouble sidelined Quentin Richardson, Haslem was cast defensively against LeBron James. Well, so much for the notion that Beasley is a small forward. Granted, ..."
November 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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Ten minutes. That's all it took. That's the world in which we now live. Ten minutes, and it had spread like a pandemic, with NBA fans and players scrambling to type Twitter tweets and embed YouTube video and update Facebook pages, all so you could see what they couldn't believe they just saw. They had just seen the soles of Anderson Varejao's shoes. That was caused by Dwyane Wade dribbling down the right side, veering into the lane, shifting from right to left and back to right, taking off, kicking out, climbing, climbing, climbing, slamming, sending Varejao sliding back into the stanchion, heels over curly-permed head. Wade then stepped over his victim and stormed off, first silent and ..."
November 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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This didn't just live up to the hype, it lived up to LeBron-level hype. LeBron James vs. Dwyane Wade transcended mere opening-month basketball Thursday night. The Cleveland Cavaliers' 111-104 victory over the Miami Heat got to the soul of why 19,600 packed AmericanAirlines and a national television audience looked on. "When you go against one of the best players in the league," James said, "it's like playing your brother outside in the backyard." This time, little brother, at least by age, got the best of the scoreboard, if not the scoring column, with the Cavaliers' James outscored 36-34 by Wade. But it wasn't without a fight by big brother, with Wade nearly producing his third 40-point ..."
November 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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It took nearly two weeks, but adversity finally arrived. The Miami Heat and guard Dwyane Wade proved up to the challenge. Having played its first six games without experiencing a single double-digit deficit, the only team in the league to play so deep into this season without one, the Heat turned an early 11-point hole into a 90-76 victory Tuesday night over the Washington Wizards at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I certainly liked the resolve," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Obviously, in the second half we were a different team. "And then Dwyane was able to do what he was able to do." When it was over, despite an uneven start, Wade had 41 points on 14-of-29 shooting, his second 40-point effort ..."
November 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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In a wide-ranging discussion before Tuesday night's game against the Washington Wizards at AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami Heat owner Micky Arison touched on a variety of pressing team issues, including his belief that Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley have long-term futures with the team, and plans to eventually hand over the franchise to his son, Nick. While downplaying 2010 free agency as a subject that he believes has overwhelmed the significance of the current season, Arison also said he believes he will retain his star guard during that phase of the offseason. "I have every indication from Dwyane that this is where he wants to be," Arison said, with Wade holding an opt-out clause at season's ..."
November 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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Michael Beasley took his game to new heights at Monday's practice. With braids out and 'fro full extended, the second-year Miami Heat power forward figured he measured in "at about seven foot one." Whether the 'fro remains in place for Tuesday night's game against the visiting Washington Wizards is another story. "I haven't decided yet," he said with a smile of the unkempt billow. "I don't know." But Beasley, about to make his seventh start of the season, appreciates that he has to play bigger than he has in recent games. After grabbing 23 rebounds in his first three games, Beasley, who generously is listed by the Heat at 6-9 1/2, has 11 in the last three. That's four fewer than guard ..."