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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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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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 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 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 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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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 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Apparently, Friday nights are about erasing the past. A week ago, the Miami Heat snapped a 17-game losing streak in Indiana with a victory at Conseco Fieldhouse. Friday night, the Heat snapped its eight-game losing streak to the Denver Nuggets with a 96-88 victory over Denver at AmericanAirlines Arena. The common theme to the streak busting? A balanced approach. "That's what we've been trying for," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We feel like we're developing balance, and it's been different guys each game, at times. Guys were very unselfish. There wasn't a lot of one-on-one." No, this was not an encore of Dwyane Wade's 40-point binge Wednesday in Washington. This was the Heat's star guard ..."
November 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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There was a point early in Wednesday's fourth quarter, when Dwyane Wade normally goes to the bench, that he locked eyes with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "He pretty much nodded his head," Spoelstra said. The message was understood. Wade would play to the finish, play all 24 minutes of the second half on the second night of a back-to-back set that began with Tuesday's track meet against the Phoenix Suns. "This," Wade said after scoring 40 points in the 93-89 victory over the Washington Wizards, "is one of those games where you have to will your team to victory." And where there is a will and a Wade, there is a way. So even after the Heat blew all of a 19-point first-quarter lead, on a ..."
November 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat stepped up in competition Sunday. And it didn't back down. After cruising past New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers teams that resembled D-League outfits, the Heat aggressively contested a prime rival in a spirited 95-87 victory over the Chicago Bulls at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I just saw bodies colliding," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was like a gang fight the last three minutes of the game." In a matchup more of heart and hustle than speed and skill, the Heat turned to its grittiest competitor and power forward Udonis Haslem obliged by lifting it to only the third 3-0 start in the franchise's 22 seasons. "Udonis was incredible on both ends of the floor," Spoelstra ..."
November 1
Miami Herald
columnist Linda Robertson
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If you see Dwyane Wade on the street, give him a hug. If you see him in a restaurant, pick up his tab. If you own a yacht, take him fishing -- and make sure he catches a big one. If you own an island, invite him over for a luau. Send greeting cards with gushing good-luck messages. Compliment his clothes. Donate to his charitable foundation. Offer to wash his car(s). Cheer extra loudly at Heat games, such as the season opener Wednesday against the New York Knicks. This is the Year of Loving Dwyane. We have to keep him happy in Miami or he will leave, and so will any hope of another NBA championship. We have to make him feel appreciated or when he opts out of the final year of his contract ..."
November 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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No, 2010 free agency is not a single event. It is a journey. Sunday, the tour returns to AmericanAirlines Arena, this time with the Chicago Bulls looking to size up the playing field. Last Wednesday, it was the New York Knicks who did their window shopping. Like the Knicks, the Bulls also should be in position to add a max-salary free agent next summer. And while Heat guard Dwyane Wade won't submit to a physical for his hometown team before Sunday's tipoff, Chicago is going as far as traveling General Manager Gar Foreman to many road games, with a focus on next summer's free agency. If the whole thing seems a bit awkward, well, it is. "Everybody," Knicks forward David Lee said during last ..."
October 31
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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It wasn't exactly the Indy 500. But the Miami Heat's 17 consecutive losses at Conseco Fieldhouse certainly felt like triple-digit misery. Now? Now there is a one-game winning streak in Indiana, with Friday's 96-83 victory over the Indiana Pacers. "It was gratifying," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "To have this feeling here hasn't happened very often for us." After 14 consecutive regular-season losses in Conseco, with three more in the playoffs, the Heat finds itself with its first 2-0 start to a season since it went 4-0 to open 2004-05. Both victim and former victimizer contributed for the Heat. Guard Dwyane Wade, who had lost all 11 of his previous Conseco visits, led the Heat with 32 ..."
October 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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"I'm not that guy," Dwyane Wade says, "that uses whatever power he has over anyone." "You can't be walking around on eggshells," his coach, Erik Spoelstra, says. "I think it's a 50-50 thing," an NBA executive says. Welcome to the 2009-10 season, the waiting room for the Miami Heat's future. Yes, the league still will count wins and losses for South Florida's entry this season. And the playoffs remain the goal for Spoelstra's team. But it is the long view that figures to dominate the Heat's perspective, even as it gets to the short-term task at hand of Wednesday's season opener against the New York Knicks at AmericanAirlines Arena. No, this is not a case of a franchise held hostage. Wade, ..."
October 22
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Grizzlies rookie DeMarre Carroll planted his feet and waited for the NBA's reigning scoring champion to make his move. With Memphis trailing by a point and about 27 seconds left, Carroll bit. Miami's Dwyane Wade dribbled to 18 feet of the basket, delivered a head fake and drew contact while in the act of shooting. The basketball swished through the nets as a whistle blew. Carroll shook his head while Wade calmly converted a free throw to complete the three-point play. The Griz fell behind by four points and didn't score again Wednesday night before losing, 99-93, during preseason action in AmericanAirlines Arena. Too much Wade. Too many missed shots. Too little focus. Wade finished with 35 ..."
October 22
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Grizzlies center Marc Gasol granted ESPN Deportes an interview and smiled while dismissing another reporter. "You're not going to understand this," Gasol quipped. The NBA sure understands Spanish-speaking players and the importance of their audience. With 15 percent of the league's total fan base being Hispanic (roughly 18 million), the NBA launched a new campaign this week to help grow interest. Gasol is among several players who will contribute to the league's most comprehensive Hispanic campaign yet. "It's great," Gasol said. "It's not just Spain. But everybody in Mexico and South America loves the NBA. I'm excited about it. It's new for me because I haven't been in many campaigns.""