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.""
October 22
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Apparently Dwyane Wade can turn it on when he wants. Wednesday night, in the Heat's home exhibition finale, Wade wanted. So he scored 14 of the Heat's first 20 points and had 19 by halftime of what turned into a 99-93 victory over the Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I wanted to be aggressive, get my rhythm," he said. Feisty to the point that he was arguing with replacement referees who likely will be replaced by the real thing in time for next week's season opener, Wade pushed and prodded his teammates all the way back from what was an 18-point first-quarter deficit. Wade entered with a 16.3 preseason scoring average on 38.6-percent shooting, coming off of a bruised left calf that ..."
October 21
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Despite working with his teammates the past two days in practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade said Tuesday he remains uncertain whether he will play in Wednesday's exhibition against the Memphis Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena. Wade bruised his left calf during Thursday's exhibition victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Kansas City. "I have to see how it feels," Wade said. "I would love to play limited minutes. There's just soreness there." Also uncertain is the status of forward Michael Beasley, who sustained thumb and shoulder injuries over the weekend during practice. MRIs on each ailment came back negative, coach Erik Spoelstra said. Beasley was held ..."
October 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Returning close to his college roots, Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley spoke before Thursday night's 97-81 exhibition victory over the New Orleans Hornets about maturity and opportunities lost. Asked by those who covered him during his lone college season at Kansas State whether he might have been better off staying on campus for at least one additional year, Beasley did not necessarily disagree. "Now that I look back on it," he said, "maybe that would have helped. But I can't look back." A year removed from an uneven start to his pro career, Beasley said he is comfortable where he is in his second season with the Heat. "I'm just living my life right now, letting everything fall into ..."
October 12
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The experiment was put on hold Sunday. Michael Beasley was back at power forward for the Miami Heat, back at the spot where he built his lottery reputation at Kansas State, back where he earned first-team All-Rookie last season. The move certainly wasn't a definitive switch. Nothing can be definitive when Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili all are held out of the same game, which was the case with the 95-93 exhibition loss to the San Antonio Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena. But by playing Udonis Haslem off the bench, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave himself the chance to look at Plan B, which many considered Plan A when Beasley was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 ..."
September 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Addressing the extension offer the Miami Heat has on the table to star guard Dwyane Wade, agent Henry Thomas stressed Wednesday that it remains something his client can reconsider at any point before otherwise opting for free-agency next summer. "As long as the extension offer is there," Thomas said, "he can accept it at any time." Thomas stressed that his client would remain open-minded should the Heat move to satisfy Wade's desire for an upgraded roster by the mid-February trading deadline. "It is something," Thomas said, "he will continue to evaluate." With Wade hosting his charity weekend in Chicago, former Heat center Alonzo Mourning will bypass Thursday night's Basketball Hall of ..."
September 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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If you're squeamish about Dwyane Wade's future and a possible 2010 defection from the Heat, you may want to steer clear of anything coming out of Chicago this week. Starting Thursday, the Heat guard will be hosting his inaugural Wade's World Weekend in Chicago, a charity event resembling the Summer Groove he co-hosts with Alonzo Mourning in South Florida. That has meant plenty of face time in his hometown, ranging from media to promotional appearances, a schedule that figures to be even further amped in coming days. And that likely will be accompanied about speculation of a homecoming next summer with the Bulls, who could be in salary-cap position next July to add a top-tier free agent. ..."
August 12
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Two things to consider before any hyperventilating: Dwyane Wade is very, very rich, and very, very rich athletes have plenty of money to spend. And the Heat guard long has spent his summers in Chicago. Why the disclaimer? Because according to the real estate blog at ChicagoMag.com, Wade recently purchased a $1.4 million townhouse in the Kinzie Park area of Chicago. Granted, for most (all?) of us, that pretty much is the price tag on a fulltime residence, and there certainly is something to be said about a four-story residence on the riverfront. But also understand that NBA players own multiple homes, often keeping ties ..."
July 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Three years ago, July 12 was both warm and fuzzy in South Florida. It was the date that Dwyane Wade signed a four-year extension with the Miami Heat. "I got an opportunity once again to sign back with the Heat, the team that drafted me, and I'm looking forward to a bright future," Wade said that afternoon at AmericanAirlines Arena. Sunday, three years from when he signed that extension, the talented shooting guard becomes eligible for another extension. And while there is expected to be plenty of warmth Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena, what with Wade hosting the Summer Groove all-star charity game that evening along with Alonzo Mourning, Wade's long-term future remains more than a bit ..."
July 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The possibility of guard Dwyane Wade signing an extension with the Miami Heat might be out the door even before the door opens. While Wade can sign an extension beginning Sunday, a league source confirmed Tuesday than an arcane NBA rule would limit that extension to a maximum of three seasons beyond the two Wade already has on his current contract, the $14.4 million he is due this coming season and the $15.8 million he is due in 2010-11 in his option year. Yet if Wade instead waits until next summer and opts out of that 2010-11 season to become a free agent, he can sign a new six-year contract with the Heat. In effect, by extending his contract this summer, Wade can sign only through the ..."