Heat on Hot Streak

D-Wade put on a show against the Kings, scoring 36 points

     LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh have all been hearing it from the critics and nay-sayers all season long. But it has been kind of quiet lately. The reason is because the Heat have won eight consecutive games, their best stretch of basketball thus far this season. During that span, no opponent had surpassed the 100 point mark. Something also worth mentioning is the defense the Heat have been playing. During the four game road-trip, opponents have been held down to an average of 85.8 points per game.

D-Wade to LeBron. Get used to it.

     Before heading on the four-game road-trip, the Heat had already won four straight games. The goal was to come out of the road-trip perfect, doubling the win streak total. The first game was against the defensive-minded Milwaukee Bucks. It was definitely a great defensive game for the Heat as they held the Bucks to only 34% from the field. The Heat also held the Bucks to just 78 points as they won 88-78. D-Wade led the way with 25 points while LeBron added 17 and Bosh 16. As I mentioned in the previous post, the key to winning was containing Brandon Jennings. The Heat did just that. Jennings finished with 13 points, shooting a miserable 5-16 from the field.

LeBron drives against a Jazz defender

     The Utah Jazz were next up. They had defeated the Heat earlier this season-- coming back from a 20+ point deficit. Miami didn't forget what happened earlier this season, especially LeBron. King James lit up the Jazz with 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as the Heat defeated the Jazz, 111-98. D-Wade chipped in with 28 points and Bosh with 14 points. Good thing the big three brought their A-game because Deron Williams and Al Jefferson brought theirs. They scored 21 and 25 points, respectively. The win gave the Heat their third straight road win, sixth straight overall.
     The Heat then headed up to northern Cali. They easily took care of business out there- first defeating the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, 106-84 and then the Sacramento Kings the next night, 104-83. D-Wade led the way in both games with 34 points in the win against the Warriors and 36 in the win against the Kings. With those two wins, the Heat improved their record to 17-8, second best in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics. The win also gave them their eighth straight victory.
     After the win on Saturday night, D-Wade had this to say about the team's defense: "We are getting on the same page. It took time, we knew it was going to take time for everyone to understand the concepts of what we do defensively here, how our rotations work. I think we said earlier in the year it would take between 20 to 25 games and we're around that mark."

The Heat will have a chance to avenge their loss against the Hornets

    Miami is definitely streaking right now. They will return back home with their win streak on Monday to face the New Orleans Hornets, who had previously defeated them earlier this season. Again, the key to winning will be stopping the point-guard--all-star Chris Paul,-- or at least, containing him. If the Heat want to win their ninth straight game, they must continue to play the way they have been playing during the streak-- stingy defense and an uptempo offensive game.

Heat Back on Track; Homecoming for the King

LeBron lets out a laugh during his emotional return to Cleveland.

     After all the trials and tribulations they faced recently, the Heat still managed to string together four straight wins this past week. They defeated the Wizards, Pistons, Cavaliers and Hawks en route to their winning streak. Granted most of the teams they beat weren't all that great, the four consecutive wins help boost the Heat's morale and chemistry. The team's looking more relaxed and loose now, as opposed to being uptight about everything that has been going on around them. The Heat, 13-8, now move into third place in the conference, trailing only the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.

The King arriving in Cleveland surrounded by the media.

      This past week was an emotional one for LeBron. December 2, 2010 marked the day when LeBron made his return to his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. There was so much hype and hoopla surrounding this game- it was ridiculous.LeBron was greeted by dozens of lights and cameras the moment he set foot at the Quicken Loans Arena. They followed him until he got to the visitor's locker room. But what everyone was waiting for was the kind of reception Cleveland fans would give LeBron when he stepped onto the court. It was expected of the Cleveland fans to be hostile, but everyone wanted to see what gimmicks they had in store for their once beloved King James.

Cavs fans show their anger towards LeBron.

     As LeBron made his way to the court with the Heat, they were a immediately showered with boos. It rained down on them throughout warm-ups. The fans brought it all out- posters, signs, t-shirts, chants, etc. They wanted to let LeBron know how they felt. But not everyone was hostile towards LeBron. Some of LeBron's former teammates including Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao, gave LeBron the biggest hugs in the world. There were lots of laughing and joking around throughout the game. The media would later criticize the Cavs about it saying that the Cavs let down their fans, that they didn't show any fight in them, and that they just let LeBron come in and do whatever he wanted.
    As for the game itself, it was no competition. LeBron took over from the start and dominated his former team en route to a 118-90 demolition. Though he was booed every time he touched the ball, LeBron torched the Cavs with 38 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. This was all done in three quarter's work; LeBron sat out the whole fourth. And it was in the third quarter where he did most of his damage, scoring 24 of his 38 points. After the game, James said, "I'm tired now. I'm very, very exhausted. I didn't get much sleep last night and I didn't get much sleep today in my usual routine. But I'm glad we played well as a team."

Jennings will be one of the Heat's concerns.

   Now, with this whole LeBron-Cleveland drama behind them, the Heat can move forward. They will face a difficult test as they embark on a 4-game road-trip that starts tomorrow night at Milwaukee. They will be facing a young and upcoming team led by one of the most exciting point guards in the game, Brandon Jennings. The Heat's Achilles heel has been their play at the point guard position. In most of their losses, point guards have lit them up (remember what Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Deron Williams- to name a few- have done to them?).  The key to the game will be holding down the aforementioned Jennings to a sub-par game. If the Heat can do that, along with a balanced attack on the offensive end, then expect them to end the game with a season-high fifth straight victory.

Coach Spoelstra in the Hot Seat?

LeBron bumping into Coach Spoelstra during a timeout has been the talk throughout the league

     Trouble seems to be brewing in Miami because of the recent performances by the Heat. Heading into December, they are just 9-8, losing four of their last five games. They are just one game over .500 right now and there just seems to be a lot of panic and confusion in South Beach. Everyone's quick to blame the head coach, though.
     According to ESPN, the players have grown weary and are starting to question Coach Spoelstra. There are some reasons as to why the players feel this way about Coach Spoelstra. The first is the players not being able to be themselves. Spoelstra has asked LeBron to be more serious on the court. We all know LeBron is fun and playful on the court and now that he's asked to be more serious, he feels like he's not being himself. Secondly, the offense looks too pedestrian and too simple. In the words of an anonymous source, it's "a bunch of pick and rolls and getting open for a shot." And lastly, the constant talk about Spoelstra's job status. The players feel like Spoelstra is coaching to keep his job instead of coaching to win. Evidently, this affects the way the team plays. Whatever the reasons may be, changes are bound to happen.
     In the loss against the Mavericks this past Saturday, the talk about the game was the infamous "bump". As Coach Spoelstra called time-out, LeBron walked past by him, bumping him in the shoulder along the way. Lots of people are speculating that that was intentional and that it was LeBron's frustration showing.
     Asked about the Heat's situation, guard Dwyane Wade said in a press conference, "Right now, in my opinion, no one is doing a good job. We're 9-and-8. We're all in this together. The players are not doing a good job. The coach is not doing a good job."

LeBron will face his former team on Thursday

   Everyone in Cleveland has to be enjoying this ongoing turmoil down in South Beach. And with all the off-court issues, this week's game against Cleveland doesn't seem like a big deal anymore. No, don't let that fool you. It is still a very big deal. I'm sure everyone, not just Cleveland and Miami fans, has Thursday December 2, 2010 (8 pm eastern on TNT) circled on their calendar. The crowd is expected to be very hostile, so hostile that the NBA has taken precautionary measures and will have extra security for LeBron's arrival in Cleveland. TNT's Kenny Smith says this will probably be the most-watched regular season game in NBA history.

A Roller Coaster Week for the Heat

     With all the noise they made in the summer, the Miami Heat knew they'd be heavily scrutinized this season. Now, four weeks into the season-and their record at just 6-4- the Heat haters are yapping about how much of a disappointment the Heat are.  It's been less than a month into the season and everyone's deeming this project a failure already. But that's the problem. It's too soon. How about we wait until June to see who hoists up the Larry O'Brien trophy? How about we wait 2-3 years down the line? Let's give this experiment some time and see how many titles LeBron James and co. bring to South Beach. Then we can talk. In the meanwhile, let's take it game by game, season by season, and see what the Heat are doing now.

     As I mentioned earlier, we are now nearing the end of the fourth week of the season. It's still a fairly young season, yet, people are saying the Heat are in trouble. Their record (8-5) has a lot to do with it. With losses to the Celtics (twice), the Hornets, the Jazz, and the Grizzlies, critics are questioning whether or not this Heat team is what we all thought they'd be- a championship contender. Some are even going as far as creating a website to get Head Coach Erik Spoelstra fired.

     The Heat won two of the three games they played this week . They defeated the Suns Wednesday night, 123-96, the Bobcats on Friday night, 95-87, and lost to Grizzlies Saturday night, 97-95-thanks to a Rudy Gay buzzer-beater. All-star guard Dwyane Wade sat out Saturday night's game for precautionary measures because of an injured wrist. There's no timetable for his return but we should be seeing D-Wade back on the court soon. Also, reserve forward, Udonis Haslem, injured his foot- believed to be a torn ligament in his left foot- during the Grizzlies' game, and maybe out for several weeks.Veteran forward, Juwan Howard, is expected to step in and fill the void. 

     On a brighter note, LeBron James was nominated earlier this week for Time's Person of the Year award. James said that he was humbled by the nomination, evening noting that he wouldn't even vote for himself if he had the chance to.