13Oct

Luol Deng on facing the Hawks following this summer’s controversy: ‘Obviously, that’s going to be in the back of your head’

October 13, 2014 by

By Joe

Heat forward Luol Deng plays the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday for the first time since the organization used offensive language to describe him in a scouting report.

“Obviously that’s going to be in the back of your head, but it’s the players that you’re playing against,” Deng said. “They’re not the ones who said what was said.”

During a meeting with Hawks executives and owners over the summer, Hawks general manager Danny Ferry disparaged Deng by calling into question his character. Ferry also inferred that Deng’s African heritage somehow detracted from his abilities as a basketball player. Following the controversy, Ferry was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team.

Deng hopes to use the incident to “do something so someone benefits for the mistaken that was made,” but the Heat’s forward hasn’t had any contact with Ferry or the Hawks. Deng said on Monday after practice that he was closer to signing with the Hawks than the Heat at one point during free agency, and that interest from Chris Bosh helped sway Deng to the Heat.

…read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

13Oct

Heat makes first cuts to roster with more on the way

October 13, 2014 by

By Joe

The Heat waived Chris Johnson and Reggie Williams after returning from Rio de Janeiro. The roster stands at 18 players, but teams can only carry 15 players during the regular season.

At this point, five players are competing for two roster spots: guards Shannon Brown, Tyler Johnson and Andre Dawkins, and forwards Khem Birch and Shawn Jones. Based on playing time and the Heat’s needs, Brown and Dawkins appear to have inside tracks, but even those players aren’t locks. The Heat also could waive all five players and sign two free agents to fill out its roster.

Dawkins is a young player with nice range, and that combination is tough to find on the Heat’s roster. Brown offers a tough veteran presence and he told the Miami Herald last week that he’s confident he’ll be making the team.

…read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

13Oct

The Rio wrap-up blog post: Stuff I learned

October 13, 2014 by

By Joe

No.1 Don’t drink the water.

I’m not saying I went around chugging the stuff from the tap, but somewhere along the way my body was invaded by black death. Still, I managed to write THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS and I’m back at practice today, but don’t ask me how.

No.2 Blanket statement here: Chocolate in Brazil can save the world.

No.3 Huge growth potential for the NBA in Brazil. During one 15-minute walk, I saw about 10 beach volleyball players who could probably play right now in the D-League.

No.4 Good luck covering the Olympics, guys and gals. Get ready for all-day bus rides.

No.5 Those girls don’t think you’re cute. Those girls are working.

No.6 The NBA should adopt tassel nets.

No.7 When in doubt, stay as close as possible to the guys with the big guns.

No.9 They know how to throw parties in Rio.

IMG_3034

No.10 The Heat is a long way from ready for the regular season.

…read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

08Oct

The Heat has arrived in Rio de Janeiro and the Coke tastes like Coke

October 8, 2014 by

By Joe

For the first time in over four years, the Heat is on the outside staring into the LeBron fishbowl, and that reality is going to set in here in Rio de Janeiro over the next three days.

In the meantime, Chris Bosh says he’s just happy to be here.

“I’m looking forward to having a great time,” Bosh said. “I’ve never been. I think this is a chance for us to soak in another culture and take a nice trip in the NBA, so this is always a good opportunity to see the world. If it wasn’t for basketball, I wouldn’t have gone to 100 percent of the places that I’ve been to, so I’m very excited and looking forward to meeting to some Brazilians.”

Such an ambassador, that Christopher Wesson Bosh.

So … this Rio place is pretty exciting, and I can’t wait to experience it (or experience as much of it as the NBA security apparatus will allow. We had some kind of serious police/military/commando escort from the airport to the hotel, which is across the street from the beach.)

My first bit of Rio exploration invovled me trying a Coca-Cola. I just had to do. Coke! … In Rio! … And it …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

08Oct

On the Heat’s growing concerns at point guard and other observations from the second preseason game

October 8, 2014 by

By Joe

Norris Cole started at point guard and he played well, so that was a major positive for the Heat on Tuesday night in its second preseason game, a 108-101 overtime loss to the Orlando Magic.

Now the bad news.

While Cole’s debut at helm of the offense helped calm some troubled waters, it is already obvious (and sometimes painfully so) that the Heat’s needs at point guard go well beyond who is introduced on the videoboard before the game. Starter is important, yes, but so is depth, and the Heat doesn’t it have it right now in the backcourt.

The memory of LeBron James has cast a long shadow over the position.

Cole finished with six assists and two points in less than 27 minutes, and that allowed Mario Chalmers to come off the bench as something of a hybrid guard. I wouldn’t call it a true Sixth Man role at this point because, well, he also had to do plenty of ball handling, which has never been a true strength. The Heat could use a third point guard, but rookie Shabazz Napier is developing slowly.

Napier has received minutes at the end of both preseason games, but nothing more, and he has had trouble …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

07Oct

Stuff from the Heat’s shootaround today, including Spoelstra on LeBron, Stan Van Gundy and this ‘microwave society’ we all live in

October 7, 2014 by

By Joe

Dwyane Wade called the Heat’s point-guard position a work in progress on Tuesday after the Heat’s shoot around. The progress continues tonight with a home preseason game against the Orlando Magic before the team boards a plane for Brazil. The Heat plays LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday in Rio, and one of the biggest voids the Heat must fill after losing LeBron is at point guard. Mario Chalmers is the veteran at the position, but his role as completely different last year than what it is expected to be this season. Norris Cole is the backup at the position, but pushing to be the starter.

“We’ll need them to be aggressive,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of his point guards this season. “They’ll have more opportunities than they have in the past. I don’t want them thinking they have to shoulder all the responsibility to create opportunities for the rest of the team, but the more aggressive they are and the more confident they are, the better it is for us.”

Tons more from shootaround Spoelstra today:

## On the offense:

“We’ve made some progress. We’re trying to balance the two so we’re really trying to set the tone defensively for …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

07Oct

Vague and Tenebrous Tweets by Almario Vernard Chalmers: Did Chalmers get benched today?

October 7, 2014 by

By Joe

This is a running blog post of all the entertaining stuff Mario Chalmers writes on Twitter and/or Instagram…

This is a great thing, this new blog-post idea, because I can pretty much speculate about whatever I want because Mario Chalmers is so enjoyably vague and tenebrous when he communicates with … his fans? … his teammates? … his coaches? … his family? … himself? I’m not quite sure, but does it matter? That’s also part of the fun, obviously. Who the heck is Mario Chalmers talking to and what on Earth is he talking about?

Monday, Oct. 6, 2014

Is Mario Chalmers benched?

I raise this question based on purely anecdotal evidence, if you even want to call it that. After a long day of practice, in which the team ran over its scheduled stopping time by at least an hour, Chalmers posted this to Instagram:

“After the day of negativity I had it’s good to b around some positive energy…”

Why would Chalmers be depressed? Well, being demoted to second-string point guard is enough to put anyone from Miami in a bad mood. (Of course, so is being in stuck in traffic on Biscayne Boulevard waiting on that damn …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

07Oct

Josh McRoberts might not be fully healthy for the #Heat season opener, which is kind of a problem.

October 7, 2014 by

By Joe

Last week we asked the all-important question “Is it time to start worrying about the Heat’s projected starting power forward?” and the answer appears to be yes. Yes, it is time to worry.

On Monday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra indicated that Josh McRoberts might not be cleared medically in time for the start of the regular season. The Heat opens the season on Oct. 29 with a home game against the Washington Wizards. McRoberts is recovering from offseason surgery on is left great toe.

“It’s too early to tell, but he’s doing a lot,” Spoelstra said. “I anticipate he’ll increase his workload significantly in the next week to 10 days.

The Heat plays the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena on Tuesday before flying to Brazil for a preseason game against LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers. McRoberts certainly isn’t expected to play in either game unless, of course, Spoelstra is being completely evasive, which sometimes he is wont to do.

But, for the purposes of this blog post, let’s assume McRoberts is out for at least the next 10 days, which means at best he’ll be back for the Heat’s preseason home game against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 17. That …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

05Oct

Here are three things to think about after tonight’s loss by the #Heat

October 5, 2014 by

By Joe

STUFF I’M THINKING ABOUT

1. Could rookie forward James Ennis average more than 10 points per game as a rookie?

If that actually happened, everyone in the Heat’s scouting department should get raises. An unexpected offensive infusion this season from someone like Ennis would certainly help compensate for the loss of LeBron James. Ennis led the Heat with 17 points tonight in Miami’s 98-86 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Ennis, who played in Perth, Australia, last year, is an athletic wing who has put in the work developing his outside shot since graduating from Long Beach State. The Heat is hoping for big things from Ennis as a back-up to Luol Deng, and he delivered in his first NBA preseason game.

2. Birdman and Josh McRoberts didn’t play. Is it time to start worrying?

Probably not, but it’s not a positive sign that Chris Andersen finished last season with an injury and he’s nursing another injury after the first week of training camp. Soreness and aches and pains are common in the preseason, of course, but for someone who relies so much on athleticism, it’s at least worth noting. Josh McRoberts is being held out …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

02Oct

Stuff I saw at the Heat scrimmage and other things from training camp like the depth chart and also some craft beer

October 2, 2014 by

By Joe

So, let’s start this blog post by first making note that, while I was setting up my laptop and munching on some carrots courtside on Wednesday night before the Heat’s scrimmage, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra walked up for some small talk and asked, “What could you possibly write about this scrimmage or take away from it?” or something like that.

And then I wrote this: MY STORY IN TODAY’S PAPER ABOUT THE HEAT’S SCRIMMAGE

Spoelstra also asked me if I was on a gluten-free diet because I was eating carrots and almonds, and I assured him that, no, I prefer gluten over all other protein composites because, well, obviously and also and such and such and so on.

Well, turns out, there were things worth observing from the scrimmage — important things, actually. As in, who didn’t play.

Chris Andersen didn’t compete in the scrimmage and neither did Josh McRoberts. Andersen has a sore calf muscle, and of course you would have known this immediately last night if you follow me on Twitter. McRoberts still hasn’t been fully cleared by the Heat’s training staff after having …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat