01Oct

Udonis Haslem signs on to be an executive producer of an inspiring film about a South Florida youth basketball coach with ALS

By Joe

Heat power forward Udonis Haslem has signed on to be an executive producer of an inspiring film about a South Florida youth basketball coach with ALS.

The film “Who is Lou Gehrig?” is being directed by Gil Green, who is well known in the music video business and also directs commercials and the Heat’s player introduction videos. Green’s lifelong friend, Jeff Fogel, has ALS, but continues to coach girls’ youth basketball at the North Miami JCC. The movie will focus on Fogel’s powerful imagination, which he uses as a coaching tool.

“He doesn’t make it about himself and he doesn’t crawl into a shell and give into his circumstances and limit himself,” Haslem said of Fogel. “He continues to use his mind and use his heart to contribute to others and give back. For me, that’s just like the ultimate, because I’ve known people who have had diseases and illnesses and just kind of given up and gone into a shell.

“His story is inspiring.”

The finished film will be screened at this year’s Borscht Film Festival, which is Dec. 18-21. The film will feature Haslem’s debut as an actor. He will play himself. Many of Fogel’s lessons as a coach revolve around his …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

01Oct

Is it time to start worrying about the health of the Heat’s projected starting power forward?

By Joe

Heat power forward Josh McRoberts will not play in the Heat’s preseason scrimmage on Wednesday night, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the team’s morning training session.

McRoberts had surgery after last season’s playoffs to remove bone spurs in his left great toe. The Heat is being overly cautious to work McRoberts back slowly. He is expected to start at power forward for the Heat this season. McRoberts’ recovery process is a concern for the team, but nothing to panic about at this point.

“He has been able to do more each day,” Spoelstra said. “We’re progressing him. We’re trying to be smart about it. We’re still almost 30 days until the first game, so we want to make he’s taking steps forward and not steps back.

“But he had a great summer of the work. The last three weeks he was able to spend here in our facilities and work with our coaches but also get the necessary treatment and work with our training staff.”

McRoberts played well in an expanded role last season for the Charlotte Hornets, and the former Duke standout strengthened his profile and reputation with inspired play against the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. His physical …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

01Oct

Some questions before the Heat’s open scrimmage tonight

By Joe

With weary legs and nagging pains from five days of training camp, tonight’s Heat intra-squad scrimmage at AmericanAirlines Arena will likely be light on revelatory observations. Still, this is the first time anyone outside of coaches and team personnel have observed the Heat together sans LeBron, so there is some intrigue.

Here are five things I’ll be looking for tonight. The scrimmage begins at 7 p.m. and fans can watch it live at Heat.com.

1. How will Chris Bosh be used?

With LeBron in Cleveland, Bosh is now the team’s most versatile player. He’ll play the four and five this season, and both Bosh and Dwyane Wade have hinted toward Bosh doing a little bit of everything with the ball in his hands — back to the basket, driving, three-point shooing, distributing. Bosh’s number of touches in the team scrimmage should be more than double from the last four years. Wade is still the team’s major offensive threat from the wing, but Bosh will be at the heart of everything the Heat does on both ends of the floor. How he transitions into his new role as a franchise player is the major question facing the Heat. Off the court, Bosh …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

29Sep

Wanna be a D-League baller? Here’s your big chance

By Joe

One of the great things about the Heat’s affiliation with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League is that pretty much each year the teams are going to hold open tryouts and roll the balls out for anybody who wants to try and make the team.

This year’s tryouts are set, and the Miami tryout for the Sioux Falls Skyforce will be held Sunday, Oct. 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Ransom Everglades High School. The application deadline for the tryout is Friday, Oct. 17., so don’t procrastinate. (See information below about the application process.)

The Heat has invested a lot of time, energy and money into its relationship with the Skyforce, so this tryout isn’t just some kind of publicity stunt. Heat and Skyforce personnel will be on hand to evaluate potential players, so that means if you want to ball in front of a real live Heat executive, here’s your chance.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll make the team, play a few years in the D-League and then get picked up by a team overseas. Or, maybe you’re a late bloomer with a 44-inch vertical and you just want to dunk on somebody at Ransom Everglades in front of NBA …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

29Sep

Wade on LeBron and other things he said today at #Heat training camp

By Joe

Some notes on Dwyane Wade and stuff from Day 3 of the Heat’s training camp…

—The morning session was teaching intensive and Dwyane Wade some of the new players need to do a better job of learning on the fly.

—The team took a break for lunch and air mattresses are available for players who don’t want to leave the arena during training camp. Tonight’s schedule includes some live-ball drills at full speed.

—Wade called Norris Cole “a monster” defensively, and said the next step in his career would be learning “how to be effective as a point guard and as a scoring guard.”

“He’s got to figure out the perfect way to do that, and it’s not always easy for guys,” Wade said. “But if he can figure it out, he can be very dangerous for us. But I’m very confident. He’s a kid who loves to work, and he wants to be as great as he wants to be. So, I think he’ll figure it out.”

—Wade on LeBron: “I don’t have no cameras in Cleveland. I don’t know what’s going on on the court.”

—Wade had some loud and colorful neon yellow Li-Ning shorts on today. I asked him if they were …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

28Sep

Stuff Birdman says

By Joe

I’ve decided it’s high time to start a running blog of the stuff Birdman says. Some of the quotes will have context, and others will just stand alone on their own two feet…

Friday, Sept. 26, 2014

—Asked about playing for such a bargain price during the 2013-14 season. (Birdman played for the veteran’s minimum, but was still receiving a salary from his previous contract with the Denver Nuggets.)

“I was playing at a bargain last year? I was getting two checks. That’s what they called me in the locker room. ‘Hey, what’s up, Two Checks?'”

—On if he worked out of the summer

“I lifted boxes. I walked in the Texas heat. I walked up and down a mountain at 11,000 feet.”

—On the new flavor of his power drink, Birdzilla.

“I’m not going to tell you what flavor it is, but it might be greet tea with ginseng.”

…read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

28Sep

Some stuff from the first day of #Heat training camp (More on Chalmers-LeBron thing and a Danny Granger update)

By Joe

FIRST, a link to my story on the first day of training camp…CLICK ME! (Important note on Birdmanzilla at the end of the story, so read all the way down.)

Now some other stuff…

Let’s clear the air a little bit on the controversy/none controversy that cropped up involving Mario Chalmers on Friday.

As I posted to Twitter on Friday, Chalmers did refer to LeBron James as “that guy” during Media Day. But Chalmers didn’t seem to choose that wording as a slight to James. A reporter asked Chalmers if he did it on purpose and Chalmers quickly corrected himself.

“We don’t have to call him that guy,” Chalmers said. “He’s still King James, LeBron.”

Still an oddly worded way to refer to someone — surname first, like when you’re at the social security office — but it was pretty clear Mario meant no disrespect. Chalmers put out a tweet directed at LeBron just to clarify, which was also a little odd.

Anyway, moving on…

If you haven’t read Lee Jenkins’ profile of Erik Spoelstra over at SI.com, you should probably do that. Great work as always by one of the best sportswriters in the business.

I chatted with Justin Hamilton for …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

26Sep

Chris Bosh’s message to the City of Miami

By Joe

Chris Bosh might be a familar name, but he will play a new role this season for the Heat. He’s the team’s marquee player with LeBron now in Cleveland and Dwyane Wade expected to miss a large chunk of games resting his knees.

On Friday, Bosh sounded ready to accept the challege:

“I’ve been in a similar position like this before in the past, and I feel like I can bring a lot to this team. I’ve had to play a role in the last four years, but moving forward I think I can show just the city and the organization what value I can bring — how much I can turn up the intensity and how much more weight I can put on my shoulders.”

…read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

26Sep

Luol Deng hopes to turn controversy of Danny Ferry’s comments “into something positive”

By Joe

Speaking with reporters on Friday at Heat Media Day, forward Luol Deng said he hoped to turn the racially sensitive comments made by Hawks general manager Danny Ferry “into something positive.”

Deng signed with the Heat this offseason after LeBron James left for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Deng will be an important player this season for a team that has reached four straight NBA Finals. But instead of talking about how he will fit into the Heat’s system this season, Deng spoke at length on Friday about the offseason controversy caused by Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry, who disparaged Deng with some racially charged comments during a meeting with Hawks executives.

“I do forgive them,” Deng said of the Hawks. “It’s not something that I want to hold onto for the rest of my career or my life.”

In a player evaluation during the meeting, Ferry said Deng was “a good guy, but he’s not perfect. He’s got some African in him. I don’t say that in a negative way.”

Ferry later took an indefinite leave of absence from the Hawks after the comments were made public.

“I don’t think Danny is racist,” Deng said.

…read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

11Sep

Miami Heat’s Last Off-Season Acquisition Prospects

Raanan-Katz-Chris-Bosh-Miami-Heat-compressorThis off-season the Miami Heat have spent the most money out of any other team in the NBA as the team still has holes in their lineup that need addressing. The absence of LeBron James along with potential injury issues for Dwyane Wade and Josh McRoberts show a depth concern for the reigning eastern conference champions. The team might look to add a player with potential that is not yet proven to add to their bench. Right now, the Miami Heat have 11 player on their roster with guaranteed salaries. During this time of the season, they are basically looking for a player to fill their last roster spot and possibly act as a team mentor during practice.  This player could also be one of the last players off the bench to add energy during a team mental break in a pivotal moment of a game.

Ryan Hollins is a great example of this. He has the energy-filling capabilities as the would-be Heat third center, and he has veteran leadership that could be used throughout practice. Another option is Jordan Crawford. Crawford can be an excellent playmaker off the bench, which is something that the Miami Heat are looking for. Emeka Okafor is also attracting a lot of attention. Though his injury past worries many people, Emeka Okafor could be a great investment for the Heat bench. Miami experienced some bad results with Greg Oden, but Okafor’s injury should be easier to handle. Do the Miami Heat need another Udonis Haslem? Dante Cunningham could fill that void and possibly beat Haslem for the spot as the mid-range big-man with great athleticism. Miami can only offer whoever they pick up minimum salary at this point, so since the Clippers just waved Miroslav Raduljica, the Heat could definitely use his size and rebounding abilities off the bench.