Miami Heat Beggining of the Season Recap by Raanan Katz

10Nov

Miami Heat Beggining of the Season Recap by Raanan Katz

November 10, 2014 by Raanan Katz

Raanan-Katz-Miami-Heat-new-big-3 The Miami Heat have started this season off with a bang, winning five out of their first seven games. They started the season winning their first three games against Washington, Philadelphia and Toronto. They lost their next two games against Houston and Charlotte and won their next two games after that against Minnesota and Dallas. Their next game is on Wednesday as they welcome the Indiana Pacers to American Airlines Arena.

The Heat are at top of the Southeast Division tied with the Washington Wizards. Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade are carrying most of the load scoring 23.6 points and 19.7 points respectively. Bosh is averaging a double double as he is also averaging 10.3 rebounds per game. Luol Deng is also picking up his load, averaging 15.6 points per game. After the loss of LeBron James; Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and Luol Deng have stepped up to become the new “Big Three” of the Miami Heat.

Luol Deng just came off of a dominating performance against the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night, scoring 30 points. The new Heat “Big 3” has averaged 60.2 points, 17.8 rebounds, and 11.7 assists.

Miami Heat fans were of course worried after the loss of LeBron James, and the new signing of Luol Deng didn’t necessarily resolve those worries. Although, Deng is nowhere near filling the hole left by LeBron, he is doing a more than adequate job in the role that he has been assigned.

Deng is averaging 15.6 points per game and shooting a career-high 56% from the field. He is also playing a career low 30 minutes per game, elevating his efficiency rating to just under 20. Bosh and Wade playing at a high level has been quintessential to the Heat’s success, but Deng filling in the holes and playing his role has also been an important factor.

Raanan Katz looks forward to watching his team’s hopeful continued success. With the return of Danny Granger in a couple of days, the Heat are looking to improve on their already successful campaign. Take a look here for new updates on the Miami Heat roster.

10Nov

#Heat guard Dwyane Wade opens up about #LeBron James and the struggling #Cavaliers

November 10, 2014 by Raanan Katz

By Joe

Dwyane Wade has played in every game this season and he’ll be in the starting lineup on Sunday night here in Dallas. He’s feeling good, his body has responded well to the beginning of the season and his team has a better record than his good buddy LeBron James up in Cleveland.

In other words, it’s a good time to weigh in on the NBA’s biggest story to start the season, the early struggles of those very same Cavaliers and LeBron’s role on the team. Any advice Wade would give LeBron at this point in the season?

“He has all the tools he needs,” Wade said. “We’ve been through it together where we ran into struggles as a team. You’re going to do that in the season whether it’s in the beginning of the season, or sometimes in the middle or sometimes at the end. He’s a four-time MVP. He’s a two-time champion. I’m sure he’ll figure it out as a leader.”

The Heat is 4-2 entering Sunday’s game against the Mavericks and the Cavaliers are 2-3 with a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. In a sense, both the Heat and Cavaliers are starting from scratch this season, …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

04Nov

With corporate logos on the way, Josh McRoberts is just ahead of his time with the jersey-ripping thing

November 4, 2014 by Raanan Katz

By Joe

Heat forward Josh McRoberts is still an unknown quantity with his new team, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t already made an impression on fans. In his first home game since coming back from offseason toe surgery, McRoberts wasted no time in cultivating his appeal when he ripped his jersey down the middle like Hulk Hogan.

The destruction of McRoberts’ jersey looked intentional — like a baseball player breaking a bat over his knee — but on Monday the former Bobcats man said that wasn’t the case.

“It looked crazy,” McRoberts said. “It looked like I was trying to rip it apart. I usually just pull on it and hold onto the top of it…When it started to go, it just went and it made it look like I was ripping it even more. But it wasn’t cool.”

So, it doesn’t sound McRoberts is going to make the jersey-ripping thing part of the nightly show, and that’s too bad. Just think of all the marketing and sponsorship opportunities…OK, I can’t think of any off hand, but when the Heat and other NBA teams slap corporate logos on their jerseys in a few years, players who rip …read more

Source:: Raanan Katz – Miami Herald – Miami Heat

04Nov

Luol Deng compares offensive philosophies for #Heat and #Bulls

November 4, 2014 by Raanan Katz

By Joe

A long-time player for the Chicago Bulls and now a starter for the Miami Heat, forward Luol Deng has played for two of the best coaches in the Eastern Conference. On Tuesday, he offered some insightful commentary on the difference between the Bulls’ offensive philosophy under coach Tom Thibodeau and the offensive principles that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra uses:

“Here our guards are more pick-and-roll and trying to find the open guy and the next guy is making a play and it’s becoming contagious. In Chicago we slowed the game down, we got stops and we slowed it down and tried to get the best shot possible that we could get. We stuck to the plays. Here it’s more of reads. You read the game, and guys have a high IQ and they’re just making plays after plays and making each other better.”

Deng has fit in well with his new team through the first three games of the season. He’s averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 57.6 percent from the floor.

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 Raanan Katz

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.

13Oct

Heat makes first cuts to roster with more on the way

October 13, 2014 by Raanan Katz

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.

13Oct

The Rio wrap-up blog post: Stuff I learned

October 13, 2014 by Raanan Katz

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.

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

08Oct

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

October 8, 2014 by Raanan Katz

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 Raanan Katz

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 Raanan Katz

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