'13 All things Heat thread

[Jace]

SIGN HIM RILES

[Wade County]

I'd be interested in Okafor/Seraphin/Booker/Vesely. Jan Vesely has been awful so far, but he looks like he could be a good defender in the right situation. Washington doesn't appear to be a good fit.

SURPRISES AND DISSAPOINTMENTS SO FAR THIS SEASON FOR THE MIAMI HEAT

Surprise: Shane Battier

After Battier's shocking regular season with Miami where he shot a career low 38.7%, many wondered if we'd made a mistake giving him a 3yr deal. After his huge performances when Bosh went down in the playoffs though, we all knew where Shane's value stood. This year he is off to a great start, defending PF's much bigger than himself to spare Lebron the duty, and spacing the floor extremely well, averaging a career high 2.1 threes per game on a career high 45.8% clip. Great start, hopefully the knee sprain is minor.

Dissapointment: The Point Guard play

I had hoped Mario turned a corner with his 'come of age' play in the Finals. He was huge for us, and hit many timely shots. But so far this year Rio has taken a step back to the 2010-2011 season play. For a guy who gets THAT MANY open looks, he really can't shoot 41.0% from the floor and 33.3% from 3pt land. He is averaging under a three per game this season so far, which is a career worst. His assists are up, which is a plus, but I was hoping for more steady play from Rio.

Norris Cole has not exactly turned the corner either. Besides the one big trey in the Nuggets game, Norris has taken a step back also. Shooting just 33% from the floor and 23% from 3pt land is not getting the job done, and he is turning the ball over too often for a backup. If he doesn't pick it up, I can see Pat pushing for a Derek Fisher type near the trade deadline.

Surprise: Chris Bosh's jumper

Not sure if it's a surprise per se, as Chris has always had a solid jump shot, but he's been automatic this year. Doesn't matter if it's catch and shoot, posting up and fading away, or what...it's going down. Shooting at a career high 56% so far, he has been fantastic - and has helped soften the blow felt by a poor start by Wade.

Dissapointment: Dwyane Wade

I love D3, but his play has been very spotty. I hoped his Finals appearance was an abberation built mostly on his sore knee that required surgery than actual declining skill, but Dwyane hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire. Already banged up, and looking lost at times with his role in the offense, I hope Dwyane can get himself untracked and be back to the superstar 2 guard we know he is. 18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists aren't bad numbers, but they aren't Dwyane Wade numbers.

[Jace]

Very on point. Wade at least has the built in excuse of the knee surgery. He told us during training camp he doesn't expect to be at peak performance until much later in the season. Chalmers, and to a lesser extent Cole, have been the bigger disappointment for me. Rio has lost weight and supposedly worked hard on his game this summer, but looks worse (other than passing) than last season. Hoping water meets its level and he gives us an extended hot streak at some point from 3. We also haven't seen him create his offense as much as in the playoffs. Worst part is that his defense is as bad as ever, and in my opinion much of the reason we've struggled defensively as a team. He kindly invites opposing PGs to waltz into the lane and make plays, either at the rim or for open 3's after rotations. Cole has the excuse of having learned a whole lot this summer, and needs some time to learn how to properly apply it.

Vesely intrigued me a whole lot prior to his draft. Despite him being terrible so far, I'd still take a look. WAS has a way of making talent look awful, so I wouldn't be surprised if he thrived in a better environment.

[Smithian]

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bpbv9dp

A Wizards writer proposed it.... Do what the stats say, Riles

[Dee-Zy]

WTF?!?!?!

[Wade2Bosh]

Originally Posted by Smithian

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bpbv9dp

A Wizards writer proposed it.... Do what the stats say, Riles

This is all anyone who doesnt like John Hollinger's advanced stats has to show people to get their point across.

[Wade2Bosh]

LeBron jersey No. 1 in sales; Heat No. 2 to Knicks

The NBA this morning released jersey sales numbers, with LeBron James back atop the players' list and the Miami Heat ranking second in team sales only to the New York Knicks.

James, who last held the top spot in April 2011, climbed from No. 4, pushing ahead of previous leader Derrick Rose, with the sidelined Chicago Bulls guard falling to No. 5.

At No. 2 on the newly released list is Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who, after making his NBA Finals debut in June, jumped from No. 8.

Rounding out the top five are Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant at No. 3 and New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony at No. 4.

The list is based on sales at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York and on NBAStore.com from April 2012 through Nov. 26, 2012.

As far as team sales, the Knicks rose from No. 2 to No. 1, overtaking the top spot from the Bulls, who are at No. 4. The 2012 Heat came in at No. 2, with the Lakers at No. 3 and the Boston Celtics at No. 5.

[Wade2Bosh]

Really cool Vid from Grantland, chronicling PTI and how their opinion on Lebron over the years.




Wilbon...yeesh. Someone at Grantland doesnt like him

[Jace]

I've had that open in a tab for two days now. Need to get around to watching it.

As far as the jersey sales, we'd be no. 1 if NY hadn't gotten new unis. I wonder how many Ray-Ray jerseys sold country-wide.

Originally Posted by Wade2Bosh

This is all anyone who doesnt like John Hollinger's advanced stats has to show people to get their point across.

?

It has the Wizards adding 11 wins and us losing 11. Should it be more? Perhaps, but the other way around would be the argument against Holli.

[Wade2Bosh]

Ah, read it as the other way around

[Wade2Bosh]

Good to see Wade working on that floater. He's been way off with it for a while now.

[Jace]

OT: Wow. Rondo's attempt to reach Stockton's streak ends because he started a fight with Kris Humphries and got ejected. How fitting is that? He played while getting blown out by the Pistons to desperately reach 10 with under a minute left recently.

[Dee-Zy]

**** Rondo.

[Wade2Bosh]

Didnt even seem like much. Wonder if there was prior history there or if it was just Rondo being Rondo?

A little later, Joe Johnson made Paul Pierce look silly

[Jace]

Tough week for PP.