Heat 2012 Off-Season Thread

[Wade2Bosh]

Wade Still Looking for Shot, Rhythm

The mistake, Dwyane Wade said, was going public with his intent of hiring a shooting coach this offseason.

"So many people starting calling me after that. Everybody was trying to work with me. I had to call my agent to make it stop," the Miami Heat guard said with a laugh amid his book tour, which Saturday included a stop at the Dolphin Mall to autograph copies of "A father First: How my life became bigger than basketball."

The reality, Wade said, is what he really needed was a catching coach.

In the wake of a season where he felt his jumper got away from him, Wade said upon further review it was not as much about how he was shooting the ball as how he was going through that motion.

Now, with training camp three weeks away, he believes he has a grasp on the situation.

"I have one of the best mid-range shots in the league," he said. "But, obviously, when you have different injuries, it makes you change a little bit. So it's just about getting back to that comfort of it and finding out where you are now.

"My midrange game is very important to me. The biggest thing is coming out of my pull-up without losing the ball and just making sure it comes through my hand the right way. When it comes to my shot exactly, I don't have a bad shot. There's other reasons why I come up short a lot. So it's just trying to work the kinks out."

Wade said he now has a shooting coach lined up. But what he doesn't have, at least at the moment, are his legs, having only recently returned to court work following his July 9 arthroscopic knee surgery.

"It's great to get back on the court," he said. "But, obviously, I've got a lot of work to do to get to what I want to. Now it's just taking things slow. We're not rushing through it."

A week ago there was a session with Heat assistant coach David Fizdale, with additional sessions this weekend before heading back out for the next segment of his book tour.

"It's basketball stuff, basketball drills," he said of the sessions, "and doing something different every day, and with my trainer, doing other things when it comes to the rehab part of it, making sure that my knee and my body can get used to this kind of work for games."

By the time he gets to the Los Angeles portion of his book tour at the end of the week, he is hopeful of stepping into games, with several NBA players working out there.

"Right now, I'm trying to settle down, to do something different, to get the feeling back," he said.

[Jace]

Great to hear how much thinking and breaking down of his shot he's doing, and that he's following through with the shooting coach instead of backing off it and blaming the injury. Also awesome to hear he's already apparently cleared for full contact since he wants to play with all the guys out in LA later this week (it seems 80% of the league now goes there to train during the offseason).

THIRD BEST?: You may want to circle Dec. 12 and Jan. 16 on your Heat calendars. That's when Wade and the Heat will face Mark Jackson's Golden State Warriors. That's the same Jackson who told the Indianapolis Star in advance of Reggie Miller's Hall of Fame induction, "When you take Michael Jordan and you take Kobe Bryant out of the discussion, he's as good as any two-guard that has ever played the game." Even if you choose to get past Wade, how about Jerry West, you know, Jackson's boss with the Warriors? Miller, a Jackson teammate with the Indiana Pacers, certainly had his moments, but by the time Wade is done, figure on the Wade/West debate to ring more tangible for at least No. 3 at shooting guard than any involving the now-TNT analyst.

Heh, apparently someone got to Mark already, because when I saw him on NBATV yesterday he was saying Miller was fourth behind Jordan, Bryant, and Wade. I'm surprised people outside of Miami even put him there. Not because he isn't worthy, but because he's generally underappreciated.

How far down is AI?

[Jace]

Q: Did Miami make a big mistake by not picking up Andray Blatche when it had the chance? -- Michael, Orlando.

A: As has been stated many times previously in this forum, you do not make a "mistake" when talking about the ninth or 10th man in your rotation. It's when you draft a player at No. 2 overall and it doesn't work out, that's when you can use the word "mistake."

Ira can't let go of the Supercool hate. Even with Steve Wilkos yanking him back, he's still swinging wildly at BEZ's head.

[Dee-Zy]

hahahaha, ouch!

[Wade2Bosh]

20 days til the start of Heat training camp.

The Dolphins and Canes are making me hate football

[Jace]

@MickyArison

Ray looks gr8 working out @AAarena in @miamiHEAT gear! Looking fwd to training camp #19days

Elevation looks good.

[UD40]

Which is a good thing given the ankle issues.

Any word on how Shard is looking?

[Wade2Bosh]

That is gonna take time getting used to. Love it though.

Heat officially resigned Terrell Harris today. Varnado and Dozier should be next.

[Jace]

NBATV is fire today. 5 best Heat games of the season: Houston, SA, OKC @ home, Philly @ home near the end of the season, and PHX.

[Wade County]

Varnado and Gladness have already been signed by the team, so im guessing Dozier may be next?

[Jace]

Ira Winderman
+ Follow

For those who have asked, it appears the Heat are on the verge of signing both Terrel Harris and Robert Dozier...

which would fill 17 of a possible 20 maximum training-camp spots.

Yup

[Wade2Bosh]

Lebron and Durant are working out together again. Worked out pretty well for both last season.

[doctordrizzay]

Keep your friends close, and your Enemies closer.

[Dee-Zy]

Originally Posted by Jace

NBATV is fire today. 5 best Heat games of the season: Houston, SA, OKC @ home, Philly @ home near the end of the season, and PHX.

This is one of the things that amaze me from you guys on this board.

I think it is clear as day that I am a die hard Heat fan but there is no way for me to know what those games were.

I 'think' that I might know what the OKC game is. I think we played very badly against them away but killed them at home?

As for the others, no clue, esp the philly game.

I don't know how you guys can keep tabs so well.

[UD40]

I caught some of the Rockets one. It was when LeBron went off for 32 I believe.

They also just showed Game 1 of the opening round when we put the boots to the Knicks.