Poe

Wade is the only player on the team today to get more than two turnovers, which naturally comes with the ball being in his hands so much. Plus, Rafer had two turnovers and was 1-5 on the floor. Want to know how many minutes he played? Haslem was 1-4, committed a few stupid fouls (with a clear path against Bron still clear in my head), and had a dumb TO. Just check the box score to see how many minutes this guy played as well. Spoelstra keeps the guys in who are playing well. He has been very consistent with that

I just find it funny that when Beasley actually plays in the fourth quarter like you've always wanted, you still find a way to put the blame on Spo. Either way, whether Beasley finished the game or not, I'm still going to trust Spoelstra's judgment over anyone here. With that in mind, the best way to judge a coach from a fan's standpoint is by their results. If I'm correct, then this is Spo's first 4 game losing streak as a head coach, and remember he took the job right after the Heat had a 15 win season. I believe a good part of the credit for the turnaround should be handed to Spoelstra, and not just the addition of two rookies and the best player healthy, and a trade for a 13 and 6 center midway through the season. Right now, the Heat simply don't have the pieces for a championship run, and are looking towards the summer free agency to reshape this team. This is most likely in the back of everyone's mind, so team chemistry and collective motivation doesn't seem to be all there. Not something I would blame Spoelstra, who has been constantly pushing all year for that extra energy he desperately needs from everybody.

Still blaming Spoelstra, eh?

Chris Bosh is more like a top 5 PF.

Well, at least the Heat didn't get beat TOO badly. It sucks to see this team reach a low like this... where they head into a game and you KNOW they will get beat. Anyone know where I can find a time machine? All I need is a few months.

And why should that matter?

^ I second that, too.

Boobie's in the house.. I suppose they'll let him warm up at half time. That's great. A shooter to ice the game for the Cavs.

Argh, Spoelstra just leave Jermaine on the bench. Even though Magloire fouled a bit, at least he was a little bit physical compared to Jermaine O'Soft.

God I LOVE the bench energy today, especially from JA. Great stuff. Good job defensively for Wright on LeBron, too.

Joel Anthony 4 MVP!!

JJ Hickson just [expletive]ted on Wade. Might as well just call it a night.

Sounds awesome, man.

While there are chances in whether a shot goes in or not, there are no chances with speed. I know Jennings is a rhythm shooter, but if his shot is dropping that night, there's no stopping him from winning.

^ Damn, dude. I don't care what people say of you not using every tiny tool in photoshop. That [expletive] looks tight.

Yea, you're current name is pretty bland as it is (not trying to be hypocritical or anything ), it would probably be a good idea to change it. I don't personally like BJ3, though. Try to get more creative with your name, like search for something that both describes you and you're favorite team/player while keeping it simple. I don't have any suggestions atm. I'll come back if anything comes to mind.

It [expletive]ing better be.

Sarcasm? Nonetheless, welcome to the forums. It's always great to see another Heat fan around here Anyway, I think we all can predict the outcome of this game. The Heat are 1-7 (or so) on the second of back-to-back games, plus this one is on the road, and the Cavs have only lost 3 games the whole year at home. Let's just say that I'll be happy if the Heat manage to keep this within 10. Knowing the Heat don't have much of a chance here, I think they need to get what they can out of this game. Try to get the young guys involved as much as possible today.

Because Beasley still has plenty of growing room left.

The fact of the matter is that Udonis' defense obviously is much better than Beasley's, and his stats in the fourth quarter nearly matched Beasley's for the whole game. Spo isn't killing anything. Spo had originally set a bar for Beasley to reach in order to get playing time down the stretch in each game he plays in. There is no reason for him to change that out of nowhere just to make Beasley fans happy. The requirements for Beasley to get end-game time has always been the same. It's up to Beasley to meet them. Edit: And to add to what I was saying, according to Alonzo Mourning, Beasley is "light years ahead of where we expected". Celtics' coach Doc Rivers has even spoke about Michael Beasley's growth. Link here. Again, Spoelstra has done nothing to kill Beasley's confidence, but in fact, Beasley has grown a heck of a lot under Spo's coaching.

It's between the Bucks, Bulls, and Heat (unfortunately ). The Heat have a tough 9 game schedule heading into today, and seeing them lose their first... there is a chance their record may slide unless they can pick themselves back up together. As for Chicago and Milwaukee, I don't see either team making a huge run in their record or a big drop. They will probably be neck and neck until the end of the year, unless one team decides to make a big trade before the deadline.

Haslem > Beasley tonight. I don't know which game you were watching, but how much more you could have asked from Haslem other than his 9 points and 4 rebounds in the fourth quarter, whereas Beasley had 13 points and 4 rebounds for the GAME??? The Heat lost because of poor play down low, and the inability to hit the open looks provided from the double teams on Wade. The Heat allowed 44 points in the paint, and got out-offensive-rebounded 6 to 15. Shooting in the fourth quarter: Cook was 0-4, 0-3 3PT Wright was 0-4, 0-2 3PT Richardson was 2-4, 2-4 3PT Alston was 1-2, 0-0 3PT Haslem was 3-3 O'Neal was 1-3 Total: 3-11 from perimeter players, and 4-7 from big men. Most of these came from dimes from Wade, a couple were assisted by Alston. Most importantly, Wade's teammates need to hit shots. One man can't win a game by himself, especially when getting double teamed beyond the perimeter with his teammates wide open. Again, the Heat lost because they couldn't match the Celtics' physically down low, and Wade needs some reliable shooters to pass to.

The Heat actually fought pretty hard the last couple minutes. Good to see them attacking instead of chucking. Too bad they couldn't wind up with the win. Anyway, that's enough playing time for Cook. He's out there to shoot threes, and he can't make jack [expletive]. Wright's case is different because he's been making shots all year, just wasn't successful on his attempts tonight. All the shots Dorell took were shots that he normally makes. On the other hand, no shot ever seems to be a good shot for Cook. Props to Q-Rich for giving solid minutes. At least he's reliable enough to knock down the 3 pointers from Wade's generous dimes. Wade himself played a very efficient game today. Though he had some turnovers, he scored at a high percentage by attacking the basket, and he continually found his teammates for open looks... unfortunately they couldn't knock them down at crunch time. Alston had a nice game knocking down shots and making some nice plays. He did a good job taking pressure off Wade. Too bad we won't see this from him on a daily basis. Beasley had a good stretch of aggression in his offensive game in the third, though wasn't consistent. He and O'Neal were really needed to get some dirty work done on the boards, yet they combined for even less than 10 rebounds. Beasley needs to prove that he can both rebound and always be ready to score at any possession if he wants to stay late in games. As for O'Neal, get some [expletive]ing boards for once. I'm sick of his soft [expletive]. Haslem was the player of the game in my book, though. Dude's a warrior, and he was truly fighting until the end. Too bad not everyone on the team could match his passion.

Ugly quarter. O'Neal and the Heat are still getting abused down low with those boards. At least Beasley is starting to score a bit.