Poe

Big game tonight

I love how people keep talking about Charlotte as if they are a bad team. You do realize they've beaten Denver and Atlanta, blew out Toronto (forcing one of the best offensive teams to 81 points), just came off a win against Miami, and this is the SECOND time they've beaten Cleveland this year. And here's a list of playoff teams they've beaten last year: Miami, New Orleans, Utah, Chicago (twice), Boston, Portland, Phoenix, Lakers (twice), and Atlanta. Don't sleep on the Bobcats. They can beat anybody, and would create a tough opponent against anyone in the playoffs.

You sure?? I know he hustles and all, but is he really the best defensive PF in the entire league??

Cavs lost to worst road team. I guess that makes them almost as bad as the Heat.

I think Landry will be the most likely to get it. Though I think Haslem's impact on the court is underrated, it will always remain that way unless in the future he's given a larger role on another team.

Chalmers played with a chip on his shoulder last year and played great for the Heat, which earned him the all rookie second team. I was hoping he would improve his play this year.. but he's lacked motivation. This year he has yet to reestablish himself as a defensive PG. He's looked even worse offensively overall. Arroyo has clearly outplayed him in every aspect except the one area he lacks.. which is 3 point shooting, and that sucks cause he's too old to develop that as a part of his game. It also sucks that Chalmers is allowing himself to be outplayed like this, cause I'm really hoping Dorell would continue to develop at the point position. In my opinion, that is the area he has the most potential in. Just look at the game against Sacramento. Dorell has said so himself that he wants to play the point. Why did Spoelstra move away from that? It's getting harder and harder to trust that Chalmers will rise back up, though he's completely capable of doing it. Let's give him more time before we completely give up on him. In an ideal world, he'll outplay Arroyo, regain the starting position, and Dorell will become the back up 1-3. Q-Rich had a very nice game.. but, still, he shouldn't be playing an entire half. He needs a breather at some point, and Dorell could have been valuable defensively, and may have been able to provide a spark on offense. He played aggressively while he was out there, attacking the basket pretty hard. Something he lacked earlier this season... then Spoe takes him out. That's the wrong message to send to Dorell. I think what Spoelstra needs to change is to have a clear set rotation. He's not making the most out of his players when they don't know how long they'll be out there. Obviously his whole "earn your minutes" philosophy isn't working, cause he's so damn inconsistent about it. Haslem, Wade, and Q-Rich are the only players given consistent minutes each game. The rest of the players will go out there and they won't know whether they'll play 25 minutes, or get pulled out for the rest of the game after only a few. The players need to know their roles and know what to expect each game. Chalmers is the only player who is given minutes when playing well. It's obvious Cook and Wright aren't given the same treatment, and it feels like they are completely ignored even when playing well. I think it's the main reason Cook jacks up shots. He feels like he needs to chuck before he gets pulled.

No, they wouldn't accept a trade like that. Scola is not a guy Houston is willing to trade, and Jamison would wind up being treated the same way as T-Mac is now. Butler may make it into the rotation over time, but Houston isn't even looking for guards or wing player, anyway. Since Adelman is so concerned about the chemistry, they should just waive T-Mac, since any possible addition they probably wouldn't want to play anyway, and anyone else would just bring cap room.. which would be a useless trade to begin with.

Dribbling is part of moving with the ball. I like it much better with one stick.

You completely missed the point.

I think Spoelstra is a good coach, but he really needs to work on his ingame decision making. I don't understand the point he was trying to make this game... Playing Q-Rich the entire second half??? Giving Dorell only 5 minutes even though he played well?? Cook was on a pretty short leash too, but he was shooting poorly... as usual. And if there is something he doesn't accept from his role players, he shouldn't accept it from his stars. Wade had a lot of turnovers, yet he also played the entire second half. I know you can't bench your best player like that, but either way, you've got to at least give him a breather at some point. It wasn't like he was going off for 50. The only player I understand the extra time for was Arroyo. Chalmers was complete garbage today. He's got to get his head together, or else the Heat need to add a point guard to the list of 2010 pick ups. As of right now, though, I can understand that this team isn't quite elite, yet. They still need to be patient and pick up a couple of guys in order to push over the top. MEANWHILE, the Heat NEED to focus on developing the young guys! Chalmers, Cook, Wright, and Joel were given a combined 25 or so minutes. The Heat have got to make them push through tough times if you ever hope for them to develop into future key players.

Just sorta copying that Raptors thread, except these are my own selections. PG: Tim Hardaway HM: Jason Williams SG: Dwyane Wade HM: Caron Butler SF: Eddie Jones HM: Antoine Walker, Lamar Odom PF: Udonis Haslem HM: Bryan Grant, Michael Beasley C: Shaquille O'Neal HM: Alonzo Mourning, Jermaine O'Neal I only started watching the Heat for about 6 years now, so I'm not very familiar with guys like Jamal Mashburn and Anthony Mason, who appeared to have prominent roles for a successful season each with Jamal playing in 1999-2000, and Anthony Mason in 2000-2001, though both only played for a single year in the decade. BTW, you agree? Any changes you would make, otherwise?

I don't know how to feel about this movie exactly. It was obviously a visual masterpiece. It's going to set the bar for movies for years to come, yet if you took away the visuals, it wouldn't have been a very good movie at all. After seeing this movie at first, I had a good impression. It felt like it was good. Every day since, as I reflect on the movie... it sucked. Sort of the opposite of something growing on you. This grew away from me, though I don't regret seeing it. Everyone knows the visuals were good, but aside from that... nothing special. The acting was subpar, the story lacked originality, and the whole blue people world seriously lacked creativity. Other than the whole life networking thing, it didn't feel like a different planet whatsoever. The setting of the movie felt more like it was on some distant island, with blue indians, and new breeds of dogs, different types of flowers, and presently existing dinosaurs. As in most alien movies, the intelligent life is horribly unimaginative. Seriously, do they always have to look so damn human-like? I'm making it sound like I actually hated the movie, cause I didn't. I loved the visuals... just not the movie itself, if that makes any sense. I'll probably see it again sometime soon, just because it's only worth watching in theaters.

"Poe's Slave" The possibilities...

I grew up in Caly and was a mild Lakers fan, though I didn't watch them a whole lot since I didn't really get into watching basketball too much at the time. For personal reasons, my family moved to Florida, and ironically, Shaq got traded to the Heat at the exact same time. So that sparked a bit of interest in me, and I started watching games here and there. I was getting to know some of the names, like Dwyane Wade, Damon and Eddie Jones, Udonis Haslem, Alonzo Mourning... The Heat eventually just grew on me. Even after the moves that were made by Pat the next off season, with the addition of Jason Williams, James Posey, Gary Payton... I LOVED Antoine Walker.. don't know why so many Heat fans couldn't stand him. Even though Wade, Udonis, and Dorell are the only remaining players since I first watched the team play, I still love the Heat. Chalmers, Beasley, Jermaine, Daequan.. I don't think there is a single member on this current team that I don't like. It's not just the players that I like, but the whole Heat defensive philosophy. Honestly, if Wade walked this offseason, I'd easily still be a Heat fan. It would have to take a complete team overhaul along with the retirement of Pat Riley from president for me to switch fanbase. And, no, I wouldn't switch to the Magic. Ever. The only player I like on that team is Jason Williams, only because of the memories he brought in the championship days. Otherwise, I don't care for Jameer, never was a VC or D12 fan, or anyone else on the team. Though I respect SVG, that's not enough to be a Magic fan, sorry.

At first I thought him keeping a gun in his locker may have been for safety reasons or something like that. But... for this dumb [expletive]? Seriously, he needs to be traded.. to Europe or something. Nobody in the NBA wants him, that's for sure.

Sheed's right. You shouldn't get fined for saying what's on your mind. Just because someone doesn't like what you have to say doesn't mean you shouldn't say it. Doesn't matter who you are, what it's about, or what words you use. Anyone and everyone is allowed to have an opinion... or should be allowed, cause free speech clearly doesn't exist in this country anymore. I have full respect for Rasheed Wallace. Don't ever stop talking.

No Derek Fisher .4 second shot? I don't even need to name another play that should have made the cut. This list fails. Big time.

I am not worried at all about Dwyane. I have full confidence that he will stay in Miami for a long time. The issue, I think, doesn't have anything to do with giving up on the team as much as the direction he feels the team is headed. What I mean is Wade's production individually is a product of his team around him and his personal motivation. Three years ago was one the Heat's worst all time season record at 15-67. That year, due to injuries, the Heat had Chris Quinn, Ricky Davis, and Mark Blount in the starting line up. Wade played the worst basketball since his sophomore year playing 51 games, and averaging a career high in TOs at 4.4 per game, and his worst PPG and FG% since his rookie year averaging 24 points and 46% shooting. Last year, the Heat draft a college stud in Michael Beasley and traded for a 2nd round pick that made it to the all rookie second team in Mario Chalmers. At midseason, the Heat had also brought in Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon. Wade made a comeback year with his practically new team. Though being healthier than the year before did help his production, I think the biggest reasons was that, one, he was tired of losing, and two, he liked the direction the team was headed during the year. Last year, looking for a playoff spot was a big goal for a team that just came off having the worst record in the league. This year, there are no big goals. The Heat aren't an elite team. They aren't looking at championship... until next year. I think that's the problem, and why Wade appears to be riding it out. There's no reason for Wade to go all out, cause there's nothing to prove, yet nowhere to reach. The cap space isn't until the summer. When Wade feels that this team is ready for a championship run, then I think we'll see him bounce back to elite form.

This is why the Heat need that All Star SF. Apparently with the Heat, you shut down D-Wade, you shut down the team. Wade went 6-18 from the field with seven turnovers. With Beasley only scoring 6 points since the first half, including Wade's 8 second half points, that's 14 of the Heat's 29 second half points, and Wade only played in the 3rd quarter. With an all star wing, that will put more pressure on the defense if they double Wade. The defense isn't going to worry about Arroyo, Chalmers, Cook, Joel, or even Jermaine, or Haslem and Q-Rich on a bad day. As of right now, the only player defenses have to worry about is Beasley, yet he hasn't even had his first 30 point game, yet. JO isn't a major scoring threat anymore. I still think the Heat should keep him for next year, but by then, no more isolations unless the match up is favorable. If he is resigned, it needs to be for MLE, and a new role as a defensive presence and only score as a role player, not a go-to guy. For now, while the Heat are still waiting on that wing player addition to the team, I've been saying this a lot, but the Heat need to utilize Dorell Wright more. This year, the Heat are 5-1 when Dorell attempts 7 or more shots in a game. When Dorell is given a larger role in the offense, good things happen. Give him minutes. Give him the ball. Let him be a creator. I said before that Daequan needs minutes, but not THIS many, nor this many shots. He's jacking up shots left and right, and hitting nothing but rim. 4-20 in the last 4 games, 2-9 from 3. Reduce his minutes. There's a much better player in Dorell that needs them.

THIS is what should have been happening last game. In the first half, the Spurs do what they can to deny Wade and double him, so the Heat find Beasley for 15 shots and he has 20 points for the first half. So as the Spurs try to figure out how slow down Beas, things should open up a bit more for Wade. The refs missed quite a few calls for the Heat. The ONLY reason the Spurs are winning is because they've been getting to the foul line more. The Heat should attack the basket more in the second half.

Seeing how it's based off of regular season performances, I'd say it's a good list.

This should be a great game. Can't wait

Well, at least the 4th quarter line up managed to closen up a 16 point gap, to what was a 1 point lead after a Q-Rich tip in. If Spoe would have just fixed the Dorell-Cook problem, the Heat probably would have pushed over the top and won. Those 3 missed threes from Cook in the last 5 minutes were crucial, and all three were contested, hand-in-face looks that weren't needed to be taken. Beasley's minutes doesn't bother me quite as much because Haslem did play really well, and giving Beasley minutes didn't prove to be as big of a factor as the Cook-Dorell problem and the Rich-Paul matchup. I still think Spoe is a good coach. It's just one simple change Spoe should have probably made.

Well, everyone has their own style. If you care about your record, you should spend time playing against the computer in HoF mode and figure out what works and what teams you play best with. If you can beat the computer on the hardest difficult, then you should have a much easier time beating people online in the default superstar difficulty. I'll run you through my personal style if it helps at all. Offensively, I personally like to put a slasher at the point, 3 point shooters on the wing, and good finishing bigs that can also score from midrange. I like to use the Heat, so I completely leave Arroyo and Chalmers on the bench, and have Wade and Wright play point, since they are my best slashers. Basically I'll dominate the ball with my point and look to slash every time until either a big or a wing stops the ball, then I'll either find a shooter for 3 or a big for a dunk or a midrange J. I'll usual run pick and rolls with Wade/Wright and Beasley/Haslem/O'Neal. Defensively, I start off games playing man-D then the rest of the game depends on my opponent. I always play man D early in quarters because when players are at top energy they tend to make more shots. The rest depends on the opponent. If he takes a lot of jumpers, then stick with man D. If he attacks the paint and knows nothing else, play zone. 2-3 or 1-3-1, whatever seems to work better, until they start taking and making jumpers. Then switch back to man. Also, I refrain from full court pressing the entire time. Smart players will beat you on the break every time. It's best to catch your opponent off guard with it, especially when the game is on the line. That should create a turnover or two if they aren't expecting it. So that's my game plan. It's pretty simple, really. Since connections are never good with 2k, I don't play online much, but when I do it feels like two thirds of the time people quit on me by the 2nd quarter. So this style and this team works for me.