Posts Tagged ‘Miami Heat’

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Tale Of The Tape For Game 6

May 24, 2012  ·  2:02PM





INDIANAPOLIS — And the yapping contiues.

The Pacers and Heat will actually get around to deciding this East semifinal series on the court, but before Game 6 they threw verbal punches, the kind that don’t draw suspensions, which is what Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman received and Tyler Hansbrough didn’t.

“I mean, Hansbrough, it’s not the first time he’s gone after one of our players this year,” said LeBron James. “We have two guys suspended and basically they have no one suspended.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, citing the physical whacks on LeBron and Dwyane Wade, said: “The league does not have a problem with hard fouls on our two main guys. In nine games now (including regular season games with Indiana) there’s been over a dozen hard fouls to the face, some of the tomahawk variety, some have drawn blood. They don’t have a problem with it, so we don’t have a problem with it. We’ll focus on what we can control.”

Well, what Miami can control is its fate in this “wild wild West” series, to quote Danny Granger, with two chances to close out the Pacers. Putting aside the bad blood for a moment, both teams aren’t at full strength, Miami without Chris Bosh and Haslem, the Pacers hoping Granger will overcame a bum ankle suffered in Game 5.

For Game 6, anyway, given the injury/suspension issue, it’s a matter of everyone shutting up and certain players stepping up. Here are the candidates for the latter: (more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs, Uncategorized / Comments (16) /

Blogtable: Pacers’ Playoff Run

May 23, 2012  ·  11:37AM

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes to weigh in on the three most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Give us three words (and some explanations for your choices) to describe the Indiana Pacers at this point of the postseason.

Steve Aschburner: Deep. Talented. And now soft. S-O-F-T. If that’s what Larry Bird sees, it’s good enough for me. The Pacers didn’t need to brawl vs. Miami but they needed to push their inside agenda. In the most bruising way necessary.  

Fran Blinebury: 1 - Disorganized: Sloppy passing, nonexistent defense and no answer to the Heat dunking exhibition.  2- Delicate: When Danny Granger went down with his ankle injury, they surrendered.  ”I can’t believe my team went soft,” Larry Bird told the Indianapolis Star.  ”S-O-F-T.  I’m disappointed.  I never thought it would happen.”  3 – Done.

(more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs, Blogtable / Comments (76) /

Miami Looks Ring-Ready Again

May 23, 2012  ·  12:45AM





MIAMI – Knowing the way things work in the muy caliente frenzy around the Miami Heat, the next storyline is predictable: Speculation will stir that somehow, Chris Bosh getting healthy and returning to action might mess with the Heat’s finely tuned machine.

The guy who was indispensable and sorely missed as the Heat lost Games 2 and 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series to the Indiana Pacers could have risked a “Chris Who?” greeting had he made himself visible  Tuesday night. In its 115-83 dismantling of the Pacers at AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami’s performance was so impressive and, to the Pacers, so potentially daunting that two superstar wing players and a resuscitated supporting cast seem quite enough. To eliminate Indiana and maybe even to plow through two more rounds.

There’s no clear sign whether Bosh, who suffered an abdominal strain midway through Game 1, will be capable of playing again (well or at all) this postseason if the Heat advance. They will, in strict basketball terms, remain weaker for it. But for a night, bah, it didn’t matter a bit.

How complete was the Heat’s game? Let us count the ways: (more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (72) /

Physical Play In Series Turns Flagrant

May 22, 2012  ·  11:44PM





MIAMI – Maybe someone on the Miami bench got the memo from Pat Riley.

Whatever it was, the days of the Heat scoffing at the Indiana Pacers’ “tough” tactics – mostly embodied by Danny Granger’s yapping through the first four games – ended with a thud – and an oomphs and a crunch or two – in Game 5 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Granted, Tyler Hansbrough initiated the physical stuff Tuesday in what became Miami’s 115-83 blowout victory, good for a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven playoff series. Hansbrough smothered Dwyane Wade on a drive to the basket and opened a cut above the Miami shooting guard’s right eye, sending him to the bench for some corner work and earning Hansbrough a flagrant-1 foul.

That was at 10:23 of the second quarter. Only 41 seconds later, Miami got some payback that seemed right from the old Riley playbook (New York days especially) of smash-mouth basketball. And he is the Heat team president, after all.

Udonis Haslem – who had suffered a similar bloody gash over his right eye in Game 4, thanks to an errant Louis Amundson elbow – saw the opening when Hansbrough got the ball on the left wing and came forward, jumping to shoot. The Heat power forward went up with two arms high and brought them down hard, way right of the ball but hard at Hansbrough’s head. Down went Hansbrough, as the Miami crowd roared.

(more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (286) /

Granger’s Huffing Blown Off By Heat

May 22, 2012  ·  2:48PM





MIAMI – Danny Granger has been doing a lot of huffing and puffing in his team’s playoff series against the Miami Heat, picking up three technical fouls in the last three games and getting in the grills of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade at different times.

The Indiana forward has talked about doing it for his own team’s benefit, to keep the Pacers focused and playing with some sort of edge against the superstar-driven Heat. Maybe he’s serving as a surrogate of sorts, too, for all the fans out there who might wonder how they or anyone else could try to close the gap in skills on James and Wade without feeling intimidated.

If that’s why Granger has been so feisty, fine. But if he’s actually trying to rattle the Heat, that battle already has been lost.

“Whatever he’s trying, it’s not working,” James said after Miami’s morning shootround Tuesday, prior to Game 5 that evening at AmericanAirlines Arena. “Whether he’s trying to do it for his own self-confidence, to say, OK … he’s told you guys already, he’s not scared of LeBron, ‘I want to let him know.’ So I guess he’s doing it for his own … psyche? It’s stupid.”

(more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (129) /

Bosh Still Factor For Heat?

May 21, 2012  ·  5:25PM





MIAMI – The potential of Chris Bosh. The threat of Chris Bosh. The idea of Chris Bosh.

Those were all in play Monday after Miami coach Erik Spoelstra shared with the media his brush with the injured Heat power forward, sidelined by an abdominal strain injury since the first half of Game 1 from the Eastern Conference semifinal series with Indiana.

It was an upbeat day for the Heat in general, owing to their bounce-back victory in Game 4 Sunday and its reminder of LeBron James‘ and Dwyane Wade’s awesomeness (70 points, with the tandem outscoring and outrebounding the Pacers all by themselves in the second half). Seeing Bosh, eight days along in his recovery, only added to it for the Miami coach.

“He’s doing his rehab,” Spoelstra said. “I just like seeing him. A smile on his face. He’s doing his work.”

Enough that Bosh might be available for, say, a Game 7 if things go that far? “It’s too early to tell,” the coach said, adding that Bosh isn’t doing any court work while allowing the muscle strain to heal.

(more…)

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As Heat Know, Roy’s A Big Boy Now

May 17, 2012  ·  11:42PM





INDIANAPOLIS — Roy Hibbert is feasting on the Heat, which is easy to do when there’s a lot shrimp on the buffet.

We’ll give Hibbert his due in a minute, but also understand what he’s up against. Mainly, not much. The Heat started Dexter Pittman in Game 3, then threw Joel Anthony and Ronny Turiaf into the mix. One guy is a third-stringer who could be mistaken for Eddy Curry, both in terms of weight (pounds) and lightweight (ability). The second guy is a freakish athlete and bundle of energy who has absolutely no idea how to play. And the last guy can look Hibbert right in the Adam’s apple.

This is what Miami is offering, these sacrificial lambs, led to slaughter.

Which is exactly what Hibbert just did to them.

Hibbert scored 19 points with 18 rebounds and five blocks. His defense was solid, his offense a surprise, and he was the main reason the Pacers are up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series with Miami. With Chris Bosh out perhaps for the series with an abdominal strain, Hibbert is ripping through Miami’s spare big bodies and there’s little (or nothing?) the Heat can do about it, unless they throw Alonzo Mourning a uniform.

But here’s where we give Hibbert some respect. He obviously is much improved. He wouldn’t have had this type of game last year in the playoffs. He was too unsteady, too unsure of himself, and the Pacers mainly ignored him offensively. And as for defense, Hibbert was too inconsistent. He was a rock one game, a hack the next.

On Thursday, he was all man, mainly because he grew up last summer. (more…)

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Wade-ing In Troubled Waters

May 17, 2012  ·  11:10PM




INDIANAPOLIS — If a certain Heat All-Star blew a layup near the end of a playoff game, violently shoved a defender in same game, then followed up two nights later missing a ton of shots and angrily cursed his coach, would he be due for a public grilling, you think?

LeBron James?  Yeah. Of course.

So it’ll be interesting to see the double-standard reaction toward Dwyane Wade, the more Teflon member of Miami’s Big Three, who is self-destructing before our very eyes.

Make no mistake, the Heat trail the Pacers 2-1 in the East semifinals partly because of Chris Bosh‘s abdomen strain. But what about Wade’s brain strain? Taking into account how sloppy he finished up in the Game 2 loss, then how he cracked in Game 3, scoring just five points, this has been unquestionably the worst two-game stretch of his otherwise blessed and non-controversial professional life.

He has behaved like a bum (which is different than calling him a bum, so calm down) and played like a bum (ditto). If his name was LeBron, you’d be killing him right now. His current collapse is almost as bad as LeBron’s fourth quarters last summer.

What transpired with Wade in the 94-75 loss Thursday raises two serious questions:

Is he healthy?

Was he wrong to lash out at Erik Spoelstra, yelling “get out of my (bleeping) face” during a third quarter timeout?

(more…)

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Pacers Relish Chance For ‘Mustard’

May 17, 2012  ·  1:02PM

INDIANAPOLIS – Many would consider Game 3 a make-or-break game for the Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat.

But some Pacers consider Game 3 something of a make-or-break game for the franchise’s fans, wondering what sort of numbers and noise the folks of Indiana will bring to Bankers Life Fieldhouse Tuesday night.

“We had a bet that, we wondered whether there would be more ketchup than mustard,” Pacers guard George Hill. “You don’t get it, do you?”

Actually, Hill’s media audience after shootround Thursday did get it, but he spelled it out for them anyway: He and teammate Paul George had seen the colors in the stands for games against Miami in February and the Chicago Bulls pretty much anytime they hit Indianapolis. Lots and lots of red worn by fans of those teams, enough that the Fieldhouse was awash.

That’s the “ketchup.” The “mustard,” naturally, is Pacers gold, which sometimes gets crowded out because the Fieldhouse isn’t always known for its crowds, period.

So Hill and George got to talking. “We just want to see what it will be,” said Hill, a local guy – he was born, raised and played through college (IUPUI) in town – who takes this stuff personally. “We’re thinking, we’re up and coming. We’ve been very positive role models in the community, things like that, where we think we should have this place jam-packed with a lot of mustard, more than a lot of ketchup.” (more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (31) /

Blogtable: Heat Without Chris Bosh

May 17, 2012  ·  10:54AM

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes to weigh in on the three most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

We’ve seen a game and a half in the second round of Miami without Chris Bosh: How far can the Heat go without the bottom third of the Big Three?


Steve Aschburner: The Heat might get past Indiana, they might get through the Eastern Conference finals without Chris Bosh. And that would be a testament to LeBron James‘ and Dwyane Wade’s skills, resolve and, let’s face it, reputations for getting fouled. But there’s no way they get past the best of the West – San Antonio or Oklahoma City – to win a ring without their All-Star power forward. So Bosh might end up solidifying his spot with the club, because he’ll be missed sooner or later. And I actually think sooner.

Fran Blinebury: You’re already dissing him as the “bottom third” of the Big Three? Would Bosh have missed two free throws like LeBron?  Would Bosh have missed the layup like Wade?  We won’t bother comparing him to Mario Chalmers.  Already a thin team, now Miami is a two-legged stool without Bosh in the middle.  The Heat can still get to the Finals because Derrick Rose and Chicago no longer stand in their way.  But it’s unlikely they can raise a banner against the Spurs or Thunder without Bosh.

(more…)

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs, Blogtable / Comments (69) /

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