Posts Tagged ‘Udonis Haslem’

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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 / Comments (16) /

The League Gets The Last Punch

May 24, 2012  ·  7:44AM

INDIANAPOLIS – Retaliation comes at a price, and the true cost for the Heat will be totaled up by late Thursday.

Miami will be without Udonis Haslem, whose foul on Tyler Hansbrough was upgraded to level two and the league office tacked on a one-game suspension to boot. Hansbrough wasn’t suspended for his hard foul moments earlier on Dwyane Wade, and truthfully, the league didn’t see any malice by the Pacer forward. But Haslem’s hit was clearly a payback, and the intent, therefore, was judged just as damaging than the actual foul.

That’s why Dexter Pittman was suspended (three games, and he probably got off light) for clubbing Lance Stephenson and then winking about it. As if the vicious foul wasn’t enough, Pittman went after Stephenson because the Pacer reserve gave the choke signal to LeBron James. Once again, the intent, as well as the foul, carried equal weight.

Because Pittman is a benchwarmer who seldom sees any light anyway, the loss of Haslem is where Miami could feel a pinch. Coincidently, Game 6 is at Bankers Life, where Haslem dropped four critical jumpers late in the fourth quarter of Game 4, which tilted the series in Miami’s favor. Since the Heat’s supporting cast isn’t especially deep, and because Haslem has scored 24 points the last two games, this could be a price that proves too difficult to overcome, unless someone else steps forward for Miami.

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Haslem, Pittman Out For Game 6

May 23, 2012  ·  7:35PM





INDIANAPOLIS – Udonis Haslem won’t be playing in Game 6 of the Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers playoff series Thursday night. Tyler Hansbrough will be. And Dexter Pittman … c’mon, does Dexter Pittman’s availability really matter?

The afternoon-after officiating of the flagrant-foul frenzy in Game 5 probably got it right: Haslem, Hansbrough and Pittman all had their flagrant-1 fouls upgraded to flagrant-2 violations, but Haslem (one game) and Pittman (three games) also were handed suspensions for striking the head and shoulders of their intended Indiana targets.

Haslem must sit out Game 6 without pay for his two-armed chop on Hansbrough, which came less than a minute after the Pacers forward put a hard foul on Miami’s Dwyane Wade. Wade got hit in the head and shoulders, too, but in the view of Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, that was a foul that fit within the context of basketball. Who hasn’t seen Wade, after all, get up some acrobatic continuation shot that dropped after a defender fouled and let him go?

Haslem’s and Pittsman’s moves, in real time, in replays and in context, were retaliatory moves. That wasn’t included in the league’s news release on their suspensions, but it was evident to anyone in the building or watching the game. Haslem “had” Wade’s back and Pittman apparently decided to do for LeBron James what Juwan Howard had only yapped about. Lance Stephenson, remember, was the Pacers’ deep reserve who made a choke gesture courtside when James missed a free throw in Game 3.

The Heat won’t be happy about losing Haslem, who has given them value scoring, rebounding and toughness (most of it clean) off the bench in the past two games. Will it swing the series? Hard to say. But the NBA would have been remiss – and didn’t offer any explanation for why the game officials got their rulings wrong – if it had let the Heat’s two hammerings go without further punishment. Those veered into hockey, bordering on pro wrestling and had a distinctly dirty feel.

Remember, all Stephenson did was act stupid and disrespect James from afar. He didn’t get physical with anybody, yet wound up getting clotheslined across his collarbone by Pittman’s lunging elbow.

Expect a more buttoned-down Game 6, despite Larry Bird’s “soft” challenge to his Pacers in what might be their elimination. A couple of key transgressors won’t be active and the referee crew almost certainly will have quick whistles, lest things get uglier.

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Posted in 2012 NBA Playoffs / Comments (351) /

Bird Calls Pacers S-O-F-T!

May 23, 2012  ·  7:42AM





HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – The Indiana Pacers left Miami nursing their wounds, both physical and emotional, after a second straight deflating loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

But they won’t get any sympathy at home, not from Pacers president Larry Bird, who made it clear late last night where he feels his team went wrong in this series.

Bird unleashed on his own team after the Heat unloaded on both Tyler Hansbrough and Lance Stephenson with a couple of wicked hard fouls from Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman, respectively, telling Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star:

“I can’t believe my team went soft,” Bird said on the phone. “S-O-F-T. I’m disappointed. I never thought it would happen.”

When asked to elaborate on those comments, an obviously frustrated Bird said, “That’s all I have to say.”

You had to know Bird was going to let loose on someone after watching his team get wobbled repeatedly in the last six quarters of this series. Bird and his Celtics never shied away from a challenge during his Hall of Fame playing career, so it’s no surprise that went off on his own team.

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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.

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Help From Haslem Lifts Miami

May 20, 2012  ·  8:59PM




INDIANAPOLIS — Udonis Haslem scored 14 points and most surprisingly made four of the Heat’s final five baskets while wearing a heavy patch above a cut eyebrow. He shot better with one eye halfway shut than he did with both wide open.

Until Sunday, Haslem, like most of the Heat bench, was invisible. The Pacers left him open and dared him to shoot, and when he did, they applauded. In the previous three games, Haslem had a total of six points on two-for-11 shooting. And many of those shots, like Sunday, were taken without a hand in his face.

He did have an elbow to his eye in Game 4, though, no thanks to Pacers forward Lou Amundson, and had to play with a nasty cut. Maybe it was the hit that sent Haslem rolling in the right direction in a 101-93 win.

His points “were the most important in the game” according to LeBron James, but mostly, Haslem was actually in the game. His minutes have declined since the series began, from 23 minutes, to 12 to seven, partly because he was ineffective but also because coach Erik Spoelstra wanted to spread the floor with shooters. In Game 4 his playing time swelled to 25 minutes, 10 in the fourth quarter.

“Part of being a good teammate,” said Haslem, who was unhappy but didn’t complain, “is rooting your guys on when you’re not out there, and being ready to go when you’re called. I felt we really needed this game and I waited for my opportunity.”

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Heat Two Much For Pacers, For Now

May 20, 2012  ·  7:45PM





INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 70 points in a captivating and hypnotic performance that left you gushing and the Pacers gasping. It was tag-team basketball at its finest, and it sucked all the suspense from an East semifinal that was turning disastrous by the day for Miami.

And yet: Is this what it’s going to take to beat the Pacers, and then the next team if the Heat advance, and the next?

The short and truthful answer is: Yes. Those two played at an MVP level to keep the Heat from collapsing in their best-of-seven series, which now returns to Miami 2-2. It was a steady and deliberate two-man torture, at times entertaining, at times awe-inspiring, at times breathless. They hooked up for dunks, give-and-goes, fast-break buckets and when the situation called for it, went solo on the Pacers. It was two much for Indiana to handle, an effort that perhaps only they can give.

“They came in with a certain mindset,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

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Bosh’s Best Sub Is … LeBron James?

May 15, 2012  ·  10:35AM





MIAMI — There’s the perception that the Heat just lost their best power forward for the entire series. What, did LeBron James get hurt, too?

Quite simply, LeBron is Miami’s best small forward, point guard, center, shooting guard (no disrespect, Dwyane Wade) and, yes, power forward. Wherever he lines up, he’s the Heat’s finest option, the rare athlete who can fill any gap. Right now, that gap at power forward is the size of Biscayne Bay.

And so, expect LeBron to play considerable minutes at power forward in the absence of Chris Bosh, who isn’t expected back against the Pacers because of an abdominal strain.

Actually, Erik Spoelstra‘s decision is this: Which player should be on the floor: Udonis Haslem or Mike Miller? Does the coach go with Miller and LeBron as the forwards, or Haslem and LeBron? Matchups will tell, and so will Haslem’s ability to produce in the time he’s given. But purely from a performance standpoint, Miller probably scares the Pacers a lot more at small forward than Haslem at the power, if only because Miller offers something unique (three-point shooting) while Haslem is shooting 32 percent (but also getting six rebounds in the playoffs) and brings little besides energy.

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Blogtable: LeBron James — Point Guard?

April 18, 2012  ·  11:10AM

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.

LeBron James at point guard for the Heat: Good idea, bad idea, some other kind of idea?

Steve Aschburner: Good idea? How ’bout great idea? Keep in mind I’m the curator of the “point forward” museum, which is what James actually would be. Sure, Miami would lose a little bit of LeBron-in-the-low-post, but the gains from having him find teammates and dominate with his passing would more than make up for that. In the halfcourt game of the playoffs, he’s more comfortable than ever defending star point guards (Rondo, Rose), so there really is no disconnect. Or, frankly, a good argument against setting up the Heat offense this way.

Fran Blinebury: I’m not advocating it for 40 minutes a night, but overall it’s a good idea.  He’s always had a passer’s mentality, a point guard’s instincts.  And hey, if his job is to set up other guys, then maybe he won’t be the one pulling the string on his own fourth-quarter jumpers.

Scott Howard-Cooper: Good idea. He is a willing passer and a good passer. Take advantage of that skill set combined with the size and speed. James will still get his scoring chances. More good can come from it than bad. (more…)

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Revenge Of The Thunder Bigs!

March 26, 2012  ·  7:59AM





HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – We knocked them something terrible last week, called the big men the Oklahoma City Thunder’s weakest link and even suggested that the Thunder’s Big Two of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had to go it alone this season in their championship quest.

Let us be the first to snack on the sautéed crow that comes along with snap reactions of that sort. Thunder bigs Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka had spectacular performances in Sunday’s statement win over the Heat, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor as the Heat’s bigs struggled to match their effort, intensity and production.

Ibaka scored 19 points and Perkins 16, shooting a combined 16-for-21 from the floor. Ibaka grabbed 10 rebounds, Perkins six as they imposed their will around the basket all game long. Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Ronny Turiaf and Joel Anthony were simply no match for them on the big stage (or as big as the regular season stage can get).

So much was made before the game about this being a potential preview of The Finals, or at least the dream matchup of many. If so, the Heat better hope it doesn’t go down like this again.

The Thunder’s bigs showed they are capable of beating the Heat’s bigs in every facet. Perkins even added a little intimidation to his line with that foot to the face of Dwyane Wade after one dunk.

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