A Miami Heat blog (with other occasional NBA news) following the team through their 2010-2011 NBA season with insight and opinion from an outsider fan perspective. While the blog will provide plenty of fan opinion and outlook, the Heat will not be free of criticism and fair assessment.
I never heard a bad word spoken about Mandich, and judging from some of his closest friend's tweets, there was nothing bad to be spoken of.
Mandich announced in March of 2010 that he was sick, but still announced Dolphin gams through the 2010 season. He did not continue his popular radio talk show on WQAM.
Obviously, I wasn't alive to see him on the field, but I can remember listening to his show with my dad at a young age and really getting turned on to sports radio because of him. After another heartbreaking Sunday Dolphins loss, Mandich brought the voice of reason that many "Dolfans" needed.
Mandich was drafted by the Dolphins out of the University of Michigan in 1970 and was and played eight seasons with Miami. He's a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and announced Dolphins games from 1994-2004 and from 2008-2009.
Did people really question whether Dwyane Wade and Lebron James could play together?
It's seems so ridiculous looking back on it now, but there were actually some who doubted the effectiveness the duo would have considering both need the ball in their hands.
With an extremely slow start, Miami Heat critics basked in the teams early season struggles. At times the team looked something like the bizarro Harlem Globetrotters, missing on alley-oop dunks and crossover dribbling the ball off each others feet with regularity.
But as the season progressed, fans soon got what they expected, and detractors got what they feared: An unstoppable tandem that would learn to share the glory, instead of singularly dominating it.
And the two have managed to do so without any noticeable drops in their career averages.
For his career, Wade has averaged 25.4 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. This season, 25.5, 6.4, and 4.6.
James career averages look something like 27.7 points per game, 7.1 rebounds, and 7 assists. This season, 26.7, 7.5, and 7.
Yes, all has worked out so far in the "experiment".
Take a look at Wade's top 10 plays of the season according to NBA.com. Number four is a particular favorite of mine. So "Jordan-esque".
Don't expect the Philadelphia 76ers to lay down Thursday night.
After clobbering the Sixers on Monday, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reminded his players that many times, Game 3 is the most competitive of a series.
"No exhale," Spoelstra said. "We have to keep on moving forward. We cannot take a step back. We did what we were supposed to do. We won two games at home, and now they're looking to do the same thing. The most competitive game likely will be Game 3."
Lebron James tries to get to the rim through two Sixer defenders
And be sure Sixers coach Dough Collins will have his young team ready to play.
Collins is realest; He's aware who the better team is. But don't expect that to keep his young team from being competitive.
"If they're playing great, they're the better team," Collins said. "If they're on top of their game, they're the better team. That doesn't mean we aren't going to play and compete and fight."
Spoelstra is trying to get his players to come into Game 3 with a sense of urgency. He still wants the Heat to take each day one game at a time, but as the Heat boarded the team plane Wednesday, they did so with the intent of ending the series on Sunday.
"It's never dangerous to think that way," forward Lebron James said in regard to the thought of a sweep. "You take every game likes it's its own, of course. We're going on the road and we're trying to win both. If I came up here and said we're trying to win one, then people would look at it as crazy. We're trying to win both, but Game 3 is the most important one."
Odom played for the Heat during the 2003-2004 season, a season that many fans will remember as one of the most exciting in franchise history.
He joined a Heat team that was coming off a terrible year in which they had won only 25 games. Coming into the season there wasn't much optimism surrounding the Heat, but after getting off to a slow start, Odom and a group of young talented rookies such as Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem and savvy veterans like Eddie Jones and Brian Grant proved to be a tough out for anyone.
From left to right: Lamar Odom, Eddie Jones, Dwyane Wade, Brian Grant, and Caron Butler
The Heat newcomers brought an unbridled energy to the team that had been lacking for a couple seasons. After defeating the New Orleans Hornets in a memorable seven game series, the Heat would take the playoff tested Indiana Pacers to six games before being eliminated.
Odom's season with the Heat still holds up as one of his best years as a professional, averaging 17.1 points per game and almost ten rebounds.
I remember being so enamored by Odom's versatility. Here was this 6'11 giant bringing the ball up the court with such ease and shooting (and making) three-pointers without hesitation. There weren't many players that I could even compare his game to.
It's a travesty that Odom has never been an NBA All Star. Many felt that once again he was snubbed this year. He ranks sixth in regular season triple doubles among active players with 12, and every other player in the top eight of that list is a multiple all star.
Odom was traded to the Lakers prior to the 2004-2005 season in a package with Grant and Caron Butler for Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal.
Obviously, everything worked out. Odom has two championship rings and the Heat won their first title in 2006.
But I can't help but wonder what that team would have become. With a core of Odom, Wade, Butler, and Haslem, that Heat squad will always be remembered as the top "what if" team the Heat ever assembled.
Here's a good highlight tape of some of Odom's best stuff through the years
That's SOME pressure to put on your THIRD option this late in the season.
Only, that pressure has actually been there all along.
Even back in January when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told NBA.com that Bosh "is probably our most important player", it was clear that early on, the Heat genuinely believed this to be true. Whether the fans buy in to this idea doesn't matter; the team believes it, therefore Bosh has to believe it too.
On Monday night, Bosh backed up his Game 1 double-double finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-13 shooting. Another impressive showing against one of the league's better power forwards, Elton Brand.
Oddly enough though, the national perception of Bosh for much of the season was that he was the Heat's weak link. Whenever the team went through a rough patch, Bosh took the brunt of the blame. Critics pointed to his drops in scoring and rebounding and regularly questioned his toughness, just as many did to Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol before he won a championship.
But if you've actually watched a good amount of Heat basketball this year, you know that Bosh has been nothing but consistent. Sure it took him a couple of weeks to get used to being the third scoring option after being the primary scorer for seven years with the Toronto Raptors. But even before asking for the ball more in the post, Bosh was shooting the ball as well as any player at his position, regularly sinking mid range jumpers with ease.
On a team with James and Dwyane Wade, Bosh is simply an easy target. In March, Bosh was blasted by critics after a seven-point performance against the Portland Trailblazers, a game in which he was clearly outplayed by power forward Lamarcus Aldridge. The belief that week was that Aldridge was a superior player. But is he really? Is Aldridge flat out better? Or are his stats better than Bosh's because he's his team's first option as opposed to the third? I find it hard to believe that if Bosh were in Aldridge's position, that his numbers wouldn't be the same, if not better.
Bosh should be judged on how he performs against his counterparts in the playoffs. Players like Brand, Kevin Garnett, and Gasol. And ultimately, that's what will happen.
Most feel that in 2006, the Heat won the title due to one of he greatest performances in finals history at the hands of Wade. A performance that will be remembered in NBA lore. But really, it was center Shaquille O'Neal that made Wade's legendary performance possible. His presence down low made defenders stay honest and gave Wade more room to work. Wade won it, but he wouldn't have won it without Shaq.
In a way, Bosh is going to need to play that Shaq role. He has to be that post presence that allows the ball handler (only now there's two ball handlers) to do the work.
This is what James means when he talks about Bosh's importance. He means that Bosh has to be the piece that makes everything work. Nobody expects Bosh to be the leading scorer. But he needs to hit his shots. He needs to rebound. He needs to play defense. He needs to be effective.
In other words, he needs to continue doing what he's done all year.
Hopefully he will.
Check out the incredibly bad "Bosh Song" if you haven't heard it.
Back in February, the Miami Heat'sDwyane Wade referred to the Boston Celtics as his teams' "bigger brothers". He compared the Heat's struggles against the defending Eastern Conference champs to those that Lebron James and Michael Jordan both went through against the Detroit Pistons, before ultimately making it to the NBA finals.
But on Sunday, it was the Heat that looked like the veteran team, with an impressive 100-77 win that surely left many Celtics fans doubting the wisdom of general manager Danny Ainge.
Ever since the Celtics traded their beloved center Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team has plummeted to 29 in rebounding and opponents have taken advantage ever since.
What should be most alarming to the Celtics is the fact that only one of the Heat's best three players played particularly well. While James finished with 27 points on 11 for 19 shooting, Chris Bosh finished with just 13 points and Wade continued his struggles against the Celtics finishing with 14 points on 4 for 12 shooting.
Joell Anthony and Lebron James both go for block on Paul Pierce
Often criticized as the weak link of the team, it was the Heat's bench that would provide the spark in the victory with a combined 32 points.
Point guard Mario Chalmers hit some big three pointers and finished with nine points. Forward Juwan Howard scored six and swingman James Jones scored five.
But it was center Joel Anthony who was most effective, finishing with seven points and 10 rebounds and consistently disrupting opposing shots at the rim.
After averaging 14.3 assists in the previous three Celtics victories against the Heat, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was held to just seven points and five assists this time around, turning the all star into a non-factor.
With a win against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, the Heat would need just one final win against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday to lock down the second seed in the Eastern Conference. As the the number two seed the Heat will have home court through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
With each day that passes, it seems less and less likely that the Miami Heat'sUdonis Haslem will play again this season.
Haslem missed practice on Tuesday due to soreness in his left foot, the same foot that was operated on in November to repair ligament damage.
When the co-captian went down 13 games into the season, there seemed to be a sense of optimism amongst his teammates and fans that Haslem would make it back in time for the playoffs. It's starting to look like that was just wishful thinking.
Haslem is perseverance personified. Many gave him the benefit of the doubt due to his unquestioned work ethic and sheer passion for not only the game, but the Heat organization as well. You better believe that nothing hurts him more than watching his teammates from the bench.
But with only four games left until the playoffs, Haslem's chances of getting a couple of games under his belt before the rigors of a best of seven series begin are all but over.
And even if Haslem manages to get healthy enough to play, is it really in his best interest to do so? Better yet, is it in Spoelstra's best interest to let him play?
Looks like once again Spoelstra is in a no win situation. If he doesn't play him due to concerns of re-injury, fans will ask "Why isn't Udonis playing?". If he does play him and he gets injured, it becomes "Why was Udonis ever out on the court?".
Haslem will not be 100 percent this year. Throughout the season many said that a Haslem at just half strength would be better than almost every option on the Heat's bench. I once too felt this way. But now I'm not so sure.
I'm not sure it's wise to risk permanently injuring a guy who has been such a vital and beloved member of the Heat Franchise for eight years. I find it hard to believe that a 50 percent Udonis Haslem is going to make or break the Heat's chances at a title.
Hopefully Haslem proves me wrong.
Who knows, maybe the Heat are just playing the manipulation game. Maybe he's a lot closer to returning than Spoelstra is giving off.
Either way, right now Haslem has to be looked at as nothing more than a bonus if he returns.
