Heat need wins against NBA's best before playoffs

With a loss to the San Antonio Spurs Friday, the Miami Heat are now 1-8 against the top five teams in the NBA.

With their one true, signature win coming against the Los Angeles Lakers this past Christmas, the Heat have not won another game against a serious contender such as the Spurs, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, or Chicago Bulls this season.

In defending their team against all the "Heat Haters", (and my God, there are so many) Heat fans have often said to "wait for the playoffs"; meaning that no team could beat us in a seven game series. But how could we be so sure without any evidence?

The Heat need to get a couple of wins against some of the best teams in the league before the playoffs start just to instill some confidence in the players. They'll get another shot on Sunday when they host the Bulls for a 1:00 p.m. start.

But enough of the sad, gloomy talk for a minute. Instead of posting a video recapping the Heat getting massacred to the Spurs, I decided to post a pretty funny video mocking Heat forward Chris Bosh courtesy of onionsportsnetwork.com. Check it out.

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Tags: Onion SportsDome: Chris Bosh Left In Hot Car For Hours By Heat Teammates, COMEDYCENTRAL

Heat suffer biggest lopsided loss of season to Spurs

After perhaps the most dissipointing loss of the season to the Orlando Magic Thursday, the Heat had no time to lick their wounds, as they hopped on a flight to Texas to face the NBA's best, San Antonio Spurs, for a Friday night 9:30 tipoff that resulted in 125-95 Heat loss.

It seemed like this one was all but over early, with the Spurs tying a franchise record for three-pointers in a quarter, going 8-of-11, jumping out to a 36-12 lead at the end of the first.

The Heat managed to cut the lead to 12 at the half, but the Spurs outscored the Heat 33-22 in the third and went into the fourth quarter with a 24 point lead.

Heat head coach Erik Spolestra pulled all of his starters with about eight minutes to go in the game, in a statement that all but admitted defeat.

The Heat simply didn't have it Friday, in a loss that was their most lopsided of the season, in an effort that might have been their weakest. In what has become a recurring theme in the last five games, the Heat neglected to defend perimeter jump shots, with the Spurs converting on 17-of-28 three-pointers which was also a franchise record.

"This is a team that's clicking on all cylinders right now," Lebron James said when speaking about he Spurs. "Everyone on the team has confidence, Tim Duncan all the way down to the last guy off the bench. We saw tonight why they are the best team in the league."

The Heat's big three all put up solid numbers offensively with James leading the way with 26 points, but a lack of production from the bench aside from Mike Miller and constant defensive breakdowns is what proved to be the difference.

The Heat were again torched by one the leagues best point guards in Tony Parker, who dissected the Heat's defense with ease, finding wide open shooters at all angles of the court.

After the loss, Dwyane Wade spoke of the need to right the ship immediately, with a game Sunday against the Chicago Bulls, who took over the second seed in the East with a win Friday.

"We've been through losing before, so it's not anything new," Wade said. "In this league you can turn it around fast or you can stay in it for a while."

After tough loss to Knicks - Heat's true test begins

After the Miami Heat's troubling 91-86 loss to the New York Knicks Sunday night, Heat fans were left searching for answers after a game that many felt (including myself) would be a reasonably easy win.

The game seemed to be in the Heat's control early with a 15-point lead with about 4:30 left to play in the first half. But the lead was soon squandered, with the Knicks rallying on a 16-0 run to go up 52-51 to end the second quarter.

After the game, Heat head coach Erick Spoelstra spoke about a team that has yet to play up to their true potential.

"We will have our breakthrough,” Spoelstra said. “As painful as it is right now, there will be a time when we break through, execute and win a game like this against a quality opponent going down the stretch. What you hope is that the pain of a game like this resonates enough to make a change.” 

Spoelstra has shared this kind of sentiment throughout the season, especially after a disheartening loss such as the one Sunday.

He has stressed repeatedly throughout the season for the team to learn from their mistakes; to cutback on turnovers and to learn how to close out games.

And while this loss didn't come at the hands of one of the better teams in the league, it further fueled doubts about the Heat's championship hopes, with no signature wins coming this season outside of a road victory over the L.A. Lakers this past Christmas.

So far this season the Heat are 0-5 against the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, the two biggest threats to the Heat in the Eastern Conference.

The next ten games will be telling for the Heat, with perhaps it's toughest stretch of the season with games against opponents all over 500, including the Orlando Magic, two against the San Antonio Spurs, Bulls, Lakers, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Once these ten games are through, Heat fans should have a pretty good idea of how their team will fare once the playoffs begin. A couple of wins against solid teams like the Portland Trailblazers and Atlantic Hawks won't be enough.

This team needs to prove to themselves that they can beat the leagues best. Because without a hand full of wins against legitimate title contending teams, why should fans, or the players for that matter, have any confidence in terms of being a true contender?

The loss to the Knicks was horrible; maybe the worst of the year. But New York is the least of the Heat's problems. When we look back, this game will be remembered as nothing more than a tough loss in a rather meaningless game. Fans shouldn't look at the game as anything more than that.

Instead the game should serve as a reminder.

A reminder that no matter how talented three of your players are, THREE PLAYERS aren't enough.

It's going to take a team effort every night, and an understanding of how to finish your opponent.

Point guard Mike Bibby possibly headed to Heat

According to ESPN's Chris Broussard, point guard, Mike Bibby and the Washington Wizards have agreed to a buyout. 

Sources supposedly told Broussard that Bibby is headed to the Miami Heat, where the 32-year-old feels that he could compete for a title immediately.

This season, Bibby is averaging 9.1 points per game and 3.6 assists.

With a career average of 15.8 points per game and 5.9 assists, the 12-year veteran is not the same player he once was.

Nonetheless, most would consider Bibby a clear upgrade over Heat point guards Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo.

Arroyo, who has been designated to garbage minutes during blowouts, is a steady point guard in terms of taking care of the ball, but is severely limited offensively and is too small to guard most opposing point guards. Chalmers on the other hand happens to be a decent defender, but commits far too many turnovers and doesn't knock down shots with enough consistency.

If nothing else, Bibby would bring valuable experience to the point guard position.

He is best known for leading the Sacramento Kings against the Los Angeles Lakers in some early 2000's playoff series such as the 2001-2002 season when Bibby and the Kings lost to the L.A. in the Western Conference Finals in an epic 7-game series.

For those that don't remember, Bibby hit a game winner in game 5 of  that series; a shot that earned him a reputation to many as a "clutch performer" and a 7-year $80.5 million contract. Check it out

Chris Bosh gives best and worst performance of career

With the Oscars coming up, Chris Bosh has to get some serious consideration for the Best Actor Award. 

During the third quarter of 93-89 loss to the Chicago Bulls Thursday, Bosh fell to the floor like a sniper victim after "suffering" what appeared to be a slight elbow graze to the nose from Bulls forward Carlos Boozer. It was a flop so bad that all-time flopper great, Vlade Divac probably felt the need to get up and give Bosh his well deserved standing ovation.

After Boozer was called for the offensive foul, Bosh proceeded to roll around the floor for what seemed like an eternity, as Bulls fans delivered an echoing onslaught of boos after watching the replay.

But the the flop wasn't the most embarrassing part of the night for Bosh.

In a night that might be remembered as perhaps his worst game as a professional, Bosh shot an epic 1-of-18  from the field, uncharacteristically missing wide open jumpers and point blank lay ups that made Heat fans watch in bewilderment, after becoming so accustomed to watching his nightly consistency.

But the flop was what made this game so memorable for me. I'm sure it's a night Bosh would surely like to forget, but he should find some solace in knowing that if you search "Worst NBA Flops" in YouTube, he's the third video that pops up. That's a lot of hits Chris! 

Here's the Bosh video, along with a compilation of some of the worst NBA flops of all time. 

No need for Heat to worry about Knicks - for now

Ever since the rumors began about star forward Carmelo Anthony wanting a trade after he turned down the Denver Nuggets $65-million extension last summer, most assumed that he would end up on the New York Knicks.

Even throughout the five month long guessing game that was conducted by writers, analysts, and fans alike, the general consensus always remained that ultimately, Anthony would leave the Denver Nuggets to join up with Amare Stoudemire in the Big Apple.

Monday night all the assumptions and rumors became reality, when the Nuggets shipped off Anthony along with former all star point guard, Chauncey Billups, and formidable role players Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Renaldo Balkman to the Knicks in return for Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, and a 2014 first round draft pick.

Knick fans have to be rejoicing today. And well they should be. They just got one of the most dynamic players in the game; a pure scorer with as deadly a mid range jumper you will find, and a knack for getting to the basket that puts him up there with some of the best players in the league.

But let's be honest. Does this team really scare the Heat? Is Anthony, Billups, and Stoudemire a good enough trio to compete with Miami's big three?

If you're a Knick fan, surely your answers' an emphatic, "YES!".

If you're a Heat fan, your answers' probably a sarcastic, unworried, "Please".

My answer would be, "Teams that don't play defense can't beat great teams."

Statistically, the Knicks are the second worst defensive team in the league, allowing 105.9 points per game.

Judging by his history, it seems Knicks head coach Mike D'antoni's philosophy has always been score as much points as possible; run at full speed the whole game, shoot lots of threes, but don't worry too much about defense.

Sure, the Knicks are second in the league in scoring at 106.2 points per game, but so were the Phoenix Suns when D'antoni was the head coach. And that team didn't play a lick of defense either. Aside from a couple of very good seasons, the suns never truly had the makeup of a championship calibre team.

The other five top scoring teams in the league along with the Knicks, are the Nuggets, Houston Rockets,  Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs. Aside from the Spurs, none of these teams are viewed as a serious contender to make it the NBA finals.

Compare that to the top six teams in defense: The Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, and Miami Heat. Of those six, the Celtics, Bulls, Magic, and Heat all have been recognized as legitimate finals contenders. 

What does it all mean?

It means you need to play defense to have a chance.

Anthony hasn't played much defense up to this point in his career. I don't see much changing with a switch to a D'antoni system.

The Knicks are finally good enough to make some noise. They'll get fans at the Garden excited, they even have a good shot to win a playoff series. But until defense is emphasized, or until they go and grab a dominant defensive center such as Dwight Howard, I'm not worried.

I don't think the Heat are either.

James Jones becomes fourth Heat player to win 3-point shootout

Heat fans are probably used to this by now.

This past Saturday at All Star Weekend, for the fourth time in Heat history and the third time in the last five years, a heat player has taken home the trophy for winning the 3-point competition.

This time around it was James Jones, joining Glen Rice, Jason Kapono, and Daequan Cook as Heat players who have won the contest.

Jones beat out the Boston Celtics', Paul Pierce, last years winner, and NBA all time leading 3-point shooter (3-pointers made) Ray Allen.

"We've had our struggles with the Celtics in the past, but the Heat came out on top Saturday," Jones joked with reporters after the contest.

The award is a testament to the all the grueling work Jones had to put in in order to get himself back to being the deadly long range shooter that has defined him for most of his career. In 2008, right before his first season with the Heat was set to begin, Jones ruptured a tendon in his right wrist, his shooting hand, and there was some serious doubt as to how effective he could ever be again, even after intensive rehab.

Jones, a Miami native, cites the time he spent recovering as the low-point in his professional career. "As a shooter, I felt like I was really starting to find my niche in this league. To have that injury, my walls came crumbling down." Jones said.

As the Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman reported, the Heat's medical staff actually had to rebuild Jones' wrist. His tendons had to be repaired and other tendons actually had to be inserted in.

It wasn't until the beginning of this season that fans truly got an understanding of how intricate of a piece Jones could be for the Heat. For about the first month of the season, Jones lead the league in 3-pointers made and is currently proving to be a defensive presence, taking over injured forward, Udonis Haslem's role as team leader of charges taken.

So while a 3-point trophy may not be exactly the kind of keepsake that Jones was hoping for at the beginning of the season, it should serve as a reminder to him of all he withstood to get back to this point.

"I always wanted to prove myself that I could be labeled one of the best shooters in this game," Jones said. "I think I proved it here today."