Atlanta Hawks Vs. Miami Heat JANUARY 2, 2012 7:30 PM ET

[Heliumiami]

Game, its over. Bad offensive she me against the zone in the first half, a terrible game by wade and horrible defense in the perimeter against the 3 pointers kill us...

WE always give up the 3 ball - our D is built that way. I hate it.

[Jinsaryko]

well the article did say "We expect more from LeBron" when he played like he's suppose to.

LBJ looked stagnant, I had no idea he played that kind of game (even though scoring 6 points in 4th... insert 4th quarter joke), but many times against the zone he turned it over holding the ball and missing.

It looked worse in the actual game, not the stat line.

You got it exactly right. ESPN is holding Lebron to a higher standard then everyone else in the NBA. Including Wade. That's all.

[Cakeman21]

Honestly, those writers are spoiled by LeBron's early performances, they "expect" more from LeBron because he's really carried the lion's share of the load for the Big 3 this season. He was all-world pretty much the first 4-5 games, dominating in the post, nailing jumpshots, leading the team in scoring. Meanwhile Wade struggled but 2 games in a row got a GW and won all the headlines.

I said it last game, this team cannot keep relying on LeBron to put up the big numbers he has in the first 2 or 3 quarters, it has to be a consumate team effort, and so far Wade really hasnt been holding up his end.

[arsenic]

well the article did say "We expect more from LeBron" when he played like he's suppose to.

LBJ looked stagnant, I had no idea he played that kind of game (even though scoring 6 points in 4th... insert 4th quarter joke), but many times against the zone he turned it over holding the ball and missing.

It looked worse in the actual game, not the stat line.

You got it exactly right. ESPN is holding Lebron to a higher standard then everyone else in the NBA. Including Wade. That's all.

I don't see why. At least Wade showed up in the finals, perhaps they should lower the standard for Lebron... but whatever. I was just pointing out the bias, it doesnt bother me. Just making a point.

[DefenseWins]

Oh and the points in the paint was terrible. Both the Heat giving up too many, and the Heat not getting enough.

We'll see what happens when they face ATL again. It should be a beat down but it depends on Wade.

and I am surprised Cole didn't play so much. He should have gotten more time. I know Teague was giving him trouble, but having another penetration player out there could have helped.

If it makes anyone feel better, OKC just lost too.

[arsenic]

Flashy numbers? Yeah right. I don't think anyone in their right mind would consider this a GREAT game from Lebron. I've seen him play better on less points. Were looking at the context of what's being said. Wade's 4-17 garbage shooting is due to "assists" , in other words they are making excuses. PLEASE. Switch those names around and Lebron would absolutely have an "F" for the type of game Wade had. Just pointing out the bias man. It's just blatant.

I did not say it was a great game from LeBron either, you are being extremely emotional. Please tell me what grade would you have given LeBron for his performance that he didn't get and is showing this 'bias' against him that is eating at you so? I simply don't think anything about it was unfair assessment. He was not the worst player today (Wade was), but he was not the best (Bosh was) and not as good as his stats might lead you to believe. Simple.

Was going to give you a legit reply but then you lost me on being "extremely emotional" when Im not in the slightest, so alright bud.

[Pimpwerx]

Just back from the game. Some of my friends online are saying T-Mac was beating Bron off the dribble in the 4th. I didn't see that. I will tell you what I thought about this very-winnable game.

1. We got outrebounded. Looked like we got worked on the boards pretty good. Still haven't looked at the box score, but that's my eyeball impression.

2. Walking the ball up against a zone is stupid. It's shades of the Finals again. If a zone is kicking your ass, why are you gonna let them setup in it? We needed to run against it. A zone doesn't work with only 3 guys. In the closing minutes, why did we put in Battier and Haslem? I was telling my parents, I would just pressure Wade and Bron, since no one else can bring the ball up. That'll eat up clock, and then you just sit on Shane since no one else can hit a 3 well. I thought we should have closed with Cole and JJ/Battier next to the Big3. Get someone else out there who can bring the ball up. Cole's sole purpose is to change the pace, so have him push the ball up against that zone.

3. Wade and Cole are the only two guys with experience breaking down a zone off the dribble. What were they doing? Wade did work on the zone early, but was useless late. Got forced into too many turnovers too. Cole should have been out there. Bron was handling the rock too much, and he doesn't know how to break down a zone. We bailed Atlanta out with our poor play.

4. Not enough James Jones. Again, the zone is bugging me. If we're gonna pretend to struggle against the zone, shouldn't we try to utilize some of our weapons against it? When he was in there, JJ didn't get any good looks. If we can't get our best shooter some shots, then we're gonna have problems.

5. Bron's post-game was missing. Early in the first, Bron got mismatched on Teague at the top of the key. He got the ball, but instead of turning and backing him down, he passed it away. WTF? This is the very situation he's been preparing for, right? This is what he's been working on, dominating those size mismatches. Nope. I didn't see him working in the post much at all. Same for Wade. Very disappointing.

Tonight just reminded me of everything that was wrong with the team last year. Lazy, slow and out of sync. I won't fret much though, and hope they bounce back on Wednesday against a tough Pacers team. Cole was a nice takeaway tonight. Started 0-3, but heated up after that. Still fearless, and still playing good defense. He got beat to the rim once by Teague, and I think he had a poor entry pass to Bosh that was stolen. His play continues to be solid though.

Let's turn it around next game. Let's go Heat. PEACE.

[DefenseWins]

ATL and MIA were the same on rebounding, 40. ATL got one more offensive rebound but they were at 40 a piece. ATL's rebounds came in the critical moments however.

Pimpwerx, good assessment. They played exactly how they would last season. When they re-evaluate themselves they'll get back on track.

But damn Pacers soon... out of all teams to try to bounce back

lol ATL's bench did nothing but McGrady. Would have been different if he didn't hit his 3's, but whatever.

[Pimpwerx]

ATL and MIA were the same on rebounding, 40. ATL got one more offensive rebound but they were at 40 a piece. ATL's rebounds came in the critical moments however.

Pimpwerx, good assessment. They played exactly how they would last season. When they re-evaluate themselves they'll get back on track.

But damn Pacers soon... out of all teams to try to bounce back

lol ATL's bench did nothing but McGrady. Would have been different if he didn't hit his 3's, but whatever.

You're right about the rebounding. Weird how it seemed to go ATL's way at the game. I must just have been thrown off by all the misses in the second half. It will be good if more teams used the zone more often against us. It will force us to sink or swim. This team needs practice beating the zone, so maybe we need to face it some more. I want to see Spo come up with a solution to this.

I will say that in the first quarter, before the zone, the offense looked amazing. Sitting on the top of the AAA like we were (yay $10 tickets), you can really see the angles and spacing they're working with. Pretty nice. But against the zone, it looks just like last year. Just some of the names are different. PEACE.

[TheMiamiHeat3]

Just back from the game. Some of my friends online are saying T-Mac was beating Bron off the dribble in the 4th. I didn't see that. I will tell you what I thought about this very-winnable game.

1. We got outrebounded. Looked like we got worked on the boards pretty good. Still haven't looked at the box score, but that's my eyeball impression.

2. Walking the ball up against a zone is stupid. It's shades of the Finals again. If a zone is kicking your ass, why are you gonna let them setup in it? We needed to run against it. A zone doesn't work with only 3 guys. In the closing minutes, why did we put in Battier and Haslem? I was telling my parents, I would just pressure Wade and Bron, since no one else can bring the ball up. That'll eat up clock, and then you just sit on Shane since no one else can hit a 3 well. I thought we should have closed with Cole and JJ/Battier next to the Big3. Get someone else out there who can bring the ball up. Cole's sole purpose is to change the pace, so have him push the ball up against that zone.

3. Wade and Cole are the only two guys with experience breaking down a zone off the dribble. What were they doing? Wade did work on the zone early, but was useless late. Got forced into too many turnovers too. Cole should have been out there. Bron was handling the rock too much, and he doesn't know how to break down a zone. We bailed Atlanta out with our poor play.

4. Not enough James Jones. Again, the zone is bugging me. If we're gonna pretend to struggle against the zone, shouldn't we try to utilize some of our weapons against it? When he was in there, JJ didn't get any good looks. If we can't get our best shooter some shots, then we're gonna have problems.

5. Bron's post-game was missing. Early in the first, Bron got mismatched on Teague at the top of the key. He got the ball, but instead of turning and backing him down, he passed it away. WTF? This is the very situation he's been preparing for, right? This is what he's been working on, dominating those size mismatches. Nope. I didn't see him working in the post much at all. Same for Wade. Very disappointing.

Tonight just reminded me of everything that was wrong with the team last year. Lazy, slow and out of sync. I won't fret much though, and hope they bounce back on Wednesday against a tough Pacers team. Cole was a nice takeaway tonight. Started 0-3, but heated up after that. Still fearless, and still playing good defense. He got beat to the rim once by Teague, and I think he had a poor entry pass to Bosh that was stolen. His play continues to be solid though.

Let's turn it around next game. Let's go Heat. PEACE.

Spot on analysis.

[Heat_team02]

Wade & Lebron not shooting 3's

If not shooting 3's what are they going to do when they have the ball out there? They're going to drive.

How do you defend against the drive? Employ the zone defense.

So now when teams see Wade & Lebron with the ball out there, they don't defend the 3PT line against them, they back off, sag the lane and wait for them to either force the shot or have someone else beat them if they can.

The 3PT line is the blue zone for Wade & Lebron. Inside the arc is the red zone. That's how teams see it now & it's their job to keep both of them parked out in the blue zone.

[WD]

Hi, my name is WD, and I am a sore loser

[DWadeno3]

Just back from the game. Some of my friends online are saying T-Mac was beating Bron off the dribble in the 4th. I didn't see that. I will tell you what I thought about this very-winnable game.

1. We got outrebounded. Looked like we got worked on the boards pretty good. Still haven't looked at the box score, but that's my eyeball impression.

2. Walking the ball up against a zone is stupid. It's shades of the Finals again. If a zone is kicking your ass, why are you gonna let them setup in it? We needed to run against it. A zone doesn't work with only 3 guys. In the closing minutes, why did we put in Battier and Haslem? I was telling my parents, I would just pressure Wade and Bron, since no one else can bring the ball up. That'll eat up clock, and then you just sit on Shane since no one else can hit a 3 well. I thought we should have closed with Cole and JJ/Battier next to the Big3. Get someone else out there who can bring the ball up. Cole's sole purpose is to change the pace, so have him push the ball up against that zone.

3. Wade and Cole are the only two guys with experience breaking down a zone off the dribble. What were they doing? Wade did work on the zone early, but was useless late. Got forced into too many turnovers too. Cole should have been out there. Bron was handling the rock too much, and he doesn't know how to break down a zone. We bailed Atlanta out with our poor play.

4. Not enough James Jones. Again, the zone is bugging me. If we're gonna pretend to struggle against the zone, shouldn't we try to utilize some of our weapons against it? When he was in there, JJ didn't get any good looks. If we can't get our best shooter some shots, then we're gonna have problems.

5. Bron's post-game was missing. Early in the first, Bron got mismatched on Teague at the top of the key. He got the ball, but instead of turning and backing him down, he passed it away. WTF? This is the very situation he's been preparing for, right? This is what he's been working on, dominating those size mismatches. Nope. I didn't see him working in the post much at all. Same for Wade. Very disappointing.

Tonight just reminded me of everything that was wrong with the team last year. Lazy, slow and out of sync. I won't fret much though, and hope they bounce back on Wednesday against a tough Pacers team. Cole was a nice takeaway tonight. Started 0-3, but heated up after that. Still fearless, and still playing good defense. He got beat to the rim once by Teague, and I think he had a poor entry pass to Bosh that was stolen. His play continues to be solid though.

Let's turn it around next game. Let's go Heat. PEACE.

This is a good analysis of the game. Once I saw how we played against the zone, I knew this was going to be a difficult and ugly night.
On a side note: Wade get your s*** together you stupid tool. If you're a max, or almost max, player, you can't have one terrible game after another.