Heat @ Nuggets: ESPN, 10:30 PM ET

[DefenseWins]

Is Spo getting sick of Joel?

He started Pittman in the 2nd half.

And yes after sleeping you do realize it's not as bad as this all seems.

But it's new flaws they'll have to overcome. Atrocious 4th quarters and disappearing acts, as well as the defense with wide open 3's.

Mike Miller will also return eventually, things will get better (granted he produces...). Though it depends on Spo's time management as well... lately he just hasn't been doing anything right along with the team. Just a bad road trip.

you know things are bad when skip is defending lbj on twitter
smh

LMAO I know. I expected Skip to rip LBJ apart, but he has it in his mind Wade is the one who will wield this team to a title (eh... SOME truth to that, they BOTH have to work together, not one or the other), and it's obvious Wade is banged up like hell. I don't understand why Wade takes a ton of shots when he has a bad foot. I know he wants to get in rhythm, but when he doesn't make his shots, it results in a deficit. Saw that against ATL and on the road trip. Meh, sit Wade on the bench, bring in Miller and just let him rest until he is ACTUALLY ready.

[Pimpwerx]

give me a break, Kyle Korver has saved the Bulls on MANY nights this season when they couldnt score. JJ is perfect to play with Lebron because he thrives when surrounded by shooters. Play him until he costs us games.

Korver hardly saw the floor in the ECF because he was such a detriment to the defense. It's no coincidence JJ didn't play much either, especially with a foot problem. He can hit a 3, but what does it matter when the opponent is just gonna go back down the court and target JJ specifically to get our defense rotating? I'm not saying he should never play, but if we can't hide him, forget about it. People complaining about the open 3s probably never noticed how many of them come from Jones' man when he's in. It's easy to miss that since he's usually nowhere near the person he's supposed to defend.

Don't get me wrong, I like JJ, but I made note of this numerous times last year. He loses his man on the perimeter all the damn time. It's not even funny how bad his defensive awareness is. He got all those charges because he spends way too much time down near the paint on weakside defense, eventhough he's one of the worst guys at closing out. He'd rather camp down there and hope to step in front of a slasher. He doesn't rebound, doesn't pass that well, and can't create his own shot. I'd honestly rather go with a Cole-Rio backcourt most of the time. JJ's minutes need to be situational until he gets better on defense. He seems worse this season than last. PEACE.

[OtW]

Wade needs to realize he is not 25 years old anymore...his body can't continue taking more hits. He needs to get that money mid-range jumper he had back in the 2006 title run and the 08-09 season. We would be so much more deadly against the zone and against teams in general, because that Ray Allen-esque screen the defender for your teammate to get the open jumper or the catch-and-shoot would be extremely viable if Wade's jump shot got back to that form.

I think the sooner he realizes he is not getting younger, the more time he has to improve his mid-range jumper. Plus, he would be saving some of his explosiveness for the play offs, when we really need it.

This last injury should make him realize that he should let himself heal. Sure, he came back and performed well against Golden State, but he still had a nagging day-to-day injury, and now has a right ankle sprain in addition to that.

[insfo]

Same clowns wanting to can spo are the same ones who ran Shula out of town. Now look at where that franchise is at! If Spo is good enough for Riley hen he's good enough for me. As for the game, we lost. Get over it. Well lose again too. Who gives a crap? Only thing that matters is how the team does in the postseason. From now until then I'm just enjoying entertaining basketball.

Couldn't agree more .. this is the mindset in which I watch games nowadays. The way some of you overreact, It's like you have a million dollars riding on each (regular season) game and on individual player stats.

I just want to be entertained, get into a rhythm as the playoffs approach and then go fight for a championship. If you stop watching games hoping to see things that re-enforce your predetermined mindsets - ie, Joel suck, Spo sucks, It's LeBron's team, It needs to be Lebron's team, It's Wade's team, Chalmers is boneheaded, JJ needs to play, Cole needs to start, LeBron sucks in the 4th quarter etc etc - then the whole experience get a whole lot more entertaining. How many of us were clamouring for Dex to get PT .. he started yesterday's second half and proved why he's not yet ready!

Oh well .. on to the next game.

[imd0pe]

give me a break, Kyle Korver has saved the Bulls on MANY nights this season when they couldnt score. JJ is perfect to play with Lebron because he thrives when surrounded by shooters. Play him until he costs us games.

Korver hardly saw the floor in the ECF because he was such a detriment to the defense. It's no coincidence JJ didn't play much either, especially with a foot problem. He can hit a 3, but what does it matter when the opponent is just gonna go back down the court and target JJ specifically to get our defense rotating? I'm not saying he should never play, but if we can't hide him, forget about it. People complaining about the open 3s probably never noticed how many of them come from Jones' man when he's in. It's easy to miss that since he's usually nowhere near the person he's supposed to defend.

Don't get me wrong, I like JJ, but I made note of this numerous times last year. He loses his man on the perimeter all the damn time. It's not even funny how bad his defensive awareness is. He got all those charges because he spends way too much time down near the paint on weakside defense, eventhough he's one of the worst guys at closing out. He'd rather camp down there and hope to step in front of a slasher. He doesn't rebound, doesn't pass that well, and can't create his own shot. I'd honestly rather go with a Cole-Rio backcourt most of the time. JJ's minutes need to be situational until he gets better on defense. He seems worse this season than last. PEACE.

not true, open 3's come from Wade & lebron overhelping.

Korver didnt play against the Heat, because they were playing the HEAT lol we won't ever play ourselves so JJ is less of a worry because our opponents aren't lebron and dwade. Guess what Bulls also lost because they couldnt score. Korver wasnt shooting as well then as he is now, but he didnt play much...they couldn't score..they lost. See? When we struggle to score we need shooters.

We lost to mavs because

1: overhelp defense
2: no shooters - zone busters/no halfcourt offense/Lebron timid
3: no inside presence which is our reason for overhelping

we have the same issues now

[imd0pe]

Wade needs to realize he is not 25 years old anymore...his body can't continue taking more hits. He needs to get that money mid-range jumper he had back in the 2006 title run and the 08-09 season. We would be so much more deadly against the zone and against teams in general, because that Ray Allen-esque screen the defender for your teammate to get the open jumper or the catch-and-shoot would be extremely viable if Wade's jump shot got back to that form.

I think the sooner he realizes he is not getting younger, the more time he has to improve his mid-range jumper. Plus, he would be saving some of his explosiveness for the play offs, when we really need it.

This last injury should make him realize that he should let himself heal. Sure, he came back and performed well against Golden State, but he still had a nagging day-to-day injury, and now has a right ankle sprain in addition to that.

yes he has to be a shooting guard that can SHOOT.

[Pimpwerx]

not true, open 3's come from Wade & lebron overhelping.

Korver didnt play against the Heat, because they were playing the HEAT lol we won't ever play ourselves so JJ is less of a worry because our opponents aren't lebron and dwade. Guess what Bulls also lost because they couldnt score. Korver wasnt shooting as well then as he is now, but he didnt play much...they couldn't score..they lost. See? When we struggle to score we need shooters.

We lost to mavs because

1: overhelp defense
2: no shooters - zone busters/no halfcourt offense/Lebron timid
3: no inside presence which is our reason for overhelping

we have the same issues now

We blew massive leads in 2 games in the Finals. Both times, we got those massive leads because our defense was strong. James Jones wasn't gonna make any difference last year, unless he was somehow gonna go ham the entire series.

The overhelping is part of the defense. We concede 3pt shots. I can't get mad about it anymore since it didn't hurt us last year.

I agree with having an inside presence, but only for rebounding. Giving up second-chance shots I think hurt far more than overhelping. We forced a lot of missed shots, but then gave them right back because no one could secure the boards.

IMO, Dallas was more down to lack of rebounding and lack of focus. We were killing the Mavs. It's not like they ran roughshod over our defense, we were smothering them at times. But if you give Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion unfettered access to the offensive glass, all that defensive effort is for nothing. PEACE.

[Heat_team02]

Miller wants to start helping crippled Heat

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/01/14/1 ... eedID=3720

Miller, who underwent sports hernia surgery Nov. 28, has yet to suit up this season. But Miller said he's been cleared to play, and he's pushing for Tuesday.

"Yeah, I hope," said the swingman. "Obviously, that's my game plan. But, right now, it's up to them."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra declined to speculate on Miller's availability for this week. But it figures to help his cause that Miami at least will have some practice time before the game against the Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena.

"They would like to see me practice, get out there and do something," said Miller, who had limited practice opportunities during the Heat's just-concluded five-game trip. "I don't blame them. We'll see how it goes."

Heat fans sure would like to see Miller, 31, do something significant on the court for them. Miller signed a five-year, $30 million contract before last season but injuries to both thumbs, to a shoulder and a concussion limited him to just 41 games. He averaged just 5.6 points while shooting 40.1 percent.

"Obviously, you want to play well," Miller, who has a 13.2 career scoring average, said of his desire to show the Heat it was a wise signing.

[Chosen01]

Spo says JJ will play more if Wade can't play on Tuesday, that means there's a some uncertainty but definitely means his ankle wasn't that severe as it looked.

[Woolyy]

Wade needs to sit for at least a week. Miller's coming back so we'll be OK.

And I'm tired of arguing with bulls fans. Can we all agree that if LeBron guards rose, Chicago can't win?

[sooie92]

guys, we're going to the playoffs and we'll start worrying from there..

[FlashTheKilla]

guys, we're going to the playoffs and we'll start worrying from there..

That's the wrong attitude. Gotta correct our flaws in the regular season, because flaws get exposed tenfold during the playoffs.