Thursday, Jan 8th - HEAT @ BLAZERS 10:30pm on TNT

[DefenseWins]

no fancy stuff til they over .500

[KingDavid]

Prepare your anus!

[DefenseWins]

honestly seeing Lillard vs Rio should be hilarious.

I bet Steve Blake schools Cole too, smh

[IggieCC]

.500!? It will take like 2 months!

But that's okay. I got something to be excited about every game. It's awesome.

Heat's Unlikely 'Game Changer'
No, Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside isn't a rookie. He's a well-traveled center who is becoming a fan favorite in Miami.

MIAMI -- A serious question to Dwyane Wade on his teammate Hassan Whiteside, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in Miami's 88-84 win over Brooklyn on Sunday:

"Did you know he wasn't a rookie?"

Serious answer from Wade: "Nope! I still think he's a rookie. I call him 'rook.'"

Hassan Whiteside began his NBA career in 2010. The 7-foot center is 25 years old.

Still, it's perfectly fair for an NBA veteran such as Wade to be unfamiliar with Whiteside's work. After all, his two "seasons" in Sacramento, after being drafted in the second round, consisted of 19 games and one serious knee injury.

This was probably the more startling statement Wade had about Whiteside: "He's a game-changer."

Quite the compliment for a player whose Wikipedia page looks like some kind of inside joke. Just since Sept. 25, 2014, for example, Whiteside has been signed and waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, acquired by the NBDL's Rio Grande Valley Vipers, traded to the Iowa Energy, re-signed by the Grizzlies, waived a day later, re-joined the Energy, signed by the Heat, assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce and recalled two days later.

This was just one year after he played for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the NBL in China, where he averaged 25.7 points, 16.6 rebounds, 5.1 blocks and 1.4 steals, was named the league's best defensive player and went undefeated in the postseason en route to a title and championship series MVP.

He could've built on that international success, rather than tour the Midwest with the D-League for fewer dollars and fanfare. But that wasn't part of the plan.

"Growing up, I always said I was going to be an NBA player," said Whiteside, who is averaging 4.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11.2 minutes a game. "I didn't even have a backup plan.

"It wasn't about the money. That's why I went to the D-League. I said, 'I'm going to give it all I got this year and just try to make it back to the NBA.' It's paying off right now. I could've gone to China and signed a contract, but I really had to dig deep."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave him the grown-man talk before he signed with Miami in late November, and that didn't scare off the Marshall University product.

"He'll tell you, my first meeting with him was about the work, about the commitment to player development, and that would be every single day," Spoelstra said. "If that doesn't appeal to you, this might not be the place."

Turns out, it's what Whiteside wanted to hear. Spoelstra said Whiteside is embracing the work in what has been a whirlwind of a month, both for Whiteside and the 15-20 Heat.

Against the Rockets on Saturday, Dwight Howard spent much of the first half schooling the non-rookie rookie. Whiteside spent most of halftime studying film of what he did wrong. It didn't help much in the second half of a Rockets blowout win, but Whiteside was back at it again at noon Sunday, taking time only to sleep and grab a sandwich on the way to the AmericanAirlines Arena six hours before tip-off.

Whiteside is quickly becoming the favorite of a fan base desperate for positives in the post-LeBron period. He's rewarding them with his boundless energy and quick ascent.

"Each minute I'm given, I just want to build on it," Whiteside said. "This is the most I've played all season [27 minutes], and a couple weeks ago I wasn't even playing."
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/21239/rookie-whiteside-fitting-in-well-with-heat

[RexBoyWonder]

We'll probably lose, But if Whiteside and Ennis get big minutes I'll be happy.

[Tony15]

We'll probably lose, But if Whiteside and Ennis get big minutes I'll be happy.

Yup.


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[WD]

Keep feeding Hassan in slowly, games have become exciting again for me. I can live with his early mistakes

Loved the excitement from the crowd when he enters the game(disregard any fake crowd noise), this is what the fans want....excitement and hope ......and wins


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[BFO]

Hello to the old-timers on here. Curious to know what the place is like now Bron has headed home. Hope everyone is going well and kicking some ass.

[BFO]

Damn, just realized it is almost 11 years to the day I first signed up on this thing. Happy times.

[DayofMourning]

Hello to the old-timers on here. Curious to know what the place is like now Bron has headed home. Hope everyone is going well and kicking some ass.

What a blast from the past. Glad to see you posting again. Where'd you take all the other "old timers"? As for the board, we're still "rooting" for our team as strong as ever.

[dr3am]

bosh always torches the blazers. we beat them last year without lebron. the only problem is lillard is a freaking monster and he's gonna torch both rio & cole and if the game is somehow close, please get the ball out of lillard's hands because he's clutch asf


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[JLop]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/551928197668163585[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/551928234599014401[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/551929298077380608[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/551929436866895872[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat/status/551932052585844737[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat/status/552096576349671424[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hothothoops/status/551942417344364544[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IraHeatBeat/status/552135539181490176[/tweet]

[heat4life]

Hello to the old-timers on here. Curious to know what the place is like now Bron has headed home. Hope everyone is going well and kicking some ass.

Hey man, long time! Happy New Year. How is the family? You must have more kids than the Heat have championships by now
I am not sure if I prefer the cockiness some fans had during the LeBron years or the Doomsday cries we see lately in here.

[DWadeno3]

.500!? It will take like 2 months!

But that's okay. I got something to be excited about every game. It's awesome.

Heat's Unlikely 'Game Changer'
No, Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside isn't a rookie. He's a well-traveled center who is becoming a fan favorite in Miami.

MIAMI -- A serious question to Dwyane Wade on his teammate Hassan Whiteside, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in Miami's 88-84 win over Brooklyn on Sunday:

"Did you know he wasn't a rookie?"

Serious answer from Wade: "Nope! I still think he's a rookie. I call him 'rook.'"

Hassan Whiteside began his NBA career in 2010. The 7-foot center is 25 years old.

Still, it's perfectly fair for an NBA veteran such as Wade to be unfamiliar with Whiteside's work. After all, his two "seasons" in Sacramento, after being drafted in the second round, consisted of 19 games and one serious knee injury.

This was probably the more startling statement Wade had about Whiteside: "He's a game-changer."

Quite the compliment for a player whose Wikipedia page looks like some kind of inside joke. Just since Sept. 25, 2014, for example, Whiteside has been signed and waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, acquired by the NBDL's Rio Grande Valley Vipers, traded to the Iowa Energy, re-signed by the Grizzlies, waived a day later, re-joined the Energy, signed by the Heat, assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce and recalled two days later.

This was just one year after he played for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the NBL in China, where he averaged 25.7 points, 16.6 rebounds, 5.1 blocks and 1.4 steals, was named the league's best defensive player and went undefeated in the postseason en route to a title and championship series MVP.

He could've built on that international success, rather than tour the Midwest with the D-League for fewer dollars and fanfare. But that wasn't part of the plan.

"Growing up, I always said I was going to be an NBA player," said Whiteside, who is averaging 4.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11.2 minutes a game. "I didn't even have a backup plan.

"It wasn't about the money. That's why I went to the D-League. I said, 'I'm going to give it all I got this year and just try to make it back to the NBA.' It's paying off right now. I could've gone to China and signed a contract, but I really had to dig deep."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave him the grown-man talk before he signed with Miami in late November, and that didn't scare off the Marshall University product.

"He'll tell you, my first meeting with him was about the work, about the commitment to player development, and that would be every single day," Spoelstra said. "If that doesn't appeal to you, this might not be the place."

Turns out, it's what Whiteside wanted to hear. Spoelstra said Whiteside is embracing the work in what has been a whirlwind of a month, both for Whiteside and the 15-20 Heat.

Against the Rockets on Saturday, Dwight Howard spent much of the first half schooling the non-rookie rookie. Whiteside spent most of halftime studying film of what he did wrong. It didn't help much in the second half of a Rockets blowout win, but Whiteside was back at it again at noon Sunday, taking time only to sleep and grab a sandwich on the way to the AmericanAirlines Arena six hours before tip-off.

Whiteside is quickly becoming the favorite of a fan base desperate for positives in the post-LeBron period. He's rewarding them with his boundless energy and quick ascent.

"Each minute I'm given, I just want to build on it," Whiteside said. "This is the most I've played all season [27 minutes], and a couple weeks ago I wasn't even playing."
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/21239/rookie-whiteside-fitting-in-well-with-heat

You can see it in the games that Wade is very intent on involving Whiteside a lot. He sees the potential the kid has to help us, so he seems to be investing a lot him, not just feeding him the ball but constantly talking to him as well.

[RexBoyWonder]

^ Wade is also our only guard that has a clue about feeding a big man. Almost all of Hassan's ally-hops come from Wade, despite Rio/Cole playing with him just as much.

[IggieCC]

You can see it in the games that Wade is very intent on involving Whiteside a lot. He sees the potential the kid has to help us, so he seems to be investing a lot him, not just feeding him the ball but constantly talking to him as well.

Yeah, and to me that says a lot about Wade as a person. He doesn't know if Whiteside can really help him down the road (in a bigger picture I guess).. quite frankly it might be too late for Wade by the time Whiteside fully develops to be an established player. I appreciate Wade taking his time to help him develop for the team not just in the short run but in the long run.

[goodboy]

Long restttttt

I just realized this game is on my bday, come on guys win this! My present!

[HEAT111]

Damn...what a wait for the next game. I'm happy with the contributions from whiteside. Hopefully, we can get something gel well and starting with this young talented Blazers squad.

[blkcsr7]

bosh always torches the blazers. we beat them last year without lebron. the only problem is lillard is a freaking monster and he's gonna torch both rio & cole and if the game is somehow close, please get the ball out of lillard's hands because he's clutch asf


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Lillard will at least have the output in points rebounds, and assists of Rio/Cole combined. He will be a terror for those two. Can't have an empty game from both of them against their point guards.

[DWadeno3]

^ Wade is also our only guard that has a clue about feeding a big man. Almost all of Hassan's ally-hops come from Wade, despite Rio/Cole playing with him just as much.

Whenever I see anybody not named Wade attempt a post-entry pass on this team, I cringe. It's a shame because Wade is also probably our best post-player.

As pissed as I can get about Wade, he has stepped up basketball wise and as a leader for us and seems to be one of the few on this team to give a f***. The same goes for Whiteside, who has really come along, been no-nonsense and done his work. Meanwhile you have Rio and Cole going there, taking s*** for granted and now experiencing a reality check. It really makes me wonder how much Napier must've f***ed up off the court to deserve Sioux Falls.

For all the mistakes our young players commit, they also bring energy, athleticism, hunger and with all of that excitement. I'm usually not supportive of playing young players just for the sake of it, but Ennis, Whiteside, Napier, these kids can at least be solid role-players in this league, are already solid contributors now and bring more hustle out there than a lot of others. You can tell some of them are still nervous when stepping on the court, but that only means they give a f***.