[Indianplaya17]

Yes, its time! Should have been made back on July 9th.

[Indianplaya17]

The Heat have lost 4 of their last 5; 7 of their last 11. LOL @ Miami!

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/ ... miami-heat

[Indianplaya17]

• The Heat are 0-4 on the road against opponents with winning records.

• Miami's Big 3 combined for 67 of the Heat's 95 points as they each scored 20-plus for the second time this season. However, they also combined for 13 of the Heat's 15 turnovers.

• The Mavericks outscored the Heat 48-26 in the paint. Coming into the game, the Mavericks were the only team in the NBA averaging fewer points per game in the paint than the Heat.

• The Heat are 2-7 against teams with a .500 record or better this season and have dropped four straight road games.

[medicalgary33]

No big deal, or intentional?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNgf6fd88g8&feature=related[/youtube]

Based on how it looked in slow motion, I think LeBron did that on purpose. It looks like he leans his shoulder into it. Say what you want, we have all done that to someone else, and its the exact same way you do it, lower and lead shoulder slightly.

I love how the players blame the coach for them sucking.

[Indianplaya17]

T-Mac questions LeBron James
Source: ESPNChicago.com

Tracy McGrady told the New York Daily News that LeBron James would have been better off going to the Chicago Bulls, and the reason why the Miami Heat are struggling is because James and Dwyane Wade both command the ball.

"[Chicago] was a better decision, a better place for him," McGrady told the Daily News. "You can't just go somewhere and have that type of chemistry he had in Cleveland."

The Bulls courted James and Chris Bosh before they decided to join Wade in Miami.

McGrady worked out for the Bulls before signing a free-agent contract with the Detroit Pistons. McGrady said one of the reasons the Heat are off to a disappointing 9-8 start is the chemistry of James and Wade on the court.

"When they're on the court together, they're terrible," McGrady told the paper. "Him and D-Wade don't complement each other. They're somewhat the same type of players, 'Bron and D-Wade. ... Both of those guys need the ball, and they don't shoot the ball like Ray Allen. That's why they're having trouble scoring in the halfcourt, because they can't get a rhythm, because one of them is dominating the ball. That guy might be getting off, but the other guy [isn't].

"That's why when they're on the court together, they're terrible. They're rhythm players that need the ball. I'm like that. I can't stand out there and catch and shoot. I've never been a guy that sits out there waiting for the ball to come to me."

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/n ... id=5862624

[Indianplaya17]

Sources: Erik Spoelstra frustrating Heat
Source: Chris Broussard / ESPN

The Miami Heat's players are frustrated with Erik Spoelstra and some are questioning whether he is the right coach for their team, according to people close to the situation. With the ballyhooed Heat losing four of their last five games and sporting a mediocre 9-8 record, the players are privately grumbling about Spoelstra on several fronts.

Sources say the players believe he is not letting them be themselves, that they are questioning his offensive strategies, and that they think he is panicking because he fears losing his job.

"Right now, in my opinion, no one is doing a good job," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, asked Monday about Spoelstra's performance. "We're 9-and-8. We're all in this together. The players are not doing a good job. The coach is not doing a good job."

In contrast to the popular view that Spoelstra has been hesitant to jump on Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, sources say the Heat coach has shown no fear in criticizing them.

Exhibit A was a recent shootaround in which Spoelstra told James that he had to get more serious. The source said Spoelstra called James out in front of the entire team, telling him, "I can't tell when you're serious."

"He's jumping on them," one source said. "If anything, he's been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn't believe it. They feel like Spoelstra's not letting them be themselves."

But Spoelstra, at the Heat's morning shootaround ahead of Monday night's game against Washington, said players and coaches don't always get along -- and that's normal.

"A coach-player relationship in this league often will be confrontational at times. And other times, it's smooth sailing," he said. "But just the dynamic of the competitive nature of everybody, expectations, results -- all these things combine, yeah, sometimes it will get testy. And that's good. Especially when people have a pure heart and mind about getting better, that just shows that the sides want to make it right."

While he talked about his team's frustration at its play not yet matching its lofty expectations, Spoelstra did not directly respond to the comments.

"If it's an unnamed source, I have no comment about that. That could come from anywhere," he said. "I think the guys in our locker room are pure about what we need to get done and to improve and that's all I'll comment on. Anything else is really just speculation."

Wade said winning will fix everything.

"When success comes we win as a whole," he said. "If we win four in a row, coach is going to look great. If we have a good December, you're going to be talking about coach of the year. And he might not change a thing."

It is not known whether the players voiced their concerns about Spoelstra during their players-only meeting following Saturday's loss at Dallas. Nor is it apparent whether the bump between James and Spoelstra during a timeout in that game was accidental or a result of tension between the two.

Spoelstra said he "didn't even notice" the bump until it was mentioned after the game.

"Coming out of the timeout, it's a pinball at the game, I'm colliding into a lot of people. So it's probably a perfect case of overspeculation from this team," he said Monday.

"I was fine with that timeout. The fact that guys are not happy about the play, tempers rose, you could see the fire and passion in people's eyes. That's the way it should be," he added. "None of us should be happy about what was going on in the third quarter and taking it in stride."

According to the sources, the Heat players believe Spoelstra's offensive strategies have been too simplistic. They feel like he is running nothing but pick-and-rolls and telling the Heat's secondary players to find open spots on the floor for catch-and-shoot jumpers.

The sources said the players also think the constant speculation about Spoelstra's job security is getting to the third-year coach and that he has resorted to nitpicking over minor details because of it.

"He's not a motivator," one of the sources said. "Instead of coaching he's at the point where the players are starting to sense that he's fearing for his job."

While the players may have their doubts about Spoelstra, it is not clear whether they want team president Pat Riley to coach them. Several people close to the situation said Wade definitely does not want Riley to come down to the sidelines. Sources also said that while recruiting players this past summer, Riley insisted that he would not coach the team.

"Riley kept saying 'Spoelstra's a good coach and he'll grow into a great coach,' " a source said. "He said he got his coaching break [with the Los Angeles Lakers] around the same age as Spoelstra got his."

It is widely believed that Riley does not want to coach this season. However, one source said that privately Riley has at times been critical of the Heat's game-planning.

While expectations around the league have started to lessen for the Heat because of their struggles, the sources said the players still have a championship-or-bust mentality for this season and that they are open to whatever changes are necessary to get there.

"Come on, if you lose, no one's going to be happy and nor should they be," Spoelstra said Monday. "Our group is still connected. So we're still trying to work and get better. That's the only thing we're focused on right now. As all the noise starts to raise outside of our circle, we have to stay connected and get through this. It will get better. "

While the players think that may mean a coaching change, one member of the Heat organization said the team is suffering from a lack of leadership from the players, not the coach.

"They don't want to step on each other's toes," the person said. "There's no leader on the team. Somebody has to speak up and be the leader on the team. They can't be afraid to step on people's toes. They need a vocal leader who's going to make everybody accountable. I don't think it's on the coach. It's on the players."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/ ... id=5862172

[The Stache]

Heat have no inside presence. ZERO. If you have noticed, the games they struggle in are against teams with good big men.

Boozer/Noah/Taj will eat them alive when we play them. Bosh is softer than a wet paper towel. Joel Anthony is not a starting center. Juwan Howard, Big Z, and Dampier are all 35+ years old. What were they thinking going into a season with no interior play? Perimeter play may look sexy, but you need some bangers down low to do the dirty work.

[dusters]

LOL @ the Heat. Lefail and Wade don't compliment each other at all. They both can't shoot worth shit.

[Indianplaya17]

LeBitch and the Heat head into Cleveland tonight! Should be interesting.

[The Stache]

Must see TV tonight as far as in concerned. Wonder if cleveland will stay classy

[The Stache]

LOL

@KCJHoop: DRose on whether he will watch LeBron's return to Cleveland: "I got my second season of Dexter to watch."

[Indianplaya17]

LOL @ D-Rose...funny shit.

[cubbiefan009]

59-40 Miami at half. Lot of "Boo's" and "Akron hates you" but that's really it. Props to Cleveland, showing their hatred, but yet still being respectful.

I'm thinking about buying that Lying King T-Shirt, lol

[Indianplaya17]

I heard "Asshole! Asshole! Asshole" earlier

[cubbiefan009]

Ouch, Miami stomped Cleveland.

[cubbiefan009]

[cubbiefan009]

Boobie basically saying his friendship with LeBron is over.

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/video/2010 ... index.html

[Indianplaya17]

LeBron James, Fan exchange words

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- LeBron James took a moment during Friday's game against the Detroit Pistons to fire back at a heckling fan who insulted his mother.

After hearing a fan sitting near the court behind the Heat's bench mention his mother's name, James walked toward the scorer's table and addressed the male fan.

"I don't care what you say to me. I don't give a [expletive] what you say," James said to the fan. "But don't be disrespectful."

The exchange came during a break in action with 1.7 seconds left in the first quarter and was picked up by television microphones.

James responded to the fan, who shouted the comments within earshot of James' two young sons who sat courtside near the Heat's bench.

The fan, who declined to give his name to ESPN.com, said he was offended by James' cursing. He was also told by security to refrain from heckling the rest of the game or he would be escorted out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/ ... id=6114546

[Indianplaya17]

Im going to give James some credit here. Pistons fans have always started shit with opposing players (i.e- Ron Artest)

[slaket13]

LeMVP?