I've made an executive decision to pluralize the Heat name on this blog, henceforth, I will only refer to them as the Heats, thus ending the whole "Heat is" vs "Heat are" debate. Moving on. The Sixers will take the court in Miami tonight against a redefined Heats team, led by Dwyane Wade who was supposedly all the way back from myriad injuries, but hasn't really played like it.
Through three games, two of them losses (one to the friggin' Knicks), Wade is shooting a dismal 41% from the floor and averaging four turnovers per game. His supporting cast hasn't played much better. Shawn Marion can't find shots, Michael Beasley can't pass up a shot, Udonis Haslem is playing out of position at center. Rookie Mario Chalmers has done a nice job at the point and it's good to see Shaun Livingston back on the court after
this.
Still, this Heats team is not good. They probably fall somewhere above the Knicks and the Kings, but they aren't that much better. As bad as they may be, you can't take a team, with a scorer like Wade, lightly. If he gets hot, he can carry them to victory on any given night. Another area of concern for the Sixers should be the Heats' pesky defense. They're averaging nearly 10 steals per game, and forcing 20 turnovers. They don't have good one-on-one defenders. They don't have any real shot blockers down low. They shouldn't be able to match up with the Sixers size wise. The key to winning this game is to make smart, safe plays with the basketball. Use your advantage in the half court, no one can stop Elton Brand on this team.
I expect another methodical dismantling of an inferior opponent tonight. Early in the season, the Sixers seem to have this part of being an elite team down pat. You don't lose to bad teams, you don't even let bad teams hang around. You build a double digit lead quickly, then you keep adding on to it until they just give up.
It would be nice to see a break out game for Andre Iguodala, but I wouldn't expect it. He's been more than happy to sit back and watch when his scoring isn't really needed for a victory, I expect that to be the case tonight.
One thing I'll definitely be watching for: Last year, Andre Miller wound up guarding Wade in crunch time of a couple of close games. I'm thinking Thad will get that assignment this time, and I'm anxious to see how handles guarding him.
scorer like Wade lightly.*
I think "with a scorer like Wade" should be comma'd on each side too.
area "of" concern.
Since you made grammar a topic, I couldn't help myself.
If the Sixers lost, it would be so annoying hearing how they are "overrated", like Chad Ford is hinting at, or some other nonsense. It is still so early and this tema should be 3-1 at least.
All fair points, and I made the changes. I'm getting sloppy.
Funny, when it suits them, ESPN guys love to use point differential as the be-all-end-all judge of a team. Right now the Sixers are +11.3, third-best in the league. Obviously doesn't mean much w/ the small sample size and the competition, but still, funny how they conveniently abandon it.
Speights got playing time with the first team against Sacramento... time for Mo to give Kareem Rush the same opportunity.
When Mo takes Thad out and slides Iggy down to SF, he needs to bring in Rush instead of Willie.
Of course, if that actually happens, I'll owe somebody a Coke.
Lou is probably going to be the sixth man on most nights, and I'm fine with that. Let fouls or just flow of the game dictate who he comes in for (probably Thad). When Green is the second guy off the bench, that's when we run into problems. You have to give those minutes to Rush or Ivey, can't have Willie and Lou in the backcourt together. Someone else brought this up in the comments on an earlier post, and it was a great point.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was me. LOL I'm completely NOT on board with Lou and Willie subbing in at the same time... and it seems to be happening quite consistently. That crazy Mo!... sigh.
I've trolled around espn for a week now and enthusiam for the sixers is certainly ebbed recently. Whispers from "scouts" saying they are vastly overrated are mentioned. The prevailing thought is they don't have a go-to star, and that makes them an above average team.
I wouldn't listen to them though. They aren't the "Boston" sixers, so you won't see anyone from that site bending over backwards to throw praise. It's early and they still need to mesh more together. They'll go 1-1 on this trip and come out 3-3 with a favorable schedule in the near future. If we can come out 4-2, we could really start a nice roll here.
Orlando is going to be a big test. Have to defend the three against them.
I don't know who vastly overrated them (except for our host here), they're a 4th or 5th seed caliber team. And maybe they could get lucky in the playoffs, or make a deal before the playoffs. But that's where analysts pegged them before the season started and I doubt anyone's thinking we've turned into a total pumpkin yet. Some questions worth considering though: From what you've seen so far, will Brand have a better or worse season than (a) Dwight Howard and (b) Chris Bosh? Is our supporting cast around Brand better than Orlando's supporting cast or Toronto's?
And Iguodala comes back into the game just to blow it. 3 possessions, 2 touches, 2 turnovers, 1 more foul. Williams continues to massage the ball, although at least he's making things happen. Speights looks good though.
watching a team turn it over almost 30 times is painful.
Understatement of the year.
That was a thorough beating. Ugh.
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