The Official Miami Heat Return to the Playoffs Thread.

herald has a report on this too:

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/basketball/story/858654.html

still not too sold on JO. his last couple of seasons have been pretty forgettable. we could be taking back injury concerns ( + more salary next year) for a player who puts up numbers equal to or less than marion.

 

And here we go, one day after coming back from injury, Jermaine O'Neal isn't dressed.

That usually signals an imminent deal. Interesting enough, Jason Kapono is also in street clothes for Toronto's game against Phoenix today. I don't recall him popping up on the injury report. God, I hope we don't take his terrible contract. That would defeat the purpose of moving Banks. J.O. + Kapono for Marion, Blount, and Banks works on the trade checker, but screw that. J.O. for Marion + Banks is the better deal.

 

marc stein, on espn's weekend dime, is reporting a possible marion for howard / stackhouse deal. doesn't give us back a center, but the contracts are more manageable and howard is a true SF. also, there is a team option for howard in 2010 in case the heat want to keep him.

 

Here is the latest from the weekend dime report. In case anyone cares.

However ...

Plugged-in sources say that Riley wants to see how O'Neal, who only returned to the Raptors' lineup Friday, holds up physically in a handful of games before taking the discussions any further. And as stated above, sources indicate that there are other teams in contention for Marion, most notably Dallas in a trade that would feature Josh Howard going to Miami for Marion.

Yet it remains to be seen (a) whether Miami ultimately decides that it would rather gamble on O'Neal's vulnerable right knee in spite of his Toronto's struggles because quality centers are harder to find and (b) whether Dallas is prepared to surrender Howard for Marion and risk losing Marion without compensation this summer.

Howard obviously isn't a center, but the 28-year-old would appear to fit better alongside Wade and rookie Michael Beasley than Marion, since he wouldn't cut into Beasley's minutes at power forward like Marion sometimes does.

espn.com

 

And to add fuel to Jermaine sitting out today,

Shawn Marion is also in street clothes for the Heat tonight. "Strained groin"

Done deal, IMO.

 

FREE MICHAEL BEASLEY! He's earned it.

 

Yes Please.

 

uhm....no please. Are you nuts?

 

I'd rather have Howard than Marion.

 

i'd rather have howard than marion or o'neal.

 

I'd take Josh Howard, no doubt. Sure, he admittedly smokes pot, but so does 75% of the NBA, minus the "admittedly" part. He's a better fit and a better player than Shawn Marion, and he's 28 years old with only two years left on his contract. Fits the 2010 plan, while giving you an All Star caliber swing who can actually hit his open shots. The only question there would be whether or not Beasley can mold into a full time power forward, because Howard is a 2/3. Of course we wouldn't have a center, but oh well.
Just wanted to pass this along.. Quite a few people out in Toronto are hearing that a potential option on the table is Marion, Banks, and James Jones for Jermaine O'Neal and Jason Kapono. If we fail to pick up James Jones' option in 2010, he'll still count as $2 million against the cap. Marcus Banks accounts for about $4.8 million. Together, that equals Jason Kapono's cap number, so you're in the same ball, financially, as you'd be if you keep Banks and let Jones walk. I'd rather keep James Jones, personally, but again, whatever. I think adding Jones and Kapono to the deal puts us closer, if not over the luxury tax, though. Arison isn't a fan of that.

Likewise, it's going to be Marion & Banks for J.O.

G - Chalmers / Quinn
G - Wade / Cook
F - Jones / Beasley
F - Haslem / Beasley
C - J.O. / Anthony

I'd be pretty pleased with that line-up, although it would be nice to somehow acquire a veteran guard like a Bobby Jackson to round out the roster. I'm not a big fan of Chris Quinn. Don't know what we'd have to offer, if anything.

 

Howard is a pr nightmare. And we dont need him, we need size.

 

just saw the box score for last nights game, was Beasly hurt? he only played 10 min.

 

Early foul trouble

 

He's serviceable in an emergency, which is all he's really asked to do. He's the lunch pail guy, nothing wrong with that.

And I like him more after Shaq's slap at him.

 

Big game tonight against the Celts..

LETS GO HEAT!!!!!!!!!!

 

Watching this team try to grab a rebound makes me want to cry.

 

hahahaha
Posted via Mobile Device

 

Yeh, it was, for an ex heat player.

House killed us in the second quarter, when he gets hot that dude is dangerous.

 

Dont start.

 

apparently i got blue repped for that.

 

Why do I go into the Magic thread and see constant disrespect to the Heat? Who do these guys think they are, and what put them into the class to disrespect a Championship organization? Damn sure not their regular season success. Step your rings up, scrubs. Those wedding rings mean nothing, ask D-Wade. Get a real man's ring.. then talk

 

Conrats on a nice win last night guys. Nice to get off that 10 game slide.
Heat played great basketball and Challmers..sp.. was on fire.

 

Same reason Jags fans hate the Dolphins; jealousy.

 

Chris Quinn is the worst defender in franchise history. No doubts in my mind.

I'd love for a veteran point guard buyout to fall into our hands. This guy has got to get off the floor. When he isn't left completely open (since he can't create his own shot), aside from not turning the ball over, he doesn't possess a single quality. He's a third point on a good team, IMO.

On the other hand, this has to rank as one of the best overall defensive performances in team history, win or lose tonight. I am amazed. Even Mark Blount is playing spectacular defense. Jamaal Magloire has been a difference maker recently, too. First start tonight. All effort.

 

No Shawn Marion (err.. Jermaine O'Neal). Beasley was hurt early in the second quarter and never returned, although he seems to be OK.

And we're dominating Atlanta.

When it comes to coaching an NBA team, I look at defense and leadership more than anything. Players generate offense more than any other sport, although it is important to be able to draw up plays and create mismatches. Spoelstra is growing on me with how well this team has defended as of late. It's effort more than skill defensively, as we're not all that big or athletic of a team. That comes from coaching.

 

wow, we didnt allow a field goal for a whole quarter!

 

Hopefully its nothing serious.

 

he just bumped knees. they put ice on it and he was cleared to come back in, but spo decided to rest him. he should be back on wednesday.

 

This team reminds me of the underdog Heat team when Wade was a rookie and Odom was lighting it up... We took Indiana to game 6 in the 2nd round when nobody gave us a chance....

I often wonder how the Heat would have fared with Odom, Wade and Butler.. Boy did that team love to run.. To this day I believe they could have won a Championship without Shaq. Wade basically carried the entire team on his shoulders in 06' and I think that cast could have done the same, assuming we still made other key pickups.

 

Dude we're 1/2 game out of #4 in the East right now. That's amazing.

Btw, Dwyane Wade has competition for my "favorite player" spot for the first time in 5-6 years, and it's not Michael Beasley. I am in love with Mario Chalmers. If I was gay.. (no Sean, no. Stop right there. You are from Jamaica.)

 

the d allowed just 32 points in the second half. i feel bad for the wizards and how we toyed with them towards the end.

 

great win tonight, we play the Pacers next and then Dallass.

 

We're 6-2 without Marion in the line-up. With that said, I don't care who he gets traded for. I'll take Jermaine O'Neal. I'll take Brad Miller and a filler. I'll take Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse. Whatever. As long as it gets rid of Marcus Banks, I'll take anything that expires in 2010 and will help us remain a steady 4-6 seed in the meantime.

 

Unlike the Phins we may make past round 1.... Round 2 at Cleveland or Boston will take a herculean Wade effort, on par with his performance against Dallas.

 

I think we'd be the favorite against Atlanta or Detroit.

I'd love for us to play Orlando at some point in the playoffs so I could actually get to a game up here.

 

Ever since that pathetic effort against Boston this team has put the clamps on defensively.

That play with Beasley, Wade and Cook was the higlight of the year for Miami.