Miami
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Our own Tracy Graven of Basketball News Services and Hoopsworld.com nicknamed Miami's dynamic duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade as "Superman and the Flash" nearly a month ago and the two superheroes are starting to live up to the name. They each led all scorers with 19 points in under 30 minutes of action in a113-82blowout of the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Superman also had eight rebounds, two assists, and a block while the Flash also had six rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal. Wang Zhizhi also had a nice game, scoring 12 points in 16 minutes on 3-5 shooting to go with four boards. So what's his new nickname?
Or perhaps he doesn't need one. I've long liked Wang's game. For a tall guy, he can really fill it up from all over the court. In the blowout over Atlanta, he missed his one three point attempt but hit 6 of 7 free throws. He's got a good ability to penetrate and can finish in sneaky ways around the basket, mainly with reverse layups with either hand.
Damon Jones also had a nice contribution of nine points in just twelve minutes. He will still prove, in my estimation, to be the second-best offseason acquisition for the newly Shaqified Heat. His assist-to-turnover ratio is high because he doesn't tend to make particularly flashy or errant passes. He just gets the job done in an Eric Snow kind of way. In Friday's game, his ratio was undefined, since he has zero assists and zero turnovers. Pessimists would see that as a zero ratio. Optimists would see it as an infinite ratio. Mathematicians would see it as undefined.
What's not undefined is the impact the Heat will have on the league. Despite such blowouts and despite their 4-1 preseason record (their sole loss being to Houston in their first exhibition game; how's that for a Finals preview?), the Heat will still take the league by storm. Watch out New Jersey come November 3, cuz the big strong fella and the fast little fella are coming to town.
NEXT GAME
The Heat get a well-deserved rest today before wrapping up their preseason with back-to-back road games. Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, October 26th, at 11am in the bright-and-early morn, the Heat travel to Charlotte so that Shaq can get dunked on by Emeka Okafor in front of school children... no, wait, that's just the Charlotte fantasy! There will be dunkage but it won't be on Shaq.
TEAM NOTES
Israel Gutierrez ofThe Miami Herald notes: The Heat held a scrimmage for about 2,000 season-ticket holders at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday. Among the highlights was Malik Allen taking a charge on Shaquille O'Neal, ruining the center's attempt to score a coast-to-coast basket.
The Miami Herald notes: On Nov. 14, Temple Samu-El Or Olom presents the Miami Heat Basketball Team. A chartered bus leaves the Temple at 5:15 p.m. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. Cost: $40 per person. Optional roundtrip chartered bus transportation is $7.50 per person. Tickets and bus seats are limited. Contact the synagogue to make reservations. Daily Minyan is at 7:30 p.m. Mondays. For further information call 305-271-5756. E-mail: tsoo spanish@earthlink.net. Website: www.tsoomiami.org.
INJURY UPDATE
Udonis Haslem(bruised left foot) did not practice Sunday and is listed as day-to-day. X-rays were negative, which is a technically ambiguous phrase that could mean the news from the X-rays was either missing or bad, but that's the phrase people use to say that the X-rays suggest nothing is broken, so that's the phrase we'll stick to.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinelwrites: Heat president Pat Riley, speaking to season-ticket holders at the team's public scrimmage Sunday, told fans they deserve the excitement surrounding the team this season after enduring some rebuilding years.In an interview afterward, Riley said the Heat should contend for the Eastern Conference title as long as a few things fall into place.
Israel Gutierrez ofThe Miami Heraldwrites: It's a common sight after Heat practices: Dorell Wright shooting standstill shots with assistant coach Keith Askins holding his hand inches from the back of Wright's head.It looks strange, but it's a teaching technique that is intended to help Wright improve his form on his shot. Wright always has brought the ball back behind his head while shooting, and Askins is trying to teach Wright a more compact motion. It's not a change the 18-year-old rookie is easily accepting, but he doesn't want to look uncoachable either.