| Miami Heat Preview |
| Posted: 10/10/2008 12:44:02 PM |
NO. NAME POS
50 Joel Anthony C
5 Marcus Banks PG
51 Omar Barlett F
13 Eddie Basden G
30 Michael Beasley PF
15 Mark Blount C
6 Mario Chalmers PG
14 Daequan Cook SG
5 Yakhouba Diawara SG
40 Udonis Haslem PF
22 James Jones PF
14 Shaun Livingston PG
20 Jamaal Magloire C
7 Shawn Marion PF
33 Alonzo Mourning C
4 David Padgett PF
11 Chris Quinn PG
20 Jason Richards PG
03 Dwyane Wade SG
2 Dorell Wright SF
FRONTCOURT
The one-two punch of Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley is going to absolutely dominate and be a matchup nightmare for teams. Both guys can play either frontcourt position. They both can shoot from downtown or put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. Marion is and has been a solid defender his entire career and Beasley definitely has the ability to defend. He has to learn that defense is more important than offense to win a championship but he should learn that quickly with the veterans around him.
Udonis Haslem will see a lot of minutes at the power forward. He is solid around the basket and hits the glass hard. He will give the Heat another style to throw at people than they will see from Marion and Beasley. Haslem could stay on the floor at the same time as Marion and Beasley if the Heat want to go small. That may work to their favor since the center position is one of the weaker positions on the roster. Mark Blount, Jamaal Magloire, Joel Anthony and rookie David Padgett will get their opportunities to take the job.
Blount scores decently around the basket but his rebounding is horrendous for the position. Magloire can rebound and defend when he is motivated but he hasn’t been the same player since his all-star appearance. He broke his hand in preseason and that could move him farther down the depth chart. Anthony simply will never be more than a bench player. Padgett has solid skills. He can score, rebound, pass and he is smart and the offense could flow thru him but he simply hasn’t been healthy throughout his college career to count on at this level.
The rest of the frontcourt depth will come from small forwards James Jones and Dorell Wright. Jones is one of the top snipers in the NBA and he is a career 86.5% shooter from the line. He’s athletic and can defend decently but he wouldn’t succeed playing major minutes. Wright received minutes last year out of necessity and did well. He proved he can play if needed but if all goes well this year the Heat won’t need him.
BACKCOURT
The season rests on the health of Dwayne Wade. If he is healthy and he doesn’t have to be the primary ball handler the Heat will win. If not they will struggle like last season. Wade still needs to improve from the three point line but the rest of his game is solid. People want to give recognition for Kobe and LeBron in the Olympics but from what I saw Wade was the best player on the floor most of the time. Daequan Cook is an athletic backup that deserves minutes. He hits the three but he needs to improve the rest of his game.
Jason Williams is no longer around as the starting point guard. Marcus Banks has shown flashes but he is probably better suited for the bench. He is lightning quick but doesn’t use his speed effectively. Mario Chalmers may see a lot of action at the point but the Heat may need someone with experience keeping the scorers calm. Chalmers can hit big shots and knock down threes with regularity. The key may be if Shaun Livingston is able to come back from the brutal knee injury he suffered. He was just starting to come into his own when he went down in the 06-07 season.
OUTLOOK
The Heat will be better. How much better depends on the quality of play they get from the point and center positions. Miami will come out firing though offensively as teams will find it difficult to match up with Wade, Marion and Beasley on the floor at the same time. It usually takes 3 stars on a roster to win a championship ([Bird, McHale, Parrish], [Magic, Worthy, Kareem], [Jordan, Pippen, Gran], [Garnett, Allen, Pierce]) and these are the 3 it will be. Just not this year. The rest of the role players need to get better. Chalmers, Jones and Padgett may be the start of the bench but the rest may have to come from next year’s draft.
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| Brad Mathews |
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| Memphis Grizzles Preview |
| Posted: 10/9/2008 12:18:02 PM |
NO. NAME POS
0 Darrell Arthur PF
05 Malick Badiane FC
07 Greg Buckner SG
11 Mike Conley PG
3 Javaris Crittenton PG
33 Marc Gasol |
| Brad Mathews |
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| LA Lakers Preview |
| Posted: 10/8/2008 12:55:55 PM |
NO. NAME POS
3 Trevor Ariza SF
24 Kobe Bryant SG
17 Andrew Bynum C
12 Joe Crawford SG
05 Jordan Farmar PG
2 Derek Fisher |
| Brad Mathews |
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| LA Clippers Preview |
| Posted: 10/8/2008 12:43:25 PM |
NO. NAME POS
23 Marcus Camby C
1 Baron Davis PG
40 Paul Davis C
31 Ricky Davis SF
10 Eric Gordon SG
3 Jason Hart & |
| Brad Mathews |
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| Indiana Pacers Preview |
| Posted: 10/7/2008 11:47:33 AM |
NO. NAME POS
9 Maceo Baston PF
44 Austin Croshere PF
6 Marquis Daniels SG
18 Josh Davis PF
12 Travis Diener PG
17 Mike Dunleavy &nb |
| Brad Mathews |
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| Houston Rockets Preview |
| Posted: 10/6/2008 12:24:49 PM |
NO. NAME POS
12 Rafer Alston PG
93 Ron Artest SF
17 Brent Barry SG
31 Shane Battier SF
0 Aaron Brooks PG
15 Joey Dorsey PF
3 Steve Francis PG
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| Brad Mathews |
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