I May Throw Up

Dan LeBatard : For The Love of the Game

What a load of unadulterated crap.

We are talking millions of dollars here.....millions......MILLIONS!

34 millions to be precise......in these times of austerity, sports stars would do well to shut up about how magnanimous they are in giving part of their gruesome fortunes to other players so that they can still be "brothers".

And I know that these NBA stars put lots back into their communities.....it's still grotesque the amount of money that sports stars the world over generate.....pay them well, yes....but let's get some perspective on it here.

Football (soccer!!!) is the same....particularly in the UK where Wayne Rooney has just realised he cannot live on £150,000 per week.....PER WEEK!!!??

Shame on all of you.

Sadness....Nothing but Sadness

Y'know...this is really troublesome.

There are those of you out there who will find what I have to say unbelievable given what has happened in the last 24/48 hours. There are those of you who, in all honesty, deserve this amazing earth-shift....those guys who have been with Miami through all the lean times....

Me? Well I've sort of become hung up specifically on this whole Michael Beasley issue and generally on Miami's policy as regards developing the talents of young players. It's fairly clear that Pat Riley is about delivering rings NOW....RIGHT NOW....and I don't really like that way of operating......Miami have spent the second half of the first decade in this new millenium nursing the hang over from 2006.

Still, if LeBron and Bosh feel the only way they are going to win a championship is by teaming up with Wade then good luck to them. I think it says something about them. I don't hand me any stories about them all playing for less money....less money? Everything is relative...we're talking multi millions here....none of the three is going to end up destitute soon.

Going back to what Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan said...in a similar vein, I remember when I was growing up we'd play "bounce games" of soccer for hours and hours but it always started by picking teams. The best two players always went on opposing sides and picked the teams so that the teams ended up relatively even.

Things may not turn out as rosy as you expect down South Beach way.

Right...That's That.

Miami........I'm out of here.

It's been.....well......all about Wade.

Regardless of what 2010/11 brings you......you deserve him.

Inspiration?

See this?


This is this....


This ain't something else...


This is this.


From now on, you're on your own.


I've been reading today of Coach Spoelstra's inspirational qualities and how he uses well turned phrases to help his team zone in on what matters before every game.....by his own admission he keeps these messages short and to the point because if they get too long or too many in number he loses their attention ( yeah that made me laugh too).

Anyway, after D-wade's virtuoso performance on Sunday I thought that Robert De Niro's classic mini speech from the Deer Hunter was just the ticket......pin it up on the whiteboard, Coach, beside a photograph of D-Wade holding out a basketball.

This is this.......the biggest game of the year for the Miami Heat......let's find a way to win it.

Nobody said it would be easy.

Game #4 Boston Celtics 92 - Miami Heat 101 (Celtics lead 3-1)

Finally....finally....finally.

Just when it seemed that this may end up with the Miami Heat being swept by the Boston Celtics the Heat find a way to win. It came as no surprise really to find that the way was created by Dwyane Wade who had an exemplary scoring game with 46 points. This was a night when the threes were dropping and Wade didn't look like he was going to miss...ever.

Miami topped and tailed this game 18-31 in the first quarter...15-30 in the fourth....In between Boston came on strong and ended the third quarter with a six point advantage after some poor clock management by Wade.

From there on in it was all about #3.....although he did have decent support namely in the shape of Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony and Dorrell Wright.

Coach Spoelstra told sideline reporter, the delectable Lisa Salters that going into he fourth it would be all about..." Our own mental toughness going down the stretch." How many of you winced when he said that?

Anyway, we should have known, shouldn't we?

It rained threes from Wade's right hand...four of them in the run in.... all of them over Ray Allen who missed two crucial free throws at 92-96. This was emulated by Kevin Garnett at 92-98.

So on we go for at least one more game. That is obviously he strategy of choice now....one game at a time.

I must admit I found myself shouting at the computer screen this evening as I became as frustrated as the ABC commentary team with Mike Beasley's unwillingness to attack the rim in traffic. This kid has a smooth stroke and some nice moves but he does need to start dunking a bit in the lane and not just when he has a clear lane......this kind of thing....a bit more often.

Game #3 - Boston Celtics 100 - Miami Heat 98 ( Celtics lead 3-0 )

Ultimately heartbreak.

But come on guys, how many of you realistically thought that Miami would fight their way back into this one. When Boston ended the third quarter up by 8 points I had a kind of sinking feeling. Boston were just out of reach....basically the Heat had no answers to Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.....and throughout this game the experience of the Celtics told. They showed patience and justified arrogance despite good defensive pressure from the Heat, executing on countless occasions at the shot clock buzzer.

Then with the experienced players ailing or sitting on the bench.....the youngsters finally ignited and gave us a glimpse of what they can do......Dorrell Wright and Michael Beasley both made significant contributions and all of a sudden the Heat found themselves in a game at 98-98.

Then came Pierce......I really shouldn't go into this.....in fact I won't.

Then came Pierce.....game, series, season?

Beasley Being Hung out to Dry......By His Own People

I am a huge Michael Beasley fan.

That is a tough place to be at the moment.....but hey....someone has to root for this kid.

No way is he as bad as people and particularly the hatchet men of the press making out.....but I suppose they have to fill column inches.....and he is bombing, spectacularly, in front of millions.....

I said, in a fit of anger, during the last trade window that they should have moved him on...if it were possible....as he was being constantly mishandled by the Coach and most of the senior players.....to me it would have been a sensible move for for Michael and possibly a kick start for his career. However such ideas were completely rubbished by the Heat front office. Pat Riley unequivocally stated that #30 was going nowhere, he said that Beasley reminded him of James Worthy....bold claim that....Worthy was awesome. So what does he see in Mike that isn't being replicated on the court?......what does he see that is Worthy-esque?.....what is causing the #2 overall draft pick to be such a "box of chocolates"?

It is an interesting question if nothing else.....I mean, let's be serious for a minute.....Riles knows a player when he sees one.

Something isn't right....It's been fairly polarising all season long.....and the gutter press are doing an excellent job of stirring unrest. They won't be happy until Mike is toast.

I found this posting on a blog somewhere and thought it was a fairly decent point of view......agree or disagree as you will.....some of us have made our beds

Winderman is the biggest **** in the world. He is constantly on Beasley for not being a 20/10 guy on a mostly veteran team. The problem is that he uses the success of Rose and Brook Lopez to say that Beasley isnt cutting it. Neither one of those players has superstars on their team to defer to and no real veteran presence. Does he watch the games. The Heat do not run plays for Beasley or anyone else except Wade and O'Neal. Beasley has had to become a number two option on a veteran filled team and he is surprised that Beasley isnt an all star. The Heat has always been slow to develop young talent. Wright has been on the team for almost six years before he made a contribution, Cook never plays and Chalmers who seems to play ok doesnt get a great deal of playing time. The fact that Winderman believes that Haslem is better than Beasley speaks for itself. He might be underachieving but he is not devoid of talent. The Heat need to learn from the Thunder and just let the young guys play.

Miami Heat 77 - Boston Celtics 106 ( Celtics lead 2-0 )

Humiliation?.....Feels worse.

Not a pleasant feeling.....that was so painful to watch that when the NBA tv people switched to the Portland v Phoenix game for a long period during the fourth quarter and I really didn't mind.

I made quite a few notes during this game but really they are all immaterial....if you want to sit and dissect a second quarter display that amassed 10 points then go right ahead.....it was absolutely woeful.....and I cannot be arsed, to be honest.

The upshot of all of this?

Well, let's see.........Coach Spoelstra turned to his assistant Coaches at the beginning of the fourth and asked..."Any other ideas?".........Any, effing, other ideas?????.....we're in a thirty point hole and unless you decide to nuke the building it's a bit late for "Any other ideas".

The "told you so" brigade are out in force today.........all the ones who didn't want Boston in round #1......I didn't want Boston in round #1 but guess what, we've got Boston in round #1.....there's no point whining about it now......it's reality. I just wanted Miami to put in a good shift and last night was, quite frankly, insulting.

How any of them.....any one of them.........can hold their heads up today is beyond me.

Michael Beasley and Udonis Haslem BOTH outplayed by Glen Davis?... Give me a break......

J.O was obviously off....I mean "OFF!".....yet he rumbled on and on and on and on....like an old, knackered, sweaty work-horse....I ended up feeling quite sorry for him.

Oh and I'm also getting sick of this "Wade is begging for help" nonsense........He is a cut above (there's no doubt about that ) but separating Wade like this and absolving him from any blame is devisive and heaps more and more pressure on the team......Wade only took something like 8 shots in the entire first half......that's not a team leading performance.....it's almost perverse.....also he loaded up on three pointers again when the game was already in Boston's back pocket.

They should all be in it together.

Please....at least some grit and determination

I just paid $79.95 for that?........hmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm in...

Yes....it has finally happened.

I have caved in to the pressure of the play-offs and this charged up first round match up between Boston and Miami. Just paid whatever the pound sterling equivalent of $79.95 is to NBA TV.

What the hell....at least it means I can get up early tomorrow morning and watch the game before going to work...I cannot cope with 1am tip offs anymore.....my allegiance has been tested severely on illegal streams this season.

So here I am. Fully paid up and ready to feast upon the play-offs.

At the moment I'm watching the rerun of Denver - Utah ( Game #2)....if I were to support a Western Conference team it would be Denver.....my all time hero, Adrian Dantley, has stepped in during George Karl's illness.....guess the Nuggets have got a lot to play for....hope they do well in the West and that George battles his way to a full recovery.

Sometimes you need a little perspective.

Much.....

....is being written about the "altercation" at the end of Game #1.

What I have found little reportage on is just why Paul Pierce was rolling about on the parquet like he'd been shot with a high velocity rifle.....that's the trouble here.

Pierce is trouble.....I heard it described brilliantly, today as an "over dramatic gene".....I prefer the term "cheat" myself......but he's done it too often now to have the respect of anyone.....apparently he's getting "treatrment" on his shoulder but expects to be "OK"......well, well.....who'da thought.

In soccer ( football !!!!!!) simulating injury in order to get players on the opposing team in trouble can lead to a caution....throw floppers like Pierce out of the game....he's a lousy role model.

Nice Post

I thought this was a really good post from Celtics Town.

It kinda sums up Mike pretty well....." a box of chocolates"....nice

Nonetheless the Beantown fans believe that......


"Michael Beasley could be a problem for Celtics in Game 2"

I hope he's a problem for them.....I really do.

Boston Celtics 85 - Miami Heat 76 (Celtics 1-0)

I think the score stood at 61 - 47 Miami, about 4 minutes into the third quarter....that's when Miami started to think about winning this game and that's when they lost it.

Suddenly there was a confusion. Dwyane Wade who'd started like a whirlwind, swooping and slashing to the rim started shooting threes and all his team mates just stood and watched....hoping that something would fall. The Boston defense sensing the cautiousness, regrouped and clawed its way back into a game that was sneaking away from them.

This game was a microcosm of the regular season for Miami....red hot and ice cold at the same time.......22 turn-overs.......from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Wade summed it up perfectly..."They bullied us," he said afterwards.

However, thankfully, there are two guys on this Miami team who will not be bullied and who just may have altered the course of his series.

Quentin Richardson and Udonis Haslem.

The fourth quarter flare up could be the catalyst that the Miami Heat require to get themselves back into this tie. As I've told you, dear reader ( I think I have one that drops in from time to time ), on many occasions, I dislike Paul Pierce. To my mind this guy is undoubtedly a faker, which, in my book makes him a cheat. He was up to his usual histrionics last night, falling into the crowd clutching his right shoulder as though he'd been taken out by a sniper's bullet.....

When Q-Rich strolled over to tell "The Truth" the truth, Kevin Garnett (who had been niggling the Heat players all night) decided to take matters into his own hands and popped an elbow directly into Richardson's chops.....for a split second you could see the notion of retaliation flash across Q's eyes but he maintained his cool, reaching forward trying to drag the idiotic Pierce back to the vertical.....first on the scene was Udonis Haslem who (agree with you Dos) was just looking for a reason to lay waste to Garnett. Jamaal Magloire did Garnett a favour by picking him up and throwing out of the scrum.....It all got a bit heated........."handbags at dawn."

The upshot of everything was an ejection for Garnett and "Ts" all round....in Garnett's case deservedly so.....I would have ejected Pierce too, for cheating, if it were possible.....he continually does this and Q-Rich was right to call him out in the post-game press conference.

If we can take anything positive from this game it is that we need not fear this Boston team.....we can beat them....we have shown them that, after this evening, bullying will no longer be an option.

All we need are contributors....the time is now.

Rondo in Hospital

Mosey on over to the Celtics Hub for the latest news

It would appear that Rajon Rondo has been taken to hospital with flu-like symptoms?

Smoke and mirrors?

You decide.  (click here)

The Rising

Why I love Greg Cote

It's true, y'know, this Heat team has prevailed in spite of us.....but hey you have to admit that once Spoelstra got Wade to buy into the "team" thing....everything started looking rosier and that's when consistency started to occur. So the two individuals that I had the most gripes with through the 82 got it sorted....you get the feeling that the Heat are no longer lining up behind a player who is driven by personal acclaim...but a player who is leading from the front in order to make his team better.

Another thing that has made me laugh slightly was constant blathering about the Heat having a "soft" end of the season....are these the same people who called the Heat roster "talentless"? Or are there degrees of talentlessness.....go figure.

Whatever. We must now get behind the team.

Good luck to them........black is back!

Game #82 New Jersey Nets 86 - Miami Heat 94

Well that's a wrap.

82 games down and a record of 47-35, which is in the vicinty of how the Fourth Degree called it at the start of the season. The regular season didn't quite go the way that many of us expected but what the hell.

The Miami Heat are in the mix as number 5 seed matching up against their nemesis, this term, the Boston Celtics who finish in the 4 spot. Boston definitely have the drop on the Heat....finding ways to win in every regular season game....cleaning up the series 3-0.

The main difference has been Rajon Rondo and efficient and safe as he has been there is no way on this green earth that Carlos Arroyo can keep him in front of him... Mario Chalmers either. I kind of like the talk that Dorrell Wright may be utilised to put the hammers on Rondo a bit....that may just work. We'll have to wait and see.

I feel that there may just be a glimmer of hope over seven games.

I didn't think it was very smart of Michael Wallace to promote the idea that the key to the series could be the Beasley-Garnett match-up....oh dear....that just isn't helpful from a Beasley point of view....Garnett on the other hand will be licking his lips. You've got a developing talent against a wealth of experience....it could go either way and if I were Michael Wallace (which I'm not) and rooting for Miami ( which he is ) I'd have left that one alone and just watched it pan out....

You look at the Boston side and you just know that there are individuals there who aren't shy in the clutch...Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen, Rondo, Rasheed....boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

However they don't have a Dwyane Wade and if he can light it up and drag the others along with him we could be in for a tasty series. I'd love to see us win and am backing the Heat to do so BUT if we are to be "one and done" let's, at least,  go out fighting.

Game #81 Miami Heat 107 - Philadelphia 76ers 105

One word.....Three syllables....U...DO..NIS.
Got to agree with those lovely people at Dos Minutos though.....how often have the Heat run that play? Millions?

Ah well, it matters not. Haslems signature effort iced this game for a Miami Heat team that did enough to see off a spirited Philly side.

Funnily enough it wasn't one of U.D's better games which just goes to show how focused and reliable he is in crunch time.....still the Heat had a good spread on the scoring chart with five players, other than Wade (who had his 30), scoring in double figures....Richardson, Beasley and Arroyo all contributed 15 whilst Wright and Haslem chucked in 12 apiece. That's the kind of balance that makes Miami a tricky proposition for anyone.

Atlanta took care of Milwaukee which propels the Heat back into fifth spot with one game to play.....the ball is now firmly in Milwaukee's court.....they play Boston on Wednesday whilst the Heat finish the season against the NJ Nets.

We could be up to our knees in shamrocks soon.....more of this would be just fine.

Game #80 Miami Heat 111 - New York Knicks 98

I've just gone back to work after our Spring break here in  the Old Country.

I did watch about three quarters of this game but couldn't keep my eyes open for the rest....it looked to me at the time that the Heat were taking charge and it turned out that way.

Glad to see that D-Wade was okay after his tumble....my, my, he certainly likes a bit of drama does ol' Dwyane.

The collective holding of breath was palpable.

Better spread of scoring in this one....that's what the Heat needs to have.

J.O is toiling. That is a real shame for him as he was hitting a rich seam of form.

Nearly there now.

Game #79 Detroit Pistons 106 - Miami Heat 99

This was supposed to be easy, right?

Oh well, as many writers and bloggers have been saying today it had to come to an end at some point.

Too many players off colour and some smoking hot shooting from Ben Gordon put this one to bed.

I dunno, it's maybe just as well that this run streak ran out of steam prior to the play-offs.......it's bound to make the Heat sit up, take notice and evaluate their position....in short, start from scratch.

I applaud Coach Spoelstra for sticking with Michael Beasley for as long as he can.......Mike continues to stink up the court but needs to play through this....you can't get much lower than rock bottom.....the onus is squarely on his young shoulders at the moment, faith is being shown in him.

It's driving some people crazy....I kinda like that.

Team!

Looking at the notes on today's game with the Pistons it would seem that at least half of their roster is questionable through injury. This should be a walk in the park for Miami and hopefully D-Wade will get plenty of time off his feet......Jermaine O'Neal will hopefully get time on his.....hope he ditches that stupid brace.

Michael Beasley, too, needs to get busy.....

It's very much a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't in these last few games against teams who are well out of the running. If he loads up on Detroit tonight, as he did last time, it'll be because that's what is expected and they are garbage.....if he doesn't show any kind of interest in this game he will be hung, drawn and quartered.

What cracks me up in all of this is that there seems to be so many people lining up to do the deed.

Really, honestly what is the big problem?

The Heat are on a ten game unbeaten run....there's a good chance that they may finish the regular season undefeated, which will springboard them nicely into the play-offs.........BUT you can be guaranteed..lose in round #1 and thousands will say, "Told you so".....win, and thousands will say, "Told you so".

What a bunch of opinionated whiners we are.

I know that using "war" analogies are frowned upon in this day and age but a little while back I wrote about Coach Spoelstra needing to build a kind of "seige mentality".........y'know the very kind that Udonis Haslem is talking about at the moment.......whatever has happened within that dressing room it's starting to gather momentum....only Michael Beasley is having difficulty deciphering the small print.

It was unfair, earlier this season, for Ira and his cronies to label this Heat roster "talentless beyond Wade"....there is no shortage of talent in Miami, it needed harnessed and it needed a change in mind-set from Dwyane to kick-start the whole process.....Game #70 was a water-shed moment, where Wade struggled on scoring but excelled at everything else.....team win after team win rolled in with the odd sparkle from #3.

Okay, I'm not trying to say that this Heat team is anything like the finished article....they aren't......but please give them credit.....talent only gets you so far....it's team work that matters.....and it should not be undervalued

That's why we shouldn't sweat Beasley's horror show in the past weeks. He knows his team-mates have his back and will find his way out of the doldrums soon.

Game #78 Philadelphia 76ers 95 - Miami Heat 99

The Heat move to a 44-34 record with a squeaky win against the 76ers.

The most important thing here is the letter "W"....and more importantly is that the Heat now need to keep on trying to achieve "W's". If there is one thing we know about this team it is that the confidence which has been building nicely can quite easily be unceremoniously snuffed out between now and whoever we face in the play-offs. I agree with D-Wade in this respect...they just need to keep playing all the way to 82 and see what happens....there are too many teams jostling for places now....it's going to be what it'll be.

The Heat seemed a bit uneasy last night?

I'm going to go right out on the limb here and say that Jermaine O'Neal in a leg brace doesn't do anyone's confidence any good. Prior to his hyper-extension he was playing his best ball of the season and was a major part of the Heat offense and defense.....and when he went down the adjustments made by the team were superb......I understand wanting to get him minutes and make him play-off ready, we all want J.O on the court.......but this win streak is very significant and needs to be maintained, if possible, for the rest of the regular season.

Leg braces aren't psychologically positive and if he needs to wear one he isn't fit to play.

Throw it away or sit down.

What The Hell...

Couple of days off so why not add in this video of the Fabulous Miami Heat Dancers in action....they are just the best....no question.

Watching this doesn't make you a bad person....does it?

Hard Luck for Bogut

I know this is a Heat blog and that Milwaukee are one of our biggest rivals in the play-off chase but no sane person takes any pleasure from seeing the kind of ugly incident involving Bucks centre Andrew Bogut,last night.

Not nice.

Bogut has been the stand-out in a very, very good Milwaukee team this year and now his season is in tatters with a dislocated elbow, sprained wrist and broken hand.

To the Bucks' credit they continued to play superbly, sans Bogut, against the form team in the West - Phoenix and ended up 89-107 winners. This could work two ways for them.....

(a) They'll miss the big Aussie too much and start to slide....or
(b) They'll try to channel the disappointment and use it motivationally

Whatever....just hope the big guy heals well.....I enjoy watching him play.

Game #77 Miami Heat 97 - Minnesota T-Wolves 84

This win streak now reaches eight games and, yes, temper that with the fact that the Heat are dredging through the flotsam and jetsam of the NBA....but which would you rather....an easy run in where you might build up a head of steam...or a tricky one, like the Celtics have?

As I mentioned yesterday I didn't think I would be able to stay awake for the 2am tip off....I was right....it was "lights out" at about 11pm...so what did I miss?

Another stellar display from Mr.Wade, who again judged the mood before switching on the afterburners.....only 39 points last night. Four other Heat players pitched in with low teens on the scoring chart whilst Udonis Haslem had a huge rebounding game, pulling down 17. Carlos Arroyo contributed 9 assists.

People are now busy looking for the next polarising argument.......The Michael Beasley saga is likely to roll on until he either gets traded or plays flawlessly every night....so let's skim over that.....no, the new hot topic is Atlanta or Boston?

I'd prefer Atlanta.....the reason?.......Rajon Rondo.......might not happen though if the Heat keep on winning.

Game #76 Miami Heat 105 - Indiana Pacers 96

I was worried during this game....the Pacers were playing well and you could have been forgiven for thinking that Larry Bird had found a way to bottle his particular magic and had, pre game, sprinkled some of it over Troy Murphy's head....okay that's a stretch....of anyone's imagination....but the boxscore doesn't lie....Murphy put the Heat to the sword in the first half.....ofcourse Michael Beasley will shoulder the blame for that, and the famine in Africa, the global recession and the melting polar ice-caps....etc,etc.

Anyway.....the upshot of it all is that I was worried.....The Pacers looked as though they had our measure.

Then came half time.

Then came Dwyane Wade.

This was as startling a performance as there has been all season from the Heat's #3. Everyone has been praising his all round game recently and Wade has shown that the Heat ARE a viable proposition without him monopolising the scoring....not last night.

What D-Wade did last night was the most perfect piece of judgement I've seen from him this season and he looked nothing short of spectacular.

With his teammates struggling slightly but hanging in, Wade carried the offense to a new height and blitzed the Pacers defense with a barrage of mind boggling plays in the third quarter....turning a 10 point half time defecit into a 3 point lead going into the fourth.....scoring a massive 18 points in the process.

For all that, Indiana bounced back to force OT.

In the extra 5 minutes of play there was only one player who had all the answers with two dagger, back to back treys to seal the game. This was a night where Wade needed to rescue his team as a rejuvenated Pacers went for the jugular....brilliant......I'm glad I stayed awake to watch it.

Minnesota is the next stop and that game tips off ( for me) at a little after 2am.....don't think I'll make it. Hopefully D-Wade will be helped out by his team-mates tonight, they owe him.

Erik Spoelstra - Getting It

"Getting It"

This is a phrase that the Heat Head Coach has used often this season as regards Michael Beasley and the stop/start development of his star power forward.

I, not too tentatively, suggested that Erik wasn't "getting it" and that he and the rest of the franchise needed to wrap their wings around Michael and help him every step of the way. Now, It's patently obvious that there has been a change in mind-set since the Heat has gone on it's terrific run through the month of March...(D-Wade has been nothing short of spectacular but in a team sense.....veterans like Haslem, Richardson, Arroyo and O'Neal have been instrumental in helping the surge and consistency).....yet Michael Beasley has remained stone cold.

The main difference was that you got a feeling from the rest of the players that they actually cared, instead of jumping on him they carried him.....this was spear-headed by the Head Coach who consistently sprang to Beasley's defense throughout that dreadful run of games which terminated at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday evening.....and when the break-out happened Spoelstra dealt with it perfectly, speaking generally about the team and (you could say) specifically about Beasley at the same time...

“The only thing possibly gained is overconfidence,” Spoelstra said, “and we don’t want that.”

What I have often forgotten, this season, is that Erik Spoelstra is on that "steep learning curve" (the one that everyone keeps talking about?) too. Agreed, the guy has made some howlers, some totally mystifying decisions and spluttered a fair deal of meaningless rhetoric but it's slightly prejudiced of me to plead for patience as regards Beasley yet totally vilify the Head Coach.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, the picture is becoming clearer for Erik Spoelstra. He has obviously striven to get his particular work ethic across and all the players are finally buying into it......the record in March speaks for itself......There is stability at last. Spoelstra is definitely "getting it " and he is bringing his group of players to the boil at just the right time.

I'm off for a thin slice of humble pie.

Congratulations Coach, on your award, it is thoroughly deserved.....it just gets harder now.