Miami Heat Thread

[maes]

Awesome pic....what's up with Shaq's face? He looks stunned.

[shadowgrin]

They wore the same jerseys they had when they won game 6 of the NBA Finals, to go with the awarding of the championship rings and such.
Notice the trophy on the left side of Shaq's jersey.

[Indy]

EMMJAY, they do that at the beginning of the season all the time, they've been doing it for years.

[diddy]

miami will get back! it's a bad start! i'm expecting of them great finish!

[Jugs]

miami will get back! it's a bad start! i'm expecting of them great finish!

bandwagoner!

[Flash 3]

miami will get back! it's a bad start! i'm expecting of them great finish!

bandwagoner!

Haha. Hopefully the Heat can win this game against the Nets

[---]

Shadowgrin (Googlebot), that was a good recap, I enjoyed that more than some of the huge write-ups.


Seriously.

[mvpshaq32]

Damn it. Can't believe Jalen Rose chose Phoenix over Miami. In Phoenix, his minutes will be short if he is going to play the SG with Bell and Barbosa already on that spot. If they put Stoudemire back into the starting lineup as PF, I doubt Rose would get a lot of minutes too with Marion and the 2 Jones at SF. In Miami, he could help take the load off Wade since he does get 35-40 minutes a game and Miami wouldn't want him sore or injured or their whole season will be fractured.

[Zoom]

Maybe he feels that Phoenix are more of a contender...

[mvpshaq32]

With The Diesel, Flash, and the will of the retiring/close to retiring veterans on Miami? I say Miami still has enough for one more championship.

[Fluffy Taco]

Damn it. Can't believe Jalen Rose chose Phoenix over Miami. In Phoenix, his minutes will be short if he is going to play the SG with Bell and Barbosa already on that spot. If they put Stoudemire back into the starting lineup as PF, I doubt Rose would get a lot of minutes too with Marion and the 2 Jones at SF. In Miami, he could help take the load off Wade since he does get 35-40 minutes a game and Miami wouldn't want him sore or injured or their whole season will be fractured.

jalen rose DID stop playing, right?

[Matt]

Shaq's already "injured".....Miami is in for a long season.

[nets4life]

what a set back for the heat, this will make things alot tougher for wade as the double team will now be on him, no more open lanes

[Flash 3]

We'll finally see what Dwyane Wade is made of. Can he lead his team again like the Finals.

[Zoom]

If we were seeing the Shaq of the late 90s, early 2000s, I wouldn't be surprised that his ego would be getting in between him and Wade. Although Wade seems like the type of dude who would basically listen to whatever Shaq says... I think Shaq, if he was his younger self, would be bitching bout Wade if he didn't get his shots/touches.

Why did I say that? Because I hate it when people say that Wade is like MJ and shit like that. The only reason the team hasn't blown up is that Shaq is smart to shut up now and Wade basically loves Shaq... Shaq isn't in any position to be complaining in Miami... so if the Heat just turn shit this year and conincidently with Shaq putting in career low averages... I guess it proves who is the one most important to this team...

Sorry, felt like typing that out... I hate writers comparing Wade to Jordan and finally, we will get to see what is going to happen when Wade has to lead the team.

[dada]

A day old but what the hell.

Kinda sucks to be the (3-5) Miami Heat about now. Not only have they been struggling so far in the early season but now they'll be missing Shaq for considerable time. Not that he is necessarily that effective for them but it at least hurt them in team depth. On top of that they lost for the 3rd straight time at home in a blowout victory by no other than the 'mighty' New York Knicks. Ah well.

Shaq to have knee surgery, miss four to six weeks



MIAMI -- This is one repeat the Miami Heat didn't want: a serious early season injury to Shaquille O'Neal.

The 13-time All-Star will undergo knee surgery and be sidelined four to six weeks, the Heat said Friday. O'Neal tore cartilage in his left knee Sunday against Houston, an injury originally diagnosed as a hyperextended knee.

Last season, O'Neal sprained his ankle in Miami's home opener and missed the next 18 games. He sat out a total of 23 games, and the Heat went 10-13 without him before their postseason charge to the NBA title.

The 34-year-old O'Neal missed Tuesday's game, practiced Thursday and was expected to play Friday against the New York Knicks. But knee stiffness sent him to the doctor Friday for an MRI that revealed a flap tear in the articular cartilage.

The Heat announced shortly before tipoff that O'Neal would undergo surgery, with the date to be determined.

"I kind of knew something was wrong with him," teammate Dwyane Wade said. "It's important for him to get it taken care of, because we need him down the stretch."

O'Neal, wearing a sport coat and tie, watched the game from the bench as the Heat lost 100-76, dropping their record to 3-5. O'Neal missed two games earlier in the season with a bruise to the knee and would miss 18 to 25 games if sidelined four to six weeks.

"Injuries are part of the game," coach Pat Riley said. "You deal with them."

O'Neal was hurt when he collided with Chuck Hayes of Houston. Hayes is expected to miss up to two weeks with a bruised and hyperextended left knee.

The defending champion Heat have yet to put their entire starting lineup on the court together. Guard Jason Williams, returning from arthroscopic knee surgery July 21, played for the first time this season Friday.

O'Neal, who has averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in four games, was replaced in the starting lineup by Alonzo Mourning.

Team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick will perform the surgery on O'Neal, which is expected to take only 20 to 30 minutes, Riley said. O'Neal can begin rehabilitation immediately afterward, and the projected timetable for his recovery means he would return sometime from Dec. 23 to Jan. 7.

[Matt]

i'm pretty sure Shaq will be out 6-8 weeks since he's an old bastard.

What impact will this have on his game? I think we'll see teams ganging up on Wade in the playoffs, really beating him up, if Shaq isn't that effect post surgery.

[theflash02]

I can only say that Wade is going to take more shots.. Get more oppurtunities.. And maximize his stat sheet.. And Wade is gonna endure a lot of pain from the defenses of other teams.. Since b4 they went to shaq first and the defense collapses on him.. And shaq kicks out and wade scores.. Now.. Who are the defense gonna double team on? ZO? HASLEM? DOLEAC? They WONT!! So Wade will probably be the one enduring the loss of shaq..

[Cloudy]

Just hope this won't turn into the league loving Wade even more.

[theflash02]

Well.. There are a lot of WADE Lovers in the league nowadays.. I also hope for that..

[dada]

Miami Heat Guard Dwyane Wade Named Sports Illustrated’s 2006 Sportsman of the Year



NBA Finals MVP’s Selection Marks Fifth Pro Basketball Honoree in 52-Year History of Award; HBO’s Costas Now to Celebrate Selection Tuesday Night at 10 p.m. ET/PT

New York, December 4, 2006 – Dwyane Wade, whose NBA Finals MVP performance led the Miami Heat to the franchise's first championship, has been chosen as the 2006 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for symbolizing in character and performance the ideals of sportsmanship, it was announced by SI Group Editor Terry McDonell.

The Sportsman of the Year issue, which is dated December 11, will hit newsstands this Wednesday, December 6. SI.com/sportsman includes the tribute to Wade as well as exclusive video segments, galleries of past Sportsman covers and My Sportsman nominations from dozens of SI writers. Wade will receive the new Sportsman of the Year award, a sterling silver trophy crafted by Tiffany & Co., at a party in his honor in New York on Thursday night, December 14.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, December 5, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, HBO's Costas Now will celebrate Wade's selection and profile the year's top performers and newsmakers.

"This award has always stood for more than the victory alone. It recognizes the manner of an athlete's striving and the quality of his or her efforts," said McDonell. "Dwyane embodies that winning spirit by playing for his team, not himself, and by working in the community to ensure young people have the chance to realize their own dreams."

SI senior writer S.L. Price profiles Wade in the magazine and chronicles both his difficult childhood and his disciplined rise to stardom. Price writes, "But here's the factor, more than any other, that may decide if Dwyane Wade can survive even success: he likes difficulty. Ease makes him anxious. Perfect makes him squirm. But set him up with an early childhood from hell? Put him in a two-game hole in the Finals? He dares you to doubt him."

In only his fourth season in the league, Wade has established himself as one of the sport's premier players and as the standard bearer for a new generation of NBA superstar. Elevating his game when the stakes are highest, Wade has scored more postseason points in his first three seasons than any other player in NBA history. His Finals MVP honor adds to a deep résumé of two All-Star Game appearances and a career-scoring average of 22.9 points per game. His credentials off the court are as impressive as the leadership he displays among his teammates. The Dwyane Wade Foundation, a nonprofit promoting social enrichment, education and physical fitness among youth, assists young people in reaching their educational and athletic goals through mentoring.

Wade is the fifth NBA player to be named Sportsman: Bill Russell (1968), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1985), Michael Jordan (1991) and Tim Duncan & David Robinson (2003). He is also the youngest player on the NBA/SI Sportsman list. (In addition, NBA player Rory Sparrow was named as one of eight Athletes Who Care in 1987.)

The last Miami-area recipient was former Dolphins' coach Don Shula (1993).

[cyanide]

Too bad the camera perspective made his left arm bigger than his right. Congrats to Wade on his accomplishments, but too bad his team isn't doing very well so far this year.

[Shi]

I wish that Shaq wil return before the Lakers-HEAT contest,it's only 2 and a half weeks from now...

[Matt]

Shaq's not gonna be back till after AS break, and you can forget about a repeat.

[greg9]

All they have to do is make the playoffs. Shaq has proven multiple times that he can win with a low-seeded team.