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MIAMI HEAT 2007-2008 SEASON ANALYSIS
The Miami Heat is possibly the most disappointing team in the League. In two short years, the Heat have run the entire NBA gamut; they went from holding the title of NBA Champions (in 2006) to bottom feeders (in 2008)! Pat Riley is losing his mind almost as quickly as his hair, and Dwyane Wade has been hampered by various injuries periodically throughout the season. Shaquille O’Neal, when he wasn’t at home nursing an injury, stomped into the ’08 campaign expecting to simply catch a powerful Miami breeze and soar into the playoffs (it would have to be one huge breeze to carry that oversized chunk of manmeat any distance, let alone to the postseason). Great idea Shaquille; you are a real genius -- NOT! After realizing that the season was a lost cause, Riley made the decision to blow up the team. He sent O’Neal to the Suns in exchange for the often unhappy do-it-all forward Shawn Marion. Wade and Marion are both sitting out the remainder of the year due to injury, and the Miami Heat are handing out W’s to their opponents faster than Jehova’s Witnesses distribute pamphlets. MIAMI HEAT -- TOP 3 PLAYERS1. Dwyane Wade — 24.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.7 spg, .7 bpg, 46.9% (FG%), 75.8% (FT%), 38.3 mpg
Dwyane Wade is one of the top players alive today. His supreme first step and lethal midrange J. creep into the dreams of the opposition at night, leaving them squirming in utter fear. If you try to get all up in his grill, Wade will shake and bake his way to the rim. That is two points for “The Flash”! What if you play off of him a little? That’s right the net just snapped after he popped in his trademark midrange jumper. Maybe now you understand the almost absurd amount of pressure DWyade exerts on his defenders.
2. Shawn Marion – 14.3 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.9 spg, .9 bpg, 45.9% (FG%), 37.6 mpg
Shawn Marion is as versatile a player as any coach could ever ask for. He can defend anyone from a shooting guard to a power forward, and in the meantime, he frustrates the opposition with his freakish athleticism and quick trigger on the offensive end. Marion is arguably the most effective rebounder for a man of his height (he snags 11.2 rpg at only 6’7”).
3. Udonis Haslem -- 12 ppg, 9 rpg, 1.4 apg, .8 spg, 81% (FT%), 46.7% (FG%), 36.8 mpg
Udonis Haslem is the third most reliable player on the Miami Heat. Pat Riley is certain that each game Haslem will push and shove his way to a double-double. Haslem is one of those players that is nowhere near as talented as most NBA players, but he outworks everyone on the glass and is rewarded with easy putback buckets.
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