Nets 94, Heat 92 (Beyond the Box Score)

LONDON - Another close one. Another just-miss for the Miami Heat in the preseason. Those who take the glass-half-full side have just as solid an argument as those in the glass-half-empty crew.

The glass-half-fullers can take comfort in the steady development and offensive consistency of rookie Michael Beasley, the mid-season form of Dwyane Wade and the promise that things will only get better when Shaun Livingston and James Jones are healthy and added to the mix.

The glass-half-empties should be discouraged by the continuing trend of injuries, the lack of a steady, physical presence at center and the unbalanced roster that still has too many twos and threes and not enough ones and fives. But by now, you know the drill. We go beyond the box score following Sunday night's 94-92 preseason loss to the New Jersey Nets.

Player of the Game: Marcus Banks (19 pts. 4 assts., 4 stls.) - This was a much-needed performance from Banks in his quest to stay in the race for the starting point guard job. Eventually, Chris Quinn is going to return from his ankle injury and Shaun Livingston is going to get healthy enough - mentally and physically - to test that surgically repaired knee. So the time is now for Banks, who was 7 of 10 from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and even blocked a shot. Banks insists he's not going to let this opportunity slip away after spending his career as a backup to Gary Payton and Steve Nash.

Play of the Game: Wade's dunk on Yi - Wade is definitely in top form from an athletic standpoint. It doesn't even pay to get in his way when he's got a full head of steam heading to the basket. Yi Jianlian learned that the hard way. Yi picked up a silly foul and allowed Wade to get a conventional three-point play early in the first half on a drive to the basket. But then came the monster mash. Midway through the fourth quarter, Wade swoops in from the right wing, blows past his defender on the perimeter and takes flight as Yi rotates over late in the paint on defense. Viola!! Runner up: Michael Beasley's dunk on a lob from Wade. Honorable Mention: Beasley's baseline flush on Stromile Swift.

Surprise, Surprise: Udonis Haslem (4 pts., 6 rebs., 4 stls.) - Haslem was cleared to return from his sprained left foot. He ended up in the starting lineup - and even saw some limited action at center - en route to playing 22 minutes. Haslem was expectedly rusty on offense, but made a key jumper that put the Heat ahead 84-82 after Miami trailed by 19 points. Haslem and Beasley are both undersized power players - from a height standpoint - but make up for that with a knack for rebounding.

Tough Night: Mark Blount/Daequan Cook - It's too close to call. Blount, the 7-foot starting center, had just one rebound in 21 minutes. Although Blount is a solid face-up shooter and knocked down a couple of nice jumpers, it's unacceptable for him to finish with one more rebound in the game than Jamaal Magloire, who was back in Miami recovering from a broken hand. Cook just can't find his shot. He was 1 of 5 Sunday, bringing his preseason total to 9 of 32 overall and 2 of 14 from three-point range.

Coach Spo Speak: "That's just part of the process when you bring in so many new players on a team and try to put it all together quickly," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about the Heat's 27 turnovers and chemistry issues on Sunday. "Right now, the first thing is finding a rotation that's effective. That takes time. We feel like we're building the foundation the right way."

Next up: Heat at Magic, 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Jacksonville)

(Blog photo courtesy of Omar Vega, Miami Heat/NBA)

Comments

[elmayor]

WOW 27 turnovers, I don't know is record, please make a search, but is not will any way a lot. It's impossible you win a game with that amount of mistakes. I was impressed they only lost for 2 points. They play a high school team. Stop the justification, be honest and work, all of you are professional player receiving a big pay.
Where is the superstar? Where are the points of Wade? Where are the points of Shawn Marion?
I don't know but I feel like we will have same thing of last year.

[Danny]

Ok elmayor,
before you begin trashing the Heat, i suggest you take some Hooked on Phonics lessons before blogging on here again. Back to the point...yes 27 turnovers are way too much to have in a game, but guys this is preseason. I understand how you play in preseason leads up to how you'll play in the regular season, but we have guys like Cook, Chalmers, Anthony, and Padgett all out on the floor! I'm not saying their bad but their young and can't completely flow well with each other yet. To comment on Cook's terrible performances the last couple games, he needs to step it up or else he's out! I suggest we find a trading partner for him and be done with it. Cook is too much of an experiment for now and there is no way he will get playing time this year with Jones and Diawara expected to come off the bench. Moving on to the next point...Diawara is playing pretty damn good. Who would've expected this guy to have a decent offensive game? Well he does..and if he improves his 3-pt shot, then were set. Jones needs to hurry up and recover so he can begin to mesh with the rest of the guys.

[d1s2k3z4]

I missed this game, but I appreciate the recap. Peddiwow!