Blazers 104, Heat 96

In the end, it wasn't Portland's length - and it had plenty of it - that bothered the Heat. It was Miami's liberal ball-handling that proved too difficult to overcome in a 104-96 loss to the Blazers Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The irony in this game was that the Heat actually made adjustments and essentially neutralized Portland's height. But by the time that happened, Miami began to self destruct. The Heat committed a 19 turnovers that led to 26 points for the Blazers, who added another 42 points in the paint.

A Heat team that already has a razor-thin margin for error just made too many mistakes. As a result, it fell short of opening the season 4-0 for what would have been the first time in franchise history. Wade had another phenomenal scoring night, topping the 30-point mark for the fourth consecutive game.

But even on a night when Wade did just about everything he could do, it still wasn't enough. We move beyond the box score.

Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade - Finished with a season-high 36 points, eight assists, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. He also had four turnovers and four fouls. But this was a night Wade needed veteran help on both ends of the court. He even said as much after the game when mentioned that this would have been an ideal game for Shawn Marion, who missed his second straight game with a groin injury. Wade's heroics just couldn't overcome Miami's youthful mistakes.

Surprise, surprise: Joel Anthony - Basically, Anthony negated Oden's impact on the game. Sure, it was Oden's first game back from a foot injury he sustained in the season opener. But Anthony's strength, athleticism and inside toughness kept Oden from getting much accomplished. Oden had two points, two rebounds, two blocks and two turnovers in 16 minutes. Most of that time, Anthony was on him. It's clear now that Anthony has moved ahead of Mark Blount as the first center off the bench.

Tough Night: Mario Chalmers - Most nights this season, Chalmers has looked like he's ahead of the curve at point guard. But this clearly wasn't one of those nights. The rookie looked like, well, a rookie. Chalmers had another off night from the field, missing three of his four shots. He also had a game-high five turnovers, including two in the critical fourth quarter.

Lit 'em Up: Rudy Fernandez - It looked like the rookie from Spain was playing HORSE out there with some of the incredibly difficult shots he hit. That barrage included a sick turnaround jumper at the top of the key that came during Portland's game-clinching run. Fernandez scored 14 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. He was 5 of 6 from the field in the second half.

That Says it All: "Mistakes. Mistakes. We coughed it up on unforced and unnecessary turnovers. To give a very solid, very efficient team 26 points off turnovers, it's tough to beat." - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the major difference in the game.

Next Up: Heat vs. Washington Wizards, 7:30 p.m. Friday, AmericanAirlines Arena

Comments

[lube]

mmmmmm retarded people

[Patricio]

LMAO D.Rose!!! Enough of this going back and forth!!! Your right we do need to trade Marion. What you guys think of a trade of Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem for LeMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster and Raef LaFrentz? It works out money wise and I know the Blazers don't want to give up Aldridge but for a starting SF and PF y wouldn't they want to do it? That would give them a starting lineup of Blake, Roy, Marion, Haslem, Oden. The Heats would be: Chalmers, Wade, Webster (until James Jones returns), Beasley, Aldridge. Let me know what you guys think!!! That Way in 2009 or 2010 the Heat can focus on getting a SF instead of a center which is hard to come by (Caron Butler maybe). LETS GO HEAT!!!

[Patricio]

LOL the expansion team Memphis Grizzlies!!! The worst team in the NBA with the dumbest fans and employees in the world!!! They give up Paul Gasol for rocks!!! Your talking about trades, even Black the Trucker's playstation trades would happen as long as the Grizzlies are involved. LMAO!!! You can't be serious!!!

[heatstroked]

Ha.

Someone should ask Wade, Spo or Riley who they could *least* afford to trade right now; who's had the *biggest* impact 2nd to Wade between winning and losing over 8 games -- **especially** the 2 he's missed.

Spo quoted a few days ago: "During a recent video review, Spoelstra said he appreciated Shawn Marion's Matrix nickname. 'We had situation a couple of games ago where we had to cover three spots in our defense,' Spoelstra said. 'Somebody had to cover the free-throw line, somebody had to cover the rim and somebody actually was rotating. And he did all three. I had to watch it on the film three or four different times, and two other guys blew the coverage, and he was covering up for those guys all over the place.' "

That's been Marion's m.o. his entire career. Covering for other guys. Defending 1-2-3 even 4 positions on the *same* possession.

Marion *IS* the difference between a lucky, defensively-erratic win over hapless New Jersey vs. destroying the Nets as the Heat did to the Sixers or the Kings. Likewise, Marion would've been the difference between Rudy Fernandez, triumphant diva vs. a frustrated Fernandez & a Portland loss.

I was shocked how defensively disorganized/inept Miami appeared vs. New Jersey & Portland. Low scores don't mean sh_t when you allow tissue-soft dilettantes like Yi or Fernandez to go off without a challenge.

All that defensive "progress" I "thought" I saw from Beasley? Apparently a mirage. Those seemingly risk-safe attempts for steals by Chalmers? Not safe; not without the Matrix (or Wade) to cover your a$$.

If anything, these first 8 games have probably convinced Riley *not* to trade Marion for anything less than an All-Star big. And if 8 games aren't enough, Wade is. Wade knows and appreciates what the Matrix brings. What he, we, don't know yet is what ANYONE ELSE might bring (including Beasley) via any conceivable trade *worth* doing.

Sure, trading Marion for garbage would be worth something. It'd be worth another iffy lottery pick and Wade's guaranteed exit from Miami.

[Patricio]

Yes his defense is huge on a team that does not have good defensive rotation at times but we need another scorer badly. If you saw the Portland game where Wade was forced to have the ball and create for others on almost every possession, it showed that if we don't get another scorer Wade is either going to get injured or be tired out by mid season. I think we need to get Beasley the ball more on the high post. He's way faster than other PF's and he can draw fouls. You combine that with Wade and we can have our opponents in the bonus with a lot of time left in the quarter. But I do agree Marion helps out so many other Heat players on defense (especially Beasley) but we need a third option that can create his own shot as well as play at least mediocre defense. So now it's a matter of choosing defense or offense. I would go for offense because if not Wade is going to have to go one on five for the rest of the season resulting in him getting fatigued and or worst case scenario fed up with the Heat therefore leaving Miami in 2010. So either way we need to figure something out. I think we should wait a few more games to see how the Heat will do once Marion comes back. And right now I don't think Marion's stock is up but rather it's gone down severly. So right now it's a matter of waiting it out. Hoping someone needs his services via an injury or via a boost in time for the playoffs. LETS GO HEAT!!!

[BTH]

You foul mouth trash talkers need to grow up, no one wants to hear the garbage you spew just for the sake of spewing. What do you do when your not wasting everyone's time with your disgusting rants?

The Blazers won't give up Aldridge, they're bulding from the draft and free agency.

[O.J Mayo]

bth shut yo wanna be bone thug n harmony ass up before i make you suck my pipi too and take yo manhood haha like i do to patricio lol

[Patricio]

WOW!!! O.J. Mayo is a loser!!!