Heat 94, Wizards 87 (Beyond the Box Score)

WASHINGTON - Maybe the Heat needs to move to the nation's capital. Or maybe it simply needs to play the woeful Washington Wizards one a week.

Because this Heat seems to find this team on the schedule just when it needs to most. The Heat beat the Wizards for the second time in five days, this time a 94-87 victory Tuesday at the Verizon Center.

Dwyane Wade played through discomfort in his sprained right ankle and finished with 19 points and 10 assists in 35 minutes. He was one of six Heat players to score in double figures on a night when the Wizards were the ones limping away.

If there was any cause for concern on an otherwise victorious night, it was the play - or lack thereof - of rookie second overall pick Michael Beasley, who struggled in his homecoming game after purchasing nearly 50 tickets for family and friends to attend the game.

The most important thing that happened Tuesday night was that the Heat won a game it was supposed to win - even on the road - against a Wizards team headed for that No. 1 spot in the lottery.

We move beyond the box score.

Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade - Give him credit for pushing through the pain in his sprained right ankle. Wade closed with 19 points, 10 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in 35 minutes. You have to wonder if this team is better when Wade goes for across-the-board numbers or simply takes over and puts up 38 points and on 20-plush shots. Wade's game is as versatile as it's ever been. Sure, there were the 5 turnovers. But he made enough big plays to overshadow the few miscues.

Surprise, Surprise: Joel Anthony - Mario Chalmers certainly could have ended up here after emerging from what seemed like a 10-game shooting slump. But Anthony is starting to provide the defensive energy in the paint that this team could use a lot more of this season. Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion can't do it alone. Anthony, who has finished the past two games in the fourth quarter while Michael Beasley has sat, closed with six rebounds and three blocked shots. Anthony has taken over the role of the first center off the bench. And it doesn't appear he'll be parting ways with it anytime soon.

Tough Night: Michael Beasley - Played a season-low 16 minutes and finished with just six points in his first game back in his hometown as a pro. Beasley put a lot of pressure on himself to perform well in the arena where he grew up attending games as a fan. Defense was his Achilles heel. This is the third time in four games that Beasley has spent majority of the fourth quarter watching from the bench. He insisted after the game that he needs to get back to work. You have to admire Beasley's honesty and accountability.

Shut 'em Down: DeShawn Stevenson - The Wizard who had been a Heat killer in so many games the past couple of seasons went 0 for 5 with 2 turnovers in 25 minutes. He couldn't feel his face (you might recall that silly deal when he waves his hand in front of his face after he makes a shot) and he couldn't hit a shot. Credit Wade and Daequan Cook for the solid defense.

Stat of the Night: A season-high 27 assists on 36 field goals for the Heat.

That Says it All: "Any team has the ability to be successful when you get 27 assists and six guys in double figures." - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Next Up: Toronto Raptors at Heat, 7:30 Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena

Comments

[Orlando]

What do you guys think about this trade... Shawn Marion(18 mil), Mark Blount(7 mil), and Marcus Banks(4 mil), for Stephon Marbury(20 mil) and Eddy Curry(9 mil)? I think it will help us now AND give us cap relief to add some more pieces in the next 2 years. Banks and blount are riding the pine right now and curry would step in immediately at center moving haslem to power foward where he should be. beasley would still be a 3/4 depending on the matchup while dorell wright and james jones(when healthy) could fill marion's shoes. Marbury would give the heat a player who can put points on the board and also make it easy for everyone else on the court as well as wade since he can handle the rock. Next year his $20 million salary is off the books and chalmers will be entering his second year hopefully ready to take the next step. It seems to me that the Knicks would do this in a heartbeat since both players are not touching the court and marion would help them improve on their fast start. Any thoughts?

[black the trucker]

well since you asked, i might as well tell you. marbury will be released so why trade for him? but curry could be a move for banks and a second round pick this way cap room that they are looking for is there to make a run at lebron. but blount could be moved for harrington this would help now. beasely could be moved for butler, i know his age but we're talking about what would get us better right now. chalmers, as i watch this kid you gotta think that when he gets comfortable in the league he will be a star. start letting him push tempo, look to finish on his on, get foul calls, instead of getting in foul trouble, i see 15 points 6 rebounds 8 assists 3 steals. this year. marion comes off books this year what i would like to see if he would stay at maybe 12.5 a year, 4 year deal. but so far we're ok. keep in touch. i am trying to get season tickets put in a good word d come on.

[Orlando]

the reason to trade for marbury is because it will allow us to unload banks and blount on new york. the trades you proposed wont work because salaries have to match. plus, banks for curry? blount for harrington? i doubt NY and GSW would agree to that.

[Patricio]

For one, Curry's contract still has 2 years left on it. If we get Curry in your trade proposal then we are strapped with his big money contract that he obviously does not deserve. He's out of shape and is not being used by D'Antoni for a reason. If he can get in shape then I wouldn't mind having him because he has a lot of talent and is still very young at 25 years old. But until I see him doing so the last thing the Heat need is a reunion with another over weight, lazy, big center. Now for the Starbury part of the segment, he's going to be released sooner or later. So why trade for him when we can just sign him? This is why, because if this trade does happen we get rid of Mark Slump (8.5 million) and Marcus Banks (4 million) contracts. Which would cancel out Curry's contract since it is around 9 million a year. Starbury's contract would cancel out Marion's contract since they both come off the books next season so the Heat wouldn't have to worry about not having cap space for 2009 and 2010 offseasons. The end result would be the Heat sending 30.5 million dollars of cap space to the Knicks for 30 million dollars of cap space in return. The only difference is that the Heat would get a young talented big man in return for 3 players that they do not see in their future plans. Even if Curry isn't in shape and he's a project for next season then so be it. If he can spend 3 months getting into shape and then plays a couple dozen games at the end of the season then that would be even better. This way we can have him coming back strong next season along with Shaun Livingston. Starbury could even stick around if he isn't a cancer to our chemistry and actually can take a hit to his ego and sign for a veterans minimum. If he can't then bye bye to him!!! If we can do this trade and then use the 20 million dollars in cap space from Starbury's contract to sign either Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire then we would be able to compete with the Lakers for championships for years to come. That would give us a line up of:

PG: Chalmers/Quinn
SG: Wade/Starbury/Cook
SF: Livingston/Jones/Wright
PF: Bosh/Beasley
C: Curry/Haslem

There are a few problems however, I don't think D'Antoni would want Marcus Banks which would hold down the Knicks from getting Lebron James since his contract extends till 2011. Secondly, if Curry doesn't work out then the Heat can have another horrible season which could possibly lead to losing Wade to free agency in 2010.

Black the Trucker are you still writing about your play station trades? Banks for Curry? Blount for Harrington? are you crazy? both teams would rather keep their players and just not play them at all then get a second string combo guard or a 7 foot SG that shoots more than Kobe. The trade of Caron Butler for Michael Beasley would also not happen. For one, the Wiz already have a versatile PF in Jamison. Regardless the Heat wouldn't trade a 19 year old for a 28 year old. Beasley is going to be a monster in this league for many years to come (24 ppg and 8 rebounds). Caron on the other hand will be on the down side of his career in about 3 seasons.