Magic 122, Heat 99 (Beyond the Box Score)

ORLANDO - And the winner for best actor in a high-stakes production that quickly went horribly wrong - Dwyane Wade.

Wade had his way on the the way to a career-high 50-point performance in Sunday's 122-99 loss to the Magic. But it resulted in yet another O-Town beatdown of the Heat. The Magic has won 11 of the past 12 games in the series between intrastate rivals.

This one got away early. It was 27-12 only seven minutes into the first quarter. The only suspense left in this nationally televised game by the fourth was to see if Wade could join Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and MVP candidates to notch 50-point games this season.

Of greater concern for the Heat is its 4-7 mark in its last 11 games. This is a time when the Heat has to turn it up as it heads down the stretch. The schedule doesn't offer any favors for quite a while.

Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade - Debate if you will whether Wade should have gone back into the game with seven minutes left in a blowout, needing only six points to reach 50. How great of a risk was Wade placing himself - or the coaching staff placing him in - by putting him potentially in harm's way? Good thing for the Heat he didn't get hurt. Wade finished 17 of 30 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line, with five rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.

Surprise, Surprise: Mark Blount - The Heat was so desperate to find an answer for Dwight Howard that it searched to the end of the bench to find Blount, who had fallen way out of the rotation in recent weeks. But he came in midway through the third and hit a jumper that cut the Heat's deficit to 14. That might have been the only basket a Heat center scored on Howard all night. And that, too, was as close as Miami would get to the rest of the way.

Tough Night: Mario Chalmers - There were many deserving candidates for this distinction. Jermaine O'Neal ( 2 of 10, 2 rebs.) certainly stated his case. So did Udonis Haslem (2 pts., 8 rebs.) But Chalmers, the struggling rookie point guard, had another forgetful effort. He was 1 of 7 from the field and closed with 2 points and 2 assists in 23 minutes. Meanwhile, Orlando's point guards (Rafer Alston/Anthony Johnson) combined for 24 points and 10 assists.

Lit 'em Up: Dwight Howard - Perhaps losing to Nate Robinson in the dunk contest ticked Howard off. He was already having a remarkable season. But he's putting up Playstation-type numbers since returning from the All-Star break. He had 32 points and 17 rebounds and four Heat centers for Sunday dinner.

Stat of the Night: 53.1% - The Magic made 17 of 32 attempts from three-point range. Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Courtney Lee each made four from beyond the arc.

That Says it All: "If you can't be in a game and (Wade) scores 50, then there are concerns." - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the team's blowout loss.

Next Up: Tuesday - Pistons at Heat, 7:30 AmericanAirlines Arena

Comments

[jesse]

HOW MANY MORE GAMES MUST THE HEAT LOSE TO CUT QUINN AND MOTHERFUKKKKING FIRE SPOLTRA!! BOTH ARE SCRUBS! OUR PLAYS ARE SO LAME! OUR ROTATION IS SO INCONSISTENT AND HE KEEPS MESSING WITH THE YOUNGSTERS CONFIDENCE! WHERE THE F IS COOK??? CHALMERS?? BEASLEY PLAYED HIS BEST GAME IN THE ALL STAR GAME! INCREDIBLE!!! ::JERMAINE ONEAL IS A POST PLAYER NOT A SPOT UP SHOOTER IDIOT!::

[redbaby]

Orlando's currently a better team--OK I understand that's a fact. The Magic shot incredibly from 3 point land, but that's what they do. However, if the Heat have any hope of progressing out of the first round, Spo has to recognize he needs more scoring. I agree defense wins championships, but I watched the entire game and was wondering who was going to make a shot besides DW. Where do you start? MC who's going to be a very good point guard looked out of synch. He has to get back to understanding he's the QB and the team's offensive director. When Mario plays like he did tonight, DW has to wear both hats. Can you image if DW had only played SG, he would have scored 70. Getting back to the offense...Haslem is a stud, but 2 pts. isn't going to get it done and neither are relying on jumpers. He needs to ATTACK the basket more. Diawara 5 pts, Cook 4 shots in 20'. JO 6 pts/2R (attack the basket!) No surprise, Beas was #2 scorer. Yes, he took 15 shots, but he TOOK them. Pat, plse start Beas!

[cp12]

On a night when Wade finally joined the 50 point club, there was no joy in Wade County. Miami met an Orlando team in midseason form, clicking on all cylinders. Dwight Howard was dominant in the paint and set the tone for the game. And Howard's shooters were on the mark. Miami fixed its frontcourt issue but Spoelstras defensive scheme seems vulnerable at the edges and the team pays for it consistently now. All the other team needs to do is make shots. Thats what Orlando did, thats what Miami could not accomplish. Beasley and Haslem remain a productive forward crew for Miami. The center rotation is moving more fluidly now that it knows it shouldn't put too much of a burden on O'neal to deliver alone in that position. Anthony and Magloire must contribute. Cook and Quinn need to continue to burn teams for leaving them open. The Heat are a team playing its 3rd game with a new squad and ran into a wall tonight, but this is far from a well oiled machine. One that needs to address its issues on the perimeter immediately.

[Heatup]

Don't understand why we can't guard the 3..gotta put that on the coach when we've been getting killed by the 3 all year long...then you go up against the best 3 point shooting team in the league and still don't guard it..that was just one thing i noticed from the begining of the game when Lewis hit one to start the game.

[G]

I think we need to put Cook and Chalmer's faces on milk cartons. Anyone seen these guys???

[thejuandiggler]

Was at the game last night.We looked worse in person. It's time to start Beas .......Love Haslem but we need a scoring threat.
SPO is looking confused.

[wadesworld]

If anyone is seriously thinking about starting Beas over U right now your insane. I admit we're still having trouble with our offense, but it's only 3 games in with these new guys and we saw what we can do against Philly when we click. Whoever said fire Spo is retarded. J.O. needs to man up down in the post and play like he's 30. Beas is nice coming off the bench and learning for now. We need U out there even Dwayne will tell you. The issue to me is who's our SF? we should have an idea of what our starting line-up is gonna look like? i say we start J.Moon. Apparently Dwayne likes him and he play D. isnt that what we need? Koub isn't getting it done but can help off the bench. Cook needs to start adjusting to teams the same way they're starting to adjust to him...hes seeing hands now!

[black the trucker]

well, i didn't see the game but d howard is a beast down low and they have good shooters. just one game, no need to have a heart attack.. this team needs it's own identity, if it's defense then play defense.. but you can't give up 122 points if defense is your game.. i still would like to see d wright,j jones,moon,cook playing hard on the defensive end giving d wade some options.. down low we have to be physical and battle.. now quinn is a shooter alla steve kerr, john paxson, so leave him alone.. but chalmers is a good young player who has to bring his A game going down the stretch.. beasely has to become more physical down low these bigs are pushing around not giving him anything so get in there and battle.. you have 6 fouls, get physical and battle.. wade needs help and with this team as is its going to take everyone playing hard to get wins.. but the 5th spot is dueable..man up, this is it...

[heat fan]

PLEASE START BEASLEY!!!!!!!! COME ON WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET BEASLEY INTO THE OFFENSE AND D FENCE, O.J. MAJO IS HAVING A BREAK OUT SEASON BECAUSE HE STARTS. COME ON!!! I THINK SPO DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE ROTATION. CAN SOME BODY PLEASE HELP!!!!! HELP WANTED. NEED A COACH LOL

[HEAT FAN]

I THINK THAT WE MIGHT LOSE WADE IF WE CAN'T GET SUPPORTING PLAYER PLEASE HELP D WADE WE CAN'T LOSE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HEAT FAN]

I THINK THAT WE MIGHT LOSE WADE IF WE CAN'T GET SUPPORTING PLAYER PLEASE HELP D WADE WE CAN'T LOSE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ebag]

ok.
people need to calm down a bit.

the heat are a team that just went through a huge change.

the magic are one of the best teams in the league, and they played like it on saturday.

did the heat get spanked? yes.

but they honestly didn't look too bad out there. cp12 said it best. the heat ran into an orlando teams that is in championship form right now. the heat are just not there yet.

i am excited about the pistons game. i always love watching a heat/pistons game. but the atlanta game is gonna be the big one. lets give these guys another couple weeks to come together...

[ebag]

ps.

i am as guilty as anyone for jumping on the "free beasey" bandwagon. but all you people who want to see him starting need to think about two things.

1. would you rather have beasley or udonis defending and rebounding against kevin garnett in round 2 of the playoffs?

2. besides cook, how many points is our bench gonna score with and udonis, magloire, yakuba, and quinny?

beasley is gonna come off the bench for the rest of the season, and that is that

[black the trucker]

i watched a game last night where a player came off the bench and scored 41 points and willed his team to victory.. now just this summer d-wade came off the bench and played the best of many stars in the olympics.. so what i'm trying to say is as long as you play you have a chance to impact the game where your imprint can be put display.. so just compete and see what happens.. but don't just sit worrying about things that give your team no chance because your not happy coming off the bench.. when your put into the game, just play.. all of you.. just play...

[Dave]

That player was Nate Robinson and he's been on fire since winning the slam dunk title over all-star weekend....I definitely agree that bench players just need to play their game when they get in and not worry about starting or whatever. The game is about effort and everyone on the team is a basketball player...they just need to play their game and try to improve when they can and everything should be fine. It really shouldn't matter who starts, if you get on the floor and prove your worth, then you will stay in the game. Nate Robinson is doing that right now, Manu Ginobili has made a career out of it, even Rip Hamilton has been able to accept a sixth man role and he's been pretty much the only bright spot on the team (his game just doesn't really facilitate winning because he can't really create a shot for others and really is most effective when he doesn't have the ball). The point is, these guys have accepted their roles and have found ways to flourish within their systems. I just don't understand why we can't get some of our guys to buy into that concept. I really love Michael Beasley's talent and potential, but he needs to give more effort on both ends of the floor...sometimes he just looks lost out there.

[Dave]

Also, where the hell has Cook been? He's barely been visible since the break...are defenses just defending him that much better since winning the three-point shoot out? I feel like he's not moving around the key as much, not getting as many screens for that nice mid-range jumper he's developed. We need to get other players moving around the key if our offense is going to work like it should....if Wade has the ball on the left side, and JO sets a pick for Cook running around the other side...Wade drives and can either get a wide open Cook or JO driving to the hoop, or an easy basket for Wade...that kind of play should work all day. I just don't know why we don't run plays that maximize our talents as a team...I feel like our screen and rolls/pick & pops should work all day with a guy like Wade taking it to the basket and JO setting a screen. We have the shooters, they have the basketball IQ, why don't we see it more?

[jesse]

OK DAVE AND BUSTERS!!! ILL TELL YOU WHY THOSE PLAYS DONT WORK.... BECAUSE WE HAVE LLLLAAAAMMMMEEEEEE ASSSS AS A COOACH! THAT IS WHY!!!! I BELIEVE BEASLEY IS EFFECTIVE ON TOP OF THE KEY! HE CAN HANDLE THE ROCK PRETTY GOOD AND BIG PLAYERS ARE TO SLOW FOR HIM AND THEY STILL HAVE TO RESPECT HIS STROKE SO LET THE KID CREATE JACKASS!!!

[ebag]

cook, mario, and beasley all have the same problem.

they are young players with lots of talent, but they still have to learn how to bring it every night.

hopefully a couple weeks of playoffs will teach them that lesson by next season.

until then, this season is still about making it into the 4/5 seed, and then taking out atlanta. and both games this week are huge measuring sticks. detroit tonight, atlanta friday.

go heat!

[Dave]

dude, jesse...you need to relax bro and stop typing in caps, you're just coming off as a jerk-off. And I hope you're not calling me a jackass cuz I have no idea what I said to warrant that. I like Beasley and completely agree that he needs more time but the type of pick and roll offense I suggested would totally work but they just don't run the screen and roll all that often for whatever reason...if it's Spo that's just not calling the play than he needs to figure that out but you're way of arguing is just dumb. You're basically saying the play wouldn't work because of Spoelstra, but it doesn't matter who the coach is, that's the type of play I think we should base our offense on. Spoelstra wouldn't ruin it, he just doesn't run it often enough. I think Spo has actually done an ok job considering that this is his first year and we only won 15 games last year, etc. But Beasley certainly can't be the whole offense, if you're suggesting that. See, you're way of arguing is so bad, that I don't even know what you're suggesting. So take a Xanax and chill out bro, because we really don't need to argue with fellow Heat fans.