Postgame Breakdown: Blazers 102, Heat 95

The question is simple. How?

How can a team that had just turned a corner at home play so well for 42 minutes, carry a six-point lead with five minutes left, shoot 50 percent from the field, hold a sizable edge in points in the paint and have even a diminished Dwyane Wade down the stretch let this one slip away?

How? Easy.

Brandon Roy caught whatever hot flash Quentin Richardson was dealing with Sunday. As a result, Roy led the Blazers back to snatch a victory from the Heat's grasp in a 102-95 come-from-behind clinic at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Roy scored 11 points in the final four minutes and finished with 28 to match Wade's output. His perfect touch on five three-pointers also offset Quentin Richardson's 7-for-7 performance as the Blazers dropped the Heat to 2-3 on its six-game homestand.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: It was evident that Wade was a bit off from the outset. He missed five of his first six shots from the field, including three shots in the lane and an airball on a short baseline jumper. The back spasms that kept him out of Saturday's practice "kept coming back and leaving" during the game Sunday. He still managed 28 points on 13-of-31 shooting and 10 assists. But without much lift, many of his shots fell short and he also went without a rebound for just the fourth time in his career. First it was the wrist. Now it's the back. Wade is 25 games into the season and is already banged up to mid-season levels. He'll have two days to rest before the Heat closes out the homestand on Wednesday. He'll need every bit of it.

TURNING POINT: Let's see. The Heat was ahead 87-81 with 5:28 left. Over the next five minutes, Portland would rally to go ahead 99-92 with 28 seconds left. That's a 18-5 run that sucked the life out of the Heat. Brandon Roy had 11 during the spurt, but he got plenty of help from LaMarcus Aldridge inside, Martell Webster outside and Andre Miller's veteran savvy, ability to hit tough shots and penchant to draw fouls.

LOSING EDGE: The Heat didn't really find a way to lose this one as much as the Blazers just came from behind to snatch victory away. But if there was one critical stat that stands out, it was Portland's 15-9 edge in made free throws.

HEAD-SCRATCHER: In a game where there was no shortage of three-point threats, it remains puzzling as to why Daequan Cook continues to be in such a deep freeze. Cook, reigning 3-point shootout champ from All-Star Weekend, is buried so deep in the rotation these days that he might as well sit alongside special assistant Keith Askins behind the Heat bench. Cook is a great kid with an even better attitude and a solid work ethic, which is why it's so tough to see him struggle. Meanwhile, Richardson has so clearly taken over as the Heat's resident three-point specialist. That means Miami spent a first-round draft pick (Cook) and majority of its 2008 mid-level exception money (James Jones) on something it essentially acquired in what many dismissed as a throw-away trade (Richardson-for-Mark-Blount).

KEY CONTRIBUTION: It's all about the Q. Richardson tied a franchise record for most consecutive made three-pointers without a miss when he finished 7 of 7 from beyond the arc. He closed with a season-high 22 points. As good as that effort was, Roy found a way to upstage it and get the win. But the Heat has found a scoring sidekick to complement Wade and Beasley. If Q plays, he's almost good for 20 every time he steps onto the court. He's been that consistent lately. He's also been battling nagging injuries.

NEXT UP: Jazz at Heat, Wednesday - 7:30, AmericanAirlines Arena

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

Comments

[UD's biggest fan]

Once again great coaching by Spo led to the win.
Oh wait! We lost.

[SATANLOVES]

JUDGE ERIC SPOLESTRA: Ok bloggers, here is your opportunity to express your opinion on wether you think Eric Spolestra is a good basketball coach.

VOTE NOW: Is Eric Spolestra a good basketball coach? Yes or No? http://micropoll.com/t/KCoqGZ875

[Ken B.]

Yeah, Coach lost the game. He's the reason Wade couldn't guard Brandon Roy tonight. Good call genius.

[Greg]

You can't expect to win games if you don't play your 2nd best player at the end of games. Simple, this ones and Spo, and partly on Wade for forcing so many shots.

[Javi]

We lost this game when Beasley was benched with 4 minutes to go. Why the hell do you bench someone who scored 7 of his 17 points in the 4th and can help take some of the pressure on offense from a banged-up Wade? Yet, you leave in Haslem who scored a whopping 4 points in 31 minutes for defensive purposes when you needed a 2nd scorer alongside Wade.

[H. Combs]

Consistency still needs to be address but deal with it. Any loss is going to bring up questions on why this didn't happen but when it's a win those questions don't pop up. We just need to close out this last game and focus on the rest of the season and having someone else step up in the clutch.

[taheati]

Izzy's tizzy.

With all due respect to MW's colleague, there's no need for Izzy Gutierrez to get so dizzy over recent attention to Wade's conditioning. [ http://bit.ly/8EWRMN ]

It was less than a month ago that Wade HIMSELF admitted how "my legs are feeling a little better" 20 games into the season; when Wade HIMSELF conceded he did NOT start the season in attack mode, how he now "wanted to start getting to the basket more. That's something I'm ready to do now, especially 20 games in. I'm not injured. I'll be attacking more." [ http://bit.ly/7Clr7X ]

And if you didn't hear, read or watch Wade say it, anyone paying close attention could actually SEE it.

"It": Wade's LACK of consistent explosion, Wade LABORING to slide or recover effectively on defense, Wade LAGGING occasionally in transition, Wade SETTLING for jumpers when/where he would normally attack, Wade's LESS than maximum elevation even when he does attack.

Ditto POR today. In only 1-of-7 prior matchups had Brandon Roy EVER converted more than 50% of his FGAs v. Wade. ONCE. There's NO WAY Roy converts 11-14 against a "normal" Wade.

The worry here is no one, including Wade, seems to think Wade's 'debilitation' is anything more than a question of Wade eventually finding his legs.

But what if Wade's condition isn't just a matter of conditioning?

An athlete's burst or explosion is directly related to strength. Have Heat physicians done a detailed, recent workup of Wade's health? Did they screen for everything possible that might trigger sustained loss of strength, including viruses, infection, latent or barely manifested disease***?

Wade's back spasms? Happens all the time when athletes or even non-athletes try to overcompensate for injuries, defects or weaknesses elsewhere. Spasms can also become chronic if the underlying etiology isn't identified.

Sure, Wade's unWade self is probably and hopefully nothing more than the process of Wade playing himself + legs into optimal shape. But if I'm Pat Riley, I'd be asking Heat physicians to check & recheck those probabilities AFTER they've eliminated everything else.

*** Example. Several players have contracted mono over the years, including the recently released Shavlik Randolph & Thunder Dan Majerle when both were still collegians.

[T_TIME]

I insist. With 5 minutes left and up by 6, that was a good time to bring back Arroyo. Better court vision, better ball handling, less pressure on Wade. Not a big fan of Arroyo, but given the situation, he should've been the best choice.

[pmartin]

Last Year;
Wade and others complained that Beasley would bring the offense to a STOP and hurt ball movement.
well,
WADE IS TRYING TO KEEP HIS SCORING AVERAGE HIGH DESPITE LOW FG % AND IS SHOOTING LIKE CRAZY NOT PLAYING TEAM BALL.
THIS IS WHY WADE WANTS U.D. ON THE FLOOR SO HE CAN WATCH WADE SHOOT.

[RP]

Strange finish to say the least. Ball movement died in 4th quarter, Heat got killed on the boards most of the game, Aldridge was a load and created mismatches throughout the game, the refs were below par, Blazer guards penetrated almost at will, and Spo added to the strange by going small at times with no JO or Joel on the floor, and benching Beasley down the stretch. Total inconsistency on the floor are appearing be a reflection of Spo's vision. The Heat should've won this one.

[heatfan]

I completely agree with pmartin. Wade does not want Beasley on floor to steal his thunder and put up some points. It was sad to see Beas get taken out last night. I knew the game was over when Wade started coming down court not passing and throwing up brick 3's. The team game left with about 4 mins left and Wade needed to fill his stat sheet. Total joke. I dont know what Wade's problem is. Is his ego that inflated that he does not want to put team before himself? I cannot believe what I watched at the end of the game. This is a good team when they act like one. I will say again why on earth is JO not being given the ball???? The guy is hitting all his jumpers and finishing at rim and he never touches ball after 1st quarter. Come on Spo!!! Play offense through JO. I cant say enough how much better team is when they do that.

[David]

Arroyo only played 14 minutes in this game the past two games is average was 22 minutes. Eric When the team is winning you can't change the rotation.

[305 Representer]

I must agree with what people are saying that maybe Wade do have a little too much say-so on should be coaching decisions. I can't fault him too much because the Heat one a lot of games and a title off his back. Do I believe Wade is hating on Beasley and want to make sure he scores is totally bogus and conspriacy theories. In fact last time the Heat played Boston and Beasley went nuts in the 4th Wade came off the bench looking to get it too Beasley. So maybe Wade does want Haslem for his trusty jumper and defense I don't know. However Wade does need to be reminded this isn't the Suns offense or western shootout. I think JO does need more touches but that isn't the cure because JO might as well be a power coward with those jumpers.

[ebag]

free mike beazy!

[JPEJEFF]

The problem with wade is he has atleast 60 mil
on the table(twice that much if he choses).If I
was his agent,I would tell him not to get hurt.
1 Major injury and all he gets is 16 mil with
the player option for next year.If you look at
his injuries in the past,they happened on D.Tha
ts why he not gonna play none this year.Clearly
he is holding back while trying to keep his #s
up.If Beasley starts dropping 30/10 every night
like we know he will 1 day,Wade lose leverage.
Im sure his agent has told him this too. 2 guys
preforming at that level,who would you build a
round.I would build around both.Im just saying
he would lose leverage.You get hurt when you pl
ay not to get hurt.He also has reached the top
of the mountain top he has worked so hard to ge
t to.Its harder to stay on top than it is to g
et to the top. Far as Spro goes,I have no idea
what he is trying to do.The guy is all over the
grid.His rotation and substitutions are unstabl
e for everyone but Wade and Haslem. He consiste
ntly will call a TO in the 2nd & 4th quarter to
with about 6 min left 2 bring Wade back in and
Haslem knows no matter what happens he will end
games.It was ovious to me that Portland out pla
yed Miami when Bees was sitting and got out pl
ayed when he was playing but Spro will not see
it. He's stuck in the past with Haslem & wade.
They need a coach with no ties to the organizat
ion(offenseive minded)who would keep all our de
fensive minded assistance.Its not what you did
but what you do attitude kind of guy.

[yomama]

I'd be scared to have any of you guys running a team. I guess that's probably why nobody here is coach/gm/owner of an NBA team nor will be anytime soon.

[YourDaddy]

Shut up & eat your vegetable.

[pugtv]

I'm not one who believes in conspiracy theories. I have no concrete evidence one way or another, but I have a hard time believing Wade concerned with Beas stealing his thunder.

Whether Beas does well or not, Wade is going to get his $$$. If not from Miami, definitely New York, Chicago, Cleveland or a number of other places.

Personally, I'm not bothered if I know Wade is taking it easy this year. Why should he work hard? We're a 41-41 team. What is the best we can do? 48-34? 1st round exit? 2nd round if we get lucky and heat up at the right time? Who cares? We're gunning for a championship in 2010. Pat Riley put the Miami Heat on vacation for 2009. Wade should do the same.

Btw Satan, love the poll. I wish one of the major networks will pick it up and realize how much most of the fans dislike Dead Weight Spo. http://micropoll.com/t/KCoqGZ875

Cheers.

[Mac]

get a new coach. He must use a lottery to determine who will play but there is no consistency. He is one of the worse coaches in the NBA

[redbaby]

DWade is a great player, but you have to wonder how much influence Spo has on him. Any other good coach would have realized Wade was not shooting or defending well in the critical 4thQ. Really, what was he thinking allowing him to guard Roy down the stretch? And what was Wade thinking taking 31 shots and being schooled by Roy? Wade always refers to MJ as his hero and role model. He should know that Jordan would have never put his team in that kind of position at the end of the game. Three other observations: JO needs to step it up and the ball needs to go through him more often. And finally, when is Spo going to take Beasley off of his leash? The Heat need his offensive punch. It will take some of the pressure off Wade to think he has to close out every game. More finally...Cook needs to see playing time--what a waste of talent!!

[ebag]

pugtv...

you have been a very vocal critic of coach spo all season. really, i want to know why you hate him so much. let's talk basketball.

first of all, let me say that i am not a giant fan of coach spo. after the first ten games of the season, i even hopped on the "fire spo!" bandwagon. but this team has showed some improvement since then, and i give him some of the credit.

for example: at the beginning of the season, this team was flopping a ton on defense, taking a lot of bad shots, and not passing the ball at all. since then, the defense has gotten a lot tougher, and the offense is much more fluid. i credit those things to good coaching.

now the stuff that bothers me - really one thing. i think his substitution patterns are terrible. that includes sitting beasley in the fourth, not playing beazy and udonis together, and the lack of clear roles for bench players.

this is a young coach, and i am hoping he figures that stuff out throughout the season. in my opinion, he earned that opportunity by fixing some of the early problems.

also, i think the heat lost one of the best coaches in the league when they fired super mario van gundy. i would hate to see them make that mistake again.

so, while this is not a passionate defense of spo as a great coach, i view him the same way i view chalmers, joe-L, and beasley. good with the potential to be better.

[pugtv]

Ebag,

I think Spo is a horrible coach. I think coaching is about 3 things.

1. Xs and Os - You think we've gotten better defensively and offensively as the season progressed. I think our record is an indicator of our Xs and Os progression. 6-1 in the beginning. 7-11 since. I can't say that shows an improvement.

Let's dig into some stats. We hold teams to 98.1 on defense. 14th in the NBA as of the today. Not bad, not great ... we're average.

Let's dig in some more. The 1st 16 games through November. We held teams to 95.1. The last 9 games in December = 103.4. That implies our defense is getting worse, not better.

How about our offense? 95.3 1st 16 games to 102.4 in the last 9 games. Nice job Spo! I'll give him that. However, let's look at the big picture. We have a 97.9 average for the year. We are 21st best in the league on offense. Hmmm ...

Moving on to non statistical categories on Spo's Xs and Os skills. I don't really consider "give Wade the ball and get out of his way" a strong Xs and Os skill. Hell, I can do that. Why should we pay Spo to do that? I'll implement that strategy for free.

2. Substitution patterns - You think he is terrible there. No argument there.

3. People management - I specially hate the way he is messing with Beasley's head. In my opinion, Beasley would be far ahead of the curve if he played a lot more last year. I think the 1st round exit last year was not worth the price to hold back Beasley's development. Further, I don't think messing around with Beasley's head in the crucial minutes of a game this year are beneficial to Beasley, or the team. Mess around with Beasley's head enough and there will be long term damage.

Finally, there are a lot of capable coaches out there, young or otherwise. They may be unproven, but at least they have not shown themselves inept at the 3 categories above. Let's give those guys a chance and see what they can do for us.

Ebag, at some point, you have to stop giving Spo the "he's young excuse" and evaluate him for what he is ... pure Dead Weight.

Cheers.

[ebag]

ok, i'm game. lets look at those three things one at a time.

1. x's and o's - first of all, i have to throw out all your numbers. they don't account for strength of schedule, points per possesion, field goal %, etc. it's easy to find numbers that back up your opinion without telling the whole story.

the big difference with the defense is that players have stopped taking so many charges, and started blocking more shots. rotations are also getting better, so other teams are not getting as many open threes. if you watched the heat when they were 6-1, these were some glaring holes in the team. and they have improved. that has to be attributed to coaching.

as for the offense, the old "give it to wade and get out of the way" has also started to decline. lately, i blame that on wade more than on the coaching. same with the bad three-poniters. he is d-wade, so i cut him some slack. but the ball movement on this team has gotten way better, with the orlando game as a perfect example.

2 substitutions - well, all i can say is that as the season goes on, spo will figure out the best way to use his players. otherwise, i will admit it is his biggest weakness.

3 player management - this is a tougher one to evaluate. i think beasley has developed really well. if you read ira winderman, you realize that the fans are more upset about beasley's minutes than beasley. he is playing well, developing well, and will be a fantastic player in this league. so i disagree with your opinion about "messing with beasley's head". yes, i would like to see beaz play in the fourth quarter, but otherwise he is developing just fine.

however...spo has jerked around a lot of our young players, like d.cook and j.jones, and they have not really reached their full potential. this might also fit into the substitution thing. either way, i will say that i sort of agree with you about this, but not entirely.

as for capable young coaches - that's debatable. byron scott has turned two teams into contenders, but also been chased out of town by both teams. van gundy is happy as a comentator. college coaches rarely succeed in the nba.

while it is easy to point the finger at spo as the problem, this is an average team sitting fifth in the east right now. a new coach would not solve that problem.

but it is fun to argue about.

cheers

[pugtv]

Cheers.