Flying Death Machine

LeBron and Wade: Pacers good for fighting off boredom

With the Pacers and Trail Blazers the fresh and emerging teams this season, Wade said it has been nice not being the center of attention for a change.

“It has been good for us that you have teams like Portland and Indiana, teams that are coming out with these hot starts,” Wade said. “It’s good for teams like the Heat and Spurs that there are other story lines out there and we can just continue to work our game, and continue to get better and not be the main topic these days.”

Wade also said Indiana’s impressive start to the season has been good for one other thing, fighting off boredom.

“It was good for us that Indiana started off this way,” Wade said. “You can see it in the intensity of both games. Both of them were playoff-type atmosphere games and obviously it’s because of the team they are. The West has a lot of that, those type of games. So, it’s good for us.”

James agreed: “You see it and you don’t want to get too behind anyone,” James said. “This league is difficult because you’re playing so many game and so many different matchups every night, and the motivation…it’s hard to get up every night, but when you have great teams in your conference, it definitely helps.”

When Chalmers is 60, Wade said he's 'still going to be cussing his ass out'

Mario Chalmers is impervious to the frequent tongue lashings from his teammates, and that’s a good thing. The admonishment isn’t going to stop anytime soon. Wade said the Heat’s players would still be yelling at Chalmers when he’s “sixty years old.”

“He’s our little brother,” Wade said. “Still going to be cussing his ass out. It just is what it is.

“It’s the role he has and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Rio knows that we all have nothing but love, but more importantly, nothing but respect, for the player that he is, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem … heck, pretty much everyone on the team has screamed at Chalmers at least once in the last four seasons. The latest example came on Wednesday night in the Heat’s emotionally charged victory against the Pacers.

James scolded Chalmers on the court after apparently blowing a defensive assignment, but Chalmers appeared to defend himself moments later in the team huddle. James then jumped out of his seat and charged at Chalmers. Udonis Haslem held James back while he berated the Heat's starting point guard.

“You can’t have that type of relationship with anybody and everybody,” Wade said. “Mario is…he can take it. I would have exploded way more times than him.”

Wade on Greg Oden: 'He he has gotten down and got a little frustrated, but he’s giving himself a chance'

Dwyane Wade indicated before the Heat’s game against the Kings that Greg Oden has “gotten down” and “a little frustrated” while waiting to join the team on the court. Oden was in business attire and inactive for his 26^th straight game this season on Friday.

At the same time, Wade said Oden “has been great” and the Heat’s co-captain said he was proud of Oden’s patience. The Heat’s reserve center, who hasn’t played in a regular-season game in more than four years, went through his normal pregame routine on Friday. He workout out on the court before shedding his knee brace and practice clothes for a sport coat and a spot on the bench.

Still, Wade’s tone seemed to acknowledge the widely held belief that Oden is still a long way from being cleared to play.

“His attitude has been great,” Wade said. “I’m sure at times he has gotten down and got a little frustrated, but he’s giving himself a chance. He is listening to the guys who know the bodies very well — way more than us athletes.

“He is doing everything they ask him to do, so it’s giving him an opportunity to get back on the court whenever that time comes. He’s not rushing it, so as someone who has been through injuries before, I’m proud of him being patient and I know he’s frustrated because he wants to get out there and play with us. I know if he keeps doing what he’s doing, his time will come.”

LeBron wants no lip from Mario Chalmers

GIF: Paul George, you stand accused of floppery. How do you plead? (via @sbnation)

 

AND THIS FROM @HTX_GAR

Here's a look at Ray Allen's 'J.Shuttlesworth' jersey

Those nickname jerseys we heard about before the season appear to be a reality. Director Spike Lee posted this picture to his Instagram account recently. The Associated Press reported back in October that the NBA was considering alternate jerseys with players nicknames on the back.

Ray Allen played Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's 1988 movie He Got Game. Fred Shuttlesworth was a prominent civil rights leader in Birmingham, Ala., in the 1960s.

Before the season, the NBA reportedly was considering the jerseys for one of the four match ups between the Heat and Nets. The Heat's next game against the Nets is Jan.10 in Brooklyn.

 

Chris Bosh's keys to beating the Pacers

Chris Bosh broke down the Heat's game plan for the Pacers before the Heat's rematch with Indiana on Wednesday. The Heat lost to the Pacers 90-84 last week. The Heat and Pacers play at 7 p.m. at AmericanAirlines Arena. Here's today's main story on the game in The Herald.

1. GET STOPS

In last week's initial matchup between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Heat jumped out to a 30-19 in the first quarter by forcing turnovers and limiting the Pacers' possessions. The Heat went cold in the second quarter, which allowed the Pacers back into the game, and Indiana then dominated the third quarter. The Pacers shot 64.3 percent from the field and 80 percent (4 of 5) from three-point range in the third period.

"We got stops in the first quarter," Bosh said. "After that first quarter, for the next three quarters, we didn’t get many stops at all, and that didn’t allow us to play in the open court. And against these guys, we don’t want to play against their set defense. They’re the best defense in the league and they’re there for a reason, so playing against the best defensive team in the league, having a healthy dosage of half-court defense, that’s not what we want.

"We want to get stops; we want to put pressure on them."

2. MOVE THE BALL

The Heat started the game 2 of 16 from three-point range, including 0 of 6 in the decisive third frame. By the end of the third quarter, the Heat's main ball handlers were holding the ball in isolation and taking low-percentage shots. LeBron James, Mario Chalmers and Dwyane Wade combined to go 3 of 10 from the field in the third quarter. Bosh was 3 of 6.

"We stopped doing what was working for us," Bosh said. "We held it a little bit, which is not what we do. We were just going out there and playing basketball. Our drive-and-kick game was pretty good and we went away from that. So, we just want to make sure we keep doing that.

3. LIMIT PAUL GEORGE ON SCREEN AND ROLLS

In the early going, Pacers forward Paul George was thoroughly dominated by LeBron's defense. George was 0 of 4 in the first half with his only two points coming at the free-throw line. But LeBron tired in the second half and George eventually found space to operate. He went 3 of 4 from the field and 2 of 3 from three-point range for the 12 points in the third quarter.

"We just have to continue to hold Paul George to as minimal amount of points as possible and just make him take tough shots," Bosh said. "I think we did a good job with that in the first half, but in the second half he got some wide-open looks and that got him going.

"It’s nothing we have to correct. It’s more so stop screen and rolls. [George] didn’t really hurt us off of initial post ups. We made them work a little bit and he hit some tough shots, but most of it was off of screen and rolls. He got in the paint off of those a little bit and when a guy is that big and he’s a moving target, he’s a lot tougher to defend. So, we need to game plan a little better, stop the screen and rolls and keep a body on him."

4. KEEP BODIES ON HIBBERT AND WEST

LeBron called Pacers big men Roy Hibbert and David West a "two-headed monster," and also the biggest challenge for the Heat. It's easy to see why after the first game. Hibbert and West combined to go 16 of 23 from the field. In the fourth quarter, Hibbert, West and Luis Scola were 7 of 12 from the field. The Heat will always be at a disadvantage against the Pacers' size, but remaining consistently physical against Hibbert and West throughout games is key.

"They don’t run anything crazy," Bosh said. "They got a lot off of their side screen and roll, being able to get bodies off of them for a little bit. That way they could duck in and kind of function a little bit more, but we’ll have a game plan for that."

FINAL THOUGHTS

"We’re not where we’re supposed to be right now and it’s going to take a long time to get to that point. That’s how we take it," Bosh said. "We’re going to compete tomorrow. We’re going to try to win the game, but whatever happens, we move on."

Watch LeBron James do something difficult on a basketball court

STORY: Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra danced around Greg Oden questions at shootaround.

Heat coach Erik Spoelsta talked about his team's rotations today during his pregame news conference and how the team has adapted well through the years to what Chris Bosh has called "redefining roles." While on the subject, I thought it would be a good idea to ask about Greg Oden.

Q: Incorporating Oden into the process midstream, how do you make that as efficient as possible?

SPO: "We’ll get to that when we get to that. It will be no different than when we had to incorporate Michael [Beasley], when we’ve had to incorporate Shane [Battier]. We incorporated Norris [Cole]. When we get to that point, we’ll deal with it the way we always do."

Q: Do you think that will be the biggest challenge this season?

SPO: "You can’t ever pinpoint what the biggest challenge will be in an NBA season, really. They come daily, they come weekly because of the schedule, but they will arrive on your doorstep."