Tis the season of giving for Heat players

The Heat's players celebrated the gift-giving tradition of the holiday season on Sunday with a Christmas party. LeBron James posted a picture on Instagram with the following message: "Man I love this team!! 1st time team gift exchange was a HUGE success!! Great gifts and plenty laughs of course#Heatles #ThisIsTheTimeOfTheYearToShare#StriveForGreatness"

Of course, Heat fans looking for any sign that James is staying in Miami will note his qualifier of the event. He called it the first, which CLEARLY means there will be a second...with James involved, presumably.

 

Barkley: 'I don't think they are great fans in Miami' and says 'it'd be great' if LeBron went back to Cleveland

Charles Barkley will sit down with Rachel Nichols  at 10:30 p.m. tonight on CNN's Unguarded and rip Miami fans. CNN felt so strongly about this interview that they emailed me a press release. From the release:

On never winning a ring, LeBron James and Miami fans:

CHARLES BARKLEY: It's interesting.  People always ask me about the championship ring.  And I never think like they think.  You know, basketball's what I do, it's not who I am.  I thought LeBron shoulda stayed in Cleveland.  Just 'cause he got them rings now, he ain't no better.  Think about the notion that, just because I didn't win a sportin' event, my life is not successful.  That's gotta be the stupidest thing I ever heard.

RACHEL NICHOLS: At the end of the year, LeBron has the option to opt out in Miami. You want him back in Cleveland? 

CHARLES BARKLEY: I think it'd be great for him to go back to Cleveland.  Number one, I don't think they are great fans in Miami.  I thought they were great fans in Cleveland. 

RACHEL NICHOLS: People in Miami already don't like you; you're gonna dig a deeper hole with this interview.

CHARLES BARKLEY: I'm not digging a deeper – they’re not the – listen, those were the same fans who were leaving when they thought they had lost to the Spurs.  So let's don't act like they're super fans.

STORY: Tones couldn't have been more different after morning shootarounds for Heat and Pacers

First, some news…Dwyane Wade did not participate in shootaround this morning, leaving his status uncertain for tonight’s game. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said everyone would be available for the game, but then said he would wait until 45 minutes before tipoff to finalize his starting lineup.

Wade missed Sunday’s game against the Pistons to rest his right knee.

Lance Stephenson of the Pacers said he is approaching tonight’s matchup against the Heat “like a championship game.” Heat forward Chris Bosh was asked when he proverbially circled the date of the game on his calendar and the casually replied, “Yesterday.”

The difference in rhetoric and tone between the Heat and Pacers couldn’t have been more different this morning following shootarounds for both teams at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. For the Pacers, the crushing loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals is still fresh. For the Heat, this is the fourth game of a road trip in December. First place in the Eastern Conference standings, the Pacers are two games ahead of the Heat in the loss column.

“We’re trying to build on what we’ve done the last two games,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We start off on this road trip on the wrong foot, and we want to continue to build the habits necessary to have a game we can win on the road. For the last two games, we’ve been able to do it, but now can you sustain it against a great? So, that’s our challenge tonight, that’s what we’re focused on. Can we take another step forward on this road trip.”

Asked if the Pacers were a better team this season, Spoelstra said, “That remains to be seen. It’s a long season.” He then added that the Pacers are “playing great basketball, and you have to respect that.”

Big fan of both teams, #Heat star #LeBron will pick #Buckeyes over #Noles if it comes to that

If the Bowl Championship Series standings hold in college football, then No.1 Florida State will be playing No.2 Ohio State in the BCS National Championship in January. James is a fan of both the Buckeyes and Florida State, so he might have to choose a side.

If the two teams meet, James said he would cheer for his home-state team. James has met Ohio State coach Urban Meyer on a few occasions and has attended Ohio State football games.

And, even though he went straight into NBA lottery out of high school, he also has an honorary locker in the basketball team’s basketball facility. James has been a fan of FSU since the Deion Sanders days. Coincidentally, James’ two favorite college-football teams are two of the most despised by Miami Hurricanes fan.

“I got to root for my Buckeyes, man,” James said. “I love Florida State, too. I’ve been a huge Florida State fan and I’ve never wanted those two teams to play and I guess you never say never…but I have to go with my Buckeyes even though I am a Florida State fan as well.”

Heat player Roger Mason Jr. victim of armed robbery at Miami restaurant

Miami Heat basketball player Roger Mason Jr. and family members were victims of an armed robbery at a Miami restaurant on Sunday, according to police.

Police said Mason was robbed of a Rolex at Ni.Do.Caffé on Biscayne Boulevard and NE 73rd St. The crime occurred after the Heat's game against the Bobcats. WPLG Local 10 first reported the story. Four suspects entered the business and robbed its patrons of their valuables. Rounds were fired during the robbery, but no one was shot, police told WTVJ.

Mason did not speak with reporters after Monday's practice. His watch was recovered when police identified the getaway car on Monday night and apprehended two suspects after a car chase. Mason signed with the Heat this offseason and has appeared in six games.

Feelings mixed on drastic drop in minutes for LeBron, Bosh and Wade

It’s understandable that LeBron James would have mixed feelings about playing a career low in minutes to begin the season, but the rest hasn’t affected his eminence as the NBA’s undisputed best player.

James was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time in November, the NBA announced on Monday, and James has paced the league despite receiving more rest in games than he ever has in his career. James is averaging 35.5 minutes per game through the Heat’s first 17 games of the season.

That’s down nearly 2 ½ minutes from last season and his career average in minutes per game is 39.6. For Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the reduction in minutes per game has been even more drastic. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has been preaching “sacrifice” to his players going on four seasons now, but this season he is pushing his stars to offer up even more in the name of team cohesion and a master plan aimed at staying fresh for the playoffs.

But it’s not always easy giving up minutes.

“It doesn’t feel much of a difference to me,” said James before expressing a slight tinge contradiction. “I could play … it doesn’t matter. Obviously, it could probably help long term, but I don’t know. It’s just my career low.

“I didn’t think I would be in my career low numbers in my 11^th year in the NBA, so I would love to play more, but we’re playing good basketball and that’s all that matters.”

James, in particular, is playing exceptionally well. The Heat (14-3) can extend its winning steak to 11 games on Tuesday with a victory against the Detroit Pistons and James averaged 29.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.50 steals while shooting 60.3 percent from the field, 46.7 percent from three-point range and 86.8 percent from the foul line in Miami’s four victories last week.

And James put up those numbers while averaging just 36.6 minutes per game.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has settled on a substitution pattern that regularly includes 10 players. Last week, it has allowed James to rest in the beginning of the second and fourth quarters, and the down time apparently kept his legs fresh.

In the four second quarters last week, James was 11 of 14 from the field (80 percent) and 3 of 5 from three-point range while averaging seven minutes per quarter. In the fourth quarters of those games, James was 8 of 15 from the field (53.3 percent) and 2 of 4 from three-point range while averaging just 7.25 minutes per period. The lone statistical outliner from his stellar week was James’ 1 of 5 shooting effort in the fourth quarter against Cleveland.

“When you’re on the floor, you want to try to go,” James said.

James has complained of a sore back recently, but his average per game last week was actually up from the first three weeks of the season. Spoelstra, who has clearer made it a priority to rest his stars early in the season, bristled at a question about whether or not he has thought about resting James.

“I’ve been resting him,” Spoelstra said. “He’s averaging a career low in minutes. If it ever gets to the point where he can’t go, we’ll make those decisions.”

Meanwhile, Wade and Bosh are also averaging career lows in minutes with Bosh joking that if, four years ago, he looked at his minutes to begin this season he would think “something is wrong. I’m hurt or something.”

Bosh is averaging just 28.4 minutes per game. That’s easy work for a salary that will pay him over $19 million this season. His career average in minutes per game is 36.2.

“It’s a slippery slope at times,” said Bosh, whose reduced minutes also have been affected by occasional foul trouble. “It can be very tough to manage, but … those five minutes extra a night, that adds up. It might make a difference later on in the postseason when we’re trying to get where we want to go.

“So, it could come down to rebounding or a loose ball, and if you have a little bit extra legs, then you can jump and go get it.”

At least that’s the theory.

Wade is averaging 33.7 minutes per game. His career average is 36.9. He said his reduced minutes have helped his “mindset” so far this season, by “knowing my sub pattern has changed this year compared to any other year. I normally used to play nine minutes in the first quarter. Now I’m playing five or six.”

“I know I’m coming out after that first timeout, so I can just blow it out and then get my second wind as I come back again at the end of the first quarter and play with that unit,” Wade said. “So, it has helped my mindset. It has changed the way I approach the game.”

How will Dwyane Wade's number of career blocks ultimately affect his place on the all-time shooting guard list?

Here’s an obscure statistic that’s not going to pop up again until Dwyane Wade’s likely induction into the Hall of Fame. His two blocks in the first half against the Bobcats gave him 676 career swats and the NBA record for most blocked shots by a player 6-4 or shorter. OK, it's not really a record in the traditional sense, so we'll just call it a milestone. As Doc Rivers told me earlier this year, he's a great shot-blocking guard who has played a lot of years.

But that's just the thing. Hall of famer Dennis Johnson held the previous record (675) but Wade reached the mark in 421 fewer games. Wade has 676 career blocks in 679 games. The record does not include the postseason and, of course, is anything but official. After all, players’ actual heights have been debated for decades.

But, still, it's impressive. Taken in context, how does Wade's ability as a shot blocker define him as a basketball player? More than you would initially think, actually. Wade's ability as a defender has always been overlooked, but, it might be the difference in him being a great Hall of Famer and potentially one of the Top 5 shooting guards of all time.

Wade's peak season as a shot blocker was 2008-09 when he had 106 blocks. That was good for 16th on the NBA blocks list that season with Dwight Howard leading the league with 231. (Birdman was second with 175.) Since 2008-2009, Wade's blocks have declined almost every season. He had 87 in his first season with LeBron James and Chris Bosh, 63 in the second year of the Big 3 Era and 56 in the third. Wade has nine blocks through 14 games this season. He had seven fewer blocks last season compared to 2011-12 despite playing in 20 more games.

Doing a little math in my head, Wade is on pace for 41 blocks the rest of the season. That would give him 50 blocks for his 11th season in the league. Not bad. Wade is currently averaging one block per game for his career. That's better than Michael Jordan (0.8) and Kobe Bryant (0.5) and on pace with George Gervin (1.0 blocks per game). Clyde Drexler, another of the great shooting guards of all time, averaged 0.7 blocks per game for his career.

OK, the number of his NBA titles ultimately will determine Wade's place among those players, but you get the point. Wade wouldn't be the same player if he wasn't such a great defender. Here's a nice YouTube compilation of some of Wade's blocks. (via @NBA_Reddit)

Michael Beasley: 'It feels good to be trusted'

Michael Beasley played the role of defensive specialist on Friday in Toronto in the final five minutes of the Heat’s victory and on Monday said this is the first time in his professional career that a coach has trusted him.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra inserted Beasley into the game after the Heat blew a 20-point lead. With Beasley in the game for the final five minutes, the Raptors scored just four points. Beasley laughed when I called him the Heat's new "defensive stopper," but he certainly is enjoying his versatile role. Beasley is doing a little bit of everything for the Heat. On Sunday against the Bobcats, he had seven rebounds in 15 minutes.

“It feels good to be trusted by Spo on something other than offense,” Beasley said. “It’s definitely different than what I’m used to.”

Asked when the last time a coach trusted him on the basketball court, Beasley named Frank Martin, his coach at Kansas State.

“Spo has trusted me before but it’s different now because I think my rookie year, Spo had to trust me,” Beasley said. “We didn’t have too many choices. Now, we have a full roster and everyone can contribute. He can put me at the end of the bench and forget about me for 20 games.

“And that’s not him doing it consciously, but we have so many guys that can do so much. So when he calls my name, it speaks a lot. But, like I said, I can’t get complacent. I can’t get comfortable. I gotta keep going.”

Beasley entered Sunday’s game against the Bobcats in the second quarter and played nearly nine minutes. During that time, he led all Heat players with four rebounds to go along with two points. He was 1 of 3 from the field.

Beasley’s role is ever changing to begin the season. He played a prominent offensive role against the Cavaliers last week, closed out the game on Friday in Toronto without taking a shot and on Sunday ….

“With this team, like I said before, and I’ve been screaming all year, I’ve got to find something else to bring to the table,” Beasley said. “It’s not going to be the same thing every night, but it’s got to be something.”

Spoelstra said making Beasley feel like “he was part of our family” was important from the beginning.

“We drafted him and spent a lot of time with him,” Spoelstra said. “We wanted to open up our arms and welcome him back into our family. It was, ‘Hey, come back to the family.’”

Beasley is playing under a non-guaranteed contract for the veteran’s minimum after being bought out by the Phoenix Suns.