Somebody Up There Really Wants Me to Love the Thunder

Holy shit! Suddenly it makes sense for someone from Dayton, Ohio to root for the OKC Thunder.

Just when I was really starting to like the Thunder instead of just rooting for them on a whim, they go and do something to endure themselves to me forever. They call up SlimMcFettuccine's Miami Heat and say "Hey, can we have Daequan "The Dayton Kid" Cook, plus a better draft pick?" So Miami gave up an extremely valuable (read: marginal) player plus the 18th pick in the draft for the 32 overall pick.

I'm not even going to pretend that it makes sense to give up a player and a draft pick for a lower draft pick, but such is the way of the salary cap in the NBA. This guy from Bleacher Report says that he thinks the Heat want out of the first round so they don't have to guarantee any salaries for draft picks next year. What I want to know (hint, Slim) is who they do plan on paying to play in 2010-11?

Anyway, the Thunder now hold the 18th, 21st, 26th and 51st overall picks. So they'll pretty much be kicking everyone's ass (Miami's included) for the next decade. The best thing about it though is that I get to steal Slim's nickname!

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As an unrelated sidenote, I recently watched the classic musical Oklahoma. It was pretty gay but kind of cool in parts. Not so much the ones where they're singing though.

"The Dayton Kid" Daequan Cook leads the Heat past the Hawks

And a new Dank Game nickname is born! Arising from the abyss of a poor shooting season that has put him out of the Heat's rotation, "The Dayton Kid" Daequan Cook is officially back!

Maybe it was Dwyane Wade's recent comments that coach Erik Spoelstra needs to "mix it up" on offense, maybe it was an opportunity allowed by point guard Mario Chalmers' absence, or maybe it was encouragement for Daequan to represent Miami with pride in the Three-Point Contest. Whatever it was, Spoelstra let Daequan play and the Dayton Kid responded.

Cook was instrumental in opening up the Heat's lead in the fourth quarter while Dwyane Wade rested. The Dayton Kid hit back to back three-pointers to take the Heat up 77-71. Cook would continue to strive throughout the fourth as the Heat closed the game out in convincing fashion. He finished the game going 7-12 from the field and 3-5 from distance for 17 points.

Equally instrumental in Miami's win was center Jermaine O'Neal and power forward Udonis Haslem. Jermaine made big plays down the stretch, finishing the night 9-13 for 19 points with 10 rebounds, while Haslem also helped keep the Hawks at bay going 7-9 for 14 points with 12 rebounds. A great night for the Heat's front court, despite Beasley having an off night. No matter how much Heat fans (myself included) question coach Spoelstra's use of Haslem over Beasley in fourth quarters, you can't deny Haslem's consistency in rebounding, defending, and shooting the ball. The guy is committed to this team, and I'd hate to ever see him leave.

Dorell Wright continued to make a case for the starting small forward position, as he hit 4 of 5 shots for 10 points and dished out two assists. Quentin Richardson's decline from his impressive start to the season continues, as he shot poorly from the field and finished with just 2 points.

Dwyane Wade was unable to score 20 points for the second night in the row, scoring 18 on 7 of 15 shooting. But who cares if other players can pick up the slack. Despite being held in check most of the first half, Wade did help seal the deal down the stretch while also contributing a double-double with 11 assists.

What a great win for the Heat heading into the All-Star Break. For the first time in a while, I feel relatively proud to be a Heat fan. They held the Hawks to 37.5 percent shooting while shooting over 50 percent. They also held Atlanta's marquee player Joe Johnson to 16 points on 7-21 shooting, with the Dayton Kid guarding Johnson for many stretches. What stood out most was that the Heat bench outscored the Hawks 48 to 8. In Atlanta's defense, they were without Sixth Man of the Year favorite and notorious Heat killer Jamal Crawford, but a win's a win.

The Heat are now just a game below .500 (which sucks, but it could be worse), lead the season series against the Hawks at 2-1, and now hold the 7th seed in the East after the Bulls fell to the Magic tonight.

I just want to point out the Hawks' "every guy" names: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Joe Smith.

Turn the Heat around

Get the title? It's a play on that Gloria Estefan song, "Turn the Beat Around." I know, it's terrible. But that's mostly what we do here at Dank Game: make terrible titles for posts that are marginally less terrible. If I got that song stuck in your head, my bad.

Now, onto the Heat, turning it around.

The Heat had lost five straight coming into last night's game against the injury ridden Rockets (Trevor Ariza and Kyle Lowry both out), and they came out and took care of business at home by embarrassing Houston 99-66. The Heat played some of their best team basketball of the season, with six players in double figures and 27 assists on 41 field goals. Wade only posted 17 points and the Heat still won by 33. Usually this season Wade has to be nearing 30 for the Heat to even be close to getting a win. Even Daequan Cook got involved, scoring 10 points. Maybe Erik Spoelstra just wanted to remind everyone that he's still in the league before he defends his Three-Point Shooting crown during All-Star Weekend.

The first half was all Miami, with the Heat up 56 to 31. With Quentin Richardson picking up two quick fouls trying to guard the bulkier Carl Landry in the post, Dorell Wright came into the game and helped sparked the Heat to its big lead. Wright was aggressive in driving to the hoop and finding the open man. He closed the half with seven assists, but didn't get anymore in the second half. Udonis Haslem was also a big part of the Heat pulling away early, as he drilled 18-foot jump shots over and over again. He was 7 of 8 from the field to start the game.

The Rockets came out in the second half hitting multiple three-pointers which got the lead down into the teens, but the Heat pushed it back into the twenties by the end of the third quarter. From there on out, the Rockets seemed to accept the loss as they just went through the motions.

Typically, the Heat have trouble matching up with other team's height, but with the Rockets missing Yao Ming for the season, they're one of few teams Miami actually has a height advantage against. The Heat used this advantage, as Joel Anthony blocked 5 shots and JO blocked 2. I think this weakness will keep Houston out of the playoffs, as they have 6'9" Luis Scola and the big bodied 6'6" Chuck Hayes taking turns at center. 6-footer Aaron Brooks, who's a high volume scorer, couldn't seem to get to the hoop all night without meeting one of Miami's big men. He struggled to get anything going, finishing the game with only one assist and 3-16 shooting for 10 points. This attempted fast-break more or less summed up the game for Brooks:

I love me some two-handed blocks.

Another thing worth noting is that the Heat had plenty of fast break points against Houston. According to TeamRankings.com, the Heat rank second to last in the league in fast break points, averaging only 9.6 a game. I wish the Heat would get out and run more off of turnovers and defensive stops, as it makes for more exciting basketball as well as easier buckets, like this one from last night:



It was a great rebound game for the Heat, yet it can't be overstated. With the way things have gone this season, I expect them to get blown out or lose at the last second tonight in Atlanta. A win against the Hawks tonight would be huge, as the Heat would go into the All-Star break just a game below .500. Plus, if Chicago loses to Orlando and Charlotte loses to Minnesota, the Heat could find themselves with the sixth seed in the East. Although Chicago losing to Orlando is highly probable, I wouldn't put money on the latter.

Heat end Conseco Fieldhouse drought

The Heat were finally able to end their streak of 14 regular season losses at Conseco Fieldhouse (two of which I attended last season) with a 96-83 victory against the Pacers. The win was also Dwyane Wade's first win in Indiana, after losing his first 11 visits. Pretty much everyone on the Heat contributed, except for Daequan Cook who had an off shooting night. J.O. continues to impress after another big game against his former team. He put up the same numbers he did against the Knicks with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Dwyane Wade made scoring 32 points look easy, getting buckets by hitting jumpers, posting up, and getting to the line. While Quentin Richardson has been relatively quiet on offense in his first two games with the Heat, his defense on All-Star Danny Granger was encouraging. I forgot to mention in my post about the Knicks game that Udonis Haslem has finally lost his starting power forward spot to Michael Beasley, and thus far he's continued to produce. At some point Beasley's talent had to trump Haslem's productive yet limited game. You got to love Udonis for being such a dedicated player and coming off the bench with no complaints and a consistent effort. Then again, he is in a contract year. Speaking of Haslem, he had the play of the game making a poster out of Solomon Jones. The 2-0 start is definitely encouraging, but the Heat has yet to face any real competition and I can't help but wonder if O'Neal can continue to produce like he has these first two games.


Here's the aforementioned Haslem dunk on Solomon Jones. Pretty nasty.

Heat abuse Knicks 115-93

Dwyane Wade has talked of having to do less this season after putting up otherworldly numbers last season to carry the Heat to 43-39. Tonight, Wade got what he asked for. The Heat shot an astonishing 56% from the floor and 7-15 from deep.

Wade had a relatively "off" game, going 10-22 for 26 points. Despite looking a bit tentative early, Michael Beasley had an inspired effort with 21 points. His offensive repertoire included his typical perimeter jumpers, but he also attacked the rim, still with more finesse than power, though. Jermaine O'Neal looked alive going 10-12 for 22 points and pulling in 12 rebounds. He and Wade played well off of one another, with both picking up assists and easy baskets. It should be noted that 6'9" David Lee was playing center, which makes J.O.'s numbers a bit less impressive. Lee also put up 22 points on several easy putbacks. Chalmers and Dayton's own Daequan Cook also played well with 11 and 15 points respectively. Haslem played his typical reliable game. It was a great shooting night for the Heat, but they'll have to come together more as a team when the shots stop falling and they start playing legit teams. With that said, it was good to see them come out and take New York out with ease.

The Knicks were pretty awful throughout most of the game. Mike D'Antoni looked ready to throw a tantrum, especially after Miami pulled out a big lead. David Lee came just short of a double-double and Danilo Gallinari was three-point happy, hitting 7-13 from deep on 14 shots, but not much else was going for them. Nate Robinson was especially terrible, going 0-8 from the floor, five of those misses from deep.

Here's one of the better plays from the game. After a nice move by Beasley, Wade turned around out of nowhere for the steal off the inbound pass and a crazy 360 layup. Unfortunately, the camera crew cut to Beasley as Wade took it to the hoop.

Dank Game Showdown - Heat vs. Thunder

Yesterday, there was a Dank Game preseason showdown between my own Miami Heat and Mustache's beloved OKC Thunder (I'm anxiously awaiting your Thunder season preview, 'stache). This match up was also a showdown between young stars Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant, who were childhood friends having grown up in Washington D.C. together. The Thunder would pull this one out 96-91 after the Heat controlled the game through the first three quarters. Listen Mustache, before you get too excited, fantasizing about the Thunder bringing home the Larry O'Brien trophy, keep in mind that Dwyane Wade sat this one out due to a strained muscle in his left rib cage.

Michael Beasley (seen throwing down a fastbreak oop from Chalmers at the beginning of the video) had an excellent game, going 9-13 from the field and 6-6 from the line to finish with 24 points in 38 minutes. Despite those impressive numbers, Beasley only pulled in 4 rebounds, none of which were offensive, and he turned the ball over 7 times. The rebounding numbers could be worse, but the turnovers are a real concern. Beasley started at small forward but would see plenty of time at power forward when the Heat played small ball with Haslem at center.

Haslem was his reliable self, adding 9 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks in 35 minutes. Unspectacular as usual, but mildly effective nonetheless. The Heat might continue to utilize Haslem at center (who's already somewhat undersized as a power forward) as Jermaine O'Neal continues to struggle with rebounding, pulling in just 3 in 23 minutes. Numbers like these are all too familiar after acquiring him last season. J.O. did go 4-7 from the field and 2-2 from the line for 10 points, though.

Two of the Heat's youngsters, Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers, had some solid production with both playing about 30 minutes. Both of these guys have been having decent games with Wade out since they can look for their own offense without having to defer to Wade. Dayton native Daequan Cook would only shoot 5-15 from the field, but he did hit 4-7 three pointers, two of which can be seen in the highlights. He would finish with 14 points. Chalmers shot 4-7 from the field and 4-4 from the line for 13 points and added 4 assists. He also had 4 turnovers, though. Chalmers can be seen setting up J.O. for a dunk with a nice pass at the 1:16 mark on the video.

As for the rest of the Heat, James Jones shot well in limited minutes, Quentin Richardson struggled shooting going just 1-7 from deep, and newly acquired point guard Carlos Arroyo was quiet with a couple of dimes in 16 minutes.

Kevin Durant continues to look like a superstar in the making, going 10-16 from the field and 9-10 from the line for 30 points. His dunk on Joel Anthony at the 0:25 second mark on the video is reminiscent of Clyde Drexler and he can be seen dominating throughout the rest of the highlights, including the game clinching shot in the final minutes. I guess he had something to prove after firing back at Truehoop's Henry Abbot via Twitter after Abbot wrote a piece about Durant hurting his team when he's on the floor, despite being an obvious star.

The Thunder's Jeff Green also had an impressive game, going 9-16 from the field and 3-3 from deep for 25 points in 36 minutes. For as much hype as KD gets, I've always thought Green has shown a lot of promise. Second year point guard Russell Westbrook struggled from the field going 3-12 and 6-10 from the line for 12 points, but he did add 7 dimes.

We have yet another Dank Game showdown tonight in Kansas City between the Heat and HAM's New Orleans Hornets. I guess you would only know that from the Hornets logo on the side of the blog, though. Wade could play, so hopefully the Heat can pull it together as a team with only three more preseason games left and no wins.

What are the implications of the Heat acquiring Quentin Richardson?

Quentin Richardson has been traded a lot this summer. From New York to Memphis for Darko Milicic and cash, to the Clippers for Zach Randolph, to Minnesota for Sebastian Telflair, Mark Madsen, and Craig Smith, and finally to the Miami Heat for 7-foot softie, Mark Blount. Although I'm pretty unfamiliar with Richardson's game, I feel a little apprehensive that the Heat are acquiring someone that's been tossed around so much during the offseason. I do think it was a good trade to make though, as Mark Blount's career in Miami has mostly been on the bench. At least Richardson might have some impact, but whether it will be positive or negative remains to be seen.

When considering what role Richardson will have in Miami, many of the questions surrounding the Heat's roster become magnified. If Richardson will play primarily at the two, will he be a back-up to Dwyane Wade, or will he play alongside him when Wade takes over duties at the point? Although Richardson seems pretty inconsistent, he could be capable of providing some scoring when Wade is on the bench, which was one of the Heat's main weaknesses last season. If he plays alongside Wade, what will become of Daequan Cook? Cook remains a big question mark for the Heat. Sometimes he is the three-point threat that the Heat covet to have beside Wade, and sometimes he disappears (i.e. the second half of last season after winning the three point contest). Cook's potential remains a mystery, and Richardson might be an impediment to his development. I think gauging Cook and the other young players like Chalmers and Beasley ought to be a priority for this season.

If Richardson spends more time at the three, what becomes of the other Heat small forwards? James Jones was never at full health last season, so his ability to mesh with the team remains unknown. If his hand has completely healed, will he be able to return as the three-point specialist he's been in the past? I like Jones but I have concerns about his athleticism, which is an important attribute for a small forward. Jamario Moon had the athleticism I wish Jones possessed, which was why it was tough to see him leave for the Cavs. And what about Yakhouba Diawara and Dorrell Wright? Diawara is a solid perimeter defender and a decent three-point shooter, but when all is said and done, he doesn't seem to be much of a difference maker. Dorrell Wright remains to be a project that has yet to show what he is capable of. When Riley coached, he mostly rode the pine because of Riley's lack of trust in young players. Since then, nagging injuries and inconsistent play have hampered his career. This season could be the final straw for Dorrell, as it is essentially his last chance to prove his worth. I still have a delusional hope that he can become a solid contributor at small forward, but more than likely he will end up falling short due to unreliability or a lack of playing time because of the Heat's glut at small forward. When he had the chance to play during that painful 2007-08 season, he showed some flashes of promise on both ends of the floor. As if those aren't enough questions at the small forward position, will Michael Beasley end up putting minutes at the three? I'm in the line of thinking that he should be the Heat's starting power forward next season. I think the only time he should be at the three is when the opposing team is playing a small forward with offensive deficiencies. Most starting small forwards in the league will take advantage of Beasley's poor defensive footwork, blowing by him over and over. It also might make sense to slide him to the three when Udonis Haslem's defense and rebounding is needed at the power forward position. This way, the Heat would still have Beasley's scoring on the offensive end and Haslem's defense on the other end.

Despite all of these question marks, I think this is ultimately a good trade to have made. Richardson has proven to be a legit three-point threat in the past with Phoenix, setting the Suns single-season record for three-point field goals in 2004-05 by surpassing Dan Majerle's record of 199. He also has a career 35% three-point field goal percentage. The Heat highly value three-point shooters to surround Wade, and this trade gives them plenty of options with Richardson, Cook, Jones, as well as Beasley, who shot just over %40 from three last season. Another positive aspect is that Wade and Richardson are both Chicago natives and friends. Regardless of how this trade works out on the court, it seems as though it will at least improve morale. But there are still plenty of concerns, one of which is Richardson's conditioning. He appeared somewhat out of shape during his stint with the Knicks. Fortunately, he is busy working out in Chicago this summer alongside Wade, Jermaine O'Neal and Dorrell Wright with Tim Grover, who aided Wade in returning to superstar form last summer. Because his contract expires after next season, Richardson will likely only be in Miami for a year, so it's not like this is a high risk move. Let's just hope that this trade actually pays dividends rather than serve as simply a move to lose Mark Blount's contract. And most of all, let's hope this isn't a move that stunts the growth of any of the Heat's young talent.