Wade Posterizes Several Pacers

I meant to include this in my previous post about the Heat vs. Pacers game but couldn't find it on youtube. Wade takes it past Brandon Rush and Big Ugly for the finish over Josh McRoberts.

Wade Turns Up the Heat in Indy

Tonight I had the pleasure of witnessing a 43-point performance by Dwyane Wade in a 105-96 overtime win against the Pacers. Typically I get to Pacers games early before they start checking ticket stubs for the lower section, but bad traffic led to us arriving shortly before tip-off. We nearly eluded an old guy who was checking some other people's tickets, but dude took his job seriously and chased us down. Even if we had escaped that diligent old man, it would have been tough to find vacant seats because this weekend's Final Four in Indianapolis brought in a considerable crowd for the oft-empty Conseco Fieldhouse. Normally I wouldn't mind sitting in the nosebleeds, but it would've been nice this time to see Dwyane Wade do stuff like this from up close:



And that was just one of many highlight worthy plays by Wade.

Michael Beasley struggled yet again as my faith in him continues to fade. I really want to believe in the kid, but he just doesn't seem to quite get it. He did come out strong at the beginning of the game with a few encouraging plays, including this drive on Troy Murphy AKA Big Ugly:



But overall, the self-proclaimed Supercool Beas was pretty disappointing. He and Haslem couldn't contain Big Ugly, who finished the game with 29 points and 15 boards! Also, Big Ugly had the runner-up for play of the game with this put back dunk:



It was a great game to see, especially since the two Heat games I went to last season at Conseco Fieldhouse were losses. And one of them was a heart breaker that ended with a would-be game winner by Wade that just rimmed out. This time around, Wade sealed the deal in OT with consecutive three-pointers that had me grimacing upon their release, but celebrating after they dropped. The victory extended the Heat's win streak to seven games and moved them ahead of Milwaukee for the 5th seed.

If Amare goes to Cleveland, how will it affect 2010? (UPDATE)

With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, rumor has it that the Cavs could be on the verge of trading J.J. Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire. The Suns have been actively shopping Amare in fear of losing him for nothing in free agency. If the trade goes through, Big Z would likely be bought out by the Suns, probably because he'd be unable to keep up with their run and gun offense. Then again, Shaq somehow managed to keep up. Once Z is waived, he would likely be resigned by the Cavs. These types of moves have always seemed fishy to me, but the NBA allows it.

The Cavs have also been linked to trade rumors with Washington for Antawn Jamison and Indiana for Troy Murphy AKA Big Ugly (props to my homeboy Ryan Hubbard for coming up with that nickname). It has been reported that LeBron prefers Stoudemire, so there's a good chance that these trade talks have died. After all, keeping LeBron happy so that he'll resign in 2010 is Cleveland's biggest priority outside of winning a championship.

There is also word that the Heat have been actively pursuing Stoudemire, but it seems that the Suns have no interest in Miami's players. Because of this, I'm assuming the Heat haven't offered Michael Beasley, unless his off court issues have made the Suns weary.

So how might these potential deals affect the much hyped 2010 free agent market? I have my own theory, however it is highly wrought in hypotheticals. But hear me out.

If Cleveland does pull the trigger to bring Amare to Cleveland, I think Chris Bosh will realize the Raptors don't have what it takes to be true contenders, especially with Hedo Turkoglu making big money past his prime. In realizing this, Bosh will look to sign elsewhere in the offseason, with South Beach being his most likely destination. If Bosh signs with Miami and Pat Riley is able to put together a quality roster around Bosh and Wade (assuming he resigns), the Heat and Cavs would both be contenders for years to come.

UPDATE: Cleveland has acquired power forward Antawn Jamison in a three-team, six player trade. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is headed to the Washington Wizards along with a first-round draft pick and the draft rights to Emil Preldzic (whoever that is). Washington will also get Brian Skinner and Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers. Cleveland will also get point guard Sebastian Telflair from L.A. and the Wizards will send Drew Gooden to the Clippers.

So, um, yeah. You can kinda disregard most of this post now.