Heat Wave

19 things I learned in ACC 255

2012-05-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

How to use clickbank
How to use paypal
How to use blogger.com
How to use webs.com
How to use google adsense
How to use google analytics
How to use cafepress
How to submit URLs to a search engine
How to add amazon products to a page
Learned what a landing page is
Learned what a purpose is in the sense of ebusiness
Learned how to create a privacy statement
Learned how to post in blogger and webs
Learned how to add a counter to the bottom of a page
Learned how to create an ebook
Learned how to add html to blogs and a webpage
Learned what a pillar article is
Learned how to make a product review post
Learned how to make a "how to" article

Sneeze Page

2012-04-29T20:32:00.001-05:00

For my E-Business class, I am required to post a sneeze page in my blog. I am choosing to do a time related sneeze page because it makes the most sense for the topic that I am posting about. It is perfect timing for me to post a sneeze page because the NBA regular season has just ended, and the post season is just beginning. I would include my entire blog as a “best of/worst of” post because everything I posted about was of great importance. I posted about topics that I felt strongly about, and I cannot narrow it down to just a few of my posts to create a “best of” list because it would just be too short. Instead, I recommend that everyone read through the blog posts from the beginning of my blog all the way up until now. It will give you a nice recap of how the season went for the Miami Heat. It will also lead you to many resources that you can check out to gain further knowledge on the Miami Heat for the future because I will not be running this blog after the class has ended. Topics that I have covered include general basketball knowledge, product reviews, blog reviews, and the Miami Heat. If I were to suggest a few of these posts out of all of them, I would recommend that you read my posts on the charge call in basketball. I feel very strongly about this topic, and I feel that you can gain a lot of knowledge from these posts.

Nothing Left to Say

2012-04-28T15:41:00.001-05:00

I don’t know that I can begin to explain my disappointment with the Miami Heat right now. I had called my friend’s Bulls team out earlier this month for losing to the Washington Wizards, and maybe it’s just karma, but the Heat turn around and lose to them too. The depth of this Heat team has to be about the worst in the league for any of the playoff contenders. They have recognizable names, but it’s almost like they’re star struck when they get out on the court with LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. Maybe they’re star struck from all the celebrities in the crowd. It takes a specific kind of player to be able to mesh with these NBA stars and media stars. I’ve noticed the weakness of this second team all season though. When LeBron is out of the game, the score immediately gets sliced in half. The lead that the Heat have over teams is erased within half a quarter if it even takes that long. LeBron can’t play all the minutes in every playoff game, so I really hope Wade and Bosh are able to step up when LeBron isn’t in the game. Anyone that has an MVP vote must be well aware of how atrocious the Miami Heat are when LeBron isn’t on the floor. I’m not exactly sure on his plus/minus numbers, but they have to be the best in the league. The Miami Heat are so much better with LeBron on the floor.

Heat vs Wizards Preview

2012-04-26T21:46:00.001-05:00

Just like last game, the Miami Heat will be benching most of their star players with injuries or just giving them a bit of rest before the playoffs. But for God’s sake, this is the Washington Wizards we’re talking about. I can take a loss to the Celtics because they have veteran leadership, and they’re going to be in the playoffs, but, again, these are the Washington Wizards. This team has nothing to play for, and they are just a no good very bad rotten team. The role players for the Heat should be able to pound the Wizards on the boards and in the low post, or that’s what I hope to see them do at least. I hope they don’t fall in love with the three ball because that could lead to a different mindset going into the playoffs. I don’t know how much control Coach Spo has over this team, so their mindsets could be transformed very easily. The Heat cannot get away from pounding the ball inside, getting good looks at the rim, and getting to the free throw line. Falling in love with the three point shot would kill this team in the playoffs because the saying with three point shots is “you live by the three, you die by the three.” I’ve been a part of teams that have lived and died by the three, and this saying is extremely true. After you see 4 or 5 in a row not drop, you begin to doubt yourselves. After you doubt yourselves, all is lost.

Bad Loss

2012-04-25T15:18:00.001-05:00

It looks like those role players that I talked about having good games just weren’t up to the occasion last night against the Boston Celtics. As I predicted, the star players for both teams sat for a majority of the game if they were dressed at all. Mario Chalmers was dressed for the game, and he played well. He has improved greatly from last year, and I hope he has gained some experience from last year’s playoffs. If his decision making is improved from last year and he doesn’t get rattled, then he’ll be able to control the games tempo and keep everyone in check. The one thing I don’t like about Mario Chalmers is that he defers the point guard role to LeBron James a lot during the course of the game. LeBron has said that he is more comfortable in the facilitator role, but he can’t be stealing the ball from Mario like that. Mario cannot create his own shots as easily as LeBron, so when he is forced to become a wing player, he is very ineffective. When LeBron is a wing player, he can create his own shots from the wing. He can also post up, whereas Mario Chalmers cannot. This being said, I’ll get back to the game. The game was boring, low scoring, and I actually found myself flipping between other games during this one. This was not one of the classic matchups that I had hoped for. The intensity wasn’t there. If the intensity was there, even with the role players this would have been a good game.

Miami vs Boston

2012-04-23T18:15:00.001-05:00

Wow, this NBA season has gone by extremely quickly, and the regular season has pretty much been wrapped up. However, there is still one classic matchup between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat left for the season. Don’t get your hopes up though. Coach Spoelstra will probably rest a lot of the star players, and I expect that Doc Rivers will be doing the same thing. We’ve seen Coach Spo doing this a lot over the past few games, and it’s been kind of boring. I understand why he is doing this, but I also understand the disappointment that the fans feel. A lot of the fans buy tickets early, and they get excited to see matchups like this. However, when they get to the arena, they see their favorite players dressed in suits instead of their normal game time attire. Maybe I’m wrong though. Loyal fans support their team no matter what, and they will be rowdy and raucous no matter who is playing because every win builds team morale. This being said, the Miami Heat need this win in Boston because they have been so awful on the road throughout the entire season. This will also give the bench players a chance to prove that they belong on the court, and maybe they can build some of their confidence going into the post season. Bench player confidence will be instrumental in the Heat’s success in the post season. Teams will be keying in on LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, so bench players will have to knock down open shots.

Link Post

2012-04-22T17:10:00.001-05:00

For my E-Business class, I was given the task of making a link post. I previously analyzed Hot Hot Hoops as a blog that I wanted to make my blog more like, so I felt that it was a good idea to build upon a post that they had already made. Their analysis of the game is great, and I shared some of the same ideas. In their post (http://hothothoops.com/2012-articles/april/heat-wrap-up-home-schedule-with-victory-over-rockets-97-88.html), they said that the Heat seized control of the game and took advantage of a beatable opponent. This has been a problem for the Heat all year as I have posted about earlier. They have trouble beating those teams that they should beat a lot of the time. They play down to their competition, but tonight they were able to get the win. Also, Hot Hot Hoops said that LeBron James strengthened his case for being the MVP. LeBron James is obviously the best choice for MVP in my opinion. Most people argue that LeBron James cannot be the MVP because he plays with too many good players, and then they say that Kevin Durant should be the MVP. My problem with this is that Kevin Durant also plays with extremely good players. Russell Westbrook and James Harden are two prolific NBA players, and they are both capable of scoring 30-40 points on any given night. If LeBron can’t get MVP because he is playing with too many good players, then Kevin Durant is also out of consideration for the league’s most valuable player.

Analyze a Top Blog

2012-04-21T22:50:00.001-05:00

For my E-Business class, I was given the task of analyzing a top blog for the niche market that I am posting about. Obviously, the niche market that I am in is NBA fans specifically Miami Heat fans. There are many blogs about the Miami Heat, and most of those are more successful than mine as it stands right now. One of the most successful blogs about the Miami Heat is Hot Hot Hoops, www.hothothoops.com. This blog is successful because it analyzes not only things affecting on the court life, but it also analyzes and reports things that are affecting Miami Heat players off the court lives. People are always interested to hear about off the court issues because generally, they are just more interesting than what goes on during the games for the most part. Also, people like to point fingers at players off the court lives and say that what they do off the court has an effect of how they perform on the court. The design of the blog is very impressive, as well. The colors are vibrant, and every post has a picture, video, or some other form of graphic to accompany the text. This is one thing that my blog is missing. I could utilize some of the design forms that this blog has to offer for my own. My blog is very dark, so readers may not be attracted or want to stay on my page for very long. Also, I don’t have many pictures, so it doesn’t capture attention very well.

Promote A Blog

2012-04-20T00:49:00.001-05:00

Today I’ll be promoting a blog. The blog that I’d like to promote is along the same lines as the blog that I am currently posting on from time to time, but they are more timely and are more informative than I am. Here is a link to this blog, http://www.heatnetmix.com/. The Heat Net Mix provides readers with rumors, news, and personal opinions through blog form. Where my blog is generally just my views from games and happenings within the past few days in the month, the Heat Net Mix will provide readers with things that could happen in the future through rumors, things currently happening through news, and things that happened within the past few days through the personal opinion blog section. I recommend this to all fans of the Miami Heat because the views that they have are unbiased toward any particular team in the NBA. Having an unbiased opinion is important in the sports world because you will be presented with facts that won’t lead you to places you don’t want to be in an argument about sports with one of your friends. If you only hear statistics that are favoring one team, then you won’t be well informed. Heat Net Mix will give you both sides of the story, so you will be well informed. You will be able to talk about the Miami Heat freely with everyone that wishes to engage in conversation with you about NBA basketball, and you can school Chicago Bulls fans that have recently hopped on the bandwagon.

Heat vs Contenders

2012-04-19T21:15:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month, the Miami Heat played both the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls. The Boston Celtics are a very old team, and the Miami Heat should run them off the floor, but they didn’t. The Chicago Bulls are playing without Derrick Rose, so the Miami Heat should run them off the floor, as well, but just as with the Celtics, they played down to their competition. The Heat have enough talent on the team to run circles around a team without Derrick Rose, but they keep playing at a level that is well below their own. In high school, I was on a team that was victim to this phenomenon, too. But in high school, it’s a lot harder for kids to turn the switch when it comes times to play in the post season. I’m not worried about the Heat in the post season, but I just hope they don’t get set in their ways of playing down to the competition. They are almost guaranteed to have a 1 or 2 seed in the playoffs, so they’ll be playing one of the lower caliber teams in the Eastern Conference. If they play down to their competition, then they could be beat by one of these lower caliber teams, and that would be embarrassing. That is the last thing that LeBron James needs. LeBron needs to start leading this team when they play the lower caliber teams. The role players need to get up for these games just as they do for the bigger games.

Heat vs Thunder

2012-04-08T22:46:00.001-05:00

This was a classic matchup of arguably the two best teams in the NBA. Some would argue that the Bulls are the best team in the league, but I just find that hard to believe because Derrick Rose isn’t playing. How can a team be the best in the league without their best player? Back to the main point though. The Thunder and the Heat played tonight in a matchup that we might see again in the NBA Finals. The Heat came out on top, but the game was at home, so I don’t put much weight into the fact that the Miami Heat won this game. I really hope we see this matchup in the NBA Finals. Westbrook is one of my favorite players, and LeBron James is my favorite player. Also, the matchup between Kevin Durant and LeBron James will be one for the ages. LeBron James is probably the best defensive player in the league, and Kevin Durant is probably going to be the scoring champ. If LeBron is able to shut down KD, then the Heat would easily win this series, but when a guy is 7 feet tall, it is very hard to stop him from the perimeter or anywhere on the floor for that matter. If anyone can do it, that person is LeBron James. I feel like LeBron will elevate his game to a level that no one has ever seen before. Everyone keeps doubting him, and I think this will be fueling his fire.

Heat vs. Celtics

2012-04-01T15:36:00.001-05:00

Was this some kind of April Fool’s Day joke? I would have said it was if I hadn’t been watching the Heat play during this entire past month. Another road game, another loss, and I’m not surprised. The Heat shot 35% from the field and missed 10 free throws. Free throws are free points, but they wouldn’t have mattered in this game. The Heat are just getting outplayed on the road every single game. It doesn’t matter who they play now, they just need to get a road win. The playoffs are coming up, and they are going to be receiving more scrutiny than any other team in NBA history. At the center of that scrutiny will be LeBron James. LeBron is playing decent basketball right now, but he needs to inspire his team. He needs to get his teammates involved like he used to during the stretch of games where they were winning easily by double digits. Against the Celtics, LeBron had 0 assists. He has continually been on record saying that getting his teammates involved is his favorite part of the game of basketball, and last night he didn’t do that at all. I believe the confidence of this team is failing them, and their “swagger” has always been what they’re all about. Without the confidence to be able to win on the road, they won’t ever actually win on the road. They are embarrassingly bad away from South Beach. The playoffs are looming on the horizon, and I feel like LeBron is really feeling the pressure.

Promoting My Website

2012-03-31T17:39:00.001-05:00

During this post, I would like to take the time to promote my website. My website differs from this blog in the sense that it is more about basketball in a general. My experiences and insight are in my website articles more so than they are in my blog posts. Right now, my website is a bit underdeveloped, but if you are an aspiring basketball player, I would suggest that you take a look at the pillar articles that I have posted. I have posted a few how to articles that will help anyone getting started in the game of basketball. I will be posting a bit more about the Miami Heat once I get into the later stages of the website, but right now, I just want to be able to share my insight in the form of a website. I feel as if my insights are a conglomeration of the best information that I have ever received from all my coaches, and I like having the opportunity of conveying that information to the readers. Currently, I have three how to articles. In one, I describe how to shoot free throws, and I believe that free throws are the most essential part of the game. I have been a consistent free throw shooter my whole life, and I shot about 88% in high school. I give all the credit to the information my coach provided to me, and I have posted all this information in my how to article. However, practice is always key, and no matter how much information that I post on my website, you must put that information into practice over and over again. Here is a link to my website, http://miamiheatwave.webs.com/, check it out!

Mavs vs. Heat

2012-03-29T22:41:00.001-05:00

I almost don’t even count this game as a win. I don’t care about a Miami Heat win until they get one on the road against a playoff caliber opponent. NBA teams are supposed to take care of business on their home court, and the Heat usually do that, just as they did tonight. However, all of these road losses are a serious reason to be concerned. The playoffs are won on the road. A popular saying is that a series doesn’t really start until someone wins a road game. If the Heat can’t win a road game, then they will not be able to win series later in the playoffs because they won’t have home court advantage against a team like the Bulls. Also, Chris Bosh is playing like a scared high school student on the boards. He is the center of the team, and he is 7 feet tall. He needs to pull down more than 9 rebounds per game. I’ve blogged about the importance of rebounds to the Heat before, and at the center of that discussion is Chris Bosh. If he rebounds the ball effectively, then he won’t even need to score 20 or more per game. 15 points and 15 rebounds would be amazing numbers for him to have, and I feel as if they are very within reach. Rebounding takes a little work, and it isn’t always recognized. It takes a strong work ethic, and the player has to be a little gritty. I don’t know if Chris Bosh has it in him, but hopefully he shows some improvement.

Kentucky vs. The NBA

2012-03-28T23:08:00.001-05:00

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the Kentucky Wildcats and just how good they actually are. They are easily the best team in college basketball, but there has been some debate that they could potentially beat some of the lower tier NBA teams. This is absurd, and it comes up every year when a team in college is playing great basketball. The reality of it is, the NBA is a completely different game. All the players in the NBA are former college standouts, and they have worked hard to get where they are. They play against the best in the world night in and night out. College teams play against some pretty bad teams sometimes, and they get beat because they physically are not ready to play. The physical ability of the players of the NBA is much greater than that of the college players. Even if Kentucky played Charlotte or Washington, they would get beat by 20 points. They would get outmuscled, outhustled, and beat in every single way that they possibly could. The defensive pressure that the NBA players can put on them would frustrate them in a way that they have never seen before. They are just in greater physical shape than what most of the Kentucky players could handle. Also, the game would be longer, and there would be more chances for the NBA team to take advantage of mismatches against Kentucky. I just don’t see any situation where any college team could ever defeat a professional team.

Active Ankle Power Lacer Brace

2012-03-27T23:03:00.001-05:00

Ever since I can remember, I have had extremely weak ankles, but it never became a problem until I started playing high school basketball. I would always turn my ankles, but I had never sprained an ankle. Senior year, I sprained my ankle badly, and I was sidelined for about four weeks. I taped it up and returned, and during my first game back, I re-sprained it. It was at this point that I knew I needed an ankle brace. I purchased an Active Ankle Power Lace Brace, and it has been an amazing brace. It provided extreme support for my ankle, and it wasn’t too bulky like some braces can be. I’ve been using it since 2008, and it’s still holding up. I’ve washed it multiple times, and the Velcro still works, so you if you decide to buy this brace, you will be able to use it for an extremely long time. I also believe that this brace has strengthened my ankle. I have played multiple times without the brace since I started wearing it, and my ankle doesn’t even roll anymore. I have no reservations playing full speed without my brace, and I have even played in low tops a few times, and that was definitely something I never would have done before wearing this brace. The brace can be a little pricey in stores, retailing at about $55, but online you can purchase it for much less. It is very well worth the price though, and you will not be disappointed in purchasing this Active Ankle Power Brace

Heat vs. Pacers

2012-03-26T22:35:00.001-05:00

Back to back double digit losses for the Miami Heat is unbelievable. Usually, the way a team responds to a loss is an indication of the strength, fight, and will of that team. If this is how the Heat are going to respond, I am beginning to seriously question their ability to win games in the post season. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the league, but the Indiana Pacers are not even close to the best team, even in the Eastern Conference. This is a serious problem, and Pat Riley might need to step in quickly because what Coach Spoelstra is doing isn’t working. His locker room speeches aren’t motivating this team to step up, and the way he is preparing his team. The Heat were outrebounded by 16, and I guarantee that rebounding will be the straw that breaks their back. When they are outrebounded by that margin, it means a couple things. They could have given up a ton of offensive rebounds, and that stat is huge. Offensive rebounds kill the moral of a team, and they also swing momentum in favor of the team that got the rebound. A higher rebound total could also mean that the Pacers grabbed a lot of defensive rebounds. If they did this, then the Heat missed enough shots for the Pacers to have a high number of defensive rebounds. If they don’t make shots, then they don’t score points. If they don’t score points, then they can’t win the game.

OKC vs Miami

2012-03-25T20:42:00.001-05:00

Kevin Durant is unstoppable. I wish I could see him play in person because I can’t even imagine what that is like. A 7 footer that moves like that and shoots as efficiently from outside the arc as he does is insane. I’ve never even played with someone over 6 foot 8, but all the taller people I have played with have been a bit slow and clumsy. Durant is so fluid with everything he does. I guess that’s just what the NBA is about though. LeBron is 6 foot 8, and he does everything that he does. Back to the topic though, the Oklahoma City Thunder absolutely dominated the Heat. The Big 3 played alright, and the rest of the team played terrible. 14 free throws in a game will not win you any games. This is a telling stat from the night. Free throws mean that you were able to get into the lane and draw enough contact to get to the free throw line. Once you get into the lane, the defense collapses, and you get open shots from the outside. Since the free throw count was low, the defense was able to stay out and contest all the outside shots that the Heat get complacent and take. I predicted 4 losses for the rest of the season, and that was a bad prediction. I don’t even have a backup because the Heat are going to continue losing. They don’t play with any enthusiasm, and that will come back to bite them when they try to just turn it on in the playoffs.

Let's talk NCAA

2012-03-24T22:57:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, my bracket was busted. Going into Thursday, I was in the top 7.6% of the nation. I haven’t been this disappointed in a while. I lost four elite 8 teams and two final four teams in one night. That was the worst case scenario, and it happened. Wisconsin squandered there last possession something terrible. Dribbling around the outside of a zone is not the best way to beat it, especially when the clock is down, and it’s the last possession. Everyone knows where the shot will come from, and it will be contested just as it was. I still have a feeling that Kentucky will win the entire tournament, so my bracket isn’t completely busted yet, but it’s very close. Kentucky will have to do something very wrong in order for anyone to be able to beat them. They are better than everyone at every facet of the game. If they get rolling, then there is no way that they can be stopped. Anthony Davis’ unibrow is something that will go down in NCAA history because everyone loves it for some reason. Even his mom is wearing a mask with a fake unibrow on it. That is just crazy. Unibrows are not something to be proud of, but this guy rocks it like he wouldn’t have it any other way…and he might actually not have it any other way. I guess that it’s one way to stand out, and no one is going to tell him to do anything otherwise. Maybe it’s a lucky unibrow, but it’s still an ugly caterpillar.

Heat vs. Bulls

2012-03-14T22:51:00.001-05:00

Well, Derrick Rose didn’t even play, and the Heat still couldn’t pull out a victory. I watched the game with quite a few Bulls fans, and I can’t even begin to describe the hard time I got from them. John Lucas III played out of his mind. Ever since last year’s playoff series with the Bulls, I have touted LeBron James’ ability to guard anyone in the league. In tonight’s game, LeBron switched to guard John Lucas at the end of the game, and Lucas put a nice little fade away jump shot right in his face. Apparently confidence is key to beating the best team in the league. Confidence and pounding them on the boards are both the best ways to beat the Heat. The Heat are weak in the paint area. Bosh is too soft. Last year in the playoffs against the Bulls, Bosh played out of his mind and ended up being an X-factor. In this game, he played like garbage. He shot 3 for 15 from the field. When I was in school, the forwards and centers were expected to shoot about 75% from the field because they do not take outside shots. 3 for 15 is atrocious, especially when no one on the Bulls has the ability to stop him. Carlos Boozer cannot play defense, and Joakim Noah rebounds the ball great, but he can’t stop Bosh. Bosh scored 12 points, and he should have put up about 25-30 points. The Heat seriously need to get their play in tune with each other before the number one seed is out of reach.

Heat vs. Bulls Preview

2012-03-12T23:08:00.001-05:00

The Eastern Conference classic is upon us. The Miami Heat will be playing the Chicago Bulls in just a few days, and it really shouldn’t be a close game. Derrick Rose probably won’t be playing, so that alone will give the Heat a huge advantage. The Bulls’ defense will still make it tough for the Heat to score, and the game is at Chicago, so the crowd will keep them in it. I do expect this game to be close because the Bulls are so good at home, but talent wise, the Miami Heat have at least double the talent of the Bulls on the court at any time. Look for LeBron to score about 30 points, and the big three combined should have about 70 with around 20 from Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Bosh could explode for more points than 20 just as he did in the playoffs though. His finesse game can go either way with the Bulls’ defense. If they have good rotation and challenge all of his outside shots, then he will get frustrated and start missing them. I hate relying on Bosh. Actually, I don’t like relying on anyone other than Wade and James, but I know they’ll put up numbers. The rest of the team worries me in this game because the Bulls will be physical from the start. James and Wade always put their bodies on the line, and they play physical, but the rest of the team isn’t the same way.

All-Star Weekend Repercussions

2012-03-02T03:07:00.002-06:00

During the All-Star Game, Dwayne Wade fouled Kobe Bryant hard for today’s NBA standards. It turns out that Kobe fractured his nose and suffered a mild concussion from the foul, and the Heat may pay the repercussions for that this Sunday. This Sunday at 2:30, the Heat player the Lakers, and this will certainly be a game to watch. Kobe Bryant doesn’t just let things go, he gets even. Kobe always looks to score, but he will be even more active against the Heat. He never plays down to his competition, and he is always elevating his play in big games. If the Lakers are able to beat the Heat, then they will strike up conversation amongst the league on the topic of their chance at title contention. Kobe knows this, and he will be doing everything that he can to prove that the L.A. Lakers are still on the top of their game. This is motivation enough for Kobe to perform at a freakish level, but add on the fractured nose and concussion, and Kobe will be in assassin mode. In the press conference yesterday, he said that everything is good between the two of them and that Wade apologized, but you could tell that something was bothering him. The hard foul was one of the only defensive plays throughout the entirety of the All-Star Game, and it came at Kobe’s expense. Players normally don’t get concussions or fractures noses in post season play, but Kobe got one in a meaningless All-Star game. He is angry, and the Heat will have to be playing their best defensive basketball to contain him.

First Half Blowout

2012-03-01T22:57:00.001-06:00

Remember when the Heat were blowing huge leads late in the fourth quarter? Well, it’s halftime of their game against Portland right now, and they’re up 18. If you’ve been watching for the past couple weeks, you can agree with me when I say that they’re not going to give this lead up. The score right now is 60-42, and the Heat are on pace to have their reserves playing substantial minutes by the fourth quarter. I’m glad I decided to watch this game and blog at the same time because it has been a fun one to watch. The whole team is playing lights out, and they’re playing excellent on both ends of the floor. Even Mike Miller is hitting shots. Last year during the playoffs, I always yelled at Mike Miller when he would make a shot because I was so surprised every time one went in. Now I’m starting to expect them to go in, but I better not get my hopes up before the post season starts. If the Heat win tonight, they’ll have won 19 of their last 21 games and 9 in a row. If they can keep this kind of play up, they’ll definitely make my second half predictions for the season come true. At the half, LeBron has 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. He could easily attain a triple-double in this game by playing the way he likes to play. He has said that he is more comfortable distributing the ball, so if LeBron focuses on getting the ball to his teammates in the second half, then we’ll see a triple-double performance tonight

Second Half Predictions

2012-02-29T22:22:00.001-06:00

I predict that the Miami Heat will lose four more games for the remainder of the regular season. The defense that they are currently playing is shut-down, eyes closed, goodnight defense on the entire league. Teams fear playing the Heat, and that’s exactly how it should be. The team is finally playing up to their potential, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has to offer. I am greatly anticipating a matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, and I no longer fear the Bulls. Chris Bosh is playing great basketball right now, and he’s really embracing his role. He isn’t taking a back seat to LeBron and Wade like he did last year, and I think he will light up the weak power forward position that the Bulls’ Carlos Boozer plays. If he doesn’t scorch them for 30 points per game, then he will at least contribute 20-25. I also predict that LeBron James will be the regular season league MVP. He is almost averaging a triple double, and he is leading the league’s best team. If he develops into a clutch player, then he will definitely win the award because he will have silenced the critics. And finally, my pick for NBA Champion will be…..the Miami Heat. If the Oklahoma City Thunder make it to the NBA Finals, then Kevin Durant will be hard to stop, but LeBron will gladly take the task of stopping Durant upon himself. We’re in for an exciting NBA season, so everyone stay tuned!

Unfair Criticism

2012-02-28T15:30:00.001-06:00

The NBA All-Star game is an exhibition game at this point, and it will be until the players have some reason to play hard. With this being said, LeBron James is now being criticized for the last play of the All-Star game where he turned the ball over instead of taking a shot. LeBron is the only reason the Eastern Conference was even in this game. He single handedly flipped a switch and brought the East back within striking distance at the end. He set a record for three point field goals made in an All-Star Game, and all anyone can talk about is how he didn’t take the last shot. Can this man do anything without criticism? People criticize the way he wears his headband for goodness sake. Criticizing LeBron for not taking the last shot is not fair. During the season, week in and week out, we hear the media criticize LeBron for taking the last shot and missing it. We hear how the Miami Heat are Dwayne Wade’s team, and he should be the one with the ball in his hands in late game situations. Now, LeBron is criticized for not taking the last shot, and it doesn’t make any sense. If he was being criticized for turning the ball over and making a bad decision, then I would have no problem with what is happening. However, this isn’t the situation. It was an All-Star game after all. The game is played for nothing except fan enjoyment, and LeBron definitely gave the fans a performance to enjoy.