Tag: 2010-11 NBA season (Page 9 of 52)

Is Chris Bosh justified in complaining about role?

Miami Heat Forward Chris Bosh (1) during 1st half action against The New York Knicks at the American Airlines Arena, in Miami Florida, December 28,2010. The Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 106-98.. UPI/Susan Knowles…

After the Heat’s loss to the Blazers on Tuesday, Chris Bosh grumbled about the types of shots he’s getting. (ESPN)

“I just have to get it where I’m effective. I’m a big man. I can shoot the ball but I’m a big man. So I have to get it where big guys get it. Then I feel I can start helping out this team more.”

“I’ve got to get back in my comfort zone, I haven’t been in my comfort zone,” Bosh said. “A lot of things are new for me. I just have to be more aggressive in demanding my [the ball] comfort zone, you know I’ll take the fault for that… I’m effective down in the low post area, so that is where I need to start getting the ball. I need to be assertive in demanding it.”

“I’m saying what I need to do as a player, a closed mouth doesn’t get fed,” Bosh said. “I’m uncomfortable now so you might as well do something else. If there’s a disagreement or something, that’s fine, we can talk about it. If they don’t want that, that’s OK, but I just feel that I have to be my normal self. I’m not there right now. I haven’t been there many times this season.”

All right, so he’s a big guy and he wants the ball on the post. That’s all well and good, but he said this back in October…

“I never really like to bump against people that are a lot, lot bigger than me,” Bosh said in October. “I’m not the biggest guy in the world. Coach is going to put him in that position sometimes. He’s not going to hang me out to dry. He’s going to put me in there when we have an advantage.”

That sure doesn’t sound like a guy who wants to be fed the ball on the block. I always thought that he was more effective at the mid-post or the elbow, where he could hit the little jumper or go by the defender.

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Who is going to win the 2010-11 NBA MVP?

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard scores during the third quarter against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago on December 1, 2010. The Magic won 107-78. UPI/Brian Kersey

About this time every year, the MVP discussion really heats up. This season, it seems like it’s a two-man race between LeBron James and Derrick Rose, but I think there are a few other players that deserve consideration.

Using the same methodology that I used for my All-Star picks, let’s narrow down the league MVP candidates and see who should be on the short list.

I like to use the NBA’s Efficiency statistic, which rolls points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, missed shots and missed free throws into one number for comparison purposes. It’s not perfect, but no statistic is. I take a player’s per game efficiency (adjusted for team pace, because a player should not be penalized because his team plays at a slow pace) and multiply by his team’s winning percentage to calculate his Adjusted Efficiency. This is a number that takes both performance and team success into account.

Let’s take a look…

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Blazers send Heat to fifth straight loss

Portland Trail Blazers’ Andre Miller (L), Gerald Wallace (C), and Rudy Fernandez congratulate each other as the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (R) looks on, during fourth quarter NBA basketball action in Miami, Florida March 8, 2011. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

I made a point to watch tonight’s game from start to finish to see how the Heat responded to the loss to the Bulls and how they weathered all of the jokes about Heat players crying in the locker room after Sunday’s defeat.

Once again, the effort was there for Miami, but the execution was not. Dwyane Wade (38 points, six rebounds, five assists) was excellent, and LeBron (31 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists) was pretty damn good. That means the rest of the roster accounted for just 27 points, including Chris Bosh, who shot a dreadful 3-for-11 and scored just seven points.

He was completely outplayed by LaMarcus Aldridge (26 points), who hit jumper after jumper, including a key baseline fadeaway (on Bosh) to push the lead to nine with 2:06 to play.

But the difference in the game was Gerald Wallace (22 points, nine rebounds), who keyed the Blazers’ bench and made LeBron work on both ends of the court. Wallace was a great acquisition for the Blazers and he seems to be fitting in quickly because at heart he’s more of a glue guy than he is a player who needs the ball in his hands. Brandon Roy (14 points) also came off the bench and hit a key three pointer late in the game to keep the Heat at bay.

Back to the Heat — they did run some pick and roll with Wade and LeBron, and for the most part it was successful, but the Blazers didn’t do a very good job defending it because it took them by surprise. Whenever Wade has the ball, his defender should go underneath LeBron’s ball screen and force Wade to shoot the three or dribble into the switch. By going underneath, Wade’s defender would be in great position to switch onto LeBron and defend his roll to the hoop.

On Thursday, Miami hosts the red-hot Lakers, who will be looking to avenge their blowout loss to the Heat on Christmas Day. It should be a good one.

There’s no crying in the High Life!

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3), forward LeBron James (6), and forward Chris Bosh take a break during a time out in the second half of the opening night game against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on October 26, 2010. UPI/Matthew Healey

This series is sponsored by Miller High Life – The Official Beer Of You. Find out how you can get sponsored by Miller High Life.

After the Miami Heat’s loss to the Bulls on Sunday, head coach Erik Spoelstra mentioned that there were “a couple of guys crying there in the locker room.” Whether or not Spoelstra should have made that comment is irrelevant to the fact that the Miami Heat locker room is not living the High Life right now.

It’s natural for a man to shed a tear from time to time. When there’s a death in the family, when his favorite team loses the Super Bowl, the end of “Marley & Me” — these are all appropriate times for a man’s eyes to well up. But he doesn’t make a spectacle of it, and he certainly doesn’t do it after a regular season game.

If there were waterworks in the Heat locker room after the team lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals, it would be understandable. A long, arduous season has come to an end…in failure.

But this was one of 82 regular season games. Eighty-two! Will it affect their seeding in the playoffs? Maybe, but that is hardly a reason to blubber like a member of Oprah’s audience when she reveals she’s about to give away her “Favorite Things.”

A High Life man would channel his anger into motivation, and would make darn sure that his team didn’t lose their next game.

That way, his team could get back in the win column, and get back to living the High Life.

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