First Look at New Miami Heat Lineup
Today the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat squared off in South Beach and on national TV, with the Lakers winning the contest 104-94. Today's game was the first for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks since they were traded to the Miami Heat for Shaq. For some reason, ABC loves scheduling the Heat on national games, so I've been able to see the Heat play more times than I care. With Shaq and Mourning as their lumbering centers, the Heat have traditionally been a half-court set offense, a team that walks the ball up after a basket or turnover, sets up, and then runs the offense through Dwayne Wade.
With Shaq out of the picture, and with the addition of the incredibly athletic Shawn Marion, the Heat have a new style of play about them, as evidenced by this afternoon's game. There were many fast breaks, a lot of quick passes, a lot of cuts to the hoop. The Heat came out running, gunning, and scoring, and played competitive basketball through the first half of the game. But in order for a run and gun offense to work properly, the team needs to be in tip top shape. In the second half, the Heat's pace slowed, their D softened, and the amassed a double-digit deficit heading late into the 4th quarter.
This was the first "fun" game to watch the Miami Heat play since the 2006 playoffs, when D-Wade was breaking ankles. It was great to see this level of play, but it leaves me wondering what to expect in the future. There's no way the Heat can dig themselves out of this 9-40 hole to make the playoffs this year, and Marion's contract ends this year (and Wade's ends the year following that). This should be an interesting off-season for the Heat and its fans.