Well, that was exciting. Or sucked. Or both. depends on how you look at it:
Peja ( B ) -- Peja started off the game assertively, but not particularly hot. Was helping on defense, aggressive (by Peja standards) on the glass. Was not in a real rhythm on offense, but overall felt like he was engaged and ready to play in a big game in the early going. But then he got very very quiet as we began to meltdown, and stayed that way for half the game. When he reawoke, it was the 4th quarter, and the game had turned into a war. Peja made his contributions therafter, hitting a number of shots including a huge three pointer to put us up with 35 seconds to go, and doing a nice job leading the break on one play with a nice setup for Bibby. Not sure how to grade a tale of two games for him, but call it a B for unusual aggressiveness and good timing late. NOTE: he was responsible for a few of the open looks that Eddie Jones knocked down, but Doug was the man on several of them too.
Webber ( B ) -- played a nearly flawless 1st quarter until a questionable decision in the last 30 seconds. Hit almost everything he shot, was making intelligent decisions. But wasn't showing much on the boards, and the gameplan clearly called for him to attack Miami's frontline with his offense rather than his passing. In the second quarter he began to cool off, and then headed to the bench for a long stretch. When he returned we were in trouble, and he was unable to turn the tide. In fact he kind of got swept up in it, taking quick shots, making shaky decisions. But in the third quarter, with the game starting to spin out of control, it was Webb as much as anyone who started to right the ship. Stepped up, started hitting shots again, made a brilliant pass to Tag. Was in the game down the stretch as the Kings fell apart, but neither had much of a hand in the collapse nor was able to do much to avert it. Was having to constantly try to double Shaq to help Brad, but no longer has the jumping ability to consistently bother the Big Lardbucket the way he once did. Desperation three at the buzzer did not even draw iron this time.
Miller ( C- ) -- this is a tough one. Played a very nice first quarter all across the board. Neutralized Shaq with his superior mobility, passed well. Put up a lot of numbers in a short period of time. But then he banged legs with Dwayne Wade, ended up with 15 stitches in the leg and sat out the rest of the half. And when he returned in the third Shaq just went right at him and obliterated him in there. Chased him from the game in about 5 minutes in the third, and Shaq's surge was a major part of Miami's first major durge of the half. Brad then sat for a very long time, and wasn't called on again until the final 5 minutes of the game. And the final stint was an utter disaster. We needed Tag in there to slow down Shaq and clog the middle. When Brad returned, so did Shaq's dominance, suddenly Wade was driving with authority, everything fell apart. And on the other end of the floor, whether it was the injury, the long stint onn the bench, simply not having it, whatever, Brad hurt us by repeatedly missing open jumpers. Hate to blame the injured guy, but truth be told, his second half effectiveness was probably something approaching an F. Nonetheless a strong first quarter and allowances for the injury dictate a higher grade.
Christie ( C+ ) -- in the first quarter, Doug had played a good game on the offensive side of the ball. Was aggressive and active...on offense. Points, assists, offensive rebounds...not dominant, but filled up the stat sheet. But in the second period he began to settle for open jumpers, and he missed them repeatedly. Worse yet, Doug was almost completely ineffective against Dwayne Wade and Eddie Jones. At the point he got ejected, I think the two of them combined were shooting 12-17. On this night at least, Mo Evans actually came in and did the better job of the defensive side of the ball. And then the ejection -- should not have happened. Doug had made a saavy play to draw a foul on Wade, Wade appeared to say something to him, he responded back, and they slapped them with double-Ts. Doug's second of the game and good bye. Should nto have been called. But Doug also should have been smarter. His loss did trigger a huge surge by us though. Evans came in with great energy, everyone else seemed inspired, the building came alive -- in some ways it may have even helped us. In some ways. Because after that point we were down to exactly zero backups for Mike. No rest for our PG at all.
Bibby ( B- ) -- tough one to grade. Thought in the first half Mike was putting up numbers, but was actually fairly shaky. Was making poor decisions of when to shoot, when to pass, forcing up bad shots. But then in the second half he calmed down and was a significant factor in our big rush, aside froma couple of failed alley opps to Evans that felt distinctly like garbagetime plays for Gerald Walalce. Did not control the game late down the stretch though when we needed it, and perimeter defense was again putrid, although he is getting too much heat for Damon Jones' dagger three to win it for the Heat (he was picked off on that play rather than lazy). Overall, 21pts 8ast 5rebs...and I'm not sure it was that good a game really.
Ostertag ( A- ) -- our new 6th man! Came in during the 2nd quarter and was playing well even as we were not. Was called upon again early in the third as a hyper-aggressive Shaq chased Brad right from the game. Initial results were not encouraging as Greg just flat out blew a number of rebounds for us and committed dumb fouls. Went through a really ppor stretch there. But then he rallied, as did the team, and from the late third to late fourth Tag got the better of Shaq, was all over the glass, and helped shut down the middle to the Heat. He was huge for us. The lone drawback being a Shaqlike performance from the FT stripe (some of which he was called upon to shoot because of the ejection) that in the end may have been the margin in the game. A huge late turning point in the game was when Rick decided to return with Brad Miller with about five minutes to go, and us up by 12. Brad had been sitting a LONG time, had the injury, and his return was a disaster for us. Shaq sprang to life, Wade drove the middle with impunity, Brad missed his shots, we lost. Five more Tag minutes might have wrapped this one up tonight.
Evans ( A ) -- for a night we had our replacement Bobby. Mo came in with enormous energy in this one and used his athleticism to tremendous effect on both ends of the floor. He and Tag played the best defense of the game for us, and Mo also came up with huge offensive reboudn after huge offensive rebound. I said this above, but I actually think that the Christie ejection may almost have HELPED us tonight, as it meant mo' Mo.
Anyway, great game by Maurice. For a night our bench was fine. Now, can he duplicate that effort next time out? Because that is the trick -- Bobby gave us energy EVERY night. Tonight Mo filled his shoes admirably (as well as Doug's), But he's got to do it again on Sunday. And then again the game after that. We'll see.
Songaila ( B ) -- gave us a nice lift this time out. Only gets a B because I thought he made a couple of dumb plays mixed in with his energy. Actually was part of our first half collapse (we had several this game) -- was putting up numbers, but seemed scattered with the rest of the group. Late pariing with Webber was a mistake -- again should have been more Tag minutes. But gave us a nice stint in the second half, and helped us build what looked to be a commanding 12 p lead with less than 5 to go.
Adelman ( C- ) -- what a wild bizarre ride this one turned out to be. We came out like a finely tuned machine. The ball was flowing, we had a great gameplan and were executing it flawlessly. But things began to get shaky after Brad left with his injury, and in the second quarter the wheels starting coming off. That really carried over into the third, where at one point the Heat looked ready to run away with it. A bit distrubing, because at times during that long stretch our veteran squad looked something approaching panicked, running around without a plan, throwing up quick shots, looking like they'd never seen adversity before. But Rick called a great timeout to break the Heat's momentum, and we came out of it much steadier. Started running the offense again, closed the gap and retook the lead. After Brad was quickly forced to the bench by foul trouble guarding Shaq, and after Doug was ejected on a double T with Dwayne Wade, Tag and Mo Evans came off our bench and gave us a huge burst of energy and boardwork. And notably, Rick stuck with Tag for a long long time in the 4th. I kept waiting for him to go back to Brad, but he stuck with the big oaf and he responded. But then the wheels came off a second time. And this time it was fatal. Rick finally went with a fairly standard move, and reinserted Webb (who had only sat for a few minutes) and Brad (who was injured and had been sitting forever) for the closing minutes of the game with us up by 12, and the wheels fell off. Brad in particular was just not ready or able to contribute, but the team as a whole again lost its compusure, could not find open shots, did not know what to do. And I really felt Rick had a part in that. He designed the right gameplan. He helped turn the tide in the third. But late in the 4th, Rick gets a nice chunk of the blame himself this time out. We needed Tag, We needed compusure. We had neither. (as an aside, we actually ran out of timeouts, so at least Rick can't be accused of not using them).
Peja ( B ) -- Peja started off the game assertively, but not particularly hot. Was helping on defense, aggressive (by Peja standards) on the glass. Was not in a real rhythm on offense, but overall felt like he was engaged and ready to play in a big game in the early going. But then he got very very quiet as we began to meltdown, and stayed that way for half the game. When he reawoke, it was the 4th quarter, and the game had turned into a war. Peja made his contributions therafter, hitting a number of shots including a huge three pointer to put us up with 35 seconds to go, and doing a nice job leading the break on one play with a nice setup for Bibby. Not sure how to grade a tale of two games for him, but call it a B for unusual aggressiveness and good timing late. NOTE: he was responsible for a few of the open looks that Eddie Jones knocked down, but Doug was the man on several of them too.
Webber ( B ) -- played a nearly flawless 1st quarter until a questionable decision in the last 30 seconds. Hit almost everything he shot, was making intelligent decisions. But wasn't showing much on the boards, and the gameplan clearly called for him to attack Miami's frontline with his offense rather than his passing. In the second quarter he began to cool off, and then headed to the bench for a long stretch. When he returned we were in trouble, and he was unable to turn the tide. In fact he kind of got swept up in it, taking quick shots, making shaky decisions. But in the third quarter, with the game starting to spin out of control, it was Webb as much as anyone who started to right the ship. Stepped up, started hitting shots again, made a brilliant pass to Tag. Was in the game down the stretch as the Kings fell apart, but neither had much of a hand in the collapse nor was able to do much to avert it. Was having to constantly try to double Shaq to help Brad, but no longer has the jumping ability to consistently bother the Big Lardbucket the way he once did. Desperation three at the buzzer did not even draw iron this time.
Miller ( C- ) -- this is a tough one. Played a very nice first quarter all across the board. Neutralized Shaq with his superior mobility, passed well. Put up a lot of numbers in a short period of time. But then he banged legs with Dwayne Wade, ended up with 15 stitches in the leg and sat out the rest of the half. And when he returned in the third Shaq just went right at him and obliterated him in there. Chased him from the game in about 5 minutes in the third, and Shaq's surge was a major part of Miami's first major durge of the half. Brad then sat for a very long time, and wasn't called on again until the final 5 minutes of the game. And the final stint was an utter disaster. We needed Tag in there to slow down Shaq and clog the middle. When Brad returned, so did Shaq's dominance, suddenly Wade was driving with authority, everything fell apart. And on the other end of the floor, whether it was the injury, the long stint onn the bench, simply not having it, whatever, Brad hurt us by repeatedly missing open jumpers. Hate to blame the injured guy, but truth be told, his second half effectiveness was probably something approaching an F. Nonetheless a strong first quarter and allowances for the injury dictate a higher grade.
Christie ( C+ ) -- in the first quarter, Doug had played a good game on the offensive side of the ball. Was aggressive and active...on offense. Points, assists, offensive rebounds...not dominant, but filled up the stat sheet. But in the second period he began to settle for open jumpers, and he missed them repeatedly. Worse yet, Doug was almost completely ineffective against Dwayne Wade and Eddie Jones. At the point he got ejected, I think the two of them combined were shooting 12-17. On this night at least, Mo Evans actually came in and did the better job of the defensive side of the ball. And then the ejection -- should not have happened. Doug had made a saavy play to draw a foul on Wade, Wade appeared to say something to him, he responded back, and they slapped them with double-Ts. Doug's second of the game and good bye. Should nto have been called. But Doug also should have been smarter. His loss did trigger a huge surge by us though. Evans came in with great energy, everyone else seemed inspired, the building came alive -- in some ways it may have even helped us. In some ways. Because after that point we were down to exactly zero backups for Mike. No rest for our PG at all.
Bibby ( B- ) -- tough one to grade. Thought in the first half Mike was putting up numbers, but was actually fairly shaky. Was making poor decisions of when to shoot, when to pass, forcing up bad shots. But then in the second half he calmed down and was a significant factor in our big rush, aside froma couple of failed alley opps to Evans that felt distinctly like garbagetime plays for Gerald Walalce. Did not control the game late down the stretch though when we needed it, and perimeter defense was again putrid, although he is getting too much heat for Damon Jones' dagger three to win it for the Heat (he was picked off on that play rather than lazy). Overall, 21pts 8ast 5rebs...and I'm not sure it was that good a game really.
Ostertag ( A- ) -- our new 6th man! Came in during the 2nd quarter and was playing well even as we were not. Was called upon again early in the third as a hyper-aggressive Shaq chased Brad right from the game. Initial results were not encouraging as Greg just flat out blew a number of rebounds for us and committed dumb fouls. Went through a really ppor stretch there. But then he rallied, as did the team, and from the late third to late fourth Tag got the better of Shaq, was all over the glass, and helped shut down the middle to the Heat. He was huge for us. The lone drawback being a Shaqlike performance from the FT stripe (some of which he was called upon to shoot because of the ejection) that in the end may have been the margin in the game. A huge late turning point in the game was when Rick decided to return with Brad Miller with about five minutes to go, and us up by 12. Brad had been sitting a LONG time, had the injury, and his return was a disaster for us. Shaq sprang to life, Wade drove the middle with impunity, Brad missed his shots, we lost. Five more Tag minutes might have wrapped this one up tonight.
Evans ( A ) -- for a night we had our replacement Bobby. Mo came in with enormous energy in this one and used his athleticism to tremendous effect on both ends of the floor. He and Tag played the best defense of the game for us, and Mo also came up with huge offensive reboudn after huge offensive rebound. I said this above, but I actually think that the Christie ejection may almost have HELPED us tonight, as it meant mo' Mo.
Anyway, great game by Maurice. For a night our bench was fine. Now, can he duplicate that effort next time out? Because that is the trick -- Bobby gave us energy EVERY night. Tonight Mo filled his shoes admirably (as well as Doug's), But he's got to do it again on Sunday. And then again the game after that. We'll see.Songaila ( B ) -- gave us a nice lift this time out. Only gets a B because I thought he made a couple of dumb plays mixed in with his energy. Actually was part of our first half collapse (we had several this game) -- was putting up numbers, but seemed scattered with the rest of the group. Late pariing with Webber was a mistake -- again should have been more Tag minutes. But gave us a nice stint in the second half, and helped us build what looked to be a commanding 12 p lead with less than 5 to go.
Adelman ( C- ) -- what a wild bizarre ride this one turned out to be. We came out like a finely tuned machine. The ball was flowing, we had a great gameplan and were executing it flawlessly. But things began to get shaky after Brad left with his injury, and in the second quarter the wheels starting coming off. That really carried over into the third, where at one point the Heat looked ready to run away with it. A bit distrubing, because at times during that long stretch our veteran squad looked something approaching panicked, running around without a plan, throwing up quick shots, looking like they'd never seen adversity before. But Rick called a great timeout to break the Heat's momentum, and we came out of it much steadier. Started running the offense again, closed the gap and retook the lead. After Brad was quickly forced to the bench by foul trouble guarding Shaq, and after Doug was ejected on a double T with Dwayne Wade, Tag and Mo Evans came off our bench and gave us a huge burst of energy and boardwork. And notably, Rick stuck with Tag for a long long time in the 4th. I kept waiting for him to go back to Brad, but he stuck with the big oaf and he responded. But then the wheels came off a second time. And this time it was fatal. Rick finally went with a fairly standard move, and reinserted Webb (who had only sat for a few minutes) and Brad (who was injured and had been sitting forever) for the closing minutes of the game with us up by 12, and the wheels fell off. Brad in particular was just not ready or able to contribute, but the team as a whole again lost its compusure, could not find open shots, did not know what to do. And I really felt Rick had a part in that. He designed the right gameplan. He helped turn the tide in the third. But late in the 4th, Rick gets a nice chunk of the blame himself this time out. We needed Tag, We needed compusure. We had neither. (as an aside, we actually ran out of timeouts, so at least Rick can't be accused of not using them).
