Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Thoughts I had during the game:

• Dwayne Wade is the fastest half-court player in the NBA. Some players have great fast break speed, but Wade has great baseline and in-the-paint speed. He takes tremendously long strides when he wants to blow by someone and seems to just tilt from one side to the other as he weaves his way to the basket. I really love his game.
• During the Laker’s first championship run, the thing that really surprised me about Shaq was what great, soft hands he has. He gathers in nearly every rebound or pass that is near him and it’s nearly impossible to dislodge the ball once he has two hands on it.
• I used to really dislike Alonzo Mourning, both as a Hornet and later when Riley traded to get him on the Heat. He always seemed to whine about foul calls more than anybody else. I also never accepted him as a true center – he’s not even a 7-footer. However, since his return to the Heat, the guy has been the definion of a sports “warrior.” He does what he’s asked to do and never complains about his minutes. He even waived off the postgame interview after his fourth quarter heroics.
• I can’t think of a better center tandem to have on a team than Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal. Even at this late stage of their careers, both are able to put in a great 15-25 minutes per game. I expect that if they stay together that they will be able to buoy each other’s careers tremendously over the years.
• Speaking of great tandems, Jason Williams and Gary Payton both seem to have adjusted to the Heat game. I didn’t see either of them shooting shots that were out of the flow of the offense. You definitely could not say that earlier in the season.
• I’m especially happy that Payton has worked out. I was really disappointed in his showing for the Lakers two years ago, but perhaps I was expecting too much from the old guy. He’s definitely playing fewer minutes now and is a long way from being the star he was in Seattle. I’m continually surprised at how few players that were great when they were young are able to mold themselves into great role players late in their careers. Ron Harper is an excellent example of that. Magic Johnson is not.
• I hear Antoine Walker is also getting better as the season progresses, but I have seen no evidence of that yet. He still shoots more three pointers than he should, he still mishandles rebounds and he still blows layups. He needs to sacrifice a little of his alleged finesse game and add a little power. At least Riley hasn’t replaced Haslon with Walker. That would be a travesty.
• I really doubted that the Heat would be able to mesh given all the changes that they made during the off-season, but it really seems like they are getting there. Posey was very sharp and even Shandon Anderson made a contribution in the game.
• When I first saw Wade playing in the playoffs 3 years ago, he reminded me very much of Michael Jordan – mostly because he’s a high flyer and clearly imposes his will on the game. Since then I’ve seen a certain grittiness that even MJ never displayed. He may soon replace Allen Iverson as the toughest player in the league. If he can add a credible three point shot to his game, he could be better than Mike.
• Check that – he would also need a good low-post game, too. No two or three has ever had the game that Michael had on the block. In fact, does anybody that’s not a center or a four have a low-post game these days?

Update: Shaq was not happy about sitting on the bench in the 4th quarter