Starless in South Beach

[Alex86]

Have you ever had a really vivid dream? One that you could swear was real? Well when I awoke on the morning of July 23rd it was from one such slumber. Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and The King himself, Lebron James, had unthinkably signed together in Miami to create a super team that sent shockwaves round the league. They promptly navigated their way to the NBA Finals and were surely on course for the title when sunlight broke through my eyelids, denying a glimpse of Lebron James lifting the O’Brien trophy. Nevertheless a part of me thought it had really happened and so it was a warm, fuzzy excitement in the pit of my stomach that I woke up with. However it took just a few minutes for that warm, fuzzy feeling to make its way from my stomach, through my chest, up my throat and via a frantic dash to the bathroom be deposited into the toilet, a splitting headache almost immediately tearing through my skull. The empty bottles scattered around their room told their own story, and last night’s events became only too clear.

An ESPN broadcast that had prompted an ill-advised trip to the mini-bar, which became an extended trip when the news got doubly bad, reverberated round my tortured head. First they aired ‘The Decision’ where Lebron James announced his intention to take his talents to New Jersey and play for the Nets. That in itself was a blow, but not a death knell for our off season plans. Working as part of the front office for the Miami Heat I knew Pat Riley had spent the off-season wooing Lebron and Chris Bosh in an attempt to get them to join forces with Miami’s established superstar, Dwayne Wade, on the South Beach. Missing out on arguably the best basketball player on the planet was disappointing, but a core of Wade and Bosh would still be something to behold. In fact so long as Wade stayed in Miami, as he surely would, there was reason to be hopeful for many post-season forays. And then the moment when a casual drink turned into a binge to drown the sorrows, a news broadcast proclaiming that the Nets had pulled off an unbelievable coup, Dwayne Wade was to join Lebron in New Jersey. The rest is a little bit hazy.

Everything started to unravel remarkably quickly after that. In hindsight the pundits would pick apart the strategy we’d formed as a club, pouring scorn on Riley putting all his eggs in one basket, and the franchise, and even the city, sat around shell shocked as the lack of a Plan B became all too apparent. Pat Riley swiftly opted for early retirement, resigning his position as President of Basketball Operations just hours after ‘The Decision’ aired, crestfallen not only that his wooing of Lebron had failed but even more damningly that Miami’s adoptive son Dwayne Wade had followed ‘The King’ to New Jersey. Apparently Russian Roubles win out over silver tongues these days. The franchise went into meltdown as we scrambled to save the rest of the off-season, every free agent barring New Jersey’s new double act, and the recently re-signed David Lee and John Salmons was still on the market. The confusion, panic and need for swift action that followed led somehow to me being promoted well above my station. Wanting desperately to look like they weren’t floundering the owners assured the press I’d been groomed for this position by Riley personally. In truth the only conversations I’d had with the man were to ask how he took his coffee. Nonetheless I had a 12 month contract and so at least a season to try and get invited back.

The roster we had in place on day one of my control was nothing if not sparse. Three names on a piece of paper. Michael Beasley, the thus far underwhelming 2nd overall pick of the 2008 draft, was the only one to have played an NBA game. The others, both picks in the 2010 draft were promising wing Avery Bradley, an undersized shooting guard who was the 18th overall selection out of Texas and 2nd round big man Kevin Seraphin, a largely unknown quantity from France whose current ability filled nobody with confidence. With a $50m blank cheque burning a hole in our collective pocket we set about trying to pick through the rubble left by the disaster.

[K.J.]

Alex86, you have a great storyline. I would be reading with interest.

[Alex86]

Alex86, you have a great storyline. I would be reading with interest.

Thanks K.J, much appreicated.


My brief from on high was clear, save face by grabbing a superstar. Any star. Our first port of call was Chris Bosh, who was ensured his offer remained intact, unaffected by the New Jersey’s duo’s renege on our designs in forming a three-pronged super team. Unfortunately Bosh disagreed, saying that their decision might not change our franchises overtures toward him but it certainly affected his willingness to sign in Miami. As such he turned his back on our offer and inked a 5 year deal in New York, in itself an intriguing move that pits Bosh head-to-head with his one-time prospective teammates just across the way, if New York can get him a running mate that could be one hell of a tussle. An optimistic pitch for Dirk Nowitzki had barely started before his representatives got that vacant look behind their eyes and struggled to fight back the incredulous laughter, I imagine they practically sprinted back to Dallas to sign on for another 5 years. Running out of franchise players to throw money at we went begging and pleading Amar’e Stoudamire, who opted to join the reigning rookie of the year Tyreke Evans to kick start Sacramento’s rebuilding process. Joe Johnson became the foil that Bosh needed to challenge the big two in New Jersey, signing on in New York rather than our tiny cast of misfits here, while Carlos Boozer didn’t even leave Utah to hear our offer as he re-signed with the Jazz for less money than we offered. An attempt to convince Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to join forces in Miami fell on deaf ears as they decided, somewhat unsurprisingly, that Rondo and Kevin Garnett were a better shot at success than Avery Bradley and Michael Beasley. Rudy Gay appeared interested for a brief time, but took the tender offer made by Memphis and with it the caveat of being an unrestricted free agent next season.

Even players a tier or two lower in quality ran a mile at the mention of Miami. Raymond Felton accepted fewer dollars to stay in Charlotte and Luis Scola unsurprisingly chose Steve Nash making his life easy in Phoenix rather than our apparently rudderless vessel. Things reached a nadir when we were even unable to convince the ghost of Allen Iverson and, possibly even more damningly, Darko Milicic to sign with us.

And so with a string of failed negotiations and the free agent pool having almost been stripped to the bone in terms of quality our options became clear. Tank. Tank good, tank hard and rebuild through the draft. So I implore the lowest possible expectations as I introduce you to your 2010/11 Miami Heat, they are after all put together with the expectation of being pummelled –

2010-11 Miami Heat-

PG Steve Blake
SG Quentin Richardson
SF Rasual Butler
PF Michael Beasley
C Earl Barron
6th Avery Bradley
7th Carlos Arroyo
8th Tony Allen
9th Louis Amundson
10th Jeremy Evans
11th Keith Bogans
12th John Bryant
R Kevin Seraphin
R Latavious Williams

Ouch.

On the plus side if nothing else we have flexibility, with $38m spare cap room and only Avery Bradley and Kevin Seraphin guaranteed money next year. Beyond that we have a clean slate. The bad news, besides the obvious lack of quality, is that Erik Spoelstra deems it acceptable to start our best prospect from the bench. But then I suppose there’s something to be said for making rookies earn their minutes. Even if they’re minutes currently owned by Rasual Butler.

Season previews unsurprisingly had us dead last in the East, but looking at the rest of the conference it’s clear that this summer’s free agency bonanza has changed the landscape of the NBA for years to come.

Season Preview Eastern Conference

1. Nets (Devin Harris, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, DeMarcus Cousins, Brook Lopez)
2. Knicks (Joe Johnson, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, Chris Bosh)
3. Bucks (Brandon Jennings, John Salmons, Corey Maggette, Al Harrington, Andrew Bogut)
4. Celtics (Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins)
5. Bulls (Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Loul Deng, Udonis Haslem, Joakim Noah)
6. 76ers (Louis Williams, Evan Turner, Andre Igoudala, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes)
7. Bobcats (Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Anthony Tolliver)
8. Magic (Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Drew Gooden, Dwight Howard)

The Nets roster is straight up insane. Two young, high ceiling bigs on the front court, 2 superstars and a lightening quick point guard who can play off the ball, as will be necessary with Wade and James on the team. Add in bench options like Courtney Lee, who brings spot up shooting and good defense and Yi Jianlin, who while no world beater is a rock solid 7th man and you’re in business. They’re going to be so tough to stop this season, and for the foreseeable future beyond that.

As for the predictions, if the Bobcats make the playoffs with that front court then Earl Barron is suddenly starting to look like a serviceable option. Both the Hawks and Pacers are better squads for my money, particularly the former. Other than that it looks pretty reasonable, although Orlando isn’t going to barely squeak in as the 8th seed with Dwight anything like healthy.

Season Preview Western Conference

1. Lakers (Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum)
2. Jazz (Deron Williams, Allen Iverson, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur)
3. Mavericks (Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood)
4. Nuggets (Chauncy Billups, J.R Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene Hilario)
5. Kings (Beno Udrih, Tyreke Evans, Al-Farouq Amuni, Carl Landry, Amare Stoudamire)
6. Hornets (Chris Paul, Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton, David West, Emeka Okafor)
7. Trailblazers (Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marcus Camby)
8. Spurs (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, Richard Jefferson, Taigo Splitter, Tim Duncan)

I find it hard to disagree all that much with the West. You could do some jigging around with seedings, but if pushed I’d have to concur that those 8 are the most likely to make the post-season all things being equal.

So with the season upon us we finally have time to breath and take stock of the quagmire we find ourselves in. The objectives for the season are pretty simple, first and foremost we’re going to suck so at least suck hard enough to give ourselves the best possible shot in the lottery. It shouldn’t be too hard looking at this roster. If at all possible given that assets in this squad are very thin on the ground, I’d like to trade into the draft for a 2nd pick, another lottery selection ideally. With that in mind it’s time to hit the phones and we actually manage to snag a deal with the first team we call up.

Trade-
Toronto receives-
Michael Beasley
Kevin Seraphin

Miami receives
Daniel Orton
Raptors 2011 1st Round Pick

What this means for Toronto?
Beasley’s ability to score allows them to bench the failed experiment otherwise known as Hedo Turkoglu. Beasley is just a year older then Orton and in dealing for him Toronto gets the much more NBA ready player and former #2 pick at the expense of somebody who nearly slipped out of the lottery. Seraphin is an end of the bench project who they’ll hope to develop into a contributor.

What this means for Miami?
In case you hadn’t noticed the Heat are –bad- this year. Losing Beasley for Orton, who is very raw, is downgrading, but the Kansas State standout never quite caught fire in Miami and they instead take their chances on acquiring talent through what should be a good draft pick given Toronto’s poor roster.

Winner – Toronto
At least in terms of right now as they picked up the best player in the trade and if nothing else The Raps got better talent-wise without getting older or taking on a ton more salary. It might be worth revisiting if Miami picks a winner in the draft but the class of 2011 has already been labelled a weak one by experts. That Daniel Orton came out of the draft much rawer than anticipated and isn’t slated to get anything like significant minutes under Erik Spoelstra’s leadership swings it in The Raps favour.

Well that’s pretty much the only chips we had cashed in nice and early. If Toronto don’t net us a good pick then that trade be the noose that hangs me, but I’m barely exaggerating when I say their roster is almost as bad as ours. Michael Olowokandi is now their starting centre. Orton isn't anywhere near ready as things stand but he has potential to be a viable option a season or two down the line. Most importantly despite Beasley's youth and ridiculous talent level I have the suspicion that the guy will never figure it out, he's destined for a career as a high-level scorer on bad teams, and is potentially a cancer for locker room morale. With that in mind I'll take my chances in the draft (assuming I still have a job by then) and cross my fingers for a Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams level pick.

Marvellously Erik Spoelstra doesn’t seem to understand the concept of a rebuild as both our young projects will start the season from the bench, kept out by 30+ year olds in both cases as Louis Amundson steps into Beasley's role from the bench. It's going to be a long year.

[Alex86]

The first day of November is also the dawn of our season and Toronto make the long journey down to Miami for a joust between quite possibly the NBA’s two worst teams. Avery Bradley makes an impressive debut, winning the player of the game award with 20 bench points in a 109-100 win.

Another grapple between two poor teams follows, with Cleveland highlighting our inadequacies only too well in a 110-88 road loss to the Cavs, who were charged by 33 points from Mo Williams. Q-Rich nets 15 to lead Heat scorers but it’s a pretty poor Miami showing. I’d get used to those last four words if I were you.

Chicago is a surprisingly bad 0-4 to start the season but our visit gives them an opportunity which they don’t spurn, running out 114-74 winners. Not normally known for his offensive prowess, Joakim Noah nevertheless burns us for 20 points, while Keith Bogans is mystifyingly the only Miami scorer in double digits.

Our first back-to-back marks a return to Miami and with it a return to winning ways as the 76ers are beaten 101-84 on the back of a 27 point night for Steve Blake. The second half is less successful though, the short-trip to Orlando began with Earl Barron coming out in a cold sweat before tip-off at the thought of what awaited him. Dwight Howard did indeed go into beast mode, dropping 35 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in a 93-121 Orlando win.

A 2-10 night for Avery Bradley against the Magic sums up his season since his opening night heroics. He’s barely shooting .300 from the floor, compounded by a dismal .136 from beyond the arc. I like the kid for a #18 pick and it’s still too early to draw conclusions, but his shooting stroke was advertised as one of his big strengths and given that he’s a few inches shorter than I’d prefer at the 2 guard, he’ll soon be on borrowed time if he doesn’t start hitting some shots.

We lose by exactly the same score as we did in Orlando 4 nights later when hosting Portland. Marcus Camby becoming the latest opposing centre to tear Earl Barron’s flimsy D to shreds, pouring in 32. Q-Rich isn’t far behind on 28 but there is absolutely nothing backing him up.

Our offensive efforts get even worse in Atlanta, shooting just 28% in a 60-85 defeat, centre Al Horford predictably doing the brunt of the Hawks damage. There’s an instant shot at redemption as Atlanta are our opponents 4 days later back at home, but nobody is surprised when we don’t take it, Horford again leading the Hawks to a comfortable 107-89 win.

An Arenas-Wall backcourt is too much for us in Washington, a 4th quarter rally powered by Quentin Richardson and his 20 points not enough to prevent a 103-93 loss. San Antonio have endured an awful 2-10 start to the season, but you can almost hear the collective sigh of relief as they roll into Miami. Tim Duncan enjoys a big 27 point night as they win 105-95 in a game that marked Avery Bradley and Daniel Orton’s elevation to the starting 5 on my request. In what is quickly becoming customary Erik Spoelstra style however he removes probably our most effective player thus far, Quentin Richardson, rather than Rasual Butler, to make way for Bradley and puts Orton in for Amundson at the power forward rather than give the beleaguered Earl Barron a rest.

It’s with that injection of youth that we travel to Philadelphia and come up agonisingly short against the Sixers, losing 92-90 despite a huge effort from the bench, Q-Rich’s 24 and Keith Bogans 16 leaving us just short.

A win does finally arrive 3 nights later back in Miami, when the Clippers arrive with an identical record to our own. A balanced offense leads us to a 107-104 win, with Avery Bradley top scoring. A starting role seems to suit the rookie better, he’s not using his limited minutes to jack up contested 3s quite so much anymore.

We close November our in familiar fashion, a loss where the opposing centre crushes our defense. At least this time it’s an elite level player like Dwight Howard doing the damage as the Magic cruise to a comfortable win in Miami, Q-Rich once again the highest scoring Heat player.

So as December dawns we’re 3-10 and the only team in the Southeast with a losing record, behind Atlanta, Washington, Orlando and top of the division Charlotte, who are making a mockery of my assessment that they weren’t a post-season team. Remarkably though we don’t own the worst record in the East, Detroit propping up the conference at 3-11. Even worse in the West is Oklahoma’s 3-13, not a great start in a contract year for Kevin Durant, though he is restricted. Both the defending champion Lakers and their title rivals New Jersey have started the season unbeaten, going 16 and 15 wins on the bounce respectively. Those two clubs in the finals would be nothing short of an epic.

[Alex86]

Oklahoma City’s struggles are made more understandable when you consider Kevin Durant has made just 6 appearances this season, and that’s likely as many as he’ll manage too, given he’s torn a knee tendon and will have to sit for around 150 days. New York also have similar problems, David Lee going down with the same injury meaning he won’t be back till the 11/12 season. New York probably still has enough to make the post-season, but the anticipated rivalry with New Jersey took a hit. OKC on the other hand becomes a genuine contender for the most ping pong balls in the lottery; it’s becoming apparent how flimsy that roster is behind Durant. Speaking of flimsy rosters Washington are the next visitors to Miami and provide us with our 4th win of the season, Rasual Butler top scoring with 20 in a 90-78 victory.

A back-to-back next, with the opening leg pitting us against the Raptors in Toronto. It’s a real shootout with both teams landing better than 50% from the floor, but the home sides outlasts us despite huge nights from Steve Blake (37) and Q-Rich 25. The second leg, and end of our 3 game cellar dweller tour, has us hosting the Twolves and promptly grabbing our 5th win. Q-Rich unsurprisingly top scores with 19, with Louis Amundson grabbing a rare double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Our highest crowd since the third homer of the season packs into the American Airlines Centre to watch us get absolutely annihilated by Golden State, before the Pacers do likewise to us on the road. The less said about either of those two games the better as far as I’m concerned.

Mercifully the Cavs are our next opponents and succumb 101-91 in Miami. Steve Blake netting 23, while Avery Bradley chipped in a handy 8 assists, albeit combined with some typically awful shooting.

An intimidating visit from New Jersey, who have still only lost once all season, yields a 91-81 defeat. In truth it wasn’t even as close as the score suggests, the Nets bench seeing a lot of minutes down the stretch after Lebron and Wade, the duo who could have been wearing Heat uniforms this season, put the game beyond doubt in the 3rd.

Coincidentally the schedule took us to New York next where Chris Bosh, the third prospective member of the mooted Miami super team, is currently strutting his stuff. What follows is a surprising first road win of the season in the Big Apple, Quentin Richardson’s 18 leading a balanced offense to a 105-90 victory, with Earl Barron collecting the poor mans double double, 10 points and 10 boards. The Knicks are hurting without David Lee.

From that point on December is an unmitigated disaster. A loss in Detroit saw us give up 40 points to Rip Hamilton, before the Lebron-less Cavaliers embarrassed us with a 48 point win, restricting our shooting to a meagre 27%. The Knicks took their revenge by winning in Miami, Chris Bosh top scoring to rub salt into the wound.

The New York game was also the point at which our month long experiments with getting Orton and Bradley more minutes expired. True to form, and despite some positive results and performances along the way, Spoelstra moved both men straight back to the bench, in favour of Rasual Butler and, much to my incredulity, Jeremy Evans. The team responds by losing the last four games of the month, bringing our streak to 7. We’re destroyed by Dallas, capitulate in Charlotte, mauled in Milwaukee and Utah…well Utah beats us too.

As we say goodbye to 2010 the Heat sit comfortably bottom of the Southwest, though Washington have fallen off the pace and been unable to maintain their winning record. Charlotte have dipped a bit but still sit at 16-15 and own a playoff spot, while Orlando and Atlanta are nip and tuck at the top. 7-21 is bad enough for us to be the worst team in the East, Toronto and Detroit just a game better off, while New Jersey are a stonking 30-2 at the top, with Cleveland surprisingly their closest challengers at 19-9. In the West both OKC and the Clippers are a game worse than our record, while at the top end the Lakers have dropped just a game more than New Jersey with 3 losses and 26 wins.

[Alex86]

December gave us the first trade not involving your Miami Heat in this season’s NBA, and whats more it involved the New Jersey Nets, currently the best team in the league -

Minnesota receives –
Terrence Williams

New Jersey receives –
Minnesota 2011 First Round Pick

Why for Minnesota?
They have a vacancy to fill at the two with current incumbent Corey Brewer convincing nobody he’s worth an extension in a contract year. Williams is a former lottery pick who hasn’t managed to find himself a stage on which to project his talents, Minny could be that place.

Why for New Jersey?
New Jersey sends their 3rd best shooting guard who’s getting 7 minutes of floor time a night and gets a lottery pick in return? Enough said I think.

Winner – New Jersey
The Nets win this trade by a huge margin, Williams might land a starters role in Minny but he’s not the answer to any of their nagging questions. New Jersey gets to complement their stellar roster with another lottery pick next season.

It’s enough to make me weigh up some trades of my own, and we do have 2 or 3 deals simmering away in the background. Right now though I’m reluctant to pull the trigger, it’s a long shot but there might be a disgruntled want-away player better than our current options up for grabs nearer the deadline and we only have 2 trade chips to speak of really, so for now we’ll hold them back.

January began as December ended, with losses galore. It was in fact so bad that between January 1st and the All-Star break midway through February we won just three games in a 26 game stretch. In the midst of that run we twice flirted with breaking the franchise record for most consecutive losses in a row, though pulled up a game or few short every time, never getting beyond 14 defeats on the bounce. Needless to say this stretch has us rooted forlornly at the bottom of both the Southeast and East as a whole, although just 1 game behind the almost equally woeful Thunder out West. Our other pick in the 2011 draft is looking like a solid lottery selection as Toronto’s 18 wins give them the 6th worst record in the NBA. At the right end of the conference New Jersey continue to set the pace, going an astonishing 49-6 in their first season as a unit. Charlotte still look good for the post season in 8th spot, holding off Milwaukee by 2 games.

It’s safe to say at this point that Coach Spoelstra is a sitting duck, his refusal to give our two rookies much in the way of PT allied with our dismal record is enough to justify the chop. Timing is everything though, and dropping the axe at the end of the season should give me a head on a platter to placate the owners. Maybe. I think I’m clutching at straws.

Nevertheless the All-Star break brought the regular festivities, with Jamario Moon claiming dunk contest from Julian Wright and Kyle Korver proving the sharpest of all sharp shooters in winning the 3-point shootout. The Sophomores beat The Rookies by 137-130, our own Avery Bradley coming off the bench for the rooks, and the East beat the West by 136-131, Lebron James walking off with the MVP award after a 27 point game.

And so we turned our attentions to the trade deadline, absolutely resolute as I was in my determination to try and flip Avery Bradley and Daniel Orton for something a little more helpful. Bradley is still managing a pitiful .325 shooting %, with an even more lamentable .257 from three. He does bring tenacious defense, but at 6’3 he just hasn’t got the length to disturb a large number of 2 guards in this league. Not to mention as much as I like good defense all over the court, I want my shooting guard to be able score the ball above all else. Orton is a different case, he’s had a thoroughly respectable rookie season given the minutes he’s been afforded, but at #13 he was a reach and his ceiling doesn’t project that high, he’s a backup centre at best and as such we’re willing to lose him. Everyone else on the roster is available but their value is little to none, so those are pretty much the chips we bring to the table.

The first serious negotiation is with Philly, and I came pretty close to pulling the trigger on a deal involving Andre Igoudala, Daniel Orton and a second rounder, figuring it was a low price to pay for a senior player and proven commodity like Iggy. Something held me back though, be it his huge contract, high maintenance personality or sub .400 shooting stroke, despite it being a value trade we withdrew. Avery Bradley almost wound up in Chicago too, with Omer Asik, Jordan Crawford and a future second rounder coming back. I liked this trade a lot, but in the end there was just a marginally better option available, at least in my view –

San Antonio receives-
Avery Bradley
Daniel Orton
Latavious Williams

Miami receives-
Tiago Splitter
San Antonio’s 2011 1st Round Pick
Josh Howard

Why for San Antionio?
Splitter had spent most of the season in the D-League to this point, having lost the tussle with DeJuan Blair for minutes. In Avery Bradley they fulfil a need badly missed, tenacious perimeter defense, while Daniel Orton replaces Splitter as their project big man. Williams is another young big but has considerably less upside.

Why for Miami?
The two class of 2010 first rounders have endured a frustrating season on the fringes of things in Miami. By dealing them both Miami hopes it gets a piece to rebuild around in Splitter, who has had a fruitful season in the D-League, and pockets San Antonio’s first rounder to boot. Howard is an expiring contract to balance the salary.

Winner – Tie
It’s a deal that makes sense for both teams, Bradley and Orton get to learn from mentors like Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan and add depth to the Spurs bench, while Miami gets a more hardened, NBA ready rookie to quicken their rebuilding, plus a pick that as things stand is lottery bound.

I like Splitter an awful lot. He’s a killer inside who at 6’11 has more than enough size to play either front court position, and can defend and rebound some too. He actually managed 20 NBA games before being shipped down to the D-League, notching a handy 14ppg at .570 and grabbing 7 rebounds a game to boot. I’m sure somewhere down the line Avery Bradley will figure it out and have a decent NBA career, but it was a case of wrong player, wrong time for him in Miami.

Deadline day was pretty active round the NBA, here's a run down of the other deals -

New York receives –
Danny Granger

Indiana receives –
Eddy Curry
Wilson Chandler

Why for New York?
Granger is a borderline All-Star calibre, genuine two way player who can fill it up and give the Knicks a go-to option on offense. Those sort of options aren’t easy to find in this league, and when the only cost is two expiring contracts it’s a no-brainer.

Why for Indiana?
Salary dump. The Pacers aren’t going to be in contention any time soon, and with Granger 27 and owed around $50 over the next four years they wanted him off the books. Both Curry, already released, and Chandler are expiring, but the latter is an intriguing young piece who they get to assess for a couple of months with the option to resign him.

Winner- New York
It makes sense for Indiana on some levels, but as a Pacer you’d have to hope a guy like Granger could return more. New York just became a whole lot more dangerous in the East.

Boston receives –
Carlos Delfino

Milwaukee receives –
Glen Davis

Why for Boston?
Big Baby is behind both Garnett and ‘Sheed at the 4 spot, and lacks the length to steal anything more than a few minutes at the centre. In Delfino they’ve flipped for a bench wing scorer who can stretch the floor with his 3 point stroke.

Why for Milwaukee?
They had a log-jam at the small forward spot with Delfino vying with Maggette, Mbah a Moute and Douglas Roberts for minutes. That said Davis finds himself as the third best Power forward on the roster behind Harrington and Ilyasova, so they don’t get a whole lot back.

Winner – Boston
The Celtics bench gets better, Milwaukee makes a trade for the sake of doing so.

Lakers receive –
Chris Kaman

Clippers receive –
Ed Davis
Fred Jones
Jeff Foster

Why for the Lakers?
With Brad Miller sitting with a broken elbow and Jeff Foster floundering the Lakers front office moves to get a big who can contribute as 6th man. Kaman helps them siphon minutes from Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in order to rest the deadly front court duo for the post season. It’s quite the luxury having a former All-Star from the bench.

Why for the Clippers?
The Clips back the talent of the emerging DeAndre Jordan and shed a $12m contract for next season. Ed Davis is a lottery pick from the 2010 draft and will offer quality back-up to Blake Griffin if he fills out. Foster and Jones are both expiring contracts to match the salaries.

Winner – Lakers
Both teams probably come out of this in a healthier position than they went in, but the Lakers front court depth is just nasty now with 3 genuine 7 footers rotating.

New Orleans receive –
TJ Ford

Indiana receive –
Julian Wright
Morris Peterson

Why for New Orleans?
I have no idea. Ford becomes the third choice point guard behind CP3 and Darren Collison. They gave up nothing to get him but he brings very little to this team.

Why for Indiana?
A trade for the sake of it, or so it looks. Neither Peterson or Wright will crack the rotation and Ford was expiring anyway, so their expiring deals aren’t the reason.

Winner – Nobody
The Hornets at a push, because Ford is the best player in the trade, but this one is just baffling.

[Tim Moungey]

Tiago Splitter is a great young player to build around. Awesome to get him.

[Alex86]

Tiago Splitter is a great young player to build around. Awesome to get him.

Thanks Tim. I've never traded for him before so I'm interested to see how he does. I love his attributes though and he's looked great so far.

Another quick OOC note, I apologise for the lack of depth to our schedule from January onwards but this season has been a grind. I'm enjoying it more now Splitter is on the roster but its still a one man show right now. Hopefully once I've nabbed some guys who actually posses talent through the draft next season will be more interesting.

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For a change Erik Spoelstra decides to buy into our ethos and starts with Tiago Splitter at the power forward slot, with Josh Howard taking Rasual Butler’s position at small forward. They say sometimes things need to get worse before they get better, and in the aftermath of our deadline day trade that was certainly the case. Despite Splitter settling in relatively quickly, notching notable performances such as his 33 point, 11 rebound game in Phoenix, our only win in the next 14 games came at home to a beleaguered Washington squad, a 50 point loss in Chicago was to be the season nadir.

Things abruptly clicked into place after our 8th straight loss in Portland, when what looked a regulation home win for the Lakers turned into an unlikely upset, Tiago Splitter going crazy with 39 points and 13 boards, helped out by Josh Howard’s 20 point night. What followed was a .500 finish to the season as we went for 7 wins in our last 14, Splitter displaying his ability with 6 20+ point nights and 4 double doubles as we avoided the dubious honour of posting Miami’s worst regular season record ever by a tender margin of 4 wins, and tied OKC for the worst record in the NBA.

It’s a promising end to a horrible season, with Splitter looking not just a genuine NBA contriutor but approaching franchise cornerstone status. The question will linger as to whether he can have the same effect on a good team until we surround him with talent, but the early signs are very promising. A couple more additions to the positive column come in the form of Toronto netting us one of the top 5 chances in the lottery and San Antonio finishing up with the best record of those teams shut out of the post-season to give us a third lottery pick.

New Jersey couldn’t quite hold on for the 72 wins, ending just shy at 68-14, but still a substantial 9 games better off than anybody else in either conference with the West being won by Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks. The surprise package of the season came in the form of the Cleveland Cavaliers who exceeded all expectations to claim the 3rd seed in the East on the foundation of a sharp shooting back court of Mo Williams and Anthony Morrow, with Anderson Varejao protecting the rim. Charlotte did indeed prove me wrong and book their spot in the post-season as the East’s 8th seed, while the Golden State Warriors gate crash the West and hold off the Spurs for their 8 seed.

And so the playoffs look like so –

East
(1) New Jersey Nets v (8) Charlotte Bobcats
(4) New York Knicks v (5) Boston Celtics
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers v (6) Philadelphia 76ers
(2) Orlando Magic v (7) Chicago Bulls

West
(1) Dallas Mavericks v (8) Memphis Grizzlies
(4) New Orleans Hornets v (5) Portland Trailblazers
(3) Los Angeles Lakers v (6) Utah Jazz
(2) Denver Nuggets v (7) Golden State Warriors


New Jersey is dealt a massive blow at the end of the regular season with Lebron breaking an elbow against Toronto, an injury that will keep him out of every series bar the finals should they get there. Nevertheless Wade and co are undaunted and with Courtney Lee filling in at small forward waste no time in knocking off Charlotte, further demonstrating their title credentials by sweeping the Bobcats in 4. Most of the other series last a game more, with Orlando, Boston (robbing us of a New York v New Jersey showdown), Dallas, New Orleans and LA all sending their opponents home after just 5 games. And none of them go 7 as Philly and Denver send the Cinderella Cavs and Golden State Warriors packing early after 6.


East
(1) New Jersey Nets v (5) Boston Celtics
(2) Orlando Magic v (6) Philadelphia 76ers

West
(1) Dallas Mavericks v (4) New Orleans Hornets
(2) Denver Nuggets v (3) Los Angeles Lakers

New Jersey flexes its muscles once again by sweeping the Eastern Conference champion Celtics, an astonishing performance for a squad that's missing arguably the best basketball player on the planet to go 2 playoff rounds without dropping a game. Orlando though won’t be intimidated having delivered the same fate to the 76ers, setting up an undoubtedly mouth-watering conference final in the East but also highlighting just how shallow the talent pool is in that conference. Things weren’t much more competitive in the West, with both series lasting just 5 games. #1 seed Dallas were upset by the CP3 powered Hornets, while Los Angeles stacked front court can’t stop ‘Melo lighting them up to take Denver to the conference finals.

Eastern Conference Finals -
New Jersey Nets v Orlando Magic
And so the something of a damp squib post-season to this point will look to ignite with two intriguing conference finals. With Lebron still in the physio room for the duration of this series, can the Nets hold off the Magic? They've got enough size on their front court with Brook Lopez and DeMarcus Cousins to give themselves a chance of containing Howard, but they are two very young, inexperienced guys and Dwight has in been in MVP-like form this season. The issue with Orlando is the lack of depth they have behind Howard, lacking an above average starter at any other position on the floor. New Jersey will have to lean heavily on D-Wade offensively and pin their hopes on the Lopez/Cousins pivot to slow Howard. Despite the star names the series could be won and lost by the less stellar point guard battle. It's hard to draw a line between Devin Harris and Jameer Nelson but if either can step up and dominate their opposite number then they could swing the pendulum in their teams favour.

Prediction - Nets in 7

Western Conference Finals-
New Orleans Hornets v Denver Nuggets
Billed in the media as the cerebral attacking instincts of Chris Paul against the volume and versatile scoring of Carmelo Anthony, on paper this series looks unbelievably tight. Just one win separated them in the regular season and both have dispatched their opponents with little difficulty to this point in the playoffs. Melo won the scoring title this season with 26.5ppg, while CP3 fell just short of Steve Nash for the assists award, clocking 11.2 set ups a game. Those two will likely do their damage irrespective of whats thrown at them, so the story might come in their supporting casts. Watching Okafor and Nene go at it could be brutal, both guys being defensive warriors. Nene has the slight edge but if Okafor can neutralise his offensive output then it's very hard to separate the two. It's the same story in reverse at power forward, with David West being the more complete player but Kenyon Martin capable of shutting him down if he's on song. Marcus Thornton versus JR Smith at shooting guard is another intriguing battle, with two erratic, unpredictable scorers going head to head. There isn't much between them on bench depth either, with Darren Collison and Greg Monroe maybe marginally more effective than Arron Afflalo and Nikola Petkovic, but it is marginal. The hope for Denver is that Chauncey Billups can will his creaking limbs to slow CP3 just a little bit, because Peja Stojakovic is going to struggle to do likewise with Carmelo Anthony down the other end. As much as the media are often guilty of making too much of individuals in this case it just might down to who has a better series between Paul and Anthony.

Prediction- Hornets in 7

[Alex86]

Orlando has the temerity to open the conferences finals with a win, taking home court advantage and beating the still Lebron-less Nets in New Jersey. Wade leads the calvary to strike back and halve the home stand but an even worse fate awaits Melo and Denver, as New Orleans take both of the opening games in Nugget territory. The topsy turvy nature of the series’ continues as the Nets and Magic again split the games in Orlando, while Denver gamely get a win back first try in New Orleans, but can’t wrestle back home court, losing the second and the subsequent 5th game in Denver to exit rather meekly following a Chris Paul master class. Home court advantage changes hands yet again in the Eastern finals as Orlando win in New Jersey for a second time, however the pattern continues as it begins to look like home court is less of an advantage and more of a hindrance, New jersey extending the series to its 7th game with a Wade inspired win in Orlando in game 6.

The media goes into overdrive with half-truths and innuendo before game 7, with rumours that Lebron is set to make a comeback are abound. The King does indeed take the floor and remarkably manages 44 minutes of court time in his first game for well over a month. He has 21 points, while Miami’s back court duo of Wade and Harris grab 26 apiece. However New Jersey’s young front court of Cousins and Lopez just cannot contain Dwight Howard, the big man is without peer in the NBA and led Orlando to yet another road win to take them to the finals and ruin Lebron’s fairy tale night, nay year.

NBA Finals
New Orleans Hornets v Orlando Magic

Jameer Nelson v Chris Paul
Nelson is a perfectly adequate point guard but finds himself with a huge mismatch to try to overcome here. Chris Paul is quite simply the best point guard of his generation, a dead eye shooter, lockdown defender, absurdly skilled passer and above all else a real leader and general on the court, on his day it’s night on impossible to stop CP3. Nelson possesses a steady shot of his own, and perfectly acceptable playmaking and defensive skills, but his main job here will be to do anything in his power to make Paul miss even half a beat.

Advantage - Hornets

Vince Carter v Marcus Thornton
Thornton steps in for regular season incumbent Darren Collison who misses the entire series with an injury, but in the playoffs thus far the change hasn’t hurt the Hornets, with Thornton putting up 18ppg. Carter may not be the all-conquering offensive force he once was, but he’s still Orlando’s 2nd option behind Dwight Howard. Though he has a tendency to take plays off defensively he’s still more help than Thornton on that end, who has the unfortunate habit of actually hindering his team on D.

Advantage - Tie

Rashard Lewis v Peja Stojakovic
Stojakovic is still managing 30 minutes a night in the post season, though his role his now mainly reduced to lurking on the perimeter waiting for kick outs from Chris Paul and trying not to be too inept defensively. Lewis is a converted power forward but provides similar range and court spacing to Peja as well as a little more defensively and the adding bonus of pulling down a few boards.

Advantage – Magic

Drew Gooden v David West
David West has established himself as the Hornets second most important player behind CP3, but fits in with New Orleans policy of being a useful offensive option who struggles occasionally with his defense. Nevertheless West has upped his game post-season, flirting with a double double stat line of 19.6ppg and 9 rebounds and New Orleans will need him to take advantage of his superior talent in this match up against the solid, if unspectacular Gooden, who while an upgrade on Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson for the Magic struggles to shine in any one particular area.

Advantage – Hornets

Dwight Howard v Emeka Okafor
Okafor is known for relishing the defensive side of the game but he’s got a monumental task on his hands in the form of MVP candidate Dwight Howard. Howard has been putting up some serious numbers this season and put the team on his shoulders in the conference finals against New Jersey, winning 1 or 2 of the games almost single handed, a trait that Magic fans will tell you has repeated itself many times throughout the season. In truth, and unfair though it may seem, the fate of Orlando rests mainly with Howard. If he can dominate this series and keep Okafor in constant foul trouble then Orlando wins. If Okafor manages to slow him down even a touch, you have to favour Paul to lead New Orleans to victory.

Advantage - Orlando

Benches –
JJ Redick / Ryan Anderson / Raef LaFrentz v James Posey / Greg Monroe / Aubrey Coleman
Neither bench will strike fear into the heart of their opponents but Posey gives important relief to Peja Stoijakovic, what you lose in his still solid outside shot you gain in better defense. Monroe will be crucial at some point, it’s unreasonable to expect Okafor to stay out of foul trouble against Howard over a 7 game series so the rookie big man will have a big role to play at some point. Ryan Anderson and JJ Redick can help stretch the floor off the bench with their perimeter shooting, but there isn’t a lot else in the way of depth for Orlando.

Advantage – New Orleans.

Verdict – New Orleans in 7.
West is the best player outside of Howard and Paul in this series, and despite New Orleans defensive deficiencies I don’t see anybody outside of Howard who can truly hurt them and a consistent basis.

As it turns out the series is a huge anti-climax, acting as a procession for New Orleans and solidifying Chris Paul as being without peer as the best point guard in the world. Paul won player of the game in 3 of the 4 games in this series sweep and inevitably the post-season MVP award, Marcus Thornton earning the POTG honour only via a 40 point barrage in their game 4 clincher. Dwight Howard tried to shoulder the burden, averaging 26 points, 16 rebounds and 2.5 blocks even in defeat but the support just wasn’t there. Far from Orlando’s deficiencies though, this series will be remembered as a Chris Paul masterclass, a truly great performance from the little magician.

2011 NBA Champions - New Orleans Hornets

[Alex86]

With the season in the books and new champions crowned the NBA turns its collective attention toward the draft, and this season it’s a massive one for us in Miami. I say us, that’s assuming I still have a job by the time the draft actually rolls around. The dreaded meeting with the owner is fast approaching and I’ve been practising my excuses in the mirror for weeks already. Worryingly there’s been no word at all from on high about which way the axe is swinging, no hint or indication of my fate or whether it’s even still hanging in the balance or been decided.

Still, it seems best to treat the lottery as I would if my future were secure and so it’s in high spirits we await the fate of our ping pong balls. We own the #14 pick courtesy of our trade with San Antonio, #3 thanks to Toronto and #2 is our own, beat on tie breakers by OKC for the #1 slot, although a quick look at draft history indicates that’s a spot you want to avoid if you want the #1 overall pick. Straw clutching again. Nevertheless I’ll be a very happy man if there’s no movement at all and those are the picks we come away with. Here we go…

#14 Miami Heat
Yeah, no surprise there
#13 Houston Rockets
#12 Atlanta Hawks
#11 Sacramento Kings
#10 Milwaukee Bucks
#9 Phoenix Suns
Argh, Washington have jumped. Fingers firmly crossed they’re the only ones.
#8 Los Angeles Clippers
#7 Indiana Pacers
#6 Detroit Pistons
Double argh. New Jersey are also on the run. One of our picks is going to slip. A worst-case scenario of 4th and 5th is looming large in my mind now.
#5 Miami Heat
Yep, well there’s half your premonition come true and…
#4 Oklahoma City Thunder
…not the other half. Phew. I told you that #1 slot was to be avoided.
#3 New Jersey Nets
As if it’s not good enough that the Nets have a title calibre team and fleeced Minnesota in the trade to acquire this pick, they also jump 2 places to a top 3 pick. There’s just no justice in the lottery.
#2 Washington Wizards
Then again, I think I kind of like this process. Washington get a nice bump up from 9th all the way to second but more importantly we climb one place and land the first pick of the 2011 draft.
#1 Miami Heat

Now I just have to hope I’m in charge to use it…

Awards
MVP –
Dwight Howard
24.1ppg | 1.9apg | 14.2rpg | 1.0spg | 3.8bpg

Defensive Player of the Year –
Dwight Howard

Sixth Man of the Year –
Ben Wallace – Cleveland
9.5ppg | 1.1apg | 7.3rpg | 0.7spg| 1.2bpg

Do not adjust your monitors. Despite this baffling choice it really is still 2011, honest.

Rookie of the Year –
Evan Turner
20.7 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 0.8

Had he managed more than around half of the 82 game season, Tiago Splitter would have been right in amongst the challengers for this one.

Coach of the Year
Stan van Gundy 55 wins | 0.671

All-NBA First Team
Chris Paul
Joe Johnson
Lebron James
Chris Bosh
Dwight Howard

All-NBA Second Team
Steve Nash
Dwayne Wade
Carmelo Anthony
Dirk Nowtizki
Yao Ming

All-NBA Third Team
Jason Kidd
Evan Turner
Gerald Wallace
Pau Gasol
Andrew Bogut

All-Defense First Team
Chris Paul
Dwayne Wade
Gerald Wallace
Josh Smith
Dwight Howard

All-Defense Second Team
Rajon Rondo
Evan Turner
Lebron James
Pau Gasol
Andrew Bogut

All-Rookie First Team
John Wall
Evan Turner
Wesley Johnson
Derrick Favors
DeMarcus Cousins

All-Rookie Second Team
Ricky Rubio
Jordan Crawford
Gordon Hayward
Tiago Splitter
Cole Aldrich

Meh. Favors is a lucky man that the Spurs send Splitter down to the D-League, his stats pale in comparison to those of our Brazilian. That said if San Antonio hadn’t demoted him he might even be our player.

With all the festivities now well and truly done before the draft there’s just one item of business left to take care of. Today has been circled on my calendar for weeks, circled with a big, ominous red ring of impending doom. Micky Arison called it a friendly, informal chat the last time he saw me, he looked friendly enough, like a old guy who might pat you on the head give you a boiled sweet, but his PA had phoned just a week prior to inform me it was a business meeting and should be treated as such. If I’m going to be made to state my case then I’m going down fighting, but given the season we’ve had it feels like going into battle with a giant cotton swab and Greg Oden endorsed armour.