Miami Heat: Top Preseason Storylines
Chris Bosh had a pretty good preseason campaign, but can he take that form into the regular season and beyond? Photo Credit: Keith Allison (Flickr.com)
The Miami Heat’s preparation for the 2013-14 season went off without any setbacks as they look to clinch the NBA title for the third straight year, posting a respectable 5-3 record. Now, the focus will be on tonight’s ring ceremony and the season opener against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. But before then, here’s a quick recap of some of the preseason storylines to come out of the Miami Heat camp.
Aggressive Bosh
Chris Bosh claimed this season will be his best, and if the preseason is anything to go by, then perhaps the rest of the NBA should start paying a little more attention. The Heat big man, seemingly tired of playing the passenger role, had a great rehearsal for the crucial 2013-14 season as he shot better than 36 percent from beyond the arc, 57.5 percent overall and led the team in scoring three times in addition to leading the way on the boards in four contests. Plus, in his last preseason game against New Orleans, he even led the Heat with seven assists.
The eight-time All-Star began preparations on a high as he scored the Heat’s first nine points in the preseason opener against Atlanta and finished the game as the highest scorer with 21 points as well as five rebounds and a steal in just 20 minutes of play. That included a sweet spin move that left the crowd in awe.
A 28-point performance followed, as he connected on 12-of-16 shots in Detroit. He did, however, struggle in the nation’s capital against the Wizards, making just 3-of-10. Nonethesless, he did continue to be aggressive as illustrated by his 7-for-7 performance at the foul line.
And although the team as a whole struggled against the Nets in Brooklyn, the Heat big man continued to be aggressive in his play, attempting 10 free throws in the loss.
Last year, Bosh attempted just four free throws per game as he posted the second-lowest scoring average of his career.
Dwyane Wade is Looking Good
Dwyane Wade went back to former trainer Tim Grover (who also worked with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant) this summer hoping to be rid of the extensive issues he has had with his knees in recent seasons. And for the most part, looks like the decision has paid off as D Wade is looking more and more like the Top 10 Player Sports Illustrated dubbed him as, despite Kevin Durant’s disapproval.
Even though he struggled in his lone contest against the Brooklyn Nets, Wade exploded for back-to-back 25 point games during the preseason versus last year’s NBA finalists, the San Antonio Spurs, and in New Orleans against the Pelicans.
Whether Grover can work his magic and have Flash back to the form that saw him take home the scoring title in 2008-09 (or the NBA Finals MVP in 2006), is yet to be seen. But one thing is for sure, Dwyane Wade is still one of the elite players in the game.
Defense Defense Defense
During training camp (not vacation) in the Bahamas, Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat made defense a point of emphasis and apparently, they can still get better.
The Heat forced at least 21 turnovers in all eight of their contests, recording at least 15 steals in all but one of the contests.
Mario Chalmers was the biggest benefactor as he amassed 21 steals (including two five-steal games, against the Nets in Brooklyn and against San Antonio) in the seven games he took part in, even though he only averaged just more than 23 minutes of play time.
Greg Oden – Welcome Back, Big Fella
Dec. 5, 2009. That was the last time Greg Oden took part in an NBA game as the former No. 1 overall pick suffered yet another season-ending knee injury which threatened to prematurely finish his NBA career before it had even taken off.
However, that all changed on Oct. 23 as the center made an appearance versus New Orleans as a reward by coach Erik Spoelstra for all his hard work and dedication during his rehab.
Granted he only played four minutes during the whole preseason, he knows as well as anyone that it is a step-by-step process that will take some time. And as much as he wants to jump straight into the action, patience is a virtue.
Although it has to be said, for someone who hasn’t played for nearly four years, he did look pretty good.
Brooklyn Nets Rivalry
After going back and forth off the court, Miami’s Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have seemingly started a rivalry with some old Boston Celtics players as the pair went after Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce; labeling them as hypocrites for leaving Boston after they had criticized Ray Allen for doing the same thing a year earlier.
When the game itself got going, it quickly became a chippy affair, especially for a preseason game, as Paul Pierce barged into James on a fast break and the Brooklyn crowd loved it. Afterwards, Pierce insisted the foul was nothing personal, but merely the Nets sending a message to the rest of the NBA. Gone are the days of the team being a pushover, these are the new, tougher Brooklyn Nets.
Either way, whether it was personal or not, I can’t wait for these two giants to collide during the course of the season and we don’t have to wait long either with the first meaningful clash on Nov. 1. (Note: Brooklyn has already won two preseason games against the Heat by an average margin of more than 22 points.)
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