Eddie Jones, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, has been bought out by the Grizzlies. He was then waived to make room for Will Conroy, who was signed to a 10 day contract.

What this means: It’s obvious. A Heat reunion could be the order here. EJ is good friends with Dwyane Wade and some of the other Heat players, but his obvious pain of being traded away left a bitter taste in his mouth. Perhaps Riley coming to EJ and begging him to return may smooth things over. It also may be a move to help save the Heat’s season. Which would only add to the appeal of EJ’s return.

Stay tuned…

Leadership Void Evident

Oh boy, if General Patton was alive to see this – would he have a field day. Probably would just end up choking on his cigar. Both he and good old Red Auerbach for that matter.

Patton once was credited with saying, “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” Seems the Heat are in desperate need of guidance themselves.

The Heat are lost without Riley, that much is clear. You can say all you want about how a coach is overrated, that players win games, etc. You would be right only if that team had an established leader, because the only way this team gets out of its rut is by the grip of a strong leader. Perhaps around the back of their collective necks before they collectively choke themselves.

The Heat have obviously underachieved. No wait, grossly underachieved. And spare me the injury BS. I am a Heat fan, I have been watching games and keeping track of injuries. Heck, sometimes it feels like the injury announcements are more important than the stats of the opponents. Scouting goes out the window in favor for a diagnosis. That is the sad state of the Heat these days.

Yet, I can’t help but sense that it is all an excuse anyway. If the Heat were, say, 25-19, would the injuries be mounting as much? Would I instead be writing a blog about their ability to overcome adversity?

Instead, I am writing this blog, about how the Heat have gone soft and have been underachieving all season. To the point it is ridiculous.

It isn’t quite on par with say, Einstein picking his nose in the back of pre-algebra class; or Bach singing karaoke; or Picasso drawing by numbers; but it is equally stupid.

The Heat have tons of talent, so let’s not get stuck on the injury situation. Yeah, they haven’t had their starters together all season, but this isn’t the Beetles we are talking about. The Heat do play in the East, the apparent YMCA version of the NBA. If they were 19-25 in the West, I might actually still be writing a blog about overcoming adversity, yet as it is, they aren’t. If the playoffs started today, they wouldn’t be there to “turn it on”. Heck, if they started tomorrow or even next week, chances are the Heat wouldn’t make the postseason.

In the midst of all of this is the complaints and whining. Haslem walking off the court because he didn’t appreciate the team’s inability to move the ball on offense. Wade pointing out to the rest of the team saying something has to change. Shaq saying he was embarrassed by the loss to Knicks – yet he wasn’t in a Heat uniform but in his suit instead.

Don’t you at least have to be dressed up to be embarrassed? (Yes, I do sense the irony…but I think you can spare me the indulgence. At least this once?)

The team’s state is so baffling, yet the answer is so simple. No, Ron Rothstein is not Riley – but only a week or so ago everyone was asking if Riley should return, since ol’ Ronnie had the Heat on a 4-2 west coast trip. Funny how things change so quickly – Heat went from underachievers to tough road team with renewed championship prospects to underachievers again. Still, I contend, the answer is simple.

In my last blog, I mentioned Wade has to step up. I stand by that. Not because I think Wade is all of a sudden a bum, no. He is arguably the best guard we have in the NBA and one of the top 5 players in the NBA. He is also the exemplary statesman, diplomat, and franchise player ANY fan could ask for.

I understand and appreciate his worth.

But I have to call them like I see them, too. And as good as Wade is, he has been under performing, too. He has to step up defensively and he has to take on a more direct role in how this team is going to perform.

He is the true leader of this team, whether he likes it or not.

Shaq, Zo, Gary – all great players that have been there before. They can’t do it on the floor though, only with their mouths. They can pay lip service to what it is like to lead a team, give us all insight. They have experienced it. Yet, they are all incapable of calling upon those experiences now for direct intervention. They, too, have to defer to Wade who has the ability to do it on the floor and thus, lead by example.

Some of you may say that the Heat don’t possess enough talent. I would quickly defy that notion by supplying for examination, not only the fact that this is the same team that won it all last season but also the Jordan lead Bulls of ’95-96, which finished with a 72-10 record. All this coming on the heels of Jordan’s first year back after his first retirement. That team had a strong willed, but mature Jordan of course, but after that, the talent pool was not as amazing as some may think. What made it work was the leadership – Jordan. Everything started and ended with him. They had Dennis Rodman on that team, for God’s sake! They were able to corral everyone’s talents into a cohesive, finely-tuned machine with pinpoint focus.

That is the level I compare Dwyane Wade to, and that is exactly what this team needs from him. They need his leadership. He may not be the vocal leader that can say something and everyone fall into line. Alternatively, the Heat don’t need another voice to keep them in line. They need an example of greatness to fall under and follow. They need to act like champions and when they forget how to, they need a reminder.

This is not to berate Dwyane Wade or his efforts, but to call him to a challenge. To exhort him to embrace the greatness he has the rare opportunity to achieve.

General John Pershing once said, “A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.”

The talent level on this team is moot. Wade is the focus and will continue to be and he SHOULD be. This is his team, no matter if Shaq is healthy or not. Deep down, the Diesel knows that.

And he would agree – you cannot tell someone to be great. They just are. Likewise, you cannot expect to influence someone by telling of examples, but by showing them with examples. For that is all there is.

For the Heat, this bickering and whining has to stop. It ceases when Wade, like he did in Game 3, wills his team to victory and leads them back to greatness. And the rest of the team, regardless of who is dressed or not, falls in line.

Jamal Crawford, 52 points on 20/30 shooting.

Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon combine for 60 points.

Both the Knicks and the Bulls beat the Heat, who has dropped 3 straight now. And in each of the losses a defensive let down was evident.

In the Pacers’ loss, Danny Granger scored 14 of his 16 points in the 4th quarter – demonstrating that this team has yet to account for a hot shooter. Flash forward to the Knicks and Bulls games and you see a serious trend emerge.

Could it be due to bad substitutions or bad rotations? Possibly. You could fault coach Rothstein for putting the wrong personnel on guys – from time to time. Then again, what else does he have to work with?

We could make all kinds of excuses – injuries, bad officiating, whatever. The fact of the matter is, the Heat are not playing good defense and when they do decide to step it up, it is little too late.

No one may realize that the Heat scored over 30 points in two quarters last night – the 2nd and the 4th. But they only scored 17 in the first quarter. Much like their season, they are not coming out focused and bent on the task of winning games. They think they can just turn it on when the need to and wrap things up. Perhaps it really was a bad thing for them to win the championship last season – as they were down 2 games to none and came back and won that series. As impressive as it was, it may have given them a false sense of apathy.

And the Heat are paying for it now.

Dwyane Wade is the leader of this team – whether he chooses to accept it or not. He is the man, the new face of the NBA. He is a superstar. As humble as he is, he has shown a pretty smooth adaptation to this role due in part to Shaq’s presence and influence. Yet there is another challenge facing Wade now – the kind of challenge that wearing a target on your back gets you. The fans in the NBA don’t like Wade – because they are envious of the calls he gets. Players around the NBA say the same thing, they demonstrate their bitterness towards the calls he gets although they respect his game.

Seems, Wade has gained superstar treatment without having to pay his dues. He grabbed the Jordan Rules without having to study for them.

The same could have been said for Kobe Bryant when he started to make his way in the Association. Again, he was a talented player brimming with super-staredness but was on the same team as Shaq. He got Jordan-like treatment from the refs, too.

Perhaps all of this attention has filled Wade’s head some. You wouldn’t notice if you were a Heat fan. He continues to work hard and play hard, but there are troubling signs here.

Namely, a lack of defensive intensity.

It seems as goes Wade, so goes the Heat. And the Heat have been all bark and not bite lately. Sure, they can heat it up quickly, and make big runs when they need to, but they are not getting back and playing good defense.

This is the area that Wade has yet to pass his tests. As long as other teams can score seemingly at will from the guard spots against Wade-led teams, his accomplishments will be cheapened. It isn’t like Wade can’t play defense – he can. He has the athletic ability, the smarts, the reach, the whole package. He just seems like he would prefer not to.

A lot is asked of Wade on the offensive side of the ball. He is the playmaker for the Heat and will carry the offense. So to ask him to shut down the opposing team’s hottest player is a lot. But that is precisely what he needs to do as a superstar. He has the ability, and his team needs him to do it.

Watching the games the last few nights it is evident the Heat don’t have a complete answer for stopping guards with a decent offensive reportoire. Yet, at a certain point Wade had had enough, and decided to stick Gordon – he then faced his man, blocked his shot, sent Gordon to the floor in the process AND the shot clock sounded. Heat ball.

That is the kind of intensity Jordan would display almost every night. He was the ultimate competitor. And this is what the Heat need from Wade – his competitive fire. He has it. We all saw it in the Finals in Game 3. He was not going to let his team punk out like they were.

And eveything changed.

It is now at the point of the season that it resembles game 3. Either take charge now, or the whole season – all the work – is for not. Wade needs to step up and lead his teammates – with or without Shaq. The Heat will follow and so will the wins.

Congratulations to Shaq and DWade on making the all star team as starters. But who didn’t think that was going to happen? Just the way it happened, the latter through nightly generation of highlight reels while the former due to the size of his shadow cast from the bench. It’s like voting a dead man president, or at least senator – not that Shaq doesn’t deserve to be recognized as an All Star, just that he has only played in 5 games now.

I wonder what the odds were for that on the books in Vegas…

The all star fun isn’t over just quite yet, oh no. We get to see who rounds out the roster (why Nash was snubbed as a starter only reflects that popular voting is a flawed system…), who gets to dunk and bore the rest of us, which rookies get to show their stuff, which players get to demonstrate their skills, and who gets to thrill us with their deft three point shooting.

The last competition is what I am really in anticipation for because, frankly, it is the one competition the Heat has the best chance of winning since Harold Minor skyed for dunks a few years back (the only thing Baby Jordan ever did, actually). That chance for the Heat is materializing in the form of one Jason Kapono.

Kapono has had a pretty big year thus far. He sat the bench last season due to his unfamiliarity with Riley’s defensive system, not just because he was slow of foot. Turns out, Riley’s endorsement of Kapono was not just steam to inflate the baloon of his value, but rather an honest truth. The kid can defend solidly, and can stay honest on his assignment.

But let’s be real here, the reason Jason Kapono is in this league is because he can flat out shoot.

Shooting over 50% from three point range (55.5%) and over 50% from the field (52%) is down right impressive. And reason one why he WILL be at the all star game in Vegas with fellow Heatians Wade and Shaq.

The interesting point to consider for Kapono is that this was no new secret – he could always shoot the rock. Just he didn’t have that added sexiness of being a European player coming out of school. And he had stayed for all four years at UCLA – that is two strikes against him.

Being white and an American player is not what the NBA tends to value in this league. Could the Kap’n change all that?

“I should have left UCLA after my freshman year, played in Croatia, grown a beard and changed my name to Vladimir Kaponovich.”

First thing, there is no need for an ‘h’ on your newly christened last name, JKap. Secondly, you have done pretty well considering. Thirdly, Vladimir Radmonovic is not exactly having the success you are these days, so perhaps it was a good thing the way it has worked out.

Kapono, Kaponovic, My Kapono, whatever you want to call him, has demonstrated that if you can shoot you can be a factor in this game. Shooting has never gone out of style and in fact, has become increasingly devalued in favor of athleticism. The trend has been to find hybrids to play positions, centers that can handle the ball and pass, power forwards that can knock down threes. This has all lead to league-wide schizophrenia and in some instances, ugly basketball. Take an off night from Rasheed Wallace for example, BLECK!

What Kapono is doing right now needs to be commended. He is not only demonstrating that the biases and prejudices of the NBA exec are an archaic outdated thing that needs to be dealt with, but that the return to simple and stable ideas in this game can help make it better. Kapono can shoot, but he also has a quick release. Imagine what he would be doing on Phoenix’s roster?

Unfortunately for the Heat, Kapono may be pricing himself right out of Miami. There will be some execs who overvalue his talent, and devalue their ability to find another good shooter, and will pay dearly to have him on their roster. An All Star appearance with a win at the three point competition might be the death knell for his Heat career, too.

Nevertheless, I root for Kapono because I rooted against him. Yes, me, a Heat fan thought that there was no way Kapono could realistically make a consistent contribution to the Heat. But he has, and he is showing staying power – with the right offense, mind you. After all, Rasual Butler could shoot, too and was a second round pick. And he had a very strong start to his career in Miami, before being dealt to New Orleans. Coincedentally, he too has made a pretty big splash this season as a shooter.

And like Kapono, all he needed was playing time to prove himself. In Miami, Kapono has gotten his chance and made the most of it. See you in Vegas – and win that three point competition for all the other shooters out there.

It was as clear and as bright as Josh Howard’s grin to the Heat bench, or as loud as Avery Johnson’s voice. Or as unexpected as Stackhouse’s offensive outburst. The Mavericks needed to beat the Heat to help cope with their Final’s experience. The mental trauma is evident, as they demonstrate themselves to be unbalanced as a result of seeing the Heat snatch the trophy out from under their hasty hands – as after 2 games both they and their fans were all too ready to call that series.

It was like an intervention for them, and everyone echoed the sentiments:

“It’s like going someplace and seeing your old girlfriend you broke up with, the one you thought you were going to marry but it fell apart,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. “You get that queasy feeling, then you get past it.”

No Mark, it is more like she broke up with you and you just couldn’t ever move on while she married, had 4 kids and got the vacation home in Malibu. While you eat canned beans.

The fragile psyche of the Mavericks was evident. They instituted a 10pm curfew for the players so they could have a better chance of beating the Heat – the first time for a regular season game, according to Anthony Johnson. “It wasn’t a big deal, due to the fact that we wanted to beat this team.”

Stackhouse continued to rant about how his team was better, eventhough the Heat were sporting the hardware that was blinding them all. Even Jason Terry, perhaps with his headband on a little too tight, asked Gary Payton before the game “You know you have something that belongs to me, right? You keeping my ring polished?”

As the game wore on, Terry’s skirt seemed a little out of place, “We’ve got to close ‘em out. We ain’t gonna do what we did last time.”

The Mavs won the game, 99-93. Yet, they proved very little other than that they are still the same team from last season – they rely on their outside shooting, and will whine and flex and cry throughout a game to fake their advantage. In fact, some of the classy Dallas media and fans continue to question Wade’s injuries. Stay classy, Dallas. Then again, this is Big D, the place that shot JR.

What really killed the Heat was poor shooting in the first half and giving up way too many rebounds and second chance opportunities. Something that when Shaq returns, likely won’t happen. Even Stackhouse, with his big mouth, admits as much. “It’s a regular-season game. You cannot avenge what happened to us in the Finals in a regular-season game. Maybe the fans can sit back and say, ‘We told you they were better.’ But in our hearts, we just can’t do it.”

“With (Shaquille O’Neal) coming back, they’re going to be the team to beat in the East.”

Celebrate all you want, Dallas, but like the Finals, it takes 4 games to win a series and a trophy, not two. Regular season games don’t matter – as Heat fans may remember the Mavericks blew out the Heat last season during the regular season.

So, once again, nothing is proven. And that may be the hardest thing for the Mavericks to deal with.