If Beasley is out for a stretch, It'll be an ugly episode for the Heat's offense. There will be plenty of grit, however.

LOL... aww man

Does Arroyo have to go all f*cking Nancy Kerrigan on Alston's knees to get some minutes? Obviously Alston gets extended minutes because Chalmers isn't cutting it. Alston goes 3 of 14 with tons of questionable decisions, now what? Nothing.

Just wanted to chime in and say it was a good game. The outcome was disappointing, and Wade's 2nd half sucked. However, if the Heat were to play with last night's level of effort EVERY night, this club wouldn't be at 500. GO HEAT

It's practice time for Beasley! Finally a post up...

I think you're more interested in discussing the luxury tax, rather than the salary cap. Pretty much every team in the league is over the salary cap (save Portland and Memphis). What teams really look to avoid is paying the luxury tax, which is about 12-13M higher than the salary cap. About half the teams in the league would pay the tax right now and the ones who aren't contending are looking to jettison money. Overall, you had it right when you talked about selling out, increased merchandise and playoff revenues being able to offset going over the cap (or the tax in a number of cases). Arison didn't have a problem paying the luxury tax around 2005 and 2006, but he'll try like hell to avoid it in a season like this (which is why you hear rumors about Dorell being traded). Hell, the Lakers are going to pay 20M+ in tax this year. They'll deal. It's not a death knell, and is pretty much a necessity if you want to contend. You just want to make sure there's some sort of revenue generation to offset any penalties. Posted by: Lord Hades | January 22, 2010 at 12:23 PM OK, so, would it be far-fetched to expect Arison to go over the luxury tax next year? Or will he try to build a team within his current financial boundaries?

The same all star game that just voted Allen Iverson a starter and Tracy McGrady only 2500 votes from being a starter? That's your barometer for success? Posted by: Adam | January 22, 2010 at 12:06 PM Excellent point... All Star voting sucks nads. They need to figure out a better way to get the best talent there.

This is what I don't get, and maybe some of the bloggers here with more of an economist in them can help me out: Most teams that make a run for the title are over the cap. So, if a team goes over the cap, and in so doing fills their arena to the brim, night and and night out while selling more jerseys, getting more ads, etc, doesn't that compensate for going over the cap, financially? Is building a team over the cap just a surefire way to lose money?

Wow Slledge, this dark stretch for Miami is your time to shine. Revel in it...

Jolano: The Celtics are going to be right back when it matters. They are playing it safe right now, and still have one of the BEST records in the entire NBA. Posted by: Slledge | January 22, 2010 at 11:48 AM I'm not trying to dismiss the Celtics. But, it seems at times that they are walking on egg shells. If they're healthy, yeah, they're great. But they're on a slide, and their age is showing.

There are about 10 teams way better than the Mediocre Heat team. Boston just happens to be one of them. I recommend you READ the news one day. Via internet, or buy a newspaper. Posted by: Slledge | January 22, 2010 at 11:43 AM The Celtics ARE ailing, though. They need to be healthy to win, and being healthy becomes an issue with the age of their big three. Last 10 for Boston: 4-6 Current Win/Loss streak: L3

I should say attempt at a running 3

Did Kobe purposefully try to bank that running 3?

I agree, and I think we'll get the answer Friday in Washington. Posted by: Ali | January 21, 2010 at 01:20 AM Part of me wishes it would be a more difficult opponent Friday... I'll take any win, but, after tonight's royal a$$ whoopin I wanna see them do something bigger than grind out a win against Washington.

My bad hex. I called it a grimace.

You forgot the always very intimidating mouthpiece chewing. Posted by: cruicruise | January 21, 2010 at 01:18 AM Sh*t, thanks. Oh, and the "the world is on my shoulders" grimace after every single jumpshot or charge. The grimace sometimes comes in conjunction with the chew.

Posted by: gallagher | January 21, 2010 at 01:07 AM What style of (DEFENSE) is that? Posted by: AJP | January 21, 2010 at 01:12 AM Well, it consists of taking charges or attempting to take charges and getting called for a blocking foul. Or, getting spermed by Boozer.

"...Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tried to rip off his sports coat. The sleeve got tangled, as if he was caught in a straitjacket, which was apropos for his state." LOL!!!

Where are Haslem's grits???

Heat suck tonight. This team isn't going to accomplish much, I hope they do something great come free agency.

I gotta change my TV provider.... Is there anyone here in broward that gets their Heat games blacked out by Comcast????????

Does anyone else have dishnetwork? If so, could you by kind enough to tell me what alternate channel the game is on?

"If he's already gaining on the best PFs in the league, why not build around the both of them now?" Because if you build around Wade-Beasley, you have a superstar and an all-star -- just like, what, half a dozen other teams? But if you wait until 2010, you could potentially have two superstars AND an all-star, and *that* is something that nobody else has. And 3 years down the road, we could potentially have 3 superstars -- with Wade starting to decline, LeBron still in his prime, and Beasley just entering his prime. Obviously LeBron is not a slam dunk by any means. But even if the chance is, say, 30% -- isn't a 30% chance at a dynasty and a 90% chance of constructing a contender (even without LeBron) worth waiting for? If we jump on Iggy/Dalembert, would it be better for us than waiting for Joe Johnson/Brendan Haywood? IMO, Johnson/Haywood would give us a better team, AND it would give us a shot at LeBron first. That's worth the wait to me. Posted by: josh | January 19, 2010 at 07:43 PM Josh, I gotta say, I like your logic.

I love the rotation but I think Beasley must be employ as a SF. He cannot defend the Wallace’s , KGs or the Murphy’s as a PF. Posted by: tito | January 19, 2010 at 07:22 PM Tito, can he defend the Gerald Wallace's, Lebron James', Carmelo Anthony's, etc? His defense is a problem that currently overshadows every position he plays. Getting better, but a problem.

Memphis wants Dorrel it seems.. Nobody wants Haslem though. If they did I'm sure Riley would send him off, right? Posted by: Chris | January 18, 2010 at 04:14 PM Doesn't Larry Brown want the guy?