Almost Doesn't Count
| 3
|
Seeing the Knicks competing against the Heat wasn't surprising, because the Heat haven't been able to produce. Losing Dwyane Wade is the cause of their failures.
The Knicks should have won, but the Heat were energize and wanted to win.
"It was a much-needed win for us," Shaquille O'Neal said. "We have folded under the pressure the last couple of games."
Winning was important for the Heat, because going win-less isn't impressive. The Heat are fifth in the Southeast division, and they're looking at trouble.
The Heat should build confidences, because Wade isn't the whole team. They have talent, and using it shouldn't be a problem.
"I don't like to lose," Pat Riley said. "It's not much fun. Not a whole lot of joy as a team when you're in it."
The Heat are struggling, but many expected it. Playing without Wade brings failure, and it happened in the past. The Heat aren't able to succeed, and win victories without Wade. This shouldn't be an issue, because the Heat have talented players.
"The 0-7 team I don't think was as talented as this team," Udonis Haslem said. "I think we have a lot more talent on this team. But at the same time, like I said, we just haven't been able to get stops down the stretch."
This should continue, because the Heat can built from this. They have enough players, and the Heat proved it against the Knicks. No excuses for being unsuccessful, because the Heat can produce.
"We're getting there," Riley said. "We're getting close. I think that's the best I can say."
"Getting there" shouldn't be an issue, because the Heat have winning experience. It's sad to see a talented team like the Heat can't succeed without their superstar Wade. The other players should be enough, not having Wade shouldn't matter.
"He's not going to be 100 percent when he comes back," Riley said. This imformation should be important to the players, because it'll push them to succeed.
Winning against the Knicks was great, and hopefully this success will continue. They have good players to continue to prosper, and being confident shouldn't be a conundrum.
"I hope we can build from this," Riley said. "I hope the guys have a better understanding offensively what we want. The guys are absolutely mentally exhausted from losing, and from my approach to them the last couple of days. We just need a day off and get ready for New York."
They were, and it should have happen the first game. Failure wouldn't have been an issue, and Wade wouldn't need to rush. Even with Wade it's still a possibility for failure, because they've gotten swept by the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs last season with Wade.
The offense wasn't productive, but it'll get better as the season gets older. Jason Williams was great, he's been an incredible point guard for the Heat. He had 17 points, and 5 assist.
Haslem played the best, and his performace helped the Heat get the victory. Scoring 16 points, with 16 rebounds was encouragement for the Heat.
O'Neal played averaged, and age has slowed him down. He's dealing with personal issues as well, and it's effecting his performance on the basketball court. He scored 14 points, and 9 rebounds. I'll expect O'Neal to get better, but everyone should understand his struggles.
Ricky Davis scored 14 points, but wasn't producing anywhere else. Scoring isn't enough for the Heat, and he'll need to understand that. Davis needs to play good defense, and get rebounds as well.
Watching the Knicks lose was heartbreaking for many, because they could have won. Their defensive problems still remain, the Heat offense just couldn't score effectively.
"I think we just fell apart," Eddy Curry said. "They took the game away from us. They made plays at the end and took it away from us."
This isn't the first time, because the Knicks always struggled to hold the lead. Facing the Heat shouldn't be hard, because they're going through suffering times; the Knicks didn't take advantage.
"We can't lose a game like this any time." said Quentin Richardson. "They've been struggling right now. We should win this game."
"Don't talk about it, do it." Richardson hasn't been productive, he'll probably get traded before the seasons over.
"We weren't patient enough to continue to pound the ball inside, get good shots and go to the foul line," Isiah Thomas said. "I thought that every time we got impatient, Orlando capitalized on our impatience."
Thomas is still making excuses, "it's the defense." That's the Knicks only problem, and Thomas fails to admit that. He probably can't coach defense, because it's been the Knicks problem for four seasons.
Stephon "Poorbury" was competitive against Williams. He had 14 points with 6 assists, but was 6-16 from shooting.
Jamal Crawford didn't make a difference, because he had 13 points but was 4-14.
David Lee performed the best, and kept the Knicks competitive. He had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Eddy Curry was productive scoring 16 points, and he managed to get 6 rebounds.
Quotes from Yahoo Sports
