Palm Beach Post MIAMI ? Buried amid the clutter of the Heat's attempt to find itself, rookie forward Wayne Simien, the team's first-round pick from Kansas, is thriving. Unfortunately for Simien, so, too, are the guys in front of him, Udonis Haslem and Antoine Walker. Simien had eight points and five rebounds in just 16 minutes in an 82-72 loss to Charlotte on Saturday. In three exhibition games the 6-foot-9, 250-pound Simien has 18 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes. "He's a guy that if you tell me, 'You've got an injury or whatever and you've got to play Wayne 24 minutes a game,' I'm fine with that," coach Stan Van Gundy said. Consider that comment for a second: On a team with veterans struggling to figure out what Miami is doing offensively and defensively, Simien is mastering his craft. "I feel good," said Simien, the 29th pick of the draft. "There's not a lot of pressure on myself as far as having to produce big, so I can just go out there and be solid and do what I know how to do." Simien, nicknamed "Big Dub" in college at Kansas because of his regular "double-doubles," double digits in points and rebounds. In the fourth quarter Saturday, he played all 12 minutes and had six points (on 3-for-5 shooting), four rebounds and a steal. He also ran the floor and showed good court awareness. However, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to show his skills for any consistent stretches in the last five exhibition games or the regular season. In Haslem, the Heat has a starter who rebounds, hits the 15-foot jumper playing off center Shaquille O'Neal's double-teams, and runs the floor. In Walker, the Heat has a nine-year veteran who has averaged 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in his career and has always been a starter. That could relegate Simien's role to practice fodder, which might not be bad. "There's a tremendous benefit to that, because he has the benefit of playing against Hall of Famers," center Alonzo Mourning said, referring to himself and O'Neal. "Not only is he competitive against us, but he's seeking advice. We've given him as much information as we can in the short period of time that he's been here. "I think he has a huge upside. He has a great NBA body and now it's just a matter of him incorporating his talents into a system." Source
