<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">MIAMI ? The Heat has about three weeks until the Feb. 23 trading deadline. Starting point guard Jason Williams likely will miss another week with a finger injury, and backup Gary Payton is a 37-year-old veteran who can't play a lot of minutes. That puts a lot of weight on rookie point guard Gerald Fitch, and he's confident he can get the job done. "Once I get a rhythm, it's going to be big things for real," said Fitch, who was undrafted out of Kentucky two years ago. "So I'm just being patient and trying to find a rhythm." Heat coach Pat Riley, however, isn't sure Fitch is the answer and he's debating whether Miami needs to look for another point guard. "We have to wait and see on that," Riley said. "It depends on how long Jason's going to be out. If he hadn't cut his finger, he'd be playing. But we like (Fitch) as a young player. He's a third point guard. That's basically what we brought him in for, to develop him. We think he has a lot of upside. It reminds me of when Mike James was here that first year. We didn't have a lot of confidence in Mike, but it just took awhile." The problem is the Heat doesn't have a while. It has assembled a veteran group to win a title, and if Williams isn't around ? he's already battling right knee tendinitis, and Riley said Monday he'd be out for 12 days after having the six stitches put into his right ring finger ? the Heat has a big hole to fill. Fitch has been inconsistent in his time on the court. He's played in 16 games, with one start, and is averaging 4.9 points and 1.9 assists in 13.9 minutes per game. Before Riley took over in December, Fitch started a streak in which he played in eight consecutive games, averaging 13.8 minutes per game. He's struggled to hit his shot (he's shooting 34 percent from the floor) and he entered Monday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers with 40 assists and 14 turnovers. "It's kind of tough," Fitch said. "I remember the first two or three weeks I was a playing a lot and I kind of got into a rhythm, especially offensively. I kind of lost it a little bit and I'm trying to find it. I'm just scrapping right now."</div> Source
I am impressed by Fitch from what I have seen form him. He is a pretty good at defense and brings energy in the game, can set guys, up, and occasionally knock down a three. I really think the only thing this Heat team needs is time to gel. Even Walker has been much better as of late.
