<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">RAPTORS' JAMES CREDITS MIAMI'S OFFSEASON PLAN Last night, we talked to Toronto Raptors guard Mike James, who was covering the Heat's 115-108 victory over Chicago as a special playoff correspondent for NBA TV. James, broke into the league as an undrafted free agent under Pat Riley and played his first two seasons for the Heat. With six Miami players in double figures, we asked James about the Heat's balanced attack, to which he responded by pointing in the direction of Riley's offseason moves: Mike James: "This is the reason why Miami put together this team in the offseason. Pat Riley wasn't thinking about the regular season. He knew that these guys had playoff experience and were going to come focused and ready to play come playoff time. "So Coach Riley put together this team to help Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. These other pieces of the puzzle -- Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, James Posey and Gary Payton -- were added so they can win a world championship." What is it going to take for Miami to get over the hump this year and emerge past Detroit to get to The Finals? James: "Stay healthy, and Dwyane Wade and Shaq need to do what they're supposed to do every single round. "Wade, I believe, has solidified himself as elite in the NBA, and Shaq is elite in the NBA. The rest of the guys ? the other pieces of the puzzle, whom Pat Riley signed to win a championship ? they have to step up their game, and get better. Every round it gets harder and harder. It's not that the game changes. It's that the mental preparation for the game changes. Now they have to step up their mind and their focus every game. I think that will be the difference." Can O'Neal stay healthy and sustain this level of play over a long playoffs? James: "Of course. Shaq is healthy. They say he's light again. He's light on his feet. He's looking good. "And also, this is the playoffs. During the regular season, you may take two or three games off, but you want to be ready for the playoffs. You play 82 games for the playoff season. Everybody's banged up right now who is in the playoffs. Shaq's body is hurting right now but he wants to win a championship. Because he wants a championship, his body doesn't hurt as much. He has the whole summer to rehab. His only focus right now is [winning] 16 games." What were your impressions of how the Game 2 unfolded tonight? James: "Chicago is a jump-shooting team. Because of that, they live and die by the jump shot. Even though the jump shot was going in, they don't have a post threat. If you don't have a post threat, you go through spurts where you have shooting spells. "You may shoot great for the game, but for two or three minutes in the third or fourth quarter, when the game is close ? and you're still depending on those shots ? and they're not falling, you're in trouble. Miami's coming back on the other end, throwing the ball into Shaq, and Antoine Walker, who had a great game, and Jason Williams had a great game. It's difficult to win without a post threat." Can the Bulls realistically make this series close? James: "You can't teach heart, and they have a lot of it. And they also have talent. You add talent and heart together, anything can happen. I think Miami will win the series, but in Chicago, you never know what could happen. "It'd help Chicago's confidence if they win Game 3. Remember what happened to us. We went 2-0 against Dallas last year when I was in Houston and we lose the next two games. It gave Dallas life. Rather than winning Game 3 and taking the life out of Dallas, they won, and they were only one game behind instead of three games behind. "This is a big game for Chicago, and also Miami, because the game could give the Bulls' confidence and make them believe they can beat the Heat in a series. At the same time, if the Bulls lose, there isn't any coming back."</div> http://www.nba.com/playoffs2006/clickandroll.html Former Heat player Mike James showing some love. Alot of what he says I agree with, its good to see someone from the league that has confidence in the Heat, alot of people doubt us. Like James said if we just stay healthy the HEAT gon be a problem baby!
Paul Pierce was at the Bulls-Heat Game 1 game the other night, he went for Antoine Walker, the two are still best friends.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Soft Parade:</div><div class="quote_post">Paul Pierce was at the Bulls-Heat Game 1 game the other night, he went for Antoine Walker, the two are still best friends.</div> lol ya that was awesome, since Pierce is my favorite player and the Heat are my favorite team.
