<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CHICAGO ? Words seldom heard when the subject is Shaquille O'Neal: "I feel bad for him." That's what teammate Antoine Walker said about the Miami Heat center, a man with three championship rings who can laugh off a $25,000 fine (as he did this weekend) like most people laugh off losing 50 cents in a soda machine. On Sunday, O'Neal was taken out of the game for the second time in this series. And not by the pesky Chicago Bulls, but by fouls. This time, he did not talk about it, which might have saved him a lot of money. O'Neal was fined for criticizing the officials after Game 3. After the Bulls tied the series Sunday with a 93-87 victory in Game 4, O'Neal walked past a group of about 20 reporters surrounding his locker, ducked into a coach's office and then made a getaway straight to the team bus, bodyguard in tow. Because of foul trouble, O'Neal played just 24 minutes Sunday, as he did in Game 3 in Chicago. "The two games here we had to play without our best player on the floor," Walker said. "That's difficult to do, to try to play without him. "It's cost us because he's the guy we go to a lot (and) we depend on to make a lot of plays for us. He clogs the middle for us. He is also the guy who can get guys shots ? that's the reason we shoot such a high percentage throughout the season. "We're going to have to find a way when he gets in foul trouble to continue to play defense to get back into the game." O'Neal finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. In the two games at the United Center he played the equivalent of one game, scoring 24 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, committing 10 turnovers and missing all seven of his free-throw attempts. Miami guard Gary Payton, following O'Neal's Game 3 cue, blamed the officials. "If they want to see Shaq over there on the bench, that's what they're going to do," Payton said. After Game 3, the Heat talked about denying penetration, to protect O'Neal from having to defend Bulls driving to the basket. But Sunday, two of his first three fouls were offensive fouls. The third foul, in the second quarter, limited him to one minute in the third quarter. "We need him on the court ? we just need him on the court," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "I don't know how we're going to get around that." O'Neal had two fouls before nine minutes elapsed, both coming in a 35-second span. The first was for backing into center Tyson Chandler while attempting to make a move on offense, the second for attempting to block a Chandler follow. The third foul was for spinning into Chandler and the fourth, just more than two minutes into the second half, came while O'Neal was helping out on guard Kirk Hinrich, who drove the lane. With O'Neal on the bench, the Heat is getting little from Alonzo Mourning. He had six rebounds and two points in 14 minutes, but he's having difficulty jumping after missing five weeks because of a torn calf muscle. Several times, he was beaten to the ball off the boards.</div> Source
I think Riley needs to take a lot of the blame for the two losses in Chicago. His team is breaking down mentally and Riley isn't settling the guys down and keeping them poised when momentum isn't going there way. I also don't like his substitutions. Alonzo Mourning should not be the first player off the bench when Shaq sits, it should be Michael Doleac. Obviously, Zo is the better player, but he's not healthy and doesn't have the conditioning to play heavy minutes. Michael Sweetney was actually jumping over Zo from behind to grab rebounds on him. Zo has no lift and isn't the defensive presence the Heat need right now. Doleac played well in the first two games. He was strong on the glass, and he can hit the 15 foot jump shots. Having him on the floor gives Wade and JWill the opportunity to run the pick and roll and force Sweetney or Chandler to defend outside of the paint. I also think Shandon Anderson needs more playing time. He's a scrappy defender and can get you some unexpected points off shear hustle. Riley should put him on Nocioni when the Heat need a defensive stop. Where is Jason Kapono in this series? He should be on the floor when Shaq is in the game. Damon Jones was killing teams last year when they doubled and triple teamed Shaq. The Heat are getting a lot of 3 point looks, but aren't making them. If Kapono gets those same looks, he's going to hit 50% of them.
Walker and Riley are correct we cannot get far without Shaquille Oneal, he is what makes our team work, and with him in foul trouble we just cannot operate well. Shaq is sort of like the X-factor because if he plays dominant and doesn't get in foul trouble, then we own, but when he is missing 2 footers and getting silly turnovers our whole team just breaks down. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">I think Riley needs to take a lot of the blame for the two losses in Chicago. His team is breaking down mentally and Riley isn't settling the guys down and keeping them poised when momentum isn't going there way. I also don't like his substitutions. Alonzo Mourning should not be the first player off the bench when Shaq sits, it should be Michael Doleac. Obviously, Zo is the better player, but he's not healthy and doesn't have the conditioning to play heavy minutes. Michael Sweetney was actually jumping over Zo from behind to grab rebounds on him. Zo has no lift and isn't the defensive presence the Heat need right now. Doleac played well in the first two games. He was strong on the glass, and he can hit the 15 foot jump shots. Having him on the floor gives Wade and JWill the opportunity to run the pick and roll and force Sweetney or Chandler to defend outside of the paint. I also think Shandon Anderson needs more playing time. He's a scrappy defender and can get you some unexpected points off shear hustle. Riley should put him on Nocioni when the Heat need a defensive stop. Where is Jason Kapono in this series? He should be on the floor when Shaq is in the game. Damon Jones was killing teams last year when they doubled and triple teamed Shaq. The Heat are getting a lot of 3 point looks, but aren't making them. If Kapono gets those same looks, he's going to hit 50% of them.</div> 100% completely agreed. I have been wondering the same exact thing. The players that are getting the minutes now are simply not producing, why not put someone else in and see what they can do? The fact of the matter is other then Wade and Haslem, the people that are getting minuntes all have old legs and deserve a rest. Sweetney is out jumping Zo, so why in the world is he playing!? ; Doleac should play, because he brings more offense then Zo does and is actually healthy. Also another question for Mr. Pat Riley, if we are playing horrible defense...then why do we not have our best defender Shandon Anderson on the floor? Jason Kapono is money, and has produced when Riley has put him in, he's automatic from the three and seeing him lay there on the bench while Antoine is bricking threes is sad. The Heat need consistent shooters that can knock down the open shot and thats exactly what Kapono is, why in the world is he riding the bench Pat!? Another player that I believe should get more minutes is Wayne Simien, he doesn't play much, but hes always consistent when he enters the game, and always produces for us. This is the perfect opportunity to give this rookie playoff experience and he is also just sitting there on the bench.. And Pat Riley is a legendary coach, but how come his players are doing this instead of bringing it together and playing like we all know they could.
I don’t understand how with all of the talent the Heat has; Shaq is so key against Chicago. The bulls are out sized in every position. I think that the Heat have too many egos and not enough toughness. Think about it. They don’t have good role players. Those players that are Specialists. Think of it as a game of chess. You have the king queen rook bishop Knight and pond. Each piece has its own role on the chessboard. The Heat is a team with a king a queen and a bunch of rooks and ponds. Who is the guy on the heat who is a specialized 3-point shooter? Who is their guy who specializes in defensive stops? Who is their energy guy who can come in and boost the play on court? I think the real question is (with or without shaq)......... Is the Heat even a Team? Heat fans don’t go crazy when I ask this question. But look at your bench Derek Anderson -A guard who plays more like a small forward- Slasher Michael doleac - A big body Antoine Walker - Specialized Scorer - crybaby Alonzo Mourning -Defense and rebounding - Not game ready Shandon Anderson - Aged all around player Gary Payton- Aged PG who’s more of a scorer - cry baby Jason Kapono- not trusted by Pat This team when looked at under a microscope is not championship ready. They are lacking key elements that teams like the spurs Pistons Dallas or even a La Clippers. I also blame Pat for the whole situation. He was pressured by the spurs to make a Blockbuster trade. A trade that broke up an already good team that only needs a few key pieces. This team as we know it will not exist in the next 2 months. GL Heat
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post"> I also think Shandon Anderson needs more playing time. He's a scrappy defender and can get you some unexpected points off shear hustle. Riley should put him on Nocioni when the Heat need a defensive stop. Where is Jason Kapono in this series? He should be on the floor when Shaq is in the game. Damon Jones was killing teams last year when they doubled and triple teamed Shaq. The Heat are getting a lot of 3 point looks, but aren't making them. If Kapono gets those same looks, he's going to hit 50% of them.</div> Shandon is a good all around player but his body is aged. I would give him tick if i were riley but how many minutes can he really play effectivly. The same thing about Jason. The Heat desprately needs a consistant perimiter threat. But for some reason Riley doent trust him on the court. It may also be that with so many big names the forward spot he belives that taking minutes away from the other forwards would be detremental. And we dont know whats going on in practice. But at this point does he really have a choice?
I think Anderson can give the Heat 12 effective minutes per game. He'd be very effective in Miami's power lineup (something we haven't seen yet) in this series. I don't think Riley trusts Kapono defensively, but he's their best shooter off the bench. Even if it's only to have him out there in the final Heat possession, he'd give the Heat a better look at the basket. He doesn't any time to heat up off the bench. You don't have much to lose if your Riley. If his shot isn't dropping you just put him back on the bench, but the upside is Kapono knocks down 2 or 3 quick bombs and gives you 6 or 9 points off the bench. Pat Riley should take notes on how the Lakers are beating Phoenix. The Bulls play a similar style as Phoenix because they like to push tempo and use their speed to beat you. The Heat are playing right into the strength of the Bulls instead of slowing the game down and pounding the ball inside. Going back to the power lineup, Riley should start Zo and Shaq at the same time. Let Walker come off the bench, he has no discipline on the court and gets caught up in trying to run with the Bulls. Him, JWill, and Wade are being baited into uptempo basketball instead of being patient and methodical with the Bulls. Having Shaq and Zo in the paint at the same time is going to put a lot of pressure on the Bulls frontcourt. Sweetney is able to handle playing against them one at a time, but what's he going to do with them out there at the same time? Even though Zo isn't playing well, he should be able to do plenty of damage from the weakside and punish the Bulls everytime Shaq puts up a shot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">I think Anderson can give the Heat 12 effective minutes per game. He'd be very effective in Miami's power lineup (something we haven't seen yet) in this series. I don't think Riley trusts Kapono defensively, but he's their best shooter off the bench. Even if it's only to have him out there in the final Heat possession, he'd give the Heat a better look at the basket. He doesn't any time to heat up off the bench. You don't have much to lose if your Riley. If his shot isn't dropping you just put him back on the bench, but the upside is Kapono knocks down 2 or 3 quick bombs and gives you 6 or 9 points off the bench. Pat Riley should take notes on how the Lakers are beating Phoenix. The Bulls play a similar style as Phoenix because they like to push tempo and use their speed to beat you. The Heat are playing right into the strength of the Bulls instead of slowing the game down and pounding the ball inside. Going back to the power lineup, Riley should start Zo and Shaq at the same time. Let Walker come off the bench, he has no discipline on the court and gets caught up in trying to run with the Bulls. Him, JWill, and Wade are being baited into uptempo basketball instead of being patient and methodical with the Bulls. Having Shaq and Zo in the paint at the same time is going to put a lot of pressure on the Bulls frontcourt. Sweetney is able to handle playing against them one at a time, but what's he going to do with them out there at the same time? Even though Zo isn't playing well, he should be able to do plenty of damage from the weakside and punish the Bulls everytime Shaq puts up a shot.</div> But if u start Zo at PF it makes it tougher for the heat to get back on defence. That could lead to a quick bulls lead. With haslem at the pf atleast he can get down the floor quicker to defend. And the problem that the heat has when it plays its power lineup is that Zo and Shaq often get in eachothers way because they are both natural centers. With Noch playin PF about 70 Percent of the time its really going to be hard for zo to defend the arc. That also puts Alonzo out of his game which is rebounding, seeing he would be forced out of the paint by both Shaq and Noch. And this would also negate Zo's shot blocking defence. seeing that he would end up out of the paint where he is effective. But i agree with walker coming of of the bench. The heat realy dont need extra scoring in their starting lineup. Jay, wade, and shaq are plenty. Starting Shandon for the first 4 or 5 min isnt a bad idea because he wont be taking shots away from the main scorers. And could provide trouble for the bulls offence.
Well you neutralize Chicago's speed by taking high percentage shots close to the basket, which allows your defense to setup on the other end. The Heat can always go with a 2-3 zone defense if they want to slow down the Bulls perimeter players. Shaq and Zo can control the post while the other 3 scramble to close out on the shooters. It's always harder to win from the perimeter in the playoffs. The reason Chicago won the last two games was their ability to score in the paint. Scoring in the paint opens up the floor for the shooters, but if the Heat prevent inside scoring then Chicago becomes one dimensional. Shaq and Zo actually play well when they are on the court together. It's just up to the guards to dump the ball inside and let them go to work.
