Miami Heat Blog – Page 103 – NBA Blog

Jeremy Lin will not play in Knicks-Heat series

Mike Woodson cleared up all the questions and speculation about Jeremy Lin’s status Tuesday. The interim Knicks coach said Lin will not play in this series.

As the Knicks prepared for Game 5 on Wednesday night, Lin and team doctors told Woodson to go on without the point guard.

“He’s just not ready,” Woodson said. “They will let me know when he’s ready, and I’m sure he will step up to the plate and say ‘Hey, I’m ready,’ when that time comes. But right now he’s out. He’s not ready.”

The Knicks already lost Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis in this series to devastating knee injuries. Mike Bibby will start Wednesday, and J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony will also handle some of the point guard duties.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Dwyane Wade might not play in Olympics

Speaking of which, Dwyane Wade sounded slightly less than 100 percent certain he’ll be in London no matter what, even after accepting the invite to what would be his third Olympics after being prodded by his 2008 Beijing teammates (“Kobe was like, ‘if my old self is playing, you can,'” Wade said — and I’m sure Kobe said ‘self’ there, aren’t you?) into putting the band back together one last time.

“I told them, I said, listen, I’m just going to see how I feel,” Wade said last week. “This is about being healthy — I think, for all of us, going into the summer healthy — and taking it from there.”

This was somewhat surprising to Colangelo, reached Sunday night.

“You could, today, probably come up with 10 or 11 that look pretty solid unless something happens,” he said by telephone. “Wade’s one of those guys, but if he feels like he doesn’t have anything left or doesn’t think he can go, then we’ll make a decision as to who replaces him. We do have a lot of flexibility because we have guys who can play so many positions.”

— Reported by David Aldridge of NBA.com

Melo scores 41, Knicks beat Heat in Game 4

Amare Stoudemire raised his hands in the air, one covered in padding, as streamers fell from the ceiling above him.

Finally, New York could celebrate an NBA playoff victory again.

Carmelo Anthony scored 41 points, Stoudemire had 20 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a cut hand, and the Knicks snapped an NBA-record, 13-game postseason losing streak by beating the Miami Heat 89-87 Sunday in Game 4 of their first-round series.

”I think it’s the first of many,” said Stoudemire, his left arm back in a sling to keep his hand elevated. ”Tonight was a great win for us, for our fans to finally get over that hump of those consecutive games that we lost, I guess the Knicks, lost over those years in the playoffs.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Shaq earns doctoral degree in education

He’s officially Dr. O’Neal now.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal received his doctoral degree in Education from Barry University Saturday morning along with another 1,100 students during multiple commencement ceremonies at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami.

Like all things done by the four-time world champion, 15-time All-Star, movie star, rapper and entertainer, O’Neal, 40, accepted the degree in style. Wearing a custom-made, bright red XXXL-sized gown, the seven-foot-one, 325-pound former Miami Heat center got on one knee so Dr. David M. Kopp could place a light blue hood around his big neck.

O’Neal then stood up and lifted his professor like Tarzan was rescuing Jane. “Swept off my feet,” Kopp described the moment, celebrated with loud cheers from the crowd.

O’Neal then walked over and hugged school president, Sister Linda Bevilacqua before walking off stage posing for photos in his cap, gown and hood like all the other graduates. On his way back to his seat, O’Neal strolled by a star struck row of graduates and handed out high-fives like he was walking past his old teammates on the bench.

— Reported by Manny Navarro of the Palm Beach Post

Heat beat Knicks to take 3-0 lead

LeBron James scored 32 points, including eight straight to start the fourth quarter and break open the game, and the Heat took a 3-0 series lead, sending the New York Knicks to an NBA postseason-record 13th straight loss, 87-70 on Thursday night.

James had 17 points in the final period for the Heat, who held the short-handed Knicks to eight field goals in the second half and will go for the sweep Sunday at Madison Square Garden…

Wade added 20 points for the Heat and Mario Chalmers had 19, hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Heat finally brought some beauty to what had been an ugly game.

Wade was forced to go the whole third quarter while James was limited to just 4 1/2 minutes by fouls. Wade had 12 points in the period, knowing the two-time MVP would be coming back with fresh legs…

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points but shot 7 of 23 for the Knicks, who are playing without Amare Stoudemire, Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert and needed a super effort from Anthony that he didn’t come close to providing.

”When you can’t score the basketball, that makes the game extremely hard, no matter how much defense we go down there and play,” Anthony said.

The Knicks broke the record set by Memphis from 2004-06. They haven’t won a playoff game since April 29, 2001, Game 3 of a best-of-five series against Toronto…

Chris Bosh had nine points and 10 rebounds hours after the birth of the couple’s first child. He flew to New York with the Heat on Wednesday, then quickly hopped on a flight back to Miami after learning his wife was in labor. He returned Thursday afternoon following the birth of his son, arriving at the arena about 30 minutes before the game.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Chris Bosh goes home to be with expectant wife

Heat forward Chris Bosh may miss Game 3 of Miami’s Eastern Conference first-round series in New York on Thursday after being summoned home because his wife was preparing to give birth.

The Heat were told late Wednesday that Bosh had to return home. Bosh left from New York on a private plane, and his wife, Adrienne, posted a photo on a social media account saying ”hurry home.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Shaq getting doctoral degree in education

This week’s graduating class at Barry University is about to get bigger.

Retired NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal will graduate Saturday with a doctoral degree in education from the Miami Shores university. His 7-foot-1 frame will don a red-and-black velvet gown as he joins 1,100 graduating students at the commencement ceremonies at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.

Known simply as Shaq, he now can call himself Dr. O’Neal. For 4 1/2 years, the former Miami Heat center took 16 courses, completed 54 credit hours and carried a grade point average of 3.813, according to the university. The 40-year-old’s exact degree is in Organizational Learning and Leadership, with a specialization in human resource development.

“He was a good student,” said Dr. David M. Kopp, chairman of the university’s Organizational Learning and Leadership program. “He is very intellectually curious. He is like a sponge, he takes everything in.”

— Reported by Johnny Diaz of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Stoudemire hurt postgame, Heat beat NY, 104-94

Drops of blood stained the carpet leading up to the back entrance of the New York Knicks’ locker room. The glass portion of a nearby fire-extinguisher case was quickly replaced. And Amare Stoudemire needed doctors and paramedics to treat a cut on his left hand.

Game 2 probably wasn’t all the Knicks lost in Miami on Monday night.

Stoudemire left the building with his arm in a sling and what appeared to be a bulky wrap over his left hand, long after the Heat took control of the teams’ Eastern Conference first-round series with a 104-94 win over the Knicks, going up 2-0.

It resumes Thursday in New York, and although the Knicks were saying nothing for certain, it seems most unlikely that Stoudemire would be able to play…

Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, Chris Bosh added 21 and LeBron James finished with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Heat, but their night was completely overshadowed by whatever went on with Stoudemire in the hallway that’s just a few steps from the edge of the court…

Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points on 12-for-26 shooting for New York, which got 18 points from Stoudemire and 13 apiece from Chandler and J.R. Smith. The only other team to lose 12 straight playoff games is the Memphis Grizzlies, who dropped their first dozen postseason contests from 2004 through 2006.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Melo insists Knicks can take Heat

But amid the rubble of Saturday’s 100-67 disaster, Carmelo Anthony gave a call to arms to his troops that a 1-0 series deficit is not a death sentence.

“We’re definitely not at a low,’’ said Anthony, who shot 3-of-15, scored 11 points, turned it over four times and got outclassed by LeBron James. “We’re definitely still a confident team. We felt we didn’t play our game [Saturday] and we want to correct that. [Today’s] a new day. [Today’s] Game 2 and Round 2.

According to a source, co-captains Anthony and Stoudemire arranged an evening workout session at a private Miami gym last night with several teammates.

All logic suggests the Knicks will get knocked out again after their embarrassing performance in Game 1. Chandler remains questionable for tonight after staying back at the hotel yesterday, with Mike Woodson saying Chandler is “barely hanging in there.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Knicks guard Iman Shumpert injury will keep him out 6-8 months

The Knicks were smoked by the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their first round series, but the loss wasn’t even the worst news of the day for New York.

After losing 100-67 in Miami, the team learned that guard Iman Shumpert, who suffered an injury during the game, has a torn left ACL and torn lateral meniscus. He will need surgery and is expected to miss 6-8 months, which means he will likely not be healthy until perhaps the second half of next season.

An athletic rookie, Shumpert averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the Knicks during the regular season. He is also one of the team’s most enthusiastic defenders.