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Swingman Mike Miller returned to practice, participating in Tuesday’s morning shootaround. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it’s the most encouraging sign since Miller sustained a sprained left ankle March 10 against Indiana.
There is still no date on when he is expected back in uniform. Miller has missed the past 12 games.
“He went through about half the shootaround,” Spoelstra said. “He’s making progress.”
— Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Rajon Rondo had a triple-double and the Boston Celtics handed Miami its biggest loss of the season, pulling away for a 91-72 win over the Heat on Sunday.
The Celtics outscored the Heat 31-12 in the third quarter, turning a 49-44 halftime lead into an 80-56 advantage. They stayed ahead by at least 19 the rest of the way for their fifth straight win…
Rondo finished with 16 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, reaching the triple-double mark with 8 1/2 minutes to play. It was his 13th consecutive game with at least 10 assists and his fifth triple-double of the season…
The Heat, playing their third game in four days, were led by LeBron James with 23 points but he had no assists for only the second time in his career. Dwyane Wade added 15 points. The Heat continued to struggle on the road, losing for the seventh time in their last 10 games away from home. Miami has the fewest home losses in the league at 21-2 but is only 16-12 on the road.
Paul Pierce scored 23 points, and Brandon Bass added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Boston.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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LeBron James and Kevin Durant called it “hell week.”
For five days last summer, the two NBA superstars came together for one of the most grueling workout routines they have experienced in their careers. With only a few weeks before the playoffs, James is crediting those grueling workouts for contributing to one of the best seasons of his career.
“Monday through Friday, twice a day, and it was one of the toughest weeks that we’ve both had as far as workouts,” James said. “But it was some great work, and we got a lot out of it.”
Even before the workouts at the University of Akron, James and Durant enjoyed a strong friendship that extended several years. James was giving Durant advice when he was still in high school. The greatest change James said he sees in Durant this season is his ability to lead his teammates.
“We respect each other, and it’s always great to see a friend of yours do well,” James said.
— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald
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The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed free agent center Ronny Turiaf. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are very happy to be able to add an experienced veteran center at this stage of the season,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “Ronny’s energy will be a great addition and bolster our front line.”
Turiaf, a seven-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 362 career games (90 starts) and averaged 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.36 blocks and 17.9 minutes while shooting 52.9 percent from the field. He appeared in four games with Washington this season totaling six points, 12 rebounds, six steals, five assists and three blocks in 58 minutes of action while shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the field. He has appeared in 30 postseason career games (four starts) and averaged 3.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 11.2 minutes while shooting 44.8 percent from the field.
The February 2010 NBA Cares Community Award winner finished among league leaders in blocks in three straight seasons, tied for 28th (1.08) in 2006-07, tied for 22nd (1.38) in 2007-08 and tied for third (2.13) in 2008-09, while setting a career-high in blocked shots with six on December 17, 2008 at Indiana and then matching his career-high in blocks with six last season on January, 2 2011 vs. Indiana. He has averaged at least one block per game in five of his seven NBA seasons and has shot at least 50 percent from the field in six of those seven seasons.
Turiaf was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round (37th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft.
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Chris Bosh was talking Sunday night and nobody was answering. That’s the way his teammates like it.
You see, the Miami forward speaks to himself during games. And one of the apparent problems during his recent slump was he hadn’t been chattering enough.
“Somebody said I wasn’t talking to myself when we played in Chicago,” Bosh said, referring to Wednesday’s loss and his disastrous 3-of-15 shooting.
So it was Chatty Chris on display in Sunday’s 91-81 win over Orlando at AmericanAirlines Arena. He listened to what he was saying, scoring 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
“I have conversations all day in a non-crazy way,” Bosh said.
As it turns out, this talking to oneself isn’t confined to Bosh. Dwyane Wade also admits doing it, and he also heeded his words Sunday, scoring a game-high 31 points. He had 18 in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, after Bosh had ruled the first half with 18.
— Reported by Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida
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Shaquille O’Neal used to complain about foul calls, and how his defenders deserved them on every play.
O’Neal was a unique player, regarded as almost impossible to officiate, due to his unique quickness at his size, as well as his strength that allowed him to shake off rough and cheap shots.
James acknowledged Tuesday that he sees a similarity.
“A lot of people say that to me,” James said. “A lot of people say that they look at me, like I’m being officiating like Shaq (was) when he played. A lot of people tell me that. Because of the power and the strength, and they see us finish with contact so many times. They feel like sometimes, it may not be a foul. A lot of people have come up and told me that, people who are part of the game and people who have never played the game of basketball in their life.”
— Reported by Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post (Blog)
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Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat were thrilled to see each other again Tuesday.
Bosh returned to the team after missing nearly a week to deal with his grandmother’s death, and is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday night when Miami plays host to the New Jersey Nets. Bosh missed Miami’s three-game trip to Portland, Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Heat were beaten in the last two of those contests.
“Very good to see him,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said Tuesday morning after Miami’s game-day shootaround practice. “You realize how much you missed the guy. Had a little bromance moment for a minute. Wanted to hug him. But I didn’t. I kept it cool.”
Bosh was clearly missed in a lot of areas. In the losses to Utah and the Lakers, Miami was outrebounded 94-67, a staggering discrepancy for any team, especially one that had outrebounded its previous nine opponents by 7.8 per game.
— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press
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Dunkin’ Brands Inc. says NBA superstar Lebron James has agreed to market Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream in Asia.
Dunkin’ said in a statement Monday that the agreement will last at least two years and is worth at least $1 million.
Dunkin’ said James will promote its brands in China, Taiwan, India and South Korea through advertisements, online media and in-store marketing. James will also make personal appearances in Asia after the season ends in June.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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Kobe Bryant added another milestone to his career Sunday as he passed Michael Jordan to become the all-time-leading NBA All-Star game scorer.
But did it come at a price?
Bryant skipped a postgame media session after his 27-point performance, and was taken for further evaluation after he said he was “experiencing headaches.” The Lakers announced later that Bryant had suffered a nasal fracture and would be reevaluated Monday after he returned to Los Angeles by an ear, nose and throat specialist.
It’s believed Bryant was injured with 8 minutes 48 seconds to play in the third quarter when he received a hard foul from Dwyane Wade. Bryant sank the first free throw then went to the bench to have a trainer look at his bloody nose. He returned and made the second free throw.
About four minutes later he beat Jordan’s mark of 262 points on a breakaway slam off a pass from Kevin Durant. Bryant, who also played more than eight minutes in the fourth quarter, had 271 career points by game’s end.
— Reported by John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times
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The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed center Mickell Gladness to a 10-day contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Gladness appeared in six games with the Heat this season, after previously being signed by Miami on December 10, 2011, totaling two points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 21 minutes of action while connecting on his only shot from the field before being waived on February 7, 2012. Prior to that stint, Gladness was signed by the Heat on September 27, 2010, playing in two games on the Heat’s 2010 summer league squad, totaling eight points, five rebounds, two steals and a block in 28:53 minutes of action while shooting 2-of-4 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line before being waived on October 11, 2010.
Gladness, a member of the 2010 NBA Development League Champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers, has appeared in 81 career NBA D-League games (20 starts) and averaged 4.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.41 blocks and 13.9 minutes while shooting 57 percent from the field and 60.7 percent from the foul line.
During his collegiate career, Gladness appeared in 85 games (83 starts) at Alabama A&M and averaged 7.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.66 blocks and 26.8 minutes. He was named as the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year while also earning All-SWAC First Team honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He finished his junior season with 188 total blocks, the third most in NCAA history, including a game in which he set a new NCAA single-game record after blocking 16 shots vs. Texas Southern on Feb. 24, 2007.
