Miami Heat Blog – Page 127 – NBA Blog

Lil Wayne is angry at LeBron and Wade

Andy Greene of Rolling Stone magazine reports:

In the new issue of Rolling Stone — on stands and online in the digital archives on January 21st (subscription required) — Lil Wayne opens up for the first time about his time in prison. During his eight month stint in Building C-76, cell 23 at Rikers Island, Weezy worked as an SPA (suicide prevention aide), listened to a lot of music on the radio (oldies and Hot 97) and played countless games of Uno with his cellmates in the Protective Custody division.

When Wayne sat court-side at a recent Miami Heat/New Orleans Hornets game he was upset that Lebron James and Dwyane Wade never came over to talk to him. “Them niggas never speak to a nigga,” he says. “They don’t chuck me the deuce or nothing. Nigga spent all that money on them fucking tickets … Come holla at me. We sit right by them little bitch-ass niggas. At least come ask me why I’m not rooting for you.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Lil Wayne is about three feet tall. Maybe LeBron and Wade simply didn’t see him. Just kidding, folks. Anyway, this is obviously a pressing issue. I hope reporters with access to the Heat in the coming days ask about it. The people need to know.

LeBron James OK with idea of NBA contraction

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Lebron James attends an after party following the 'Home & Home' concert at the 40 / 40 Club on September 13, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

By Jeff Lenchiner

It’s simple logic. Fewer teams in a sports league would mean more stars getting to play together, which presumably would make those teams better, and make for better basketball.

I know plenty of NBA fans who would love to see the NBA reverse directions and knock some teams out of the league, but even with David Stern suggesting that the idea is not to be totally ruled out, no one expects it will ever happen.

And, of course, no fan wants to see their favorite team cease to exist. So, the very idea of contraction is bound to frighten those whose local squad tends to not produce much in the wins, attendance or jersey sale departments.

But, count Miami Heat superstar LeBron James as a player who would support NBA contraction (eliminating some teams from the league) if it was to occur.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports:

“Hopefully the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the ’80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team,” James said. “The league was great. It wasn’t as watered down as it is [now].”

In fact, James seemed to have a couple of ideas of which teams could go and some players that would make other teams better right now.

“[Contraction] is not my job; I’m a player but that is why it the league was so great,” James said.

“Imagine if you could take Kevin Love off Minnesota and add him to another team and you shrink the [league]. Looking at some of the teams that aren’t that great, you take Brook Lopez or you take Devin Harris off these teams that aren’t that good right now and you add him to a team that could be really good. Not saying let’s take New Jersey and let’s take Minnesota out of the league. But hey, you guys are not stupid, I’m not stupid, it would be great for the league.”

Personally, I’d be quite happy if there were 20 teams instead of 30. Unless one of the teams that would cease to exist happened to be based near me, of course. Because then the idea is crazy and evil.

What’s your opinion? Share it with other fans in this forum topic.

Heat recall Dexter Pittman from D-League

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 10: Dexter Pittman #34 of the Texas Longhorns reacts in the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first round game of the 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 10, 2010 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Miami Heat announced today that Dexter Pittman has been recalled from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. He was assigned to the Heat’s D-League affiliate on November 26.

“It was a very productive stint for Dexter,” said Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra, “and shows how valuable the NBA Development League is. He had an opportunity to play and learn from his mistakes, play through fatigue, foul trouble and all these things he can’t get from just practice. We were encouraged by the three-week opportunity he had.”

Pittman appeared in eight games (all starts) and averaged 16.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.63 blocks and 30.6 minutes while shooting 60.2 percent from the field. He recorded four double-doubles after posting 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds at Iowa on December 1, 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds vs. Iowa on December 3, 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds vs. Austin on December 7 and then a game-high 27 points and a game-high 10 rebounds vs. Utah on December 17.

Pittman, the 32nd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, blocked a Sioux Falls season-high six shots vs. Utah on December 17, his third multi-block game. Additionally, he led the team in points three times, rebounds six times and in blocks on three occasions.

Mike Miller is close to returning

March 12 2010: Washington Wizards' Mike Miller (6) during the NBA basketball game between the Washington Wizards and Detroit Piston at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The AP reports:

Miami Heat forward Mike Miller is close to being ready for game action. So close that his season debut could have come Friday night.

“I was very tempted to suit him up and my coaching staff talked me out of it because I would definitely look down and throw him in and he hasn’t had a practice yet,” coach Erik Spoelstra said before the Heat faced the New York Knicks.

Miller has been out all season after breaking his right thumb defending LeBron James in a preseason practice. Miller is working out again and is just waiting for the team to clear him to play in games.

LeBron James throws party in NYC at 1OAK

LeBron James didn’t sign with the New York Knicks, but like everyone else on the planet he knows that when you visit NYC, a party is in order.

On Thursday, December 16th, the Miami Heat superstar hosted a “One of a Kind” evening at Chelsea hot-spot 1Oak joined by fellow teammate Dwayne Wade with gal pal Gabrielle Union, New York Knicks superstar Amar’e Stoudemire with model Amber Rose, Jersey Shore’s Ronnie Magro, New York Jets’ Braylon Edwards, record executive Steve Stoute, DJ Clue, and 1Oak owners Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano.

Guests were treated to DOBEL Tequila, and the music was run by DJ’s Jus Ske and SussONE.

Tonight Madison Square Garden will be filled as New York basketball fanatics cheer on the hometown New York Knicks against the Heat.

LEBRON NYC 1Oak PARTY PHOTOS

LeBron James, Richie Akiva and Maverick Carter

lebron james nyc party photo

Amber Rose

lebron james party new york

Ronnie Magro

lebron james partying new york 1oak

Have an opinion? Fans are discussing their take in this forum topic.

Phil Jackson describes Cavaliers home game atmosphere as “obnoxious”

In today’s edition of “Phil Jackson says fun stuff,” the Lakers coach chimes in on Cavaliers home games.

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Many NBA followers are eager to see LeBron James’ return to Cleveland when Miami players there Thursday.

Not Jackson.

“That’s not of interest to me,” he said. “I hate to listen to the Cleveland broadcast. Their announcers are so loud on the court. It’s just an obnoxious place.”

But almost everybody will be watching on Thursday.

“That’s my night off,” Jackson said, smiling.

The thing is, home crowds are supposed make the game “obnoxious” for the visiting team. So, it’s almost a compliment. Somewhat. Maybe. Or something.

As for the LeBron at Cleveland game, I’ll be watching. The boos Cavs fans hurl at LeBron may be of record-setting proportions. Also, basketball will be played, and that’s a nice supporting attraction.

Have an opinion on the Cavs? Share it on the Cleveland Cavaliers forum.

Hilton Armstrong suspended for foul on Joel Anthony

Hilton Armstrong of the Washington Wizards has been suspended one game without pay for his Flagrant Foul, Penalty Two against Joel Anthony of the Miami Heat, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident, in which Armstrong made contact by shoving Anthony during a layup attempt and was ejected following the Flagrant Foul, Penalty Two call, occurred with :32 remaining in the 3rd period of the Wizards 105-94 loss to the Heat Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Armstrong will serve his suspension tonight when the Wizards face the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

McGrady says LeBron, Wade do not mesh

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, forward Chris Bosh and forward LeBron James (L-R) wait at the scorer's table during a timeout in the third quarter of their NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics in Boston, Massachusetts October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

Can LeBron James and Dwyane Wade learn to play together and make each other and their other teammates better? Maybe, but in the opinion of Tracy McGrady, himself once a superstar, the two don’t mesh well.

Chris Iott of Booth Newspapers reports:

“It’s what I expected,” Tracy McGrady said of the Heat’s struggles Sunday after the Pistons suffered a double-overtime loss to the Knicks. “You’ve got two guys (James and Wade) that really don’t mix. I mean, they’re the same type of player. They just don’t complement each other.”

Some predicted that the Heat would win 70-plus games in the regular season and be the favorites to win the NBA title. But McGrady said he is not surprised they have struggled the way they have early this season.

“Not at all,” he said. “It’s tough to get that chemistry. You can’t just go somewhere and create that type of chemistry. (James) had that in Cleveland. He had everything going for him. Great energy in the building. He created a great atmosphere. I enjoyed going to Cleveland because the atmosphere was just unbelievable.

“The chemistry he had with his teammates was unbelievable,” McGrady continued. “You can’t just go somewhere and create that. You can see it on his face. He’s not having fun. I’m so used to him doing all his antics on the basketball court, and he’s not doing that. You can see that something is just not right.”

Heat assign Dexter Pittman to D-League

The Miami Heat announced today that Dexter Pittman has been assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. The Skyforce are the Heat’s NBA D-League affiliate.

Pittman was originally drafted by the Heat in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft and has yet to appear in a regular season game. He did appear in three games (all starts) for the Heat during summer league play and averaged 6.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.67 blocks and 19.1 minutes.

Pittman will be available for the Skyforce’s home opener tomorrow night vs. the Dakota Wizards at 7PM.

Udonis Haslem undergoes surgery

The Miami Heat announced that forward Udonis Haslem underwent successful surgery today on an internal fixation repair of the Lisfranc ligament. The one hour procedure was performed by specialist Dr. Tom Sangiovanni as well as HEAT team physicians Dr. Harlan Selesnick and Dr. James Losito at Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables.

He will be out indefinitely.

It’s been reported that Haslem will likely miss months of action.