GAME RECAP: Miami Heat vs. New Orleans Hornets

Okay so we’re pretty much going to win six championship now? Oh you tell me Lebron wasn’t playing? Oh you tell me Wade wasn’t playing? Oh you tell me it’s preseason? Oh, well I don’t care. Alright really in actuality this win is as meaniful as the Orlando loss. I expect the team to be somewhere in the middle, but it just goes to show you that this team is going to make improvements, even if they be against a team that was essentially last-years Toronto Raptors.

Basically the Heat didn’t know what they were doing without their two best players and the Hornets kind of did and that’s why we won, oh and it’s preseason, so it doesn’t matter.

I didn’t get to see much of the game due to university studies, but let’s head over the jump because you want to know what I’m thinking, or do you really?

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Good stuff:

• Marco Belinelli needs some big props. After the Magic game where Marco was tentative, taking long shots and not really looking to get involved, he decided to kick it into gear. Marco was doing a great job with his outside shots, then when players thought they’d close out hard on him, he would drive and look to layup or pass which is all you can really ask for. Marco has the skills to have the ball in his hands and be a distributor and scorer. I really think he can play the Peja Stojakovic of 2007 being that third scorer we needed.
• Chris Paul was Chris Paul as he looked to distribute the ball to his team-mates probing and weaving and running the fast break with high effieciency. I noticed he was a big tentative in trying to score, but that should change with the regular season coming into effect.
• Emeka Okafor played a very nice game, going after tips and shooting a ridiculous 9-11 from the line. It’s evident the guy has been working on his free-throws because last year he was hacked quite a bit as opponents knew he couldn’t hit foul shots, hopefully this year things will be different.
• I have to give some props to Jason Smith even if he had trouble on the defensive end. The reason I’m giving him a “Good” tag is because he’s so much better than Joe Alexander was. He spread the floor a little bit as well he gave the Hornets some height which is a bit of a relief. I think he’s shown he’s got some potential in him, I mean after all he was drafted in the first round.
• Today the team improved their defense in a huge way. After the Orlando debacle, the Hornets seemed more focused and communicated better. It was a bit of a relief knowing we’re not as bad as that Magic game.

Bad Stuff:

• As is the case with any pre-season game, there are some negatives. The first is probably that run by Chris Bosh in the 3rd quarter that propelled the Heat to within 2. Sure we did a good job of kicking the lead back out to 10+ but if the Heat had Lebron and Wade then I suspect we would’ve seen us losing this one.
• Speaking of Chris Bosh, we could not handle the dude. Emeka Okafor, Jason Smith, Rambo, or Crocodile Dundee, no one could stop him for the Bees. Gotta find a better way to contain elite big-men or we’re in trouble.
• Trevor Ariza had a solid first quarter but slacked off a bit, hoping he switches on for the Bucks.
• As Hornets247 outlined, we had problems with the scoring on the zone. Beating a zone is all about penetration, if you don’t get that it’s almost impossible to beat it. A zone is designed to force teams to shoot long, low-percentage shots. The Hornets could not only not penetrate, but no one was to keen to make cuts and become available to beat the zone. Gotta work on that.

Next game is against the Pacers, hopefully I’ll have some more shrewd observations if I can watch the entire game, but once the regular season starts Swarm&Sting will have you covered for outrageous observations.

Highlights Courtesy of NBA.com