Has Riley lit a fire under the Heat's ass?

Opponent File
Miami Heat
The Heat play in the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fl. Their 2002 - 2003 record was 25- 57(last in the Atlantic). Here's what Joe had to say about the Heat in his Atlantic Division Preview. Here is the Miami Heat roster.

Local Paper
Miami Herald
Team Pages:
CNNSI.com | Heat
ESPN.com | Heat
FoxSports | Heat
NBA.com | Heat
Sportsline.com | Heat

Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy
2003 Draft: G Dwyane Wade, Marquette (#8); F Jerome Beasley, North Dakota (#33).
New Players: PG Dwyane Wade (draft); SF Lamar Odom (Clippers); C Samaki Walker (Lakers); PF Loren Woods (T'wolves); PG Rafer Alston (Raptors).
Season Goal: Develop the rookies, and try to gain some respectability.
Record vs. Nets: 1 - 2
G41: Heat 85, Nets 64
G47: Nets 99, Heat 88
G57: Nets 92, Heat 86
Other Opponent Files

Projected Atlantic Division Standing:
Chris Carrino: 6
Tim Capstraw: 6
Ian Eagle: 7
Joe Netsfan: 6
Steve Politi: 4

Miami Heat (29 - 37) - Sunday, March 14, 2004, 6:00 PM - American Airlines Arena
Mercury Rising
Now that it's getting hotter in Miami, the streaking Heat have picked up the pace and have made themselves into a potential first round playoff matchup with the Nets. Since the Heat started off the season colder than a Pat Riley stare with seven straight losses and a 5 - 15 record, coach Stan Van Gundy has the team playing much better with rookie Dwyane Wade, Eddie Jones, Brian Grant and their off-season pickup Lamar Odom. It's the rookie Wade and the former underachiever Odom that have done most of the work, as Odom leads the team in rebounding (9.8) and assists (4.5) as well as scoring at a 17.2 ppg average (and a triple double in a win against the Kings last week). Wade has opened everyone's eyes, with a 16.5 scoring average that would be a lock for rookie of the year if it weren't for those other two headline-stealers. Wade was impressive in the last meeting between these teams two weeks ago, juking and jiving with the pull-up jumper to the tune of 17 points before the Nets locked down and forced him into 10 turnovers. Can the Nets continue to scorch their way through the league under interim head coach Lawrence Frank with yet another Atlantic Division win (the Nets are an incredible 14- 2 against the division)? Or will the Heat continue their climb up the NBA's win thermometer with a home court torching of New Jersey?
- Joe

Miami Heat Cheat Sheet
The Story from Miami: Israel Gutierrez (Miami Herald) reports that there is some concern from the Heat about Dwyane Wade's struggles since returning from a foot injury on February 29. According to head coach Stan Van Gundy, Wade has regressed back into some bad habits, like leaving his feet too soon, limiting his options and forcing up bad shots. Van Gundy said, ''Early in the year, he was doing that, then he started taking the extra dribble and getting to the rim, and he started staying on the floor when he couldn't get to the rim. He built those habits up over a long period of time of playing and working. Then you go through a time of not playing . . . and you get some slippage back into some bad habits.''

Pain Game: PF Jerome Beasley (Back) and C Wang Zhizhi (ankle) are on injured reserve.

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