FrontRowSportsReport.com: Sports Blog

Well I guess the Miami Heat are going to have a really good shot at getting the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Heat Coach Pat Riley announced today that Dwayne Wade is going to miss the rest of the NBA season. Wade has had lingering knee issues and will be undergoing treatment and therapy in order to bring it back to 100% in time for the 2008 / 2009 NBA season.

With the Heat having the worst record in the NBA and no chance at making the playoffs, Wade was hesitant to stop playing but feels it will be better in the long run. Just last week Wade commented on how he would finish out as much of the season as possible. Wade said -   “I don’t want to cut my minutes back If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. And whenever that day is, if it comes, I’ll just start preparing for the summer and rehabbing. But the day is not today.”

Wade will undergo a OssaTron treatment, which is non-surgical and involves a high-tech version of shock therapy.  Wade had surgery on his knee and shoulder last May.

Wade finished the NBA season averaging 24.6 points per game.

The Houston Rockets are playing some of the best basketball in the NBA right now. Last night the Rockets beat the Miami Heat 112-100 for their 10th straight victory and their 14th win in 15 games.

The Rockets were led by Tracy McGrady who scored 23 points and 10 assisits, and Yao Ming who put in 21. The Rockets played without a few familair faces as they made a couple deals before the NBA deadline yesterday. The Rockets sent Mike James and Bonzi Wells to the New Orleans Hornets for Bob Jackson and Adam Haluska. The Rockets also traded Kirk Snyder to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Gerald Green.  “We lost a couple of guys that were well-liked around here, well liked in the locker room,” Rafer Alston said. “That’s the business side of basketball, but you’ve got to go out there and play.”

The Miami Heat, who have the NBA’s worst record, were led by Dwyane Wade who put in a game-high 33 points and Shawn Marion who scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Last night was Marion’s 4th game as a Heat since being dealt for Shaquille O’Neal. All night long the Heat showed why they are the worst team in the NBA as they played hoorible defense and at times looking completly uninsipred. Coach Pat Riley was watching a different game I think. “We got off to a real bad start,” Riley said. “They were really hyped up and really prepared to play. We made a good run but we were constantly climbing up a hill all game.”

Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd both made debuts with their new teams last night, unfortunately both the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks lost. However, both players impact on their respective team was undeniable.

Let’s start with Shaq and his game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq contributed last night with 15 points and 9 rebounds, not bad since he hasn’t played in a few weeks. Despite the 130-124 loss to the Lakers, the Suns obviously can and will play better once Shaq gets his “legs back” and / or used to his new teammates. At times Shaq looked lost when he wasn’t hanging below the rim as usual. Shaq definitely made an effort to move around more and even ran some fast breaks, but really how long can that last? Shaq needs to find his place in the Suns game that suits both him and his team. After the game Shaq played the good teammate card. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time. I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn’t in tune with the guys. But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I’ll get it.”

Now on to Jason Kidd’s debut with the Dallas Mavericks. It is obvious from watching this game that Kidd is going to really help the Mavericks, his ability to make plays and find people is unmatched. Last night he spent a bit to much time trying to pass it to his new teammates, but that is to be expected. Just looking at the box score you can see that it was not a typical Kidd night, he only scored 8 points and had only 5 assists. However, do not let last nights game or the box score fool you, once this team starts to click and the big guns, Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki, get a feel for how Kidd plays everyone better watch out.

It is obviously to early to make any sort of judgment, in fact we can only truly judge the trades after the NBA season is over, but from what I saw last night both teams will be better off then before the trades. The only question is did they improve enough to win a NBA title.

Oh and on another NBA note, the New York Knicks lose to the Philadelphia 76ers last night by 40 points. 40 points! The 76ers aren’t even a good team, again how does Isiah Thomas still have a job?

Shaquille O’Neal will be making his first start as a member of the Phoenix Suns against his old team the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow night. Suns coach Mike D’Antoni announced the news after today’s practice. This has to be making the NBA gods drool with glee - the Lakers, as you all should know, is the team Shaq Daddy helped to win three NBA championships and we all know about the “feud” that went on between Kobe Bryant and Shaq.

Shaq, who was acquired in a trade with the Miami Heat, hasn’t played in a game since January 21st and will probably play around 20 minutes tomorrow night. Shaq playing the good team player role said “I’m not looking to put up historical numbers. Whatever these guys ask me to do, that’s what I’ll do.”

When actually playing this season Shaq has averaged a un-Shaq like 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. However, the bigger question is how the Suns and Steve Nash will fit Big Daddy into the their Run and Gun offense. Shaq can neither run or gun…he kind of jogs and pounds.

Shaquille O’Neal was officially introduced by his new team, the Phoenix Suns, today at a new conference. Shaq, as usual, had plenty to say about his new and old team, as well as all those people who doubt he will fit in with the up-tempo Suns.

“I’m very upset,” Shaq said at the news conference. “You just don’t really want to get me upset. When I’m upset, I’m known to do certain things,? like win championships. This team has always been there in the Western Conference,” he said. “They just couldn’t quite get over the hump. I think with my experience and my on the court-off the court leadership, I can help them get over the hump.”

Shaq seems to be happy with the trade to Phoenix saying that the team is full of good, unselfish, players - during the new conference he continued to mention how people are going to be surprised at how he fits into the Suns game…is he getting new legs and dropping 50 pounds or something? Didn’t you know that Shaq loves to run? Don’t believe me? In his own words - “The last couple of years I was in a system that we really didn’t run, so you automatically think I can’t run, but I love to run, especially if I’m playing with a great guy like Steve Nash. I look forward to making people eat their words, I really do.”

Run Shaq Run!

Shaq diesel, who will be 36 next month, had strong words but has been running on fumes lately due to a hip injury and…well just being old.? Shaq has been out for 2 weeks with the hip injury but hopes to play before the All-Star Break.

According to numerous sources within the NBA, the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns are close to a deal that would send aging center Shaquille O’Neal to the desert for All-Star forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks. Wait Shaq is still playing?

The Heat have already agreed to the deal and are waiting on the final word from the Suns - the Suns are waiting on a medical evaluation of O’Neal before giving the go-ahead. ESPN reported last night that O’Neal was in Phoenix and will undergo a physical this morning.

I have to say that if this trade goes through I will be almost as shocked as when the Lakers got Pau Gasol for a can of tuna. Shaq daddy is 35 and has had rough season filled with injuries and it is not like he is going to get healthier. I do understand the Heats need to get rid of him - they need to get into rebuilding mode after the awful season they are having. But, how does Shaq fit into the fast paced offense of the Suns? Do they need a big body to compete in the NBS Western Conference that bad?  Shaq would also bring with him to Phoenix a 2-year / $40 million contract - I thought the Suns were trying to reduce payroll and stay away from the NBA luxury-tax?

If this trade does go through I will be sitting right in front of the television watching Shaq’s first game in purple - seeing Steve Nash trying to get Shaq involved in the offense is going to be very entertaining.

Here are the 2007/2008 stats for the players involved:

Shaquille O’Neal
32 games played: 14.2 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, 1.66 blocks per game

Shawn Marion
47 games played: 15.8 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game, 1.49 blocks per game

Marcus Banks
24 games played: 5.2 points per game, 1 assist per game

How bad is it when you beat a team without 2 of your 3 star players? Just ask the Miami Heat who lost to the Boston Celtics last night 117-87 even though the Celtics were playing without Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. To make matter worse the 3rd star on that team, Paul Pierce, went scoreless for most of the first half and finished with only 7 points.

Allen is suffering from the flu and Garnett has a strained abdominal muscle - without them other Celtics players had to step up and did they ever. Leon Powe (who?) scored a career high 25 points, Rajon Rondo tied a career high with 23 points and Tony Allen put in 20 points. The Heat, who just snapped a 15 game losing streak, trailed for most of the game and were down by as much as 31 points at one point.

“One of the things that we talked about before the game is that no one before the game is that no one was going to be Ray Allen and no one is going to be Kevin Garnett,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “But all of them could do a little extra.”
If anything this is a testament to how good the Celtics really are - as we all know great teams find a way to win regardless of the adversary.  The real question is how bad are the Heat? God awful would be my guess

The Miami Heat hit an all-time low last night as they lost their 15th straight game to the San Antonio Spurs 90-89 in Miami. The Heat led by as much as 10 points in the second half and led or were tied for 46.48 of the games 48 minutes – the inability to close the door and get the win added to the Heats misery. The 15th straight loss is just 2 shy of the Heat’s franchise record for consecutive losses.

NBA All-Star starter Dwayne Wade had a chance to win the game for the Heat but turned over the ball while driving to the basket with 3 seconds left. Even though the Heat took it to the Spurs it wasn’t an indication of who is the better team – the Spurs played horribly and seemed lethargic for 46 minutes of the game.

The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan who scored 30 points and had 11 rebounds. The Heat were led by Dwayne Wade who put up 27 points and 9 assists. The Heat also played without center Shaquille O’Neal, who was replaced by Mark Blount.