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Around SBN: SB Nation MMA Rankings for August 2010

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats at Miami Heat

Pump Up Music: Phoenix -- "Napoleon Says"

The Big Picture: The Hawks are a better team than the Bobcats. In retrospect, though the game was within the Cats' reach until the last moment, it's no great blow to lose to Atlanta. The Heat, however, have been a major disappointment this season, to me, at least, and the Bobcats should be able to take them down, even on the road and the day after an overtime game.

Star-divide

Dwyane Wade is his usual amazing self, Michael Beasley is pretty solid, Jermaine O'Neal has been a pleasant surprise, and Udonis Haslem is the good soldier, the kind of guy a lot of teams would love to have coming off the bench. Unfortunately for them, that's about it. Their point guard situation has been a disaster, and their bench has completely failed to show up. It's reminiscent of those crappy Lakers teams after Shaq left, when Kobe Bryant was disgusted with his teammates (more than he is now, the cynic would say). They're going to be dangerous in any playoff series because Wade and one other guy can play 45 minutes and take over, but there's no way they're making it to the Finals, like I thought they might when I wrote, before the season, that they were the best value bet on the Vegas boards.

Key to Victory: Wade plays taller than he is, so Stephen Jackson's usual advantage is partly nullified. Also, Wade gets to the rim so effectively, it will test the core of the Bobcats' defensive strategy, to use elite shot blockers behind guys who may not be especially shifty, but who are disciplined about getting to the right place and executing rotations well.

I'd instruct Jax to back Wade down a few times at the start of the game and see how the Heat react, because if they double, that opens up the lane for cutters, and if they don't, that forces Wade to defend in the way least comfortable for him.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Haslem has an amazing back tattoo.

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This Heat team is not a great team

You have Wade and a decent Beasley, but that’s basically it. This isn’t like the Hawks last night, who have Johnson, Smith, Horford, and Crawford who can all score. If you contain Wade to shoot bad, they will fade like 90s jeans. That said, it is no easy task to shut him down. Block off the paint is probably the best way. Force him into bad percentage shots, ie. mid range contested jumpers.

Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.

by WhatAboutBob_cats on Mar 20, 2010 12:02 PM EDT reply actions  

Heat record when Wade shoots less than 40%: 2-12
when Wade shoots less than 45%: 9-20

Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.

by WhatAboutBob_cats on Mar 20, 2010 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

+ Same here ;)

I like these guys. And I’m not even European .

Otherwise known as SouthTunnel. Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

by ElBacano on Mar 20, 2010 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions  

The Hawks are a better team than the Bobcats?

I think that’s up to interpretation. I believe the BobJordanCats are just as good as the Johnson Bibbys.

by PanthersFTW on Mar 20, 2010 4:24 PM EDT reply actions  

I think its fair to say that right now they are better than us

But that doesn’t mean I don’t think we could beat them in the playoffs. I think we could take care of just about any team in the playoffs, but probably lose to any as well.

Otherwise known as SouthTunnel. Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

by ElBacano on Mar 20, 2010 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions  

The Hawks have a better record than the Bobcats.

They are not currently a better team than the Bobcats.

by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Mar 20, 2010 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

Based on what?

They have a better overall record, conference record, home record, away record… They have beaten us more then we’ve beaten them, including the most recent meeting.

Otherwise known as SouthTunnel. Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

by ElBacano on Mar 21, 2010 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions  

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