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There was a little too much of this on Thursday night for the Heat’s beleaguered defense.
Chris Bosh says it’s the frenetic pace. LeBron James says it’s about communication. Shane Battier says it’s all in the head. Erik Spoelstra says it’s execution.
However you diagnose the Miami Heat’s defensive meltdown against the New York Knicks, and the champs’ general listlessness all season, they’re a total wreck on that end of the floor.
Miami Heat forward Shane Battier confirmed Monday he has suffered a sprained right knee ligament, and teammates are preparing to be without him for a few games.
MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat are preparing to be without forward Shane Battier for a few days because of what the team is calling a slight sprain in his right knee.
DENVER — LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists, Shane Battier scored 18 points, all on 3-pointers, and the Miami Heat overcame the absence of Dwyane Wade to beat the Denver Nuggets 98-93 on Thursday night.
Since his days at Duke, Miami Heat forward Shane Battier has been seen as one of the smartest players in basketball. His approach was outlined in an instantly definitive New York Times profile, in which Battier came across as a genuinely thoughtful person who conceives of his successes and failures on the basketball court less as referenda on his abilities than the outcomes of particular situations. He plays with a mental edge, a basketball intellect that goes beyond instinct and well-practiced routine.
Battier needs that intelligence when he matches up against bigger opponents in Miami’s smaller lineups. He understands his challenge, though, and he believes in himself. So much, in fact, that he’s willing to battle NBA power forwards in another intense competition. From Tom Haberstroh for ESPN.com (via TBJ ):
Since his days at Duke, Miami Heat forward Shane Battier has been seen as one of the smartest players in basketball. His approach was outlined in an instantly definitive New York Times profile, in which Battier came across as a genuinely thoughtful person who conceives of his successes and failures on the basketball court less as referenda on his abilities than the outcomes of particular situations. He plays with a mental edge, a basketball intellect that goes beyond instinct and well-practiced routine.
Battier needs that intelligence when he matches up against bigger opponents in Miami’s smaller lineups. He understands his challenge, though, and he believes in himself. So much, in fact, that he’s willing to battle NBA power forwards in another intense competition. From Tom Haberstroh for ESPN.com (via TBJ ):
With the a heated discussion taking place around the country about the American League Most Valuable Player in baseball, Shane Battier was kind enough to take the time to join in and make his case.
Last week, when the NBA announced plans to fine players for flopping, the reaction was almost uniformly positive. Fans don’t like flopping, what with its foundations in deception, and any attempt to combat it seemed like a good idea. While I have doubts that any flopping policy can be enforced effectively, I also understand why the NBA felt the need to do something. It’s an unpopular practice that they want to curtail any way they can.
Players and coaches have also been pleased by the news. However, Miami Heat forward Shane Battier, known as one of basketball best charge-taking defenders during his four years at Duke and 11 NBA seasons, is not so pleased with the idea. From Tom Haberstroh for ESPN.com’s Heat Index :
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Shane Battier says one reason players go down is because referees tell them they have to.
On Heat Index, Tom Haberstroh digs into the NBA’s new, as-yet unclear anti-flopping policy.
Erik Spoelstra and LeBron James are all for it, hoping it will cut down on, essentially, players taking slight contact from James and then hurtling to the floor as if shot.
But Heat forward Shane Battier is not on board. Battier has done his fair share of flopping — he’s aggressive and at times inventive in taking the charge.
Shane Battier’s really enjoying his offseason, guys. If he’s not golfing and talking about the best part of being a champion , he’s out there hanging with some super cool dudes in shark costumes at Jimmy Buffett shows, because “fins up” is apparently a Jimmy Buffett thing, and also because Shane Battier loves Jimmy Buffett, which is, y’know, perfect .
You may remember that Battier invoked Buffett in announcing his decision to join the Miami Heat as a free agent back in December, tweeting that he’d try his hand at “trying to reason with hurricane season,” which is a Buffett song that is probably not about being serious and working very hard in a cold, Northeastern climate, which is an assumption I will not fact-check. Less than two months later, Battier met Buffett after a tour stop in Miami, then jokingly asked the singer if he might “let me play a song tonight?”
There was no cameo role in the cards at the late January show, but at Sunday night’s concert at Comerica Park in Detroit, Battier got his shot:
So, how’d he do?
