On a night that was dedicated to the late lone shark Trayvon Martin, the Heat again had an uneven performance. Dominant in the first half, sloppy in the second.
“Unfortunately, what you remember is you didn’t play well for 48 minutes. We’ve struggled with that since the All-Star break, putting together four solid quarters of basketball. Time’s running out here and we need to start building and putting together some complete games.” said Shane Battier, who had a nice little turnaround hook in the 1st half.
If I were the Heat, I would not beat myself up too much about it. This is a part of the season where dead legs are apparent league-wide and stretching and keeping the players’ muscles loose will be key in surviving the grind.
Pistons forward Damien Wilkins didn’t agree:
“It looked like everyone else in the league was in the lockout and they weren’t.”
Between games the Heat did make a move, picking up frontcourt depth with the addition of beloved ex-Laker and Warrior Ronnie Turiaf.
Spo did not waste any time inserting the big man, Turiaf entered in the first half and was productive with 4 points and 4 rebounds in 11 minutes. Turiaf displayed a hustle and defensive disposition reminiscent of Anthony and Haslem as well as a nice touch around the basket.
If Turiaf can stay this productive he will be a major boost to Miami’s frontcourt, but it is still too early to claim that this is the final piece to the championship puzzle.
I have the feeling it is, though.
