The Miami Heat made it official on Wednesday. They're the worst team remaining in the NBA playoffs. That's just one conclusion you can draw after Atlanta won Game 5 over Miami 106-91 to go up 3-2 in the series.
How can the Heat be anything other than the worst team remaining when they came into the playoffs as an underdog and, now, Dwyane Wade is not 100 percent? Hey, it's just another way of saying that coach Erik Spoelstra is doing a great coaching job.
Miami was down 23 points at halftime, and the only reason to watch the remaining 24 was to find out who was going to commit the next hard foul and who was going to be on the receiving end of it.
Atlanta 106, Miami 91: Recap | Box Score Atlanta Leads Series 3-2 | Next Game: Friday @ Miami
NBA Playoff 4-5 matchups are often the best of the first round. Usually the two teams are within a few wins of each other. They're not a level of David and Goliath, and both teams are usually mortal enough to make it interesting. Such is the case with tonight's matchup of the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat. As such, we're rocking the live blog action again tonight. Join us after the end of Orlando-Philadelphia for Hawks-Heat. Joe Johnson. Dwyane Wade. Make this happen.
If Cleveland-Detroit is the Rolling Stones, and Utah-LA is the Beatles, then Atlanta-Miami is the Velvet Underground. You're not going to catch it on the radio, but if you dig music, it's essential that you take a listen.
This is the matchup that will get the least publicity bu features what may be the closes matchup. The Hawks shocked everyone by actually, (gasp) improving on last year's success. What's more, they finished with homecourt advantage in the first round. And next to the Heat, they're the playoff experienced club. It's a crazy world we live in. Meanwhile, the Heat are a reclamation project. Dwyane Wade 2.0 is a one-man army and the world is his enemy. Something's gotta give.
It's trophy time in the NBA, and the FanHouse crew has submitted its ballots. Find out which players deserve to take home the hardware and which ones don't, in our NBA Awards series. Next up: Rookie of the Year.
Coming into the season, most projected the rookie of the Year race to be fairly hotly contested between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, the top two picks in the NBA draft. But it wasn't: while Beasley spent time learning to contribute coming off the bench, Rose became one of the leaders on a team that made its way back to the playoffs. As such, the young Bull was our unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year honors.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Dang, Dwyane Wade. Isn't a little late in the season to be dropping off 55-point games? The (soon-to-be) scoring champion can't hit the three ... except when he drops six of 12 from distance on his way to a marvelous 55-point effort in the waning days of the regular season.
Of course, something was in fact at stake: Miami clinched the No. 5 seed in the East with the victory. That means Atlanta instead of Orlando in the first round. But Wade also made his final plea for MVP consideration with the effort. After a Brett Pollakoff-led assault on LeBron's predestined status, Kobe Bryant has likely supplanted Wade as the No. 2 choice. That won't do, men. That won't do.
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- All-Star weekend is finally here, and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge is the first of the weekend's main events at the US Airways Center. The Sophomore squad has won six straight, and usually wins by a wide margin. But with this year's rookie team headed up by O.J. Mayo, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, it figures to be much closer. Either way, it's always a high-scoring affair filled with exciting plays, so join me at 9PM ET for all the action.
The Heat gets the deal's best player, ready to help Dwyane Wade contend today. Phoenix gets what it has wanted -- cap space (Marion's deal ends this summer) and a cheap, young stud. But what exactly is Memphis doing here?
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Paul Pierce. The young man from Inglewood, CA. 2008 Finals MVP. You may have heard of him. The guy is pretty good. Especially in the fourth quarter where is impeccable footwork and his "chubby like a baby" body help him get to the free throw line over and over again. He's also just Rick James level "cold blooded" when it comes to hitting shots late in the game.
Each Wednesday, the second part of our Under The Microscope series looks at a different player in the National Basketball Association and examines them in the context of a game that week. Last night the Miami Heat lost to the Nuggets in Denver, and we kept track of Michael Beasley. Here's a look at how Beasley's night ended up. You can read part one of this week's UtM here.
Final Line: 20 min, 5-12 FG, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 TO, 4 PF
The Phrase Is: Tired Panda.
The Story Of One: Man, when Beasley said he'd hit the Rookie Wall, he wasn't kidding. Beasley entered the game early due to a few quick fouls on Joel Anthony. You know how some players have this aura of focus and determination from the first minute they step on the court (say, Derrick Rose, who I thought would not be as good as Beasley)? Yeah, Beasley's not that guy.
He started off with what became a running trend for the night, floating around the 18 foot elbow. For a guy who's earned more playing time due to his rebounding, he wasn't that concerned with it to start the game.
Then he found an opening on the baseline and nailed his first jumper. And it was like a car turning over. Suddenly he's sprinting down the court, hustling on defense, and pops off for 3 4 of 5, 10 points in the first. His jumper motion is a little slow, but man is it sweet when it's flowing.
Each Wednesday, Under The Microscope looks at a different player in the National Basketball Association and where they are in the season, how they're perceived on and off the court, and gives you a look at them in detail. Tonight the Miami Heat take on the Denver Nuggets on national televison, so we thought we'd start with the star rookie for the Heat, Michael Beasley. Join us after the jump to see where Beasley is and where he might be headed tonight.
The Miami Heat made it official on Wednesday. They're the worst team remaining in the NBA playoffs. That's just one conclusion you can draw after Atlanta won Game 5 over Miami 106-91 to go up 3-2 in the series.
NBA Playoff 4-5 matchups are often the best of the first round. Usually the two teams are within a few wins of each other. They're not a level of David and Goliath, and both teams are usually mortal enough to make it interesting. Such is the case with tonight's matchup of the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat. As such, we're rocking the live blog action again tonight. Join us after the end of Orlando-Philadelphia for Hawks-Heat. 
FanHouse previews the 
It's trophy time in the NBA, and the FanHouse crew has submitted its ballots. Find out which players deserve to take home the hardware and which ones don't, in our 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
FanHouse is coming to you live from Phoenix, covering the 
On Thursday, reports indicated that 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. 
Each Wednesday, the second part of our 
