The Miami Heat are preparing for their next game as the news and rumors ramp up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Bosh Learning How to Play Without Wade
Dwyane Wade sat out a number of games last season, but Chris Bosh still had LeBron James to help him out with the offense. Now without James for the season and Wade for now, Bosh is trying to learn how to play well.
Bosh is shooting just 28.3 percent from the field since losing to the Indiana Pacers a little over a week ago.
“I haven’t been in this position in four or five years, so as far as dudes relying on me to lead them and put up some numbers, it’s different,” Bosh told the Miami Herald.
“Just the volume of touches, the way guys have been playing me, I haven’t seen it in a while.”
Bosh, who went 2-of-17 in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, said that he’s doing all of his old moves but understands he needs to adjust.
“Those old moves, you’ve got to put something else on the old moves. Then it’s a good move. It’s something I'll have to adjust to,” he said.
“If the fastball drops down to 86 [mph], then you got to get a nice 72-mph change-up. Then the fastball seems fast.”
Cole or Chalmers More Likely to be Traded?
A Heat fan recently wondered whether the Heat are going to move Mario Chalmers since he’s displaying his versatility as a shooting guard.
“When it comes to guards the Heat might move, I think it would be more likely to be Cole, considering the Heat opted not to extend him at the Oct. 31 deadline,” said Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
“If the Heat re-sign him in the offseason (unless he takes the one-year qualifying offer as a restricted free agent), it would carry his money past the 2016 offseason, when the Heat are trying to mass their cap space for free agency. Chalmers, by contrast, has a contract that ends just before the 2016 offseason. Advantage Mario.
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“Ultimately, moving either could come down to the confidence that Shabazz Napier instills as the point guard of the future (his money goes beyond the 2016 offseason, but at the affordable rookie scale).”
No definitive trade rumors have included Heat players yet, but more rumors will start floating around as the deadline approaches next month.
On the other hand, the Heat are seeking out another forward and another big man, so those are potential trade targets.
Granger’s New Rehab Approach Paying Off
Danny Granger has tweaked his rehab and is finding the new approach paying dividends.
Granger has been in almost constant motion, even hitting the training room during games in the long recovery process.
“I’m always conditioning or working out,” Granger told the Sun Sentinel. “It kind of sucks because you'd rather play. You’re just constantly grinding.”
Granger has played only one game this season, the recent win over the Brooklyn Nets. He said he played only because Wade, Luol Deng, and Josh McRoberts were all injured.
The bigger picture is still the priority right now, with Granger choosing to rehab instead of playing instead of playing and rehabbing at the same time.
“We don’t want to try to force games while we’re trying to work on that, heavy on the weights, heavy on the condition,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s been really proceeding well at a good rate. He’s been available.”
He only played against the Nets because of the “emergency situation,” and after he told Spoelstra that, yes, he could play 15 to 20 minutes.
Napier, Ennis Step Up
The Heat finally have some youth on the squad and are seeing the rookies deliver in some games. Napier and James Ennis both stepped up in the win over the Nets, earning praise from Bosh, who said they showed resilience.
“We’re going to need them,” Bosh said, referring to Granger as well, reported ESPN.
Napier had 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 18 minutes while Ennis had 10 points and 8 rebounds off 4-of-7 shooting in 36 minutes.
The Heat’s injuries seem to keep piling up, with Granger mostly not playing, McRoberts still not close to top form, and Wade also dealing with the injury.
Luol Deng also missed a game recently with a minor injury.
“It’s definitely tough ... we’re having different lineups out there,” said Deng, who fills the starting small forward spot vacated by James.
“The last couple of games, there have been games we showed how good we can play together. But it’s a long season. And this is definitely a learning process. We just have to come together, see the things we’re doing great and stick to that. And the things that are beating us, we have to learn to avoid those. Hopefully we can benefit from all of this in the long run.”
Spoelstra said that the team just has to face the challenge.
“You have to embrace that as a competitor, really,” Spoelstra said.
“The NBA season turns like this for you, for whatever reason. The ball isn’t bouncing the right way. You’re not getting the calls you think you’re going to get. There are injuries. Guys are in and out of the lineup. That’s when you reveal yourselves as a basketball team. That’s how you grow -- [through] these mini points of adversity.”
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