Sports Agenda For Wednesday (5/4/11)
Big Story:
Well, well, well, it looks like the Heat's bandwagon is getting bigger after the team handled the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals Tuesday night. I'll have more on that down below, but if you watched the game, the Heat made the Celtics look, well, old. Boston was gassed at several points in the game and the Heat continued coming all the way to the end.
The Marlins ran into problems last night against the Cardinals and there's more, or less, on the NFL Lockout.
So let's hit the agenda.
Heat: (next Game 3 @ Boston, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
Watching the game last night, I was struck by several things.
First, as I said earlier, Boston looked old. They were slow on their rotations and outside of Rajon Rondo, the Celtics just couldn't keep up with the Heat's Big Three, or even Joel Anthony.
Speaking of Joel, he played great last night. He's not a big stats guy, but he can defend and block shots well. Plus, he just brings a lot of energy to the court and the fans love him. He's great to come off the bench with his energy and start a run behind him.
LeBron played out of his mind last night. When the score was tied at 80 in the fourth quarter, LeBron took the team on his back and carried them down the stretch to the victory. So what's this about him not being clutch? Seriously, he was the best player on the court in the second half and it showed at the end when he finished with 35 points and 7 rebounds.
But lest we forget D-Wade. Wade has been tearing down the house in this series and between him and LeBron, the Heat are set for scoring. Wade is making the tough shots and getting to both the free throw line and dishing the ball to the outside. Also, Chris Bosh had a nice all around game finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots.
And even though he only scored 3 points, kudos to Mario Chalmers for playing good defense against Rajon Rondo. The Heat could use some more point production out of Chalmers, but as long as he plays good defense, he's going to stay on the court.
Okay, so let's look ahead to Game 3….Boston brings back the just south of 400 pounds Shaquille O'Neal. He will see limited action at best because at his age, and with his health, he can't play more than 10-12 minutes without hurting himself. So he won't be a factor. But, something tells me Pierce and Garnett are going to come out swinging in Game 3 and things could be quite different in the Garden. I think the Heat can take 1 of 2. Basically, the Celtics have to win 4 of the next 5 games against the Heat, and I just don't see that happening.
By the way, if you didn't see D-Wade breaking ankles last night, fast forward the video here to 1:20 and enjoy the show. http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/2011/05/03/0041000212_mia_bos_recap.nba
Marlins: (@ St. Louis, 8:15 p.m., Fox Sports Florida)
The Marlins ran into problems last night in St. Louis and dropped a full game behind the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies. I'm telling you though, this Marlins team isn't like the Marlins team of the past three years. This team has solid bullpen play, decent hitting, and great power hitting.
Anibal Sanchez goes for the Fish tonight against Kyle McClellan of the Cards. Sanchez is 1-1 on the season with a 3.86 ERA, while McClellan is 4-0 with a 3.23 ERA.
I'm interested to see how the Fish respond to last night's loss. They are as hot as any team in baseball through the month of April, but let's see how they do in May before we really start to consider them true contenders.
NFL:
SI's Peter King said the Dolphins wish they had Brandon Marshall's salary and the two second-round picks they paid for him back.
I can see why King would say this, but on the other hand, if Marshall had a Jay Cutler throwing to him in Miami, all would be forgotten. Marshall is a mercurial receiver, but if he's given the chance with someone who can get him the football consistently, he can put up better numbers than almost any draft pick you could see from last year or this year.
And before you start with the Dolphins should have picked Dez Bryant…really? He didn't even show up to voluntary workouts with his teammates yesterday. He's got serious issues and he was the top receiver on the board last year. So yeah, Marshall has some problems, but the best receiver last year is a complete head case and the Fins still have oodles of potential with Marshall.
And despite what happened yesterday with the NFL's appeal being expedited, there's no timetable for a ruling. That said, I'd expect one in mid to late June at the latest. So maybe by the 4th of July, we'll have football again and we can celebrate independence day with some grilled hot dogs, fireworks, and the NFL open for business!
