Miami welcomes one of its likely competitors for the seventh or eighth Eastern Conference playoff seed tonight at the AAA. If that doesn't make you scrap whatever Saturday night plans you might have had, then you just don't like professional sports, and I feel sorry for you. I'm not even mad. I just feel sorry for you.
Matchup of the night: Danny Granger vs. Shawn Marion
Granger is turning into an unmitigated beast, giving the Pacers the All-Star forward they appeared to be relinquishing when they wrapped Jermaine O'Neal in bubble wrap and snuck him across the Canadian border. While a lot of people projected Granger as an above-average player, I'm not sure anyone thought he would be this damn good.
Opposing player I'm scared of: T.J. Ford
This team makes me a lot more nervous than a 5-6 team has any right to, but I'm just not thrilled with the matchups. Marquis Daniels' length could give Dwyane Wade some trouble, Troy Murphy's rebounding acumen could overwhelm the faltering Michael Beasley. Rasho Nestervoic will create some issues for Udonis Haslem (our guy's shorter than the average center, if I haven't mentioned that before). Aside from Granger, however, the player I'm most concerned about is Ford. I'm not sure that Mario Chalmers and/or Chris Quinn will be able to keep him out of the lane, and our bigs aren't protecting the rim if he gets there with any regularity. Beasley will foul him, though, if that counts for anything.