Not much going on in Heat-land the past 24 hours. The team got some much needed rest and gets back to work today in Boston, preparing for their re-match tomorrow night against the Celtics. One difference from the game last week between these teams is that Boston will have point guard Rajon Rondo back in the lineup. He'll likely have any residual 'rush' shaken off by the team he faces Miami. He played Friday and Sunday, but wasn't impressive in either game.
Eddie House is also nursing an injury, but his ankle likely won’t keep him off the court against the Heat. He’s listed as questionable for the Celtics game tonight in Chicago.
Deequan Cook should be back in the Heat jersey tomorrow. That’s assuming he doesn’t re-aggravate his dental injuries while eating his pre-game bag of skittles.
It certainly appears that Luther Head has passed Chris Quinn on the point guard depth chart, but Head will also get time along side Mario Chalmers when D-Wade is resting. The guard is very versatile, so far doing a great job while getting acclimated with his new team.
Just a reminder that Dwyane Wade will be on Pardon The Interruption this afternoon at 5:30 on ESPN.
Here are some HOT READS to make up for the lack of info today.
Miami Herald-
Reserves get plenty of playing time
Miami Heat's Cook gets to root of the problem
Alonzo Mourning hails Dwyane Wade after breaking Miami Heat scoring record
Sun Sentinel-
Heat's bench rotation remains in flux
Creative flair just isn't there
Palm Beach Post-
Miami Heat system keeps bench roles flexible
UPDATE by DolPhanDave, 03/17/09 4:17 PM EDT
After the Heat practiced today at Boston's Emerson College, Coach Spo made it clear that he isn't happy with the Heat's preformance on the defensive side of things.
“My main concern is our defense,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “We know that we have to be able to defend to grind out games. We’ve been exceptional in fourth quarters in close games at home. We’ve been spectacular in those situations. We can’t depend on that on the road. Things are much tougher. Teams are also more desperate and confident at home. You have to make stops and hold teams down under their averages to grind out games on the road.”
The Heat play 8 of their next 11 on the road.