Hyperminutes: The only way to run

It's that time of year again, basketball fans: the season opener. The opening tip. And there is plenty to sort through before all of that begins.

The Heat have obviously made a ton of noise this offseason - like a jet-engine alarm clock sounding off. But stop hitting that snooze alarm, time to wake up.

Unfortunately, most of the noise has been negative. Actually, harsly negative. The nay-sayers continue to expound upon the notion of team chemistry, and how personalities like Jason Williams, Antoine Walker, Shaquille O'neal, Gary Payton and Dwyane Wade will all clash like a Nicole Richie outfit. One of the paramount issues in this on-going chemistry debate is whether or not the new Heatians can subscribe to 'lesser roles' or becoming 'complementary players'. This is the charge of the head coach, Stan Van Gundy - and it is possible.

As for the latter concept, every player is a complementary player. Not to wax philosophical, but it is a team sport and like any organism, it can only function as well as it is composed. As for the idea of a 'lesser roles', SVG is going to have sell the whole team on this concept because EVERYONE will, in essence, take on a lesser role.

First of all, this is how teams become champions. You increase the talent in the talent pool and become less dependent on one player carrying the team. This is what Minnesota has yet to figure out with Kevin Garnett - who seems to get a hernia carrying that team year in and year out.

Yet, this also leaves the door wide open and illustrates for us the idea of 'hyperproductivity' or something I would like to coin which is 'hyperminutes'.

The idea is simple: it is all about efficiency in a given period of time. Basketball stats has, for example, figures that are calculated out per minute and then gives what a player's production would look like over a 48 minute span. This is nothing revolutionary at this point; every novice basketball fan has heard of a player's production over 48 minutes.

If we follow this illustration, we can see how the Heat have to approach their season and meet the challenge of keeping the players happy. Stan Van Gundy and the coaching staff all have to articulate to the players that their numbers may fall off, but the challenge for each player must be in not just keeping pace with their prior career numbers, but improving upon them and becoming more efficient. Believe it or not, this will require each player to be better, and at the same time being on a team like the Heat which is deep with talent, they will have more opportunities to become more efficient players.

Better efficiency increases the likelihood of winning. With increased wins comes increased chances for a player to win a game, too. After all, nothing builds 'chemistry' more than winning. Or does good chemistry yield wins? Well, that debate may never be settled. But one thing is for sure, for the Miami Heat to be successful this season, there is one main challenge they are faced with: to convince their players to take on less minutes and become more efficient players and show how that this will benefit them as a team.

Quite simply, the Heat are faced with making a team out of what has been already deemed a collection of indivduals. Selling the players on a notion like hyperproduction or hyperminutes is the key to making a run for the championship.

How the Glove will fit

The preseason is over - at least, the scrimmages between other teams are. The Heat are pretty much done with their evaluations and the coaching staff and front office are left to figure out how they want to configure the talent on this team and mesh it with their gameplan. The sole focus remains a championship. Given the well-documented trade and the upgrade in depth that the Heat have found, the challenge of getting all these pieces to fit remains the ultimate hurdle for this franchise - and for quieting the doubters as well.

Yet, lurking in the background is one prominent question: where does this leave Gary Payton? How is Gary Payton going to figure into the Heat's plans? I think the immediate answer is backup PG, but I also think we may see GP in a role we have seen him in only rarely - backup SG, too.

The Heat really have no favorable options for the backup SG position behind Dwyane Wade. You could send Dorrell Wright or Matt Walsh out there and hope they grow into the role, but that is a risk that Stan Van Gundy may not be willing to take. You also have the option of putting Jason Kapono at the two with the second unit, but his lack of defense makes it a liability as well. Shandon Anderson is another option, but he should be looked to primarily as a SF defensive presence.

But what about the Glove? Can he play 2 guard? He is only listed at 6'3" - but Dwyane Wade is not towering over him, all of 6'4" himself. What Gary Payton does bring, in addition to his mental toughness and veteran experience, is his ability to create off the dribble and penetrate as well as shoot the 3 point shot.

Of course, the downside is, Jason Williams would have to be in there when Payton is wearing his backup SG hat. But this also means, potentially, that SVG has the option of keeping all three stars happy in terms of minutes and involvement. You could see a three headed beast with the likes of Williams, Wade and Payton all being rotated in and out to offer periods of rest or insurance against foul trouble for each player.

Not to mention, as a shooting guard, a player needs to move well and score without the ball. Gary Payton, playing alongside JWill this preseason, has demonstrated that on the occasion that Van Gundy has demanded it. This could also be a tip of the cap towards what the Heat head coach is thinking in terms of mixing up his personnel.

However this season shakes out, Gary Payton will most undoubtedly have a part in its success. What role that is exactly has yet to be revealed. An untraditional role maybe just the perfect part to help this veteran and future hall-of-famer find that elusive ring.

Reversal of Fortune?

It was the mid-90's. The Magic were the NBA's darlings. They had Brian Hill leading Shaq and Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott and a whole host of players towards the NBA Finals. They ran into the Houston Rockets. And the 72-win Bulls the next season in 95-96.

And then Shaq left.

But for a moment on the NBA scene, the Magic were one of the best franchises in the NBA. They won the lottery seemingly every year and built their franchise with Shaq and a trade that landed Penny Hardaway (and sent Chris Webber packing). The Magic today look far different, yet there is still that glimpse of the familiar. Brian Hill returns to lead the Magic once again, and gives the franchise a direct link to its once glorious, although short, past. And so does Shaq, yet from the visiting team's locker.

Looking at this scene one cannot help but ponder how both franchises have swirled since those mid-90's days - since after Shaq. Shaq went on to pick up paychecks for the Lakers and with his heavy bills he lifted the Lakers to championship after championship. He also left a hefty void in the East that allowed for teams to rise and take over the lofty position once held by the Magic. The Heat were one of the teams that began to reap success on the embers of the burning Magic franchise. They landed arguably one of the best coaches ever to grace an NBA bench in Pat Riley who then transformed this franchise into the New York Knicks south, but instead of Patrick Ewing he had Alonzo Mourning. He also found a resurrected Timmy Hardaway and guided the Heat towards several Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference showdowns - becoming favorites in several of those seasons. Yet still losing to their hated Knick rivals.

The Magic, on the other hand, fell while the Heat rose.

And how odd is it today that these two franchises square off again with such a wide gap between them. Shaq joined the Heat last season in the twilight of his career partnering up for a championship ride with Dwyane Wade. Now, a whole cast of who's who in basketball have joined up with the Diesel-powered Heat. The Magic? An injured Grant Hill and a young Dwight Howard will lead this cast on the court to what hopes to be a playoff appearance at the end of the season.

When Shaq left, was there indeed a reversal of fortune for both of these franchises? Did it help the Heat in terms of getting more exposure for their franchise over the Magic when Shaq left?

The answer seems as obvious as the final score of tonight's preseason game.

A Rivalry Renewed?

The last time we saw our heroes, they were losing game 7 in Miami to the Detroit Pistons, who took the Eastern Conference title from a hobbled Heat team. There was no shortage of jabs during the series either - most notably the exchanges in the media by Larry Brown and Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy complained about Larry Brown's whining over officiating, Larry Brown whined about Van Gundy's complaining about Brown's whining.

But things have changed. The Pistons have changed, and so have the Heat.

LB is gone. His desire to coach the Pistons gave in to a desire to coach the Knicks instead (insert standard bite about Larry Brown's coaching wanderlust here). No one is happier probably than Darko Milicic, who actually gets to wear sneakers to a game for a change instead of wingtips.

The Heat have changed too. Damon Jones karate-inspired, posting-up-from-half-court point guard play is gone. So are his cement-filled shoes. Instead the Heat have the ultra-slick Jason Williams who Stan Van Gundy, get this, actually wants to open up his game MORE. James Posey replaces Eddie Jones - and is a better defender at the SF position as that is his natural position. And then there is Antoine Walker coming off the bench next to future hall-of-famer Gary Payton.

That is just the start for both teams. One can argue that the Pistons may actually be better. In fact, I will make the argument - I think Flip Saunders is a better coach for this Pistons team. They know what to do, there is no more learning needed and Flip is a player's coach and his players will play for him and not have to wonder where his loyalties lay. Those distractions will disappear, as could any malaise the Pistons may have suffered undergoing another season with the status quo.

Some of the intensity of the rivalry is gone, some say. I very seriously doubt it. Both of these teams are going to be beasts in the East. Both of these teams know what is at stake and have a chance to grasp the title but the claim of it may come by knocking out the other. There will be no quarter - not even in the preseason. There will be sizing up, there will be trash talking.

And as a fan, you have got to love what is pending.

Everyone, relax

The Heat are 1-2 in their early preseason run and have tabulated over 20 turnovers each time out. Stan Van Gundy is already critical of the lack of ball movement and POOF! - the Heat have problems.

Or so the media would want you to believe. Oh yeah, and the sky is falling.

It is ridiculous to think that this team was going to spring out of the gate without a hitch. This is not a shuttle launch people, this is a basketball team. And anyone who has seen the movie 'Hoosiers' could tell you it will take more than a montage to get this team on the same page.

Think about the personnel this team has: only 6 returning players and two of them were on the team last year for only about half the season (Anderson and Mourning). Throw in a couple of rookies for good measure as well as the fact that three of the new guys - acquired in the history making mega deal - are going to be major components to this soon-to-be-well-oiled machine and you have quite a job ahead of you.

But soon is not now, not in the preseason. Soon may not even be until late December or January. And that is the kind of perspective one must hold to when dealing with a team and its journey over the course of a season. The old motto - a marathon, not a sprint - is most applicable here.

Instead of focusing on the problems here, lets take a look at what we can grow to expect more of. Friday night, against the Grizzlies in Puerto Rico, Zo blocks a shot in the paint and keeps it in play - typical of Zo's blocked shots. Jason Williams picks up the loose ball, and begins running a fast break - the kind of improvisation which would bring a smile to Jimi Hendrix's face. Wade cuts outside ont the wing, drawing his man out and spreading the floor, but instead of giving it up to Dwyane, JWill holds on to the ball and waits for the coming storm - which he finds in the form of a slashing Alonzo Mourning who takes the pass from Williams and rocks the rim with a thunderous dunk.

This is the kind of play you can expect to see from the Heat for now - improvisation on the fly - because the talent level is so rich for this team that all these players will show their great instincts. What you will come to see in the near future - that is, if this team wants to win any hardware at the end of this season - will be brilliance contained within set plays and formations. The kind of synchronicity and timing that is expected of a champion.

Make no mistake, that will not be found now, in the preseason. Being overly critical of this team at this point is like walking out on a movie during the previews.

So sit back, relax. And have a little patience.

The Return of Easy-Ed

Tonight's preseason game against the Grizzlies - live from San Juan, Puerto Rico (8:30pm NBA TV) - has some very intriguing back-stories. Sure, there is the matchup of Jason Williams and James Posey against their former teammates on the Memphis roster. There is even the story of Jason Williams going up against Mike Fratello - a coach who was rumored to not be very thrilled with Jason Williams' production. Fratello was also the Heat's color analyst for their TV broadcasts while he was here in Miami for a brief stint before being hired on as the Grizzlies head coach after Hubie Brown stepped down.

But behind all of this is an even more interesting storyline - the one that sees Eddie Jones return to play against his former team. Sure, it is not in front of a Miami crowd at this point (that isn't until January 24th), but it is still bittersweet. EJ will now go up against the team that only a couple of months ago he was a part of and auditioning to be in the Finals representing the East. Now, he is cast over to the Western Conference and playing for another scrappy up-start, the Grizzlies. Eddie can take solace in the fact that one of the best GM's ever to grace the game, Jerry West, wanted him to play (again) for his team - eventhough one of the best coaches and now, Presidents, had sent him packing in Pat Riley.

Still, the former Heat team captain seemed to have left town as quietly as he came. He never got the respect that he deserved from the majority of the Heat fans; most "heatians" coming on-board the crowded bandwagon very late. Like 50,000 mile-warranty-expiring-late. As a result, most of these fans missed out on why Eddie Jones was such a valuable player to the Heat.

Last season, Eddie Jones took to the role of playing small forward. This was not his natural position, playing mostly shooting guard throughout his career, but he took to it and did what the team and Stan Van Gundy asked. EJ was a premier defender, and the Heat's go-to guy for perimeter defense - going up against players much larger than him and probably stronger on any given night. And he shut each opponent down, night in and night out.

EJ's offense wasn't worth the big contract he was getting, sure. But it didn't have to be - after all, this became Dwyane Wade and Shaq's teams while EJ was on watch. He knew that, and deferred - without question or complaint.

EJ also was a great citizen, standing out for his work in the community as well as being a presence in the clubhouse for his work ethic.

Tonight we get to check up on an old friend. We get to see how he is doing, how he is adjusting at his new job in a new town. We should all wish Eddie Jones the best, because when he played for the Heat, he gave us just that - his best.

Heat sign Braswell and Rice

Today was the Heat's media day, right before kicking off training camp tomorrow, but this wasn't the only activity going on for the Heat - they also signed former UM star Darius Rice and PG Kevin Braswell.

Braswell, a 6'2" point guard hailing from Georgetown as their 7th all time leading scorer, has played with Darius Rice before - last season for the Florida Flames of the NBDL. The Flames are also the minor league affiliate for the Miami Heat. Braswell has been signed due to recent concerns over injuries former Kentucky PG Gerald Fitch has sustained.

Darius Rice, nephew of NFL great Jerry Rice, is listed at 6'10" 222lbs and averaged 16.1PPG for UM. He shot .344 from 3 point range for his college career while also hitting from the field at a clip of .403. He looks to challenge for a spot at SF or even SG during training camp.