Wade Drops 14 in All Star Game; Heat Need to Deal

With his tired old body, at age 26, Wade reached down and found a way to run with the youngins. Shooting 7/12 on the night, Wade had 14 points and a huge block that was one of the night's highlights.

"D-Wade had the unbelievable block," said Lebron James, who now has the highest All-Star Game scoring average of 24.7 per game, with Oscar Roberston second at 20.5. Which brings me to another point - 22 shots? What is with the ball hogging, Lebron? No one likes that aspect of the game. He played 30 minutes and jacked up 22 shots. Thank God he hit 12 of them because otherwise it looked like a Kobe performance - just trying to manipulate the stats for self-serving ends.

In the end, the East got the win over the West. They avenged last season's whoopin' where the West devastated the East 153-132 in Las Vegas.

Heat Need to Deal

Thursday's trade deadline is quickly approaching - but will it involve another Heat deal? It seems that it the Heat are going to make the most out of their expiring contracts, they better do it now. Jason Williams and Ricky Davis are clearly not going to be in the picture for the future of this franchise. And for Riley not to get anything in return for their expiring contracts would be a mistake.

The situation has to be right. The Heat have to get back a player they think they could develop or who just needs the right situation. Usually this means taking on a bloated contract. The Bibby deal to Atlanta was at one time something the Heat were aiming to do; must mean Riley didn't feel right about it as it is doubtful the Hawks put together a better package.

This means that Udonis Haslem or even Mark Blount could be brought into the equation also. Both players have digestable contracts, and could provide valuable depth to teams looking to get over the hump in the playoffs. Haslem, with Marion in house, is not going to be a necessary part of the equation for Miami's turnaround.

Wade and Kapono Lead a Hot Night in Vegas

Dwyane Wade entered the Skills competition to defend his title from last season. The competition was thick; Nash, Lebron James, Chris Paul and Kobe. Nonetheless, the Flash was flawless and demonstrated himself not only to be a potent offensive weapon, but to be a machine of the utmost precision.

In the final round, he put the pressure on Kobe by executing a flawless run in only 26.3 seconds. Kobe started off good, but failed to make the crisp pass necessary and instead spent the whole rack correcting his mistake. It seemed the whole shrank for Kobe, and Wade won as Kobe finished with a disappointing time of 42 seconds.

Hoisting the trophy on high, it seems that this could be another notch in Wade's belt and it comes at the expense of Kobe Bryant. Let the comparisons continue.

As that debate will undoubtedly rage on, Jason Kapono made some noise of his own. A late invite to the NBA shootaround for the three point contest, Kapono was only seen as a favorite by the fans that know his game - yep, us Heat fans. (Yours truly actually picked him to win, even though I buried Kapono at the beginning of the season!).

Kapono shot a blazing 70% from downtown to shock and awe his final competition of Dirk Nowitski and Gilbert "Agent Zero Brains" Arenas. Kapono started the final round first and hit 24 points, tying the record set by Mark Price. Dirk melted under the pressure and Arenas started cold and could never catch up.

This win for Kapono continues to build on his amazing season, and also adds credibility to his ability as league marksman. He may now become even more the marked man as a result by opposing teams.

Still, the Heat presence was well-felt, as both competitors represented the Heat in ultimate fashion and winning their respective competitions. Not bad. Let's see if Wade can grab that MVP trophy tomorrow night...or maybe even Shaq.