Derrick Rose was not the only superstar missing from the Chicago Bulls' 107-87 Thursday rout of the Miami Heat. The two-time defending champions were without Dwyane Wade, who was ill and stayed at the team's hotel. Wade's absence was felt as the Heat's offense struggled to get in rhythm against a tenacious defensive showing by the Bulls.With the nine-time All-Star out sick,wholesale Coach Grade Sunglasses from www.alipaytrade.com homepage.nike shox shoes Heat coach Erik Spoelstra moved Ray Allen into the starting lineup. As arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history, Allen was more than capable of filling Wade's spot in the starting unit, but it created a ripple effect with the rest of Miami's rotation. The Heat started the second quarter with a lineup that featured Norris Cole, Roger Mason Jr., Michael Beasley, Rashard Lewis and Udonis Haslem — not exactly a murderer's row of scoring firepower."We need to have everyone in our lineup,Our store can offer buy Dsquared Long Sleeve T-Shirts, welcome choose!" LeBron James said after the game. "You know guys are going to be out by getting sick or hurt. It's just a part of the game, and you never know in a season when it will happen. That has been a challenge for us. We have been here before."
It was the fifth game Wade has missed this season, and Miami is 2-3 in those games. Although Wade has battled knee problems for the last several years, he's having an excellent season so far, averaging 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals a game and shooting 53.1% from the field.That's a huge hole to fill, and not even James could do it by himself against Chicago's suffocating defense. James scored 21 points, but did it on a relatively inefficient 7-of-17 shooting. Only two Miami bench players, Cole (10) and Beasley (15), scored in double figures."He's a great player," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of Wade. "The thing about their team is, when you can bring a guy like Ray Allen to fill in for him, you're talking about a Hall of Fame player. Ray Allen's a great player. They're a great team. They're very well-coached, they play together, they're great on both ends. They missed some shots that they normally make, but you look at the shooting percentages of all their players, they don't make the game easy for you."LeBron is unique with his skill set, but you can't overlook Wade and how great he is. That's why that team is so good. ..Sexy Lingerie Factory. They don't beat themselves. You have to beat them. You have to play for 48 minutes."
The Bulls did just that on Thursday, outrebounding Miami 49-27. The Heat were without backup center Chris Andersen, and Bulls center Joakim Noah looked rejuvenated after a slow start to the season, pulling down 15 boards on the night.Since leaving the Boston Celtics to sign with the Heat in 2012, Allen has largely functioned as a sixth man. He said he enjoyed the opportunity to start for the first time as a member of the Heat, but acknowledged that Wade's production is tough to replace."It affects us, but we have so much depth on the bench that we have guys that can fill in," he said.cupcake wrappers wholesale "Nobody can do what he does out there on the floor, but we have guys who can fill in in their own ways.""I thought this was a good move," Spoelstra said of starting Allen. "We had competitive bursts out there and the second unit gave us some good lift. We just could not get it going and sustain it."It was not the first time the Heat have been forced to play without Wade, and the weak Eastern Conference makes it unlikely that any more missed time will hurt Miami too much in the regular season. But the Heat without Wade have proven to be far from invincible, and they need their secondary superstar more than ever.
留言列表
