I'm still kind of euphoric from the Redskins' win over the Cowboys, so I apologize for not posting yesterday. As Jake mentioned, I was at the Heat game on Saturday, so in no particular order, some quick thoughts.
- We've seen the bench come in and struggle far too many times this year, so it was incredibly reassuring to see the second unit actually extend the lead in the second quarter. Yeah, it was Miami, but that was still nice.
- In particular, I loved the way Andray Blatche played. The one stat that jumps out at me is the 10 free throw attempts, and that number definitely does him justice. He was throwing his body around inside, and most importantly, when he caught passes on screen and rolls, he took it hard to the basket, instead of trying to get cute and passive. Once he gets stronger, he'll finish more of those plays. Granted, it's easy to throw your body around against the Mark Blounts, Earl Barrons, and Alexander Johnsons of the world, but it was still a nice sign from a guy who had been struggling recently.
- Need more evidence that this is a football town? When the Heat shot free throws, the jumbotron played a slideshow of Dallas Cowboys photos.
- I will admit, however, that the new HD scoreboard is pretty nice.
- I guess it just hit me now, but Roger Mason has replaced DeShawn Stevenson in the guard rotation. When Nick Young and Mike Wilks checked in as the first guards off the bench, Stevenson was the first guy to go out. What's crazier is that I totally supported that decision. One thing that's nice about sitting in Section 408 is that you can see the entire offense at once. In doing so, you notice two things. One, Ricky Davis always, and I mean always, makes the wrong decision coming off a down screen (e.g. he'll pass when the big man stays inside, and he'll shoot when the big shows), and two, DeShawn Stevenson doesn't make good decisions swinging the ball. He'll catch fire in some games, but Mason is a much better offensive option.
- Dwayne Wade looked awful. Though I have to say, the Wizards' defense impressed me. Miami's offense sans Shaq basically consists of two down screens followed by a high screen and roll for Wade, so it's not like it's that hard to stop. Still, it's not like New Jersey's offense was immensely complicated by comparison, so that's a nice sign.
- Too many Heat fans. That was frustrating.
- During the fourth quarter, when the Heat made their comeback, they did it riding Luke Jackson, and it looked like he went about 20 straight possessions without passing the ball. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.