Rafer Alston mulls Retirement

The return of Rafer Alston to his beloved Miami Heat has not been as good as he expected. Following his successful stint with the Orlando Magic, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for the aging Vince Carter. While with the Nets, they went from being just out of playoff contention to being the worst team in the NBA. After playing in the NBA Finals, Rafer Alston wanted out and rightfully so.

After not landing Lamar Odom, the key to the Miami Heat and their new championship-contending team did not come to be. Instead, they boasted of how they had rebuilt from within. They bragged of how consistent Mario Chalmers, the breakout rookie point guard, would be in his second year. But, as the New Year approached, the Heat had established themselves as the most inconsistent team in the NBA. They struggled to beat the lowly Nets that Alston played for.

Rafer Alston and a second stint with the Miami Heat seemed like a match made in heaven. But, even after he ws signed, the Heat continued with the up-and-down play. Recently, the team has been on an upswing, but they have grown upset with Alston. The main reason that he was signed was because the team felt that he could bring some consistency. However, he has brought more of the same to a team that wants to win 50 games. On Friday, the Heat held a mandatory practice that Rafer Alston did not attend, which led to him being suspended, indefinitely. They could bring Alston back for the next game, or he could miss the remainder of the season.

The Miami Heat are upset with Alston because he does not keep frequent contact. With everything that he has been through, it appears that Rafer Alston's best season was last season. Keeping all of that in mind, Rafer Alston may just retire before the end of this season.

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Kobe is let down by Lakers again

The intensity and mental toughness of the defending NBA champion, Los Angeles Lakers, has been doubted all season long. One thing that has never been questioned is the intensity and mental toughness of Kobe Bryant. For one short period, during his injury, the Lakers proved that they could still win important games without their star. Upon his retun, they came in and one four games in a row.

The four game winning streak came right before their trip to Miami to play the Heat. Unlike in previous years, the Heat are not contenders. Earlier this season, Kobe Bryant hit a game-winning three pointer that sent the Heat in a downward spiral. Because of their good record and their championship aspirations compared to the Heat's playoff aspirations, the only person who took the Miami game seriously was Kobe Bryant.

For years, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat star player, have been rivals. When they are playing against each other, both players turn their respective game up a notch. Despite Wade being among the best players in the NBA, his team is only an average team in an average conference. Because of that, the rest of the Laker squad does not take games against the Heat seriously. That is one of the main reasons why the Heat won in a balanced effort against the Lakers. Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, while Dwyane Wade only scored 27. Even with a lackluster effort from the Lakers, the game still went into overtime. The final score was 114-111 in favor of Miami.

The Lakers, especially Kobe Bryant, were looking to rebound against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats are the youngest franchise in the league. Their first season occurred in the season that Shaquille O'Neal had departed for the previously-mentioned Miami Heat. Because of that, the Bobcats have beaten up on the Lakers. Even last season, they swept the Lakers in the regular season series. But, this season, they were not fortunate enough to get a win in Los Angeles. Despite not winning in Los Angeles, they had to play a game in the Queen City of Charlotte, too. Expecting to bounce back after a tough loss, the Lakers were defeated 98-83. Again, Kobe Bryant led all scorers, while his teammates did not show up.

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The Heat finally defeat a Contender

After showing much promise last season, a lot of people expected the Miami Heat to make a big move during the offseason. That big move never came to be. As the new season approached, it was expected of the Heat to be just as good, or not as good, as they were the season before. But, they surprised the entire league when they got off to a 6-1 start. Their only loss during that stretch came when they slipped against the Phoenix Suns, but they could have won that game.

However, as the season progressed, the Heat lost close games against the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Celtics. Those losses must have gotten into the head of the Heat players. Before long, they were also losing to teams like the Raptors and the Bobcats. These losses, which could have easily been wins placed the Miami Heat in a tough situation heading into last night's game against the Lakers. The last time that the teams played, Kobe Bryant buried a buzzer-beating three pointer that gave Los Angeles a one-point win.

With that memory fresh in the minds of Dwyane Wade and Jermaine O'Neal, they came into their most-recent meeting with the Lakers as tough as they could. For most of the game, the Heat led, but late the Lakers came charging back, much like their meeting on December 4. Just like in the first meeting, the last shot in regulation was taken by Kobe Bryant, but unlike in the last meeting, it was only good enough to force overtime. In the overtime session, Carlos Arroyo held the team down. Miami escaped their most-recent home game with a close 114-111 victory over the Lakers. This win was important on many different levels. Against the top teams in the league, Miami had a combined record of 3-8. They had two early wins against the Magic, but those wins could never spark a run.

But, when their backs were against the wall, Miami lost in overtime to Boston after Dwyane Wade seemingly hit the game-winning shot. If that was not the case, they gave up in the fourth quarters to Boston, fell by one at home to Cleveland and got blown out bad on the road. Early on, the Heat played with the same confidence that it showed during the Shaquille O'Neal era. But, after their first loss to the Cavs, the team lost its stride and could not regain it. The loss to the Lakers only did more to ruin the confidence of the team and the injury to Dwyane Wade in the middle of their five-game win streak did little to help. Had Wade remained in the lineup, the Heat probably could have kept the streak going.

While their confidence has taken a lot of blows, this win over the Lakers may do something to lift them just for a little while.

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Dwyane Wade seeks revenge on Kobe Bryant

Not so long ago, this was a one-sided rivalry. The rivalry was created by former Los Angeles Lakers' center, Shaquille O'Neal. His feud with former teammate, Kobe Bryant reached a head and he was traded to Miami. With his new team, O'Neal formed a duo with Dwyane Wade. He used his new sidekick to get back at Kobe Bryant. Their friendship, put friction between Wade and Bryant. During one game in 2006, Wade and Bryant nearly came to blows. But, four years later, O'Neal stepped out and maturity stepped in.

Over the past few seasons, Kobe Bryant has returned his Lakers to winning ways. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade has learned what it is like to play for a lackluster team. His Miami Heat have shown flashes of dominance, but in between those flashes, they are not much better than the New Jersey Nets. During one of those flashes of dominance, the Heat went into the home of the Lakers and almost won. With only a few seconds left in the game, Miami led 106-102. It appeared as if the Heat were going to win a big game.

However, the Lakers stormed back and cut the lead to two. Two clutch free throws were missed by the Heat and Kobe Bryant capitalized when he hit the game-winning three-pointer as time expired. That game has been some time ago, but it remains fresh in Dwyane Wade's memory. After all, he was the one that Bryant shot over to win the game. In the mind of Wade, that shot was personal and he plans to avenge that loss. He feels that his team should finally use their homecourt advantage to their advantage and build a large lead over the defending NBA champions. That way, if Kobe Bryant hits a three-pointer when time expires, it will not matter. Dwyane Wade has promised a performance for the ages tonight.

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Amare Stoudemire remains in Phoenix

Despite all of his accomplishments for the Phoenix Suns, Amare Stoudemire has been the topic of trades for quite some time. Dating back to the 2006-2007 season, he has been on the trading block. But, never before has Stoudemire been involved in rumors the way that he has been for the past few days. Most of these rumors involved him being traded to either the Miami Heat or the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. In the end, nothing happened.

Rumors first began of the Heat wanting to trade for Stoudemire because they were in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Their star player, Dwyane Wade was upset because of the losing and the front office wanted to do something to please him. Offering some of their spare parts for Amare Stoudemire would have done the trick. Not only is Stoudemire one of Wade's best friends, but in the offseason, he stays in Miami. He is still speculated to sign with the Heat following this season.

When the Heat rumors became hot and heavy, the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged as front-runners in trying to acquire Amare Stoudemire. For three days, straight, there were rumors of the Cavs being willing to offer up such players as longtime center, Zydrunas Ilgauskus and the emerging J.J. Hickson. These rumors continued until last night when the Cavs made a deal for the more-affordable Antawn Jamison with the Wizards. Of all of the rumors surrounding the Suns' star, the craziest one was the one that said that he may end up staying with the team, as opposed to being traded.

The most outrageous rumor could not be farther from the truth, as the trade deadline passed an hour ago and the Phoenix Suns remain the team that Amare Stoudemire plays for.

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Heat not giving up on Stoudemire

Last week, rumors emerged of the Miami Heat being interested in bringing Amare Stoudemire to join Dwyane Wade. Not long after their intentions were revealed, Wade said that he would most likely re-sign with Miami this summer. Predictions were made with this new and improved roster and many predicted the Heat to move up in the standings and possibly play in the Eastern Conference Finals. But, after it was evident that Miami wanted Stoudemire, the Cleveland Cavaliers made strong moves to bring him to their team.

The past few days have seen many sports media outlets speaking on a possible Amare-to-Cleveland deal as if it has already happened. It seemed as if it were all-but-done, but now Miami has re-entered the picture. At first, it was said that the Suns would want Michael Beasley in return for Stoudemire. Heat owner, Micky Arison, then personally came out and said that Beasley is being groomed as the sidekick for Dwyane Wade for years to come. Then, the Cleveland rumors went into high gear.

After two days of hearing about LeBron James finally getting a sidekick and winning his first championship ring, the Miami Heat have emerged as players once again. Now, it is said that they are willing to part with Michael Beasley is it means getting Amare Stoudemire in a Heat uniform before the end of this week. If he is traded to Miami, the Heat would have the solid one-two punch that they possessed in 2006. With Wade handling the outside and Stoudemire on the inside, they immediately rise to become the second-best team in the East, behind Cleveland. Essentially, this would give the Heat a chance to contend for another title.

With their primary rival moving in on their man, Miami has stepped their trade offer up and they are rumored to be trying to involve a third team to sweeten the deal.

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Amare Stoudemire to be Traded to Miami?

A few years ago, Amare Stoudemire was one of the best big men in the league, but he has become injury-prone. Despite his full return to shape, the Phoenix Suns are no longer the contenders that they used to be. Last season, they even missed the playoffs without him. Now that he is back, they are still only an average team. The Suns have a reason to be upset with Stoudemire and he has a reason to be upset with the Suns.

One team that Amare Stoudemire has no issues with is the Miami Heat. He is a free agent at the end of this season and he may very well leave the Suns with nothing and sign with Miami. With the Heat struggling to keep Dwyane Wade happen, Pat Riley would love to land a player like Stoudemire on the team. Ever since the beginning of the week, there have been rumors of Stoudemire being traded to the Heat.

Most likely, he and Dwyane Wade would come together to form a strong dynamic duo. Right now, the Heat are holding the final playoff spot, but there is a lot of basketball left to be played and a Wade-Stoudemire duo would be very hard to stop. The reason that the Heat hold a losing record heading into the All-Star break is because they do not have a consistent big man. Jermaine O'Neal, who has a contract worth $20 million, expiring at the end of the season, was expected to be that lift for Wade, but he has been a major let down.

There has been talk of other teams wanting Stoudemire, but the ones receiving the most press are the ones involving Amare Stoudemire being traded to Miami. With Stoudemire also being a free agent after the season, this is something to look out for. As opposed to O'Neal's $20 million contract, Stoudemire's is worth $23 million. There would be more cash available for the Heat to offer more money to a player such as Chris Bosh, or even LeBron James. But, most likely, Pat Riley would execute the trade in the coming days and see how the experiment turns out.

If a move is made for Amare Stoudemire and the Heat also pull something off for Ray Allen, as rumored, the Heat could easily catch Atlanta, and maybe Boston to land the third seed in the East. If not, they would still be a tough opponent in the playoffs and headed into next season.

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Dwyane Wade is Tired of Losing

Last season, the Miami Heat was a promising, young, talented team. During the season, Dwyane Wade established himself as a star of the same caliber as Kobe Bryant. The young talent around him was also able to prove itself, at times. Despite being an average team, Wade’s Heat did notch wins against the Magic, Lakers, Cavaliers, and Celtics. The promise of last season was expected to be fulfilled this season, it has not been.

Ever since the 2007-2008 season, it has been no secret that the Heat were going to try to land a big-name free agent to its roster. Pat Riley, the team president, said that Dwyane Wade was on board with this plan. But, during that same season, injuries to key players saw the Heat post a league-worst 15-67 record. The next season, Wade was finally healthy, but the talent around him was not what it used to be. He had an MVP-caliber season, but the Heat’s record held him back.

At the beginning of this season, Miami came out with all cylinders firing. They won six of their first seven games, the best start in their franchise’s history. Pat Riley had devised a back-up plan to the 2010 free agent market to keep Dwyane Wade happy. His back-up plan was to work some magic during the 2009 offseason. With Carlos Boozer unhappy in Utah, Riley planned to trade some back-up players and use the cap space to sign Lamar Odom.

The overall plan was to keep Dwyane Wade happy by surrounding him with Carlos Boozer and Lamar Odom, while retaining Jermaine O’Neal and Michael Beasley. Odom had said that he was going to sign with Miami, but in the end, he returned to his defending-champion Lakers. When the deal with Odom fell through, so did the dream team that would have also included former scoring champion and MVP, Allen Iverson.

After the ‘dream team’ did not come to be, Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the Heat developed an idea for the team to grow from within. Jermaine O’Neal had stated that he regained the explosiveness that he had during his days with the Indiana Pacers. Also, the coaching staff reported that Michael Beasley would develop into a star. Mario Chalmers, the surprise of the previous season had also been said to have become a three-point shooter.

The quick start turned some heads, but in the end, it was revealed to be nothing more than a quick start. Their “heat” has fizzled away and Miami now sits at 25-27, barely within playoff contention. For a player as great as Dwyane Wade, this has to be hard, knowing that his teammates are not doing what they can to help him out. As the losses mount up, Wade could very well be in another jersey, competing for a NBA title, with another team.

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