HEATcast: Will Norris Cole and a Few Free Agents Give the HEAT ‘More than Enough’?

Bloggers from the Miami Heat Index and HeatFreak.com spent two podcasts discussing the HEAT’s trade for Norris Cole; how some of the competitors did in the NBA draft; and which “young, energetic veterans” should be targeted in free agency to give the HEAT “more than enough” to win an NBA title next season.

Heat Check: What Position Should Be Addressed in the Draft?

Dexter Pittman was the 32nd pick of last year’s NBA draft because the Miami Heat needed help at the center position since Jermaine O’Neal was a free agent. What position does the team need to address with the 31st pick in tonight’s NBA draft?

Heat Check: Coach Admits Mavs Played Like Hockey Goons To Put HEAT On Ice

This is an "I told you so" moment...

Off the Index: Defending Allen Iverson

The 2011 NBA Draft is Thursday and the typical articles on draft busts have been popping up on the blog circuit. An article at Hoopism was very good but an article at the new Wages of Wins Network blog, Shut Up and Jam, could use some work.

Allen Iverson has been a popular target for criticism on the Wages of Wins Network because the statistical models published in the Wages of Wins illustrated that he didn’t have the winning impact the media claimed. There’s no denying that Iverson’s poor shooting percentage and turnovers created as many problems as his scoring and steals created highlights, but James Brocato made a mistake when he used wins produced to label Iverson a mistake as the first pick in the 1996 draft.

Yes, it’s a little silly to defend an 11-time All-Star and future hall-of-famer labeled a “bust” by a blogger, but it just takes a little context and the same statistical models to illustrate why Iverson was the right choice for the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 1996.

Happy Father's Day: Seven Great Fatherhood Moments from the 2011 Heat Season

On this week's HEATcast, I asked HEAT fans to send me their favorite fatherhood memories from this season. Well, I got some great ones from Ms. Zakeya and Frank Esnard. You can check out their favorite moments and the Wins Produced stats associated with them at the slideshow linked below.

Miami Heat: Seven Great Fatherhood Moments from the 2011 Season | Bleacher Report

HEATcast: Tupac and Father's Day Is Therapy for Losing the NBA Finals

Bloggers from the Miami Heat Index, HeatFreak.com and Hot Hot Hoops celebrated Tupac Shakur’s 40th birthday, discussed how the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, the reactions of players and fans and Father’s Day.

Heat Produced: How the 2011 Finals Were Lost

The Miami Heat lost the 2011 NBA Finals 4-2. The first season of the Three Kings ended in disappointment and failure with two consecutive bad losses at home.

Yes, it was a failure. All the players expected to win Game 6 and said as much on camera after practice the day before. Jason Jackson, the Miami Heat television host and courtside reporter, said it on the Dan Patrick Show. The goal of this season was to win the title. They didn’t do that. They failed.

The NBA season isn’t high school and this blog ain’t a yearbook. There won’t be any “had a great year” talk here. They lost the NBA Finals to an inferior team. That’s the cold, hard reality of what happened.

Let’s take a cold, hard look at the numbers from the 2011 NBA Finals...

Heat Produced: Quick Links & Stats for Game 6 of the NBA Finals

The Miami Heat lost Game 6 of the NBA Finals 105-95 to the Dallas Mavericks. No title in the Three Kings' first season together.

Links to the Wins Produced stats for the last game of the season after the jump.

Heat Produced: Quick Links to Stats for Game 5 of NBA Finals

The Miami Heat lost Game 5 of the 2011 NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks 103-112 and head back to the American Airlines Arena on Biscayne Boulevard trailing 2-3 in the series.

Heat Produced: One King, Two Losses After Game 4 of NBA Finals

The Miami Heat lost Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals 86-83 to the Dallas Mavericks and now the series is tied 2-2 despite another great game from Dwyane Wade who scored 32 points and grabbed six rebounds.

How did they do it?

LeBron James said it best in the mini-movie, “Personally, I need to play better to help our team win.” Let’s take a look at the Wins Produced stats to see what LeBron’s talking about.

Heat Check: Thoughts on Game 3 of 2011 NBA Finals

I wanted to see a Lakers-Heat match-up in the NBA Finals and was disappointed when it turned out to be Mavs-Heat. The only thing I was looking forward to in this series was the Heat defense destroying Dirk Nowitzki and that hasn't happened. Despite all of that, the 2011 NBA Finals has been entertaining and Game 3 was no exception.

Here are some quick thoughts on the Wins Produced stats from Game 3 and a few issues for Game 4:

• The Performances of LeBron James & Dwyane Wade
• The Importance of Chris Bosh
• Rotations: Erik Spoelstra vs. Rick Carlisle
• J.E.T. Math: Where 4 = 7?

Heat Shit List: The Rise of Gregg Doyel

A reporter tried to show up LeBron James at the Game 3 post-game press conference and two things happened: he got shutdown by the King and shot up the Heat Shit List rankings.

Heat Produced: Quick Links to Stats for Game 3 of NBA Finals

The Miami Heat took a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals with an 88-86 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3.

Heat Check: How Resilient are the Miami Heat?

After blowing a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Dallas Mavericks, it seems the biggest question facing the Miami Heat is, "How resilient are they?" In fact, this question was posed by a listener during yesterday's Miami Heat Talk podcast:

From: @fesnard
Sent: Jun 4, 2011 12:08p

@MIA_Heat_Index here's a question: What's the Heat record with more than 1 day off after a loss this season?

sent via Seesmic Desktop in reply to @MIA_Heat_Index
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/fesnard/status/77044079812292608

Let's take a look at the numbers to see how resilient the Heat have been this season.

Off the Index: How Many Wins Did Donnie Walsh Bring the New York Knicks?

Donnie Walsh agreed to leave his position as President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks on Friday. Some Knicks fans blamed him for not signing LeBron James last summer while others felt that he had the franchise on the right track with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

So which is it? How productive was Walsh for the Knicks? Let’s take a look at the numbers to see how many wins were produced by the players Walsh brought to the team during his tenure.

Podcast: The NBA Finals is Tied 1-1

Bloggers from the Miami Heat Index and HeatFreak.com reviewed the first two games of the 2011 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks, reviewed Dwyane Wade's new Fly Wade kicks for Game 3 and previewed the rest of the series.

Heat Produced: One King Was Not Enough in Game 2 of NBA Finals

Dwyane Wade showed up in Game 2 but LeBron James and Chris Bosh didn't. One king was not enough as the Miami Heat blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Mavericks won Game 2 to tie the NBA Finals at one game apiece as they head home for the next three games.

The Heat Produced Page has been updated with wins produced stats estimated from the box scores for the series, so let’s take a look at the numbers and see what happened.

Heat Produced: Quick Stats & Links for Game 2 of NBA Finals

Did the Miami Heat blow a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 2 in the NBA Finals to lose 95-93 to the Dallas Mavericks? Yes, they did.

Let it be... and check out the Wins Produced stats estimated from the box scores for the NBA Finals.

Seven Guidelines for the Heat Shit List

The Heat Shit List was created July 2010, but there were never any guidelines published for what it takes to get on the list until now.

Heat Check: Shaq's Retired, What About His Jersey?

Shaquille O'Neal retired yesterday and that leaves two big questions for the Miami Heat:

1. Where does he rank in Heat history?
2. Should they retire his jersey?

Heat Produced: Miami Wins Game One 92-84 with Defense and Dwyane Wade

The Miami Heat won Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals 92-84 with two things: D-Fence and D-Wade.

The Heat defense held the Dallas Mavericks 13.2 points below their season average for offensive efficiency (i.e. points scored per possession) and Dwyane Wade scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half to put the Heat up 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.

Let’s take a look at the Wins Produced stats for Game 1 for details of how the game was won.