The Heat were led by Dwyane Wade’s 25 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three blocks. He also hit 10-of-17 field goal attempts in only 29 minutes. Michael Beasley chipped in 22 points, while Quentin Richardson and Dorell Wright both had 11 points.

Although Orlando entered the game with a 19-6 record, you would have never known by just watching them play on Thursday night. Usually they share the ball well and knock down shots — but that wasn’t the case. The Magic finished with just 12 assists and hit 9-of-28 three-pointers and 9-of-17 free throws.

The Heat are now 13-11 after winning their last two games. The mini winning streak started after Carlos Arroyo was placed in the starting lineup ahead of Mario Chalmers. If Miami keeps winning, expect to keep seeing that lineup.

Dwyane Wade and the Heat were hot (Image: Zuma Press)

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Dwyane Wade and Heat Smoke Magic

According to SI.com, Riley told the Miami Herald on Wednesday that the team plans to address the concerns they have around Wade’s conditioning, or lack thereof. Riley believes that Wade’s lack of on-court production this season is a direct result.

Dwyane Wade is contimplating free agency, and Miami head coach Pat Riley isn't helping things.

Wade was in the best shape of his life last season, after working hard to comeback from shoulder and knee injuries. His athleticism is uncanny. And though he may have dropped off a bit as far as production goes, he’s still an incredibly talented player.

Hello, Riley! He’s the best player you have. And knowing that Wade is about “this close” to testing the free agency waters, why in the world would you say anything that might help push him out the door? If anything, you should be bending over backwards to get him to stay.

It’s like watching a close friend get back with an ex that everyone else hates — we all think Wade could do a lot better.

Image: ZumaPress

Post from: EveryJoe

Pat Riley Should Watch What He Says

We already know that the free agent class of 2010 is going to be ripe with talent. But Dwyane Wade doesn’t necessarily want to be a part of it. He told Yahoo! Sports that he’s willing to stay in Miami, but he wants to make sure that he has enough players around him to get the Heat back to another NBA Championship.

“I’m 28 years old and I’m all about winning,” Wade said on Yahoo! Sports.com. “I have to make sure that we are about winning as a franchise. I’m not saying anything other than we need to continue to beef the team up. I love my teammates. We have some great things going. But we need more. I just want to make sure we get that.”

In other words, the Heat execs can use the free agent market to sign key players instead of losing Wade to another team that already has key players in place. The Heat certainly have enough money to sign him for an extended contract, but it’s how they use the leftover money that will matter the most. With Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer and a handful of other talented free agents available this summer, the Heat will have plenty of players to choose from.

Don’t be surprised if Wade waits to sign a contract extension until he knows who else is coming to Miami. I fully believe that if they aren’t up to his standards, he won’t sign with the Heat — guaranteed.

Enjoy these Dwyane Wade highlights, courtesy of YouTube:

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Dwyane Wants To Stay In Miami

Beasley finished the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Wade, per usual, led the way with 24 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Magic, on the other hand, suffered a disappointing home loss. Jason Williams, starting in place of the injured Jameer Nelson, had 25 points and eight assists in 39 minutes. Dwight Howard had 12 points and 16 rebounds but only attempted five shots from the field.

Orlando had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but that evaporated due to Miami’s aggressive play on both ends. The win improves the Heat to 9-5, while the Magic dropped to 11-4 with the loss.

Here’s a look at Michael Beasley’s dunk that won the game:

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Michael Beasley Wins Game with Dunk – Video

Imagine LeBron James and Dwayne Wade on the same team...

The latest twist in the King James free agency story is that the execs over at the Miami Heat front office are scrambling to find a way to get him to Miami. Imagine Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron all in the same uniform. It’s almost as daunting of an image as LeBron and Kobe Bryant on the same team.

The thing of it is, it could happen. The players themselves have already discussed such possibilities. It basically comes down to LeBron himself. He’ll have the ability to go wherever he wants to go. And you better believe that whatever team he chooses will bend over backwards to get him. He could end up in any uniform. The options are endless and there’s no scenario that is out of the realm of possibility. All we can do is wait to see what happens.

Until then, speculating is just a means to an end.

Image: Zuma Press

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LeBron Speculation Wheel Keeps Turning

In 32 minutes, Durant had 30 points, six rebounds and two assists while hitting 10-of-16 shots from the field and 9-of-10 free throw attempts. It was his second straight preseason game in which he scored exactly 30 points.

Against the Heat, Durant got plenty of help — namely from Jeff Green. The Georgetown product had 25 points and three rebunds in 36 minutes of action. Russell Westbrook chipped in with an impressive all around effort of 12 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.

For Miami, Michael Beasley led the way with 24 points, four rebounds and two assists. Playing without the injured Dwyane Wade, the Heat got double digit scoring performances from Daequan Cook, Quentin Richardson, Mario Chalmers and Jermaine O’Neal.

Will Kevin Durant Turn Into a Superstar this Season? (Image: Zuma Press)

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Kevin Durant Goes for 30 as Thunder Win

The strained muscle is located near his rib cage on the left side. However, the exact diagnosis isn’t known at the moment.

“I don’t think I got hit or anything,” Wade told the Miami Herald. “But you never know. You just want to make sure you don’t want to make it worse, not knowing what it is.”

Without Wade in the lineup, the Heat lost to the Spurs by a final score of 95-93. The Spurs won thanks to a monster effort from their second round pick DeJuan Blair. Blair finished the game with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. The Heat were led by Daequan Cook’s 20 points.

The Heat play again on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Keep an eye open to see if Wade will be able to bounce back from his rib injury.

Dwyane Wade - Miami Heat (Image: Zuma Press)

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Dwyane Wade Injury Update – Ribs

While Beasley was in rehab, he had contact with members of the Heat organization on a daily basis. Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the Heat, thinks Beasley is prepared for training camp.

Said Spoelstra: “We’ve spent a great deal of time with him this summer, trying to develop him on the court but also off the court. He’s ready. He was excited to be back here.”

Last year as a rookie, Beasley averaged 13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in 24.8 minutes. He shot 47.2% from the floor and 40.7% from beyond three-point range.

If Beasley can tackle his personal issues, expect his role on the Heat to grow. He’ll spend time at both small forward and power forward while likely being the team’s go-to option outside of Dwyane Wade.

Michael Beasley is out of rehab (Image: Zuma Press)

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Michael Beasley Out of Rehab

However, with training camp just around the corner, three teams have emerged as the leading contenders for Iverson: the Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat.

The Grizzlies appear to be the favorite at this point. On Wednesday, the team admitted that they had officially made an offer to Iverson. NBA insiders believe that the deal could be worth about $3 million per season.

Iverson has said he’d love to play for head coach Larry Brown again, which is a reason why the Bobcats are looked to as a strong possibility. The Bobcats need scoring and the 34-year-old would be a good fit.

In Miami, Iverson would team with Dwyane Wade to form one of the most explosive backcourts in the NBA. The Heat definitely have interest but they don’t have much financial flexibility to offer Iverson much money.

Stay tuned. The answer to where Allen Iverson will end up will likely come within the next week.

Allen Iverson - Where Will He End Up?

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Where Will Allen Iverson End Up?

Exactly why the forward for the Miami Heat is in rehab isn’t totally clear. In a recent picture he posted on Twitter, Beasley was showing off a new tattoo. In the background, there appeared to be a bag of marijuana. That image has led many to believe that Beasley may be in drug rehab.

There are also signs that Beasley is having emotional problems. He had two Twitter messages that made it sound like he’s going through a rough time: “I feel like the whole world is against me I can’t win for losin” and “Feelin like it’s not worth livin!!!!!!! I’m done”.

Last year for the Heat, Beasley averaged 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game. Going into his second season, Beasley was set to see an increase in minutes and a more prominent role next to Dwyane Wade.

With this new developments, there’s no guarantee that Beasley will be ready for the rigors of the NBA by the time training camp begins. Right now, the hope is that he defeats any issues he is facing.

Michael Beasley enters rehab (Image: Newscom)

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Michael Beasley Enters Rehab Facility