Parker Out Soon

*Update On Parker* 3/2/08

According to sources, there was no word on an agreement by Saturday night on guard Smush Parker. They continued to negotiate a potential contract buyout. I will definitely keep you guys in the loop as we're all anxious to see him pack his bags.

(2/29/08) It looks like Riley is working on a deal that will kick Smush Parker out the door. A buyout is in the works indicated by Pat Riley before the Seattle game. The buyout is set to be completed by Saturday 11:59pm deadline for Parker to retain playoff eligibility with another team.

Finally, the Heat is working on a buyout to get this bum off the Heat team. Many Heat fans including myself, had been wishing to either trade him or buy him out. Heat fans...your wish will come true soon.

Marion's First Win

The Miami Heat torched the Sacramento Kings Tuesday night as they finally cut their 11 game losing streak. It is also Shawn Marion's first win as a Heat member. You can tell from Marion's post-game interview that he needed that win. Marion's great in the 6 games averaging 17.8 PPG & 10.5 RPG. Tonight was also Haslem's first game coming back from his high ankle injury. Haslem was back to his PF position so that pushed Marion back to his natural spot. Dorell Wright did not play for some reason. Through out the whole game, the Heat was up about 3-7 points until they smoked the Kings during the 3rd quarter, leading as much as 25+ points. After that, the Kings never caught up and so the Heat beat the Kings 107-86, their first blowout game of the season. Thursday's game against one of the top 5 teams in the league, the LA Lakers. This will be a tough game for the Heat but let's hope we can grab a win.

Cook to D-League?

Looks like Pat Riley is considering demoting Daequan Cook to the Iowa Energy of the D-League. Riley is says time in the D-League could help give Cook boost. When Cook made his debut he played well (first dunk in Boston, dunked Posey). Several games later, he made a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Heat fans were excited & energized about Cook. But he quickly became a streaker shooter, missing a lot of shots and Riley benched him. Now, Pat Riley is planning on sending Cook to the D-League for a month in hopes to energize him and maybe come back to play the remaining of the season.

The Riley Experiment "Now's the time!"

Now that Haslem is back from his high ankle injury, where will Marion be place at? Marion at his natural SF or replace Haslem's PF? In the next few games, I expect Riley to shake up the roster and experiment. Most likely Haslem will start and Wright coming off the bench. If there's a time to experiment the roles of each player, "Now's the time!" Marcus Banks has been pretty good coming off the bench. In some instances, he plays good D and getting steals. I think it would be a good idea to have him start a couple of games and see what he brings to the table. J-Will "MIGHT" not be here next year, and for sure Smush Parker will be either traded or bought out.

I like to see this lineup: Blount, Haslem, Marion, Wade, Banks for a few games. This sounds like a running team but is it effective? I don't know. But it's worth the experiment. We've seen Chris Quinn coming off the bench pretty good, Dorell is getting better, Barron & Anthony are inexperience, but all of this is evaluation period. This is good because there will be adjustments and decisions to be made this off-season. With the remaining of these games, I expect Riley to take full advantage and rebuild the Heat fast.