Amar’e Stoudemire: TV Appearance Shows Star Is Made for New York
Knicks’ forward Amar’e Stoudemire is certainly not afraid to branch out a little bit. According to Vibe.com, Amar’e will be appearing on TV Land’s The Exes. Follow along now, because this is where it gets tricky.
He will be playing a star basketball player. Not only will he be playing a star basketball player, but one who apparently has some fanatical fans. Playing in New York, Amar’e is used to such a laid back fan base.
Okay, so maybe it’s not a massive reach. But if you watch the video, you will see that Stoudemire looks comfortable in front of the camera, even with a taped show where you can have several takes.
That isn’t something that always shows up in athletes. When they are out of their element, even the best, most unnerved athletes often look flustered and uncomfortable.
That is not the case with Stoudemire here. When you consider the market that he plays in, being comfortable in front of a camera can be quite profitable for Amar’e. There is no shortage of opportunities to gain notoriety with people that aren’t basketball fans.
In a simple spot, Amar’e showed that when he’s called upon to get in front of a camera, he can handle the New York spotlight. His lines were delivered fluidly, he showed no discomfort, and showed none of the awkwardness often seen with athletes, particularly NBA players and particularly big men.
That is something that will serve Amar’e well long term. When his career is over, Stoudemire knows that he’s talented enough to break into other avenues of life.
He already has the big name recognition that comes from being an NBA star. With this, Stoudemire showed that he’s comfortable in front of a camera. This is a man we’ll be hearing a lot of well after his career is over.
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Tar Heels’ Loss to Seminoles Shows Team’s Lack of Intangibles
Earlier this year, I wrote an article called “6 Reasons You Should Be Fired Up for the 2011-12 Tar Heels.” In the article I basically said that, with the way the Tar Heels were constructed this year, they were not only the best team in the country but were going to win the NCAA tournament.
I may be overreacting, but right now I feel wrong on that assessment.
This Tar Heels team has all the tangible things you want in a basketball team: a great coach, guys that can shoot, rebounders, arguably the best point guard in the country, loads of big game experience and a bench that goes nine deep.
On the surface, you cannot assemble a more perfect college basketball team.
However, we must go deeper to figure out what happened when UNC traveled to Tallahassee and got trounced by the Florida State Seminoles.
This team lacks many of the intangible things that make up a champion: leadership, toughness, a sense of urgency and, especially in the case of the UNC basketball, pride.
Yes, there are many things that attributed to UNC losing to FSU: their first road game since December, 3rd, Deividas Dulkys’ incendiary shooting, a fired up Florida State crowd, John Henson’s struggles from the free-throw line, Kendall Marshall having the worst game of his career, Dick Vitale doing everything in his power to jinx the Tar Heels by referring to Dulkys as “Dukies” and plenty other factors.
However, there is no excuse for losing by 33 points to any team, except maybe the Miami Heat. Anyone who watched the game will tell you there was no fire in anyone that suited up for Carolina, except for Tyler Zeller and the guys in Blue Steel. It actually seemed like there were stretches of time during FSU’s run to start the second half that guys like Harrison Barnes could care less about what was happening on the floor.
Now, let me clarify, I don’t think Barnes doesn’t care about what happened against FSU (15 points, 5 boards, 0 assists, 5 turnovers). In fact, if he wants to live up to his considerable talent, this loss should kick him into high gear. Whether or not he does is all up to the Black Falcon.
When you think of it, Barnes is a great representation of the team as a hole: extremely talented and has the potential to be better than anyone, but can get complacent, coast and next thing you know their struggles lead to something disastrous. It’s not a coincidence that Barnes is averaging 14.6 points and four rebounds on 39 percent shooting in Carolina’s three losses.
So where does Carolina go from here? Right now, the team is at a fork in the road. To one side, they can learn from this. Players like Zeller, Barnes, Henson and Marshall can step up and assume leadership roles, providing the team with a backbone that wasn’t seen against Florida State. They will need to treat this loss like a huge loss and view it as a monumental part of the season.
To the other side, they can continue to do things the way they are now. Try to get by on talent and their high-octane offense, hope nobody goes off like Dulkys did and treat the beatdown FSU put on them as a fluke.
To put it simply, if the North Carolina Tar Heels truly want to win a national championship, it will be the former.
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Orlando Magic: Why 97-83 Loss to Chicago Bulls Shows They Are Not Yet Elite
Going into Friday night’s game against the 6-1 Chicago Bulls, the Orlando Magic knew they would have to come out with energy, efficiency and determination to come away with the win. However, none of those tasks were accomplished, as Chicago had a consistent lead over O-Town the entire game. Sure, Orlando cut it to a few baskets a couple of times, but there was no doubt that Chicago was in complete control.
If there is one takeaway from this difficult loss, it is the sad reality that the Magic have a far way to go from being in the upper echelon of the league.
Despite Dwight Howard, who played a fantastic game posting 25 points and 19 rebounds, Orlando didn’t have much production out of their starting lineup. Jason Richardson had an inefficient night, and Jameer Nelson was an absolute non-factor besides playing horrendous defense on reigning MVP Derrick Rose, who finished with 21 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Orlando’s veteran backcourt has been absolutely terrible to start the season. The duo of J-Rich and Mighty Mouse have been liabilities on defense and extremely passive on offense.
Hedo Turkoglu played a decent game with a total of 12 points, but his inconsistency has become a problem that Magic coach Stan Van Gundy needs to solve. One minute, the Turkish point-forward is running the pick-and-roll with precision, lobbing accurate passes to “Superman,” and being extremely aggressive on the defensive side of the ball. The next minute, he is taking every off-balanced floater available, throwing the ball away and playing lethargic, lazy defense.
With the sudden decline of Nelson and the ineffectiveness of backup point guard Chris Duhon, it seems as if Turkoglu is Orlando’s best facilitator. However, if consistency issues keep plaguing the former Phoenix Suns’ forward, it could be a long season for the Orlando Magic.
It has become painfully obvious over the last few games that the success of Orlando’s offense is a direct result of the double-teams that opponents place on center Dwight Howard. When “Superman” becomes swarmed in the paint, Howard will kick it out to one of the many marksmen on the perimeter. This has become Orlando’s main offense. However, when opposing teams have a big man on the roster that can guard D12 one-on-one, Orlando’s whole offense breaks down. Now, the perimeter players have to take their man off the dribble, a skill no player on the Magic roster has seemed to master.
Last night, Chicago placed former Florida Gator Joakim Noah on Howard. Even though Howard was more than capable of scoring on Noah, the Bulls’ defensive scheme completely took the four other players on the court for Orlando out of the equation. But, if there was one distinct player that visibly struggled with this changeup in game plan, it was the breakout star Ryan Anderson. Not only was he inefficient from the field, but he started forcing his shots. At the end of regulation, Anderson finished with a measly five points.
Even though not many teams possess a big man who can guard the Dwight Howard one-on-one, Van Gundy definitely needs to find another way for this Magic roster to score the basketball.
If there is one reason, however, that the Orlando Magic are not a championship-caliber team, it is their lack of a contender attitude. They lack a chip on their shoulder, do not play determined and rarely out-hustle their opponents. Friday night’s game is a perfect testament to the aforementioned statement.
Sure, Dwight Howard reviving backup power forward Glen Davis in the third quarter was quite funny, but would other contenders around the league perform that type of an act while losing?
Would reigning champion Dirk Nowitzki be all smiles if his ball club was about to succumb to a conference rival?
Would five-time champion Kobe Bryant put on a show in front of the Los Angeles crowd if the Lakers were down?
Would Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time, be joking around with a teammate if the Bulls were in the midst of defeat?
The answer to these questions is absolutely not.
Plus, the Orlando Magic gave up a ridiculous 14 offensive rebounds to a team with a small frontcourt of Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Omer Asik and Luol Deng. This is horrendous and unacceptable, as second-chance opportunities are a killer in this league. Before the season I didn’t think Orlando needed to acquire another big man to complement Howard, Anderson and Davis. However, I was wrong, as these three definitely need additional help on the boards.
In the end, Orlando is a far way away from truly being a championship contender. I know it, you know it, the fans know it and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy knows it.
“Quite simply, we’re not at that level, not close, and that’s OK. I’m not saying that crying or complaining; that’s just the way it is.” said Van Gundy, ” You’ve got to face reality. We’ve got to put in the work to reach that level because right now we’re not close to that level of play.”
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Dwight Howard Shows He Has No Killer Instinct
Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic are in big trouble. In a crushing loss to Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls on Friday, ending a four-game winning streak, Howard proved that he cannot be the guy that will lead Orlando to a championship.
Down six points with nine minutes left in the game, Glen “Big Baby” Davis fell out of bounds on a hard blocking foul by Joakim Noah. While Davis was resting on the ground, Howard came over and jokingly rubbed his hands together and “shocked” Davis until he was revived.
According to the numbers, Howard is right on track to be selected to the All-Star game. The 6’11″ center is said to be the most dominant center since Shaq, and he would be a great piece to any championship team. But that’s all he is, a piece.
Every year for the past seven years, Magic fans have waited for the Magic front office to put the right pieces around Howard. After unsuccessful experiments with players like Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic’s future looks unstable. Simply, Howard does not have the ability to lead this team out of the East alone.
At home, defending your home court, down six in the fourth, you don’t spend time putting on skits. You don’t smile and make jokes. Well, that won’t get you a ring anyway.
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LeBron James Engaged: Proposal Shows the Public the King’s Softer Side
Since LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in July 2010′s “The Decision” special, the media and fans have been hating the NBA‘s King with derision and jokes all around.
However, James’ proposal to his longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson at his 27th birthday party should shed some positive light on the King’s goodness and humanity.
James popped the question by going down to one knee and doing it in front of intimate friends and Heat teammates, not the national media. The King gave his Queen an extremely pretty and affectionate heart-shaped diamond ring.
Brinson has been with James since high school and is the mother of his two sons, seven-year-old LeBron Jr. and four-year-old Bryce. James has been a devoted father and has stuck by Brinson even after he hit NBA and world superstardom. She seems to be wholesome and doesn’t go around having sleazy photo shoots.
NBA and sports fans alike have hated James because he decided to not win an NBA championship with the Cavaliers and appeared to collude with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to join the Heat all along.
LeBron choosing the Heat was his own decision and not for Cleveland, Chicago, New York or New Jersey to make.
Fans also point out how “The Decision” was slapping the faces of the Cavaliers organization and its fans, but the millions made from that program was donated to the Boys & Girls Club of America.
LBJ tried to be the NBA’s villain last year, but that didn’t work for him, as he is a jokester and light-hearted guy.
The country turned against LeBron James, hoping he would fail and seemed ecstatic when James and the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
Many people seem to forget that James came from extremely humble beginnings with his mom in the Akron projects. He played high school ball at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, where he wanted to win a national championship with his childhood friends.
LeBron was shown in the documentary More Than a Game that he was a humble boy who was thrust into the national spotlight by Sports Illustrated and ESPN. He was kind-hearted, hard-working and a loyal friend who would always stick by his family and friends.
“The Decision” seems to have erased the good and positive nature that James possesses.
Being engaged to his Queen Brinson will be positive for James’ public image. Savannah and LeBron are clearly in love and appear to be good parents to LeBron Jr. and Bryce.
Yes, even LeBron James is capable of loving others, as we all are as human beings. He is not some kind of monster—that image what was created by media and fans alike.
James is the same loyal kid he was in high school. When he won his MVP awards, Savannah and his boys were right there with him.
As Kobe Bryant and Tony Parker repeatedly cheated on their wives and are divorced, the NBA needs a wholesome romance to shed good light on its athletes. Who better than LeBron and Savannah?
Maybe LeBron James does not have an NBA championship, but he is truly a winner in the game of life by giving his beloved Queen a beautiful ring that signifies his commitment to winning her heart as a good husband.
Bob Bajek is a Featured Columnist. He is also a freelance reporter, and can be followed on Patch.com and Twitter.
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Chicago Bulls: Win over LA Clippers Shows Bulls Clicking on All Cylinders
After a few sloppy basketball games, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls definitely stepped up their moxie by handily downing the Los Angeles Clippers, 114-101.
Everything was so much better.
The Bulls didn’t allow themselves to continually stay in a big hole as they did against the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers bolted to a 9-0 lead in the first, but the Bulls stampeded back and took a 29-28 lead at the first quarter’s end with stellar play from shooting guard Rip Hamilton and Rose.
Since that point, the Bulls never trailed by more than three points and led most of the way.
Passing and ball protection was finally getting a bit smoother. The Bulls had 52 turnovers the first three games and hurt themselves frequently on fast breaks and in transition.
Against the Clippers, the Bulls just had 12 turnovers and 29 assists on 39 made baskets.
The fluid passing made the Bulls more of a run-and-gun team, as Hamilton and Joakim Noah were able to be offensive forces.
Rose was able to kick it out to Hamilton for easy baseline jumps while Hamilton was also able to cut through the paint for close buckets on his way to a solid 16 points.
Hamilton seems to also play well with Noah. In the second quarter, Hamilton cut from the left wing and then had a killer bounce pass to Noah between the Clippers’ Trey Thompkins and Blake Griffin for an easy slam.
Noah did a good job scoring 19 points be creating separation from Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan.
Rose, the NBA‘s reigning MVP, has a monster night after struggling the past two games against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. D-Rose clearly showed he was better than the Clippers’ Chris Paul Friday night in passing, scoring and defense.
No. 1 had 29 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 16 assists. D-Rose created space from Paul through his dribble and using Noah and Carlos Boozer’s screens.
Rose was on fire all night, saving some nifty moves in the paint. He was fouled on an acrobatic layup that he made and later converted a reverse layup.
D-Rose was leagues ahead of Paul all night, containing CP3 to 15 points and 14 assists.
In the fourth, Rose regained his killer instinct, burying back-to-back threes to squash any comeback hopes the Clippers may have had.
Defensively, the Bulls put forth a solid effort that was lacking in their initial three games.
Rebounding was where it was last season, as the Bulls out-muscled the Clippers 45-31 on the boards, the year’s largest margin. Noah, Rose and Luol Deng each nabbed eight rebounds for the balls.
The Bulls were able to contain Paul and Mo Williams to 28 points. The significance of that stat is Chicago has been unable to slow down athletic guards this week.
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant tallied 28 points and six assists and almost lost. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis combined for 47 points and 17 assists to beat the Bulls.
The Sacramento Kings’ Marcus Thornton, Jimmer Fredette and Tyreke Evans collected 53 points to nearly beat Chicago.
Rose prevented Paul from getting into a shooting rhythm and Hamilton stymied Williams and Clippers shooting guard Randy Foye. For the Bulls to shut down opponents, the opposing guards have to be contained.
Other than letting Griffin go off for 34 points, the Bulls had a great night.
With the Bulls returning to the United Center and clicking on all cylinders, the team will continually improve while obtaining more victories.
Bob Bajek is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Bulls. He is also a freelance reporter, and can be followed on Patch.com and Twitter.
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Chicago Bulls: Win over LA Clippers Shows Bulls Clicking on All Cylinders
After a few sloppy basketball games, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls definitely stepped up their moxie by handily downing the Los Angeles Clippers, 114-101.
Everything was so much better.
The Bulls didn’t allow themselves to continually stay in a big hole as they did against the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers bolted to a 9-0 lead in the first, but the Bulls stampeded back and took a 29-28 lead at the first quarter’s end with stellar play from shooting guard Rip Hamilton and Rose.
Since that point, the Bulls never trailed by more than three points and led most of the way.
Passing and ball protection was finally getting a bit smoother. The Bulls had 52 turnovers the first three games and hurt themselves frequently on fast breaks and in transition.
Against the Clippers, the Bulls just had 12 turnovers and 29 assists on 39 made baskets.
The fluid passing made the Bulls more of a run-and-gun team, as Hamilton and Joakim Noah were able to be offensive forces.
Rose was able to kick it out to Hamilton for easy baseline jumps while Hamilton was also able to cut through the paint for close buckets on his way to a solid 16 points.
Hamilton seems to also play well with Noah. In the second quarter, Hamilton cut from the left wing and then had a killer bounce pass to Noah between the Clippers’ Trey Thompkins and Blake Griffin for an easy slam.
Noah did a good job scoring 19 points be creating separation from Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan.
Rose, the NBA‘s reigning MVP, has a monster night after struggling the past two games against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. D-Rose clearly showed he was better than the Clippers’ Chris Paul Friday night in passing, scoring and defense.
No. 1 had 29 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 16 assists. D-Rose created space from Paul through his dribble and using Noah and Carlos Boozer’s screens.
Rose was on fire all night, saving some nifty moves in the paint. He was fouled on an acrobatic layup that he made and later converted a reverse layup.
D-Rose was leagues ahead of Paul all night, containing CP3 to 15 points and 14 assists.
In the fourth, Rose regained his killer instinct, burying back-to-back threes to squash any comeback hopes the Clippers may have had.
Defensively, the Bulls put forth a solid effort that was lacking in their initial three games.
Rebounding was where it was last season, as the Bulls out-muscled the Clippers 45-31 on the boards, the year’s largest margin. Noah, Rose and Luol Deng each nabbed eight rebounds for the balls.
The Bulls were able to contain Paul and Mo Williams to 28 points. The significance of that stat is Chicago has been unable to slow down athletic guards this week.
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant tallied 28 points and six assists and almost lost. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis combined for 47 points and 17 assists to beat the Bulls.
The Sacramento Kings’ Marcus Thornton, Jimmer Fredette and Tyreke Evans collected 53 points to nearly beat Chicago.
Rose prevented Paul from getting into a shooting rhythm and Hamilton stymied Williams and Clippers shooting guard Randy Foye. For the Bulls to shut down opponents, the opposing guards have to be contained.
Other than letting Griffin go off for 34 points, the Bulls had a great night.
With the Bulls returning to the United Center and clicking on all cylinders, the team will continually improve while obtaining more victories.
Bob Bajek is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Bulls. He is also a freelance reporter, and can be followed on Patch.com and Twitter.
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NBA Rumors: Derrick Rose’s $250 Million Shoe Deal Shows It’s Good to Be Good
It NBA star point guard Derrick Rose will soon be inking a $250 million shoe deal, one industry source told ESPN’s Weekend Dime.
Fresh off signing a five-year contract extension with the Bulls worth nearly $95 million, Rose is said to be closing in on another lucrative deal.
Actually?
Lucrative is seriously underselling it based on the figures dribbling in to us.
One industry source insisted to ESPN.com this week that Rose’s new shoe deal with adidas will easily crack nine figures and could legitimately approach the $250 million range — as in $25 million annually over a 10-year span — in what is known in the shoe game as a “lifetime” deal.
How can the reigning MVP possibly command those kind of dollars as a shoe endorser? Here’s how: Rose, as it was explained to me, is adidas’ only counter to Kobe Bryant in China. I’m told Rose already outsells LeBron James there.
That’s a heck of a lot of money to be paid to wear shoes.
To put this into perspective, this is roughly what Albert Pujols, the greatest baseball player of this generation, just got his massive contract to actually play baseball.
I believe there’s more than basketball to this deal. There’s a matter of the personality involved. Essentially Derrick Rose is a good person. There isn’t a person who knows him who has a bad thing to say about the Bulls star.
This is a man who lives with his friends from school so he won’t be tempted to cheat on his high school sweetheart.
This is a man who stopped a group of kids wearing his jersey to offer them his autograph and thank them!
What he does on the court needs no embellishment—it’s what he does and who he is off the court that makes him a quarter-billion dollar man.
In an era filled with me-first athletes who point to how there is “me” in team (and ignore that it comes in the order of “e” then “m,” which is proof that that’s backwards thinking) and talk about themselves in the third person, it’s good see a star player who is legitimately humble.
Rose is the type of guy who tears up when he thanks his mom during his MVP reception. That says a lot about a person. It says it’s a guy who loves his mom and honors his parents. Of course most players love their moms, but most don’t make their MVP about their mom more than about them.
It also says he’s good enough to win the MVP.
I’ve said if I had the talent Rose does, I would be the most arrogant guy in the world. You would not be able to shut my mouth. With Rose, it takes effort to get him to open his. When he does talk himself, it’s only to take blame for the team’s failings.
When it’s time to take credit he hides behind his teammates.
His nickname isn’t “King” or “Black Mamba,” it’s “Pooh”! As in Winnie the…
But underneath that humility there is a fierceness and competitive streak that matches Kobe Bryant’s. He didn’t even celebrate his MVP Award. Why not? Because he hadn’t won a championship.
Rose told ESPN’s John Greenberg:
Rose told me he never really celebrated his many accomplishments from last season. After moping for a week in his townhouse — “I had on my pajamas the whole time” — he went back to work, mixing in training and family time. But he didn’t throw himself a party or anything.
I didn’t win a championship yet, so there’s no point to celebrate,” he said, his voice gaining a hint of anger. “Celebrate what? Go on talk shows for what? Because I lost? I’m not going on any shows or anything until I win a championship.”
Rose said he turned down numerous opportunities to promote his personal brand on talk shows, the ones he called, “Late, Live, all those.” It’s not because he’s so, so humble, either.
Ain’t no point in being on there,” he said. “At the end of every show they’re going to ask you, ‘So, what happened with whoever you lost to?’ There’s no point. I want to be on the show where they say, ‘How did it feel to win a championship?’ ‘It felt great.’ That’s how I want to be on the show.”
That’s a pretty wide gap from celebrating unwon rings, and hour long TV specials.
It’s almost as if by not worrying over his brand, Rose’s is going through the roof.
It’s a good month to be Derrick Rose. He signed a five year, $95 million with the Bulls earlier. Now there’s the $250 million deal. There’s a lesson to be learned here: In the end, it’s not the marketing—it’s the brand itself that matters.
Hopefully this is the kind of role model that will stick. Be a good person, and good things will happen. It’s an easy story to appreciate.
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Dwyane Wade Shows Why He’s the Miami Heat’s Closer, Not LeBron James
One thing was apparent during the closing seconds of the Miami Heat‘s 96-95 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats last night.
Dwyane Wade was getting the ball with the game on the line.
LeBron James wasn’t.
That’s the right move for the Heat because Wade is indeed Miami’s closer and this is still his team, not the other way around.
The decision to go to Wade in the clutch proves that.
As good as James is, and he’s great, the one thing he’s never truly been able to do is go for the kill with the game on the line.
It’s something that’s pretty much followed him around his entire career. Tight fourth quarters have been the kryptonite for James. Something happens to him in pressure-filled situations. Sure, he may knock down a game winner from time-to-time, but how much confidence would you really have in him in that same situation?
With Wade, it’s different.
You have the confidence that he’s going to come through in the clutch.
With multiple superstars on the floor, head coach Erik Spoelstra wants to make sure that each get their touches each night, but with the game on the line, there is only one guy that Spoelstra is worried about drawing up a play for.
That’s because even with multiple superstars, only one guy can have the ball in his hands at the end of the game.
For the Heat, that guy is and always will be Wade.
He’s a closer and a finisher, and no matter how bad his night is going, he’s the only guy the Heat want to give the ball to with the game on the line.
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Norris Cole’s Late Game Composure Shows He’s Miami Heat PG of the Future
Norris Cole has only played two career NBA games, but he already has shown more ability to perform well in the fourth quarter than Miami Heat superstar forward LeBron James has in his entire nine-year career.
Cole was a big trending topic on Twitter Tuesday night, and so many people were impressed with his ability to hit clutch shots late in the game.
Even ESPN personality Skip Bayless was impressed, and it’s not easy to impress him.
Cole’s late-game heroics helped the Heat beat the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night after Miami blew a double-digit second half lead and allowed Boston to trim the lead to three.
One of the biggest weaknesses the Heat had last season was the lack of a scoring point guard who could make big shots and make defenses have to worry about another offensive weapon.
Not only did Cole make big shots against the Celtics with under two minutes to go in the game, he wanted the ball.
There was no fear in his game, you could tell Cole was embracing the moment on the big stage and wanted to sink the veteran Celtics even with star players Dwyane Wade and James on the floor with him.
Cole’s 20 points off the bench were huge for Miami, who need to find out what they are going to get from their bench this year.
The Heat lacked consistent scoring off the bench last season, but Cole seems like a player who can provide an offensive spark with instant scoring each night off head coach Erik Spoelstra’s bench.
Cole could start or be a sixth man for the Heat, but either way Miami has found a hidden gem with the 28th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Cole was considered a prospect who could be a really good pro player, but he played at Cleveland State, a program that doesn’t play elite college teams too often.
We’re only two games into the season, but the Heat have found their point guard of the future.
With Cole giving the Heat even more athleticism than they already had, Miami will be incredibly tough to beat this season with their ability to dominate in transition.
With defenses having to pay so much attention to Wade, James and Chris Bosh, Cole will have plenty of opportunities to punish defenses like he did Tuesday.
Making matters worse for Cleveland fans who still hate LeBron James for his terrible exit from the Cavaliers last summer is that one of their stars might help Akron’s hometown hero win his first ever NBA championship this season.
Nicholas Goss is an NBA Featured Columnist, follow him on Twitter.
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