D-Wade and the Titos - A Miami Heat Association

[Kenny]

Prologue

The Miami Heat are a team at a crossroads. For too long they have been maligned for being a one man team; the height of which came in the 2009-2010 season when Charles Barkley said that Dwyane Wade was playing with a bunch of "Tito Jacksons". Now with D-Wade signing a 6 year extension, the Heat association must repay his faith in the franchise by putting together a supporting cast that one of the greatest scorers in the game deserves.

Will the Heat be more than first round casualties? Will they have to start all over again? Or will they stay the course?

Settings

Difficulty: All-Star
Quarter Length: 8 minutes
Simmed Quarter Length: 12 minutes
Fatigue: On
Injuries: On
Clutch Factor: On
Real Player FT%: Off
Play D-League Games: Off
Trade Override: Off
Allow CPU Trades: On
Team Chemistry: On
Progressive Fatigue: On

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The team will be up next. If anyone has any suggestions for any settings, let me know... I am an NBA 2k10 noob afterall

[Kenny]

The 2010-2011 Miami Heat

Starters



Bench:


| Mario Chalmers | Quentin Richardson | Udonis Haslem | Hakim Warrick | Joel Anthony | Dane Grimes (R) | Ime Udoka |

IR


| Dorell Wright | Chris Quinn | Ha Seung-Jin |

Whose in... Whose out

In: Shaq makes his return to the Miami Heat lineup after almost 3 years away. Along with other free agent addition Joakim Noah, he's looking to add much needed strength and energy to the front court. 2011 also sees the arrival of another future hall of famer in Allen Iverson. He copped a lot of criticism over the last few seasons and is looking to finish his career off the way you'd expect a player of his caliber.

The bench has received a big boost with the addition of Hakim Warrick. His athleticism will hopefully bolster the second unit along with the likes of Mario Chalmers, Joel Anthony and Quentin Richardson. Dane Grimes is the first round selection of Miami this season. He is a shooting guard, so minutes will likely be limited for him... but he has the potential for a great future in the league. Ime Udoka adds a nice wing defender off the bench, while South Korean centre Ha Seung-Jin returns to the NBA after a 5 year absense.

(Shaquille O'Neal [free agency], Allen Iverson [free agency], Joakim Noah [free agency], Hakim Warrick [free agency], Dane Grimes [first round draft pick], Ime Udoka [free agency], Ha Seung-Jin [free agency])

Out: As one O'Neal comes in, another leaves. Jermaine, along with other aging centre Jamaal Magloire weren't seen in the plans for Miami in moving forward. Daequan Cook and James Jones were both allowed to walk after Miami didn't exercise their team options, while French wing defender Yakhouba Diawara decided to test the free agency as his minutes were limited last year.

(Jermaine O'Neal [free agency], Jamaal Magloire [free agency], Daequan Cook [free agency], James Jones [free agency], Yakhouba Diawara [free agency])

[Martti.]

Don't really like the Shaq addition, but great signings with Noah and Warrick.

Why's Wright in the IR and Udoka and that rookie on the bench? Overalls?

[Clutch]

on Noah, on the Cryverson (espec. with Chalmers playing second fiddle to him), neutral on Shaq; loved the first Shaq-Flash title but just not sure the same love/respect is still there anymore

[kibaxx7]

Ha Seung-Jin?

[dare]

Shaq once again put himself to a team that can be a champion, he really is chasing Kobe

[Kenny]

Don't really like the Shaq addition, but great signings with Noah and Warrick.

Why's Wright in the IR and Udoka and that rookie on the bench? Overalls?

I really like the signings of Warrick and Noah as well... I think power forward is probably my strongest position so far.

As for Dorell, placing him on IR isn't a permanent thing. What happened was that he picked up an injury while I was simming the pre-season. So I brought in Ime Udoka and put him on IR.

Grimes' overall is 72, Udoka's is 64 and Wright's is 63.

(Y) on Noah, on the Cryverson (espec. with Chalmers playing second fiddle to him), neutral on Shaq; loved the first Shaq-Flash title but just not sure the same love/respect is still there anymore

I guess my idea with Iverson is that he can be played as a combo guard, so D-Wade could be benched and it would hurt the side so bad since Iverson is a good scorer... well, in his prime he was one of the best. Plus I like Chalmers as a 6 man... I guess that's the Denver dynasty coming through in this one

Ha Seung-Jin?

You know me Thierry, I love to sign a token scrub or 5. When I saw him on free agency asking for peanuts, I had to sign him on

Shaq once again put himself to a team that can be a champion, he really is chasing Kobe

That's one other way to look at it. I viewed it more of a reunion of the duo that took Miami to the championship, but I guess with this Miami side, Shaq also has a chance to get even with Kobe... but we'll see

[Kenny]

(From top left, going clockwise)

| Dwyane scored 30 against the Raptors | Garnett had a flashback game in the blowout |
| Seung-Jin Ha came in the side for Shaq | Varejao ran rings around the Big Diesel |

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Toronto @ Miami

TOR:| 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 89
MIA: | 23 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 80

The Heat have gone down in the first game of the season in a loss over the Toronto Raptors. Dwyane Wade had an excellent night with 30 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, but he had little help on the offensive end. Despite carrying a hip injury from the pre-season, Shaq managed to score 15, but was often proven to be a liability on the defensive end.

Miami managed to match Toronto in 3 quarters of the game, but it was the second quarter that killed them.

Jordan Player of the Game: Chris Bosh 24 points 5 rebounds 2 steals 1 block

Points

TOR: Bosh 24, Turkoglu 19, Belinelli 16
MIA: Wade 30, O'Neal 15, Noah 11

Rebounds

TOR: Przybilla 9
MIA: Beasley 8

Assists

TOR: Calderon, Jack 8
MIA: Chalmers 13

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Miami @ Boston

BOS: | 33 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 110
MIA: | 22 | 12 | 20 | 23 | 77

Boston had their way with Miami at home in a blowout game. Dwyane Wade was the top scorer for Miami, but he only scored 19 this time around and he was completely overshadowed by the brute force of Kevin Garnett. KG scored 32 against a woeful Heat side.

Jordan Player of the Game: Kevin Garnett 32 points 7 rebounds 2 assists 3 steals

Points

BOS: Garnett 32, Pierce 18, T Allen 14, Rondo 10
MIA: Wade 19, Noah 14, Beasley 14, O'Neal 12

Rebounds

BOS: Garnett 7
MIA: Noah, O'Neal 6

Assists

BOS: Rondo 12
MIA: Chalmers 6

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Miami @ New Jersey

MIA: | 18 | 28 | 21 | 21 | 88
NJN: | 24 | 17 | 17 | 27 | 85

Miami have snuck away with their first win of the season against the lowly New Jersey Nets. Wade once again only scored 19 points, but the standout in this game ended up being Michael Beasley. He scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.

In other news from this game, Seung-Jin Ha got his first taste of NBA action in 4 years and had quite a productive game with 9 points and 7 rebounds from 13 minutes of play. He came in for Shaq, who was a late scratch as he succumbed to his hip injury. Noah started at centre, while Beasley moved to power forward and Ime Udoka got his first start of the year after impressive coach Spoelstra in the limited minutes he's had. Shaq will be back for the game against Cleveland.

Jordan Player of the Game: Michael Beasley 21 points 7 rebounds 3 assists 1 block

Points

MIA: Beasley 21, Wade 19, Chalmers 11
NJN: Harris 21, J Graham 16, T Williams 12, Lopez 12, B Wallace 12

Rebounds

MIA: Beasley, Ha, Noah 7
NJN: Wallace 7

Assists

MIA: Chalmers 8
NJN: Harris 8

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Miami @ Cleveland

CLE: | 31 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 94
MIA: | 18 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 64

Miami were absolutely woeful against the Cavs, who have won their first 4 games with their victory. LeBron James was dominant once again, but the story of the game proved to be Anderson Varejao. He was far too quick for O'Neal, who is looking to be a big liability in Miami's defense.

Jordan Player of the Game: Anderson Varejao 16 points 6 rebounds 1 assist 1 steal

Points

CLE: James 21, Varejao 16, Gibson 11, Gooden 10, Williams 10
MIA: Wade 15, O'Neal 12, Iverson 9

Rebounds

CLE: Varejao 6
MIA: O'Neal 9

Assists

CLE: Williams 10
MIA: Iverson 4

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Win/Loss: 1-3

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Player Card



Okay, I know this is an idea originally started from The X and I know dare used it for his Bobcats dynasty, but I liked it so much I thought I'd implement it in mine. And who else would my first player card be of?

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It's hard to transition from NBA Live 10 to NBA 2k10, so you might see a few losses first up. The pace of the game is so much different.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the layout

[Martti.]

You might want to fix the NJ scorecard, I doubt there was a tie.

The layout is nice, gets you through the season quickly. Poor start though. The old farts need to step up. (AI, Shaq)

And you might want to fix this :

Dwyane scored 30 against the Heat

[dare]

Nice layout, short and simple About the card I think you should only credit The X maybe you can ask Thierry to do a template for the card. I hope Beasley is next

[cavs4872]

Tough start, especially with those blowout losses in Boston and Cleveland. Varejao doin' work.

[megarover]

When Varjeoa is scoring big you know there is some problems. I like the player card thing too.

[Kenny]

You might want to fix the NJ scorecard, I doubt there was a tie.

The layout is nice, gets you through the season quickly. Poor start though. The old farts need to step up. (AI, Shaq)

And you might want to fix this :

Dwyane scored 30 against the Heat

Thanks Martti... if you hadn't of spotted those typos, I would have probably just left them until it was way too late.

Still trying to get used to the pace of the game. I went back to NBA Live 10 today and it felt like the players were on speed... it was crazy!

Thierry inspires me to get through my seasons quickly although I have to say, I'm very impressed by his Hornets dynasty so far. I hope he sticks with it.

Nice layout, short and simple About the card I think you should only credit The X maybe you can ask Thierry to do a template for the card. I hope Beasley is next

I might keep the card layout I have for this season and maybe revamp it for the next or for any special kind of player cards (if I have any league leaders, award winners etc).

Tough start, especially with those blowout losses in Boston and Cleveland. Varejao doin' work.

Yeah, I was absolutely killed by those two teams... lots of swearing and middle finger pointing at my computer screen for those... I'm an angry gamer when I lose

When Varjeoa is scoring big you know there is some problems. I like the player card thing too.

*sigh* I know, it was quite embarrassing really. He really showed up Shaq's lack of speed in that game.

[Kenny]

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Roster movement: Grimes sent to D-League

With a lack of minutes on the Miami Heat team, the organisation felt it was best for Dane Grimes to spend time in the D-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Dorell Wright will replace him on the bench.
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(From top left, going clockwise)

| Wade was impressive against the Clippers | LBJ was a nightmare matchup once again |
| Wade seemed unstoppable once again | Beasley continues on his impressive form |


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LA Clippers @ Miami

MIA: | 21 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 86
LAC: | 16 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 80

The Miami Heat have managed to get past their overwhelming loss to the Cavaliers and defeat the Clippers. D-Wade had another outstanding performance with 26 points and 8 assists. He also got help for the first time from Allen Iverson, who scored 14 and assisted with 7 other baskets.

Joakim Noah was a standout in the front-court registering 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Jordan Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade 26 points 4 rebounds 8 assists

Points

MIA: Wade 26, Iverson 14, Beasley 12, Noah 12, O'Neal 10
LAC: Thornton 18, Boozer 14, Gordon 14, Davis 12, Griffin 10

Rebounds

MIA: Noah 10
LAC: Boozer, Kaman 9

Assists

MIA: Wade 8
LAC: Davis 7

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Miami @ Cleveland

CLE: | 23 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 82
MIA: | 21 | 16 | 22 | 20 | 79

The Heat were able to get closer to Cleveland in their second matchup of the year, but were still unable to pick up the W. Miami won the second half by 42-38, but it was once again their second quarter that let them down. Wade had a season high of 36, but apart from that, only Iverson (13) and Beasley (12) made double figures for the Heat.

Varejao was kept at bay in this game, but LeBron James and Mo Williams combined for 42 points.

Jordan Player of the Game: Mo Williams 16 points 1 rebound 7 assists 1 steal

Points

CLE: James 26, Williams 16, West 12, Gooden 12
MIA: Wade 36, Iverson 13, Beasley 12

Rebounds

CLE: Gooden 9
MIA: O'Neal 9

Assists

CLE: Williams 7
MIA: Iverson 6

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Miami @ Oklahoma City

MIA: | 15 | 31 | 20 | 24 | 90
OKC: | 23 | 23 | 18 | 22 | 86

Despite a slow start, the Miami Heat narrowly defeated the Thunder. While D-Wade had another 30-5 game (31 points, 6 assists to be exact), Michael Beasley was judged as the game's best. He had 28 points and 7 boards, in a display that combined brute force in the front court and a soft touch from the perimeter. Perhaps B-Easy is ready for a breakout year with the Miami franchise.

Jordan Player of the Game: Michael Beasley 28 points 7 rebounds 2 assists 2 steals

Points

MIA: Wade 31, Beasley 28, Iverson 11, Chalmers 10
OKC: Green 20, Durant 16, Harden 15, Krstic 15

Rebounds

MIA: Beasley, O'Neal 7
OKC: Durant 8

Assists

MIA: Wade 6
OKC: Westbrook 8

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Roster movement: Grimes recalled, Chalmers to start

Ime Udoka twisted his ankle in practice and is day-to-day. To eliminate the risk of injurying himself further, he has been played on IR while Dane Grimes will come back onto the bench.

In other news, Chalmers will take his place in the starting lineup in the place of Allen Iverson. With any luck, the Heat won't get any blow back from this move from the often volatile Iverson.

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Miami @ Charlotte

MIA: | 16 | 21 | 24 | 20 | 81
CHA: | 20 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 71

Miami completed their most comprehensive win of the year, downing the 9th place Bobcats. Michael Beasley has continued to improved with another stellar performance. He was named the Jordan Player of the Game with 24 points. Despite the double-digit win, coach Spoelstra wasn't happy with Miami's offense as only two players scored in double figures. Wade was the other one with 20.

Jordan Player of the Game: Michael Beasley 24 points 4 rebounds 1 block

Points

MIA: Beasley 24, Wade 20
CHA: Diaw 20, Chandler 13, Wallace 12, Ginobili 11

Rebounds

MIA: Noah 10
CHA: Chandler 8

Assists

MIA: Chalmers 10
CHA: Ford 5

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Win/Loss: 4-4

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Player Card



dare requested it, and here it is. It's quite fitting too that Michael Beasley gets his card at this time. This stretch of 4 games has seen him have impressive performances. A former 2nd overall pick of the draft, he might be on the way to having a breakout year. He is a very important piece of Miami's championship puzzle.

If anyone else has a request for a player card of someone in particular, let me know and I'll see what I can do. If it's someone like Seung-Jin Ha or Chris Quinn, you might have to wait since neither of them are really in the rotation right now. Plus, I'll only double up on players if they win an award or are a statistical leader in the NBA at the end of the year.

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Only one loss in that stretch... hopefully that'll mean better play for the upcoming games. Hope everyone is enjoying this so far

[Axel The Great]

Nice association, though for me it would be hard to manage both an assoc. and a dynasty at the same time. The Heat is a good choice, since they are a near top-level team in the East. Nice signing in old man Shaq.

[megarover]

Beasley finally seems to be developing into a nice player. Too Bad he can't do it irl

[Kenny]

Nice association, though for me it would be hard to manage both an assoc. and a dynasty at the same time. The Heat is a good choice, since they are a near top-level team in the East. Nice signing in old man Shaq.

Yeah, I always like picking teams who are either on the bubble or are just one or two pieces away from a ring. I have a win now kind of mentallity, so I suppose a rebuild would be too frustrating for me.

Beasley finally seems to be developing into a nice player. Too Bad he can't do it irl

I still have faith in him (in real life). I just think he needs to be mentored or something; there's no doubt in my mind that he has all the tools, but his temperament will prove to be his ceiling I think.

[Kenny]

(From top left, going clockwise)

| Noah has been smashing the offensive glass | Vintage AI couldn't save the Heat... |
| ...Vintage Wade can though | Shaq also had a flashback game this round |
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Indiana @ Miami

MIA: | 13| 28 | 20 | 16 | 77
IND: | 17 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 76

Miami had a strange win against Indiana. Although point guard Derek Shroeder was the Pacers' top scorer, he had a shooting percentage that even Antoine Walker would blush at if he saw it. Shroeder shot 8-46 from the field and 5-37 from behind the arc... the Heat were leaving him open for a reason.

Even though Wade was the player of the game with his performance, it would be a game for the rookies as Dane Grimes scored 24 points off 11-21 from the field.

Jordan Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade 18 points 5 rebounds 6 assists

Points

MIA: Grimes 24, Wade 18, Noah 13
IND: Shroeder 23, Granger 21, Dunleavy 9

Rebounds

MIA: Beasley, Noah 11
IND: Granger, Murphy 11

Assists

MIA: Chalmers 7
IND: Murphy 4

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Boston @ Miami

BOS: | 18 | 17 | 29 | 23 | 87
MIA: | 21 | 22 | 14 | 29 | 86

After a great comeback in the fourth quarter, Miami were up by two with the last play of the game. Rajon Rondo ended up hitting a three with 0.4 of a second left. Unfortunately Miami couldn't pull off any Derek Fisher-esque heroics. Rondo picked up the player of the game, as he picked up 13 dimes to go with his 8 points.

It was a see-saw game as both sides traded buckets throughout the game... nobody had any real ascendency, so winning off the last shot was a fitting ending for Boston. Wade and Iverson were fantastic for the Heat, scoring 29 and 26 respectively. This game coming on the heels of rumours that Miami have been shopping around Iverson, along with Quentin Richardson.

Jordan Player of the Game: Rajon Rondo 8 points 3 rebounds 13 assists 2 steals

Points

BOS: Allen 22, Garnett 16, Pierce 12, Wallace 10, Perkins 10
MIA: Wade 29, Iverson 26, Chalmers 9, Beasley 9


Rebounds

BOS: Garnett 12
MIA: Beasley 10

Assists

BOS: Rondo 13
MIA: Wade 5

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Injury Report: Quinn injured in practice

Miami guard Chris Quinn will be out for 2-4 weeks with a strained achilles. Although this might not have a big impact on the Heat roster right now, if Iverson gets traded, Miami may only have one point guard.

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Charlotte @ Miami

MIA: | 9| 13 | 19 | 24 | 65
CHA: | 13 | 19 | 13 | 25 | 60

Despite a slow start, Miami have won a scrappy game against the Bobcats. Nobody was able to get going for the Heat in the first half... but when that happens; D-Wade will often come to the rescue. He ended up with 27 points and was by far Miami's best on court, as he was the only one in double-figures for the Heat.

While it's a luxury to have such a big time player, coach Spoelstra wouldn't be happy that he's had to carry the team in this game.

Jordan Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade 27 points 4 rebounds 4 assists 3 steals

Points

MIA: Wade 27, Beasley 9, Grimes 9
CHA: Ginobili 15, Wallace 10, Ford 10

Rebounds

MIA: O'Neal 7
CHA: Chandler, Diaw 7

Assists

MIA: Wade 4
CHA: Ford 4

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Oklahoma City @ Miami

MIA: | 20 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 90
OKC: | 22 | 21 | 11 | 35 | 89

Miami almost squandered a 14 point 3rd quarter lead as they triumphed against the Thunder by a point. With the shot to potentially win the game for OKC, Jeff Green missed for the first time from 3 as he went 3/4 for the game behind the arc.

The story of this game is the veterans of Miami. Both Shaq and AI had 22 points each. O'Neal was named the player of the game, grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. He was 9-9 from the field.

Jordan Player of the Game: Shaquille O'Neal 22 points 7 rebounds 4 blocks

Points

MIA: Iverson 22, O'Neal 22, Beasley 16, Wade 13
OKC: Green 26, Durant 18, Harden 17, Westbrook 14

Rebounds

MIA: O'Neal 7
OKC: Green, Krstic 5

Assists

MIA: Chalmers 10
OKC: Westbrook 15

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Win/Loss: 7-5

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Player Card



AI hasn't won too many fans over the past season, but there's no doubt of the impact his career has had on the game. This year in Miami could very possibly be his last and he wants to finish his career in the correct fashion.

This round the player card has been made for him after he re-emerged in 2 of the games as a focal point for Miami's scoring. Games like this could keep the Miami staff from trading him in any hurry.

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Although AI has been spared for now, I still believe I may be a piece or two away from winning the championship. So who will I trade? Or better yet; who SHOULD I trade?

[Alpha_]

I gonna follow this as well..

[kibaxx7]

Simple layout And AI looks really nice on a Heat jersey.

[Tyler]

Weird that the Bulls let Noah hit Free Agency.

He's a great signing for your team though, maybe he could be the next player card?

[cavs4872]

Nice to see you above .500 now, and much better losses against the Cavs and Celtics this time around.

[Kenny]

I gonna follow this as well..

Fantastic, hope you enjoy it

Simple layout And AI looks really nice on a Heat jersey.

He does look great in the jersey doesn't he?

It's all fun and games on NBA 2k10, but I sincerely hope he doesn't go to Miami in real life

Weird that the Bulls let Noah hit Free Agency.

He's a great signing for your team though, maybe he could be the next player card?

Yeah, it's a strange decision... but it's my gain; I've liked him from his rookie year. And as for the player card, he will be up in my next 4 game report

Nice to see you above .500 now, and much better losses against the Cavs and Celtics this time around.

Yeah... I'm starting to get used to the speed of the game a bit more now. I just have to realise I can't run and get all the time and throw long passes in this one.

[Kenny]

Trade Announcement: Miami gets even older


The Miami Heat have acquired veteran guard Michael Finley in exchange for forward Quentin Richardson.

Since the arrival of Dane Grimes and Allen Iverson, Quentin Richardson has had his game time decrease drastically. In the end he became an expendable piece and he was put on the trade block. Despite his age, the opportunity to get someone as experienced in big games such as Michael Finley was an offer too good to refuse. Added to this, he won't be demanding the amount of game time Q-Rich would be and his contract comes off the books in the coming off-season.

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Player Card



In honour of Miami's departing player, I thought I'd create a player card for Q-Rich. A marksman from beyond the arc, he will add potentially a great scorer on the bench for San Antonio, and while they have Richard Jefferson as their starting Small Forward, this is some insurance that they will probably need if last season was anything to go by.

[Axel The Great]

Nice aqcuisition in Finley. Maybe D-Wade can learn a few things from his experience.