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Sports Agenda For Friday (1/6/12)

Big Story:
Memo to the NBA: Be afraid, be very afraid! Unfortunately, the Panthers are doing their best impression of last year's Marlins team which started out hot and collapsed half way through, and the Dolphins are bringing in another coach for an interview.
How do you spell relief? More SPORTS!

Miami Heat: (off Friday night)
Well, if you're the rest of the NBA, I think it's officially time to start worrying.
Last night, the Heat won a game against a decent Hawks team without D-Wade or LeBron James.
I'm not going to make too much out of one game, but, well, I will actually make too much out of it.
The one thing that's been missing for the Heat since the Big Three came together was quality depth behind them.
Last night, without Wade and LeBron, the Heat showed off some depth that few in the league thought they truly had.
From Bosh pouring in 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists; to Mario Chalmers dropping 29 points, rebounds, and 8 assists, the Heat looked solid.
While the team still isn't getting a lot out of the center position, at this point, do they really need it?
I was impressed with Terrelle Harris grabbing 14 boards to go along with 9 points, and UD came through with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Plus, did you see Shane Battier's block on Joe Johnson? That was impressive and justified his addition to the team.
My guy, Norris Cole, played less than 20 minutes but still had 9 points and 5 assists.
That said, here's why we shouldn't get too excited yet and why we should get excited now.
Mario Chalmers went off last night and played out of his mind. As Jorge Sedano pointed out on his show this morning on 790 The Ticket (cheap plug) Chalmers is very reminiscent of Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman.
Grossman is either hot or cold. When he's the Good Rex, you have a good quarterback who can lead your team. When he's Bad Rex, yikes, get ready for a loss and four interceptions.
Chalmers for his career has been the same way, but I will say that the addition of Cole has lit a fire under him and that's good for both players because it will drive both of them to be better players.
James Jones struggled last night to create shots and shot just 1-4 from three point land and 0-1 from the free throw line.
His minutes will evaporate as Mike Miller is brought back into the mix.
The obvious reason to get excited is that if the Heat were able to do this against a good Hawks team, what can they do with Wade and LeBron in the lineup.
I think this Heat team is really starting to come together and understand their roles perfectly.
Wade is the scorer, LeBron is the distributor/playmaker, Bosh is the steady hand at scoring and rebounding. Battier is defense. Udonis, Cole, and Joel Anthony are the high-energy guys coming in at various points. Terrelle Haris is a complimentary player to give a wing player some rest.
Think about it, they didn't play LeBron, Wade, or Miller.
Add Miller to the mix and you have the deepest wing depth of any team in the league.
And let's not forget, if Eddy Curry can contribute 10-12 minutes a game and bang on the other team's big man, there is no weakness.
Unless of course we get too many Bad Mario nights, but that's where Cole's high-energy and good decision making can help as well.
Yes, I am excited about this Heat team, much moreso than last season when I thought they were ridiculously good.

Wade & James Update:
I don't expect Wade & James to play in Saturday night's game against the New Jersey Nets.
It's not really a crucial game and it will give Wade around a week to rest up his injury and LeBron about 5-6 days to rest his ankle.
Then, they will come back probably against the Golden State Warriors next Tuesday and play against the Clippers and Nuggets.
Unless Wade's injury is more serious, but I don't believe that it is right now.

Panthers: (@ New Jersey Devils, 7:00 p.m., Fox Sports Florida)
Well, the Panthers started out hot, but have started to falter in recent games.
The team's lead in the Southeast Division is just four points and the Panthers are 4-3-3 in their last 10 games.
The loss to the Rangers last night didn't help matters either.
The Cats need a road victory tonight against the fourth place Devils to get things rolling heading into a three game homestand against three great teams in the Canucks, Penguins, and Bruins.
Yikes!
By the way, if you want to know what good goal tending is, ask the Bruins. They've given up just 69 goals all season long!!!

Dolphins Coaching Search:
The Fins are bringing in another coach to interview this weekend, in the form of the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers.
Before you get too excited about his ability based on the Packers offensive output, remember, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy calls all of the plays for the team.
It's still going to be revolving around Jeff Fisher.
He's done in St. Louis and he will probably decide between the Rams and Dolphins.
The Fins will pay the most, but also have the most dysfunctional organization.
Of course they also have the most talent to work with on any given day as well.

That's it for the week, enjoy the weekend!!!

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