Will Heat Stars Take Up Bird Watching As A Restful Hobby?

Can Chris Andersen take flight again?

With the signing if Chris "The Birdman" Andersen, the Heat may have bought themselves some minutes.

As we have already seen this season, the NBA regular season campaign is as much about keeping your stars healthy and rested as it is about becoming cohesive and positioning for the playoffs.  With Danny Granger, Grant Hill, half the Knicks, Derek Rose, half the Lakers, Anderson Varejao, etc etc etc all missing time, teams need to find ways to keep their stars' minutes down.

This brings us to the Heat picking up Chris Andersen on a try-it-out 10-day contract.

Is Andersen the cornerstone of a championship team?  No.  But he is an interesting player that, in limited minutes, could potentially be exactly what the Heat need to keep LeBron and Battier out of the power rotation, get Bosh playing his natural power-forward position (and hopefully get him out of his mental and physical funk), and act as an upgrade over UD and Joel.  Potentially.

If advanced stats paint a picture, I'm pretty excited about the artist's subject.  In 2011-2012, check out here to see Andersen rank 16th in the entire league in one foul-rate stat for his (mostly defensive) play, and here to see how Andersen favorably stacks up against some interesting names.

Now all The Birdman needs to do is play up to these levels in the 2012-2013 season.  If he takes flight, some of the Heat's regulars could relax and bird-watch from the bench, and it's pretty hard to get hurt or too tired from there.

You Gotta Have Faith

Read Kobe's lips: "I've got no faith that I'm winning another ring."

Since I last wrote, my second daughter was born.  This is the daughter that this blog is dedicated to.  Her name is appropriate for a Heat fan..... "Faith".  Because when I was asked today if I think the Heat will win it all again this season, I said "I think so because we have LeBron", and I have a lot of Faith in him.

Over the last 10 games, the Miami Heat have gone 6-4.  What did we learn about them through this stretch?  Nothing.

They continue to cruise along.... crushing some teams, losing some games they should have won, losing focus when none is required, and (most importantly) winning when they really want to.  And the latter is why you should have Faith.

We were also reminded about a few other things:

Joel Anthony has great heart.  I have a lot of confidence in him to do the right thing when he's in.  From passing the ball away (when the situation requires a modicum of offensive skill, of which he knows he has none), and scoring when he is put in a position to do so (vs rarely scoring when in similar situations in the past).  His defense and picks are - dare I say - critical to the Heat's chances.

Ray Allen isn't a good defender.  He had his best two defensive games against Golden State and Los Angeles, which gives me some hope, but if his shot is off, he is a detriment to the team.  Until the fourth quarter.  Because regardless of how he is playing in a given game, he seems to find his shot in the fourth, and you need that type of player on the floor during crunch time.

Norris Cole's stats somehow, inexplicably do not seem to tell his impact on the court.  Statistically, he sticks, but when he's in, his confidence on the offensive side and disruptive affect on the defensive side give the team a boost.

Rashard Lewis needs to play more.

Shane Battier is glue.  The team is just plain better with him on it.

UD has lost his shot, but not his heart and rebounding ability.  For short spurts, he's still valuable.

Chris Bosh is a wuss.  A great shooter.  Smart.  Decent defender.  But a rebounding doormat.  In the last 10 games, I've seen balls ripped out of his hand, and him boxed out way too much.  7.1 rebounds/game is more than 20% less than his career average.  And this on a team that is starving for a rebounder.  Scheme or not, he needs to get more boards.  And his pouting at the end of the Lakers game when LeBron didn't hit him on a breakaway at the end of the game (because LBJ wanted to chew up precious clock while he had the lead), and then his reaction to James "stealing" a rebound out of his hands (because LBJ's Kill Switch was on) just do not sit well with me.

Dwyane Wade is in conservation mode, which I'm good with.  Still one of the best in the game.  Someone you want to have fresh for a championship run.

LeBron James is the King.  55% shooting, including 45% from three is Other Worldly.  Just unreal for a wing player.  This while also being the best defender, best passer, most competitive, and most intelligent payer in the NBA.  If you want to see who he is, watch the fourth quarter of the Heat's loss to Utah.  Down by 19, James continued to compete while his Co-Big-Three sat.  He guarded Utah's center, Big Al Jefferson, on defense, and played the point for Miami on offense.  He did everything.

Miami ultimately fell short in the game against Utah, a meaningless January game.  But with the Heat down by a huge margin, LeBron willed his teammates to play on, and that is what a true champion does.

And that is why you need to have Faith in these Miami Heat.