News and Notes From Miami Heat’s Public Scrimmage

The “Red, White & Pink” game was held on Wednesday, a team scrimmage open to the public in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Also televised via HEAT.com, the event gave a glimpse of a Miami team that is beginning a new, exciting era.

You’ll probably be able to see some footage of the informal game on the team’s website but if you’re not willing to sit through that, here are some basic news and notes:

• Chris Andersen, Josh McRoberts (toe) and Justin Hamilton (heart surgery) all sat out of the scrimmage
• It was a very informally played game, between two intra-squad teams (Red vs. White). Some players switched sides after each quarter to provide a balanced attack
• Teams were led by Assistant Coaches Juwan Howard and Daniel Craig
• Regular Heat television announcers Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino were there to comment on the broadcast
• Many players looked in good shape, relatively thinner than they did last season. Among the notables were Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers and even Udonis Haslem.
• Luol Deng looked very active early, showing no sign of the nagging injuries that had been bothering him over recent years. He brought the ball downcourt with surprising speed, and his long limbs gave him a huge advantage when he drove the rim or pulled for a turn-around jumper
• Wade was also pretty spry himself, and was his typically athletic self
• Chris Bosh lacked aggression early on. He resorted to jumpers in the 1st quarters
• Shawne Williams hit his outside shots early and often; I think he finished with about four 3-pointers
• Tyler Johnson’s first shot was a putback dunk off a Wade miss, I think. If Shannon Brown gets the backup shooting guard job, Johnson should develop nicely in the D-League
• 1st-round draft pick Shabazz Napier is a conundrum. Has got definite skills that could help him steal minutes from Chalmers or Norris Cole. He can dribble smoothly, runs the offense like a seasoned pro, is a sharp passer and plays great on-ball defense. But with the exception of one 3-pointer and a breakaway dunk following a steal, I think he missed every other shot he took.
• Bosh eventually showed that versatility that will be a big part of this season. He mixed up his outside shot with some nice drives to the hoop, showing off that footwork and posting up as he’s expected to do. Still, a lot of those drives were at the expense of Chris Johnson who looked like he couldn’t guard a lamppost
• Danny GRANGER! It’s too early to have him take Ray Allen‘s place as a sharpshooting role player but he was solid as hell. He hit five 3-pointers and showed none of the rust or injury that limited him in Indiana or Los Angeles last year. If he can keep this up, this will be a very deep team
• James Ennis had a nice sequence in the 2nd half, hitting a 3-pointer and then driving past Luol Deng for a dunk
• Reggie Williams and Andre Dawkins hit a few 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, trading baskets back and forth. Solid contributors late in a game that didn’t really mean anything

MVP: Clearly it was Granger. From his sideline interview where he talked about Miami as a “first-class organization” to his, did I mention, FIVE 3-POINTERS, he was great in his debut.

TWEETS AND OBSERVATIONS: