MILWAUKEE -- During the long and often tedious NBA season, players seek various sources for energy and motivation.
Dwyane Wade of the struggling Miami Heat is no exception.
And, believe it or not, Wade has turned to the likes of Rafer Alston and Chris Quinn to help him through these troubled times.
"When I was a little younger, I'd have been ready to explode," Wade said last week of the team's recent freefall in the Eastern Conference standings. "As I get older, I understand you take the good with the bad. In this league to come back and fight another day is always a blessing.
"Of course there are times when you're angry. Everyone has those times. But I look at Rafer sometimes and I think, 'You know what? It can be worse.' I talk to Quinny all the time. It's worse other places."
Alston, thanking his lucky stars, signed with Miami a month ago after starting the season in New Jersey but then being bought out by the Nets. Quinn, a former Heat guard, had been traded to New Jersey two days earlier. With the Nets threatening to finish with the league's worst record of all time, both players understand what Wade is talking about.
It wasn't all that long ago that Miami was snuggled comfortably in the fifth position in the Eastern playoff standings, but due to nagging injuries, uneven play and yes, even the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami finds itself in a precarious situation.
The Bucks defeated the Heat in consecutive games last week just before Miami was to embark on its most difficult scheduling stretch of the season, in which it would play eight of nine on the road. The Heat followed its defeats to the Bucks with losses at Boston and Cleveland, which dropped Miami even closer to Milwaukee, holding down the ninth position in the East.
The loss to the Celtics left Miami with a 24-25 record and below the .500 mark for the first time since it was 8-9 on Nov. 29, 2008.
"We're going through a little bit of a funk right now as a team," said coach Erik Spoelstra . "It's a trying time for us. A lot of teams have gone through this. This is not what we wanted to do right now, but we're here and we have to respond and help each other get out of this."
After a home game against Houston on Tuesday, Miami will play at Atlanta. After the all-star break, Miami hits the road again to Philadelphia, Memphis, New Jersey and Dallas.
Wade looked as if he was going to carry the Heat singlehandedly last week in Miami against the Bucks as he scored the game's first 11 points. But Milwaukee weathered that storm nicely and, with Wade getting little help from his friends -- will the Heat make a move before the Feb. 18 trade deadline rather than wait until this summer? -- came back to win.
But then again, Wade has been doing a lot of heavy lifting for the Heat, which is why Alston and Quinn have become important people in his life these days.
"You've got to keep fighting," said Wade. "There's nothing else you can do. You stop fighting, then you give up on the season."
Chipping away
Former Indiana Pacers guard and current television commentator Reggie Miller took part in a TNT all-star conference call last week and was asked to compare the gun-related suspensions of Washington's Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton to the fallout from the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004 involving the Pacers and Pistons.
Miller said that the Pacers kept plugging away but still hadn't come back fully from that ugly event.
"(The Pacers) still haven't recovered," said Miller. "Other than Danny Granger, who was an all-star last year and (Roy) Hibbert's playing well this year. They play hard, but the Pacers have never, never recovered from that night. Things will never be the same until they get lucky in the draft, they are able to overpay a free agent and things get turned around. But things will never be the same.
"Let's hope it's not the same with the Wizards."
He's the finest
Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson has been running a lot of isolations for Joe Johnson late in games because he's one of the best in the league at such things. And, figures Woodson, why run a play with the intent of getting the ball to Johnson when they can just give it to him in isolation and let him go to work?
"That's what makes them great as a playoff team," said Boston coach Doc Rivers. "Because in the playoffs, your first and second option has been taken away if you've done any scouting."
Slim and none
What are the chances that Houston's Carl Landry will shoot as many free throws as the Suns' Amare Stoudemire ?
Not good, said Rockets coach Rick Adelman after a loss to Phoenix.
"I just have to look at the stat sheet," he said. "Carl Landry has one free throw. Stoudemire shoots 12. Carl has to play six more years and he might get 12. I don't know. That's our hope."
Murph on the move
Indiana's Troy Murphy is one of those whose name is high on the rumored-to-be-traded list.
The reason Murphy knows that is because teammate and former Marquette University player Travis Diener keeps Murphy posted on what's ripe on the league's grapevine.
"It's a business and I understand there's a possibility I could be moved," said Murphy. "I can't get away from the ongoing rumors because Travis is right next to me (in the locker room) and he's always informing me of what's being talked about."
They're confused
Last week against the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta's Jamal Crawford recorded his fifth four-point play of the season, and there was some confusion initially over whether that gave him an NBA record.
But the Hawks were later able to confirm that it was Crawford's 24th career four-point play, which broke Reggie Miller's record, at least according to the NBA Statistical Yearbook, put out by longtime Philadelphia statistical guru Harvey Pollack (who knows all about such things).
Teaching a lesson
How bad are things in New Jersey?
The Nets brought in a motivation speaker/hypnotist to talk to the team and the guy stuck a needle in his face to show that it is possible to block out pain. Center Brook Lopez joked that there was no danger of any of the Nets trying any such thing.
"They've taken sharp objects away from me," he said. "We have to use safety scissors. We're pretty close to getting helmets, too."
Call a meeting
The rumors linking Boston's Ray Allen to a trade to Golden State for Monta Ellis continue to persist to a point where Celtics general manger Danny Ainge had a sit-down with Allen, who is making $19.8 million on the last year of a three-year deal, and his wife to sort things out.
Ainge called a trade "unlikely" because the Celtics have visions of making a run at a championship this season and they need Allen to do so.
Ainge denies that he's had any discussions with another team about trading Allen.
Staying positive
Because his team is a bit undersized and doesn't really have a shot-blocker, Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis has been stressing to his players the importance of being able to draw an offensive foul.
It's at the point where in one recent practice Rambis lined up his players and had each take three charges from teammates to show them that it didn't hurt all that much.
"You've got to be willing to take the punishment," said rookie guard Jonny Flynn . "That's what I've got my mouth guard for. I can't mess up my smile."
Fast breaks
With Joe Johnson and Al Horford, the Hawks have two all-stars for the first time since 1998 (Steve Smith, Dikembe Mutombo ). . . .
Lopez, Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan are the only players to lead their teams in scoring, rebounding and blocks. . . .
Lopez on what he thought the chances were of his name being called on the TNT show that announced the all-star reserves: "I was taking a nap." . . .
Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank has been showing up at Orlando's practices, but the Magic says it has nothing to do with the struggles of Vince Carter, a former Net.
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DOWN THE LANE
THIS WEEK IN THE NBA
San Antonio's eight-game rodeo trip rolls on with games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver before the all-star break. The final three games of the trip will be played after the break. The Spurs won two of six games on the home stand that preceded the trip, and the 27-19 record they left San Antonio with was the worst the Spurs ever took on the trip. "For whatever reason, we've always been able to use this trip to kind of get on a roll," said San Antonio's Tim Duncan. "Hopefully, we can do that and come back a better team (than when we left)." Orlando has a very busy week leading into the break, playing four games in five days, beginning Sunday at Boston. After that, the Magic is at home against New Orleans before hitting the road against Chicago and Cleveland. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy will then head for Dallas, where he will coach Dwight Howard and the Eastern all-stars. "You're just managing people in and out of the game," said Van Gundy. "I'm not coaching people. I'm not going to be yelling and screaming at guys . . . maybe Dwight." Sacramento tours the East with games in Toronto, New York and Detroit, while Denver will host Dallas on Tuesday before the Spurs come to town.
GAME OF THE WEEK
The Lakers head over to Utah on Wednesday to play coach Jerry Sloan's Jazz, which has been one of the hotter teams in the league.
BUCKS WEEK
The Bucks have an excellent opportunity to take some momentum into the break, as they play two last-place teams -- Detroit at the Bradley Center on Tuesday and at New Jersey on Wednesday. The Nets will conclude a four-game trip Tuesday in Cleveland.
QUOTE
"This is trap time. People are dreaming of Mai Tais and margaritas and girls in bikinis. Hopefully, we can keep our focus and get a few wins here."
--Houston's Shane Battier, on the dangers of the last couple games before the all-star break.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant has been on such a tear offensively that he has put himself in a position to challenge Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James for the league's scoring title. "He does a lot for us," said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. "But when you get mentioned in groups like that, your team has to win. We're winning some games, more than we won last year, but we're still not winning at the level that those other teams are." When Durant scored 30 points in a victory at New Orleans, it was the 23rd straight game in which he scored 25 or more points, the third-longest such streak since 1986-'87, when Michael Jordan scored 25 or more in 40 straight games. Allen Iverson scored 25 or more in 27 straight games in 2000-'01. The victory over New Orleans was the Thunder's fourth straight and in those four games, Durant averaged 34.5 points on 60.3 percent shooting and made 38 of 40 free throws (95 percent). "He's a phenomenal player; beautiful to watch," said Atlanta coach Mike Woodson. "He's kind of an old-school throwback in terms of scoring the ball. This year, I see him trying to defend and try to lead. That's the sign of a player that one day is really going to be a dominant player, one of the best players in our league."
NUMBERS GAME
28 -- Consecutive foul shots made by San Antonio's Tim Duncan, a 68.7 percent career free-throw shooter, until missing one with 39 seconds left in last week's game against Sacramento.
488 -- Games played for the Miami Heat by Udonis Haslem. He moved past Keith Askins into second place on the team's all-time list. Alonzo Mourning has played the most games with the Heat (593).
100 -- Oklahoma City is 20-2 when scoring at least 100 points.
9 -- After making all four of his shots against Denver, Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair made his first nine shots against Sacramento and finished with 9-of-10 shooting.
541 -- Games coached by Mike Dunleavy for the L.A. Clippers, making him the franchise leader. Dunleavy, who stepped aside as coach Thursday, also leads in victories, with 215 (Jack Ramsay is second with 158).
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